Hi all

[Raven1s]

Hello,

My name is Andy I am from the UK, I only have just found openttd and I am getting so confused on how the games run, I understand you have to build up a transport company etc I seem t go backrupt quite quickly plus I am not sure how to make sure the few GRF's I have downloaded is working.

hope you guys can help me and I get to be a good member of this community

thanks Andy

[Baldy's Boss]

What goes wrong for you?
Do you want to post a save-game so we can see the issues?

[Raven1s]

I am stuggling to work out what is the best start on my current game looks like oil is doing OK for me but can't work out what is next

[Nikari]

I found it helpful to start with building roads and passenger stations. There are plenty of options for vehicles used for passengers and tourists. That will help you practice route scheduling and multiple cargo types.

[leifbk]

Hello, and welcome to the forum.

There is quite a learning curve in this game, and it's wise to start with the basics:

1. You should avoid NewGRFs until you feel that you've got some hold on the essential mechanics of the game.

2. Like Nikarl, I'll recommend starting with road vehicles. Carrying coal from a coal mine to a power plant is a good place to start.

3. Don't overstretch yourself; stick to short routes until you've accumulated a decent war chest.

[Baldy's Boss]

I always start with passenger trains from the largest city to its largest faiirly-close neighbor.

[leifbk]

I always start with passenger trains from the largest city to its largest faiirly-close neighbor.

That may be one "winning" strategy, but it's certainly not the only one. Besides, the fact that you repeatedly ask for help with your games casts some serious doubts about whether it's really a good strategy at all.

[Pyoro]

True. But passenger service has an undeniable advantage: it pays both ways.

Depends of course on a lot of things. The type of map generated, the kind of GRFs used, if any, the stating date, game settings ...

[Alberth]

Coal transport is a good choice in temperate climate, more experienced players do use passengers instead, as it pays in both directions.

@OP:
If you open the "cargo payment graph" from the dropdown of the "graphs button" at the main toolbar ( https://wiki.openttd.org/Game_interface ) you can see what pays a lot of money, and what pays less. The better payments are generally cargoes from the secondary and tertiary industries, but there are a few other cargoes that can be used initially.

[Raven1s]

Hi guy's,

Thank you so far with advice I think I just need to spend a bit more time with the game seem to be doing OK so far with my game will start with coal, and city to city train line

[Dave]

If you're playing the vanilla game, no problem - get yourself a 4-tile station, a Chaney Jubilee + 7 coal wagons and find a coal mine and nearby power station.

Watch how the mechanics work - how much coal is your mine outputting for example? Is a lot of coal left waiting even when the train is full? At that point you might want to start thinking about a second train.

Alternatively, if you're not comfortable with using the signal system yet (which IS complex regardless of what our seasoned members say!), find another nearby coal mine and build a second line. Slowly you'll start to find out what works.

I find using buses within towns as an initial method of passenger transport is the best way to boost your bank and get a good rating in a town, but we're all different.

Bear in mind you're not looking for perfection at this stage, just to learn, so you won't be building a perfectly efficient transport system just yet!

Even the vanilla vehicle set offers a fair amount of variety, so make sure you keep an eye on running costs, reliability and so on.

Have fun!

[Raven1s]

I am trying to use the UK train grf and also the UK Road signs and UK Town names, but yeah I am just trying to learn the game tbh I do find trains expenice but that could just be my noon side not checking running costs

[Solanus612]

I'm not a frequent poster and not terribly advanced in my playing, but one of the things I like to do to start a game and build a steady foundational income is fishing boats. It's about the simplest process to learn, especially, with just a sandbank, a dock to set up, and a couple of depots to lay down. Because you don't have to worry about any other infrastructure (roads/tracks, signals, etc.) at this point, it's the best place to learn the basics of orders, cargo chains, etc. Trucks are the next best place to learn basics, with only roads and terrain to have to learn new. Once you have both of those figured out well enough, railroads are just incrementally more complex from there. Airplanes are a special case in that they are a lot harder to balance early in a game, and work well with an early steady income source (like the fishing boats above).

[Raven1s]

I'm not a frequent poster and not terribly advanced in my playing, but one of the things I like to do to start a game and build a steady foundational income is fishing boats. It's about the simplest process to learn, especially, with just a sandbank, a dock to set up, and a couple of depots to lay down. Because you don't have to worry about any other infrastructure (roads/tracks, signals, etc.) at this point, it's the best place to learn the basics of orders, cargo chains, etc. Trucks are the next best place to learn basics, with only roads and terrain to have to learn new. Once you have both of those figured out well enough, railroads are just incrementally more complex from there. Airplanes are a special case in that they are a lot harder to balance early in a game, and work well with an early steady income source (like the fishing boats above).

I didn't know you could get fishing boats? I knew you could do a link from a oil platform out at sea to a oil refinery by road

[leifbk]

I'm not a frequent poster and not terribly advanced in my playing, but one of the things I like to do to start a game and build a steady foundational income is fishing boats. It's about the simplest process to learn, especially, with just a sandbank, a dock to set up, and a couple of depots to lay down. Because you don't have to worry about any other infrastructure (roads/tracks, signals, etc.) at this point, it's the best place to learn the basics of orders, cargo chains, etc.

I agree that fishing is a nice place to start, but that requires FIRS or another industry NewGRF with fish as cargo. Mastering an alternate industry set is great fun, but it's generally good advice to start with only the base game.

[Baldy's Boss]

I always start with passenger trains from the largest city to its largest faiirly-close neighbor.

That may be one "winning" strategy, but it's certainly not the only one. Besides, the fact that you repeatedly ask for help with your games casts some serious doubts about whether it's really a good strategy at all.

Those particular lines are usually quite successful!

[Raven1s]

Is it easier to start with new industries, or stay with base game?

[Sylf]

Is it easier to start with new industries, or stay with base game?

Default industries are generally easier. Non-default industry sets generally add some additional complexities to the game. If you're just getting started with the game, I'd suggest to play with default for couple of games.

[Raven1s]

OK thank you I am thinking of building a rail link between 2 big city's that are near by then work on coal and oil

[Baldy's Boss]

OK thank you I am thinking of building a rail link between 2 big city's that are near by then work on coal and oil

You make more if the cities aren't TOO close to each other,though you need them to be close enough to be able to afford to build the route and buy the trains.