Go West

[Hawk]

The following text is a compilation of what was salvaged from the old Gathering Forum. It contains postings from several different people.
Thanks goes out to Wolverine for putting this all together.

Hawk

Go West

Yes.. It is true, after playing Go west about 10 times, I am still very slow in getting over the first set of mounbtains, to the hudson river valley, and beyond..
I've read the tip threads from the others... I think UI'm taking too much time in simply letting my money grow... IE, I'm not buying stuff on margin etc... It seems to me that the real problem I have is the interest on the bonds I do take out....
One game I've gotten to Hartford before the bronze came, but that ones just for fun now...
But in most of these games, I've taken time to sit and observe because one of several things is occuring:
A]. the company funds are in the red at that moment.
B]. Waiting for enough funds to build more track, stations, etc
C]. See A.
Advice is most appreciated...
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Did you read all the threads about Go West listed here?
http://www.gathering.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=21336
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I read em all.. it doesnt seem to be clear enough to me... cause I focus on, at least most of my attempts, boston to portsmouth, securing a industry run there as well as passenger whilst connecting most of the cities in between... and by that time, I've got 2-3 trains at least going.. very low cash most of the time... Usually dont get into stocks much as I explained above...
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wrote: I read em all.. it doesnt seem to be clear enough to me... cause I focus on, at least most of my attempts, boston to portsmouth, securing a industry run there as well as passenger whilst connecting most of the cities in between... and by that time, I've got 2-3 trains at least going.. very low cash most of the time... Usually dont get into stocks much as I explained above...
I never waste time connecting to Portsmouth. My guess is that the lines to the three northern cities costs too much to maintain early on for you.
I usually connect in this order:
Boston-Lowell
Boston-Worcester
Boston-Providence
Providence-Bridgeport
Bridgeport-Hartford
Bridgeport-NYC
I also look for and buy some dairy farms that haven't yet become too expensive.
I usually connect to Buffalo about 1848-49 on normal.
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I need to try normal again.. Hard is... a bit Hard
But yeah..
I tend to...
Boston-Providence-worchester-Lowell-[maybe manchester]Portsmouth
Around that order..
What I've also used is Boston-Providence-Worchester
and Boston-Lowell-Portsmouth [again, maybe manchester]
I havent really tried the buying certain industries yet.
Am never managing to stay above financial water..
What are the pros and cons of delivering/picking up multiple industries Products with one train vs 2 or three?
Like, say you have one cattle farm in Hartford and another around concord and portsmouth. Is it more advantageous for you to use one train for all those farms or two/three trains?
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I generally look at industries in Lowell or Manchester. Usually an ai company will set up between those two cities and move product for me. Normally I end up picking up a meat packer being fed by two cattle ranches or more, for a mere $1,500k. Such an industry would have to do well. When the ai is established I link Boston to Lowell then connect in order the same cities as CN. Sometimes I connect Boston & Portsmouth direct (a nice flat run) but it depends on whether I want the resources out that way or not. Bridgeport and Boston are the hubs. I issue shares whenever possible, and borrow to have a debt to equity ratio between 1:2 and 1:1 then refinance when the interest rate improves. As much as possible I run the game in a cargo view so I can see new industries. As with many scenarios, the best primary producers tend to be orchards, dairy farms and ranches, but I will also build secondary industry on major raw material supply streams. This is a fast scenaro so I don't bother with stone bridges. Also, I don't care at all about track quality beyond Albany, and the next station is in Buffalo. I am already making too much money by then. Gold-Hard in about 1848-49.
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Hi mate,
What I did on this scenario was begin in Boston, and go North to the nearest town to NY, this allows a Northeastern spur from Boston.
I reloaded the game if one of the AI firms started in NY. bingo!
If you get to NY first, (careful track placement allows the whole hog, but leaves you money for only one engine, and it's four stations, not three, which the game is designed around.
Before the Northern AI firm (the Northern AI starting point if not NY is the town north of NY), you then connect to Albany from NY), and bob's your uncle! (I didn't enjoy this scenario so I wanted it over with quickly (too hurried I felt- CNW+ 10 years more would have been better).
The (first) Eastern firm will fail, so buy once stocks hit rock-bottom, then conect to it and get your RR to pay for it as ownership doesn't matter.
If the other Eastern firm hasn't collapsed already, then buy it also and make the Eastern network from Boston earn the dosh (money). (It does if you choose the first Northern town from Boston as a junction for North/South then East traffic I think.
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Hmm.. hoe do you refinance bonds?
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Press the button to borrow another and check the interest rate. If the % difference is 2% or more, get the new bond, and use the money to repay the old one that has the highest interest rate.
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A good tactic is to always check the percentage on bonds at the beginning of the year or after a particularly profitable period. Additionally, as the economy improves, the percentage on the bonds will improve also. But this does not affect bonds you already owe, just on what's currently available, so as JayEff notes, a good rule is to look for times when you can get a new bond at least 2% lower than your current highest bond. If you have a good deal of cash and can make it to $510K, then pay off the high bond first, the lower company debt may further improve your credit rating and the next bond may be even cheaper. I try to keep refinancing throughout the game until all my bonds are 5% or 6%. I usually won't pay them off unless it's part of the scenario goals.
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Ahhh.. now I get it... and I'm finding that if I keep stations confined to towns.. I'll generally still catch alot of the industry around them... The tough part ios losing money with all that track maintaince... Specially from boston...
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Well.. I got bronze...
I managed to get a good run from boston to bridgeport, finished the line to portsmouth and extended the train to there...
Boston to portsmouth to boston - providence-hartford-Bridgeport
had track laid due east of pough.. Intending go towards albany...
Kept issuing stock when possible and refinancing.. eventually I got 12.5m in cash plus 6 or 7 bonds... enough to lay track to buffalo and an addition train/station there...
And yet.. I'm not satisfied... with bronze...
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Ok,
Without re-loading this scenario if the AI doesn't begin where you want it.
1) Start in Boston
2) Go North
3) Connect NY before the NY AI company connects to you (that way you earn money on track rights on AI trains using your railway).
4) Follow the valley east of NY to the town at the spur to the northern valley.
5) Connect to your AI neighbours NE of Boston by building a spur, if the nearest hasn't already done so.
6) Use your cash to go through the Northern valley mentioned in (4).
Final point; I've never seen a AI firm begin in the NE of the map (destination)- wonder what it's like starting there- Anyone tried it?
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You may want to try an industry first strategy. I have played this scenario many times and find it is easier if you get a well placed indusrty going.
Last game I started by buying a tool&die in Lowell. Iron was just starting to arrive there, so i got it for 1million. The iron was coming from around Concord, so the next year I bonded out and made the link. Good coin both ways
Linking to Boston just made the tool&die better; price for goods in Boston very high; bought produce orchards back near start of route; shipped that to Boston as well.
Always try to think a year ahead (or more). Look at cargo flows every year and look for new industries popping up (esp dairy farms)
It was also the first time I went toward Scranton instead of through Albany; worked very well; the opportunities were along that route this time, so that is where I went...despite building a lumber mill on the AI line near Syracuse.
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You'll only get me moaning about how it's now an industry, not a railway game! Still, never tried the industrial route before.....
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Sorry for my moaning!
What did Scranton offer though? Was it "luck of the draw" (Industry placement) or logical routing?
I always saw the East as where my competitors appear- so use the geography to cut them off. In the East there is space for one other company only, oddly enough. 2 of 3 appear their, both will fail eventually, so dont buy the stocks. The NY based one will do well, but you can prevent it by starting the game with a NY-Boston connection- to achieve it you must be REALLY careful when laying the track- You'll have enough money left to buy one loco.
If I recall, that AI company then begins in the town north of NY, anyway, doing this way gave me a hard time as you are reliant on one single train.
BTW- We all know New York was originally New Amsterdam under the Dutch, but once us British/Colonials took control, why did we decide to call it New York, rather than New London, like the Dutch had done?(Capital City- even if Amsterdam wasn't strictly the Capital of Holland ((and still isn't but is really)), like NY today?)
For new settlements sites, this had to be one of the best (defensive especially regarding European wars), so the crown must have known this settlement would last forever, unlike Roanoke etc. And, why was Roanoke called thus?- I don't think us British have a town with that name- If it exists, I've never noticed it on an AA map.

Boston, Washington, Plymouth, Portsmouth etc yep, we have them already and the connection is clear, but Roanoke?
Anyone have any thoughts or websites on the matter?
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As long as we're off topic.........
THE expedition against New Amsterdam had been organized with the Duke of York as its patron, and the city was rechristened in his honor
Roanoke's name comes from the Indian word "Rawenok," which means wampum. These were white shell beads worn by Native Americans and often traded as money. The origin of this name was passed down in the writings of Captain John Smith about Roanoke Island in North Carolina's Albermarle Sound.
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wrote: What did Scranton offer though? Was it "luck of the draw" (Industry placement) or logical routing?
Both actually. Good lumber supply for a mill and iron for another tool&die. Threaded the track through to Elmira and Rochester, avoiding the AI mess between Syracuse and Watertown. I could have bought the AI RR, but i would have had to bulldoze the whole thing to make it work properly.
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Thanks for the two replies.
It's said the English didn't get along with the native-americans as well as the French did, but vastly better than the Spanish, using anglicised names they already had surely shown some respect to native-american rights?
Simplistic perhaps, but I saw a BBC programme wherin the professor explained some of the other discontentments facing the Colonists- not least the desire of them to expand into indian territory, which the British had forbidden. He also de-bunked another myth- Taxation, the British Colonists paid exactly 1/30th of the tax a farming peasant in Britain paid to the crown.
He however stated the most important thing some American colonials desired over native-american land was- "no taxation without representation"- that really was noble as a cause, alas, even us lot in Britain didn't get it until the slaughther of WWI was over- and us lot FINALLY demanded something back.
At the height of the war, less than 50% of the population supported Washington, although I'm personally very happy it reached the final conclusion. (It helped the rest of the world in idea's of government and "who serves whom?"- the government or the people.), some modern Yanks still try to claim it was an essentialy taxarion war, it wasn't.
It began from a tea-smuggler discovering his tea in Boston had now cost more to buy than the taxed tea being sold legally in Boston- See the BBC series- as Doctor David Starkey routes out the real reasons for the war, it's fascinating viewing- far better than any Hollywood film, his conclusion that it was more a civil, than colonial war will shock.
This is seriously off-topic still, so has any yet tried to begin that scenario in the destination town- back to front if you like? I must try it, but right now I'm in the middle of a war with Egypt in Civ 3 (awful version), and the one map I competed in RRT3 is still awaiting a verdict from the tester! Yes Gwizz!
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Not to belittle the achievments of the American revolution, but from what I have read the "land grab" seems to be the biggest influence. In turn, this pushed the Americans to develop and implement a revolution in the representation of property rights. An enormous achievment, which we are still coming to grips with throughout the West.
Which may explain the need (in most liberal democracies) to refight the hard won battles over rights and liberties ie: the model was never really about that in the first place
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Could you recommend one single book to read about the period?
Watching Starkey bring the issue to life has raised so many questions for me I find interesting, and I admire those few that cared little if they were under a Crown, or under a government- as long as it was JUST most of all, it seems Washingtons war to these intellectuals along the seaboard was unimportant to them.

I think they produced the founding Washington had to abide by, that led to the French revolution, which then seeded European idealists elsewhere, and that changed the world order- eventually.
I dunno, fascinating bit of history that US schools choose not to teach the truth in, but yet the truth is more interesting than the myth as it changed the entire world order in Politics and freedoms of a citizen at the very least. (once proclaimed, the concept couldn't ever be undone-ever) and the French followed.
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A single book? No.
My assertion is very likely borne of my own selective attention when perusing any historical account. A book that made a large impression on me, in fact had nothing to do with the American Revolution. The Mystery of Capital (Hernando de Soto: 2000) sketches a good deal of the "path" toward a uniform, accessible and complete property system in the U.S.; the impression from this (and sources) is one of ppl hungry for land, and for the protection of property from multiple claimants.
Of course ascribing "cause" to any one factor in a complex social event is likely false. I just go where my bias takes me
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What, so is he arguing that property rights began in the US due to the desire to expand into territory the Crown forbade them to do so (and upset Indian-Colonial relations) or that it began anyway by US Colonists and the world followed once the civil/independence war was won?
(I don't want to buy a book on US Property rights only!) However, I know that ownership of land is pretty important- and I think the US was the first to make it open to all (even if someone else's- which the crown tried to stop)- but dunno. If the book is largely historical- I'll buy it.
US history is fascinating to me, and throughout history is still unique- I fail to understand how Hollywood, after 300 years is now stealing history from others (U-519 or something eg), whilst her own history is so interesting to anyone, if they could be bothered to made a film on any US aspect. Indentured English servants/love story/freedom, or, Island hopping in WW2- Soldier/Australian girlie/War. Shanghai alone before then. Hollywood need steal no one else's history- Texas, the Spanish War, The real "Independence" war, the railway race, setting up a real (not colonial) trading system- What more does Hollywood need to make a film!! Guess us English will always be baddies though.....
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Actually his argument is contained in the subtitle (why capitalism triumphs in the West and fails everwhere else) Like I said, its not about the revolution, nor specifically about the U.S.
The journey to the property system most of us take for granted makes good reading.
In a nutshell, you hit the nail on the head. The evolution of that system was mainly pushed by the ppl doing what they could to enhance security of land occupied, with the gov't following later to either ratify what was in existence or enforcing some compromise.
Are we derailing the thread?
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Are we derailing this thread?
Perhaps- But the history of the US stagecoach/railways must have helped in creating a structure and service to peoples that simply ignored the government wishes (proclaimed in town squares as that was modern communication back then!, thus forcing the government to make retrospective law on lands and land?.
Us Brit's had collective tribal ownership of land, then the viking from France (The Normans under William) was promised our land, and rightfully took it when the promise wasn't met in 1066, but extracting the promise from a marooned King on French Viking shores is another matter.....still, you are honour bound.)
The Viking (future western French) were repaid by a hundred year war when it was our turn to have the crown....by linage, no shipwreck involved!
Right, I'm going to Amazon, I have to read the thing!
Edit; I've ordered it- I also ordered a book called "The elusive quest for growth; Economists adventure and misadventure in the tropics"- if it includes something about colonial history I'd be pleased, if just a US perspective on modern US economical interference I'll be annoyed!
In Colonial history, the US was annoyed about being left out from Colonial markets- In 1790 a single ship brought supplies and machinery to a colony- once or twice a year- it wasn't being exclusive, more like the only option to the people.
I think Tristan da Cunha now gets two ships a year, but the UK government wants them to join the French colonies in the area- simply to relieve the UK government of the burden, whilst 3 or 4 French colonies are nearby and have French support all year round. If not mistaken the single Policeman/women on the Island is from the Metropolitan Police (London), what a funny world! Economically barmy.
Of course I'm used to hearing of poor conditions on US owned plantations and mines in South America, (the US backyard) but exploitation of human labour exists the world over- $4 an hour car cleaners in the US, £4 an hour car cleaners in Britain.
I personally think that only democratic governance will set standards, and eventually China will be forced to follow the rest, but it will never be companies that set standards humans are proud of.
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The Americans are really a mixed bag.
They can be hands downs the best employers in a colony or the worst.
But I guess I could say the same thing about people/companies I've worked for here in Canada
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Ok, I just got RRT3, and was playing the "Go West" part of the campaign. I have a few profitable trains running, and I am making good progress to Buffalo. I get to the eastern side of Buffalo, on the east of the river, and plop my large station down....the screen says Buffalo is "connected".
I did not start from Boston, rather I started from New York. So I want to put my last leg in to connect to Boston. The AI already has a line stretching out to the west from Boston, so I connect to his line, thinking that I was now connected to Boston from Buffalo. However, it keeps coming back and saying the towns are not connected, when in fact they are.
Do I have to have my own line go into Boston, with my own station, to win the scenario?
I am new here, so I apologize if this is a really stupid question.
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I am 99% certain that you will require your own line and station to win.
Good luck!
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Hi to all.....it's incredible but i've serius problem to solve first mission, where i'd to connect Boston to Buffalo.
Pls help me!
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Hey there, what exactly is your problem then? Where do you lose it?
Did you read through this forum btw? There's alot of usefull information about how to available here.
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My railrods spend a lot of money to pass the montain and i dont find a solution to get the necessary gold to make it!
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hmm yes, well it was the first scenario I played and I got bronze. Its important to build up a profitable basis first. There's alot of stuff to be hauled around Boston and when you connect more and more cities and towns you will soon have enough money to expand further into the mountains. Does that help?
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thanks ....i hope that this is the solution because it's so boring hve problems at the first mission!!! eheh
stay tuned!
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I decided to make a detour via New York, which helped to gain the necessary cash and which in the end avoided the mountains because I simply followed the river from New York to Buffalo.
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wrote: thanks ....i hope that this is the solution because it's so boring hve problems at the first mission!!! eheh
stay tuned!
Heh, well it should be Did you try to go through the mountains in one go then? You know you have a whole bunch of years to complete the objectives, so it would be rather silly if it was possible to connect right from the beginning no?
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I had to restart the boston-buffalo scen twice, i must confess
somtimes it is impossible to earn money in the boston-syracuse area, simply because of the random industry placement.
Look out for demand of the boston harbor supplies.
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wrote: I decided to make a detour via New York, which helped to gain the necessary cash and which in the end avoided the mountains because I simply followed the river from New York to Buffalo.
That is exactly how I did it, After connecting up various cities to Boston I built nearer and nearer to New York where the AI company already had a station, so I just connected to it. Then I built up to Albany and then to Buffalo. I was going to try to build through the mountains from Springfield to Albany but the cost would have been horrendous.
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but i think....this is only first mission and i set game in easy mode!!
rest of campaign is impossible???
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Hehe Well, it gets more difficult as you crawl on. But ofcourse you will gain experience and alot of knowledge yourself, so that you will be ready for the next challange.
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wrote: Hehe Well, it gets more difficult as you crawl on. But ofcourse you will gain experience and alot of knowledge yourself, so that you will be ready for the next challange.
I hope , because manual don't explain so much!
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Well, I played this one in easy too, and I got gold. This is how I did it. My first line was between Boston and Hartford. A little later the AI started a line from Wincester in northern direction, so when I had the money, I built to Wincester. That brought in some good profits. Then I expanded in the direction of New York and eventually connecting to New York, where the other AI was running a line to the west. After New York, I connected to Albany, then Syracuse and then to Buffalo. So, the same as some others said, building alongside the river from New York to Buffalo. I finished the connection right in time to get the gold. I'm sure you can do the same. Good luck!
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I've just started playing and have Gold on Easy and Moderate.
Since you don't have any industry goals, don't worry about them. Use Auto-Consist.
This one is strictly connect-the-dots and once you connect enough cities, the cash rolls in steadily.
I started by linking Boston with Lowell, Worcester, and Providence. Then Hartford, then Bridgeport, and finally NY. The AI had built a line between NY and Edison, but tying into his station costs a minimal amount and I think NY adds substantially to your overall passenger profits.
The obvious route is to go up the Hudson Valley to Albany, then west. It offers some interesting track laying challenges to find the cheapest, flattest route and that's a good learning experience. That UnDo button gets a workout.
I had to wait several months between city connections to build up cash, but you have plenty of time and once you get into Albany, the cash flow seems to be more than adequate to finish the western leg quickly.
Next, I'll try it on Hard and see what happens...
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Just the way I did it, so this seems to be the trick.
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I have just gotten RailRoad Tycoon 3 this afternoon and did the first campeign where you have to build a line from Boston to Buffolo. I built the track with stations and things stopping in each town until it reached buffolo, then set a train to run from Boston to Buffulo, but the scenario says that a direct line hasn't been made, that I haven't completed the scenario. Does this mean that I have to build a straight train line that doesn't have any stations on it and no towns of anything? One that just has a station at Boston and one at Buffolo??
Help please.
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Does it say by each city, "Connected"? As long as the track is continuous, and has a station in each of the cities, it *should* work fine. Personally, I found scenario #2 to be easier - less hills.
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Quote: One that just has a station at Boston and one at Buffolo?
just to clarify a little further, the answer to the above is no. as long as you have continuous track connecting the 2 cities it can run under water for all that matters. and, you don't have to run a train from boston to buffalo, just track. so check out what Daelda says, something's not connected.
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this could be one of two things here; either you're using AI track in some portion of your route, or you've hit the little bug where stations sometimes dont place quite correctly in the city, thus showing them connected. you cant use AI track in any part of your total direct route. if you're not using AI track and still dont get the win, check your stations and make sure they all say 'connected' when you cursor over them.
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I'm pretty certain I know the answer to this one! It isn't Buffalo you have to connect to but the Dock there. I had to build a branch line off to reach the dock and put in an extra station and lo and behold I was connected.
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I didn't realize that you couldn't use AI tracks/station to fulfill a scenario condition to connect cities.
What strategies do folks use if an AI beats them to a city? A second station of your own?
I think I read somewhere that you can just lay a few sections of track in a city and that will keep the AI from building there. Is this true?
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I usually build my own station & connect to the A1 station as well. There still seems plenty of traffic to go round.
I really wish you could rename stations, I hate having a major terminus named New York junction or whatever, just because the A1 got there first
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Speaking of the first campaign....
Did you guys notice the incredibly poor track laying by AI, especially on the route from NY to Edison?
As to the gameplay, from my experience with this scenario, I always end up buying out the other company so that I can have continuous track.
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wrote: I really wish you could rename stations
actually, you CAN. select the station and click on the name
like a couple of other features (eg waypoints), it's not in the manual but shown on mouseover at the bottom.
FYI: you can also change portrait, personal name, company name and company logo (ledger), as well as train name and/ or train number (order)
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Thankyou, I now hover over everything, just in case.
What's an Entwickler by the way?
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wrote: What's an Entwickler by the way?
must be called sth like software developper in english ?
Actually, what is meant is: programmer, but job names have to sound cute and complicated nowadays
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I am unable to complete the campaign as I run out of time and money. Any tips? I was able to build out as far as Utica. It goes Boston/Worchester/Springfield( I use to live there)/Albany and then Utica. I am using the most direct path to Buffalo but I am unable to build parallel to the river.
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Not a pro, but did succeed in getting gold on this one. Here's what I did:
I found that if I was extremely careful with my starting cash (startup+bond+selling stock), and placed my line with care, I could build a line Boston-Worchester-Springfield-Hartford-Bridgeport-NYC. This could only be done if I skimped on maintance and water. I placed one set between Hartford and Springfield, and only added others as necessary. I had one train going from NYC to Springfield and another coming from Boston. Later, I connected to AI's in Edison and Lowell.
Once this was in place, I let things simmer for a year or two to build up cash and credit rating. Then went
Bridgeport-Poughkeepsie-Albany-Utica-Syracuse-Buffalo.
It's possible to stay pretty close to the rivers, but it does require lots of trial-and-error to do so.
The income from frieght and passengers was more than enough to finance the line, and I never found it necessary to buy industries.
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By no means am I a pro either, but I did make gold on medium difficulty (after several attempts )
There 2 main things for this: 1. Patience, don't try to rush to Buffalo. 2. You only have to connect to Buffalo: no minimum loads to or from.
The way i did it was: Boston-Lowell-Manchester first (all single track). I know this looks wrong, but remember #1. There's usually a logging camp near Manchester, and I build a paper mill in Lowell (It's the cheapest one to build.) Also try to buy the logging camp, it should only be about 120K.
Once revenue starts rolling in, connect to Providence, then Bridgeport, and on to New York City, with one train for each leg(ie. Boston-Providence; Prov-Bridgeport; Brdgprt-NYC) with a pair of NY-Boston runs. The 0-6-0 should be available by then, and it can handle 4 or 5 car trains nicely.
Also, I build my own station in NY, leaving room to exit accross the hudson for a straight through run to Albany. (a side note: I did connect to the AI that is usually there with a loop. ran 2 or 3 trains (cheapest engines set to 7 cars each) from AI NY station to my NY Junction. they didn't get me rich (only 5-10K/year), but did add a supply of stuff going to boston. )
Once I had the cash, I built to Albany and set up a couple of trains here. By this point, your Boston-New York runs should be very profitable. If you make it to Albany by 1850/1851 you should make Gold, just don't dally too much on the line from Albany.
This is where I usually forgot #2. Try to build a single track line to Buffalo, dont worry about 15-20% grades-nothing is going to run over them . This will tell you how much cash you need to make the connection.
Again the key is patience. If you build/buy a few industries and a grain farm or two (if you catch them under 200K) you'll have a good revenue base within 5 years.
As to bonds...Personal suggestion here: Don't issue a bond unless you only need 2/3 of the money to do something. Always leave yourself 150-250K in cash. If your cash is negative, you pay interest on the negitive amount, and you can't replace a crashed train.
Hope you can find some usefull ideas here.
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I have the route in place to NYC but, ****** the AI was already connected from Edison. No biggie. I saved it last night and will try to finish it tonight as I don;t work tomorrow. Should I buy any businesses? I was thinking that owning a that Brewery in NYC would be good because it makes a profit every year.
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It's OK if the AI got to NYC from Edison. If he uses your track, you'll probably make more off of it than he will.
As far as buying a business goes, you'll have to weigh the relative benefits of an increased cash flow versus the initial investment required. Keep in mind that laying track will be increasingly expensive from now on.
I found that getting from Bridgeport to Poughkeepsie wasn't too bad, and getting from there to Albany could be done relatively cheaply if I played around with the routes long enough. Albany to Utica is the bear. It cost me at least a couple million to do this, and that only after spending quite a while trying to find the cheapest route. From there on, it's fairly flat, and you're home free. For me, some of this expense was offset by the very lucerative income from the Bridgeport-Poughkeepsie-Albany route. NYC-Boston also became more profitable over time, so I made sure that I added trains as necessary.
Have fun!
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Hello everyone,
I played Railroad Tycoon from the beginning. And when I say that I mean the absolute beginning. I don't remember the year but I used to play Railroad Tycoon 1 on my old Atari ST.
Now with this release I couldn't stay behind so I went to my computerstore and bought Railroad Tycoon 3. Installing went fine but when playing Railroad Tycoon 3 it went all wrong. I think I got only 5 fps (when totally zoomed in). To low to play but smart as I am, I read the manual (been playing games since I was 5 years old) and I discovered I had to change the video options.
After some tweaking everything went great. My fps is improved to 40 fps. (when totally zoomed in). It is playable and that is what's imported for me. I have to set the detail to very low cause else it isn't playable. The cause is probably my videocard that is the bottleneck in my system. I have a gforce 2 GTS PRO 64DDR running on windows XP (every possible update installed).
I also have installed the latest video card drivers + directX 9.0 + Via 4 in 1. My system is an Athlon XP 2000+ (running @ 1,8Ghz) with 512MB RAM DDR 400. For those who think it may be something else that makes Railroad Tycoon 3 running low when I use more detail please say so.
But since the look of a game nothing says about the gameplay I gave it a try. I used to play every game @ the hardest difficulty available. So I started a campaign @ hard. I didn't bother reading what hard differs from playing in easy or medium. I choose for go west. The first that is available. It looked very easy but that wasn't true.
I had to connect one side (Bufalo) to another (Boston) in 15 years to archive gold or this mission. Like most of you already know. So I start building tracks, trains and stations. I made it myself easy so I connected many cities to haul any cargo from one to another. But that wasn't very good to make many money. It seems that there were not enough passengers or mail to haul to get some money. So i placed a restaurant and post office next to each station, but that wasn't the miracle I waited for. But after some time I connected more cities and yet I made more money because there were more passengers and mail to haul.
I connected bufalo 2 years in 1854 with luck. I had to take every possible bond there was to archieve this. The reason why I didn"t had so much money was because I upgraded every loco to the latest one. And I also place lots of service towers and service facility. But I made it and after 3 years I paid off 50% of all bonds. So I stayed playing after I won cause i wondered if this railroad would work.
So I do like Railroad Tycoon 3. I should play it more to see what sells at the highest price.
It's a pitty I can't play it with more detail but that's ok
What do you think about the systemspecs? And what about the difficulty (hard, medium, easy)?
I loved playing it so I will win every mission with gold @ hard. Or that's the plan
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Hi folks. I'm new to posting in forums - done plenty of reading and searching for my question/answer so if it's already in here I'm sorry I've missed it... anyway...
The problem I have is only in the 1st scenario! Mision is to connect Boston-Buffalo by xxxx date. Being new to RT3 I am a couple of years off Bronze medal, but with reasonable income/avail cash etc. I run my line from Boston - New York - Buffalo (with many other towns in between) but computer company owns station and tracks to Boston. I started in NY and branched out around there. The problem/question is how do I actually complete the connection!? I have joined my track to the other company owning Boston and he happily starts using my track (is he paying me for that???) then I sit and wait for the bronze year to roll round, but it says I'm not connected and I lose!? so I reloaded and tried again and ran track to my own station on Boston...still no luck? Someone please help me? I'm sure it's something simple and I'm just going loco............. Ta muchly[/quote]
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The thing is, when it says you have to connect to a city, it means you have to make a connection there. So, even though it technically is a connection, it seems you won't get a medal for using someone else's track. You either have to lay your own track or merge the other company into yours so that you actually own track all the way there.
And yes, you do get paid when other companies use your track. More precisely, you get a share of their profit equal to the percentage of their route that's on your track. Ie. if half their route is on your track, you will get half the profit. Your own trains always have right of way on your track, so you don't have to worry about the additional traffic. (Their trains will always yield to yours.) You also don't have to cover any expenses for another company's trains, so your share is pure profit. On the other hand, when your trains use another company's track, you have to pay them their share of the profits, while you're stuck with all the expenses and you have to yield to all of their trains. So, it's all give and take, really. Using "foreign" track can be profitable at times, but only up to a certain point. Whatever you do, don't set up routes that are all on foreign track - you'd be paying for fuel and maintenance while the other company would get all the profit!
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As I always started in Boston I'm not positive about this BUT in Buffalo your station MUST include the dock - if it doesn't add an extra line to it and build a small station to include it. It may be that Boston is the same (if there's a dock there) but o/w I'd have thought just building your own station would be o/k. If you've got that far you could always build your own line in anyway couldn't you?
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Thanks for the tips guys. Especially the info about using "foreign" tracks. I managed to connect Buffalo and Boston, by running track straight from providence or some other small town bypassing the foreign tracks. All sorted now.
Now on to Germantown which will no doubt give me more strife.
Ta muchly
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I finally managed to connect the two required cities and the game seems to thing I haven't. Ug. I even ran a train from the top of the map to the bottom and back. No luck. Is the game confused? Do I need to do something other than connect Boston to Buffalo?
Please help
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What year is? only thing what i think is mayby you have to wait when that gold year comes, was it 1855.
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You may not have gotten the station in the right spot. Check the Buffalo site to see if it says 'connected'. You might be outside the city. I had a problem the first time I thought I was connected.
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Check your log book - last page - hotkey A. It tells you there whether the two towns are really connected. Then you have to wait to the end of the month.
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I had a similiar experience. Used a smaller station and although it showed "connected" on the map, the scenario didn't seem to know it was.
I even waited a month to be sure that this was so.
When I upgraded to a large station, the scenario knew that I had won.
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This scenario, the first I played, had me so frustrated I was certain the game was broken so badly I'd have to return the game.
Then I realized that YOU have to connect the two cities. YOU do. If the computer has a station in either of the cities, you can't win as far as I know, since I've never been able to plant a station in either city if the AI has beaten me to it. Soooooo, the first thing you should do is put a station in Boston ... the AI seems to like building there, so do it quickly. The AI doesn't seem to ever bother with Buffalo.
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I wondered about that too... as the AI had placed a station in Boston.
I started in Buffalo and worked my way East.
As long as you connect the cities, it doesn't matter which station was there first. Your Boston Junction (or whatever it calls your second station) is every bit as good as the AI's Boston.
I had to upgrade from a medium sized to a large station to win, but I won.
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How did you get through the Berkshires?
The grades are too steep and tunnels, even set on common, don't want to appear.
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My strategy for laying track was to "lay low".
I stayed as close along the rivers paths as I could.
I could connect to plenty of towns on the western part of the map, to build up enough money to lay track in the west.
Originally I was planning to make the whole line run for profit, but towards the end I had enough money coming in that I could just throw down a huge rail to Boston and claim the win. Therefore the poroblem with the medium sized vs. large station (ran out of money! ).
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I started this map in New York and started working my way up the Hudson river valley toward Buffalo connecting with Poughkeepsie and Albany. I then connected fairly quickly with Bridgeport and Hartford. This gave my hub enough connections to make some good money on express cargo.
I then expanded my line east to connect with Providence which another company had already connected to Boston. Once I connected Boston and New York, money started flooding in.
During my expansion I made sure to purchase stock in the company that had made the Boston/Providence connection whenever I had enough money.
While my company made money on the connections I had made, I concentrated on laying more track toward Buffalo. I only had to tunnel between Albany and Utica, the rest of the track was layed along the river with a couple of crossings to get to flatter ground.
Eventually, I had enough stock to takeover the company that owned the Boston/Providence line. The expansion was pretty quick after that I connected to Buffalo with a small station. I completed the scenario by '58 and won gold.
If you purchase the station from another player, you don't have to build the connection or station
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Mr. Wolf had it right. Thanks. I had connected my rail to my opponents tracks and voila, cities connected, right? Nope. I had to lay my own rail to my own station in Boston to make it work. Seems like a minor bug, to me.

Thanks for all your help, guys!
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Bug or not I'm not sure but keep this in mind because there are a lot of the scenarios with connection requirements. None of those requirements will be met by an AI station. Part of the track for the connection can belong to an AI but the stations have to be yours.
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This map was a laff . I finished it in 1847, along time before gold by running my track to new york and continue north from there. Then I just borrowed ALOT of money cause of my AAA rating and went over the mountiains too buffalo :].
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well i got it yesterday and started the 1st mission "go west"
and i keep getting broke
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Well, your post doesnt include a lot of detailes, but heres how i started out at this campaign. I made a connection between Boston, Lovell and Portsmouth. Didnt issue any bonds. Got one train running between Bo and Lo, and one between Lo and Po. This got brought me som income, so the next year i hooked up som more of the surrounding cities, and then started going west.
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For me, winning this scenario was to:
1) build an initial infrastructure to take advantage of the cities near Boston
2) eventually worked my way down to NYC. Plant a hotel, post office, tavern and restaurant there (and Boston too, for that matter).
3) once in NYC, take advantage of the gorge to Poughkeepsie (down the Hudson River), then onto Albany.
4) Once in Albany, it's time to turn down the river. Stay as close to the river as you can because the cost of tunnels and bridges in this part of the country will eat you alive. You'll be able to nail Utica and Syracuse then Rochester on the way to Buffalo.
It's easy-peasy. I was able to get this mission accomplished on the first try with like 7 or so years until my gold medal deadline. Don't forget to save and buy already established business'. Even if that Fruit Orchard doesn't make much money, it's still making money.
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wrote: started the 1st mission "go west" and i keep getting broke
Welcome to the forum!! Check out http://www.gathering.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=21336 - it holds many good hints and tips.
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Borrow a bond right away and connect NY to Boston. If you do it right you should have JUST enough money (don't create stations anywhere but NY or Boston but run them through providence and the other coastal town (can't remember name) Then connect Providence etc.
Should be rolling in money early. I think this one took me like 8 years max.
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I did this one by starting in Buffalo and connectting to Rochester and Syracuse, then working to Albany, south to New York, using a competitor's station there, and on to Boston. If I remember right I took over the AI company before I was done. No bonds needed, took a little longer but it wasn't very hard.
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dumb dumb dumb. the fun of the game is figuring it out for yourself. what's the point of playing if you have to always ask the higher IQ people to tell you what to do?

[Just Crazy Jim]

I've always been a bit perplexed by the absence of oil in this one. 19th Century New England = Whaling. And - in those days - they referred to whale oil as "train oil" with especial emphasis, since mineral oils and kerosene were not yet known. Not much call for whale bone these days, but in 1840 - long before the invention of plastics or Celluloid - whale bone (as well as antler, land-animal bone, ivory, and tortoise shell) was a major trade commodity. For instance, they made all those corsets women tortured themselves with for the sake of fashion with a goodly amount of whale bone and sinew as laces, since other natural fibers would break under that sort of pressure. Kind of gross stuff if you think about it.

Any way, that game is biased heavily towards the golden age of steam and King Coal for a reason, but one has to wonder if the game being so heavily biased towards the modern era really has the economic model for extensive 19th century scenario construction. By 1890 there was a large steam engine and locomotive manufactory complex in Providence, Rhode Island - long gone now - torn down to be replaced by urban sprawl and a spaghetti pile of Interstates. Before Henry Ford made Detroit and Flint important to map makers and economists, Providence was the factory town par none. Hyannis and New London and New Haven in the 1840s were not far behind Providence in terms of important factory towns. Not that you would know it by looking at them.

Heck, in the 1830s and 1840s, they were still having "Indian Wars" not far all that from Buffalo, so when they found gold in Sutters Mill, people rushed west, sure enough, but by way of Boston, on a boat around the southernmost tip of South America, not by way of Buffalo. :D

I may spend too much time reading history books.

edited for spelling

[RulerofRails]

Well, that's a bit hard because Oil isn't available in the game before 1860. If you want to mod your game with a hex editor you can change that date via two bytes at the 33rd position (normal number 33, not hex) in the Oil.cty file found in the Data\CargoTypes folder.

The 1860 date is the reason the scenario "Of Men and Seals" starts in 1862. That map uses Cattle Farms out a sea to represent fishing grounds, Oil Wells and Sheep Farms to represent the Seal industry (I assume some Whales are included). Big Boy engines represent ships. Something different, if you want to explore this idea.

Not sure if you saw it, but Trainmaster has Oil available from 1800. The early years in TM when production chains are still fairly simple are actually quite playable even for players that don't enjoy micromanaging. However, TM doesn't have an equivalent to this scenario.

Interesting history you provided. If you want something different on the same map, you might try one of the versions that have been tweaked by player-creators. Personally, I enjoyed "The Gilded Age" by EPH.

[Gumboots]

Yes, the RT3 industry chain is very simplified. I've been thinking about it from the other end of the timescale, in that it's also not going to hold up well with several changes that are already in progress, or are coming, this century. To get a truly representative industry chain for all periods from 1830 onwards is simply beyond the capabilities of the game. The best that can be done is a very rough approximation.

And, as an aside, "whalebone" isn't actually bone (it's baleen). Actual whale bones had no commercial value that I know of, and were regarded as a waste product.

[Just Crazy Jim]

To get a truly representative industry chain for all periods from 1830 onwards is simply beyond the capabilities of the game. The best that can be done is a very rough approximation.

Agreed. I've seen a few over-zealous economic mods that tried to be all era inclusive for Civilization 4 and Civ 4 Colonization that - more often than not - broke the games' economic model. Myself, I was slow coming to understand the purpose of the Bakery in RRT3. Now that I see it as a machine to drive up the demand for grain, thus making it profitable to haul. On maps that have grain as a commodity, I want Bakeries and Breweries in every city.

And, as an aside, "whalebone" isn't actually bone (it's baleen). Actual whale bones had no commercial value that I know of, and were regarded as a waste product.

I had forgotten that! Not disputing your point, at all. There are a few tons of bone in a whale that would have been a good deal less valuable than the oil, and whaling ships, no matter the size, had limited cargo space. I can only imagine a whaling ship bringing back actual bone if the voyage had been especially unprofitable. As my own aside, my grandmother had a comb made of actual whale bone, although it was very probably something made by a whaler to fill the time during the long sea voyage (like scrimshaw) rather than something done as a land-based industry.

Well, that's a bit hard because Oil isn't available in the game before 1860. If you want to mod your game with a hex editor you can change that date via two bytes at the 33rd position (normal number 33, not hex) in the Oil.cty file found in the Data\CargoTypes folder.

Heh... I will try that and see what it breaks in the economic model.

If you want something different on the same map, you might try one of the versions that have been tweaked by player-creators. Personally, I enjoyed "The Gilded Age" by EPH.

I will most certainly check it out. Thank you for the suggestion.

[Gumboots]

To get a truly representative industry chain for all periods from 1830 onwards is simply beyond the capabilities of the game. The best that can be done is a very rough approximation.

Agreed. I've seen a few over-zealous economic mods that tried to be all era inclusive for Civilization 4 and Civ 4 Colonization that - more often than not - broke the games' economic model. Myself, I was slow coming to understand the purpose of the Bakery in RRT3. Now that I see it as a machine to drive up the demand for grain, thus making it profitable to haul.

Ha. I always thought the purpose of the bakery was to give the game engine something to spawn between your station and your brewery, thus totally borking your brewery profits.

[Wolverine@MSU]

Ha. I always thought the purpose of the bakery was to give the game engine something to spawn between your station and your brewery, thus totally borking your brewery profits.

When this happens, I just bulldoze the bakery. Only costs $140,000 (I think) and I've often gone hog-wild and bulldozed lots of them just to keep grain from being sucked up and not available for my Breweries.

[Gumboots]

I've found they can often re-spawn fairly rapidly. It seems the game engine expects a certain number of them in any town, and will replace them if they are removed. They won't necessarily re-spawn in exactly the same position, so the result can be better or worse with no way of knowing in advance.

Of course there are various tricks you can use sometimes. Demolishing a bakery and immediately building post offices to fill in any problematic gaps can be useful. That way you can stop buildings spawning where you don't want them. Works best in tightly packed cities, so you don't have to waste too much cash on superfluous buildings.

[RulerofRails]

The Bakery
I did try bulldozing them a handful of times. My experience was similar to what Gumboots related. They tend to re-appear. These days I tend to ignore them except when deciding where to place a Brewery/Distillery. Sometimes I place my Brewery/Distillery on the same cell as them, just depends on if they are in the best city in relation to where the resources (Grain/Sugar) are coming from. Often I can find a better location, and they might serve as a pick up for my trains to collect Grain/Sugar on its way to my Brewery/Distillery. If they are separated from my station by at least one cell, use as a pick-up location is a lot more effective.

The Bakery has a nominal consumption of "2 loads per year" for each cargo, but in reality maximum consumption will most often be in the 0.8-1.1 loads per year range. So even though the industry is not-for-profit just like a demand-only Warehouse, the game treats it the same: limiting it's consumption/supply by about 50% since the demand-only function is loss-making behind the scenes.

[Gumboots]

The Bakery has a nominal consumption of "2 loads per year" for each cargo, but in reality maximum consumption will most often be in the 0.8-1.1 loads per year range. So even though the industry is not-for-profit just like a demand-only Warehouse, the game treats it the same: limiting it's consumption/supply by about 50% since the demand-only function is loss-making behind the scenes.

Hang on. Are you saying demand-only warehouses always run at about half than the stated demand?

I've never paid much attention to how demand-only industry buildings are handled. I assume they don't actually make an in-game loss.

[RulerofRails]

I knew that production for a loss-making supply chain at a warehouse is close to 50%. I knew the demand-only was less than stated, but never specifically tested it. Hastily assumed they were pretty close.

So did a quick little test. Bakery took 0.8 loads in a year. A demand-only warehouse at 12 loads per year took 8.4 loads per year, so not a close comparison really, but still not what it says on the cover. When cargo price is very low (red) I believe consumption increases.

Yes, of course, the Bakery doesn't show the running costs/profit. The demand-only warehouse only pays Labor&Overhead, the same cost no matter how much is consumed. Interesting how a demand-only chain can bring down the overall Labor&Overhead cost for a warehouse that also has conversion and/or production functions. Whether because of better profit margins or not, supplying these functions also helps encourage the warehouse to upgrade. For example in Cash on Wheel's "Bermuda Triangle" map, I made sure to haul Cotton to the east coast Ports until they upgraded before building any Textile Mills.

[Gumboots]

This made me think of something else: what about warehouses that only produce (ie: no conversion)? Are they also limited to a fraction of their nominal output?

[RulerofRails]

Not unless it's unprofitable to produce that cargo which is what I meant by this sentence:

I knew that production for a loss-making supply chain at a warehouse is close to 50%.

I'm still not quite sure what to call one entry in the bca file. I was calling it function, but don't like it much so I tried "chain" here which in hindsight is a bit confusing. Got a better name?

[Gumboots]

How about calling it "obstreperous mongrel"? That seems to fit just about any factor in RT3 coding.

[TheBonobo4]

Just finished this scenario on Hard difficulty. It isn't difficult, so I added the extra challenge of trying to connect every city on the map, including those in Canada, which itself costs $1M for access rights. In any case, I got the option to choose 15% extra passengers or 20% extra locomotive speed, I chose speed, and by the end game I used almost exclusively Baldwin locomotives, with a few Norrises. There were already a ridiculous number of passengers thanks to the gold rush, an extra 15% wasn't necessary, and the Baldwins became powerful and pretty speedy locomotives even with the cargo size increase in the 1850s.

Some cities were tricky to connect to and didn't have much value in connecting to them, but it was still a fun challenge nonetheless. I didn't buy any industries besides a few hotels and post offices and taverns and restaurants, but by game end, even in recession, I still made over $5M a year in profit, with around 45 locomotives or so.

I got gold by connecting Buffalo in 1852, so I still had a few years spare. The 2 AI weren't an issue. I started in Boston, one AI connected New York to Edison, and one AI started with no track and later connected I think New Castle to Newton? Something like that, 2 small cities in the mountains close to New York. In previous times I've done this scenario, one AI connects Syracuse to Watertown. But I've never had AI do well on this map, maybe if I didn't start in Boston and an AI did it could do well I suppose.