New map "James Hill in Mexico"

[Gwizz]

This 15 year map has a possibility of starting 10 IA Companies.

1.  For Bronze and Silver Connect 3 cities to Mexico City and

2.  Earn 50 Million Company Net Worth.  Easy.

3.  For gold,  haul 4 cargos, to anywhere and   

4.  Be the only remaining company.    Medium hard

Suggestions:  Use your company for the goals and to make money.

.                  Use the AI companies to haul required cargos close to

.                  where your company can pick it up and deliver it.

PS:  I didn't win Gold.  So I changed part of the Gold event to test variables. Still untested.

      The Gold event seems to work OK now.

      If your 2-6-0 pushes it tender, It is because the engineer does not like

      having his locomotive nationalized by the government and is just upset. 

James_Hill_in_Mexico.zip

[djf01]

OK, won the gold in 1932. 

I had more than 50% of stock in each company by 1923, and everything was set up, I just had to wait till the loads to be delivered.

I was 2 loads of sugar short of winning the game in 1929.  Those last 2 were delivered in Jan 1930, and I promptly merged out all the companies. 

But ... medal events are checked annually?.

So waited till the end of the year. 

When the gold didn't fire at the end of 1930 I was starting to wonder if Jerry had fixed that bug...

And again in 1931.  But *then* I noticed the AI had created 2 new companeis :-(.

So bought them up, waited till Dec 1931 & then merged. 

Gold fired at the start of 1932 !!!

[Gwizz]

Djf 01, Thanks for playing the map.

I'm glad the gold fired.  I thought the Gold event fired monthly? 

Also did the notices appear when enough cargo of each type had been delivered.

They use the same triggers I removed from the Gold event.

Other Questions:

How long in real time did it take you to complete the game.

I tried to make it a 5 hour map. 

Although when I didn't play it to win I spent maybe 20 hours in game time.

I'm curious, did you find the 2-6-0 was still pushing its' tender?

If so did you use it to haul cargos. 

Sometimes it would not pick up cargo for me until I upgraded it to a 2-8-2.

Did you use steam or electric? 

I didn't try electric locos in the final testing and may have their speed too high.

What would you recommend to improve the map.  Too easy, etc., etc.

Thanks again for testing it.

 

[djf01]

Djf 01, Thanks for playing the map.

I'm glad the gold fired.  I thought the Gold event fired monthly?

It may well.  I didn't check the editor.  I *thought* I'd met the victory conditions and expected it to fire at the end of the month.  But I don't know when the AIs popped up those new companies, because I checked I'd bought them all after I bought them, not at the point when the vicory conditions would fire. 

Also did the notices appear when enough cargo of each type had been delivered.

They use the same triggers I removed from the Gold event.

Yep.  Sure did.

How long in real time did it take you to complete the game.

I tried to make it a 5 hour map. 

I'm not sure really.  Less than that for the final playing.

I spend about an hour at my first attempt, made a whole bunch of wealth sapping mistakes (like buying into AI companies with no cash and no credit).  I was in the first or second year when I noticed my company suddenly had -$2mil in cash :-(.  I'd forgotten to re-assume chairmanship of the main company.

I'm curious, did you find the 2-6-0 was still pushing its' tender?

Not that I noticed.  I forgot to check!  I think that would have been cool to see.

Did you use steam or electric? 

Steam, with a the exception of short haul sugar.

I think the route was just too long (via the far south), but the connection goal of those 2 northern towns didn't fire.  I noticed this about 1926/27, so I built a dedicated coal hauling line electric once the 1020 became available (I love that loco in this game).  It (probably) made a huge loss.  It certainly soaked up a few mil of capital which it would never earn back (but it doesn't effect CNV so I didn't worry).  Coal was going to be the last load delivery to be met (I was only servicing 2 mines as part of the steel production) until I did this.

I didn't try electric locos in the final testing and may have their speed too high.

Possibly.  The 1020 is too good for the era, but the game needs something.  Camelbacks are too old and slow for the era, and Praries don't handle the hills.

The only time I felt I might not win the game was when I lost the Mikados.  I got the warning, but it didn't register, so I didn't buy any at the time.  I needed 2 more for the steel hauling operation when I lost it, and it was *hilly*, so I ended up going with 4 praries hauling 2 car bulk ore trains :-).

What would you recommend to improve the map.  Too easy, etc., etc.

I think this is a matter of personal taste rather than anything wrong.

So personally, I found the game too easy.  I've found this with quite a few of your maps.  The player starts with a *lot* of personal net worth, and with that much cash there are a *lot* of things you can do.  Efficiently operating a railroad suddenly isn't quite so important.

How can I put this more delicately?  Oh that's right, I can't :-).  Games where you start with so much money up front, it's a bit like playing a normal game after doing 2 "slush fund"s.  But that's just a matter of personal taste. 

But on the other hand, getting to $4mil in PNW has been done to death, and experienced players are looking for something else, so I fully understand why you've done it this way.

Thanks again for testing it.

No worries.  Thanks for posting it!  It was a real pleasure to play!