I've been painstakingly playing the very punishing 1850 WA map and am almost 100 years into it with 280 trains. I micro every single arrival/departure, so you can imagine how much time has been poured into this save.

For whatever reason, just as train 241 comes in (about 5 seconds in) the game hangs and exits to the OS. It also seems to hang if I grab the scrollbar and drag down rapidly through the train list. No error is given, just a brief hang followed by a crash / exit to OS. I've tried saving a different version after making some in-game tweaks (deleting trains, adding trains, other minor changes) and have tried virtual OS and host OS restarts. I've tried changing resolution and other interface settings as well. Nothing seems to work so far. I've loaded an older version of the save (2 game years, an eternity for me) and ran it past the 'expiry date' of the troublesome save, and all seems ok. My next step will be to reinstall the game and copy these over, but I'm hesitant to do that cause of all the completed scenarios.

Any help any of you can give me here would be greatly appreciated!

Two files attached:

1. Version 12 is the one that has the issues,
2. Version 11 is the previous functional save

AAustralia WA1850 - (12).GM2 Australia WA1850 - (11).GM2

1. How does demand generated by housing work?  Is there a fixed amount of demand per year that towns and cities generate, or is the amount of demand directly proportional to the number of houses, as is the case with passenger and mail supply?  Maybe there's one set of rules for cargo demand and another for passenger and mail demand?  It looks like demand for goods, lumber, mild and so on are capped at a demand of 4 or 5 in a city, same as a town.  That doesn't explain how fast it regenerates...
2. How much demand do industries generate relative to supply?
3. What's the deal with demand from ports?  Reading around the forum it looks like one and only one good in any given port setup generates recurring demand, which appears to have been the case with Halifax and lumber in my recent game (the little Vulcans pulling lumber from Fredericton to Halifax were the only consistent cash cows in my cargo hauling fleet, everything else being break even or loss makers owing to oversaturation of markets).

I've been putting some thought into the way the goods pricing model works, and come up with the following rules for my next playthrough.  I'd appreciate a critique on my thinking.

1. Each producer of refined products (lumber/food/goods) is linked to one destination town or city, and that town or city consumes those goods ONLY from that source, proportional to the relative output of the industry and the size of the market.  Thus, a steel mill serves two tool & die factories, a cannery serves two towns, and a bakery or textile mill one town.  One paper mill serves one city and one auto factory two cities.
2. Each producer of raw materials is likewise linked exclusively to one industry or consumer, relative to the above.  So two coal mines and two iron mines serve one steel mill, two oil wells serve one refinery or city, and two dairy farms serve one dairy processor or two towns.  Four logging camps serve one paper mill.  (It's unclear what the ratio of grain farms and fertilizer plants to ranches/farms ought to be...)
3. Ports that have unbugged demand count as an extra town.
4. Never extend your lines to pick up raw materials that don't have a final consumer at the end of the supply chain.  If all your towns and cities are already adequately supplied, then you need to extend the network to a new town before adding more supply.
5. Every town has another town which is its exclusive mail and passengers "buddy".  Cities count as two towns for this.  Passenger and mail trains go exclusively between buddy towns.  ("But what if I'm from Halifax and I don't want to go to Sault Ste. Marie?"  Tough luck, hypothetical game passenger, take it up with the programmers.)
6. The distance between towns involved in the above relationships should be proportional to the distance bonus for the good involved.  (Long way off for passengers and mail, short as possible for oil and coal.)  This is going to be a bit of a nightmare to actually keep track of.
7. Pursuant to the above.  Towns and cities should be connected in groups of two.

Following Jeff's suggestion, I thought I'd start another thread to see if there is interest in pursuing another patch or in creating an 'Open' version of Railroad Tycoon II like some folks have done for Transport Tycoon. Maybe it's a pipe dream, but a fella can always dream.

Today I exchanged emails with Owen Rudge, who I believe was one of the original programmers that helped with the work on creating Open Transport Tycoon Deluxe, and asked a couple questions about how they did it for Open TTD. With his permission, I'm sharing his email response below:

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OpenTTD was constructed entirely from scratch by Ludvig Strigeus (aka "ludde"), although he did make use of reverse engineering techniques as part of this process. At no point was any source code made available by Chris Sawyer/Atari, and it's unlikely they ever would do so. I believe it took ludde the best part of a year to do this, but I can't say for sure as to when he started (I believe it would have been late 2002/early 2003; he told me about the project and supplied some code in late 2003, and then supplied a 'complete' version to me in March 2004, which he gave me permission to release to the public).

I can't comment on whether it would be a good idea to do such a project for RRT2 or not, but I do imagine it would be a lot of work! You could perhaps make a post in the OpenTTD forums on www.tt-forums.net just to ask if anybody was interested (and say that I suggested you post there), and you may find people who would offer their time, but I can't say for sure.

Good luck if you do decide to attempt it, though! :)

Cheers,

--

Owen Rudge

http://www.owenrudge.net/

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I'll admit again that I don't have the skills to do this kind of thing, or I'd already be attempting it. One of my brothers has some programming experience, and I pumped him for a little information today. He indicated he'd be willing to teach me a few things, and said it was mainly an exercise in 'logic,' but understanding how to do this sort of thing likely takes years. By the time I figured how to put one line of code together, we'd all be pushing up daisies!

Anyway, I thought it was an interesting email, and he does have a suggestion that we could make an inquiry about it on the Transport Tycoon board to see if anybody there would be willing to help with it. I'd be happy to post something on their board if any thought it might help, though I'm probably not the right one to do it, since I don't know anything about programming jargon and such. Do any of you have any thoughts on this?

My question of the day (or maybe week): At what age do you like to replace your engines for the sake of age alone (i.e. even with no new tech)?

How long might you stretch an aging batch of engines to catch a new type you know is about to be introduced? Do you "run the numbers", or do you "have a feel"? Does the tedium of replacing engines for a large number of trains affect your decision?

Footnote: There's another thread around here about GUI-scripting automated engine replacement, so the tedium of large numbers can be overcome.

Any theories? I think it has something to do with the way econ level changes affect timing. Maybe if each econ level rise triggers several houses to produce pax and mail at the same time, then over several econ cycles, all houses end up on the same schedule, synchronized to the beat of econ changes.

These late-game pulses (and the intervening droughts) are problematic. I wish there were a way to rescramble the production timing.

I'm wondering because on the Great Divide campaign I want to make a station like this:

I'm wondering if the 3.5, 3.0 and 2.0 grades will help or hinder trains leaving the station toward the bridge or arriving at it from the direction of the bridge.  (For the purpose of discussion let's pretend that's a stone bridge not wood).  In theory if the answers to both questions are "yes" then this seems like a great setup - departing trains get a little extra help rolling out and arriving ones find it easier to brake.  But something makes me suspect the game isn't going to cooperate with this theory...

To help highlight recent additions/edits in the lists, I will write them in blue and leave them that way until my next editing session (something I do a couple times per year).

On a normal heartland scenario, the AI company will build up cash if there's no place nearby to expand towards. (e.g. AI company has $1.6 million cash at the start of 2040 and a profit of 1.2M in 2040. In 2041, it has a cash of 2.8M)

On the africa after the flood scenario, the AI company to seems reset its cash each year after reaching about $1-2 million in cash. For an example, an AI company will have 1.6M cash at the start of 2005 and a profit of 1.2M in 2005. However in 2006, the cash decreases to 1.4M and it doesnt buy industries/trains/track/stations (there is no expansion). 

Things I've looked at:

I tried buying the companies to see if it was replacing enginges, but all the engines were from the year they first appeared/expanded.

Generally, Stock prices very according to the arrival of a train with profitable cargo.

A long period if time with no profitable trains arriving causes the stock price to go down.

If you see many trains about to arrive at a station

then buy that company's stock as the price will go up.

If no trains are close to arriving then sell some stock, but not too much. 

You are selling at a higher price then buy it back at the lower price

just before the trains arrive.

It is seldom a good idea to go too deep into margin,

Unless you have big profits that are coming in fast and heavy.

I seldom sell short.  If I see no AI trains arriving for a while, it would be a good time to

sell two or three shares short of the AIs stock, since

the price will drop over time until a profit is made. 

Buy these shorted shares back at the lower price

when profitable trains are about to arrive.

When it works correctly, you bought back at a lower price

than you had sold them for.  You keep the difference as profit.

When stock is bought, its price goes up.  When sold the price goes down. 

If you use a stock manager, remember you only get his discount when you buy stock. 

I will normally move my chairmanship temporally to another company where there is

no stock manager, when I sell stock.

There is a bit more to the stock market, but the above is generally how it works.

From everything I've read in the strategy guide and seen in game play, revenue is impacted by the following eleven factors. The first eight are fairly easy to figure out, and the strategy guide gives clues as to how they impact revenue. The last three are much more difficult:

1. Initial Game Settings - We can boost revenue if we choose an easier setting.

2. Demand Level - A premium is paid for items in heavy demand. At a demand level of 0, revenue is whacked 50%. At a demand level of 9, revenue is increased 40%. And there are varying levels in between.

3. Station Improvements - Improvements can be made to stations to either increase revenue (such as building a saloon, which increases arrival passenger revenue by 10%) or preserve revenue opportunity (such as building a grain silo for a 50% reduction in pickup delays.

4. Managers - Some of the managers that can be hired will have an impact on revenue. For example, hiring George Pullman will increase passenger and station revenues by 25% and 5%, respectively.

5. Type of Economy - In a depression, the prices paid for transport services are less than in an expansion. In a depression, revenues get decreased by 20% from a normal economy, and in an expansion, they are 20% higher. And of course, there are varying levels in between.

6. Speed Record - If a train sets a speed record, the revenue for that load is increased 15%. I think this only impacts passenger and possibly mail service.

7. Certain Rail Cars - Certain rail cars impact revenue, such as including a dining car on a passenger run. The dining car will increase the route's passenger revenue by 20%.

8. Events - Scenario or campaign events can also impact revenues. Some (in the case of campaigns) may also be the choice of the player.

9. Cargo Type - We've all learned that each cargo type generates a different revenue stream. The strategy guide publishes 'base values' for each. For passengers, the base value is $60,000 per car, whereas it is only $30,000 for coal per car.

10. Time Cargo is in Transit - The time a cargo is en route to its destination impacts ultimate revenue received, particularly since each cargo type's revenue is impacted differently as to how long it's allowed to be in transit before revenue losses occur.

11. Distance Shipped - In general, the farther away something is shipped, the more revenue that will be received for it. Again, each cargo type calculates this differently.

I'm sure if I missed any factors, somebody will tell me. The first 8 are fairly easy, the last three are a booger to figure out, and I still don't know how the game calculates it. Someone smarter than me that frequents these pages may likely know the answer.

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I came back to this post -- I think I forgot a couple vital items that impact revenue:

12. Amount of Cargo -- The more cargo shipped in a particular load, the greater the revenue.

13. Track Ownership -- A pro rata portion of revenue goes to the owner of the track over which the train travels to reach its destination. If the station of origin and destination are owned by another player, there are also station fees to pay in addition to the pro-rata track charge. I'm not sure if these are reversed from revenue or if they are treated as an expense.

14. Game Date -- The later it is in the game, the less revenue that is earned for each cell traveled.

I wonder if it is also impacted by the global settings on the map in terms of economic growth rates. This might be an indirect factor that has more of an effect on 'production' versus 'revenue,' but I'm not sure on that one. Revenue seems to grow even more complicated by the day!

I ran W98SE, W2K, and XP for YEARS past their "end-of-life" with no problem or issue of any kind. 20+ years ago, there was no requirement to be a lemming, though most behaved like there was. It went without saying that the duration of your use of these classic OSs was an individual prerogative and decision. I wonder, though, if that will still be the case when Big Brother deems it time to herd ALL of the cattle W11-ward.

Looking ahead to that possibility.....that of Windows 10 being user-banned and thrown on the great PROGRESSIVE trash heap with the fossil fuel transportation that enabled our escape from the stone age, a critically important question emerges.......

Will RRTII run on W11? We've been lucky so far, as OSs come and go, but will we continue to be. Is anyone running RRTII on Windows11?

And to elaborate. Let's say a station got a textile mill. It requires wool or cotton to produce goods. It generates certain demand for those two things. When we deliver either of them, they are converted into goods, in 1:1 scale. Now what happens if we have two or more textile mills in the same station? Production is doubled? Demand is doubled? The second building is just for show? And what if I bring only a single shipment of cotton, while there are two mills in need for it? Which one will get the load? Or both will?

Choose Crampton and the DB18-201 steam loco. Or choose Trevithick and the Class 232 loco.

Instructions in this video:

There's this lumber mill with "poor" profitability. I buy it and start shipping loads and loads of logs. It produces lumber and I take the lumber to the city.

The train makes some lukewarm profit.

But year after year the profitability of the mill remains apparently poor, and I get a pittance profit from it. It will never repay its cost, let alone turn a profit.

Why is it not profitable to buy the "poor" industries that I later make work?

Am I missing something? Any word of advice is welcome...

Quote

Read Me for RT2_PLAT.EXE version 1.57ddh

Corrected 'Auto Plant' input2 (tires) demand by moving the intended value from in2boost to in2demand.
Corrected 'Cannery' input2 (steel, aluminum) demand by moving the intended value from in2boost to in2demand. (x4).
Raised demand of 'Produce Farm' - Fertilizable from 0.5 to 1.0 so that fertilizer demand recovers.
Raised demand of 'Rubber Plantation' - Fertilizable from 0.5 to 1.0 so that fertilizer demand recovers.
Raised demand of 'Sugar Farm' - Fertilizable from 0.5 to 1.0 so that fertilizer demand recovers.
Corrected 'Munitions Factory' input2 (chemicals) demand by moving the intended value from in2boost to in2demand (x2).
Corrected 'Weapons Factory' input2 (rubber) demand by moving the intended value from in2boost to in2demand (x2), and raised rubber demand on entry 2 (x1) from 0.5 to 1.0 so that demand recovers.
Corrected urban demand for milk to match that of lumber and produce, so that demand recovers.
Updated version number to 1.57ddh.
 

Note: From my recent experience, guests can download from the download area, but cannot download files within forum posts. If you then create an account to question or comment on this, you'll notice that you can download from forum posts once you have an account.

RT2_PLAT 1.57ddh.zip for standard CD installations of Railroad Tycoon II - Platinum

RT2_PLAT 1.57 GoG.zip for GoG.com installations of Railroad Tycoon II - Platinum

RT2_Gold 1.57.zip for standard CD installations of Railroad Tycoon II - Gold

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Just put one electric track next to existing one, end extend it by only one track. It will cost you 0.

2. Building tracks is less expensive when you build it by one.

Just build one track, leave space, next track, leave space and so on.

Looks like this: - - - - -

Then you connect the holes, but also by one: --------

It's a cheap way to build long connections.

OFC you sometimes must build longer tracks, to avoid high grade.

But on the plains it's very cheap.

The same applies to expanding from one to two tracks - expand it by one, then connect the holes.

Hope you enjoy it ;)

any tips for this scenario?

thx

First my challenge was to beat each level by 5 years before the deadline date. Now I think I can do it by 10 years. (excluding the day missions like Whistle Stops and Promises, and those weird commercial levels) I play the platinum edition, on hard difficulty of course.

Difficult levels were: Elbow room, Eidelweiss express, New daylight express.  Feel free to ask me about any level.

I've been keeping screenshots of all the successes, I started on the harder levels, so I've a few earlier ones to finish up.

Lets keep this amazing game alive!

Thanks in advance.  I look forward to resuming some conversations with y'all.

Secondly, I've returned to poking around at RRT2 for the first time in a few years, and after playing the first scenario a few times, I'm coming to ask why I even bother trying to run any freight trains. But I'm not sure if that applies to the whole game, or just to the very first scenario.

The thing is, I can happily set up a railroad just running between Baltimore and Washington, and make mints off of just running pax and mail between those two spots. Maybe include a single train between Baltimore and Relay, more for a first successful train run that shows up in the first year. All these passenger trains make great money.

Then I branch off a freight line or two, heavily supply an industry and send whatever that industry makes to the next city, and move tons of cargo, but make almost no money. I mean, one train running 4 cars of pax or mail between Baltimore and Washington makes 500-750k for a single trip, which takes it about a year. Meanwhile, wool to a factory, then goods to a city in a year the train makes maybe 50k in profit. Just seems like so little compared to the passenger trains.

And can I just say I hate scenarios that start before stone bridges are available? For just my pax lines, I have three separate tracks with three bridges running between Baltimore and Washington, just to keep things moving because of how limited the only bridge type available at the beginning of the scenario is. (One bridge/track handles only the trains running from Batlimore to Washington, the second handles the trains going the other way from Washington to Baltimore. The third only handles that one lone car running between Baltimore and Relay, to keep it from delaying the more productive trains.)

And I don't know if I started doing it years ago in this game, or picked it up in other games, but am I the only one who has different tracks and stations for freight as opposed to my passenger lines? I just don't want to slow down these hugely profitable pax lines (and that's even before the dining car or what's his name the manager is available) for the pennies I seem to make from the freight.

Can freight be a lot more profitable than I am seeing in the first map, or is it something about this particular map that makes the freight seem so bad?

So as this was a stock market game rather than a raid road scenario, i quickly setup routes between 3 important cities in south coast of England, which started generating revenues.
I took a bond and ensured that i purchased all the 'other investors' shares and got 100% ownership and we have to do that before your stock splits 2 for 1!

One i had 100% ownership, it was a matter of adding few more lines and issuing from my company and buying stock every year.
Then give yourself crazy dividends.

Also i got stock of AI company that was doing well. I ignored the other non performing AI company.
I easily got  player net worth > $20 million by the end of 1855 as you can see here

The big trouble was being the lone surviving company.  How do we get that?  Whenever i merge a company, i fail !  Do i need to be majority share holder in all AI companies?
I guess i only focused on my company.