The Baghdad Railway
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jerseyjunior
- Hobo
- Posts: 22
- Joined: Thu Nov 16, 2006 7:31 pm
- Location: Brooklyn, NY
The Baghdad Railway
my favorite scenarios have been by E. Porter Hopson as he adds many historical events into his maps effectively putting you into that time and place: American Civil War Ver. 6 (especially after reading The Most Hated Man in the Southern States) and Gilded Age. However, it seems as though one of the most highly reviewed scenarios is The Baghdad Railway by Lars (Lama) Maischak. There is even a sound pack for authentic Arab sounds available for it so you don't have to listen to "western" sounds. But, I have to tell ya, I think I'm a savy manager, but I have yet to win this scenario. It's freaking hard!!! :? I must be missing something here.
Thanks for the kudos (EPH is E Porter Hopson - that's me!)
I confess 'Baghdad Railway' is one of my alltime favorites; it has just enough things for the player to do to stay hooked, turn after turn.
I usually begin with industry; textiles, lumber and paper are favorites, as is a distillery. An easy 'first' rail line is south from Ankara to Konya. Konya looks like a waste of time as it is a tiny little place, but it is VERY important. There's usually iron around Konya, and you need that for steel. Why? Because 1 steel + 1 lumber = TRACK and you need all the track you can get!
Once you have steel production going, expand the rail net from Ankara around to Istanbul, picking up industries whenever you can. Make sure you have tool & die or other plants to use up the steel you're hauling! Likewise, furniture, toys and weapons plants are needed to help use lumber.
With steel production in hand and income pouring in from industries, building the railway on to Baghdad is difficult (because of terrain) but do-able.
I think you can never start a year with more than 200 units of track, so once you get steel and lumber flowing, use ALL your track every year.
Once the track is connected to Baghdad you'll need at lead 3 years to haul the necessary products (I've done it in 3 but I recommend you allow at least 5).
No doubt 'Baghdad Railway' is a classic. When it comes to balancing a game and keeping the player busy every turn, this one shows us how it ought to be done. :)
I confess 'Baghdad Railway' is one of my alltime favorites; it has just enough things for the player to do to stay hooked, turn after turn.
I usually begin with industry; textiles, lumber and paper are favorites, as is a distillery. An easy 'first' rail line is south from Ankara to Konya. Konya looks like a waste of time as it is a tiny little place, but it is VERY important. There's usually iron around Konya, and you need that for steel. Why? Because 1 steel + 1 lumber = TRACK and you need all the track you can get!
Once you have steel production going, expand the rail net from Ankara around to Istanbul, picking up industries whenever you can. Make sure you have tool & die or other plants to use up the steel you're hauling! Likewise, furniture, toys and weapons plants are needed to help use lumber.
With steel production in hand and income pouring in from industries, building the railway on to Baghdad is difficult (because of terrain) but do-able.
I think you can never start a year with more than 200 units of track, so once you get steel and lumber flowing, use ALL your track every year.
Once the track is connected to Baghdad you'll need at lead 3 years to haul the necessary products (I've done it in 3 but I recommend you allow at least 5).
No doubt 'Baghdad Railway' is a classic. When it comes to balancing a game and keeping the player busy every turn, this one shows us how it ought to be done. :)
The optimist proclaims we live in the best of all possible worlds; and the pessimist fears this is true." - James Branch Cabell
Lama and EPH are two of the best. What I like is their ability to put you there. So each scenario is a walk through history, and usually the coding is not complex, nor the map gigantic. Burma is one example, and I may post soon about strategies for that one.
Before I dive into scenario strategy, I would just like to comment on how scenarios limit track. Baghdad Railway requires hauling of lumber and steel; Trans-Siberian is one or the other; other scenarios dole it out at regular intervals. In each case they should reflect the factors that were limiting for the track builders. I presume that over much of the Baghdad-Istanbul route, lumber and steel were both limited so they had to be hauled. In other scenarios, the land may be wooded so a portable lumber mill would have done fine. In still other scenarios, track construction would be a function of labour availability. Where there were no limiting factors other than cost, you would have unrestricted track construction.
Usually Konya is the best place to build a steel mill, with both iron and coal nearby. Also it is far enough from other cities that the steel won't walk away easily. Konya is also a good area to set up a textile mill. You would have a lumber mill at Ankara or Kirikale.
Then you place furniture, goods, toys, weapons and ammunition factories at other cities, far enough to need hauling, but not too far. Polatli is a good place to haul lumber and steel. You need the ammo and weapons for the win, but the domestic products are good for steady local income.
If you don't have the coal and iron supplies needed near Konya, look around Gaziantep. You can haul steel to tool&die around there, and still do the lumber chains around Ankara.
So generally the railway begins around Ankara and expands with few spur lines and little double track toward Istanbul and Baghdad.
Before I dive into scenario strategy, I would just like to comment on how scenarios limit track. Baghdad Railway requires hauling of lumber and steel; Trans-Siberian is one or the other; other scenarios dole it out at regular intervals. In each case they should reflect the factors that were limiting for the track builders. I presume that over much of the Baghdad-Istanbul route, lumber and steel were both limited so they had to be hauled. In other scenarios, the land may be wooded so a portable lumber mill would have done fine. In still other scenarios, track construction would be a function of labour availability. Where there were no limiting factors other than cost, you would have unrestricted track construction.
Usually Konya is the best place to build a steel mill, with both iron and coal nearby. Also it is far enough from other cities that the steel won't walk away easily. Konya is also a good area to set up a textile mill. You would have a lumber mill at Ankara or Kirikale.
Then you place furniture, goods, toys, weapons and ammunition factories at other cities, far enough to need hauling, but not too far. Polatli is a good place to haul lumber and steel. You need the ammo and weapons for the win, but the domestic products are good for steady local income.
If you don't have the coal and iron supplies needed near Konya, look around Gaziantep. You can haul steel to tool&die around there, and still do the lumber chains around Ankara.
So generally the railway begins around Ankara and expands with few spur lines and little double track toward Istanbul and Baghdad.
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jerseyjunior
- Hobo
- Posts: 22
- Joined: Thu Nov 16, 2006 7:31 pm
- Location: Brooklyn, NY
Ugh - apologies for the starting questions - you and EPH were pretty detailed there. I guess I just need better strategy. I tried to tackle this thing again last night and failed miserably.
i started with the Ankara/Konya - and note, there is not always iron capable of making it to Konya in a timely fashion - and bought the lumber mill in Konya pretty much depleting my funds.
it seems as though eventually I am able to get a profitable railway up and running, but I think I spend too much time on it.
This scenario must be a race I think.
I always run out of time. I can't even imagine ever making it across the map before the end of 1914. I don't know how you guys do it. Maybe I should not play it on hard.
i started with the Ankara/Konya - and note, there is not always iron capable of making it to Konya in a timely fashion - and bought the lumber mill in Konya pretty much depleting my funds.
it seems as though eventually I am able to get a profitable railway up and running, but I think I spend too much time on it.
This scenario must be a race I think.
I always run out of time. I can't even imagine ever making it across the map before the end of 1914. I don't know how you guys do it. Maybe I should not play it on hard.
First of all, I'd like to say that I am delighted that people are still playing this map, and that it still manages to stump a few of you. 8)
I pretty much agree with the strategies described by JayEff and EPH.
That's how I've often done it. Besides, you really don't want to get stuck with no track, and no way to acquire more track.
There was a long thread from when the map was new, on the Gathering forum. Maybe Hawk still has it?
[In response to the two following posts:]
Thank you, Hawk! I can never find anything in the recesses of my folder structure.
I pretty much agree with the strategies described by JayEff and EPH.
That's how I've often done it. Besides, you really don't want to get stuck with no track, and no way to acquire more track.
There was a long thread from when the map was new, on the Gathering forum. Maybe Hawk still has it?
[In response to the two following posts:]
Thank you, Hawk! I can never find anything in the recesses of my folder structure.
Last edited by Lama on Sat Dec 02, 2006 10:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Yes I do. I just found it, along with a bunch other user made map strategies from the old Gathering forums.There was a long thread from when the map was new, on the Gathering forum. Maybe Hawk still has it?
Here it is. :D
Last edited by Hawk on Sat Dec 02, 2006 8:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Hawk
The Baghdad Railway
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There is a new map available, "The Baghdad Railway".
It is set in the Ottoman Empire, covering the time period from 1885-1914, and has events and victory conditions for single- as well as multi-player.
You can download it from the following sites:
Hawk & Badger Railroad
(map page) http://hawkdawg.com/rrt/rrt3/map_arch/map_index.htm
The Terminal
http://theterminal.dune2k.com/
Express World
http://www.express-world.co.uk/rt3/
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Right on thanks, have you tried it yet? I really like the early age.
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Just played it this evening. Very nice scenario.
Got gold in 1911 after a few bad starts. (And a hint from the author.)
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I'm glad you liked the map, and congratulations on the Gold! 1911 beats my earliest finish by two years. Seems like one of the trains carrying oil to Istanbul always crashes. Wonder if the odds for that increase if we're hauling hazmats?
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wrote: Wonder if the odds for that increase if we're hauling hazmats?
Once I got the steel and wood issue settled I finished the line from Ankara to Istanbul. Then I started at Baghdad and ran track toward Turkey. At the Turkish mountains I built a small station and sent many trains with about 35 carloads of oil there from Baghdad.
I haulted the trains just before they got to that station as I waited for my track count to build up to where I could finish the line. When the line was done I rerouted the trains to go to Istanbul.
I almost overlooked the ammunition. I had a steel mill in Mesopotamia feeding a weapons plant. But once I had the 4 loads shipped I couldn't get the steel to the ammo plant. I ended up bulldozing my weapons plant to get the steel from it to the nearby ammo plant.
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I cant get any steel or timber hauled desite 3 different tries and the authors hints
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did you build a steel mill? And no lumber at all? Once you have any line to a place that has a lumber mill, you should at least see some lumber get on your trains.
Definitely use custom consist - I recommend having one slot reserved to lumber on every train leaving from a city with a lumber source; and even running a train dedicated to nothing but lumber from cities with a lumber source to cities with an industry demanding lumber (toy, furniture, or weapons factories).
Make sure the finished products of the industries demanding lumber or steel get transported. Reserve custom consist slots for those, too, on trains leaving the stations in cities with toy, furniture, or weapons factories, or a tool & die. That way, demand for lumber and steel will remain high.
For steel, build a steel mill early on (not first thing, since it will lose money until the iron starts getting there; but after you have a reliable income source). In chosing a location for a steel mill, pick one that has iron nearby. Better even if it also has a tool & die nearby. Buy the iron mines that feed your steel mill, even if they lose money, to keep them from disapperaring.
Build a tool & die in a town connected to the one that has the steel mill; or buy & upgrade an existing tool & die. Build a weapons and/or munitions factory in other nearby towns - steel wil only go to industries, not houses.
Remember that you can build unconnected track - it might pay off to have three different, isolated networks at first, where you can haul steel and/or iron, and to connect them later, with the additional track you get from making the required hauls of steel & iron.
Let me know if this works for you.
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ONE OF MY TRIES WAS TO RUN A TRAIN FROM AN IRON MINING AREA TO ISTANBUL WHERE I BUILT A STEEL MILL. DIDN'T WORK!!!!
And (now I've removed the caps lock) I'd mention that I always play on Expert which might make some difference and as the industry costs are only about 10% less than normal they've taken so much money that I've nothing left for anything else so if they're not productive thats it. cant therefor build a lumber mill as well as a steel mill.
I dont know how much the scenario varies with each start and this could make a difference. On another attempt there were only two iron mines where there were three the previous time so a lucky start does come into it.
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Very impressive scenario, as good as an official Poptop map.
Got Gold in January 1913 on moderate skill.
Go on further making such nice maps.
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thank you very much for your comment; that's the type of review that will get me to keep making maps
hey, no need to yell at me for.
How did you cover the demand side for the steel? Watch the cargo overlay for steel, and if there isn't at least some dark shade of yellow for steel somewhere on your line, it won't go anywhere.
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I restarted the game at least 3 times and it seemed like the iron was always in the same places. Some south of Ankara, some east of Istanbul and some down by Syria. Since there was coal near Ankara I ran a line down to the iron mines south of it (About 30-40 cells).
I actually started by buying a lumber mill, a toy factory, and something else. When I had enough profit I built a line to the town to the west of Ankara. I saved enough track to go after the iron after I bought the steel mill. But it must of been at least 7 years before I could get enough bonds to do that.
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WOW GREAT map/scenario. I got the gold on hard in 1906. After a few years building industries I made a beautiful start. I connected Ankara (which had a lumber mill and a (built) tool and die) to a location where I built a steel mill. At that location I was able to build a furniture factury, so with 1 type of train I could fullfill the 10 lumber/steel demand. After that the cash just rolled in and it wasn't even that hard to complete the scenario. I think I was lucky with the start resources...
I'm looking forward to your next map!
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Thank you Lama for those very beautiful seesights...
IMPRESSIVE!
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IMHO Great map, I really like that era. Limited track cells and the ability to produce thus said track cells proved to be a real challenge, for me anyway. I also liked the extended time limits to achieve gold medal status. You really need make industry work on this map. Looking forward to more like it. On a side note, I get such great framerates on this map that I can max out all the video settings.
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Great map, how about a 60 year scenario now, there is a shortage of long play scenarios.
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Great map - enjoyed playing it very much.
Got gold in 1904 playing hard difficulty.
Game opened with a slew of logging camps and a timber mill near Ankara. Bought the mill, upgraded it, built two paper mills, upgraded those, and then placed furniture and toy factories in adjoining towns. Connected these and lumber hauling requirement was met.
Started with 3 iron and four coal mines in the mountains south of Istanbul. When finances permitted I placed a steel mill here and ran a rail line down to nearest city where I placed 2 tool and die factories. Later, after Bagdad was connected, I placed ammo and weapons factories here and then ran dedicated trains to Bagdad.
Halfway to Bagdad there was a city in the center of a wool producing area. As soon as I got there, I built two textile mills and then ran four clothing dedicated trauns to Istanbul as clothing was produced. Oil requirement was met by running dedicated trains from Basra to Istanbul.
Really enjoyed this map. Consider yourself the recipient of an official Grumpus "ATTABOY!" (for whatever that's worth!)
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I've been meaning to respond to the posts here for a while, and say thank you for your comments. Better late than never: Thanks to all of you for the very kind feedback!
I hardly ever build the steel mill within the first 5 years, either. It seems to be different in multiplayer - there, everyone wants to get ahead on the added track as soon as possible, so there ensues some impressive industrializational activity early on.
Since the multiplayer win condition is cooperative as well as competetive (you have to have the most track, but no-one wins, unless the line is completed), I've seen loads shared fairly generously: One line will deliver lumber A-B, another will pick it up for B-C.
Random distribution at the start can have a huge impact, but 1906 on hard is still impressive. My record on hard is 1912.
glad you liked the landscaping. All hand-made, by having a satelite image of the area next to the computer while painting the landscape, and just going for a similar look.
I'm not sure why the framerates were so good. Could be either or both of the following: a) sparse trees, b/c there's so much desert and ocean; b) fairly small map. I like to keep my maps small, so that they will work on lower-end machines.
I found the long-play scenarios difficult to make even in RT2, where you could start new 'episodes' or 'missions' every 10 years or so. You can no longer do that in RT3, b/c they left out the editor feature of setting variables to numerical trigger results (this feature allowed for things like counting only lumber hauled btw. years 10-20 of a map, for example).
After you hit the 'take-off' point, the challenge is gone, unless you have difficult load-count objectives to meet.
To maintain a challenge beyond 20 yrs., you either need a HUGE map or an artificially defered take-off point.
AFAIAC, huge maps are out, see above. Baghdad Rwy uses track laying as a deferment scheme. Another way to delay take-off could be to prohibit building and buying industry. I might try that in another map.
You can play Baghdad Rwy open-ended, btw.: Each medal win event gives you 100,000K buildable track cells.
AFAIK, 1904 on hard is the record. Your strategy is very similar to the one I found to work best.
I have placed the 'official Grumpus "ATTABOY!"' on the spot on the shelf I had so far reserved for the academy award for lifetime achievement. Praise like that sure takes the sting out of having been passed over, once more, for the Oscars.
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In the spirit of providing ongoing and dedicated product support (cough...), I wanted to share the following information/requests:
1.) A German translation of 'The Baghdad Railway' will be available at molse's website (http://rrt3.molbs209.de/) within a few days. My thanks to him and the Kleinen Muck for their interest in having this map translated, and for their cooperation.
2.) Add-on: I'd like to produce an add-on that would enable the player to replace the barracks and church sounds with more regional themes while playing the Baghdad map.
If anyone could help me with locating or producing
- a wav file (ca. 10 seconds long) of a muezzin's prayer call and
- a wav file (ca. 20-30 seconds long) of a janissaries' band playing,
that would be greatly appreciated.
3.) I'd like to try and get together some people for playing this map in multi-player. I'll be on the in-game server Saturday, March 20th, 4pm EST (US-East Coast); would anyone like to join me?
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Finally downloaded this map. Very nice!
The scenario is a challenge; can never seem to get enough track. Lumber mills and steel mill np to get built, never seem to carry enuff of the stuff around.
Not a complaint btw; great map and scenario
Yippeee!!! Got the gold in 1912-13 The track limits are a killer for me...really had to pay attention to getting lumber and steel moving
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Great Map!
What I think make it good is that its concentrated on building and logistics, not the economy like most maps, this changes the viewpoint to more the way I like it!
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this scenario is brilliant! In addition to the good things others have said, I would like to mention:
Clever tracklaying deferment makes it quite difficult initially to puzzle out a successful strategy.
Two good starting places, Ankara or Adana.
It is actually possible to build prototypical track alongside a river! (Izmit)
Beautiful scenery: love to watch a 8-car oil train chugging along the Euphrates, disappearing into the sunset. Wonderful vistas from the mountain passes too.
Many good routes waiting to be discovered. After getting gold on expert in Jan 1911, I still think I could optimize more.
In short: excellent replayability! I hope you have the time to design some
more maps. Better still: PopTop should offer you a job!
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I've been using RT3 screenshots as desktop background images for a while now, and one I keep returning to is the image of a mixed freight train, accelerating from a water tower and bound for Baghdad through the desert, while the sun is setting over the horizon.
I am currently working on a map where I've tried to have as many nice landscape features as I could think of and realize - a large, undulating plain; a broad river-bed lined by bluffs; villages with a church pre-placed in a grassy town square; tree-lined country roads; hilly headlands ending in a sheer cliff by the ocean, to name the most important ones.
RT3 really is superior to RT2 in terms of eye candy, and we should take advantage of this, to the fullest extent.
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Well I'm still having problems here but as I've posted them on the Termianl forum I wont repeat - it was only when Terminal told us to search for Rwy instead of Railway that I found this !!
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Just tried this oldie but goodie myself over the weekend. Very good scenario Lama. Interesting goals. A scenario easy enough not to be frustrating and not so tedious as to take the whole 30 years. And none of those stupid surprise killer events where you have to try and second guess the author to figure out what you can and can't do, then restart or quit.
I found limited track laying was the critical path, encouraging not much branching and not much double-tracking. Eventually, there was no point in even buying more industry while waiting for track allowances. Bonus track for side quests might have been interesting, as would separate ways of earning single and double track.
Getting the ammo and weapons factories to produce was difficult. At one point I even bulldosed a T&D for $2M or so thinking it was too near the ammo factory and had higher demand. Need to study exactly what makes some of these things produce. Also need to watch closely for trains stealing steel and lumber from critical sites.
I started Ankara-Eskisehir in 1887 but built a separate layout out of Gaziantep to iron and coal for a steel mill I built there in 1888. Built a T&D at one of the iron mines in 1891. I didn't connect these 2 lines for quite a while, to finally get lumber down there for weapons.
By the time I could make my final connection, Sanliurfa to Gaziantep, I was ready with oil from Baghdad on trains stopped in transit, and sent down weapons and ammo out of the Adana area at about the same time.
By the time I got gold 1/1906 (on Expert), I had $98M CBV including $31M cash and $44M industry, running 26 trains, not counting the one-shot weapons, ammo and oil trains. Laid 3350 track of which 254 were double, & 52-track tunnel from Gaziantep to Adana, with 388 in reserve. No tunnels on main line, no special traction or engines.
If I were to play it again, I would bring lumber and steel together earlier and would build each critical industry (ammo, weapons, clothing) off by itself where no train could boldly go.
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Just thought I'd join this forum to congratulate the author of "The Baghdad Railway" and boast about the fact that it is possible to complete it and get gold on "hard" by April 1899 (although you dont actually get the medal until the end of the year). I think I've enjoyed playing this map more than any of the standard maps supplied with RT3, although I should really be doing something more constructive (like re-decorating the bathroom).
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Built from Istanbul to the next city where there was a lumber mill, the only one in the area.
Crossed the river and up the hill with 19% grades up and down, to a logging camp the only one in the area.
Passed two iron mines, A third Iron mine was just over the hill. these were the only 3 in the area. Built a station covering two of the iron mines on the mainline to the logging camp.
built a spur just past the bridge up the hill to a coal mine. The only one in the area. Built a tool and die in istanbul.
Built a station and steel plant on the main line where the spur started off to the coal mine.
Had good traffic between istanbul and the 2nd city. I was now out of buildable track.
But, for 6 years iron would not ship to my steel mill a short distance down the hill.
My Coal train came over the hill to supplied the mill with no problem and I was making lumber.
After 3 years built a steel mill in Istanbul. The iron shipped to Istanbul with no problem. But Coal would not for the next 3 years.
Without the ability to earn new buildable track and out of money, I ended my effort.
Now again waiting for the 104 patch.
Used the loan sharks to get 20 million dollars and built postoffices and used bulldozers to fix the 19% grades to the logging camp. Used all the money and was able to reduce the grade to 7%.
Then opened Trainz and slowly loaded 8 coal cars under the chute at the mine. Took them to the power plant and slowing unloaded them over the coal dump. Success. The evening wasn't a total lost.
Don't know what I did wrong in Istanbul. If I had let the wagons bring in the iron to the mill the mill may have been fed. The iron mines did have a down hill run. The Logs and coal may not have come over the mountains without help.
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sorry about the slow start on this map! I have had that happen to me, too.
Generally, I've found that cramming the entire chain of steel-related industry into the area btw. Istanbul and Sakarya doesn't work too well: goods travel over the flat stretches by themselves, evening out demand, and thus leading to goods not boarding trains.
Better to have a mountain range btw. the steel mill and the tool & die.
I also never haul iron and coal, I just let them flow to the mill by themselves, which they'll usually start doing no later than three years after I built the steel mill. So you need a good revenue base b4 building that steel mill, to buffer the losses.
I do buy the nearest iron mines right away, though, to make sure they don't disappear (and they have a nasty tendency to do just that).
As soon as I can afford, I'll build another industry demanding steel. Wpns. and ammo near (or even in) a town that has barracks have worked well. An added benefit is that you can take the wpns. and ammo from there once you have completed the line to Baghdad. Both types of loads pay good money on delivery.
Hope you'll give it another try & have a better start.
I haven't gotten around to trying your Roman Empire map yet, but I d/l-ed it. Have been too busy with my day job; and, as it used to be with RT2, I seem to be better with, an hence more motivated to, making maps, than playing them.
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My frustration wasn't with your map, which is outstanding.
It was with the game engine. I just wanted a short relaxed game without worrying about trying to reach the win goals.
I should have been able to make my plan work.
Planting a station at the iron mines should have been doable.
I think if I had let the iron flow, the plan would have worked. But, I don't own wagons I own trains.
Maybe we should be able to own the wagon companies.
A Tycoon would buy out the competition, but wagon companies were not much competition for RRs.
Well shoot, I don't want to re-hash the same old grips.
Like you I don't play the maps that much.
Building maps are more fun.
Now if the 104 patch would just come out.
But then, if it is not ready then I don't want it yet.
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It was with the game engine. I just wanted a short relaxed game without worrying about trying to reach the win goals.
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I never got interested in sandbox.
If the Game only had sand box it would have been off my hard drive long ago.
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that's one of my favorite maps (It is difficult granted) Gwizz as a beta tester, did you have any input towards the final release or were you totaly ignored?
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During beta testing there were many problems to solve. We were listened to. But toward the end I believe the rush was put on PopTop to complete the game and while beta testing continued, interaction seemed to come to an end. Shortly after that the game went gold. IMHO the game needed more work and testing before going gold.
My comments were only about my lack of interest in playing a map in sandbox and my style of game play which does not fit the new Economic model very well. The new economic systen is good but lacks a toggle for The RRT2 style of game play and the control of what I can haul.
I was not criticizing the map. The map is outstanding.
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There is a new map available, "The Baghdad Railway".
It is set in the Ottoman Empire, covering the time period from 1885-1914, and has events and victory conditions for single- as well as multi-player.
You can download it from the following sites:
Hawk & Badger Railroad
(map page) http://hawkdawg.com/rrt/rrt3/map_arch/map_index.htm
The Terminal
http://theterminal.dune2k.com/
Express World
http://www.express-world.co.uk/rt3/
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Right on thanks, have you tried it yet? I really like the early age.
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Just played it this evening. Very nice scenario.
Got gold in 1911 after a few bad starts. (And a hint from the author.)
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I'm glad you liked the map, and congratulations on the Gold! 1911 beats my earliest finish by two years. Seems like one of the trains carrying oil to Istanbul always crashes. Wonder if the odds for that increase if we're hauling hazmats?
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wrote: Wonder if the odds for that increase if we're hauling hazmats?
Once I got the steel and wood issue settled I finished the line from Ankara to Istanbul. Then I started at Baghdad and ran track toward Turkey. At the Turkish mountains I built a small station and sent many trains with about 35 carloads of oil there from Baghdad.
I haulted the trains just before they got to that station as I waited for my track count to build up to where I could finish the line. When the line was done I rerouted the trains to go to Istanbul.
I almost overlooked the ammunition. I had a steel mill in Mesopotamia feeding a weapons plant. But once I had the 4 loads shipped I couldn't get the steel to the ammo plant. I ended up bulldozing my weapons plant to get the steel from it to the nearby ammo plant.
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I cant get any steel or timber hauled desite 3 different tries and the authors hints
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did you build a steel mill? And no lumber at all? Once you have any line to a place that has a lumber mill, you should at least see some lumber get on your trains.
Definitely use custom consist - I recommend having one slot reserved to lumber on every train leaving from a city with a lumber source; and even running a train dedicated to nothing but lumber from cities with a lumber source to cities with an industry demanding lumber (toy, furniture, or weapons factories).
Make sure the finished products of the industries demanding lumber or steel get transported. Reserve custom consist slots for those, too, on trains leaving the stations in cities with toy, furniture, or weapons factories, or a tool & die. That way, demand for lumber and steel will remain high.
For steel, build a steel mill early on (not first thing, since it will lose money until the iron starts getting there; but after you have a reliable income source). In chosing a location for a steel mill, pick one that has iron nearby. Better even if it also has a tool & die nearby. Buy the iron mines that feed your steel mill, even if they lose money, to keep them from disapperaring.
Build a tool & die in a town connected to the one that has the steel mill; or buy & upgrade an existing tool & die. Build a weapons and/or munitions factory in other nearby towns - steel wil only go to industries, not houses.
Remember that you can build unconnected track - it might pay off to have three different, isolated networks at first, where you can haul steel and/or iron, and to connect them later, with the additional track you get from making the required hauls of steel & iron.
Let me know if this works for you.
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ONE OF MY TRIES WAS TO RUN A TRAIN FROM AN IRON MINING AREA TO ISTANBUL WHERE I BUILT A STEEL MILL. DIDN'T WORK!!!!
And (now I've removed the caps lock) I'd mention that I always play on Expert which might make some difference and as the industry costs are only about 10% less than normal they've taken so much money that I've nothing left for anything else so if they're not productive thats it. cant therefor build a lumber mill as well as a steel mill.
I dont know how much the scenario varies with each start and this could make a difference. On another attempt there were only two iron mines where there were three the previous time so a lucky start does come into it.
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Very impressive scenario, as good as an official Poptop map.
Got Gold in January 1913 on moderate skill.
Go on further making such nice maps.
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thank you very much for your comment; that's the type of review that will get me to keep making maps
hey, no need to yell at me for.
How did you cover the demand side for the steel? Watch the cargo overlay for steel, and if there isn't at least some dark shade of yellow for steel somewhere on your line, it won't go anywhere.
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I restarted the game at least 3 times and it seemed like the iron was always in the same places. Some south of Ankara, some east of Istanbul and some down by Syria. Since there was coal near Ankara I ran a line down to the iron mines south of it (About 30-40 cells).
I actually started by buying a lumber mill, a toy factory, and something else. When I had enough profit I built a line to the town to the west of Ankara. I saved enough track to go after the iron after I bought the steel mill. But it must of been at least 7 years before I could get enough bonds to do that.
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WOW GREAT map/scenario. I got the gold on hard in 1906. After a few years building industries I made a beautiful start. I connected Ankara (which had a lumber mill and a (built) tool and die) to a location where I built a steel mill. At that location I was able to build a furniture factury, so with 1 type of train I could fullfill the 10 lumber/steel demand. After that the cash just rolled in and it wasn't even that hard to complete the scenario. I think I was lucky with the start resources...
I'm looking forward to your next map!
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Thank you Lama for those very beautiful seesights...
IMPRESSIVE!
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IMHO Great map, I really like that era. Limited track cells and the ability to produce thus said track cells proved to be a real challenge, for me anyway. I also liked the extended time limits to achieve gold medal status. You really need make industry work on this map. Looking forward to more like it. On a side note, I get such great framerates on this map that I can max out all the video settings.
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Great map, how about a 60 year scenario now, there is a shortage of long play scenarios.
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Great map - enjoyed playing it very much.
Got gold in 1904 playing hard difficulty.
Game opened with a slew of logging camps and a timber mill near Ankara. Bought the mill, upgraded it, built two paper mills, upgraded those, and then placed furniture and toy factories in adjoining towns. Connected these and lumber hauling requirement was met.
Started with 3 iron and four coal mines in the mountains south of Istanbul. When finances permitted I placed a steel mill here and ran a rail line down to nearest city where I placed 2 tool and die factories. Later, after Bagdad was connected, I placed ammo and weapons factories here and then ran dedicated trains to Bagdad.
Halfway to Bagdad there was a city in the center of a wool producing area. As soon as I got there, I built two textile mills and then ran four clothing dedicated trauns to Istanbul as clothing was produced. Oil requirement was met by running dedicated trains from Basra to Istanbul.
Really enjoyed this map. Consider yourself the recipient of an official Grumpus "ATTABOY!" (for whatever that's worth!)
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I've been meaning to respond to the posts here for a while, and say thank you for your comments. Better late than never: Thanks to all of you for the very kind feedback!
I hardly ever build the steel mill within the first 5 years, either. It seems to be different in multiplayer - there, everyone wants to get ahead on the added track as soon as possible, so there ensues some impressive industrializational activity early on.
Since the multiplayer win condition is cooperative as well as competetive (you have to have the most track, but no-one wins, unless the line is completed), I've seen loads shared fairly generously: One line will deliver lumber A-B, another will pick it up for B-C.
Random distribution at the start can have a huge impact, but 1906 on hard is still impressive. My record on hard is 1912.
glad you liked the landscaping. All hand-made, by having a satelite image of the area next to the computer while painting the landscape, and just going for a similar look.
I'm not sure why the framerates were so good. Could be either or both of the following: a) sparse trees, b/c there's so much desert and ocean; b) fairly small map. I like to keep my maps small, so that they will work on lower-end machines.
I found the long-play scenarios difficult to make even in RT2, where you could start new 'episodes' or 'missions' every 10 years or so. You can no longer do that in RT3, b/c they left out the editor feature of setting variables to numerical trigger results (this feature allowed for things like counting only lumber hauled btw. years 10-20 of a map, for example).
After you hit the 'take-off' point, the challenge is gone, unless you have difficult load-count objectives to meet.
To maintain a challenge beyond 20 yrs., you either need a HUGE map or an artificially defered take-off point.
AFAIAC, huge maps are out, see above. Baghdad Rwy uses track laying as a deferment scheme. Another way to delay take-off could be to prohibit building and buying industry. I might try that in another map.
You can play Baghdad Rwy open-ended, btw.: Each medal win event gives you 100,000K buildable track cells.
AFAIK, 1904 on hard is the record. Your strategy is very similar to the one I found to work best.
I have placed the 'official Grumpus "ATTABOY!"' on the spot on the shelf I had so far reserved for the academy award for lifetime achievement. Praise like that sure takes the sting out of having been passed over, once more, for the Oscars.
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In the spirit of providing ongoing and dedicated product support (cough...), I wanted to share the following information/requests:
1.) A German translation of 'The Baghdad Railway' will be available at molse's website (http://rrt3.molbs209.de/) within a few days. My thanks to him and the Kleinen Muck for their interest in having this map translated, and for their cooperation.
2.) Add-on: I'd like to produce an add-on that would enable the player to replace the barracks and church sounds with more regional themes while playing the Baghdad map.
If anyone could help me with locating or producing
- a wav file (ca. 10 seconds long) of a muezzin's prayer call and
- a wav file (ca. 20-30 seconds long) of a janissaries' band playing,
that would be greatly appreciated.
3.) I'd like to try and get together some people for playing this map in multi-player. I'll be on the in-game server Saturday, March 20th, 4pm EST (US-East Coast); would anyone like to join me?
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Finally downloaded this map. Very nice!
The scenario is a challenge; can never seem to get enough track. Lumber mills and steel mill np to get built, never seem to carry enuff of the stuff around.
Not a complaint btw; great map and scenario
Yippeee!!! Got the gold in 1912-13 The track limits are a killer for me...really had to pay attention to getting lumber and steel moving
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Great Map!
What I think make it good is that its concentrated on building and logistics, not the economy like most maps, this changes the viewpoint to more the way I like it!
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this scenario is brilliant! In addition to the good things others have said, I would like to mention:
Clever tracklaying deferment makes it quite difficult initially to puzzle out a successful strategy.
Two good starting places, Ankara or Adana.
It is actually possible to build prototypical track alongside a river! (Izmit)
Beautiful scenery: love to watch a 8-car oil train chugging along the Euphrates, disappearing into the sunset. Wonderful vistas from the mountain passes too.
Many good routes waiting to be discovered. After getting gold on expert in Jan 1911, I still think I could optimize more.
In short: excellent replayability! I hope you have the time to design some
more maps. Better still: PopTop should offer you a job!
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I've been using RT3 screenshots as desktop background images for a while now, and one I keep returning to is the image of a mixed freight train, accelerating from a water tower and bound for Baghdad through the desert, while the sun is setting over the horizon.
I am currently working on a map where I've tried to have as many nice landscape features as I could think of and realize - a large, undulating plain; a broad river-bed lined by bluffs; villages with a church pre-placed in a grassy town square; tree-lined country roads; hilly headlands ending in a sheer cliff by the ocean, to name the most important ones.
RT3 really is superior to RT2 in terms of eye candy, and we should take advantage of this, to the fullest extent.
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Well I'm still having problems here but as I've posted them on the Termianl forum I wont repeat - it was only when Terminal told us to search for Rwy instead of Railway that I found this !!
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Just tried this oldie but goodie myself over the weekend. Very good scenario Lama. Interesting goals. A scenario easy enough not to be frustrating and not so tedious as to take the whole 30 years. And none of those stupid surprise killer events where you have to try and second guess the author to figure out what you can and can't do, then restart or quit.
I found limited track laying was the critical path, encouraging not much branching and not much double-tracking. Eventually, there was no point in even buying more industry while waiting for track allowances. Bonus track for side quests might have been interesting, as would separate ways of earning single and double track.
Getting the ammo and weapons factories to produce was difficult. At one point I even bulldosed a T&D for $2M or so thinking it was too near the ammo factory and had higher demand. Need to study exactly what makes some of these things produce. Also need to watch closely for trains stealing steel and lumber from critical sites.
I started Ankara-Eskisehir in 1887 but built a separate layout out of Gaziantep to iron and coal for a steel mill I built there in 1888. Built a T&D at one of the iron mines in 1891. I didn't connect these 2 lines for quite a while, to finally get lumber down there for weapons.
By the time I could make my final connection, Sanliurfa to Gaziantep, I was ready with oil from Baghdad on trains stopped in transit, and sent down weapons and ammo out of the Adana area at about the same time.
By the time I got gold 1/1906 (on Expert), I had $98M CBV including $31M cash and $44M industry, running 26 trains, not counting the one-shot weapons, ammo and oil trains. Laid 3350 track of which 254 were double, & 52-track tunnel from Gaziantep to Adana, with 388 in reserve. No tunnels on main line, no special traction or engines.
If I were to play it again, I would bring lumber and steel together earlier and would build each critical industry (ammo, weapons, clothing) off by itself where no train could boldly go.
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Just thought I'd join this forum to congratulate the author of "The Baghdad Railway" and boast about the fact that it is possible to complete it and get gold on "hard" by April 1899 (although you dont actually get the medal until the end of the year). I think I've enjoyed playing this map more than any of the standard maps supplied with RT3, although I should really be doing something more constructive (like re-decorating the bathroom).
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Built from Istanbul to the next city where there was a lumber mill, the only one in the area.
Crossed the river and up the hill with 19% grades up and down, to a logging camp the only one in the area.
Passed two iron mines, A third Iron mine was just over the hill. these were the only 3 in the area. Built a station covering two of the iron mines on the mainline to the logging camp.
built a spur just past the bridge up the hill to a coal mine. The only one in the area. Built a tool and die in istanbul.
Built a station and steel plant on the main line where the spur started off to the coal mine.
Had good traffic between istanbul and the 2nd city. I was now out of buildable track.
But, for 6 years iron would not ship to my steel mill a short distance down the hill.
My Coal train came over the hill to supplied the mill with no problem and I was making lumber.
After 3 years built a steel mill in Istanbul. The iron shipped to Istanbul with no problem. But Coal would not for the next 3 years.
Without the ability to earn new buildable track and out of money, I ended my effort.
Now again waiting for the 104 patch.
Used the loan sharks to get 20 million dollars and built postoffices and used bulldozers to fix the 19% grades to the logging camp. Used all the money and was able to reduce the grade to 7%.
Then opened Trainz and slowly loaded 8 coal cars under the chute at the mine. Took them to the power plant and slowing unloaded them over the coal dump. Success. The evening wasn't a total lost.
Don't know what I did wrong in Istanbul. If I had let the wagons bring in the iron to the mill the mill may have been fed. The iron mines did have a down hill run. The Logs and coal may not have come over the mountains without help.
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sorry about the slow start on this map! I have had that happen to me, too.
Generally, I've found that cramming the entire chain of steel-related industry into the area btw. Istanbul and Sakarya doesn't work too well: goods travel over the flat stretches by themselves, evening out demand, and thus leading to goods not boarding trains.
Better to have a mountain range btw. the steel mill and the tool & die.
I also never haul iron and coal, I just let them flow to the mill by themselves, which they'll usually start doing no later than three years after I built the steel mill. So you need a good revenue base b4 building that steel mill, to buffer the losses.
I do buy the nearest iron mines right away, though, to make sure they don't disappear (and they have a nasty tendency to do just that).
As soon as I can afford, I'll build another industry demanding steel. Wpns. and ammo near (or even in) a town that has barracks have worked well. An added benefit is that you can take the wpns. and ammo from there once you have completed the line to Baghdad. Both types of loads pay good money on delivery.
Hope you'll give it another try & have a better start.
I haven't gotten around to trying your Roman Empire map yet, but I d/l-ed it. Have been too busy with my day job; and, as it used to be with RT2, I seem to be better with, an hence more motivated to, making maps, than playing them.
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My frustration wasn't with your map, which is outstanding.
It was with the game engine. I just wanted a short relaxed game without worrying about trying to reach the win goals.
I should have been able to make my plan work.
Planting a station at the iron mines should have been doable.
I think if I had let the iron flow, the plan would have worked. But, I don't own wagons I own trains.
Maybe we should be able to own the wagon companies.
A Tycoon would buy out the competition, but wagon companies were not much competition for RRs.
Well shoot, I don't want to re-hash the same old grips.
Like you I don't play the maps that much.
Building maps are more fun.
Now if the 104 patch would just come out.
But then, if it is not ready then I don't want it yet.
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It was with the game engine. I just wanted a short relaxed game without worrying about trying to reach the win goals.
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I never got interested in sandbox.
If the Game only had sand box it would have been off my hard drive long ago.
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that's one of my favorite maps (It is difficult granted) Gwizz as a beta tester, did you have any input towards the final release or were you totaly ignored?
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During beta testing there were many problems to solve. We were listened to. But toward the end I believe the rush was put on PopTop to complete the game and while beta testing continued, interaction seemed to come to an end. Shortly after that the game went gold. IMHO the game needed more work and testing before going gold.
My comments were only about my lack of interest in playing a map in sandbox and my style of game play which does not fit the new Economic model very well. The new economic systen is good but lacks a toggle for The RRT2 style of game play and the control of what I can haul.
I was not criticizing the map. The map is outstanding.
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jerseyjunior
- Hobo
- Posts: 22
- Joined: Thu Nov 16, 2006 7:31 pm
- Location: Brooklyn, NY
I just played this scenario again last night. By 1914 I finally got Baghdad connected to Istanbul but didn't meet any hauling requirements. I think, toward the end, the temptation was too great to get distracted and double-track where I normally would - but to finish this one in the allotted time, every new piece of track needs to go towards getting through the mountains - it's a LONG way to Baghdad.
Someone above said they won by April, 1889. I don't know what color his cape is, but for the rest of us mortals, I think 1912 is more the average. Personally, I usually get my steel mill built by 1890 - any later and I think you are too far behind the 8-ball when it comes to track-laying requirements. Next time I will try to have the funds to place the steel mill by 1888 with a T & D. My experience is that it takes about 3 years for the game to realize the steel mill, start the coal/iron moving and making steel.
Staying focused on this one is the challenge for me, as I always like to optimize efficiency, get distracted and sidetracked (pun intended) and micromanage everything. You are not afforded this luxury in this map and must build, build, build or you will run out of time like I consistently do.
I've played this map probably 12 times and haven't won yet
but I guess that's why I keep coming back to it. :D
Someone above said they won by April, 1889. I don't know what color his cape is, but for the rest of us mortals, I think 1912 is more the average. Personally, I usually get my steel mill built by 1890 - any later and I think you are too far behind the 8-ball when it comes to track-laying requirements. Next time I will try to have the funds to place the steel mill by 1888 with a T & D. My experience is that it takes about 3 years for the game to realize the steel mill, start the coal/iron moving and making steel.
EPH, last night I had 283 track once when I went into the year with 60 unused, so it is possible to have more than 200 at end of your turn. Still, good idea to use your supply every year.I think you can never start a year with more than 200 units of track, so once you get steel and lumber flowing, use ALL your track every year.
Staying focused on this one is the challenge for me, as I always like to optimize efficiency, get distracted and sidetracked (pun intended) and micromanage everything. You are not afforded this luxury in this map and must build, build, build or you will run out of time like I consistently do.
I've played this map probably 12 times and haven't won yet
but I guess that's why I keep coming back to it. :D-
jerseyjunior
- Hobo
- Posts: 22
- Joined: Thu Nov 16, 2006 7:31 pm
- Location: Brooklyn, NY
finally won
well, it has taken me 2 months and I can officially say that last night I beat this scenario on HARD!!!! wooooooooooot
I finished in 1910, 4 years ahead of schedule.
I used the EPH strategy of Ankara to Konya as my first line (I had iron in the hills of Konya) and then connected Eskhishir (sp?).
I put a station on the line out to Eskishir to intercept the coal which invariably heads towards the town to the left of Ankara - i never hooked up that twon incidently.
I bought industry - the cheese plant is great until the AI builds another one, then sell it. i stay away from the lumber mills b/c the AI always builds some but the paper plant is a safe bet and a brewery in Konya tends to generate some goods on the way out.
you need the steel plant built in Eskihir before 1890, preferably before 1889 and you will go into debt buying it. But fairly quickly you also have to afford a Tool & Die in order to create demand for your steel or the steel will hv nowhere to go. this is tricky. your industries will have to carry you through. the paper mill and cheese plant in eskihir seem to be enough revenue, but it is always precarious.
once steel is flowing i slowly build out to Kirikale and plop a Textile and then connect Istanbul cutting through the river between the twin cities there.
all the while I am snapping up iron/coal sites, sheep farms. expand the paper mill and tool n die and brewery. a furniture factory or toy factory help your lumber flow and i placed ALL steel demanding facilites into Konya to simplify the steel shipments. weapons, ammunition plants.
then, at the right time, making 200+ track a year I buld from the other direction from Baghdad, connect the warehouses in the corner and build oil refinery on the river. build through the mountains now and electrify whenever you can - makes all the difference in the less refueling stops.
what a satisfying experience it was to beat this map - truly genius in it's requirements. i had won silver on hard a few nights previously because my last oil train didnt reach Istanbul in time.
This time through I had my oil trains idiling at the mountain base waiting for that last piece of rail to be connected. brilliant!
I finished in 1910, 4 years ahead of schedule.
I used the EPH strategy of Ankara to Konya as my first line (I had iron in the hills of Konya) and then connected Eskhishir (sp?).
I put a station on the line out to Eskishir to intercept the coal which invariably heads towards the town to the left of Ankara - i never hooked up that twon incidently.
I bought industry - the cheese plant is great until the AI builds another one, then sell it. i stay away from the lumber mills b/c the AI always builds some but the paper plant is a safe bet and a brewery in Konya tends to generate some goods on the way out.
you need the steel plant built in Eskihir before 1890, preferably before 1889 and you will go into debt buying it. But fairly quickly you also have to afford a Tool & Die in order to create demand for your steel or the steel will hv nowhere to go. this is tricky. your industries will have to carry you through. the paper mill and cheese plant in eskihir seem to be enough revenue, but it is always precarious.
once steel is flowing i slowly build out to Kirikale and plop a Textile and then connect Istanbul cutting through the river between the twin cities there.
all the while I am snapping up iron/coal sites, sheep farms. expand the paper mill and tool n die and brewery. a furniture factory or toy factory help your lumber flow and i placed ALL steel demanding facilites into Konya to simplify the steel shipments. weapons, ammunition plants.
then, at the right time, making 200+ track a year I buld from the other direction from Baghdad, connect the warehouses in the corner and build oil refinery on the river. build through the mountains now and electrify whenever you can - makes all the difference in the less refueling stops.
what a satisfying experience it was to beat this map - truly genius in it's requirements. i had won silver on hard a few nights previously because my last oil train didnt reach Istanbul in time.
This time through I had my oil trains idiling at the mountain base waiting for that last piece of rail to be connected. brilliant!
Congratulations! Beating this scenario is always a challenge and doing it on Hard is worthy of special praise!
This is one of my favorite scenarios and one I would urge any creator to study. The limited track, terrain and haulage requirements are, as you say, genius.
This is one of my favorite scenarios and one I would urge any creator to study. The limited track, terrain and haulage requirements are, as you say, genius.
The optimist proclaims we live in the best of all possible worlds; and the pessimist fears this is true." - James Branch Cabell
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Canadian Viking
- Brakeman
- Posts: 171
- Joined: Thu May 17, 2007 11:46 am
- Location: Alberta, Canada
Re: The Baghdad Railway
I started this scenario for the first time recently (on Hard). I met the Bronze requirements fairly quickly but have no hope of more than that; I decided to play it out to the end to see what happens. I came looking for this thread for hints to help me, as I have no way to get more track allotment. 
I was perplexed at the start because it was obvious that logs, iron and coal (to make the steel) would be very important in this scenario - but there was no iron on the map or in ports or warehouses!
I started the game thinking iron might show up soon, or maybe it's appearnace would be triggered by something I did. But for more than five years there was still no iron on my map! Finally one mine appeared in south central Turkey, and a few years later a second mine showed up very near the first one. By then it was almost 1900. I had used all my track allotments to connect Ankara to Istanbul (with only 2 track segments left over), and have now hauled 62 loads of clothing to Istanbul. For years I've been hauling more than 10 loads of lumber annually, but with no steel to haul I will never get more track allotment. My railroad is very profitable, and mostly electrified now, as I'm in 1908. So this is a warning to others - if there is no iron on your map at the start of the game, don't start! 
Keep restarting until you get some iron and then you have a chance.
The game concept seems great, and I like the map, but the resource content obviously needs adjustment.
I was perplexed at the start because it was obvious that logs, iron and coal (to make the steel) would be very important in this scenario - but there was no iron on the map or in ports or warehouses!
I started the game thinking iron might show up soon, or maybe it's appearnace would be triggered by something I did. But for more than five years there was still no iron on my map! Finally one mine appeared in south central Turkey, and a few years later a second mine showed up very near the first one. By then it was almost 1900. I had used all my track allotments to connect Ankara to Istanbul (with only 2 track segments left over), and have now hauled 62 loads of clothing to Istanbul. For years I've been hauling more than 10 loads of lumber annually, but with no steel to haul I will never get more track allotment. My railroad is very profitable, and mostly electrified now, as I'm in 1908. So this is a warning to others - if there is no iron on your map at the start of the game, don't start! Keep restarting until you get some iron and then you have a chance. The game concept seems great, and I like the map, but the resource content obviously needs adjustment.
Re: The Baghdad Railway
I spend the first few years building industry (including a lumber mill or two) before opting for a steel mill south of Ankara (wherever the iron shows up). You will have enough rail to reach the mill but you MUST build lumber and steel industries first. They generate the rail you need and the cash to keep your railroad running until it turns a profit. After that... Baghdad is a RICH location for breweries, distilleries, textile (if I remember correctly) and of course a refinery (or is that Basra for the refinery? Have to go look). Build a little rail and a lot of industry, then build a lot of rail to make the connections.
Personally I favor adding an event that charges you $ for rails, or a territory you can lay a rail section in and buy track that way.
But once you get the lines open from the steel mill to Ankara and then to the two towns in the west on the road to Istanbul, cash will start rolling in. With lumber and steel loads carried you should not have any trouble getting enough track to build, build, build. Once you have the option, electrify everything. Regardless of the effect of that desert sand would have on your equipment in real life, electrification in this game will make you VERY profitable. And the locos are only $50!
Personally I favor adding an event that charges you $ for rails, or a territory you can lay a rail section in and buy track that way.
But once you get the lines open from the steel mill to Ankara and then to the two towns in the west on the road to Istanbul, cash will start rolling in. With lumber and steel loads carried you should not have any trouble getting enough track to build, build, build. Once you have the option, electrify everything. Regardless of the effect of that desert sand would have on your equipment in real life, electrification in this game will make you VERY profitable. And the locos are only $50!
The optimist proclaims we live in the best of all possible worlds; and the pessimist fears this is true." - James Branch Cabell
Re: The Baghdad Railway
If anyone wants to try this little gem, I've found a way to keep it from crashing: delete the Quake event from the editor. It has no effect other than 'atmosphere'.
The optimist proclaims we live in the best of all possible worlds; and the pessimist fears this is true." - James Branch Cabell
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RulerofRails
- CEO
- Posts: 2061
- Joined: Sun Dec 08, 2013 1:26 am
Re: The Baghdad Railway
I had heard of this legendary map, but couldn't find it in the map downloads. That's cause I wasn't thinking to look in the Asian section. 
Just gave it two runs. I didn't have any problems with crashes, earthquake or otherwise. From reading the old comments I am guessing that this map was made very early on and as such the original players probably didn't have the Coast to Coast engines? I didn't use the helper engines or Shay. The S-3 handles grades ok and the double loading time really put me off.
On the second run I did a nice almost straight route from Istanbul to Baghdad with only two spurs to Ankara and my Steel Mill. I used two tunnels on the route and made Clothing in Adana. Glad to have finally tried this one. Very good and lots of fun.
Just gave it two runs. I didn't have any problems with crashes, earthquake or otherwise. From reading the old comments I am guessing that this map was made very early on and as such the original players probably didn't have the Coast to Coast engines? I didn't use the helper engines or Shay. The S-3 handles grades ok and the double loading time really put me off.
On the second run I did a nice almost straight route from Istanbul to Baghdad with only two spurs to Ankara and my Steel Mill. I used two tunnels on the route and made Clothing in Adana. Glad to have finally tried this one. Very good and lots of fun.
Re: The Baghdad Railway
'Baghdad' can be very frustrating, especially early on, since you only get track if you make and ship lumber and steel. So you have to study the game and maybe play it a few times to get the hang of it. But the middle and end of the game are great fun - lots of building in mountains, deserts and such - and once the economy opens up the potential for economic and transportation profits are high.
So I encourage everyone to give it a try - 'Lama' left us some real gems and this is definitely a jewel of a game. (I remember this as being a Lama special - hope didn't have a senior moment.)
So I encourage everyone to give it a try - 'Lama' left us some real gems and this is definitely a jewel of a game. (I remember this as being a Lama special - hope didn't have a senior moment.)
The optimist proclaims we live in the best of all possible worlds; and the pessimist fears this is true." - James Branch Cabell
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AdmiralHalsey
- Conductor
- Posts: 273
- Joined: Sat Aug 17, 2013 10:48 pm
Re: The Baghdad Railway
What ever happened to him anyways?EPH wrote:'Baghdad' can be very frustrating, especially early on, since you only get track if you make and ship lumber and steel. So you have to study the game and maybe play it a few times to get the hang of it. But the middle and end of the game are great fun - lots of building in mountains, deserts and such - and once the economy opens up the potential for economic and transportation profits are high.
So I encourage everyone to give it a try - 'Lama' left us some real gems and this is definitely a jewel of a game. (I remember this as being a Lama special - hope didn't have a senior moment.)
Re: The Baghdad Railway
Like a lot of us, Lama comes and goes. I think he is often busy with work and occasionally he may be over at a Railroads! website as well.