Any suggestions or comments?
South Central British Columbia (SCBC)
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RayofSunshine
- CEO
- Posts: 1289
- Joined: Sat Nov 11, 2006 12:04 pm
- Location: Colorado Springs, CO
Re: SCBC Review
Nothing new, but I ran into another difficulty. I did finally put a tunnel to Dog Creek, as well as a tunnel thru a previous hill. But the problem is that of a merger. Once completing the track to Midway, I attempted to make connections to a Brewery for the alcohol requirement, and mergerd with red Mtn Rwy. However, once I made that merger, their engines indicated that it was "unable to reach destination". At this point there is 1 engine at the Rossland Mines, and the other at Northport Smelter. They have been operational until the merger.
Any suggestions or comments?
Any suggestions or comments?
-
RayofSunshine
- CEO
- Posts: 1289
- Joined: Sat Nov 11, 2006 12:04 pm
- Location: Colorado Springs, CO
Re: SCBC Review
With regard to regard to the merger, I did make a track connection, as I believed that tracks had to be connected.
OKAY, as I type, I just thought of a possible solution. Alhtough there was not mention, at least I don't recall, that I have to purchase access to that territory. Just a guess.
OKAY, as I type, I just thought of a possible solution. Alhtough there was not mention, at least I don't recall, that I have to purchase access to that territory. Just a guess.
Re: SCBC Review
Ray of Sunshine, do not merge your Columbia and Western Railroad with the Red Mountain Railway. This scenario is to be played very much within its historical setting. In the local historical setting of that time, Daniel Chase Corbin (SF&N) would never have given up his hard fought over Charter to operate the railroad up the southern slopes of "Red Mountain".
This also is the case for the Columbia&Kootenay and Nelson&Fort Sheppard Railroads. The Columbia & Kootenay was founded by the CPR, an arch rival for the development of that area. The Nelson&Fort Sheppard was US owned and had acquired the rights to run the RR also with much difficulty and were not about to hand over that very lucrative business, of that time, to anyone else.
Within the workings of the game I needed to prevent those mergers from happening but once a merger is completed there is no way back anymore. So, for the time, I left it up to the player to find out the hard way (by basically restarting the game) that those mergers are not possible. Not a good way to do it but I felt with the objectives outlined and references provided it would be, at this time, not be a major obstacle for testing the map.
Perhaps a reference should be made that those three companies and maybe the CPR as well, should be taken over and raided in order to get the Tycoon Points for them once they fold (if the CPR ever folds given the moneys it receives to stay afloat).
Ray of Sunshine, below I have added some of the basic information of the map. Hope that will help somewhat.
1.0 MAP INFORMATION AND MAIN OBJECTIVES.
1.1 MAP INFORMATION
1.1.1 RT3 Map description.
This map is based on a topographical image of South Central British Columbia. This image has been transposed into a 1024x1024 RT3 map. Even though the positioning of the rivers within a valley might not be precisely where they actually are, they are overall very close to their actual location. The location of the cities is also reasonably accurate.
The map scale is about 0.32km (0.2miles) per tile, which makes the map 330km x 330km. All mountains of about 1900m to 2000m or above are snow capped.
An attempt has been made for all rivers are sloped from the source to where they leave the map area. However some very localized uphill running rivers sections might still be encountered (especially due to random industry/resource placement).
There are 79 cities with many different industry/resource bases. In addition there are 7 regions with different industry/resource environments.
1.1.2 Area Background and Historical information.
The map area covers a region that is dominated by large mountain ranges and divided by valleys predominantly running in a north-south direction. Those geological features were a major obstacle to easy access from the more eastern part of Canada but were finally conquered in 1887 by the CPR and its Trans Canadian Railway.
The province of British Columbia did not approve of this more northerly transcontinental route and was dismayed since this route bypassed the rich mining areas in the southern part. The CPR still in bad financial shape and trying to recuperate from the enormous cost of building the transcontinental route promised however that the southern areas would be serviced. The lack of progress in getting it done caused the province and the industries of the area much dissatisfaction.
Nevertheless, the CPR would become a major player in developing the southern areas by establishing Lake/River boat services and also by started or buying several smaller railroad companies like the Columbia & Kootenay Railway. Using those means of transportation serviced the area reasonably well. It however, at the time, was by far from being the only player in the area and it had plenty of reasons to be concerned about the expansion of the US companies into the area.
The transportation companies in the northern U.S. were not much inconvenienced by the geographical layout of the land. They simply just needed to follow the river valleys north. James Hill with his subsidiary Kaslo & Sandon Railway as well as James Corbin’s Spokane Falls & Northern were two such railroads making substantial advances into the area. With James Hill’s Kaslo & Sandon railway servicing the rich ore fields in the Sandon area he competed head on head with the CPR. Once the Ore was in Kaslo it was, by using boat service on the Kootenay Lake, within a half a days boat ride from his Great Northern Rail Terminal at Bonners Ferry.
The main obstacle to progress for the U.S. companies was the political arena and it took much trickery and persuasion of many kinds to gain a foothold in Canada. No doubt the CPR had more than a minor interest to make sure that charters were not issued by the Federal Government to any company from the U.S. and particularly not to their arch rival James Hill’s Great Northern.
The Provincial Government of British Columbia found itself however in a dilemma. At the one hand it wanted to see the areas mineral richness explored and developed and did not care what railway would do that. At the other hand it knew that if it was an U.S. transportation company it would chose to transport the raw materials south, out of the province and country, to be processed. This would then deprive it of much of the economic benefits the processing of the ores would provide. The fallout of all the plans made and schemes set up to bring a Canadian railroad to this area caused even the provincial government to fall, indicative of the desperation the province was in to find a solution.
This map starts at a time when Fritz Heinze millionaire owner and operator of a Smelter in Butte, Montana, and builder of the new Smelter in Trail offered his holdings in the Trail area up for sale. Speculations were that the reason for his desire to sell was mostly based on his dependence on other transportation companies to supply his Smelter with most of the required materials. The future was not going to bring much improvement for him no matter who would eventually win the transportation war for the area. With his own finances strained and thus not able to fulfill his dream of building a railway out of the area to become independent in that respect, he chose to move on to better things in the U.S.
What historically happened was that Fritz Heinze sold his company assets, railway and Smelter, to the CPR. This was really the turning point for the CPR in Western Canada and led to the eventual total domination of the areas transportation sector. The CPR receiving large land grants for the Crowsnest Pass rail link into Southern BC ended up with huge coal reserves in the Crowsnest Pass area and was able to supply its as well as other smelters in the area with coal and coke. Once they had the monopoly in the transportation sector the CPR and its practices were very much a sore point for the Provincial Government and other industries in the area.
1.1.3 The map and how you fit in.
For purpose of playing this RT3 scenario the CPR did not purchase the Holdings of Fritz Heinze but were beaten to it by “YOU”. As the new proprietor of the Columbia and Western Railroad you have the opportunity to finish what Fritz Heinze was unable to do. Good Luck.
1.2 SCENARIO MAIN OBJECTIVES
1.2.1 Objectives General.
An effort was made to provide two primary paths to a Gold Medal win. One is centered on providing good rail service to the area and the other to control the economy of the area by merging with other companies and/or eliminating the competition. Some components of each of the paths are needed for a win. It might also be possible that a player does not choose a primary path and selects a route to a win by borrowing equally from both main paths.
The main objectives could be broken down into the following requirements:
1.) Provide a connection from your Trail Smelter to Midland, Penticton and Petain (Hope).
2.) Service the Canadian Smelters by supplying raw materials and removing finished goods.
3.) Eliminate or merge with competing transportation companies and/or merge with other “industrial” companies.
Some tasks outlined above will, depending on how successfully they are carried out, add to your “Tycoon” status. Only if you reach a certain Tycoon rating will you be able to reach the Gold Medal. Furthermore, only games played at “Expert” level will enable you to reach the Gold Medal.
1.2.2 Connection requirement.
This main requirement is broken down into three tasks. The first one, starting almost imminently at the beginning of the game, is to connect to the city of Midway followed by the Penticton and Petain connections. Other connection offerings will be made but those however, are optional.
1.2.3 Servicing of Canadian Smelters.
Each of the four listed Smelters has the same requirements. They will need iron ore, coal, goods, meat and alcohol delivered and steel picked up.
There are three basic ways of receiving rewards for servicing each Smelter. One is for delivery/pick-up of at least one load of all required cargos. The second is for reaching a minimum delivery amount of each of the required cargos. The third is based on your total service to that smelter i.e. if you deliver/pick-up all requested types of cargo and the minimum amount of at least four of the six cargos, you will get a further reward.
At the locations not already having a station adjacent to a Smelter, place a station exactly where requested to do so (Stations need to be within the Smelters territory) otherwise your deliveries will not be counted.
1.2.4 Merging with or Eliminating other Companies.
The 16 listed companies can be divided into three main groups, the Transportation companies, the potential customers of transportation companies and the support companies.
The basic idea is to eliminate all other railroad companies by any available means including, if you find a good reason to do so, merger. All other companies should whenever possible be merged with your company.
Additional rewards are given for the absence of some of the companies.
1.2.5 Accumulate Tycoon Reputation points.
For many of the above mentioned completed tasks as well as other tasks, points will be awarded toward the “Tycoon” status. A certain number (25) of those points are required for your gold medal win. Some actions in the game can also be cause for you to lose some points. A higher quantity of points might open doors and opportunities for you that otherwise might not be available. A change in your tycoon count will be indicated during a game.
1.2.6 To remain Chairman of the Columbia & Western Railway..
In order for you to play the game it is necessary for you to remain the Chairman of the Columbia & Western Railway. You will lose the game if at the end of a month this is not the case.
This also is the case for the Columbia&Kootenay and Nelson&Fort Sheppard Railroads. The Columbia & Kootenay was founded by the CPR, an arch rival for the development of that area. The Nelson&Fort Sheppard was US owned and had acquired the rights to run the RR also with much difficulty and were not about to hand over that very lucrative business, of that time, to anyone else.
Within the workings of the game I needed to prevent those mergers from happening but once a merger is completed there is no way back anymore. So, for the time, I left it up to the player to find out the hard way (by basically restarting the game) that those mergers are not possible. Not a good way to do it but I felt with the objectives outlined and references provided it would be, at this time, not be a major obstacle for testing the map.
Perhaps a reference should be made that those three companies and maybe the CPR as well, should be taken over and raided in order to get the Tycoon Points for them once they fold (if the CPR ever folds given the moneys it receives to stay afloat).
Ray of Sunshine, below I have added some of the basic information of the map. Hope that will help somewhat.
1.0 MAP INFORMATION AND MAIN OBJECTIVES.
1.1 MAP INFORMATION
1.1.1 RT3 Map description.
This map is based on a topographical image of South Central British Columbia. This image has been transposed into a 1024x1024 RT3 map. Even though the positioning of the rivers within a valley might not be precisely where they actually are, they are overall very close to their actual location. The location of the cities is also reasonably accurate.
The map scale is about 0.32km (0.2miles) per tile, which makes the map 330km x 330km. All mountains of about 1900m to 2000m or above are snow capped.
An attempt has been made for all rivers are sloped from the source to where they leave the map area. However some very localized uphill running rivers sections might still be encountered (especially due to random industry/resource placement).
There are 79 cities with many different industry/resource bases. In addition there are 7 regions with different industry/resource environments.
1.1.2 Area Background and Historical information.
The map area covers a region that is dominated by large mountain ranges and divided by valleys predominantly running in a north-south direction. Those geological features were a major obstacle to easy access from the more eastern part of Canada but were finally conquered in 1887 by the CPR and its Trans Canadian Railway.
The province of British Columbia did not approve of this more northerly transcontinental route and was dismayed since this route bypassed the rich mining areas in the southern part. The CPR still in bad financial shape and trying to recuperate from the enormous cost of building the transcontinental route promised however that the southern areas would be serviced. The lack of progress in getting it done caused the province and the industries of the area much dissatisfaction.
Nevertheless, the CPR would become a major player in developing the southern areas by establishing Lake/River boat services and also by started or buying several smaller railroad companies like the Columbia & Kootenay Railway. Using those means of transportation serviced the area reasonably well. It however, at the time, was by far from being the only player in the area and it had plenty of reasons to be concerned about the expansion of the US companies into the area.
The transportation companies in the northern U.S. were not much inconvenienced by the geographical layout of the land. They simply just needed to follow the river valleys north. James Hill with his subsidiary Kaslo & Sandon Railway as well as James Corbin’s Spokane Falls & Northern were two such railroads making substantial advances into the area. With James Hill’s Kaslo & Sandon railway servicing the rich ore fields in the Sandon area he competed head on head with the CPR. Once the Ore was in Kaslo it was, by using boat service on the Kootenay Lake, within a half a days boat ride from his Great Northern Rail Terminal at Bonners Ferry.
The main obstacle to progress for the U.S. companies was the political arena and it took much trickery and persuasion of many kinds to gain a foothold in Canada. No doubt the CPR had more than a minor interest to make sure that charters were not issued by the Federal Government to any company from the U.S. and particularly not to their arch rival James Hill’s Great Northern.
The Provincial Government of British Columbia found itself however in a dilemma. At the one hand it wanted to see the areas mineral richness explored and developed and did not care what railway would do that. At the other hand it knew that if it was an U.S. transportation company it would chose to transport the raw materials south, out of the province and country, to be processed. This would then deprive it of much of the economic benefits the processing of the ores would provide. The fallout of all the plans made and schemes set up to bring a Canadian railroad to this area caused even the provincial government to fall, indicative of the desperation the province was in to find a solution.
This map starts at a time when Fritz Heinze millionaire owner and operator of a Smelter in Butte, Montana, and builder of the new Smelter in Trail offered his holdings in the Trail area up for sale. Speculations were that the reason for his desire to sell was mostly based on his dependence on other transportation companies to supply his Smelter with most of the required materials. The future was not going to bring much improvement for him no matter who would eventually win the transportation war for the area. With his own finances strained and thus not able to fulfill his dream of building a railway out of the area to become independent in that respect, he chose to move on to better things in the U.S.
What historically happened was that Fritz Heinze sold his company assets, railway and Smelter, to the CPR. This was really the turning point for the CPR in Western Canada and led to the eventual total domination of the areas transportation sector. The CPR receiving large land grants for the Crowsnest Pass rail link into Southern BC ended up with huge coal reserves in the Crowsnest Pass area and was able to supply its as well as other smelters in the area with coal and coke. Once they had the monopoly in the transportation sector the CPR and its practices were very much a sore point for the Provincial Government and other industries in the area.
1.1.3 The map and how you fit in.
For purpose of playing this RT3 scenario the CPR did not purchase the Holdings of Fritz Heinze but were beaten to it by “YOU”. As the new proprietor of the Columbia and Western Railroad you have the opportunity to finish what Fritz Heinze was unable to do. Good Luck.
1.2 SCENARIO MAIN OBJECTIVES
1.2.1 Objectives General.
An effort was made to provide two primary paths to a Gold Medal win. One is centered on providing good rail service to the area and the other to control the economy of the area by merging with other companies and/or eliminating the competition. Some components of each of the paths are needed for a win. It might also be possible that a player does not choose a primary path and selects a route to a win by borrowing equally from both main paths.
The main objectives could be broken down into the following requirements:
1.) Provide a connection from your Trail Smelter to Midland, Penticton and Petain (Hope).
2.) Service the Canadian Smelters by supplying raw materials and removing finished goods.
3.) Eliminate or merge with competing transportation companies and/or merge with other “industrial” companies.
Some tasks outlined above will, depending on how successfully they are carried out, add to your “Tycoon” status. Only if you reach a certain Tycoon rating will you be able to reach the Gold Medal. Furthermore, only games played at “Expert” level will enable you to reach the Gold Medal.
1.2.2 Connection requirement.
This main requirement is broken down into three tasks. The first one, starting almost imminently at the beginning of the game, is to connect to the city of Midway followed by the Penticton and Petain connections. Other connection offerings will be made but those however, are optional.
1.2.3 Servicing of Canadian Smelters.
Each of the four listed Smelters has the same requirements. They will need iron ore, coal, goods, meat and alcohol delivered and steel picked up.
There are three basic ways of receiving rewards for servicing each Smelter. One is for delivery/pick-up of at least one load of all required cargos. The second is for reaching a minimum delivery amount of each of the required cargos. The third is based on your total service to that smelter i.e. if you deliver/pick-up all requested types of cargo and the minimum amount of at least four of the six cargos, you will get a further reward.
At the locations not already having a station adjacent to a Smelter, place a station exactly where requested to do so (Stations need to be within the Smelters territory) otherwise your deliveries will not be counted.
1.2.4 Merging with or Eliminating other Companies.
The 16 listed companies can be divided into three main groups, the Transportation companies, the potential customers of transportation companies and the support companies.
The basic idea is to eliminate all other railroad companies by any available means including, if you find a good reason to do so, merger. All other companies should whenever possible be merged with your company.
Additional rewards are given for the absence of some of the companies.
1.2.5 Accumulate Tycoon Reputation points.
For many of the above mentioned completed tasks as well as other tasks, points will be awarded toward the “Tycoon” status. A certain number (25) of those points are required for your gold medal win. Some actions in the game can also be cause for you to lose some points. A higher quantity of points might open doors and opportunities for you that otherwise might not be available. A change in your tycoon count will be indicated during a game.
1.2.6 To remain Chairman of the Columbia & Western Railway..
In order for you to play the game it is necessary for you to remain the Chairman of the Columbia & Western Railway. You will lose the game if at the end of a month this is not the case.
The man who has no imagination has no wings. (Muhammad Ali)
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RayofSunshine
- CEO
- Posts: 1289
- Joined: Sat Nov 11, 2006 12:04 pm
- Location: Colorado Springs, CO
Re: SCBC Review
Thanks for the hints and suggestions JSS. I had to learn the hard way with the merger.
As for the goals, I did manage to get the bronze. I did have a question on the requirement of the "meat". From Princeton, I was hauling "meat" every year to a couple of cities, of which were not tabulated in the ledger. Good revenue, but no tabulated credit. Is there a requirement of "destination" for "meat", although there did not seem to be a factor for the rest of the commodities?
I don't know what you can do to improve the scenario, even though I had some problems getting a tunnel constructed. It has some very interesting concepts for goals, and although I don't relish mountainous scenarios, I really enjoyed this scenario. 
As for the goals, I did manage to get the bronze. I did have a question on the requirement of the "meat". From Princeton, I was hauling "meat" every year to a couple of cities, of which were not tabulated in the ledger. Good revenue, but no tabulated credit. Is there a requirement of "destination" for "meat", although there did not seem to be a factor for the rest of the commodities?
I don't know what you can do to improve the scenario, even though I had some problems getting a tunnel constructed. It has some very interesting concepts for goals, and although I don't relish mountainous scenarios, I really enjoyed this scenario.
Re: SCBC Review
Ray of Sunshine, congrats for managing to get the Bronze.
It sounds you completed "Phase 1" of the scenario and that is the Petin connection. Did you manage to get any "early" connections and the associated incentives? It used to be a mad rush to make the connections in a timely manner and often one was forced to wait for cash to keep going again - just like it was in reality.
To the best of my recollection hauling meat to some cities will only help you financially. I did at one point have another event associated with meat deliveries but I don't think it made it into the last version. Meat transported to smelters however, will help you to get Tycoon points.
The main areas to improve on, once the remaining bugs are eliminated, are smaller events which I call "Filler Events" to keep the player occupied and perhaps help a bit to get extra bonuses. For instance a few offers could be made by other companies to make the construction tasks easier. This would help to perhaps prevent players from taking over or merging most companies at the beginning of the game.
The available unused map area is fairly large and could also be used to run a few extra pieces of track. Anyhow this is for the future when I will have lots of time again.
It sounds you completed "Phase 1" of the scenario and that is the Petin connection. Did you manage to get any "early" connections and the associated incentives? It used to be a mad rush to make the connections in a timely manner and often one was forced to wait for cash to keep going again - just like it was in reality.
To the best of my recollection hauling meat to some cities will only help you financially. I did at one point have another event associated with meat deliveries but I don't think it made it into the last version. Meat transported to smelters however, will help you to get Tycoon points.
The main areas to improve on, once the remaining bugs are eliminated, are smaller events which I call "Filler Events" to keep the player occupied and perhaps help a bit to get extra bonuses. For instance a few offers could be made by other companies to make the construction tasks easier. This would help to perhaps prevent players from taking over or merging most companies at the beginning of the game.
The available unused map area is fairly large and could also be used to run a few extra pieces of track. Anyhow this is for the future when I will have lots of time again.
The man who has no imagination has no wings. (Muhammad Ali)
-
RayofSunshine
- CEO
- Posts: 1289
- Joined: Sat Nov 11, 2006 12:04 pm
- Location: Colorado Springs, CO
Re: SCBC Review
Truthfully JSS,
I don't believe that I made the cnn to Petin. There is another AI occuping that area, and being that mergers are not the incentive, or able to acess the territory, none of which I remember at this point. My notes got thrown away.
The industires of both the loggin/lumber was to enhance the "coal" for steel at the smelters. And the livestock was abundant enough to obtain revenue. But again, I don't recall early compliance of goals for incentives, but the revenue from the meat, which was lucretive, was to help complete the goals within the time frame.
I will just have to boot up the scenario to try and refresh my memory. Well eventually, as I am in the attempt of testing the Greece scenario. Getting behind with the testing of a couple of betas. Just having too much fun.
I don't believe that I made the cnn to Petin. There is another AI occuping that area, and being that mergers are not the incentive, or able to acess the territory, none of which I remember at this point. My notes got thrown away.
The industires of both the loggin/lumber was to enhance the "coal" for steel at the smelters. And the livestock was abundant enough to obtain revenue. But again, I don't recall early compliance of goals for incentives, but the revenue from the meat, which was lucretive, was to help complete the goals within the time frame.
I will just have to boot up the scenario to try and refresh my memory. Well eventually, as I am in the attempt of testing the Greece scenario. Getting behind with the testing of a couple of betas. Just having too much fun.