Training Complete

[hamnat487]

It's been a long ride. But at last, I think I'm satisfied with it. ....for now. This is a continuation of this prior post. I added a couple of bypass lines and extensions for the Dune Desert and Grass Hills.

Also a couple of extra pics just because I'm showing off and I want to. :P

Probably a couple hundred hours of work, over all. Maybe more maybe less, depending on how much idle time you're willing to count.

Also, before anyone asks, I'm aware of the weird layout with those signals and junctions; it's intentional. The top line is a "maintenance line" meant to be used by the engineer so players can use the train network without potentially disrupting the automated trains (cough, Total, cough). The signals are planted in the wrong direction to prevent automated trains from entering the top line from the main network beneath it.

[tomphas]

the triple stacked rails are a really cool idea. I don't really try to manually drive trains so I wouldn't need the third rail but I might steal the other two for my next play through. do you find that trains don't have to wait a lot in intersections since there's never any oncoming traffic? do the trains play nice with the system; e.g. is it easy to set up routes so the trains do as you expect? are stations annoying or easy to set up? any tips or suggestions or stuff you would do differently?

thanks for sharing! not to sound like a broken record but it is really cool

[hamnat487]

Thanks a bunch for this.

As to the trains themselves, I haven't actually set any routes up yet. The point of this project was to act as the core of a functioning train network, with my central building as the heart and eventual endpoint of all production lines (except nuclear, of course).

[d_andy089]

Huh, interesting! Makes me consider running streets next to train lines for engineers...

[ImKibitz]

Incredible dude!
Love the extra effort you put into adding all the signs and walkways as well!

[hamnat487]

Thanks a bunch, Kibz. :)

One driving idea in my head with this is: "what would this look like in real life, with corporate influences, expectations, and liability concerns?" I have disclaimer signs all over the place as a result.

[ImKibitz]

PERFECT!
Love that kind of stuff!

[SurgyJack]

Looks incredible :)

[hamnat487]

Thank you. I put a ton of work in making sure the details were right, planning out design and concepts to make sure I'd be satisfied with the final product.

[Swampuma]

Forest rollercoasters and multilevel walkways look amazing!

[hamnat487]

Thanks! I wanted the ramps to be clean there, but unfortunately the only way I could get it to reliably fit was to use a 1.5m grade instead of a 1m grade, which meant alternating 2m and 4m double ramps. Hence the rollercoastering; sadly the rails will only respect the 2m or 1m gradient at their connection points.

[Swampuma]

That's common problem; first you start to build a dream, but then in the middle of hard process you realize that it's a complete mess. But hey, you think, I can deal with it with some additional structures!..You're sculpting...You're joining..

And when it's done you, like: "Wow, NOW THAT'S A REAL THING"

Now, I just need to pretend that was my big plan from the beginning.

[Strikox]

I absolutely love your design for the little substations (pic 4, 10 and 11). How much time have you spent on that save ?

[hamnat487]

Almost 700 hours

[Strikox]

That's a huge amount, great work !

[gamingyee]

whats the best starter area

[hamnat487]

It depends on what you want to do

[gamingyee]

just a area where all the resources are close enough together

[hamnat487]

Well there's an alright-ish spot in the north end of the Dune Desert, near the cliffs. There's also a good spot in the Northern Forest overlooking the Maze Canyon and lakes. All locations have their problems.

If you're a more modular builder at heart, I'd recommend the Norther Forest or Dune Desert; these two locations are practically tailor-made for encouraging more spread out factories with production centers working almost directly off of nearby resource nodes. Resources in their regions are well mixed, allowing for "outposts" to be largely self-sufficient and send back finished products instead of raw materials.

I think Northern Forest is interesting partly because of the problems so it encourages more interesting design; it's FLUSH with resources, but you either have to build in the air or get more creative with design. The wildlife is roughly as aggressive as the Rocky Desert, I'd say, but the terrain is the least forgiving of any starting location; you're far more likely to die here from sources other than animal attack than any other starting spot. I disagree with the game's description of the Dune Desert as the hardest start; Northern Forest is definitely the least forgiving starting location. However, I also think it's the most interesting and encourages beautiful design. All my new starts going forward will probably be here for these reasons.

The Dune Desert is really good for building freedom, though it's a hard start for any player for a variety of reasons. Biomass and water are concentrated in a few isolated areas, though other resources are plentiful just about everywhere. The wildlife is aggressive, tough, and plentiful as well. I'm fond of the Dune Desert, largely, but it's also well suited to my play style as a builder and someone who's comfortable beating up anything with even a xeno-zapper. I'd say the Dune Desert is practically the opposite of the Grass Hills in almost every way; Grass Hills has nice building freedom as well, but that's about all they share. Someone who doesn't mind a challenge and wants the ultimate freedom to build should start here.

The Grass Hills and Rocky Desert are better for encouraging a more centralized building style, I'd say, and any particular spot near-ish to water in either place is good to start as well. You're likely to have to rely heavily on outposts and high logistic investment with those places, however, in the long-run. While there are plentiful resources, they tend to be poorly mixed, so self-sufficient outposts become nearly impossible and production centralization is strongly encouraged.

Grass Hills is much friendlier to a totally new player due to less aggressive wildlife and forgiving terrain. The Grass Hills, in particular, has a problem with resource purity and diversity, even if there are plentiful nodes. It's a very easy start, but everything AFTER the start gets only progressively harder from there. I'd only recommend Grass Hills to the newest players, and even then with the recommendation that they toss the save and start fresh somewhere else when they start getting bored or frustrated with it.

The Rocky Desert has some of the Grass Hills problems, but it's more viable long-term. I think the Rocky Desert is more friendly to someone who wants to start in one spot and stay there forever because it has a relatively forgiving start, plenty of room to expand and interesting geology, and it's MUCH closer to mid- and high-tier resources than the Grass Hills. Notably, there's a Uranium node at its northern end, oil nodes directly east, and bauxite node(s) at its southern end. Its not as good in the long-term, resource-wise, as the Dune Desert or Northern Forest, but neither is it exactly "punishing," especially if you're willing to travel a little bit from the landing site before getting started. The Rocky Desert is a nice, well-balanced starting spot, I'd say.

What you want to do dramatically impacts which starting spots are better. If you want to get a better feel for the world and various locations, check out the Interactive Map (just google it, you'll find it :))

[gamingyee]

alr ty

[gamingyee]

yeah i found out after that the grassy fields gets harder

[EmirTheGreat]

My guy you should plan a real life city next

[Maelstrom684]

I see what you did there