When walls come down

[Chr1S]

Hi all

 

I am revisiting RRT 2 and enjoying it immensely. The only two scenarios I had trouble with previously was "When walls come down" and "Peoples' train" any pointers. Walkthroughs are now scarce!

 

Chris

 

[MaglevForever]

Good to hear from another player. For the "Walls come down" scenario I would point you to a previous thread I have bumped to the top of the list. That thread should give you some ideas.

 

For the China scenario, I pick the 10% passenger and mail increase. I use the GG1 with 6 cars on half-fill 5 passenger 1-mail. The first year I take out a bond and connect Beijing to Shijiazhuang with electric track. Any profits go into upgrading the stations for max passenger revenue. (I ignore freight in this scenario, there are simply too many passengers to bother.) This will turn a small profit in the first year, but more importantly gives me a decent credit score at the beginning of the second year, seeing you start with 5M book value. I don't bulldoze any of the old track, if you do this you wont make a profit to get the credit score, plus you are shedding book value which is the aim of the scenario. (For the sake of the credit score, I keep the Mikado, just stop it so it doesn't burn any fuel.)

 

The second year, I take out max bonds and electrify the route down to Zuxhou. I put those nice stone bridges in and upgrade Zuxhou station to a large one. I have money for at least one GG1 to work the route straight up to Beijing. Work those managers, Oakes Ames is good to help that credit score. I look to buy another GG1 as soon as possible then I upgrade the station for max passenger revenue. In the third year, I max bonds again then connect to Huainan and make a route up to Shijiazhaung. Next I will add 2 more GG1s running from Beijing down to Hefei.

 

Then I continue expansion when I can afford it down through the close cities out to the coast at Ningbo. I try to link similar-sized cities together. Length is good, but keep the volume up too. I look to hire George Pullman as soon as possible. As I expand I try to keep things clean and trains moving freely. Refinancing those bonds is helpful when I can get 6% interest rates.

 

After those routes the rest are less value for money, but as the cash rolls in I keep expanding. The start is the critical part for a quick win. I just played through the scenario again to refresh and got the gold in 6 and a half years. (I am a micro-manager stopping for every train that arrives.) My profits increased every year even though I ended up in a Recession. Best of luck on your game.

 

Have you tried the Second Century campaign? Once you conquer these two you can sharpen your skills further.

[Chr1S]

Hi Thanks

Yes I have tried the 2nd century. Thank-you for the pointers.

 

My machiner crashed several years ago and so there are some 2nd Century scenarios I have not played. Is it essential to micro manage the more difficult scenarios? This to me would be very tedious.

[j7n]

These two were also the most difficult scenarios for me.

For the Walls Come Down scenario I had to learn what cargos should be ignored at the beginning. Coal, wood and ores could be shipped at profit early in the game, but could not at this stage. Ignore those cargos until you can complete their vectors to produce goods and food. Also use only electric trains. The SD is available at the beginning and looks like a fair choice, but it is discontinued soon, and there are no economical diesels remaining. There is plenty of time to expand slowly with electrical.

I felt that the People's Train scenario had a typo in its allotted time. The player is usually given ten more years for a comparable goal. A truly phenomenal and unrealistic growth rate must be achieved. I tried to build a network the usual way, with electrical track, but ran out of time. Passenger production is high, and there will be an event that will increase pax production considerably. Have many trains running from the very south of the map to Beijing at this stage to ship those people. Another event will give decent steam engines (the Hudson if I recall correctly) at a great discount (think chinese electronics). Take that event to expand even faster and ship any passengers still waiting.

I also ignored freight, but did not build any electric track, as this type of expansion is slower. I did start electrifying only after the steam train event. You want to spend all available cash at all times on new trains. Do not purchase industry, like some guides suggest, because the cash spent on it will just sit there for a decade before it will start turning a profit. You could keep the cash and be better off. Run long, straight passenger lines right across the southern mountains.

[MaglevForever]

No, micro-managing is not necessary. It just makes your company even more profitable. In the first two years I would do it just to make sure you get the max profits. As a fixed consist, 4 cars of passengers and 2 of mail is generally my choice. However, this scenario starts out with less mail and has plenty of large cities which skew my view towards 5 passengers and 1 mail. I have the trains wait for a half a load. The spacing of runs will affect profits. Especially on the long runs i will buy two trains to run from either end at the same time. Or wait for the first train to arrive at the opposite station and then immediately buy a second one.

 

As you can see there are many different play styles. I didn't run any lines through the southern mountains past Hengyang. If I did, I would try to hire Robert Gerwig to get the cheap mountain track. Like j7n said, straight track only. If you have curves make them on level ground. The game treats any grade on a curve as double! Some other players may disagree, but when using steam I would try to get Herbert Garratt as my manager (at least until Pullman comes along). Steam fuel costs can really go crazy on long runs.

[Chr1S]

Thanks for the advice.  Have just finished walls with a PNW of $ 28 mil. Tried to buy company in Germany but was short of 4000 shares so ignored company and headed straight for Denmark, Venice and bought company with track to Istanbul. Joined track to new company and voila. One of my pet hates is sorting out all the crappy routes the AI companies have. If a merger is part of my winning strategy I delay until the last minute so as to avoid having to do so.

[j7n]

I find that it is rare when an AI route is useful for me. They usually run over steep grades, but have endless supply for sand only for the AI. And the short consists that the AI uses do not work well for me. Since moving trains to other routes costs money in fuel and maintenance, increases congestion, and costs more because the player cannot attend to his network while sorting out the AI subsidiary, I find that retiring all AI trains is the best course. The AI does not run electrical engines, so sorting out the new trains from the old should be easy.

The Walls scenario turned out to be quite enjoyable and rewarding once I learned how to handle it. I continued playing it and built up the entire map.

For the Chinese scenario, this approach worked for me.

I electrified the track only recently. Some side lines are still not electrified, and I'm still running Hudsons, T1s and Mikados. The Mikado is a decent train for anything but absolutely flat land.

I was angry about the Chinese scenario, and haven't played it past the victory condition. I hope that passenger lines serve them well.

[outofmage]

j7n Can I have a look at your when walls come down game saving?

[j7n]

There is nothing remarkable about it. I failed to get all of my company's stock, and profiting from interest. It's a Platinum game. The title reflects what I saw as the most important change in this scenario: alien costs and profits...

[outofmage]

Still, I want to see your game saving just out of curiosity. You can e-mail me to outofmage@gmail.com if you don't want to public, and I will be appreciate that.