[OTTD] Two5Kid's Screenshots

[Raichase]

Thanks for the compliments, Raichase. Coming from the master of posting screenshots (17-18 pages), you'll be having a competitor from now on. Haha!

I welcome it! It's not half as fun making screenies as it is seeing other peoples screenies!

Actually, I was 'forced' to use the US Set, after reading your Network OT guide. I was wondering how you managed to start a network with no industries if you were using the UKRS. They have high running costs. Luckily, I (You) found the US set with its Doodlebugs, Interurbans that come at half-price, making life much more easier.

Actually, with the UKRS/UKRSI mimicing the original TTD style of gameplay, I'd have to do a network guide for that .

Regrettably, the above game was a little bit unrealistic. I'm not from a 'railroad as a primary transport' country

I am, but only in the history. We're slowly watching the mass decline of NSW railways



You also mentioned something about ro-ro stations not being too realistic. They are, but only in one direction of travel (ie, like a yard off of a mainline), having the sharp loop at the end probably isn't realistic. I sometimes use ro-ro for long coal trains, as I've seen a lot of mines around the world use long loops for coal loading, so as not to have to build a really long loading station on straight track.

[Two5Kid]

It took me 3 years and £350,000 to finally realize my dream of connecting the primary industries of Essen with their counterparts. The majority of that money went to the rail-to-rail connection between Essen Farm and Bonn Factory. The expansion of the Bonn Factory allowed me to connect another farm (Bad Koln) to the same station, thus saving costs of transporting goods away from the factory. I found the perfect locomotive for the job – the Class 3900 ‘Challenger’.

[Two5Kid]

*Raichase: Haha! You like competition, huh? Anyway, I will certainly be trying UKRS in the near future since most people are using it. Probably the expansion would be slow at first. But who cares? No one connects every industry/town within a year, that would be boring, wouldn't it?

I've been playing TT since it came out, I got the demo version which allow me to play 2 years. That got me hook, but due to the poor market penetration over here, I couldn't get my hands on the game. So I had to make do with just 2 years of gametime. This affected my gameplay as with just 2 years, I need to find all the industries, compete with the AI and generate a profit.

When I got my hands on the CD version of TTDeluxe, it was already 4-5 years from the Original. As with the Original, I connected all the industries first. It got me hooked for awhile since I get to play more than 2 years!

The third time I was 're-hook' on this game was just as recent as last year, when I stumbled upon the OpenTTD website. The advancement in graphics while retaining the gameplay got me playing the game again, bringing back the wonderful memories. As with the previous, I was more of an industry-nut.

It wasn't until I stumbled upon your Network Guide that I realised there was more to just connecting industries, connecting towns could be fun and profitable. That started the idea for a thread. Ha!

[Two5Kid]

The Construction Boom

By the start of the 1940s, I have finally managed to purchase locomotives for the Bad Koln Farm. The generated income from transporting farm products went above and beyond what I’ve expected. Bonn Woods became the busiest and the most profitable station for my budding empire. With the money that is pouring in, I reached my first £1 million at the start of the 1940s. With it, I repaid my loan to the German Transportation Board, achieved their objective and carved a niche for myself in the transport business.

My biggest thank you is reserved for the makers of the Budd RDC DMU; my lifeline for transporting passengers in my network. The initial network saw Steinfurt being connected to Essen. I double-tracked the line and extend it towards Unterfurt an der Donau and Wolfsbrucken. The line is being served by a fleet of 4 Budd DMUs.

After Essen, my next hub was at Unterfurt an der Donau (quite a mouthful), you could see from the picture below. The lumber from the Unterfurt Forest is being transported by a pair of Class 1a ‘Mountains’, my personal favourite for lumber. Whereas the goods train is a Class J ‘Northern’ experimental train, transporting finished goods from the sawmill.

My company improved on its services by revealing the Road Division. The first base of operations was at Steinfurt, connecting the iron ore mine to the steel mill. The steel is then transported via lorries to the Steinfurt Factory, subsequently finished products were redistributed locally to the townsfolk of Steinfurt, thus establishing a never ending cycle.

[Two5Kid]

We ushered in 1946 with an expansion to the Wolfsbrucken station. Passengers can now travel to Bad Koln by switching trains at the terminus. We also established a terminus at the neighbouring town of Oranienheim, connecting the town with Bonn via Nurnheim. The passenger services are all run by the DMUs, the reliable locomotive for the job -- sleek, fast and durable.

[Raichase]

How many DMUs in the picture?

I count 12*, but then again, I'm too smart for my own good

Very impressive .

*Each Budd RDC is a single unit, capable of travelling on it's own, bidirectionally (although, not at the same time), so you have 12 DMU's, marshalled into 3 consists of 4 units each .

[Two5Kid]

* Raichase: Good good good! Finally some response to my posts, after posting so many screenshots within a few days. Will continue with the current game and at the meantime, tryout the UKRS. Just a tester first, to see whether my network could survive such high costs.

Will be posting more soon! Stay tuned!

[Two5Kid]

Most of my initial construction occurred around the Northeast and Eastern corridor. Bonn being the southernmost town connected whereas Unterfurt was the westernmost. The town of Stuttgart lies to the west of Unterfurt, and will be my next stop for the Unterfurt line. Most of the Southwest still remained unconnected. My first project would be to supply farm produce from Stuttgart Farm to Potsdam Factory. The only problem along this route was the huge body of water that we need to bypass. Going around the Potsdam-Lubeck Lake was out of the question due to the costs. My project manager decided to fill up the lake with soil dug from the tunnelling process, creating a man-made island for interchange on the lake.

It was also during the late 40s, that Unterfurt an der Donau achieved city status, overloading my train station to the max and thus forcing me to create another new line towards Wolfswald on the west. The line passes through Saarfurt and the small village of Lohrheim. The village was so hostile after we have laid the tracks that they refused the station. Giving the excuse that progress would weaken the town. After much negotiating, I managed to place a bus station instead.

[Two5Kid]

In order to please the people of the Southwest ‘disconnected’ region, I have to create working opportunities for the people, to initiate the movement of passengers. The first project – farm products to their factory brought great response, now the local authorities are clamouring for power, electrical power that is. Thus, the Bonn Coal Company became the first subsidiary for my budding transport empire with a net worth of £13 million. (Shameless plug) Their aim was to supply enough coal to support the Oranienfeld Power Station, which was also constructed by my company. 2 coal mines were connected to the power station via a 4-lane track. The coal hoppers were pulled by H8 ‘Allegeny’ locomotives.

Sidestory: It has been a great 15 years, owning 43 trains and 50 road vehicles, generating an income of £3 million per year for my £14 million company. The progress so far in my game based on the map below.
Passengers:
1) Unterfurt-Steinfurt-Essen-Wolfsbrucken
2) Unterfurt-Elsterdorf-Stuttgart
3) Unterfurt-Saarfurt-Wolfswald
4) Wolfswald-Lubeck
5) Wolfsbrucken-Bad Koln-Bonn
6) Oranienheim-Nurnheim-Bonn
7) Nurnheim-Oranienfeld-Bamburg (to be completed)

[Two5Kid]

The Keystone Era

Plans for the next 15 years were unveiled at a dinner gathering to mark the company’s anniversary. It involves connecting most of the remaining industries and linking all of the towns together. The tagline for the future: Now everyone can travel!

First up, we have to connect the remaining industries to generate more income for the company and to open up job opportunities for the masses. Food as always, ranks number one on everyone’s list. So, we decided to build a factory at Unterfurt, the base for supplying food to the Northwestern corridor. The experimental engine – Class J ‘Northern’ was a success and became the mainstay of the locomotives for the early 50s. They were put to good use for transporting products to and from the Unterfurt Factory.

The company’s profits were being put to good use by expanding the terminus at Wolfswald. The initial line was re-directed into 2 separate lines connecting 3 towns each. People were being hooked onto the trains and train travel was at its peak.

[Ben_K]

Nice shots Two5kid!

[Raichase]

I like your heavy use of the RDC DMU's, those are some of my favorite models from the USSet.

Some nice layouts, but I couldn't pick what was wrong with your screenie. Is it that the lower train seems to have come from the wrong track?

[Two5Kid]

*Ben_K : Thanks!
*Raichase : Well, technically it's not wrong, the train just came out from the depot but if it weren't then it shouldn't be heading into the station, since the PBS signal behind it shows that its going away from the station. But thanks for trying to answer a nonsensical question.

About Budd DMUs, they are the most cost-efficient and nicer looking passenger trains until the arrival of the Turbotrain. In most of my previous unrealistic games, I tend to stick to the Steel Interurban before changing to the Zephyr since they run on electric tracks.

[Martin]

Very nice.

I've had a lot of appalling ratings lately because of my habit of building track (ie through trees) and *then* building the station - I keep telling myself I should build the stations first!

[Two5Kid]

I think it's an honest mistake.

Usually, before any major lanscaping, I would build bus stations in and around the town. Then proceed with the mass landscaping, followed by a few years of bus service to soothen the local authorities. It wouldn't hurt too, to 'donate' a couple of millions to the town council.

[Two5Kid]

The year of 1955 will forever be etched in the memory of each and every employee of my company, as we have finally linked up all the towns. Public response was a bit low-key in the last few towns connected as they haven’t had the opportunity previously to taste the wonders of travelling on a DMU on the smoothest line available. It took us 2 decades but it was worth the wait. We have achieved our tagline!

The next few pictures show the train stations at their very best. Contests were being held at each and every town to pick their favourite design from a list. And we put forth our amazing architects and engineers to complete the mammoth task of assigning a unique train station to each town.

[Two5Kid]

Continue

[Two5Kid]

Before you knew it, 1960 has arrived. People in the newly connected Southwest region are clamouring for food. A factory was built at Eichenberg to facilitate the delivery of finished goods to the neighbouring towns. Following the success of the manmade island near Lubeck, the construction team was placed with the task of building another 2 more manmade island for the supporting trains.

Sidestory: 25 years into the game, the passenger service has been expanded to include all the towns on the map. My transport empire now consists of 75 trains and 78 road vehicles.
Passengers:
1) Unterfurt-Steinfurt-Essen-Wolfsbrucken
2) Unterfurt-Elsterdorf-Stuttgart-Hahndorf
3) Unterfurt-Saarfurt-Lorrheim-Wolfswald
4) Wolfswald-Lubeck-Kiel
5) Wolfsbrucken-Bad Koln-Bonn
6) Oranienheim-Nurnheim-Bonn-Dannendorf
7) Nurnheim-Oranienfeld-Bamburg-Fulda
Potsdam-Oranienfeld-Eichenberg-Schweinbrucken
9) Wolfswald-Furstendorf-Dusselhaven

[Two5Kid]

Dropping down the page. Drat!

The Transitional Era
The unveiling of the Bakewell Luckett LB-8, began another important era in the history of my transport company – the advent of the Avionics Division. Air travel would finally be a reality after years of patient waiting. Plans were afoot to expand the initial train stations, building city-status airports to facilitate air travel.

Now that the towns are fully-interconnected and products distribution has increased, town development has expanded by leap and bounds. No longer can the current 4-car Budd DMUs handle the amount of passengers/mail. The company then introduced the 6-car DMUs, in a bid to improve the handling of passengers and mail.

[Two5Kid]

A massive change was taking place, steam locomotives are being slowly replaced with the efficient diesel engines. The public was more concerned about the pollution levels nowadays. Some even suggested that we switch to the cleaner electrical engines; however, the availability and track replacement were still in place. To become successful in my line of business, we need to keep abreast of the latest developments. I’ve already prepared a plan for electrification of my current tracks, and work has already begun in certain key areas, especially in freight transport.

1967 will be forever remembered for 2 things, both equally significant in the company’s history. The good news, we have finally joined the ‘electric’ race with the first ever electric engine and track system at Unterfurt. The bad news, world recession hit us hard.

Sidestory: The first manmade disaster occurred at Fulda, when the local authorities unsuspectingly lowered the land near the Fulda Mines station, resulting in a flooding of the area. Fulda Mines is also famous for its longest train bridge.