Tie-Breaks?

[andythenorth]

If you don't want totally freeform play (and want some goal to work towards), try Game Scripts (GS)

http://www.tt-forums.net/viewforum.php?f=65

Silicon Valley and NoCarGoal are two GS with strong end goals to achieve. The goals make for much more absorbing gameplay than p***ing around with number of stations, vehicles, profit etc
There are also multiple city-builder GS.
Busy Bee is a GS with a different approach GS: no end goal, but new cargo delivery challenges are issued until you're bored of the game.

[Baldy's Boss]

I generally only build trains,and acquire any other modes only through buying AI competitors whose road,air,and ship operations I can let go to seed.I may refresh those operations or liquidate them.

While I never build a train, and shipping is my main source of income. I'm only doing cargo, not passengers. I haven't got a single AI installed.

How can your playing style and mine be measured along one common yardstick?

I suppose my railroads could be measured against Skipsreder Leifbk AS in terms of profitability,company value after x years...

[Alberth]

Lots of people play for good looks rather than profit.

I don't think you can make a good comparison in a meaningful way, without assuming a certain play-style

[kamnet]

So that we're not turning this into a whinefest....

Let's acknowledge the fact that the current scoring system is broken, or at the very least, no longer relevant.

If we were going to design a new scoring system, let's discuss what a scoring system should mean and what metrics should count towards it.

[Sylf]

If we were going to design a new scoring system...

Let's not. I'd vote for getting rid of the current scoring system, and let the gamescript authors implement their own scoring system.

[leifbk]

If we were going to design a new scoring system...

Let's not. I'd vote for getting rid of the current scoring system, and let the gamescript authors implement their own scoring system.

Agreed. A scoring system is meaningless without an explicit goal.

[andythenorth]

Scoring system should be implemented as content, like newgrfs and gamescripts.

Then players can choose to score how they like.

If score is decided by game script authors, that's inflexible. What if players want to score differently?

[Sylf]

If score is decided by game script authors, that's inflexible.

Is it? By having multiple authors publishing their own scoring scheme, users can chose the one they like. Or branch their own flavor of scoring. Also the script can and should use the parameters to avoid some arbitrarily locked-in scoring like "build 80 stations to score 100% in that scoring category." And let users include/exclude scoring scheme via script parameters too.

[andythenorth]

But what if I'm playing a game script, but I don't like the scoring mechanism? Or if the scoring mechanism is simply inappropriate for the combination of map, settings, newgrfs and GS?

I can't be expected to edit game script code, there needs to be a simpler way to get it just right for the game I want to play. So the important question is: what is the ideal way to achieve this?

[leifbk]

A gamescript supposedly has a goal. By playing along with that gamescript, the gamer has implicitly agreed with the script author about the direction of that particular game. Then it should be quite unproblematic (philosophically, never mind the technical details) to implement a scoring system which tells the gamer how far s/he is from reaching the goal of the script.

[kamnet]

I see what you're doing there, Andy.

I'm very cool with using a combination of NewGRFs, AIs and GameScripts to create new ways of scoring and winning a game.

What about if we're not playing with any of those? Let's assume an unmodified, unpatched OpenTTD 1.5.0 with no NewGRFs, GS or AI activated. We've already determined that just based on the the natural progression of changes, the current scoring system is not sufficient. So, again I ask, what should a scoring system mean and what metrics do we want to use?

[Dave]

For me, there shouldn't be one.

[Baldy's Boss]

Of course the only constantly displayed "score" is your cash on hand.It would be nice to have more comprehensive financial histories available.
Might be nice to have measures of gross margins,years of increasing profit,and other such things.

[Dave]

So is the answer "extended financial statistics" as opposed to "new scoring system"?

[Baldy's Boss]

Looking over my recent games,Betston Blue had a stagnant 1960s and then free-fall in the '70s (I posted the "stroke of doom" savegame last year,with a maintenance payment just about to wipe out the last cash).
Gondborough,the subject of much discussion when I joined,went through some years of being much smaller than an AI company I eventually bought (saving up money to take them over 25% by 25%) though my timing may have been poor,and then came its financial collapse.
Old Plonnville,my 1st place on 1/1/2051 champion,I find on inspection had its cash pile peak in the 2030s and was sagging in company value for some time.
Rartown Brown has managed in 2001 to have a cash pile Old Plonnville (which started 3 years earlier,1928 vs 1931) didn't hit until mear its peak,though it's further short of the peak company value OP had in the late 2020s onward.
Wardwood Western,with more expensive NARS vehicles in the fleet,hasn't grown as rich but has stayed profitable.
Other games,with various unique characteristics,are still at much earlier stages.

I note that both my advanced games are now in the "tied at 900 which means in 2nd place" position,in each case 1st belongs to an OTVI...so it seems that even though they sometimes go bankrupt,that AI does particularly well at what the high score table measures.(Rartown just turned down a chance to buy the 4th place Fast PTPAI,which has 5 trains and 65 train stations...that AI has a particular weakness for building stranded stations.RBRR Co. is still digesting the AIAI AI it bought with the clapped-out old diesels and including some huge all-valuables trains).

[Dave]

Why don't you post some screens, more people would try and help you.