Ideas needed on industry substitution
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Canadian Viking
- Brakeman
- Posts: 171
- Joined: Thu May 17, 2007 11:46 am
- Location: Alberta, Canada
Ideas needed on industry substitution
I need some very creative ideas on how to substitute an industry or commodity that is available in RRT3 for one that is needed in a scenario but not available. Specifically, I am working on a scenario in the U.S. midwest in the 1850-60's. Lead mining was a significant industry at that time in southwestern Wisconsin, northwestern Illinois, and southern Missouri. But lead is not a commodity in RRT3. I don't want to substitute iron, as that has it's own role in the scenario as iron is discovered in northern Wisconsin and Michigan's U.P. Bauxite and uranium cannot be used as substitutes because the game does not make them available until the 1900's. I'm stuck. Any ideas?
It is possible to create additional cargoes, as was done in the 1.06 patch. But, the number of available slots for cargoes is not that many, and I think 1.06 uses most or all of the available slots. If you have 1.06 installed, then I would suggest using "Ore" as your cargo, as this was the purpose for this new cargo, to represent all the precious metals like lead, gold, and silver, which would get processed at a smelter.
However, if you are wanting to accomplish this without the 1.06 patch, then maybe you could use a cargo like Sugar or Rice, which would use a covered hopper, to represent Lead. You could edit the CTY file for any cargo you want, both to rename it and to get it to use the hopper car, if you want to do a more thorough substitution. But then, installing the scenario would mean also installing the modded CTY file(s).
My own recent work has shown that it is possible to add car types, so the most thorough way to go would be to add a cargo type and a car type, to create Lead and haul it in its own car.
But for just a simple proxy load, I think Sugar or Rice would be best.
However, if you are wanting to accomplish this without the 1.06 patch, then maybe you could use a cargo like Sugar or Rice, which would use a covered hopper, to represent Lead. You could edit the CTY file for any cargo you want, both to rename it and to get it to use the hopper car, if you want to do a more thorough substitution. But then, installing the scenario would mean also installing the modded CTY file(s).
My own recent work has shown that it is possible to add car types, so the most thorough way to go would be to add a cargo type and a car type, to create Lead and haul it in its own car.
But for just a simple proxy load, I think Sugar or Rice would be best.
=Winchester, Paston & Portsmouth=
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What about coal mines? You don't want to use iron, but you said nothing about steel. You could make a map that has no steel. Iron makes goods until 1875 without the need for coal. You can design warehouses to manufacture products from the lead, or export it.
One possible snag: houses will demand the coal/lead too. Did they demand lead historically? When did the region start using plumbing? If you don't want houses demanding the product, I would suggest using sheep farms or cotton farms.
One possible snag: houses will demand the coal/lead too. Did they demand lead historically? When did the region start using plumbing? If you don't want houses demanding the product, I would suggest using sheep farms or cotton farms.
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Canadian Viking
- Brakeman
- Posts: 171
- Joined: Thu May 17, 2007 11:46 am
- Location: Alberta, Canada
Thanks, guys, for the ideas. There are coal mines already in the scenario so I don't want to add extra as a substitute for lead. The ore cargo in the 1.06 patch sounds ideal, but I had been hoping to make this scenario without that patch so it would be accessable to more people.
I don't think I will use cotton or sheep farms, as they would produce loads for textile mills, which in turn would produce more clothing. Rice might be a workable solution, as it is demanded by houses and breweries, which are both locations that I assume would also use lead. Those ideas have me thinking about coffee, as it goes only to houses. And the idea of using a warehouse to turn one of those commodities into goods, which is what a factory would do with lead, is a great one that had not crossed my mind!
So I'll take a few days to think this over some more, but I'm encouraged to know there are some possibilities.
Thanks for taking time to give me your creative ideas.
I don't think I will use cotton or sheep farms, as they would produce loads for textile mills, which in turn would produce more clothing. Rice might be a workable solution, as it is demanded by houses and breweries, which are both locations that I assume would also use lead. Those ideas have me thinking about coffee, as it goes only to houses. And the idea of using a warehouse to turn one of those commodities into goods, which is what a factory would do with lead, is a great one that had not crossed my mind!
So I'll take a few days to think this over some more, but I'm encouraged to know there are some possibilities.
Thanks for taking time to give me your creative ideas.-
Canadian Viking
- Brakeman
- Posts: 171
- Joined: Thu May 17, 2007 11:46 am
- Location: Alberta, Canada
Re: Ideas needed on industry substitution
Thought I would report on developments here in case it helps someone else. I'm at the point in my scenario creation that I am starting games over and over just to check the seeding of resources and industries so I can adust the levels to get a proper balance. I was using rice as a substitute for lead, but I discovered a problem. The lead mining district is quite hilly, but rice comes from fields which will only sprout on ground that is fairly level. Because of the hills, I could never get more than 1 rice field at the start of a game! That was definitely inadequate. 
And I didn't want to time-transport earth-movers back to the 1850s to lop the tops off of my hills.
I researched the uses of lead in the mid 19th century and discovered the primary use was as shot for guns. (This was before the invention of bullet cartridges.) The secondary use was in paint. Since the RRT3 industry flow chart shows that iron shipped to a weapons factory will produce weapons, I decided to try iron instead of rice. Immediately my lead-filled hills sprouted multiple iron mines, as the mines did not need a big patch of level ground to appear. Eureka! - maybe. I still have to do some play testing to be sure it works within the game, so that is my next step. Sometimes the solution for problem A ends up creating problem B, and its back to the drawing board.
And I didn't want to time-transport earth-movers back to the 1850s to lop the tops off of my hills.I researched the uses of lead in the mid 19th century and discovered the primary use was as shot for guns. (This was before the invention of bullet cartridges.) The secondary use was in paint. Since the RRT3 industry flow chart shows that iron shipped to a weapons factory will produce weapons, I decided to try iron instead of rice. Immediately my lead-filled hills sprouted multiple iron mines, as the mines did not need a big patch of level ground to appear. Eureka! - maybe. I still have to do some play testing to be sure it works within the game, so that is my next step. Sometimes the solution for problem A ends up creating problem B, and its back to the drawing board.