Trainmaster Alpha 2.0

[Wolverine@MSU]

So I'm having a go at this one, and was doing fine until I got the message that I needed to take over GT and absorb (buy out) the St. Lawrence. GT is going in the tanks because of AI management, so I can easily take it over (I also have >50% share in my company so I can regain control), but I've made St. L into a big, profitable enterprise, and there's no way that I can see that I'll be able to have GT buy out St. L. I can't issue bonds from GT (credit rating C), and even if I could, I'ld need way more than I would be allowed to issue.

Any hints on how to have a nearly bankrupt company take over a giant?

[Grandma Ruth]

I'm at the same stage with the same problem, practically. What we should do is the robber baron thing - ruin St Lawrence making the shares go down so it can be taken over, but I don't have the heart to do it! I'm using its money to make as much of a connection as I can to the other one but whether his will help or not I don't know. Hmmm.....

[nedfumpkin]

I'm going to play through tonight and I'll give you my feedback on it. I've been playing all week when I can, but testing out different approaches.

I think the key, or this is what I have in mind is knowing when to jump, how much of what to own, and preparing for the future. My plan was to sell off a few industries before jumping to the GT, and converting that into a big dividend payout for my last year. Don't make the STL&C too big, and only take 51% of its stock.

Taking over the STL&C should be the very last thing you do, or if you can, whenever you can get it. I would even venture to get the American RRs before going for the STL&C

I'll post later on my stragegy and how it is going.

I have found that if Montreal doesn't get a textile mill on spawning, then it is a priority. A tennery will work best if it is near a logging camp, i.e. north of St. Jerome. Bring in the alcohol rather than the pulpwood.

*edit...I was thinking of a previous version of the tannery where it needed alcohol...it doesn't anymore. I forgot. :)

[Wolverine@MSU]

It would be useful to tell the player up front (in the Briefing) that they will need to take over GT and buy out St. L. so they don't let St. L. get too big. I was thinking that it would be best to buy as much St. L. as possible, and use company profits to buy back remaining stock. Once 51% has been bought, buy enough GT to take over early in the game and buy industries or lay track that is profitable so its wealth grows. Leave St. L. in the hands of the AI until buyout time, then go into St. L., preferably during a recession or depression, sell off 49% of what you own to drive down the price, and then go back to GT and buy out St. L.

I'll have to go back to much earlier in my current play to try this out. Good thing I save games in Jan. of every year.

[Sugus]

I agree, because I made the same mistake as Wolverine and Grandma! Seems that I have to start CA01 once more ...

[Grandma Ruth]

OK, here we go! Wolvy has an advantage due to his foresight in saving games every year but it's back to the beginning for me too!
But I'm going to Prague for a few days tomorrow so by the time I come back y'all might have got a bit further with it and have some more advice. Now for some of that good old Czech

[nedfumpkin]

But...but in the description of the map, where you download it, I have clearly stated that you will need to take over your original railroad. I am going to put a message in the game closer to the beginning, I just haven't decided when.

[Sugus]

You're right, Ned! But we all are too greedy to play a TrainMaster map.

So, we simply jumped in without doing an exactly reading before ...

[Sugus]

So, I started my second try. In 1841 - after having connected Montreal to Quebec - I switched over to GT. Looking back to St.L&C, it seems to become very hard to get it back again. For the moment that's not the "problem". Whenever a year has gone, the ledger shows "La Prarie is not connected to St. Jean. You should ..." - a message absolutely not of interest concerning GT. Do you agree, Ned?

[nedfumpkin]

Yes, I agree. I have just disocvered that the connection is looking for the company stations, not just any. It's happening on another event to.

Another thing I have discovered is that once you take over the GT, you can only get access to Eastern Canada by taking over the STL&C. I'm adding events to give the GT access by doing other things. This will make it easier.

I'm also making a few other changes, and I've been adding events to move cash from the company to the player based on accomplishments. Also, the Toronto to Montreal connection need not be made until 1860. This will allow a slower approach to the take over.

I will upload the new version tomorrow when I have it finished. Barring any technical errors, it should be the final version of the the map.

[Wolverine@MSU]

But you have to do something about keeping GT viable in the early years. The AI built a whole bunch of track during its first year, and the company is going downhill. By the time I take it over, its got a dismal credit rating, so I can't float bonds to buy industries or make needed improvements to the stations. To boot, there aren't any profitable industries in the whole territory, so it's good money after bad trying to make railroading profitable. How about building a Textile Mill near London, and giving it to GT. Given the plethora of wool/hemp producers in the area, it may be just the thing that the company needs to keep it afloat.

[nedfumpkin]

I found the same thing, and I put a glass factory in Brantford for it.

Every load I have done has had the GT lay its tracks last, which is something I wanted because historically the GT only came about in 1855. There was a couple of smaller RRs that never went anywhere.

My experience has had the D&H go tanking every time. So after observing a few different loadings of the game, (okay, probably about 30), I have made a number of changes to the map.

Besides the glass factory at Brantford...there is sand and coal to the south of it, I have also expanded the area for logging camps in SWO. I also put a textile mill to spawn at Woodstock. Stratford also gets a farming community in 1850. This should boost the overall economy of the area.

I've made a few other changes to the events, i.e. explained the requirement for takeover earlier, and I've also been adding the bonuses to get some cash to the players based on accomplishments.

One thing I found is that if you jump from the STL&C over to the GT, and you have a lot of bonds, the AI will issue a whack of stock to pay the bonds down, and you end up getting margin calls.

I should have a new version of the map finished in a few hours. I am currently checking over the events and tidying up the dialogs.

[nedfumpkin]

I've updated the CA01 map (Birth of a Nation), and posted it in the second message of this thread. Same place it was before.

I've not had the chance to play all the way through yet, and I will be testing it over the next few days. Everything should work, but of course, I might have just added a whole new packet of errors.

[nedfumpkin]

I've been playing the new version of CA01, and with the changes it is living up to its title, Birth of a Nation, a little bit better. Hincks is doing better in Southwestern Ontario, and in fact, all of the other RRs are doing better financially.

There's a few typos in some dialogues, but the events seem to be working fine. My initial opinion, although biased, is that it has a bit more juice to it.

[nedfumpkin]

You're gonna hate me, but there seemed to be a proplem granting territorial accesses so I fixed them and uploaded another version of the map.