What Happened to RailRoad Tycoon Info Website?

[OilCan]

I just noticed that the home page for the Railroad Tycoon Info site is shut down (http://www.railroadtycoon.info/index.php) as well as the discussion forum for Railroad Tycoon games (http://www.strategygametalk.com/). Does anyone know the full story behind this?

[thegrindre]

Is this what you wanted to know?
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1762

[Cliff]

I just noticed that the home page for the Railroad Tycoon Info site is shut down (http://www.railroadtycoon.info/index.php) as well as the discussion forum for Railroad Tycoon games (http://www.strategygametalk.com/). Does anyone know the full story behind this?

If you go to either railroadtycoon.info or strategygametalk.com you get this message: "Thank You And Goodnight! Well folks, it's been fun, but sadly it seems people are much more interested in downloading the Railroad Tycoon maps than creating new ones or contributing to the forums, so it's time to call it a day. Please visit http://www.hawkdawg.com instead."

I Guess that Hawk's site has out performed 'em all! But don't forget that it takes more than a couple of to keep a wonderful site like this up and running (hint - hint).

-- Cliff in Virginia

[Hawk]

Grant and I exchanged a few emails and basically he said it wasn't worth the trouble to keep it up and running, especially since he doesn't even play RT3 anymore.
I got the maps and other files from there, as I mentioned in the other thread (Grant opened it up for me to get them). I just haven't had the time to get all 64 files added to the archives here. I've been really busy with a Raul Simulator project that is actually going to pay me a little bit of money. Since my finances are a bit embarrassing at the moment, the money will come in handy so I can give it out to those with their hand out, such as the light company, gas company, water company, etc.

Don't forget, there's still The Terminal, but it's mainly centered around RT2 lately.

[Cliff]

I've been really busy with a Raul Simulator project that is actually going to pay me a little bit of money.

What on earth is a "Raul Simulator"?? As Google would ask, did you men "Rail Simulator"?

-- Cliff in Virginia

[Hawk]

Yes Google, I meant Rail Simulator.

[OilCan]

I Guess that Hawk's site has out performed 'em all!

Performance does not always equal value.

It's a shame the strategygametalk.com discussion forum was closed down. I visited it fairly often to gleam strategy tidbits for RT3. There was (is) a ton of useful information in those discussion threads. I don't want to step on any toes, but that forum had more valuable information about the basic mechanics of the game than this one does. And guess what?.... That valuable information was created and submitted by such familiar sounding folks as 'Hawk', 'Nedfumpkin', 'Lama', 'WPandP', 'Gwizz', 'Wolverine@MSU' and several others who regularly post in this forum. It would be great to if some of the 'classic' discussion threads in strategygametalk.com were copied into a folder in this forum and not lost.

A tangent idea would be to re-introduce an 'old' topic into this discussion forum about every two weeks and let it make the full circuit of discussion again. An example might be: Which Industry to Buy/Build First in a Game? Surely the veteran players have developed new ideas, new thoughts and new strategies on some of these 'old' topics. And, some of the newer players (self included) may shock the crowd with some very different strategies and thoughts.

[Cliff]

Performance does not always equal value. ... It's a shame the strategygametalk.com discussion forum was closed down. I visited it fairly often to gleam strategy tidbits for RT3. There was (is) a ton of useful information in those discussion threads. I don't want to step on any toes, but that forum had more valuable information about the basic mechanics of the game than this one does.

Well, ahem! I think I've read every strategy in the book on this site! Hawk even saved all the strategy discussions from the old "The Gathering" forum, and they are posted on this site.

A tangent idea would be to re-introduce an 'old' topic into this discussion forum about every two weeks and let it make the full circuit of discussion again. An example might be: Which Industry to Buy/Build First in a Game? Surely the veteran players have developed new ideas, new thoughts and new strategies on some of these 'old' topics. And, some of the newer players (self included) may shock the crowd with some very different strategies and thoughts.

Always buy dairy farms! I've rarely been let down by investing in dairy farms -- and they usually aren't scenario-specific.

-- Cliff in Virginia

[WPandP]

... That valuable information was created and submitted by such familiar sounding folks as 'Hawk', 'Nedfumpkin', 'Lama', 'WPandP', 'Gwizz', 'Wolverine@MSU' and several others...

Well, while I like being included in this list, I actually spent very little time over at that site, and have posted pretty much all the knowledge I've gained about modding and such right here. I have also posted some to my own web site, but I'm nowhere near as diligent a webmaster as Hawk is, so my own wpandp.com is not very current right now.

A tangent idea would be to re-introduce an 'old' topic into this discussion forum about every two weeks and let it make the full circuit of discussion again. An example might be: Which Industry to Buy/Build First in a Game? Surely the veteran players have developed new ideas, new thoughts and new strategies on some of these 'old' topics. And, some of the newer players (self included) may shock the crowd with some very different strategies and thoughts.

All one needs to do in order to "re-introduce" a topic is to post something new in that thread. If you're wanting to hear what people have to say about industry investments, go search the forum for a similar thread, and tack on your comments or questions. That will make it show up as "New" to the rest of us, and we'll all dive in with our crazy theories and wild hypotheses. Of course, if you have new ideas, just start a new thread.

Be aware that there will be a flurry of activity once we get the Trainmaster uber-mod out the door (NedFumpkin is working hard, and I'm hardly working), because it will rebalance all the commodity production and demand, and likely call for whole new strategies. One of my projects, still far from completion, is to adjust all freight loads to be heavier, requiring beefier engines dedicated to freight hauling, rather than the "one-size-fits-all" scheme in the default game.

[Hawk]

It would be great to if some of the 'classic' discussion threads in strategygametalk.com were copied into a folder in this forum and not lost.

Sadly, that's no longer possible. Grant opened it back up for me just long enough to download the 64 files I got, then he closed it down again.

Sorry you don't like this forum. You could get in touch with Grant and see if he'll let you grab the posts you think are important, but my guess is - if you look around this forum you'd probably find what you need. If not, you could always start a thread, as suggested by WP.
BTW! If you find an old thread that you want to 'refresh', I don't have a problem with posting to an old thread. There's 1,708 topics on this board, with 16,668 posts. I'm sure with a little searching you can find what you're looking for.

Hawk even saved all the strategy discussions from the old "The Gathering" forum, and they are posted on this site.

-- Cliff in Virginia

Actually it was Wolvy that saved them all, put them together in a postable format and sent them to me.

[nedfumpkin]

I Guess that Hawk's site has out performed 'em all!

I don't want to step on any toes, but that forum had more valuable information about the basic mechanics of the game than this one does. And guess what?.... That valuable information was created and submitted by such familiar sounding folks as 'Hawk', 'Nedfumpkin', 'Lama', 'WPandP', 'Gwizz', 'Wolverine@MSU' and several others who regularly post in this forum. It would be great to if some of the 'classic' discussion threads in strategygametalk.com were copied into a folder in this forum and not lost.

Umm...seeing nedfumpkin on a message board comes with no guarantees that it isn't just graffiti. I'm not so sure what the big deal is. This is a great site, and what was news yesterday is old news today, and we continue on. Let us just be grateful that this site exists because the alternative is to learn german and visit Molse.

[Hawk]

because the alternative is to learn german and visit Molse.

There's always The Terminal for those that aren't happy here.

[OilCan]

I guess I did step on some toes. Sorry, didn't really mean to. I certainly did not intend to 'bash' this forum by any means or measure. In fact, I'm greatly appreciative of this forum....I'm very happy here. This website has been a wonderful treasure of information, maps, mods and colorful users. I was trying to give the strategygametalk site some belated praise, and it must have come out wrong. Didn't mean to cause such a stir and shown the door. Hope ya'll will forgive and forget.

So, Cliff, about those dairy farms...they are usually the most expensive farms on the game map. I often wish I could buy one but, yikes, they're too expensive at the start of a game and out of sight in cost by mid-game.

[WPandP]

The trick is to find newly-spawned dairy farms; when they first appear on the map they cost only about half as much sometimes! And if you can find a new dairy farm located within one of your station's coverage range, you'll really be milking it.

Of course, in any given scenario the author might have done things to skew the prices of industry investments and such, so there really isn't a "works every time" strategy.

[Hawk]

I guess I did step on some toes. Sorry, didn't really mean to. I certainly did not intend to 'bash' this forum by any means or measure. In fact, I'm greatly appreciative of this forum....I'm very happy here. This website has been a wonderful treasure of information, maps, mods and colorful users. I was trying to give the strategygametalk site some belated praise, and it must have come out wrong. Didn't mean to cause such a stir and shown the door. Hope ya'll will forgive and forget.

You didn't step on my toes and I sure wasn't trying to show you the door. Just offering alternatives and letting you know that there is a whole lot more info available here than what you may realize.
Unfortunately, and sadly, there just wasn't enough activity at RTI for Grant to warrant continuing to keep the forum alive. Not to mention the constant bombardment of spammers trying to register there.
I used to get that a lot also but I just continued to grow the ban list until it reached a point that I rarely get spammers trying to register anymore. Plus I think I'm a little more hands on than Grant was.

Grant did offer to sell me the forum a couple of times but the price he wanted was a bit more than I felt it was worth. He placed a lot of value on the ads he ran and as you may have noticed, there is no advertising on this site at all. I hate advertising.

[WPandP]

...there is no advertising on this site at all. I hate advertising.

Which is one of the many reasons we all love this little haven so much!

For those that haven't already, please consider donating so that Hawk can keep this good thing going. Think of how much money you save by finding new life in an old game, rather than buying the "latest and greatest" games and then discovering you need to upgrade your PC to get the most out of them... whatever your gaming budget may be, don't you think our webmaster here deserves a portion?

for Hawk.

[Gwizz]

The Terminal was put together by a server program developer.
Generally The terminal has a simple purpose as a map site with simple forums.
and is kept small so as not to generate a cost. My involvement with The Terminal
is to keep it alive by posting and making RT2 and RT3 maps.

The reason I try to strongly promote hawk's site, is it is a full blown site and Hawk
continues to expand it and trys hard to serve this community in a positive way.
Hawk does a great deal for our small community which come with costs for him.

Remember his bills continue to arrive and are not all one shot payments that come due.
For those that have helped hawk keep his site stay alive, I thank you. It is a site I enjoy.
if enough of us send small monthly dollar amounts to show appreciation for what he does, small amounts will add up and the bills can be paid.

[Cliff]

So, Cliff, about those dairy farms...they are usually the most expensive farms on the game map. I often wish I could buy one but, yikes, they're too expensive at the start of a game and out of sight in cost by mid-game.

The trick is to find newly-spawned dairy farms; when they first appear on the map they cost only about half as much sometimes! And if you can find a new dairy farm located within one of your station's coverage range, you'll really be milking it.

Don't ever pay the mid-game price of $2+ million. WPandP is 100% correct -- I usually PAUSE the game every 6 months or so and go out looking for "brand new" dairy farms; when they're new I think the price is 300K?

Worst industries: Utilities (i.e., electric plant)
Other good industries: Steel mills, Lumber mills, Furniture & Toy factories (buy 'em early & cheap or build your own when able; don't buy established ones for $6+ million!

Strategy tip: If you see an expensive, profitable established industry, such as a Meat Processing Plant, where the cattle are walking to the plant on their own, then you can build your own competing plant "upstream" of the existing one. This will intercept the flow of raw materials (i.e., cattle) and make your new plant profitable while slowly ruining the existing one.

-- Cliff in Virginia

[nedfumpkin]

My favourite industry combo is the logging camps, paper mills, and saw mills. You can pick up a logging camp for 140k. Papermills work best if you build them on top of a lumber camp where they will have at least one steady source of pulp.

I generally stay away from dairy farms and prefer ranches and sheep farms. You can usually pick them up cheap and when they are producing they are quite lucrative. Oil wells are always a good investment. But my general rule is that I want an industry to pay for itself within about 5 years, ten years upgraded.

[Hawk]

Thanks for the kudos Gwizz, Ned, Clif, and WP, and especially a big thank you to those that have donated. Words can't describe enough my appreciation. It sure helps keep this site going, considering the economic situation right now, and my financial embarrassment.