Idea to have cargo delivery to industries influence operating costs

[JTK]

Hi all, love OpenTTD so much! I wanted to share this idea from Reddit:

What if delivering cargo to industries directly influenced the economics of the game. Let's say for example operating cost of fossil fuel powered vehicles changed depending on the amount of oil refined at a refinery. Or the operating cost of an electric train changed depending on the amount of coal delivered to a power plant. On the flip side, costs could go up depending on the number of vehicles in the game using the oil or coal resources. If there are thousands of vehicles, maybe operating costs are so high that routes that normally would be profitable become unprofitable. Companies would then have to close the unprofitable routes until things balance out or more resources are delivered. There would also be an opportunity for a transport company to switch strategies and focus on oil and coal.

Operating costs would be a function of supply (delivery of coal and oil) and demand (number of vehicles using the resource).

Costs would no longer be fixed, as it would be influenced by the in-game economy. This would bring a fascinating new dynamic to the game. The last big change introduced to the game mechanics was cargodist, but I would love to see a greater emphasis on economics.

There are scripts that can change the growth rates of towns depending on the amount of cargo delivered. Could the same concept be used to change the operating cost of vehicles? I'm aware it may take significant coding for these ideas, but would they be value added for the game? Looking to hear feedback, and thanks for the wonderful game we have.

[GarryG]

You idea sounds great .. but whether it can be coded in or not.

For instance some industry sets don't have a Power Plant and some of the other Industries needed.

Your idea might work better if the resources could be delivered to the depots where we service our transport.

Depot for trains will require Coal and Fuel to be delivered there.

Road Transport .. before cars need animal feeds, and later fuel.

Ship Depots would need coal to start with and fuel later.

Planes .. will need fuel.

Cheers pal