Northern Germany

[Lama]

This map runs at 'slow speed' (three times slower than normal), and covers three eras from 1890 to 1932.

In this scenario, there are three types of passengers - 3rd, 2nd, and 1st class. Villages, towns, and cities produce third-class passengers. Towns and cities produce 2nd-class passengers if supplied with 3rd-class passengers. Cities produce 1st-class passengers if supplied with 2nd-class passengers.

The industries that produce raw materials (grain, milk, swine, fish, and wood) also require a supply of third-class passengers in order to produce any output.

While third-class passengers pay very little, they are the essential basis for the entire economy of the map, and thus a valuable resource. Take advantage of the available chains of production to increase supply, to make available higher-value-added cargo, and to achieve the scenario goals.

You can also increase supply by building service buildings in the communities. Hotels, ticket offices, restaurants, post offices, and railway express agencies will increase the value and supply of passengers, mail, or express cargo.

(Updated on Dec. 7th, with a new map with nicer rivers)

[Recoup]

I've been meaning to ask how you slow down time in the game, especially to three times longer. What's the trick?

[Lama]

RRT_Scenario_User_[mapname].xml
<iTurnsPerMonth>NN</iTurnsPerMonth>

The standard is 16. I use 48, which means it takes 48 turns to complete a month, so the game runs three times more slowly.

[karsten]

Well, my weekend spent on trying out Lama's new map! Quite a brain teaser, with 3rd class passengers morphing into 2nd into 1st a bit counterintuitive at first. But once you see it as simple good transformation, the concepts all fall into place as an extention of Lowell's "Mud workers". The service building concept is a very neat innovation.

A very polished scenario, everything works perfectly smoothly, no crashes, gleaming icons, pleasing landscape: overall certainly what I call an excellent CIC standard map!

I just managed to complete all goals with 3 years to spare on the easiest Investor level, with fish and milk the most troublesome. Then I tried Robber Baron, but no way, even with the best starting position (Bremen, in my opinion), money was just too tight to complete more than the first era - perhaps it is doable with lucky patent events, such as getting both cheap maintenance and low track costs at the beginning.

I did find it hard to distinguish between the car for express goods and the mail car (see screenshot). Initially, I just could not figure out why and where my express goods were being generated and transported! It would perhaps be more userfriendly to give the express car some orange colour identification to relate to the orange goods icon. See what I did with a big yellow-orange splotch!

So thanks for a very impressive map and a weekend well spent!

[Lama]

Thanks for playing & giving such nice & extensive feedback, Karsten! Finishing all goals with three years to spare is impressive. That happened for me only in one out of five tries.

The express goods (Stückgut) cars were supposed to morph seamlessly into passenger trains, but you're right, maybe I went overboard in making them too seamless.

[Warll]

I've scheduled lama's northern Germany to appear on the smrsimple front page in about a month on Christmas Eve.

[Lama]

Sweet! Thank you!

[tiresharkdb]

I posted this on the map comments, but thought i would here as well:

Wow, tough one. I played on Robber Baron with 2 AI. Took a while to successfully get past the initial stages, but once i did, the middle and end went somewhat smooth (but hectic!) due to the amount of cash coming in. Was confusing at first, with the different passenger classes... but eventually i got it all straight. Really liked this map, as it was quite a brain workout to make it all work.

One glitch i might have found: It seems that the only cities that will convert black to blue (3rd to 2nd) and blue to red (2nd to 1st), without having to build restaurants/hotels, are hannover/hamburg/bremen. In every other city i would have to build a rest. or hotel if i wanted to generate 2nd or 1st class passengers... even if the city already displayed the 'converts black to blue/blue to red' buttons without any hotels/restaurants built. Not sure if it is intended to be this way or not.

Really enjoy brain teasers like this one! Nice job.

[karsten]

In my experience, the black to blue (3rd to 2nd) conversion works fine, as long as there is no resource industry competing for workers in a town. There almost always is, and then the resource industry takes full precedence.
As you note, 1st class passengers are generated only in the original large towns Hannover, Hamburg and Bremen, or by a hotel (industry). Once one knows about this, its OK, one has to buy 3 to 4 hotels, no way around, if one wants to finish early.

I have played the map carefully a few more times, and 3rd class passengers are the crucial driver. Only 2 are stored in towns initially, but they regenerate fast, so it is worth having lots of trains pick them up as soon as they generate.

Applying these tips, I was able to cut completion time by 17 years as Robber Baron, ie finish by 1916.