Hi all Newbie from the UK

[MoridinUK]

Hey all,

I'm MoridinUK and I'm not really new to RT3 I just want to actually be good at it! lol Had it back in the day when it was new, I prefer it to Sid's Railroads because the maps are bigger! But I'm struggling with understanding indsutry and how it works, when to buy it and whether it is always a good Idea to invest ones starting capital and in what!

Thanks for listening!

[Hawk]

Welcome aboard.
Good to see a new member this late in the game.

It might be a good idea to ask your industry specific questions in the RT III General Discussion forum, just to keep the topic in the right forum, you understand.

[RulerofRails]

Welcome!

Hawk's suggestion of Oilcan's handbook is a great way to start. Of course, feel free to ask more questions after this no matter how simple they may be.

Here's a little summary:
All industries and resources that are producing a decent amount of cargo can be bought at around 10 times the cost of what they will make in one year. We look for industries that are cheaper than this (around 5 times the cost of what they will make in one year) and compete very well with rails especially in the second and third game years and can be safely bought with bonds even if they cost 13% interest per year (not the limit, just be careful going too much above this).

Except for the special case (this particular one applies to resources too) of cheap industries near the start of some games or those that the game randomly places on the map mid-game (all profit records are zero, so price is less), there are two options, (1.) build a new industry by placing it near (in a city normally by your station) or over the resources it needs (same map "cell", use the "G" key to toggle in-game) or (2.) buy an existing one that hasn't been performing well but will now that you are going to reliably supply it with your trains or you can see the situation developing naturally that in-coming resources and their placement will give a reliable supply over time (go into the map overviews to see where to find the resources an industry needs). Building a new industry means you get to choose the location but the cost is slightly higher, finding an existing one can be difficult and it may be more likely to suffer from competition over time due to a poorer location. In both cases you must also ensure that there will be a sufficient demand over time for the cargo the industry will produce. It is possible to haul away the cargo to a place of demand if you like, but the industry will probably make slightly less.

Location is the most important thing to learn about because it's important to build industries that will be steadily supplied and have sufficient demand for at least 5 years so they can re-pay their purchase price. There are subtleties in how to use location for your benefit, but the general principles can be seen by studying the interaction of resources with the existing industries (expensive) that are producing a decent amount of cargo on any map. Pay attention to the numbers that appear when you hover over the maps cells in the cargo map overviews. The higher the number, the more demand there currently is at that location. This number translates directly into how much money an industry will make, in addition the cheaper the resources that are in it's supply stack the more it will make. Remember that the numbers on the map are dynamic, to build an industry you need to select a location based not solely on this number, but you must also make sure that the current high demand will last. Do this by paying attention to the surrounding buildings, cities and geography (includes rivers) that should demand the cargo and let it travel to a new location with higher demand should you not have a rail connection there. After some trial and error you will understand how much demand a location will have consistently.

Resources such as farms don't need a supply, but still need a demand for the cargo they produce. They cannot be built by the player. Normally, building an industry will create a demand for a particular resource and it is possible to buy this resource while it is very cheap and about to make good money (may take awhile for price to rise). There is a special case for the newly seeded resources especially the farms. These are some of the most lucrative industries in the game, but constantly searching for them can be tedious. Here's a link for Wolverine's system to make finding them easier. viewtopic.php?p=2189#p2189.

[MoridinUK]

Thank you both for the welcome and the help! :) I know I'm late to the game but as I said, I don't think there is a later game that fits the same box....

Railroads! Just did not do it for me...

Or have I missed a game somewhere?

[Hawk]

Railroads! Just did not do it for me...

Or have I missed a game somewhere?

Yes, Railroads was a bit of a disappointment for a lot of folks. So much so that Sid Meier took that as a reason to not go any further in the genre.
I don't think you've missed any new games, other than maybe the user created RT3 expansion known as Trainmaster, which is available on this site.

http://hawkdawg.com/rrt/rrt3/TM/

RoR: I was king of hoping your great detailed explanation would end up in another forum, like the RT III General Discussion forum, but - that's OK!
It would be easier for folks to find.

[RulerofRails]

I was kind of hoping your great detailed explanation would end up in another forum, like the RT III General Discussion forum.

Sorry, I just did something quick here. I am happy if it is helpful to others as well, and I see that Moridin posted it over there. Were you thinking there should be a special quick tips industry building/buying thread there, or just to keep the discussion over there?

[Hawk]

I think we have both going on there now, so that's cool. I may sticky it over there.

[Logales]

Hello :) Welcome aboard !