Trigger Events

[IOwnTheWorld1994]

Does anyone know how to get the events to trigger and function?

[MaglevForever]

In your game folder there should be a text file called Editor.txt. This is effectively a manual of sorts for the editor. It is pretty complex stuff so expect to use your brain a bit.

 

It may help if you study how other maps have been made. From the game's Main Menu, click the Editor button and load a map which has events that you like. The editor has a row of buttons up the right-hand side of the screen. The second one down is called Map Options. In this there is an option called Events. Most map makers give their events names that indicate what each one does.

 

The basics are triggers and effects. Basically, at a certain time (Frequency, you chose this also) the game will check to see if the Trigger is true and if it is true it will make something happen (Effect). You can string many together to make some real complex stuff happen. Events that don't work correctly don't have the settings that will do what the creator intended. They may still do something, just not the right thing, or most likely their trigger will never test true. When one depends on another, a small mistake can neutralize many others such as when variables are not computed right. Hope this helps.

[jeffryfisher]

Does anyone know how to get the events to trigger and function?

Yes. The manual is informative but incomplete. Do what you can and then write back with frustrations.

Note: The "every company", "every player" and "every territory" switches are somewhat counterintuitive.

Also: Be careful how you define the players in a scenario. If you make two or more mandatory humans, then the map won't even be visible in single-player (because mandating multiple humans makes it an MP-only map).

For good examples of carefully crafted events, see my US History map. There are about 450-500 events there, and they are the result of everything I learned from two solid years of experimentation and playtesting (and many of them include copious programming notes in multi-line comments).

[IOwnTheWorld1994]

Would not using locomotive is available triggers keep me from using more advanced locomotives in the future? I have it to where you can only use certain locomotives for certain time periods.

[jeffryfisher]

I'm not sure what you are saying. "Locomotive is available" is an effect, not a trigger. Triggers are logical expressions built from data functions.

There are two ways to control what locomotive types are available in the game. One way is to select the locomotives tab in the scenario settings screen and then check some locos and clear others. Locomotives activated this way will become available and later retire according to dates programmed into the game. These dates can't be changed without hacking the exe file (the game program itself).

The second way is to clear the check box in the locomotive list described above and then use events to make locomotives available, perhaps to only one company at a time. The corollary is that if you are using events to affect a loco type's availability, then you usually want to uncheck it (but sometimes you can leverage the pre-programmed intro and/or retirement).

The event(s) controlling loco intro and/or exit can be almost anything. A typical event is a choice offered to each player who controls a company. If the company pays a fee, then that company can use the loco type. A later event might retire the type. Each event could trigger on a simple date, but the first's effect would depend on the player choice.

Does that make sense?

[IOwnTheWorld1994]

So how would you build a formula that forces the company to replace a locomotive or be charged a fee for it? The way I have it set up is that only the North American locomotives are available and they're not available whenever.

[IOwnTheWorld1994]

What I want is to have the company carry a certain amount of passenger, freight and mail traffic. They must also own a certain amount of buildings that are valued at a price I will determine at a later time and must have an okay profit and obtain a certain amount of company and player cash by 1960. If they get to those points before or during that year, they'll get a congrats and end game notice. If they don't, I want to give a notice of failure. What would be the formula for that? Also how do I write up a briefing?

[jeffryfisher]

So how would you build a formula that forces the company to replace a locomotive or be charged a fee for it?

I can't imagine such an event. Neither in triggers nor effects have any connection to engine replacement. You could maybe *destroy* whole trains, but the destroy effect is buggy, and it's impossible to know which trains to destroy.

[jeffryfisher]

What I want is to have the company carry a certain amount of passenger, freight and mail traffic. They must also own a certain amount of buildings that are valued at a price I will determine at a later time and must have an okay profit and obtain a certain amount of company and player cash by 1960. If they get to those points before or during that year, they'll get a congrats and end game notice. If they don't, I want to give a notice of failure. What would be the formula for that? Also how do I write up a briefing?

There are trigger functions for loads hauled. There's nothing for buildings owned, and I don't think they can be calculated. Profit is miscalculated: It leaves out interest earned. Cash values are prone to overflow in calculations and triggers, so use player cash and give a warning. A briefing is an event with a frequency of "briefing". It has a dialog message but no effects.

[IOwnTheWorld1994]

What's the function for loads hauled?

[Silverback]

The triggers etc. are listed in the text files that were installed from the platinum CD. or earlier versions. Editor2.txt and editor3.txt. are the files in the program files folder. Its possible that railroad tycoon II from steam is missing these files.

 

There are many triggers for loads hauled depending on exactly what needs to be measured e.g. type of load or between certain territories etc.

there's also a trigger  CompanyIndustryInvestments which may help you

 

I'll try to attach some fileseditor3.txtEDITOR2.TXTEventEditor.zip

 

 

the eventeditor.zip is pre-platinum though.

 

There may well be bugs and inaccuracies!

 

PS the files aren't mine 

[Etym]

A.I. players NOT building any track ...

I'm modding an old map by GONZO called "Green Mars." It has 7 territories; in the original version, the AI players all start in the same territory as the human. I wanted to spread them around so I designed events to randomly award a different territory to each AI player when they started their company.  That works great, but only one (and rarely, none) of them ever seems to start laying track and getting down to business.  They just sit until the stockholders fire them for incompetence about 5 years into the game.  But the stockholders committee doesn't build anything either!

I didn't delete any of the original events, used 1 each of Company and Territorial variables, etc. etc.  I just can't figure out why the AI doesn't build; any ideas?

I play the Steam version, FWIW. 

[jeffryfisher]

The AI is limited. If it can't find a city-to-city route to start, then its AI player might not build anything. Too bad, so sad.

Instead of viewing AI players as people who have joined you for lunch, look at them as ants in the chicken salad. Never complain at their absence.