US History

[envelope]

Thanks for the info on the "profile". Will use the 'general discussion'.

After playing the RT3 for some time, it took a little time to "figure" out the process of the RT2 operation.

The US History is similar to a previous scenario, but there are some interesting changes in the concept

of the challenges. This makes for an enjoyable play in the time frame. Having been away from RT2 for

a time, I have not gotten off to a good start, but find the scenario to be as interesting and enjoyable as

when the RT2 was the top of the line of games. :D

Envelope

[jeffryfisher]

Thank you. I tried to set it up so that there are events in all decades (in all presidential periods), and so that the challenges shift from era to era all the way to the present. I even tossed in a few fun things for those who play into our own future.

[envelope]

I am way behind with this scenario, as I see the last post was in 2010. I thought that I had the latest a couple

weeks ago, with the 24Nov2010 post with US.History 201202 attachment.

Now I see that there has been a number of updates or changes, but then again, the post of 24Dec2010 post

has, which I believe, the newer version, RT2-PLAT. At least this time, there are 19 downloads, compared to

only 2 in the previous version. Of which I am in the initial era of the time frame.

Have not run into any problems, but am at a confusion on most of the status. Espeically the "lumber" hauls.

As the ledger shows more than the '5' required, is that a running of '5' per year, with a total of '15' for the

3 year time frame? In other words, if a player misses '1' year for the required '5' although "11" the next, that

initiate a penalty?

I like the concept of this scenario, and am looking forward to playing the RT2-PLAT version. :D

[jeffryfisher]

Instead of burying new versions throughout this deep thread, I replace the one in the OP. That way, somebody just finding the forum (or the thread) and reading it from the beginning won't be drawn into downloading and old, broken version. I want to be sure that they get the latest and greatest broken version.

We also used to have severe upload quotas, so having multiple versions in a thread caused problems.

The modded RT2_PLAT.exe (zipped) in the Dec 24 2010 post is a "frozen" version that corrects a couple of issues with military buildings (I wanted them to function in time for the Civil War, which also meant making some materials available for them). It helps with this specific scenario (US History), so I uploaded it here.

When I took my modding effort into experimental (and possibly unpopular) directions, I created a new "historical-rt2-mod" thread. There I have extended the history mod, and like this thread, I keep updating the upload in the OP where it will be easy to find. The zip file there mods not only the EXE but the text as well. It also fixes the milk-to-towns bug (one milk delivery would crush demand, never to recover).

[jeffryfisher]

am at a confusion on most of the status. Espeically the "lumber" hauls.

As the ledger shows more than the '5' required, is that a running of '5' per year, with a total of '15' for the

3 year time frame?

The commodity goals are scored at the end of each year. To score a track discount, deliver at least one lumber, AND, deliver at least 5 logs MORE than the number of lumber. For example, if you deliver 3 lumber, then you must also deliver 8 or more logs.

If you score a track discount, it works for three years. Discounts can overlap and accumulate. If you score three in a row, then you'll have a triple-discount. You can also gain track discounts for delivering some steel + (some+5) iron.

In the latter part of the 20th C, cement replaces lumber for track ties (so gravel replaces logs as the load type you'd need to deliver more of to score a discount... as if you'd need to build enough track in the end-game that you'd care).

I like the concept of this scenario, and am looking forward to playing the RT2-PLAT version. :D

RT2_PLAT is not a map. It is a modded EXE (home-made patch) of the game itself. It is made from the last patch (v1.56) of the platinum-CD version of the game, so it is not compatible with (can't replace) online versions of the EXE such as from Steam.

[envelope]

I just got blown away in the initial version. Just on the threahold of SFO, only for the time frame ended.

A couple of comments, of which may have been corrected in the RT2-PLAT.

In the early 1860s, a notation was made for bonus cash, for the hauls of "troops, ammo, or wpns". I did not find any of these industries until the late 60s, after the Civil War. Then at that time the only Steel Mill became available in Ste.Marie.

At that time, the WPNS building was not showing any demands for a product.

I had a constant supply of "lumber" totaling from 8-12, and yet there was a constant notice of a "lumber shortage". Was not surprised with that of the "steel", as it came right at the edge of a demand.

The connection of SFO was not indicated as such as a "point or victory". Also, although there was ample supply at the depot, when I made the connection, I never received a "connection" notice, even though I circled the area with a depot. And being that I did not get the "haul" to SFO, I do not know if that would trigger the "point or victory". Also, if I would have gotten the $16M for the haul.

There was a surprise in the very end. An AI operating between Madison and Toledo, with me for the duration of most of the game, once I was within the CA territory, that AI laid down a complete routing from Madison to LA. On checking, I did not find any debt or outstanding bonds. SO, where did their revenue "pop up" from?

A very interesting scenario, and will leave this version and start with I assume the final version, RT2-Plat. :D

[jeffryfisher]

I just got blown away in the initial version. Just on the threshold of SFO, only for the time frame ended.

Don't despair. You can keep playing, at least for a little while, to work out a few kinks before trying again.

A couple of comments, of which may have been corrected in the RT2-PLAT.

In the early 1860s, a notation was made for bonus cash, for the hauls of "troops, ammo, or wpns". I did not find any of these industries until the late 60s, after the Civil War. Then at that time the only Steel Mill became available in Ste.Marie.

Indeed, the modded RT2_PLAT.exe does attempt to correct that. However:

1) It's a game mod, not a revised scenario

2) If you start the map close to the war, then building placement can still be "unfortunate"

3) It's just a bonus and not critical

I had a constant supply of "lumber" totaling from 8-12, and yet there was a constant notice of a "lumber shortage".

See my explanation yesterday. To avoid a shortage, you must deliver more logs than lumber each year starting in your tenth year. To achieve a surplus, you must deliver some lumber AND deliver 5+ logs more than the number of delivered lumber each year.

The status in the annual report shows the numbers used in the trigger. If you open up company details during the year and look at the status page, you can see what numbers you've racked up to that point in the year (-1 is a placeholder for zero).

The connection of SFO was not indicated as such as a "point or victory". Also, although there was ample supply at the depot, when I made the connection, I never received a "connection" notice, even though I circled the area with a depot. And being that I did not get the "haul" to SFO, I do not know if that would trigger the "point or victory". Also, if I would have gotten the $16M for the haul.

Where are you getting the phrase "point or victory"?

San Francisco's center is located at {17, 143}. It is connected when you place a station with the center track square inside SF's development area, which is a rough circle of about 10 squares radius. If your depot is anywhere inside the arc of the San Joaquin River (i.e. somewhere around Oakland), then you're connected and don't know it.

Unfortunately, a game bug prevents the city's name (and the "connected" advice) from being displayed. The "San Francisco" you see on the map is actually a simple label. If you look carefully at it and another town's name (e.g. Sacramento), you'll notice that towns are all yellow, and SF is white, like the name of a river. The bug is caused by SF city center being placed in the water of SF Bay. I placed it that way so that more houses and industry would appear in places that can do you some good.

When you've delivered two loads from "Northern States" to SF, then you should get a share of the prize pool. The share for 1st place is half of the pool (half of the $16M).

There was a surprise in the very end. An AI operating between Madison and Toledo, with me for the duration of most of the game, once I was within the CA territory, that AI laid down a complete routing from Madison to LA. On checking, I did not find any debt or outstanding bonds. SO, where did their revenue "pop up" from?

The AI has great difficulty laying track on a "broken" map (where territory rights are fragmented). I often see Canadian companies sit on their cash doing nothing until at least Upper Canada is added, and sometimes not until Rupert's Land.

However, when new territories open up to them, they start to blossom. They can pile up significant hoards of cash while operating dinky little short-lines. When they finally decide that they need to expand, they can really come out swinging.

A very interesting scenario, and will leave this version and start with I assume the final version, RT2-Plat. :D

Just make sure that your US History map is the same version as the one in the OP of this thread. Then, if you are brave enough to "patch" the game itself (backing up files before replacing them of course), either unpack RT2_PLAT.exe from Dec 2010, or go get an even better mod (just last month) in the OP at historical-rt2-mod/

[envelope]

That is a lot of "info", and a big thanks for the explanations. I will have to check on the "victory points" I memtion.

From my download, I found that on "opening it", to be found as a .exe extension. However, with my original purchased

discs, such was part of the programming. Am I to believe that the RT2_Plat is of a better version? And includes some

enhancement programming which was not included in the original Edition?

And now with your above mentioned info, I will give this scenario another attempt.

Without going back to your thread of explanations, I don't believe that you gave an answer to at least one of my questions.

In say 1860, a notice indicated that there would be bonus cash, or something to that affect, for the hauls of "troops, ammo,

and or wpns". I did not see any of those industries until after the Civil War. Also, there was not indication of them

being purchased. I don't remember if the depot showed an indication of "tires,lumber, steel, etc" for the product. They

appeared about the same time that "steel mills" became available, which didn't give much of a time frame for even

the steel to be of much help in the construction of rails.

Any info is appreciated, and a "thank you" in your endeavors. :D

[jeffryfisher]

From my download, I found that on "opening it", to be found as a .exe extension. However, with my original purchased

discs, such was part of the programming. Am I to believe that the RT2_Plat is of a better version? And includes some

enhancement programming which was not included in the original Edition?

If you have the unpatched platinum edition disk, then you want to at least download and install the patch. My 2010 mod is what I consider an improvement on that patch. Mil buildings appear earlier and actually produce stuff in time for the Civil War. You might not have steel on the map, but you should at least find troops and (from chems alone) ammo. Different start years (and randomness) will create different results

And now with your above mentioned info, I will give this scenario another attempt.

Excellent... Please continue telling me what happens. If you are willing to upload any "finished" game, please zip it up and post it in this thread so I can look at it. I usually play a certain way, and the AI usually plays in its brainless way, so I am curious to see what other ways players might "attack" the map.

In say 1860, a notice indicated that there would be bonus cash, or something to that affect, for the hauls of "troops, ammo,

and or wpns". I did not see any of those industries until after the Civil War.

I am guessing that you either started the map late (close to the Civil War) or you are playing without one of my modded EXE versions of the game. The last patch (v1.56) did not activate mil industries until about 1905. Some of them could appear on the map, but they would not produce anything.

Also, there was not indication of them being purchased.

I disabled industry purchases in the scenario options. I wanted players to get their money from serving a wide area rather than by flooding one of each industry and living off its "gushing cash". Remember, this scenario is designed to teach. Serving a wider area means visiting more geography and learning more place names.

...about the same time that "steel mills" became available, which didn't give much of a time frame for even

the steel to be of much help in the construction of rails.

Steel appears in 1856. You have until 1866 (or your tenth year in the game, whichever is later) to deliver iron (even to a T&D factory). After that, you may be hit with the "steel shortage" event. To get the steel surplus, you must deliver at least one steel while delivering a bunch more iron. The one steel just proves that you brought iron and coal together at a steel plant.

Depending on the randomness of industries popping up, you might not have a convenient way to do that until after the war. That's okay, just do what you can. I have played as a Mexican company, not able to go transcontinental until like 1903 and missing critical industries until later. Mexico also has a twenty year civil war in the early 20th C during which all rail building in Mexico is blocked.

If you want a serious challenge, play my US History map and choose Mexico as your starting country. You need to start the game in 1844 or later just to have a theoretical chance at the silver (and that's cutting it thin). However, rail building in Mexico doesn't start until 1880. That means that a Mexican player will probably need to earn the bronze victory as a sidelines investor. Add in the Mexican Civil war, and you need to know your history to find gold ($1 Bn player cash) in 2001.

[envelope]

After a fashion, I found the RT2_Plat2012b (or close to that from memory). I downloaded it to a separate folder.

Should the "original" .exe, or that ever this updated version consist, be removed, prior to installing it in the Platinum

Edition folder, or can it be "installed" without any harm to the original RT2_Plat.exe?

From the looks of the "thousands" of downloads, there are a lot of members playing this scenario. Unless they are just

downloading it for the future.

sure find your comments and suggestion of a great help. Appreciated. :D

[jeffryfisher]

To safely patch RR Tycoon:

1) Add another extension to your existing game executable. Add something like ".v1" or ".v156", depending on what you know of its version. When Windoze issues a dire warning about renaming the file, click on OK.

2) Add another extension to default2.lng.

3) Drag my EXE file and default2 file out of their zip folder and drop them into the same folder as the game's exe. If I recall correctly, each of my modded files has an extra extension on it.

4) Strip off the extra extension from each of my two files, leaving the ".EXE" and ".LNG".

Try to run the game from your usual shortcut or whatever. Since my mod is now in the same place with the same name as the original was, it should start normally. See if it can open a saved game and run a few months/years without any problems.

If you started from a Steam.com installation, then the game won't even start (for lack of a CD). If you had a gold (not platinum) game, then I am not sure what will happen (probably also fail to start).

If anything goes awry, then you can delete my modded versions and strip the extensions from the originals. You may keep the renamed originals around indefinitely just in case you tire of my "improvements" and want to switch back (or encounter a map where my changes upset the designer's programming).

[envelope]

This will be an experiment with my endeavors with computers. Interesting. Will read your suggestions a

couple of times, to make sure I have them correctly, before I attempt the "revisioning". Thanks for the "scope"

Now that I have some idea of your version of the RT2_Plat.exe, in my wanderings if now find another "mod".

This one is that of RT2 V1.56 mod. NOW, is this another compilation of programming, to make the game more

compatible to changes, or enhancements being made when making modifications to previous RT2 Plalinum scenarios?

And if so, where do I find it? I have not come across such in my wanderings. :D

[jeffryfisher]

v1.56 was the last official patch to the platinum edition. If you search for the official patch, then you should find places to download it.

[akuenzi]

Envelope,

You can find the patches here:

http://theterminal.dune2k.com/?p=rrt2-files-download

[envelope]

Thanks Akuenzi for the info. Will go hunting/searching.

[envelope]

Maybe this should be under the Gnrl Discussion, But now that I have the

patches l.56, Plat, l.54, Gold, and l.53 TSC. what are their functions? Well, maybe,

what do they do to enhance the programming? Have not tried to "open" them to

see if there is an explanation.

[jeffryfisher]

Only one patch is needed, and it depends on what you bought. If you bought a disk labeled "platinum", then use v1.56

[jeffryfisher]

I've updated the map in the OP again. It's cosmetic changes, nothing critical, plus the zip file includes my latest game mod and the data sheets that go with it.

[jeffryfisher]

I've just tried to win with a Mexican company in a game started in the earliest year (1844) in which it should be theoretically possible. The "three year" warning dialog fired only two years before I got stuck with bronze (oopsie). I have corrected a few briefing texts and triggers to get the years exactly right in text advice, warning trigger and medals.

If I did it correctly, then a Mexican company can achieve silver at the end of 1904 in a game that starts in 1844 even though Mexico won't adopt standard gauge until January 1904. If you look at my scenario's rules for transcontinental status (needed for the silver, which is needed to even try for gold), then you'll see how devilishly tricky this is.

That's on top of achieving bronze as a sidelines investor before Mexico even authorizes rail construction. If you want one of the stiffest yet possible challenges in all of Railroad Tycoon 2, then play my US History map starting in 1844 and (eventually) creating your company in Mexico. To begin with, US History is an entire campaign in a single map. Then, Mexico is the most difficult nationality to choose for your company. Finally, an 1844 start date pushes a Mexican player to the wall (wearing a blindfold and smoking a cigarette?) to meet the deadlines for bronze and silver.

The map (with corrected texts) has been replaced again in the OP.

[Ferodaktyl]

hello

first i'd like to say that i like your map, i'm currently playing (and enjoying) it.

I have some questions/observations for you :

1. Why allow map starting dates before 1844 when this negates any silver/gold win possibilities?

2. The chemical industry suffocates the landscape at the beginning of the game, with no use whatsoever. It's possible, although improbable, that everybody produced chemicals in USA in 1830 to 1850 but without a corresponding industry in sufficient numbers/proportion ( at least 1 to 3 or 4) this is a bother and an annoyance. I started the map several times with the (almost) same results as industry configuration. Maybe allowing the ports to demand instead produce chemicals will balance this, or reducing the frequency of this industry appearance on the map.

I'll come back with more observations if you don't mind as i play further into your scenario ( until now i invested some time in faux starts prior to 1844, not realizing that this makes silver/gold impossible - or does it not?). I also wonder why you didn't organize your map into a series of campaign scenarios, this would make it (imho) more attractive to some.

Anyway, congratulations for this mod, great work !

[jeffryfisher]

first i'd like to say that i like your map, i'm currently playing (and enjoying) it.

Cool, thanks.

1. Why allow map starting dates before 1844 when this negates any silver/gold win possibilities?

I think that start year is only an issue if you pick Mexico as your home country.

2. The chemical industry suffocates the landscape at the beginning of the game

Hmmm, I needed some chems to supply ammunition factories in time for the civil war, but I didn't mean to have them go crazy. I've made a note to pay attention to it in my next start.

I'll come back with more observations if you don't mind

I'd actually like that because it helps to have a different perspective.

i invested some time in faux starts prior to 1844, not realizing that this makes silver/gold impossible - or does it not?

Did I fumble the warning on Mexico so that it seems to say any starting position must begin after 1844? Really you have 61 years to satisfy the silver criteria, which can be done from the North US in about 1859. That makes an 1824 start quite practical.

I also wonder why you didn't organize your map into a series of campaign scenarios

The thought did cross my mind, but my primary goal was to teach history lessons, and some of them require the continuity of a single scenario.

Anyway, congratulations for this mod, great work !

Thanks. BTW, Did you "install" the mod (the altered EXE and TXT files)? One of my earliest mods was to enable the military buildings in the 1800's so that RRs can compete in the Civil War. Without the mod, a few will appear, but none will function and none of their cars will appear. I also programmed chem factories to convert crude oil into rubber (plastic) starting at about the beginning of WWII. There are a few other embellishments in there as well. The latest mod is in another thread around here somewhere.

[jeffryfisher]

I have proven that it is possible to win gold while playing from the Mexican position starting in about 1848. I just did it at over 300% difficulty, though I was cursing my board of directors all the way to the finish line (because they wouldn't let me raise dividends).

[jeffryfisher]

My recent bank contract has concluded, so I will have some time available to hear questions/complaints and make an update (unless re-engaged really quickly). Please post regarding my US History map.

For those who don't know, my US History map is a campaign by itself, with almost 500 events covering several distinct phases {Ante-bellum, Civil War, Golden Age, Progressive era, Depression+WWII, Post-war, Reaganomics, [Gold-win condition], Utopia}. You might think it impossible for a map to remain interesting for 200+ years, but each phase brings a new challenge to undermine your old strategy and force you to play a new game starting from whatever you built in the last. My US History map, especially in combination with my "historical game mod", is the quintessential Railroad Tycoon experience, combining the game's built-in tech progression with the territorial and other shifts.

Oh, and it teaches US History to youngins too! (all of the presidents from Monroe, plus all of the territorial gains since Missouri). Two years in the making, the US History map (and its companion patch for v1.56 of the CD) is a game on top of a game. Show your mettle by posting your golds here!

[Gwizz]

When no demand exists for a cargo: An AI does recognize the demand and can be programed to store the finished cargo at one of your stations.

[jeffryfisher]

When no demand exists for a cargo: An AI does recognize the demand and can be programed to store the finished cargo at one of your stations.

Huh? I don't know what you're trying to say, so I can't tell if it has anything to do with any problems on my map. I do know this: On my map, you're not allowed to quit "your" company, so you can't use your tricks controlling competitors' RRs here. In my America, you must build (and/or invest). The only way to leave a company is to be fired by the board (an unprofitable and time-consuming option).

Hmmm... I wonder if it is possible to win gold by investing until stealing control over an AI RR and then transforming it into something intelligent. That may even more challenging than starting in 1848 and eventually founding a company in Mexico.