Wooden limb & Iron muscle

[jfmoyen]

Hi,

I'm back into RRT2 after, hmm, a while...

I've been trying the Wooden limbs (..) scenario a few times lately; I do not manage to get above bronze. Hauling lots of timber is reasonnably feasible, but rising my company value is the problem here. (if you do not remember : bronze requires to haul a lot of timber, silver and gold require even more timber -- that's the easy part-- and a high book value).

What happens to me is that, after building a very profitable network (typically, a main line to the sawmill around Mattawa, and some branch lines to load wood into Mattawa), my company starts carrying lots and lots of timber and gushing cash... but I do not find good investments to do from there, so I end up not doing much with my cash (expanding to North Bay & Sudbury is an option, but it's hardly worth the trouble). Of course, my expansion rates slows down, and I do not meet the requirements for the silver or the gold !

I tried starting either from Toronto (offers a good, flat, straight line to Mattawa), or from Ottawa/Montr

[djf01]

Any advice ?

Try fully developing the Detroit - Toronto - Montreal - Quebec city PAX corridor before you even start any of the other goals.  That should spew out so much cash you won't know what to do with it all.

[jfmoyen]

Hmm, good idea, I did not imagined doing this... but...

1) Competition is not going to let me do that (there are three starting slots, Toronto, Qu

[loco_motive]

Do not overlook issuing stock every year. That can account for significant company book value.

Issuing stock and a bond and connecting Montreal and Quebec looks like the obvious start, with single track and a couple Consolidations. Improve stations with everything they need and build midway sand and water station with first, then second arrival. Then double track asap after that; next 2 arrivals probably.

Assuming a mere win will suffice, I won't get into more details ( ie; optimizing the start, destroying the AI's). Here is a little trick though. If you build and then bulldose a small station in Toronto first, I believe the city will be available to you later.

Expand to NY reasonably early as passengers and mail between Montreal or Quebec and NY would be very lucrative, using the other Canadian city to establish a line connecting Toronto and/or whatever other good western cities you can find.

Also always take a look at getting an effective manager at each stage of your operation.

Do whatever else you want or need and likely the $50M CBV will be the least of your worries.

[djf01]

1) Competition is not going to let me do that (there are three starting slots, Toronto, Qu

[jfmoyen]

Thanks to all -- it worked (well, nearly, I had a couple of breakdowns in the last year and I was a couple of loads under the goal, but anyway, I got the idea).

I built the Qu

[djf01]

Congratulations JF!

[loco_motive]

Not to take anything away from jfmoyen, I decided to try this one myself, having been away from the game for a while, playing on expert with 3 AI's. So here is a detailed walkthrough (just for something to do). Well maybe sommeone who still plays the game will see something they didn't think of or were reluctant to try.

Required is 225 loads of lumber and $50M CBV in 25 years.

Jan/1880: Changed managers ond Oakes popped up so took him. Sold my shares, issued stock and a bond. Built and bulldosed small stations in Toronto, Ottawa and Sudbury, and then built a single track, cheap bridges, line from Quebec to Montreal. Started 2 Consolidations. Bought 2 shares in first AI company started (Lon-Ham) just before their first delivery. Dividends were cancelled partway through the year, but I should have done this myself right away.

Jan/Feb/1881: When my 2 trains were ready to arrive, issued shares, then I sold the AI shares and was able to buy 5 of my own company. I did nothing else after that on the PNW side of the game though. Did station improvements, put sand and water midway, did some doubletracking and stone bridge. Of course, I used the income from the first train to improve the other station just before the second train arrived so it would get the full benefit of the upgrades.

Feb/1882: Next 2 trains in. Cash at $2.2M. Paid off my bond and then took out as many bonds as I could. Ended up with $6.5M in loans and $8.1M cash. Ready for a big expansion. Expanded west from Montreal into Pemberton and Rolfton and north out of Quebec City, added 18 logging camps and 10 Consolidations (12 total).   

Jan/1883: Two more PAX trains in. Took additional loans up to $10M total. Connected Rolfton into Toronto and continued the Rolfton lumber trains from their waypoints. Added more trains. Bought 3 lumber mills for safety. Built from Toronto up to Sudbury and added 5 more logging camps (23 total). In hindsight, might have been more balanced to do the PAX expansion before the Sudbury line.

Nov/1883: Pax trains in. Connect Ottawa and Toronto to Quebec-Montreal line and start Tor-Mont and Ottawa-Que Pax lines, more trains.

Jan/1886: Cash at $6M. Pullman's my manager now. Let it run.

Jan/1888: 243 lumber delivered, loans paid off, cash at $11M. Less that 2 years and CBV goal will be met so line to NY isn't necessary and maybe not even timely, but what the heck, built it anyhow.

Jan/1890: 347 loads of lumber, $53.2M CBV, running 45 Consolidations, One having crashed in 2/86.

Financials:

CBV 1/80________________ 1,100

Income_________________ 43,362

New capitalization_________ 8,764

CBV 1/90_______________ 53,226

One of the AI's ran Rolphton to Pembroke ($2.2M CBV) and continually stole lumber from me. They should have asked. I would have given them some. One AI ran Hawksbury to Ormstown ($2.4M CBV). The third one ran London to Hamilton and expanded as far as Rochester, strangely this one had US access, perhaps granted if you choose 3 AIs. This was James Hill's company, this time, leading the other two with a meagre $3.4M CBV.

Now I realize this scenario requires play for 25 years, but really, thats not for me. Also I see that I really overdid the logging bit at the expense of development for income. This type of imbalance is almost certain to happen on first play of a scenario. If one wants to come back and try to optimize the play they can get a better balance there and maybe knock 1-2 years off the play.

So, that's it. Read and enjoy (or not).

[steve39]

Really, loco-motive, you must stop showing off! 

Mind you, 10/25yrs for the Gold is pretty hot stuff, and choosing 3 AIs is bold, even if some of the tricks you tried early on are beyond my ken!  Mind if I join in and see if I can do better?!  I fear I may not, but who can resist a challenge? 

 

[Gwizz]

You have a challenge ahead of you Steve39.

Loco Motive is very good at what he does.

Good luck  :'( :-\ :-[ :P ::)

[steve39]

Well, well, this scenario I had never discovered before!  My first attempt was not very successful, largely because the three A1s started on my patch and Boom conditions refused to come. 

My second attempt was utterly different because the AIs were out of the way, manager Ames Oakes (who gives a higher credit rating and thus easier borrowing was available - crucial in this game with its simple objective and for allowing massive lending early on), and then, just at the right time, Pullman turned up.  By keeping a decent cash reserve initially and laying track regularly, the Economy prospered too and I was in Boom by year 2 and stayed there most of the game.  The only downside was awkward placing of relatively few lumber mills.  Why do so many scenario designers place industries too far away from the raw materials??

I had, by the way, half the number of loco-motive's logging camps by using large stations and circular rosters.   

Otherwise, I played a straight "simple" game with no tricks.  Interestingly, the massive borrowing didn't seem to trouble the Economy.  And so I managed to repeat loco-motive's feat of all the lumber deliveries inside 10 years, but the CBV took another eleven months. 

For my sins, I was rushing it a bit (well, a lot really - and I am a bit rusty and fumbled the odd area) and found that, when sorted, the revenue absolutely rocketed in the last two years.  Loco-motive, I take my hat off to you!  But I also feel that you had fortuitous conditions for your solo run.  My first was a nightmare, and my second declared a Recession after three months - these ups and downs can be a nuisance and my advice to beginner players is to do a restart. 

There's also the starting richness of a scenario - it can kick off with raw materials and houses stacked high; or it can be quite impoverished.  These differences add to the variation between games, but if you want a rocket-like game, it can help to select a start which is well endowed.  I didn't, but it is a factor if you feel the need for speed.     

[steve39]

I was intrigued by Loco_motive's tactic in this game where there is no shares-related requirement to sell his starting shares; set the dividend to zero; and then ignore that part of the game completely.  (I'm less keen on his cheat of building stations and then demolishing them in order to prevent AI access.  Because I believe that scenarios are designed to be winnable without cheats and their use makes a game artificial). 

Nevertheless, I tried them both, after first replaying to make sure that I could get the Gold requirement in 10 years (end 1889).   Also, ref my previous message, I chose starting conditions which avoided the bum deal with few resources.   I'd already noticed that housing in Montreal can vary by a whopping 50%, and several towns can appear as villages - which in such a sparsely populated scenario is much harder to play, and a 10yr finish quite impossible.   

Game 1 - I played a normal game with no cheats and dealing in shares in the usual way, hoping to keep the Economy in Boom (see separate thread about Managing the Economy).  I duly got the Gold in 10yrs, but it was hard work!

Game 2 - Then, using the same starting set-up, I tried the no-shares approach and the demolish stations cheat.  The latter, in this game, proved no significant benefit (because the AIs are so timid with nowhere to go) but no-shares made a more relaxing game - and more profitable.  As long as I kept building track regularly, especially in Jan-Feb and July-Aug (ref Managing the Economy again) the Economy stayed in Boom and I eventually romped home in the same time, but with a much bigger margin:

Lumber loads hauled :  242        (225 required)

CBV                       :   66.4m   (50m required)

I would therefore give Loco_motive's no-shares playing style where there is no shares-related objective a hearty thumbs-up.  Nice one!   

I'll have to try it in other games where there is no shares-related target but the trouble is, there may not be that many - and more relevantly - I do like to buy out the AI opposition over and above a scenario's requirements.  It makes for a more exciting game!   ::) :)

[djf01]

I was intrigued by Loco_motive's tactic in this game where there is no shares-related requirement to sell his starting shares; set the dividend to zero; and then ignore that part of the game completely. 

I think the reason Loco's approach works is more than just PNW is not being a factor in the game.  If you don't own any shares in the company, you issue stock each year to increase the CV without adversely impacting your own PNW.  If all your PNW is in cash,  it will (very) slowly increase just with your salary.  This means the player's PNW *never* drops, which I think was one of the criteria we (OK maybe I) inferred increased the chances of the economy heading south.

[Skyman]

Thank you so much for this thread. I have been playing this game for a long time at a pretty mediocre level. Thanks to your mutual help I was able to complete the gold goals in 18 years. I realize that I'm still a little behind, but huge improvement. It's always good to learn new strategies.