(I imagine this idea must have been discussed before, but I've searched the forum and couldn't find anything relating to it)
I've been pretty busy on the new BB server and my network now stretches all across the British isles. One thing that would really interest me is how much traffic (pax, mail, cows, broccoli, you name it) has changed over time - and my own share of it.
For example, I developed a dormant region in the southwest and another in the northwest to the point where I'm shipping thousands of tons of Welsh wool and broccoli to markets all over the map. How much did that change the "British economy"? Knowing that would not help me run a better network, but it would be pleasing to know that my efforts had some significance. It might also sometimes help a (new) player find a niche that has not been filled, e.g. on the last BB iteration I discovered that few people transported cows and meat, so I was able to turn that into a large and successful operation.
I assume that such a feature would not add significantly to resource use. At the end of any transport (final destination only) the amount of pax/broccoli would be added to a global counter for that type, and the counters would be kept for 10 years or so, just like financial information. And the display could be very similar to the curves in the finance window. Extra points if it could be broken down into regions, or even regions and type of transport (e.g. if I could see the changes in broccoli transport in Wales 1790-1800, and my company's share of that amount).
What do you think?
This would definitely be useful, especially for the purposes of balancing. I am not sure that I will have the time to do this any time soon, but if anyone would like to code a breakdown of revenues by passenger/mail/freight type, that would be most helpful. It would indeed not be a significant issue for computational resources.
I think these features will motivate players to actively transport freight. I like this idea.
I've been pondering for a long time whether such a feature could be implemented.
The first problem I stumble upon is save compatibility.
I mean, the framework of three types of cargo (ie pax / mail / freigt) is stable in simutrans based on version. Basically they don't change.
However, new cargo, such as the cargo category "tea", may suddenly appear or disappear due to changes in the pakset, and the category and index number are not guaranteed. How to keep records and maintain the integrity of such a thing is something I don't think I can do.
Will simware record and manage history?
The same is the reason why I find it difficult to record shipments by freight category.