This is my first post on the forum and with it I have decided to chime in with some ideas which I think could be good if implemented. I’ve been a player of games within the same simulation genre such as the Railroad Tycoon series of games which I consider to be the gold standard and if Train Fever is to better it, in my mind it needs to adopt some of the better aspects of that game and build on the strengths it already has (graphics, one-to-one simulation).
– Time needs to scale properly and also we need some way of knowing how long a journey is going to take, the frequency doesn’t tell us much in this regard and there is no clear way of knowing whether a journey fits within the 20 minute rule. Perhaps a circle surround around a ghost purchased vehicle when we select vehicles to buy indicating the range they can travel in within the 20 minutes would be useful as it would allow us to plan things better
– Multi-entranced stations and additional models for stations (In the UK a lot of have bridges which passengers use to go from one platform to another)
– Gates and lights for street vehicles at level crossings
– Scenarios and a scenario editor would be great and give the game much needed longevity
– An adjustable mini map
– The ability to set prices for our passenger transport, currently it all seems a bit random and is not at all how real life works which the game seeks to model. It’s clear that the further away you can travel the more money you can earn but there is no indication in the game of how this works (it’s not easily quantifiable so it’s difficult to plan…again this is something you can learn from RRT3 which had prices people would pay to go to X, Y or Z when you selected a station). IRL transport companies know how much money they are going to earn before the vehicle departs as the payment occurs before the customer departs (it’s not like getting a haircut!!). As a compromise, perhaps if the journey takes too long (either because of frequency or the destination refreshes) the money has to be refunded. It would also be nice if the industry was expanded (more chains and resources) and you had a list of cargo prices when you look at each city or industry so that you could plan there also.
– Sand and water towers, train depots used to keep trains running well. I think the RRT series had this aspect much more accurately simulated. The main costs involved in a train are ensuring that it has enough of what it needs to retain its peak performance. The cost of maintaining the fundamentals of a train should remain constant (the cost of the water, sand, coal, diesel or electricity it consumes should remain relatively constant). The aspect which could fluctuate somewhat would be the reliability and replacement of parts when needed. It would be nice to be able to eliminate some of the cost of running the trains by purchasing industries supplying what the trains need to run (for example, buying power plants which generate electricity for your lines)
– More industry and the ability to participate in the industrial side of the game (a lot of rail barons did). As it’s a one to one simulation perhaps the industrial/commercial and leisure buildings could have names and unique goods which they need to function and expand. If they don’t get it the building becomes vacant. For example I could envisage something like this:
There is a port which you can buy and decide what you would like to import. Say I decide to import cotton for a fixed price. I then decide how much I need to import to satisfy the demand and I allow it to collect at my goods train station. I then transport it to a textile mill (which if I own I will pay the running costs of but if not then will have a price attached to the cotton it wants paid on receiving the cotton). The textile mill then produces clothes which I then transport to a building in the city for a price (which can be made to scale with whether there is a demand, high demand -> best price, no demand -> can’t sell goods).
– Mail carriages and dining cars and division of trains into 1st and 2nd class carriages
– Ability to reverse the orientation of trains so that trains can be made which consist of opposite facing engines, it will look more realistic when trains turn around at stations which don’t have turning loops.
– AI competition…I know this is going to be very difficult to implement but I feel it would take the game to a whole new level.
– Fixed, locked positions for popups. After a while the UI can become rather infuriating constantly having to drag things like train buying in the depot notification back into the screen. The menus are also way too spreadsheet like, there is not enough pictures and it can feel a little cluttered at times
– Planning mode would be great, also some animation of people actually building the railroad / road would be good with lines not being built instantaneously but taking some time (if we are seeking a realistic simulation)
– The ability to switch on notifications for things like (Train A has been stationary for some time there may be a problem or the production of the sawmill has decreased)…basically just things which could indicate a problem being highlighted to the player rather than having to constantly trawl through every aspect of the business to spot problems
– Ability of simulated people to park cars at train stations
– Economies of scale, the more of a vehicle you purchase the cheaper the unit price should be. Also rather than constantly having to press ‘buy’ all the time it would be a lot easier if there was a quantity tick box (to cut down on the excessive clicking)
– An indication of grade performance would be nice (max speed of vehicle when going up different grades rather than just a max speed) perhaps with a better contour map (having it colour coded would make it better)
– Ability to build road over track and to build underpasses / bridges when you want (maybe having fixed designs would be helpful)
– Roundabouts?
– Bigger road cargo stations
I’ve got plenty more but that will do for now…