Deadline extension and an institutional investor

[Yeol]

I know there are mods, but I am convinced that the game should be playable with trains without mods. It may be hard and difficult, but it should be possible once one does it right.

I would expect that buses and trams would profit from innercity connection, and trains would get more interesting on longer intercity connections. But for now, once on start running trains, even with the aid of buses en trams, it becomes barely survivable.

@Killkenny, do You manage to run trains profitable without mod in hard mode, or do you rely on trucks/buses/trams to survive? If so, why not using only trucks/buses/trams?

[Yeol]

Playing “Train Fever” without trains? Seems a little odd, no? I’m convinced that the running costs, and the increase of it by time, need to be rebalanced, so the game really can deliver after it’s intention: a game about running TRAINS. 😉

P.S. @Vanyu, how do you edit your entry, after having it posted? … Never mind. found it! 🙂

• This reply was modified 9 years, 7 months ago by Yeol.

[Yeol]

For anyone who’s interested in the quest how to get started in hard+hilly mode with just the 1.2M given, no extra loan…

I started a twelfth game with a totally different approach: the intra-village stage coach lines. Just plop 1 bus stop in the centre of two neighbouring villages, connect them with a line, buy a road depot in each village, buy 10 stage coaches in both depots and sent them off. It costs about 220K to set up, and it will return you after the second year about 150K per year. Best investment untill now! And, much easier to maintain than the finicky cargo routes.

I agree, no trains, but with this methods one can easily build a large network of stage coach lines (the precessors of train lines), that will be a very sound base to build upon, and introduce trains when the villages have grown enough.

This just to say that making money in hard mode seem to be possible. Probably I’m the last to discover this, but hey! I’m learning every day… 😉

[Yeol]

First, the order seems not optimal to me. You are trying to ship iron ore via the far away coal mine to the steel mill. The iron ore is faster by foot going immediately to the steel mill by itself. So the pickup order should better be 1.Coal, 2.Ore, 3. Goods, 4. City.

Secondly, I would not ship the iron ore. It’s close enough to go by itself to the steel mill. Take care of the coal and goods only. It’s easier to manage.

[Yeol]

I fear it will not work. Trains will not leave their path, and a path is only changed when a path is broken (eg track section has been bulldozed). Signals or track occupation do not alter path flows. At least, I never saw it happen.

[Yeol]

Just like people, cargo has a set destination. Upon creation of that unit of cargo, its destination is determined all the way, including it as a delivered good. You need to convince “the factory” to ship cargo to the destination your line is going to. If  the steel mill you want to ship to has no output, or no set destination for its good, your cargo bay will not be used and by-passed. The entire route from coal+iron mine, via steel mill and goods, till a demanding city has to be available. Only then it will ship. When a city has reached its goods limit, the city will not demand, and good will flow somewhere else.

Probably somewhere in your chain there is an interruption, which sets the demand for coal+iron via your line to zero = no shipment.

At least, this is what I have experienced during my game plays.

[Yeol]

It will not work. A path is fixed, and for the moment trains will follow that path dutifully. If the following section is occupied, it will wait until it’s free again. No alternative path will be used.

We’ll have to be patient for the developers to have the time to put some effort in it. Until then we need to live the fixed paths.

[Yeol]

Paths seem a core concept in the game’s path-finding system. For the moment we’re stuck with fixed paths, chosen at best effort by the system. Take it as a challenge to get things done using the current handicaped “path”-system.

But I believe (hope) that we will gradually see improvements added to the path-system:

1. waypoints (e.g. platform choosing, track bundel usage,…)
2. alternative paths (eg stations, overtaking,…)
3. elaborated signaling system (block signals, entry and exit signals,..)

Although I think it is not essential for enjoyable gameplay, it will be nice to have these extra options.

[Yeol]

I restarted for the eleventh time, en now I’m getting the grasp on it. I’m playing hard mode, hilly and large terrain, 1851 and only use the 1.2M, no extra loans.

It’s now 1885 and I’m still hanging in there, keeping a marginal profit, just enough to replace all outdated vehicles, and to slowly invest in expansion. KEY to keep having that profit (although very small) is to always and with priority replace outdated vehicles. If you don’t, you’re doomed.

I enjoy this game a alot, even with all the particularities, but I would really like to see the vehicle replacement issue taken care of by the developers (eg a semi-automated replacement system, running costs rebalanced,…). That would make this game even more enjoyable!

[Yeol]

No, not yet, but I like to try it. Buses give a very nice profit. I suspect trams will also. Maybe I’ll try it this evening (if I have the time).

[Yeol]

Trains in hard mode in the early years will get lucrative at about 40+ passengers per run. Use your buses (stage coaches) to feed the railway stations in both villages. They need to work together to get those 40+ passengers per run. I explained the principle more detailed in following thread. 😉

http://www.train-fever.com/forums/topic/the-dreaded-spiral-of-endless-debt/

[Yeol]

The first 10-20 years trains and stage coaches can make money, but you need to use them combined. A train (with first locomotive available) will be lucrative with about 40+ passengers (I use a 10 cars train with 60 places). To get 40+ passengers per run from the small villages (250 residence), you need to set up end-to-end stage coach lines from stategic points inside the villages to the railway station. I use often 2 lines with about 3-4 coaches per line. The train may have a frequency of about 8-12 minutes, but no more. Try to use just 1 train between 2 villages. After 3-5 years you will get about 30-50 passengers willing to take the train to the nearby village, which give you a nice profit from the train AND stage coaches.

At least, that is what I found out while trying and re-playing. I don’t see how to get yet more profit to be able to both invest in expansion AND save up for replacement later. That is my challenge for the moment.

[Yeol]

@Person01234: no challenge, too easy to get too much money and having to rush-build to spend it all. Hard mode is fine, just the running-costs of busses en trains need to be tweaked a little. That’s all. Thanks for the suggestion, but I already tried it on medium difficulty. 😉

[Yeol]

Thanks Gax! I didn’t know about this fix. I’ll try it.

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