Persian Electric

[nedfumpkin]

For those who just can't wait and want to get a true feel for how Trainmaster plays, and if you have already installed the pre-beta, then patch that with this: download/file.php?id=1041, and you will be playing the core of the final version that will be available for download in a couple of days. I'll delete this part of the message when that's done.

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You can only achieve Trainmaster playing on expert. Anything else and the gold conditions return Station Master.

This scenario is about performing well on a variety of different aspect of the game. You need to make cash, and there are three ways to do it. Salary, Dividends, and bonuses. This scenario makes the assumption that you know what you are doing to run your railroad...so no whining. :)

You start out with 30% of the stock. You can't buy any more, but your company can buy stock back, and issue it. You are wise to wait until the later part of the first year/beginning of the second to begin buying back, and try to get as much as possible. This will provide you with more share of the dividends, thus more cash.

Get your speed up. The faster you go, the more cash you get. Use the spur method for maintence. You can actually go 3/4 of the map on a tank of oil, so plan your routes accordingly and maintain your trains on a schedule for maintenance and sand.

Produce Electricity, the more you make, the better it is for you. You don't have to own the power plant, but if you do the bonus is doubled, and your electric train operating costs are lower.

Invest in industry...the more profit you make, the bigger the bonuses.

Everybody makes money of the defense industry...you should too. :)

Save connecting to the Persian Gulf for last. Connect to Turkey early, but there is alot to do around Tehran to keep you busy.

There is an order to doing things that will make this scenario work well and get you in a good situation. Look at what is needed, and you'll discover that you can make connections sequentially and logic will make it all profitable.

Watch out for bonds because you want to shed them quickly (you'll understand when you owe 8 million and interest is nuts)

The only reason there is a station and track at Tehran is because it was difficult to lay through the city once it spawn all its buildings....this is just me being nice. :)

Happy Railroading.

[Hawk]

OK! I'm confused right off the bat - at the end of the first year.

I get a pop up that says this:

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Then on the Status page it says this:

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There's 6 Electric Plants on the map and I own one of them.

Click on image to view full size

I can understand maybe, that the electricity produced didn't come from the plant I own because I haven't supplied it with any coal or petroleum yet, but why the difference in the pop up and the ledger, and which plant is producing which amount?

Does this mean that 3 gwh was produced in Iran and the other 12 were produced in one of the other territories?

I'm thinking too that buying the electric plant this early in the game may not have been a good idea. If I remember right they never make any money.

[nedfumpkin]

The ledger shows how much you produced total lifetime, the end of the pop-up is just for that year. You need 25,000 gwh overall, but if you produce more than 500 gwh in a year, you get extra bonuses...

The difference between 3 and 15 isn't all that much and could be the result of when the pop-up cam up it was 3, but by the time the ledger came another 12 was produced to make it 15. It's a very small amount of electricity.

Buying the electric plant will help because as soon as you produce your own electricity, the cost of running electric locos is reduced a lot.

[nedfumpkin]

oh...and my advice is to either grab the meat packing plant or textile mill first off. Wait for the electric plant until you can supply it.

[Hawk]

The shot of the ledger and the shot of the pop up were taken within seconds of each other. Both at the end of year 1/beginning of year 2.
I agree! I need something that makes a profit right off because the electric plant sure doesn't. I'd rather pay more for it later.

[nedfumpkin]

I'm still pretty sure that the difference is attributable to electricity that you get *credited* for between the events since the amount is not that large. The YTD happens at the end of the year, LTD in the ledger happens at the begging of the year, so I think it is the flip of the year where it comes. But I will look into it.

I personally found that buying the meat packing plant first and connecting Qom to Tehran gave me the best grounding. If you don't get the meat plant at that time, it will soon be out of reach to be affordable.

[Hawk]

I plan on trying that strategy of buying the meat packing plant. I should have known better than to buy the electric plant as my first and only industry. I knew, or should have known, they didn't make any profit.
I really should play yours and Ed's maps before I go any further with the map I'm working on, mentioned in the other thread.

[nedfumpkin]

This map has some ....um...attractive distractions? in it, and I found those myself on the first few attempts. So I'll give you how I was able to do it....on expert.

Use the spur method for maintenance sheds and sand towers. Start with diesel.


Buy the meat packig plant first off an make the connection above.

Stock drops in price in Februarty for a 1 year...get as much stock as you can which is 4/10. After first split grab 2 more and youve got half of the stock...it goes wild after that. This will give you half on the dollar in dividends.

Next get the textile mill. It will turn a profit without rail service, but you want to get it as cheap as possible.

Next connect east to the co-op (forget the name) heading to your mill. Bridge over your tehran to Qom track.

Run the trains as I explained in another thread.

Connect to the Flour mill. South. Connect to the military base and run a train to wherever troops want to go.

Sort out all your trains and electrify your track. Build all new track electric.

Go south for the paper mill, tannery, and oil refinery....feed the electric plant there. Buy it.

Build a Nuke plant on the near your unranium mines, it'll be cheaper than trying to go to Bushehr. Supply it.

Get to Turkey as fast as you can. Go east and get to the next required connection. Connect down the map, then go to the port in the persian gulf.

Buy as much industry as you can along the way.

Keep your speed up because the bonuses help so double track is a good idea especially at stations.

[Hawk]

Since the stock market button isn't available in this scenario, how do you know how much stock you have?
The stock market stuff has always been my weak point. I know you mentioned to buy back stock but there's no way of knowing how much of it you own, is there?

[nedfumpkin]

Click on the palyer tab in the ledger, then double click on the player...it shows the bio and holdings.

I just figured this out last week when I was doing the bios. :)

[nedfumpkin]

I check the two events for electricity and ran a test on it. When the map loaded, ltd was 1, and the ltd after 1 year was 3. It only said I generated 1.

So in my case, I think it started at 1. something and it generated 1. something, so with rounding considered, it seems okay. If there is a problem, it is internal to the game.

[Hawk]

"Born in captivity at the Tehran zoo..."?

I didn't know that either. Thanks for pointing that out.

Edit 1: In answer to the post you made while I was posting...
I guess that makes sense then. Do I get credit for any electricity generated or only the electricity generated by the plant that I supply petroleum and coal to, or only to the plant I own.
I never have been able to figure out that electricity thing and generally stay away from maps that require it as a goal.

[Hawk]

Stock drops in price in Februarty for a 1 year...get as much stock as you can which is 4/10. After first split grab 2 more and youve got half of the stock...it goes wild after that. This will give you half on the dollar in dividends.

Is that Feb. of the first year or second year.
Where did you come up with that 4/10? I bought back shares in Feb. of the first year and I still have only 3,000 shares (which I started with), with 8,000 outstanding (10,000 at start).
Can you tell I'm a bit confused?

[nedfumpkin]

February of the first year.

You start as 3/7...buy in Feb/March and its 4/6...when stock splits its 8/12...buy 2 and its 10/10 or buy in December if you can afford it, but watch your credit rating.

After that the stock goes through the roof.

[Hawk]

That's what's confusing me. What do you mean by 3/7, 4/6, 8/12, 10/10?
If I'm understanding you right the scenario starts at 3/10. After I buy back stock it's at 3/8. My 3 doesn't change.

[nedfumpkin]

Crap...you're right....my brain chose not to work right.....yes...it goes down...starts at 8, then 7. then 6,

Ooops...

[Hawk]

But what about the first number. Without being able to buy stock that number would never change as you suggested, or am I misunderstanding something?

[nedfumpkin]

No, you got it right...it's 3, but as stock splits if will increase. I think I ended up with more than 50,000 from stock splits. But what's important is the share of stock since the more you own the more dividends you get.

[Hawk]

OK! Thanks for all your help and patience.

[nedfumpkin]

Thanks for your patience since I was the one whose brain wasn't functioning right.