Trainmaster Alpha 2.0

[Sugus]

Yes - I detected that yesterday when I played my third try. After having connected Quebec I got the message, that I now have access to Upper Canada, but effectively I hadn't. Nevertheless I switched over to GT, got access to USA and layed tracks to Toronto. Immediately after conneting London too, access to Upper Canada was given. This for "completeness" only!

So, I have to download your "next final" version, which I'll going to play next weekend.

[nedfumpkin]

Thanks Sugus, but I'm thinking now you may want to wait until is a campaign map. I should have that done sometime this weekend.

Upper Canada is split into two - east and west. I did this because I wanted the GT to start in south western Ontario rather than to far east. Also, since tack can be unconnected, I wanted to make it so that the STL&C couldn't lay track in the west until connections were made in the east.

[Sugus]

Ok Ned, I'm going to be very patient ... telling my German speaking friends, that they also should do so!

Meanwhile, I intend to do some "private" experiences by means of the editor, e.g. by creating and playing maps for my satisfaction only, but with the intention to get a feeling, what's possible playing TM and what's not, ok?

[nedfumpkin]

If you want an advance copy of the map as is, I have no problem posting it.
<File deleted due to obsolescence> (this has all the corrections up to now) so it is almost exactly what will be the final map. I had alway wanted to have some slight changes from the test to the final to keep it interesting.

It's still not painted, and I am waiting for Wolvy to finish what he's up to on it before I make the final corrections. I will upload it on Monday most likely, along with a bunch of other stuff if all goes well.

But certainly feel free to create your own experiments, and even if you want to create a scenario, feel free. Not all 1.05 or 1.06 maps will load in the editor, but many will. If you have a favourite scenario that you'd like as a TM map, then by all means go crazy.

One of the problems I am running into with CA01, and to make things understood, I have adopted a specific naming system for the CAmpaign maps so that they can be created and installed whenever the get done. The titles appear in the Language file....off track....

The first scenario has to be very Trainmaster in concept, but not too complicated that people won't play it. So I am trying to slowly introduce certain TM features into the maps. I think this one shows how the agricultural communities work, and some of the new cargo. The industries have been set up so that it is easy to make money.

While it is open for anyone to create a campaign scenario, since there are 16 in total, my plan has been to slowly introduce TM in a chronological manner so that the complexity of the scenario follows logical within the centuries.

At the same time, I think it is possible to have different themes on a map from a cargo perspective. You can have mining (i.e. Black Diamonds is about coal and mines), the processed food industry, automotive, consumerism, military, or defence industry. I'm sure there is stuff I haven't thought about.

Trainmaster is about cargo. Making it and moving it to where it makes more cargo. The tyocoonism is secondary in TM, whereas in RT3 it is more equal in the game. TM is very unequal in that sense.

Trainmaster requires more in the map making and event writing than RT3 does. It might be just me, but more thought should be put into the base set up than is required in RT3. In time, as we become more experienced with TM, it will be possible to let more to chance, but for now the results are much different than RT3 and things can go well or they can go badly.

TM is designed to work best on large maps with longer distances than RT3. I keeep using the term geo-specific, and in that I mean that TM lends itself better to the specific geography of actual places than RT3 does. The agricultural communities are the most concrete example of this, but also are the different types of mines.

It will be one year since I have been working on Trainmaster at the end of September. It's still not finished, but it is closer than it appears on the surface. More than anything it needs very patient map makers and scenario writers who will accept that sometimes there is a need to do something over. Always a last resort, but I would rather have the game the way we want it than convenient.

For what its worth, here is the what's left to do list:

Fix the building display windows for industry, and some municipal buildings.

Sort out the company logos.

Break apart the packaging for freight cars into hoppers/box cars/tankers/ etc. This will make for easier customizing.

Backgrounds for campaign rooms

voice/vids campaign maps.

Canadian and US express cars packaged

Freight cars packaged. i.e coloured box cars, other packs.

And any other tweaks I can do to the RT3.exe file if I can figure out the source code from the 1.06.

This is not necessarily in order because sometimes I am more in the mood for one thing than the other. Other times I will get a brilliant idea, or so I think, and will obess over it until I find out that it wasn't such a brilliant idea. (industry display/dorchester come to mind )

It's the only way I don't burn out, and I keep it interesting. I would estimate that 80% of my free time in the last year has been working on TM, and I am still going strong.


PS: since I strayed into general comments and a status update, I am posting this over with our German friends to give them an update as well. As always, I am maintaining a separate language file with the changes in red so that translation will be easy, and once I'm done tinkering with the exe file, I will work towards a german version of that too.

[Grandma Ruth]

The first scenario has to be very Trainmaster in concept, but not too complicated that people won't play it. So I am trying to slowly introduce certain TM features into the maps. I think this one shows how the agricultural communities work, and some of the new cargo. The industries have been set up so that it is easy to make money.

While it is open for anyone to create a campaign scenario, since there are 16 in total, my plan has been to slowly introduce TM in a chronological manner so that the complexity of the scenario follows logical within the centuries.

Not sure what that last sentence means, ned, but bear in mind that "Vorsprung durch Technik" is very simple, just making and transporting two or three cargoes. So if you mean the maps within each century will have a progression, that's fine, it can be scenario no 1 of the 20th century but if you mean the complexity increases from 19th century most simple to 21st century most complicated then it won't fit in with the campaign. Is it posted somewhere? If so, Sugus could play that and it would be useful to have another European look at it and put me right on the geography!

[nedfumpkin]

I am working towards the first map in a century being the easiest, and the last being more difficult, not so much a map from 1800s being less difficult than the 1900s. I think this is achieved by the increased complexity that occurs over time.

[Grandma Ruth]

That's good, then. It will fit in OK with that plan, I think.

[nedfumpkin]

Yes, as far as anything you would call a plan at this point. :)

[nedfumpkin]

I just uploaded the file set for the Trainmaster Boxcars for 1.05 and 1.06. When Hawk has the chance he will post it.

This file will be included in the next Trainmaster file set, which should have the freight cars sorted out along with a bunch of other stuff. In the interim, you can still use the PK4 file in the upload with the files below.

Instructions are as follows....

Unzip the files in the attachment to their respective directories. i.e. Cargotypes and EngineTypes.

Paste the Trainmaster_Boxcars.pk4 file into the 3D folder. I've decided that the Rollingstock will be in the 3D directory from now on, and will be so for next update.

You're good to go.

Note: I'm including all the cargo since a few had some minor changes to them..I lost track...but the Troops has been made available from 1830 on.


<File deleted due to obsolescence>

[Hawk]

They're now available.

http://hawkdawg.com/rrt/rrt3/xtras/xtras4.htm