Getting back on the Ride

[Jeremy Mac Donald]

Hello Everyone.

So I finally got back into RRT3 after a long hiatus. I had been slightly involved in the community three or four years ago and wrote the scenario Modern Africa which, while flawed in some ways, I was fairly happy with as a first effort. I fell off the train after that scenario when my attempts to make a couple of new scenarios both ended with brutal bugs that I was unable to recover from very late in each scenarios development. Deeply frustrated after the second time this occurred I abandoned RRT3. I hope to have more luck this time as I suspect that a big part of my problem was essentially that RRT3 was a pretty demanding game, hardware wise, for its time and the computer I had at the time could just barely handle it even under good conditions.

I've gotten back on the train in part because I downloaded the excellent unofficial RRT3 1.06 patch and was really impressed with all the exciting things that were included. The extra resources in particular got the gears turning as it makes it possible to do a scenario idea I had but was never able to implement. Kudo's to those that worked on that patch and provided this wonderful extra content for such a great game.

I'm also very impressed with this website and have been having quite a bit of fun playing all these user made scenarios. I'm excited to see that the game still seems to be alive even after all these years. Its testament to the strengths of the original game (well and to the lack of any worthy successor so far (at least that I am aware of)).

[Hawk]

Hey Jeremy - aboard. Good to see you back behind the throttle.

There's been a lot of user created content made since last you played the game, as you've already seen.
Needless to say if you have any questions and/or comments, they're more than welcomed. Everyone here is rather friendly and helpful so make yourself right at home.

for the kind words on the site too.

[OilCan]

...and wrote the scenario Modern Africa

I played Modern Africa for the first time a couple of months ago. It took me three tries to finally get up and going. I barely squeeked by with a bronze. I liked the jest of the game but felt the bribe demands occurred too often, so I edited some of them out. That made the game much more enjoyable, but still very challenging. Having spent many years in that part of the world, I could visualize the towns and landscape which made the game a trip down memory lane.

Welcome to the forum. I'm looking forward to your next scenario.

[Jeremy Mac Donald]

...and wrote the scenario Modern Africa

I played Modern Africa for the first time a couple of months ago. It took me three tries to finally get up and going. I barely squeeked by with a bronze. I liked the jest of the game but felt the bribe demands occurred too often, so I edited some of them out. That made the game much more enjoyable, but still very challenging. Having spent many years in that part of the world, I could visualize the towns and landscape which made the game a trip down memory lane.

Welcome to the forum. I'm looking forward to your next scenario.

Your thinking of the excellent Modern Heart of Africa Scenario which was not my creation. Though I've played it a bunch myself trying desperately to survive the constant bribe demands and such. I think I eventually beat it (this was quite some time back) - there is some kind of a trick in terms of which way to go as I recall. Though actual details are now lost in my foggy memory...oh and its important to note that when I say I beat a scenario I mean on normal...I almost never play any other mode. So I did not crush it on expert as some of the people that frequent these boards could undoubtedly do.

[WPandP]

Welcome aboard!

I know what you mean, about not playing scenarios on the most difficult settings. I'm not one of those who play a maximally-efficient game. I tend towards trying to run a "real" railroad, with cabooses mandated on the rears of freights, clear delineation between freight and passenger trains, and trying to stick with 3% or less grades. I don't set a lot of records.

Lately, all my enjoyment has been in creating mod content, which is why I hang around here. This site seems to be a last bastion of active RRT3 modding - and it is a good game with loads of potential still unrealized.

Hope you enjoy making new friends and contributing to the banter around here!

[nedfumpkin]

Welcome aboard. Ditto what WP&P said.

[proudcanadian]

Aboard! I actually did play Modern Africa (I believe it's at the terminal??) and it was a pretty crazy scenario from what I remember with all the different pre-built companies competing. Good to see people come back after so many years.

[Hawk]

I actually did play Modern Africa (I believe it's at the terminal??)

It's here too. I believe it was at the H&P site. I added all the maps from there when Steve shut it down.

[Jeremy Mac Donald]

I actually did play Modern Africa (I believe it's at the terminal??)

It's here too. I believe it was at the H&P site. I added all the maps from there when Steve shut it down.

Oh its definitly here. When I reinstalled RRT3 I realized that some where along the way I had lost the scenario and it had now been long enough that I wanted to play it again (scenario designers generally build games they like). I actually found this site while searching the internet for my scenario.

[Hawk]

Glad you went looking for your map and found us.

Your map had to have come from the now defunct H&P site. I just checked The Terminal and ExpressWorld and it's not at either one.

[Grandma Ruth]

aboard! good to have you with us and I hope you will create some more scenarios. Lots of tips and chat in the "Letters to the Editor" bit!

[JayEff]

Glad to see you back, Jeremy. IMO, your Modern Africa map is one of the prettiest maps made for RT3.

But yes, the scenario needs some work. On this big beautiful map, I always seemed to start in the same corner with the same strategy. I bought industry in Angola and started my RR built around that.

It would be a great map for some more scenarios to be made upon.

[Jeremy Mac Donald]

Glad to see you back, Jeremy. IMO, your Modern Africa map is one of the prettiest maps made for RT3.

But yes, the scenario needs some work. On this big beautiful map, I always seemed to start in the same corner with the same strategy. I bought industry in Angola and started my RR built around that.

It would be a great map for some more scenarios to be made upon.

Thanks. I learned a number of things when making that scenario and one was that having some kind of goal that forces players to actually build a rail road company is a very good idea.

Thanks for telling me I have a pretty map...but I can't understand why it'd be stand out or anything. I used the various tools in the scenario builder to make the map but I'm not particularly talented at cartography and did not spend excessive time on it. I'd actually think that it rates as...'passable but designer was clearly in a hurry to get on to the guts of the scenario and maybe used brushes that were sometimes a little large for the task at hand...detail work was not particularly prioritized'

I think I went and downloaded some pretty geographical shot of Afirca and then used the painting tools to get a decent approximation of the look I was seeing. Hence its pretty only compared to scenarios that don't bother using colour to highlight areas that are desert or mountainous or what have you. If you where to look closely I'm sure you'd find areas that are, for example, mountainous but that I managed to miss a corner of with the paint tool or other such imperfections.