Black Diamonds

[nedfumpkin]

I'm sort of taking a break from creating TM stuff, and I am puttering with the Wyoming Valley map to create the Black Diamonds scenario. I am thinking of expanding on some ideas and creating a campaign that takes on the different aspects of the changes in TM. I'm going to call the campaign Made in America (bouncing off the idea in the Anthracite map). Thee scenarios I am working on to this effect are:

Black Diamonds 1845 - Focusing on the coal and mining industry in the Anthracite region of Pennsylvania just as it was beginning to really boom.

Model T 1880 - Focusing on the Automotive industry and the Michigan region.

The Cold War - Focusing on the military industrial complex. A spy story with twists and turns. Nukular!

I'd also like to make some others, and also I will be making the TH&B stand alon scenario. But since the map I am making for Black Diamonds is a really good example for TM, I figured I'd explain what I am doing as I progress, and then release the map sans events. Note, I am working of Mr. Scott's Wyoming Valley base map. I am recreating it as it was in 1845.

As Ruth said, wikipedia is very helpful, and I am looking up all the towns on the map and if you look at the bottom of the page, Wikipedia is saying when it was established. I am removing any towns that did not exist before 1870.

Some towns were settled between those times, and for those I am going to adjust the population levels so that they are reduce in the periods when the towns did not exist.

I've managed to get a map of the area for 1830, and it shows the locations of the coal mines in the area of the map. It also shows the location of the forts. I am trying to find the same for iron mines. The coal mines were all colliery mines.

There's enough significant events in the Wiki articles that a pretty good story can be weaved. I am going to make it a scenario where choices will determine the final outcome, and goals will shift as the game is played. Mostly it is about shipping coal.

Wiki is also sometimes indicating which industries were in which towns, and this his helping determine how to set the map. I've also got a map showing the population levels if the large towns from 1850, and this will help me set the population on the towns.

I'm still woring on the loacation of the Anabaptist settlements, most of the information is for Lancaster County.

All in all I should be able to create a relatively geo-specific map (the term I am using for maps that are designed to represent the area at the time of the scenario with licence to imagination) of what it looked like in the 1840s.

[nedfumpkin]

I'm working on the map as at 1830 right now, and I have just finished putting all the coal mines that existed in 1830 based on survey from that year. It only lists them in the lower portion around Wilkesbarre, except near Carbondale. These mines began opening up in the 1840s. In 1940 I am going to add some more coal mines, and the iron mines will be staggered the same way. Once the scenario opens up, mines will be added through events.

I've also placed buildings that were in existence before 1830, and will also stagger known industries and add some at a later time.

I'm still working on removing towns that didn't exist duing the scenario. The population of the valley tripled during the period of the scenario, and this will be reflected in population growth.

[Grandma Ruth]

Have you thought about the fact that coal mines become exhausted and are closed? Don't know how long it takes but if you're talking about a scenario that's spanning more than a hundred years it might be a factor to consider. Just my

[nedfumpkin]

In this case, it won't be a factor because the coal in that region is still hardly tapped; it a huge deposit. But this scenario will only run 30 - 40 years. It should be done by 1880. In that time, the population on the map will have gone from 20,000 reisdents to 80 thousand residents. to go any further, by 1890, there were 120 thousand residents.

I'm still plotting out stuff on the map, but it progresses will. I'm saving painting it for last.

[nedfumpkin]

I just finished putting in the seasons. For the Trainmaster, this means 2 seasons, winter and roadwork. For the mineral resources, it affects their production based on season length.

So now there is a 30 percent chance that there will be either an early or late spring, or early or late winter. During winter, track cannot be laid, track maintenance will be increased 25 percent, and train speeds reduced ten percent.

Depending on the season length, farm production will be affected. During growing/harvesting season production is increased 200 percent. other times it is reduced 80%.

[nedfumpkin]

I've pretty much got all the industry set up for the start of 1845. Now I am creting events to seed industries as they become available over the next 15 years. The locations of some of the industries first appearance will be dependent on certain conditions. This will eventually be tied into the game goals.

I'm also introducing station mangers like in RT2, and also unions and labour relations events.

[Hawk]

Sounds interesting.

[nedfumpkin]

I'm still trying to decide how much to put into is before I post it as a base map. I want to kee a bunch of stuff back until I finish the scenario.

[nedfumpkin]

I managed to set up the Operations Manager evnts. When you begin the scenario, since it is January, you cannot build any track, and your first task is to hire a manager, or not. You get three choices. Each has different qualities. You can hire one for 15 years.

In 15 years, you can either re-hire the same manager, or hire a new one. Or go it alone. Again in 15 years, after your other manager has retired, you can hire a new one. Again, each manager affects the game play differently. In cluding how much track you can lay in any month.

Once you've got you manager sorted out, and you've made 1m in industry profit, you workers will become pests. You can either negotiate a contract, or pay them off to avoid a union. Once you have a contract, it will last 5 years, and then you go through it all again. If you fail to appease them, then the workers will strike.

If your labour relations are bad, then it will have negative effects, if they are good, then positive effects.

[nedfumpkin]

The trials and tribulations continue. I am still having the problem where if I limit track then the first year it will build electric track. I cannot for the life of me figure out what is causing it, so I just set it that it takes until the second year to begin laying track. Everything is fine then.

I also found that if I pre-build AI track then the game crashes the first month. I guess they don't like the way I build track.

The seasons are working well, and there seems to be a good balance of random early and late seasons.

Still working out the goals.

[nedfumpkin]

Something new I've learned....while I have been all over my kid about using Wikipedia as a source of information, stating that it is but a good place for some general info, but not good for detailed info...I have learned another thing about it....it's very poorly written.

Last night I was working on the story part of this scenario, and to save myself a lot of typing, I decided to type things out in notepad, then paste them into the dialogue boxes. I'm trying to have actual history leading up to the start date, except, being like any other government, I am changing history when it suits my needs. Reality is just inconvenient, and I figure half of it was made up by a previous government. :) Don't worry, you can skip through all the mumbo jumbo.

What I am finding is that Wiki is just not a good source for plagiarism. While I'm only trying to take a few sentences from here and there, I am finding that the Wiki text is so poorly written that I am rephrasing everything so that makes sense and fits into the allocated space.

So anyone who ever gets caught plagiarising Wiki, desrves to get a zero for just not realising how badly everything is written. :)

[Grandma Ruth]

I think it varies because all of the entries are only written by ordinary people - as I understand it, anybody can contribute. There is no "quality control" or "house style" so it's just like the letters column of a newspaper really, the editors - if there are any - don't have much to say about content except for maybe shortening some articles.

If you bear that in mind, I think Wiki's great because everybody's an expert in something - look at the expertise we have on this forum, it's awesome! You might not have a degree or letters after your name but you can still know an awful lot about your area of interest and this way it can be shared by everybody.

I don't get the point of plagiarising, anyway - just put quotes round it and always remember to call it research! (Tom Lehrer, 1953)

[nedfumpkin]

Hazard of scenario creation....foot falls alseep...you get up to go into the kitchen...ankle rolls over. Hurts like hell.


I've just finished adding in the insurance events. The way this works is every seven years you will get the option to buy insurance. It's calculated on how much track you have. It get paid out once per month if you select it. If you don't select it, then at any time in the game you could lose. It's a slight chance, but it is there.

This also goes with the advertising. You can opt to pay for advertising. It gets paid out every month while you are advertising coal for winter. I'm trying to work in costs that can benefit your operations, but still coast money.

Getting close to having all the events finished. Stil a few to go.

[nedfumpkin]

Just finished setting up the locomotives so that now you either select Norris, Baldwin, imports, or American locomotives. If you go with Norris or Baldwin, you get a 20% discount on locomotives. If you select import, you are shut out of the American market.

Depending on what you choose, you get different locomotives at different times.

Also, I have discovered while playing to test events that the idea of trying to get your track laid by winter is adding a bit of excitement to the game. You try to decide whether to lay track or not depending on finances. You only get a limited amount of track per month so you have to lay track in segments. If you wait until winter to build your stations, they cost more.

[Hawk]

This is sounding more & more interesting the more I read. I just hope I can find the time to play the finished scenario.

[nedfumpkin]

I still have a bit more work to do before this will be ready. I am working on a sysyem where you can hire prospectors to go searching for mines in certain areas. Depending on how much you fund them, the results wll vary.

Then, I still have to work out the various goals and stuff. Then I have to play it to make sure it all works. So it'll still be a while before this is ready.

[nedfumpkin]

http://www.archive.org/details/story_of_coal

The story of coal. I love the part where they explain machinery, explosives, and timbers. I'm gonna make parts of this into a bik movie file for TM.

[nedfumpkin]

I figured I should post this scenario here. It's still not finished, but I when I went to play it tonight the previous save had some territories messed up. I also lowered the amount of track that must be laid for the Wyoming Valley to 1000 miles. Also put military outposts at the exits for later when the civil war starts.


PS...I am slowly getting to the end of this, I basically just have to put in the coordinates for added industries in the sectors, and then up to South Easton. Then set up the goals stuff. As I wrote previously, this scenario will be more about not losing than winning per se. Your first task is to get some connections done before 5 years. Every 5 years or so will be another goal to achieve.

[low_grade]

FYI, maybe I could have been 2% more efficient in laying track, but it appears that with the allocations given for building it's not quite possible to connect both Honesdale and Slocum Hollow by 1850. I'm pretty sure I used every bit of track I had every year, and I didn't try any side routes, just one straight track through Carbondale. So I lost, but am playing through. Hopefully track will keep coming...

One thing I noticed is that the Honesdale Territory is pretty small, and that might lead to players building stations which cover the warehouses there but which are outside of the territory and so not helpful in meeting the coal hauling requirement.

Finding some of the industries to be a little imbalanced or tough to work with. Bakeries seem to make 50% roi each year potentially, and machine shops look pretty strong, too. It's also going to be interesting to see if all the various industries which demand the same things, like logs or textiles or pulpwood, will be able to share. I'm a little worried that they'll just pile up on the first thing they come to which demands them, and I'll never get my flour or food, etc. Maybe it's so that we build lots of little stations or some of those yard structures I'm not familiar with in strategic locations so that resources will distribute out from a central location, eventually going in every which way to supply everybody who wants them as demand subsides form the ones who were pulling the gradient most at first.

I can see I'm going to be kept very busy tending to industries. Perhaps your primary reason for inventing TM was to create something which made your various Depots necessary?

[nedfumpkin]

The amount of track available is per is per month. You get plenty of track to make your connections. In fact, you can easily make the connections by fall 1848.

And you do have to manage your cargo. The depots etc are to help you with that. Some industries will be very lucrative, some will always be a struggle. It's part of the design.

I have made the Honsedale territoy a bit larger but there is plenty of room to lay track and place a station in what is there now.