Map Contest 2 - The Voting

[BigMac]

Ok folks, I think I picked a BAD time for this map contest, looks like everyone was busy with Christmas and New Year and catching up with work.

I tried this map myself but couldn't find a decent scenario in my head and didn't want to come up with some boring industry/money goals.

So double congratulations to Casey and EPH for coming up with these maps.

I'll give until the end of February for the voting.

[Casey]

Hi EPH:
I voted for your map.
The idea of carving out the trench for a "runway" was very creative. And probably difficult to do.
Also anyone who can get a train to "forward into the future" and launch space ships, surely deserves a vote.

All the best
Casey

[EPH]

Casey, I'm glad you enjoyed 'Getaway Special'. Working on it was a lot of fun for me. And thank you for the vote!

Making the dry lakebed was actually pretty simple: I turned on the 'lake' tool and made a lake, then 'turned off' the water. Voila! Dry lake-bed. I did repaint the lake bottom and sides with sandy streaks, but that didn't take long.

I agree with the Webmaster that this is a busy time of year. We've barely gotten past the New Year and we're already hip-deep in Mardi Gras down here. Parties, balls, parades... the Super Bowl this year is played on Joe Cain Sunday, when a quarter-million people show up for a street party and parade in downtown Mobile. Won't be many sitting at home at their TV sets!

I do wish HawkDawg (and others) had been able to complete their entries. The map really does have some interesting possibilities.

[EPH]

We are awfully short of votes. And opinions.

Regardless of which entry you vote for (this is not a plug) please vote.

80 people have downloaded the two entries and 2 have voted... Does anyone have an opinion? I for one would like some feedback.

[AZ Rail Rat]

I'm logged in, but CAN'T VOTE :!: :x :x :x :x :x

[Gwizz]

I downloaded the maps but I can't play them until I fix my electronic marvel. The software for my new hard drive doesn't like RRT3 and crashes it.

[bc]

I.m the same as Gwizz - with white bldgs and trains these scenarios are almost impossible to play :cry: :cry: :cry:

[EPH]

I was going to wait to the end of February to vote, and now the thread won't let me. :(

[BigMac]

Oh dear, not the most successful of contests this time guys. Sorry about my timing. I guess we might start another one soon and give it a bit longer before the maps are due in.

Anyone want to have a go at creating the base map? If you e-mail me a ZIP file I'll make it available and we'll see if "Contest Three" can be more of a success :)

[bc]

Well of course I'm miles too late to participate but (as I've moaned before) with all my buildings and trains white and everything else very oddly coloured its taken me all this time to feel like playing much again.

So my vote would have to go to Holiday Island cos I got silver at 1st bash (on normal sadly) - had the IR but took me another 2 years to get the CBV there.

I couldn't get anywhere with Getaway Special so although I think it's a terrific idea I hated playing it and just watching my cash vanish steadily up into the skies (oh, sorry that's what it was supposed to do) - down into the depths.

Now I'll haveto start reading threads on how to play them properly :evil: :roll: :?:

[EPH]

Getaway Special can be a little tricky, mostly because you can't issue bonds. Concentrate on buying up or starting a lot of profitable industries in the first 4 or 5 years before building your first railroad. Port Crusoe to Skipper Beach, or Parrothead Point to Buccaneer Bay are both (usually) good routes. But the goal early on is to make a lot of money to support railroad expansion. Once you connect Port Crusoe-Skipper Beach-Parrothead Point-Buccaneer Bay, your railroad should start to crank out money. Hauling alcohol to Port Crusoe is an easy way to make almost as much as a bond per year, with no interest and no need to repay!

Secondly, you need to locate and start hauling chemicals, iron and coal for a steel mill (you'll need the extra track and the better trains are nice). From there. it's deciding how to connect the essential points and getting the loads hauled. You can haul steel to a tool & die, make goods and haul the goods to Port Crusoe for a requirement.

The electric power requirement is pretty easy. Run a railroad line down the mountain from the coal mines and build an electric plant. You can immediately sell the plant to recoup money, or keep (and expand) it. Let one loco haul coal down the mountain and go back up empty - you can go straight up an outrageous incline with no serious loss of speed. Once the electricity is 'on', build the same kind of system to haul bauxite to your aluminum mill. Dedicate trains to haul the aluminum as it becomes available.

The load requirements aren't actually very hard to get - I have had to bite my nails over aluminum, once or twice - as long as you dedicate trains and keep the supplies coming. Getting the speed requirement is very easy; laying all that electric track is the problem as you will need a lot of track units and cash.

I'm sorry you had a bad experience with it, but we all don't like the same things. I really like scenarios that let you build the industrial base from scratch, rather than only connect-and-haul, and my scenarios reflect this.