The design is proving tricky because, to start with, there is nothing between Omaha and Sacramento. The density slider is currently at 60% and farm/mine production starts at 25%... so you ain't-a-gonna make any money running a railroad. Then the production multipliers kick in and the 10%-per-year growth rate begins to climb (though we know ftom wolverine's work it takes a bit to get going) and the West begins to boom.
The second tricky part is figuring out how much track and money you need to build it and balancing out the land grants/government bonds (how much they earn you and when you get them). It is tricky because, as I said above, if you run out of money from this source you can't really make it up by hauling freight and passengers.
One it is reasonably stable I will offer it for beta-testing; anyone who is interested in helping can PM me. I've played the thing enough already to have a 'set' way to proceed and that's not the best way to get the bugs out. After some final tweaking I'll ask Hawk to host it for the public.
Transcontinental!
The question: How to build a railroad in the wilderness?
Too bad we can no longer program the math, like in RT2 and use IF statements.
"If credit is bad and If money is short below a given amount, then allow an emerency loan.
Maybe use high interest loan sharks for extra money. Could be a game killing event for a hard knock learning experience if misused.
I've often wished I could get scrap price for bulldozed track & for retired locomotives. I wonder if it is possible to monthly count locomotives or track cells and if the number of locomotives or cells decreases you receive a scrap value amount for the missing locomotive or track.
If more stocks could be issued. it would be more historical.
If many mines (industries) were owned in a restricted region they could be sold like mineral rights, to raise cash.
I like the idea of selling land grants to raise money.
Oh well, just dreaming again.
Too bad we can no longer program the math, like in RT2 and use IF statements.
"If credit is bad and If money is short below a given amount, then allow an emerency loan.
Maybe use high interest loan sharks for extra money. Could be a game killing event for a hard knock learning experience if misused.
I've often wished I could get scrap price for bulldozed track & for retired locomotives. I wonder if it is possible to monthly count locomotives or track cells and if the number of locomotives or cells decreases you receive a scrap value amount for the missing locomotive or track.
If more stocks could be issued. it would be more historical.
If many mines (industries) were owned in a restricted region they could be sold like mineral rights, to raise cash.
I like the idea of selling land grants to raise money.
Oh well, just dreaming again.
This has been a learning experience for sure - like throwing out the 'connected track' condition because you cannot then put track in the boxes for grants and bonds. Yes, I had to find that out the hard way. 
One critical problem with the money is that, if your company cash dips below zero, you can no longer lay the track section to use your land grants and bonds. As this could potentially end the game, it was a serious problem. What I did was add an event that fires if your cash is negative at the start of a month. It deducts a bond, credits you with the money, raises your prime rate and lowers your credit rating. Since you have raise the bond pool to 50 to win, this either reduces the bonds you have on hand or raises the pool by one. As long as your cash is negative the event keeps firing...
There is a trigger for track cells, several in fact including total, company owned, tunnel, bridge and something like 'special', whatever that is. I think you can set a variable to that number, then measure if variable is > track cells.
Building this railroad in the wilderness took 20,000 men about three years and five months, with almost no mechanical devices and without high explosives other than a little nitroglycerine. Because of the intentionally chaotic bookkeeping on both ends (plus a convenient fire that burned all the CP records) nobody knows what it cost. The pre-Civil War estimate was $150 million, back when a million dollars was a large fortune. The UP men mostly died in disgrace (Ames) or broke (Durant) or heartbroken (Judah) while the CP Big Four prospered to an obscene degree.
I'm basing my 'financial' model on the facts I have, and trying to cram that through the RRT3 game model. What emerges will be sausage (or maybe CheezWhiz) but it will 'hopefully' give players some pleasure.
I agree with you that the editor is not as fully functional as it should be. And that statement proves I can sling an understatement with the best of them!
*Help Wanted*
Has anyone noticed that the Company YTD Industry Profits seems to be broken? With one hotel showing an annual -$3k, in the ledger I see -$190k.
I also noticed the 'when track or station is placed' does not always fire unless a station is placed.
One critical problem with the money is that, if your company cash dips below zero, you can no longer lay the track section to use your land grants and bonds. As this could potentially end the game, it was a serious problem. What I did was add an event that fires if your cash is negative at the start of a month. It deducts a bond, credits you with the money, raises your prime rate and lowers your credit rating. Since you have raise the bond pool to 50 to win, this either reduces the bonds you have on hand or raises the pool by one. As long as your cash is negative the event keeps firing...
There is a trigger for track cells, several in fact including total, company owned, tunnel, bridge and something like 'special', whatever that is. I think you can set a variable to that number, then measure if variable is > track cells.
Building this railroad in the wilderness took 20,000 men about three years and five months, with almost no mechanical devices and without high explosives other than a little nitroglycerine. Because of the intentionally chaotic bookkeeping on both ends (plus a convenient fire that burned all the CP records) nobody knows what it cost. The pre-Civil War estimate was $150 million, back when a million dollars was a large fortune. The UP men mostly died in disgrace (Ames) or broke (Durant) or heartbroken (Judah) while the CP Big Four prospered to an obscene degree.
I'm basing my 'financial' model on the facts I have, and trying to cram that through the RRT3 game model. What emerges will be sausage (or maybe CheezWhiz) but it will 'hopefully' give players some pleasure.
I agree with you that the editor is not as fully functional as it should be. And that statement proves I can sling an understatement with the best of them!
*Help Wanted*
Has anyone noticed that the Company YTD Industry Profits seems to be broken? With one hotel showing an annual -$3k, in the ledger I see -$190k.
I also noticed the 'when track or station is placed' does not always fire unless a station is placed.
The optimist proclaims we live in the best of all possible worlds; and the pessimist fears this is true." - James Branch Cabell
Here's a suggestion: If you have any pre-built track for your company, at all, add some pre-built track (one cell will do) in a one-cell territory immediately adjacent to the "switch box." All the player then has to do is connect into the box, and when the switch event fires, it destroys that bit of track again.EPH wrote:This has been a learning experience for sure - like throwing out the 'connected track' condition because you cannot then put track in the boxes for grants and bonds.
Building into the box again flicks the switch the other way.
That way, you could keep the "connected track only" condition.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Transcontinental Railroad will be departing shortly for a download location near you! :D
This is easily the most difficult scenario I've ever tried to do, not so much in gameplay as in sheer size and complexity. With building the railroad, making it pay, expanding it and then paying off the debt to Uncle Sam, there is a LOT going on here.
Some of the game concepts may be unusual so please don't hesitate to open a thread over in the scenario tips and hints section if any of it is unclear to you. I think many players - myself included - may not care for it at first but will come to enjoy it as it unfolds. Trying to model how the railroad was actually built with RRT3's engine has been - let me say - challenging
and the result is unlike anything I've seen.
My thanks to Mobius, who generously allowed me to use his map.
Special thanks are due to wolverine and wsherrick, the volunteer playtesters, without whose patience, tact and general good common sense I'd have never got this thing on the rails. If you like the scenario, thank those guys. Errors and problems and things you don't like are probably my fault. :?
A note of thanks is due to the memory of Stephen Ambrose, whose 'Nothing Like It in The World' inspired and informed my efforts. The Great Pacific Railroad was indeed a triumph of politics, finance, engineering and hard sweating labor, and his book brings all that clearly into focus.
The game has been played out to a Gold Victory and all events fired correctly. Your mileage, of course, may vary.
Please let me know of any problems and errors and I will try to advise and correct as needed.
I hope you enjoy the scenario.
This is easily the most difficult scenario I've ever tried to do, not so much in gameplay as in sheer size and complexity. With building the railroad, making it pay, expanding it and then paying off the debt to Uncle Sam, there is a LOT going on here.
Some of the game concepts may be unusual so please don't hesitate to open a thread over in the scenario tips and hints section if any of it is unclear to you. I think many players - myself included - may not care for it at first but will come to enjoy it as it unfolds. Trying to model how the railroad was actually built with RRT3's engine has been - let me say - challenging
and the result is unlike anything I've seen.My thanks to Mobius, who generously allowed me to use his map.
Special thanks are due to wolverine and wsherrick, the volunteer playtesters, without whose patience, tact and general good common sense I'd have never got this thing on the rails. If you like the scenario, thank those guys. Errors and problems and things you don't like are probably my fault. :?
A note of thanks is due to the memory of Stephen Ambrose, whose 'Nothing Like It in The World' inspired and informed my efforts. The Great Pacific Railroad was indeed a triumph of politics, finance, engineering and hard sweating labor, and his book brings all that clearly into focus.
The game has been played out to a Gold Victory and all events fired correctly. Your mileage, of course, may vary.
Please let me know of any problems and errors and I will try to advise and correct as needed.I hope you enjoy the scenario.
The optimist proclaims we live in the best of all possible worlds; and the pessimist fears this is true." - James Branch Cabell
