I am working on a new, fairly large (18x18) map, and have need of a new annex model. I'm introducing whistle stops, which are frontier terminals for less populated areas. These will produce a light assortment of goods, as the locals in the area deliver their goods to the station for sale in larger markets (cities).
Historically, these weren't as significant as other annex types, but were very important to frontier ranchers, miners and such that relied on the frontier depot for trade and commerce.
They also provided a place for trains to restock their water and fuel supplies, which while it doesn't come into play in SMR mechanics, can at least be inferred by the depot placement on the map and victory conditions.
It will be coupled with a 'standard' train station depot model that is in use already. Essentially, it needs a water tower, a suitably sized storage building, and a small handful of houses, preferably with an 'Old West' feel.
I may tailor the output of these to the area of the map where they are placed, but essentially a single model will be sufficient for this purpose. As this is a multipurpose annex, I won't need any animations to display the goods that are being stockpiled (that would get too complicated).
If there were a stockpile display mechanic, groups of people milling around, perhaps with boxes, wagons etc., patiently waiting for the train would probably be the best way to display this, but again I'm not too worried about this part.
The Annex mechanic provides the rate of growth I'm looking for, and I don't want to use cities for these, as these frontier stops historically never developed into full bonafide cities. The population count of these frontier 'towns' rarely exceeded 1000, and many of these became ghost towns in later years.
I'm envisioning the profitability model of these as being fairly low, so that in later game years they may not be worth the expense of using larger locos to service. And if a nearby city or track spur gets too busy servicing other areas, a player may find it appropriate to let these wither on the vine at that point.
I haven't seen a model similar to what I'm looking for, so I'm wondering if someone can cobble together one from existing buildings into a suitable group of annex files, or point me to this if it has already been made.
I have zero modeling skills/software, so the most I am able do is skin modification for locos and such. Hence my request.
I'd appreciate the help!
DDA40X
