This is probably just a backlog from the todo list.
I started a game last night in 1914 on a 256x256 .12k/tile grid. Ferry service to several cities from a central hub city. The steamship ("The Queen") claims it needs 2 station tiles, so I built in some cities 2x passenger dock and in some cities 2x passenger canal quay. Maintenance costs thus ran $600 or $144 per city.
I then ran a series of motorcoach lines in the larger city and as connections to the ferry service for more inland towns. I foolishly opted for the bus stop with post box. Monthly maintenance $144 per stop.
Needless to say, the first month was profitable, with a few thousand(?) coming in from the lines. After that I was in huge trouble because my maintenance costs (add two diesel garages for $720, two coaching stables for my half dozen boys on postal bikes at $144 ... the steam shipyard at $108 was a bargain...) and the infrastructure was running $6k. Impossible to make a profit!
Reviewing strategy this evening, the bus stops raise an eyebrow:
12 pax = $20/mo
25 pax = $108/mo
250 mail = $72/mo
25 pax+mail = $144/mo
If I want to break even, it seems I need to just stack those 12pax stops on top of each other and give up on mail entirely.
One suggestion: a diesel garage is probably at least as well equipped for a bicycle messenger boy as a horse stable is. Probably the diesel garage is even better suited due to the intricate steel parts used in bicycles. I'd let the bike boys roll out of either . . .
I suspect that for the ships I can run single-tile passenger quays (cheaper to build and maintain a canal) and I'm guessing the steamships would then be limited to pax? I can live with that.
The other nice-to-have feature that's probably a standard request would be a ledger or an "infrastructure list" that tells you where does all that money go.
I'm also curious to try those BLIMPS!! =D
-danny
Quote from: dannyman on March 13, 2014, 03:54:29 AM
The steamship ("The Queen") claims it needs 2 station tiles, so I built in some cities 2x passenger dock and in some cities 2x passenger canal quay.
You need 2x quay, but not 2x dock.
(BTW, I agree about the bus stop costs.)
Best wishes,
Matthew
Balancing generally is on the to do list, but it is a massive task, and there is a massive list of things that need to be done first.
As to bicycles: yes, diesel garages should be able to maintain them, but they cannot be separated from horses for which diesel garages cannot be equipped (they are both classed as "bio"). When horses are no longer available to purchase, the diesel garage can indeed accept bicycles.