39 replies to this topic

[jeffryfisher]

Watch closely... Are they really crossing at a corner (Ctrl-G)? Are they stopping for something else, perhaps a train ahead or behind (congestion)?

Did you accidentally build a little transition-ramp between main-lines? This can happen when dragging out a long line, such as when electrifying existing track.

[Gwizz]

They were crossing normally through each other during the first year. I normally take a break at the end of each year and I moved the computer tower over on its' side and back up.
Shortly after the move. I had the fan, over the CPU, come loose and swing to one side. The CPU then heated up and crashed a game.
I secured the fan to replace the cool air flow, got the game up and running again; But, I didn't notice if the trains were stopping after the fan problem or not.
More than likely the trains were stopping for each other during those next two months of running. It is still happening. Everything else seems OK.

[jeffryfisher]

I don't think the train s were stopping for each other. It sounds more like they were stopping to pay their last respects to your computer hardware

[Gwizz]

My fan is still hanging on until I can find one that is more quiet to fully install . I haven't been able to get out much except to find fuel for the generator.

Today seems to be the ending of our 9 days of storms. First a mild snow storm that melted a bit during the day and froze into solid ice a night causing over 150 accidents. It then snowed some more and turned into an Ice storm the next day coating my jeep with about a 3/4 inch thickness of ice. Then the wind storm came and blew down trees and dropped ice and brances off of many other trees, closing the big bridge and many roads . Then it rained again and froze at night followed by another wind storm. Then it did the same thing two more times. At one point my power company had 270,000 homes without power including mine. Other power coumpanies altogether had loss power to about half as many. As fast as power was reconnected, others would lose power. Today they said only a few outages are left to fix. The sun is now shining again.

I'm still testing my map when I have power. On this hopefully the last test, I limited the game to 6 AI companies. This put my company about 30 million dollars into debt. including my bond debt. I had just under 2 million in purchasting power and quickly received a Dec. margin call. I merged one AI and purchasing power barely went positive. I have been gaining ever since I started running a few of the AI locos on my track.

I haven't noticed if trains are still crossing each other. When I look, I see train making right turns at the big crossing as programed. I am running fewer trains with the AI using my track and routing is still nearly perfect. I bought locos in lots of 10 or more. The first 10 locos only serve the ports and need no micro-management. I have 40 electrics runnimng on routes and the last 30 are 1020s that mostly, only supply cargo from spurs to industries on my main line. They need very little management. The 25 or so AI train are seldom managed.

If I do another play through, I think I will use about 10 AIs. It is easier to steal their profits when there are more AIs to choose from.

I still haven't figured out an easier method for hiring the managers I want.

[jeffryfisher]

How do you manage to control so many other companies? In my games, I have a devil of a time just buying all of the stock in my own. Even if I were allowed to hop between companies, I usually wouldn't be able to.

Do you play scenarios where you can't run other companies, or is it so much of your play style that you avoid them?

[Gwizz]

I still have all trains stopping for each other when they cross over the corners of a cell. I don't know why, yet?
It could be that my two turns at the crossing are two close to the crossing.

Controling AIs:
When I start a game on my heartland ver. #10 map, I can choose to have up to 22 AI railroads that will possible start up in the first two years.
I will normally get only about 15 to 18 AIs that do startup. I buy 51% of their stocks and take control. I have them take out 3 to 5 bonds, all that is allowed.
( I have changed the economy to allow this) I then sell their stock that I own, down to one more share than their chairman has. (I can end up with more value than I started with)
Usually 3 of mine and 2 belonging to their old chairman. I then can return to the AI any time I please. Then I have the AI buy back all unowned stock, lowering stock value.
(This is kind of like how the US government has done with housing loans by their banking people.) All this is done on pause. (for the government it was done under the table)
Then with remaining money, I connect the AI to one of my demand industries and also to the required cargo that is demanded.
Then I do the same again and route the remaining AI locos until all money is used up. I leave the AI with a manager I have no need of and return to my own company.
Unless I leave the AI with enough potential income it will go into the red quickly. I can still return to the AI and reroute trains.
Most AIs will have a stock split, helping me to stay in the black on the deals. So I can do the same with more AI.
The Game gives cargo to the AIs out of thin air. So, I sometimes will add another perceive cargo to a train when an AI has a demand industry at one of its' stations.
This will sometime stop the AI from adding another train. Also the AIs seldon needs, sand, water or oil. So, I never buy these for the AIs unless I plan to merge the AI.


I may decrease the amount of personal cash needed to start the game to make the game a bit harder.
Although, Starting with only 6 AIs was not as profitable for my company, since I didn't have enough AI cargo being delivered to my demand stations and I had to haul it myself.
One way trips are less profitable. I like to haul both ways. Can't do that enough from farms, mines, etc. That is what the AIs are for.

[Gwizz]

The map is the last Heartland map for now.

It is Heartland USA ver. 11

5 year map, gold $80 million, two companies started with possibility of 6 to 20 AI companies. you choose.

Attached Files

•  Heartland, USA ver.11.MP2.zip   406.1K   2 downloads

[Gwizz]

Completed Gold on the heartland version 10 map with only 4 months to go and without using the testing cheats. This time I merged all but one AI RR. Ended up with 140 locomotives, about 10 more than I needed. The last AI had two steamers.

Heartland Version 11 will be harder with less money to fund the RR and reduced the amount of industry a bit..


Been planning some changes to the stations in RRT2. I had looked at making 4 stations total. But, I think, if I remember correctly
from comments made by PopTop, the code will only allow 3 station sizes.

Hope to make the small station smaller. (9 squares) cost $50K Would be like a weight station that might be used at a major industry.
Hope to make the medium station smaller at 25 squares. Cost at $100K That is the present foot print size of the normal small station.

If successful with the two smaller stations, I will see if I can rebuild the large station using a slightly smaller foot print, but with tracks on both sides and a cost of $400K.
Not sure if I can attach cargo counting to the back of the station.

I might be whistling in the wind.

[jeffryfisher]

Wow, if your station modding goes anywhere, then please start a thread to tell us what you learn / do (or revive the modding thread)

[Gwizz]

Will do.

I played on past gold on my Heartland ver.10 map to check why trains stop for each other on the crossing over the corners.

I removed the two right turns. trains still stopped. I had built another over the corners crossing about 12 cells from the first crossing.
Trains didn't stop for each other on this 2nd crossing; but continued to stop on the first crossing.

I bulldozed the first crossing and then rebuilt it. I stopped the trains and then allowed only two trains to cross each other. One still stopped for the other on the rebuilt crossing.

Gee Wizz, The 1st crossing must be sitting on a buggy spot. I've seen them appear in the past. and had to just build around these spots.

[Gwizz]

Loaded Heartland Ver. 11 to see if the over the corner crossing was working correctly on 11. I found I left one of my tools, used to balance demand industry still at the crossing in the city of Kokomo.

The plan was to leave only 4 demand industries at Kokomo crossing, the 4 that had the lowest numbers of start up counts. These 4 industries would offer their cargo demands at the crossing.

Should you choose to do so, do remove all but 4 industries at the crossing. To leave them makes the game too easy; Although conjestion could be a challenge in Kokomo.

I still need to run the map to check the train operations at the crossing. Maybe Tomorrow.

[Gwizz]

The over the corners crossing at kokomo is still stopping trains. Gee Wizz.

I guess I'm not done with this map yet.

[jeffryfisher]

I'd like to see that. Can you zip up a saved game and post it here?

[Gwizz]

The 97 is used each year to keep the map near the top of the list. At the start of the next year the number will be 96

34 = year and 08 = month and a = second save in Aug. I hope you can solve this over/under crossing problem.

Attached Files

•  97 heartland 1934 08a.zip   565.35K   2 downloads

[jeffryfisher]

You uploaded the wrong file. This game has a diagonal intersection just east of Kokomo, but it runs through a shared cell (231,222), easily seen with the grid on (^G). Can you upload the game with a problem intersection through a diagonal point?

Edit: Let's keep sharp objects and guns away from Gwizz for a few days

[Gwizz]

Are you saying the kokomo crossing doesn't stop a train crossing another on your machine? It stops mine

Maybe my locomotive engineers don't like tunnels or bridges, they only want grade crossings.

[jeffryfisher]

Oy! We've hit a serious blind spot here! Did you try viewing your map with the grid on like I suggested? I don't mean to be mean, but I need to hammer you a bit until you see what's really happening.

When I look at the Kokomo crossing, the intersection is not through a diagonal point like you said. The tracks share a whole cell at the intersection (and I even gave you the coordinates). Of course your trains will stop to wait for each other!

If you want clear passage, then you need to put one of the tracks on a different diagonal. I put some zigzags into one line to do that, and then the trains passed through one another just fine (but some were slowed by the zigzags).

The only mystery here is to figure out what's wrong with your display settings that caused you to think that the tracks crossed at a point.

[Gwizz]

GeeWizz, I also zigzaged when I rebuilt the crossing and the grid was on. And the trains still stopped.
Now I'm not sure with the rebuild if I was crossing over the corners or not. I thought I was.
Well if at first I don't succeed, I can try again. Wish I had saved that rebuild.

I'm not sure a hammer will even jog this old memory of mine. It is as old as I am. Maybe older.

[Gwizz]

What can I say. At least I was able to turn KOKOMO back to a normal city. But since the trains don't stop anymore the economy could become a problem.

Jeff, I'm returning your hammer.

[Gwizz]

I beat my record of time to win on the latest Heartland rebuild map. 23 months using 55 locos. I ended up with one 1020 and 54 GG1s with no congestion problems. I could have used fewer locos as I had 5 waiting for something to haul.

I had 15 AI companies. I merged one for its Electric Locos and loco manager who use all money to buy Electric locos; Merged another for its track manager that I first used to expand my track.
Another AI used 1020 electric locos to mostly run on my or some other AI trackage. most of its' hauls were to their demand stations. I intended to have them only haul low value cars; But they ended up hauling also high value cars. I wonder if there is a way to find out my gain when an AI loco runs on my track?

I had another AI that merged two other AIs and connected their track so I could keep the game interesting. I've learned to almost keep the AIs from buying more locos and expanding their lines by building some of their stations with my RR. I only had one AI that I didn't use. It had nothing to benefit my railroad. So I only did the stock buy back to improve my net worth and I stopped one of its' locos to improve the AIs profitably a bit.

Most of the above was done in the 20 to 22 month period as I didn't realize I was so close to a gold win. I did keep my locos off AI track and used them to mostly serve my bigger cities.
Thus the AI had longer hauls and used a few GG1s locos for many of their longer hauls. The AIs used: more double track than in my past games, had more track of its' own to serve its' own demand
stations that keep them off of my mainline. Before I used only single track for the AIs and they delivered to my stations and I was always waiting for their deliveries.

What would I add if I remade the map again. Keeping the Company debt free would be easy to achieve. Keeping the chairman debt free would be harder; But, it could involve merging the AIs or not keeping 51% control over the AI companies. This might be possible since with this last game I had 3 more years to try. Since AI stock bottoms out in a buyback, I might have to pay more than market price for AI stock. Since I ended this game with mega bucks in cash, I may try it by continuing on with the saved game.


Well it is time to go back to chores. The Sun came out today; but it is still cold.