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Can someone start a new game for beginner players?

Started by Silverx, June 30, 2014, 04:47:18 PM

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Silverx

It will be nice of some of the experience players to start a game for beginners and have a skype or alternative chat channel so that we can ask million questions!! :)

Ters

One of the things with Simutrans is that experienced players, including the developers, would rather like to actually play the game themselves.

Another thing is that beyond the pure basics (which should, but might not be, documented well enough) there are many different answers to the same problem in Simutrans. Which strategy to use to get through the first few gameyears depends heavily on the pak set, or even which year the game is started in. (Which year to start in might actually be part of the strategy.) If you start with someone's game, and perhaps get a few initial tips from that person, you're more or less tied to that person for support from then on. Switching to someone else for support might just cause confusion, as that person most likely has a different view on things. Though ideally, it is perhaps best to get different answers, so as to find one's own playing style.

I also suspect that many experienced players don't actually know how things really work. They have a feel of how to play the game, but don't really know why it works and how. That's certainly still true for me, and I've played Simutrans for at least seven years. (Simutrans has also changed in those seven years, so what worked back then doesn't necessarily work now.)

DrSuperGood

When I am online in a server, ask away. You can always place a sign and I will answer unless someone also gives a good answer.

Here are a few tips that would have helped me if I knew.
1. Most servers use payment model 0. This means you get paid for shipping goods the distance between stops, even if the shipping is away from the intended end destination. If you have to loop trains or trucks around geography (mountains, water etc.) then place a station along the way at the destructive bends as an intermediate stop so that you always ship with positive profit. In Pak64 this is especially useful as some goods like paper and sand make virtually no profit so you cannot afford minor destructive movement. This only works in payment 0 and can be viewed as cargo bouncing by some (although ultimately you are not charging for excessive distance as you are not intentionally shipping in destructive directions just for money).
2. Pak64 is broken. High speed passengers/mail, fast trucks with paper, cars via trains, maglev/monorail. All of those do not work, they cannot under any circumstances make profit at all no mater how hard you try it is just not possible, never ever try to do them. Well obviously until a re-balance of pak64 is done and this is fixed so you make at least some profit.
3. Pak128 does not allow excessive infrastructure. Build only the rails you need and even if only 1 engine can use them at any time (single track).
4. In Pak64 most convoys need a high minimum load to break even. Freight should only run at 100% and passengers usually need >70%. Pak128 is more forgiving but for the line to make profit you will probably still want to ship freight at 100%, just you can make more destructive movements without worry.

Ters

Quote from: DrSuperGood on June 30, 2014, 10:31:11 PM
2. Pak64 is broken. High speed passengers/mail, fast trucks with paper, cars via trains, maglev/monorail. All of those do not work, they cannot under any circumstances make profit at all no mater how hard you try it is just not possible, never ever try to do them. Well obviously until a re-balance of pak64 is done and this is fixed so you make at least some profit.

You make it sound like it's unplayable. It is not. From mid-19th century, when the pak starts having enough vehicles and industries to be functional, until the late 20th century, it is possible to make so much profit that it doesn't matter if you start losing money later on. (At least when I last played through those years years ago. There have been some changes in Simutrans since then. The 19th century is certainly still easily profitable.) The only things that is truely broken are the two fictional 21st century trains, along with the corresponding jump in speed bonus base speed. Some things could be better balanced in my opinion, but some of that face issues that are due to limitations in the game itself, not the pak set.

prissi

pak64 is not broken, it is the only pak constantly re-balanced with the evolving game. It may not match your expectations, or it is too challenging, then do not use it. There may be one or two mistakes (which I happily rectify) but it is very consistent in itself. pak64 may not work properly in experimental, but then it is not made for it.

- Paper and cars are less profitable by design.

- Maglev can make money, use long trains with at least 80-90% average filling running still at maximum speed (essentially similar to airplanes and high speed trains). Since with those you can make enormous amounts of money, the level for breaking even needs to be higher than for run of the mill transports.

pak64 minimum average load is 50% for buses and ca. 25-80% for trains (depending on length and speed and many other characteristics), 50-90% for planes. Freight is naturally below 50% so you can return empty.

Silverx

Load for buses @ 50%? I have found u need to start at 5% and then work up to higher percentages and in certain places at 1% otherwise they are stuck.

Ters

Quote from: prissi on July 01, 2014, 10:44:57 AM
- Paper and cars are less profitable by design.

The thing is that cars are not less profitable, just when transported by train.

Quote from: Silverx on July 01, 2014, 02:13:47 PM
Load for buses @ 50%? I have found u need to start at 5% and then work up to higher percentages and in certain places at 1% otherwise they are stuck.

It doesn't take much to get buses up to 50% and still run continuously. If you start a game in the late 20th century, I guess it might possibly be a problem, since buses keep getting bigger and bigger while towns start out just as small, but at least the minibus is back. For a few remote factories and attractions, I can't keep buses running continuously, but I set them to wait for 75% load. This is no problem even if that means they only do four round trips per year. If their route's proximal end is in a busy area, just have it wait at the distal end. There are times where the flow is uneven, so that passengers accumulate at the other end from where the bus is waiting, but it rarely reaches a critical level. I occasionally manually release the buses from waiting, mostly for looks.