Deadwood Dakota

Topics on how to write scenarios for TrainMaster.
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Wolverine@MSU
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Re: Deadwood Dakota Unread post

I played on until I got booted in 1910. Below is the Ledger screenshot at the end. I waited a few years from 1900 to take over So. Pac. and used its track to build out the west Coast/Canadian Rockies to connect to Calgary. I was playing on Expert by the way. For the last few years, I just let it run and didn't do any more building of track, so 10,000 miles seems reasonable. $1 Billion in PNW seems a bit lofty. Perhaps a couple hundred million would be more reasonable. Adding Indian events would definately add something to the game, especially in the later stages. You might consider some other goals, such as CBV, connections between St. Paul and Seattle and/or L.A. In grand scenarios such as this, I find myself losing interest in the later stages as the empire grows and it becomes harder and harder to micromanage consists to keep industries profitable. The American Rockies and southwest had no appeal as there was nothing there worth going after. I would suggest adding commodities throughout the region in order to stimulate the player to build there.

Notes on the map:
1. The river next to the Custer Battlefield is running backwards. So is the little spur river south of Grand Junction Colorado.
2. Painted blue splotches along rivers are a bit distracting.
3. Notify the player up front (in a Readme) what logos are needed. I didn't have some of them installed at home, so when I started, it chose random logos for the companies.
4. Mountains are a bit steep and jagged. Don't know if these could be toned down a bit (or if you even want to.)
5. Drastic reduction in prices paid could be from sequential triggering of the IR haul events in a short period of time.

My overall impression is very good, but as I said above, I don't stay on top of things as well as I should when the job gets too big. Having some intermediate goals later on in the game, with bonuses of cash awarded, would keep it interesting and make the player keep at it.
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nedfumpkin
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Re: Deadwood Dakota Unread post

Again, thank you so much for your input.

I have removed the pnw goal, and I am focusing more on the 10k of track. I've been doing som history reading and I decided to follow the actual economic conditions of that time, so this will totally alter how the game gets played.

Funniest thing I read on Wiki was....

Panic of 1873...

The American Civil War was followed by a boom in railroad construction. 56,000 miles (90,000 km) of new track were laid across the country between 1866 and 1873. Much of the craze in railroad investment was driven by government land grants and subsidies to the railroads. At that time, the railroad industry was the nation's largest employer outside of agriculture, and it involved large amounts of money and risk. A large infusion of cash from speculators caused abnormal growth in the industry as well as overbuilding of docks, factories and ancillary facilities. At the same time, too much capital was involved in projects offering no immediate or early returns.[5]

Panic of 1893...

The 1880s were a period of remarkable economic expansion in the United States, an expansion that eventually became driven by railroad speculation. Railroads were over-built, and many companies continued growth by taking over competitors, ...

How little was learned in 20 years. :)

So I am pretty much going to replicate those conditions, and that will be a challenge unto itself.

I haven't painted the map at all, and my plan is to bmp to gmp the map when it is done from the original paint. Should clean up the blue.

I'm also going to rework the IR events to match the history a bit better, and for the life of me I cannot remember with IR stands for!
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Hawk
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Re: Deadwood Dakota Unread post

nedfumpkin wrote:and for the life of me I cannot remember with IR stands for!
Internal Revenue? **!!!** :mrgreen:
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nedfumpkin
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Re: Deadwood Dakota Unread post

Wolverine@MSU wrote: 1. The river next to the Custer Battlefield is running backwards. So is the little spur river south of Grand Junction Colorado.
Okay...I will admit to being visually impaired, but....I cannot see any difference in the flows of the rivers. For me it depends on the angle that you are looking at the river, and from based on what I heard, it has no effect on how cargo travels. I am sort of convinced that the effect of the rivers is just shimmying and angles.

Hawk...no, it wouldn't be that since we have a different name for those folks up here...some nice...most not...and...speaking of...they owe me some money dammit...just waiting on it now. :)

It could mean industrial resource or something like that. :)
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Wolverine@MSU
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Re: Deadwood Dakota Unread post

nedfumpkin wrote:I've been doing som history reading and I decided to follow the actual economic conditions of that time, so this will totally alter how the game gets played.
For some insight into how to set constrained economic conditions, see my Michigan 1830 map. I built into it some variability in when economic conditions change, so you don't have to "hard code" it and get the same economic state every time the game is played.

In the current map, there is no demand for gold in San Francisco. The Mint there opened in 1854 and the Denver Mint started as an Assay Office in 1863, becoming a full-blown mint in 1906. Creating demand for Gold in these two places would make sense.

Adding Ag communities by event as the player moves westward across the plains and into the Rockies would be a plus.
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nedfumpkin
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Re: Deadwood Dakota Unread post

I've decided to hard code the economy based on history, but I am also thinking of inserting events that will have effects on the economy, or something similar. But I will look at your map for some ideas.

Also, got the events set up to put the mints/assay offices as well. And you are correct, I didn't do enough to populate the west...didn't get that far.
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nedfumpkin
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Since my time for working on this map is going to be very limited for the next couple of weeks, I'm posting its latest incarnation.

The goals are to be one company and have 10,000 miles of track laid before 1910, and be debt free for Trainmaster. Station Master is 7500 miles and one company, Yard Switcher is 5000 miles and one company. These will change and require other things as I work on this.

The economy is set to follow history. Some long depressions in there, but the 1880s are a boom the whole time. The map populates by even, and some things will pop uo on their own based on date, but others depend on rail access and haulage. It's pretty convoluted, and not quite complete.

This is still the foundation of the map in progress. Once I have this completed, I am going to install a lot of other things based on choices. I still have the Indian stuff to do, and some other things I am going to keep quiet about until the final. Suffice to say game play will be different than what is here. More complex since subsidies will depend on who your friends are.

Anyways, here it is for what it is worth...haven't tried it out myself yet...but will try as much as I can.

If you really feel the need to give your company a financial boost, go ahead and do it, but let me know when and how much so I can put a subsidy there.

I should note that a last minute change has me going towards total assets for a goal and not making company debt an issue.
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nedfumpkin
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Re: Deadwood Dakota Unread post

I messed up on the ledger and economic events so I fixed them to work right.
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Hawk
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Re: Deadwood Dakota Unread post

Just fired up the latest version of this map and I noticed I owned 3 hardware stores, that I didn't buy.
When I try to sell them, the only offer I get is for $0. Yep! You read that right. Zero dollars. **!!!**
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nedfumpkin
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Re: Deadwood Dakota Unread post

Must be a glitch in there because when regular industries are placed in the editor, they don't belong. I'll make sure to sell them when I edit the map next.

On this map they are representing known trading posts that existed at the time.
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Re: Deadwood Dakota Unread post

I also noted that the hardware store can't be built by the player. That kind of threw me for a loop as to why I owned 3 of them. **!!!**

Just thought I'd point it out. :salute:
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nedfumpkin
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Re: Deadwood Dakota Unread post

Just an FYI...I'm back to working on TM and this map when I get a few minutes to spare. Things should settle down for me in April.

So I decided to backdate the map 5 years....just cause. I'm also rethinking the work gangs theory since I should include freed slaves as an option.
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nedfumpkin
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Re: Deadwood Dakota Unread post

Just an update on how I have decided to change the track building in this scenario....

Every march the player will need to decide their track laying plans. They can defer to July if they like. They will then have to choose their work force by engaging crews to lay track. The choices will be civil war vets, freed slaves and asian immigrants although these won't be avialable until the player has track on the west coast. They can hire 0-3 gangs of each selection who will be able to lay a certain number of pieces per month...the larger the rr, the more pieces will become available. The different crews will affect maintenance costs, and train speed. Each month from April to November, the alloted pieces are credited to the player for building and the crews are paid. If the pieces aren't laid by the end of the month, they do not accumulate.
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Re: Deadwood Dakota Unread post

Looking forward to the updated version. :salute:
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nedfumpkin
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Re: Deadwood Dakota Unread post

Here is the Deawood map ready for some testing and benchmarking. This is still very much a work in progress, and probably has some bugs in it. This will be a campaign map when completed.

Your goal is to connect the east and the west, and generate industry. You must hire crews to lay track. At first only europeans, then freed slaves, then chinese immigrants. You can only lay track from April to November, so planning is essential.

You will have 5 year track laying goals. Track is measured in miles, but supplied in sections. 1 piece of track is ½ mile. Your track only counts in the US, and only between the cities. The cities are regions, and so the teack inside them doesn't count. Track laid in Canada won't count either.

Ths map is posted so that benchmarks can be established

Currently you need 350 miles in 5 years. Depending on what is reported back, the 5 year marks will be created.

This map is going to be more about trying not to lose, as it is about trying to win. Pressure to expand will prevent players from sitting around doing nothing. :)

There is also a security index, and a character index. The security index will determine your likelihood of getting robbed. You will be able to hire security agents when necessary, and transporting troops will provide some security. But nothing is guaranteed.

The character index will alter how the map unfolds. Opportunities will present themselves based on your character...i.e. players with negative character will be able to bribe or steal, while platers with good character will get the opportunity to lucratively ship bible supplies all over.

The only stated goals will be the track mileage and east west connection, and the industry profits. These will be to achieve Station Master. To achieve Trainmaster, it will be necessary to scrutinize the newspapers for clues. Pay special attention to the third article in the papers because they always have a clue to something. First clue states "Steel from Aberdeen - There's Talk - RR Needed"....this means that if you connect St Paul to Aberdeen, as steel mill will be constructed, and once you ship steel, you will get new engines.


But for now, the track allotment is worked out. So if anyone wants to play, let me know how many miles of track and how much industry profit you had at the 5 year marks.


....hint on getting started....don't read this if you want to figure it out for yourself.........

When you start, you need to start a company. Once you have done that, get a bond and buy the textile mill at Minneapolis. Wait a week and you will get 250 pieces of track. You have to lay this before the end of March.

Lay the track so that it is turning at a right angle at St Paul, and just bridge the river. Just get to the other bank or else you will have to wait until 1867 before you are alloted enough track to make it across. Connect up to Superior from St. Paul. Put a medium station, making sure you show that you are connected....make sure you can run a spur out the back.

Wait for the $100k payout and then put a large station (½ price) at St. Paul, and you should have enough for a locomotive. Buy yourself a coffee with the change cause that's all you will have left.

Run a train back and forth here, don't worry about the water tower or maintenance shed just yet. When the choice comes to hire crews, not this year.

Wait until the new year when you can get a bond. Buy the logging camp near Superior, when you can lay track, connect to a Station at Minneapolis, and then finish your spur, and connect up to the logging camp. Get a 2-8-0 and haul some freight. Once the logging camp is connected run a 4-4-0 carrying machines to the camp, logs/pulp/hides to Minnie, and freight back to Superior. Buy the lumber mill.

When you have track left over, and you have some money, double track at the stations and spurs.

During the winter, the ledger shows your goals progress, during the summer it shows your construction detail, and securiy index.

Happy railroading.

------------------------------------------------

Note....

This zip file contains the Cowboy Engines which are the 4-4-0 and 2-8-0 up versions. These will be a part of the next TM release. You'll need these if you don't already have them.
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nedfumpkin
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Re: Deadwood Dakota Unread post

Here's an updated version of this map that has a bunch of new stuff added. Still lots more to go. Still have to put in character and Indian events.

If you make your goals a year before the required date you can get cash bonuses. You can get robbed now. You can lose now. Hauling a lot of ammo or weapons lowers your security rating, but hauling troops raises it.

This will likely be the last beta I post since the events I'm writing now will remain secret until the final version.



Happy railroading.
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nedfumpkin
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Re: Deadwood Dakota Unread post

Anybody got any feedback? I am going to make some changes to the robberies since I got robbed 3 times in one year (1869) and lost about $700k! :)

I am also debating the track allotment and and wether to change it or not. The first 5 years put a lot of pressure on expansion, especially if you try to get the bonuses, which is possible, but it seemed that from 1879 onwards, you got a lot of track quickly so the pressure wasn't there it seemed.

Just curious how others are making out.
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Re: Deadwood Dakota Unread post

I plan on trying it, but I just had to put in a new hard drive and I'm still getting it set up.
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nedfumpkin
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Re: Deadwood Dakota Unread post

In tjat case you may as well hold off since I need to make changes.
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Re: Deadwood Dakota Unread post

I'm off visiting family/home so I haven't had a chance to get around to it yet. Hopefully by the middle to end of next week I'll get a chance.
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