Map: TpF3 overtaking mod #1
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haylan (Arthur Erlich)
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Reference: haylan/tpf3-overtake#1
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Destination
A proven dev environment and a feasibility verdict for a Transport Fever 3 script-mod that lets cars overtake slower or lower-priority vehicles: the mechanism chosen, tooling and VS Code setup settled, the repo junctioned into the game as the mod, and an AI-assisted workflow proven with a hello-world mod. The overtaking behaviour spec itself comes after this map.
Notes
.examples/ug_tf3_example_config_change, whose script ismod.script.tl). Vocabulary inCONTEXT.md.mod/is junctioned into the game'sstaging_areaashaylan_tf3_overtake; no build step unless research says otherwise.Decisions so far
Can TpF3 scripting make cars overtake? — not feasible with the documented API; scripts can read vehicle state but no command sets lane, path position or speed, so only indirect approximations remain. Findings on branch
research/overtake-feasibility.What is the TpF3 mod tooling and mod structure? — Teal over Lua; entry points
preRunFn/runFn/postRunFnwired inmod.jsonas<modid>::<file>@<fn>; debug viadebugMode=trueanddebugPrint; VS Code withsumneko.lua+pdesaulniers.vscode-teal. Gaps: Teal workspace config, whetherprintreachesstdout.txt, how.tlcompiles. Findings and offline docs on pushed branchresearch/mod-tooling.Which fallback mechanism to pursue for overtaking? — visual pass-through of the blocker; multilane same-direction roads pass freely, two-way roads need an oncoming-traffic check; probe in game first, then custom lane definitions as the last avenue, else a negative verdict.
Locate the TpF3 install and junction the repo as a mod — game at
D:/SteamLibrary/steamapps/common/Transport Fever 3;mod/junctioned into the userdatastaging_areaashaylan_tf3_overtake; game ships avscode-templatefor Teal type definitions.Set up VS Code and the AI workflow for the mod — Teal config at repo root (committed template + gitignored local copy); install vscode-teal and
tl(type-check only); offline docs + tealdef read access + a Modding section in CLAUDE.md; initial commit on main merging both research branches (push left to the human). Applied by the follow-up setup task.Apply the VS Code and AI workflow setup — done: vscode-teal installed;
tl0.24.8 (on Lua 5.4) type-checks against the game's tealdef;mainhas history with both research branches merged (unpushed); Modding section in CLAUDE.md.Hello-world mod loads in game — pipeline proven: game loads
.tldirectly (no build step),printreachesstdout.txt(agent reads it at<Steam>/userdata/<id>/3493540/local/crash_dump/stdout.txt), preRunFn on mod load, postRunFn on game start; modId kept equal to the folder name (mismatch untested).Probe vehicle data and native passing in game — no native passing on any road. The read API gives segment, lane, direction and speed (
blockedis useless). Nothing documented bypasses blocking. The engine switches lanes only at segment boundaries. Decision: drop two-way roads, pursue a lane switch on multilane roads. Findings on branch prototype/vehicle-probe.Can rebuilding a road segment move a passer past its blocker?: no.
replaceSegmentrebuilds work, but on single-lane roads the vehicles keep their gap, lane and order. On multilane roads the leader moved lanes afterwards (passed on to the multilane ticket). Engine-thread scripts can't send debug commands or get callbacks; the GUI thread can.Can a script swap the positions of a follower and its leader?: no. The debug component exchange refuses
MovePathon both threads, and no command writes a line vehicle's position (teleport only to depots). No script mechanism overtakes on single-lane roads.Not yet specified
Out of scope
docs/research/modio-terms.md).Correction: the old 'Steam Workshop publishing' out-of-scope line named the wrong platform — TpF3 has no Steam Workshop, the official in-game mod browser is mod.io (cross-platform). Rephrased to 'Publishing to mod.io'. New research note docs/research/modio-terms.md captures the mod.io ToU/AUP clauses that bind a published mod (uploading grants mod.io + Urban Games a perpetual irrevocable license; game-side rules override mod.io's per ToU §1.7).