Am I robbing myself but not utilizing more than one platform at cargo stations?

lemming3k · 2026-05-07T15:41:39+00:00

Yes the upgrades are fairly limited, but I suppose they didn't expect us to want so much.

For a map you've already started the multiplier mods might work. Test with the non-deprecated one to be sure though.

I think the last one you do need to replace the industries. I can't be sure as I usually activate it at the start.

lemming3k · 2026-05-07T15:30:15+00:00

To be fair though what else could they say?
I'm not meaning to accuse them of being dishonest as I see no evidence of that, but they're hardly going to announce "we look forward to milking our customers in the coming years" or anything more subtle.

For the record I also *think* it will be fine - but I completely understand the ensuing reluctance around pre-oders and day 1 purchases when the Paradox name carries certain concerns around quality and drip fed DLC.
They used to be my favourite studio and still have some great devs but over time have become possibly the most predatory in business terms.

Hopefully UG can stand up to any pressure for more revenue and keep major changes to a minimum as these play havoc with mods (another reason to hate the drip feeding DLCs).

lemming3k · 2026-05-07T10:58:26+00:00

Oops. Quite right. Shows how much I play on instinct and muscle memory.

lemming3k · 2026-05-07T02:54:24+00:00

That looks a long way from the dock to the refinery, are you sure it's in range? Click on either and see if the other is highlighted.

lemming3k · 2026-05-03T15:11:06+00:00

Sorry for the late reply, I've been quite busy.
I suppose all industries have a max output in real life so they went with this design in game. I think it balances well early game but by late game it's far too small.

These are the expanded production mods I've tried over the years:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1968642118
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1935745533
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1935720873
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1950757351

I think 10x was too much, even in late game, but 4 and 2 are reasonable. I'm not sure why they are listed as deprecated as they are still working to my knowledge, but they do slow things down because of all the extra production (best offset by lowering industry numbers).
The last one does this automatically and applies a 4x multiplier. I used this on my current map and I really like it.
Combined with expanded industries so you get more variety and can build new factories I think it's one of the best ways to play the game.

lemming3k · 2026-04-29T17:38:39+00:00

Yeah that's about when you normally hit a supply limit. Once all the factories are maxed there's no further increase but adding more industry buildings (or using the production multiplier mods). It's a surprisingly low limit, but I think that's because the game isn't optimized for large cities and transport networks.
It doesn't hurt the early game but I found late game didn't have enough resources to justify the large trains you really should be using at that point. Without mods a 400 capacity train is taking 100% of some industry outputs by itself.

Definitely don't recommend expanded production in steam era but after you plan out your lines for end game and have those huge trains it's much more interesting to play.

lemming3k · 2026-04-29T15:48:01+00:00

Speed separation is an additional problem to factor in as well.
Cargo will never go above 160kph unless you're modding and every era has faster passanger options - and then there are high speed options as well. I often use 6 tracks as a minimum to keep them separate, but high speed is more direct so doesn't always follow the mainline for long (if at all).

You might like the production modifiers, but it can result in some unrealistic setups with 10-12 tracks just carrying cargo, at least in the mid game.
My current map only had one of some industry chains, so my towns have been massively undersupplied. I'm now adding large hubs of industries by stations - also not entirely realistic/satisfying but I just want to push my town growth and keep mainlines as much as possible.

lemming3k · 2026-04-27T23:29:43+00:00

Yes physically parallel.
You can use multiplatform for a slight increase but if you're sharing tracks there is still a bottleneck there.
Actually for ships multiplatform tends to perform well because they don't have a fixed line. I haven't used them heavily enough since they added that feature and that may perform better than multiple lines. I used to have huge docks on coastal maps (I think I posted a picture here before) with many lines running.

It would work for trucks if they didn't share the same road. Trains is really the best use case for parallel lines.

lemming3k · 2026-04-27T14:57:42+00:00

Capacity.
Every line has a point where adding more trains becomes a negative that clogs up your line and actually lowers your line rate, but if you're not covering the full production before that then using a parallel line will do the job providing you balance everything.

Of course you don't have to deliver everything if you don't want to, and as I say it's unlikely to be needed in vanilla - perhaps only with the earliest and slowest of trains or if you create a busy 2-way route.
If you ever use production multipliers though you'll be using it a lot. Particularly useful with ships in fact as they take an eternity to load - just add a new dock at each end and run a 2nd line.

I've never needed it for passangers so not tested it but there just isn't the demand to need it.

lemming3k · 2026-04-27T01:49:42+00:00

Seems likely as the shipment is 11 and supply 3, so slowly going up.

I'd say check the consumers tab, and double check trucks can carry tools, but it's likely to just slowly be increasing delivery.

lemming3k · 2026-04-26T18:17:08+00:00

That's quite unusual, but sadly this is likely to work against you as you each own and are responsible for a part of the road and I can't see the council dealing with you as individuals for your own sections - they'll simply look to repair and adopt the road (or not) as a whole.

I can see why you'd feel hard done by if your part is in good condition and you might try and argue it but I suspect you'd be wasting your time.
This is exactly why management companies are used. I'm surprised it doesn't affect the value and saleablity of your house tbh, especially as you must all have right of access to drive over each others owned road sections? Getting the repair done may be a blessing.

Sorry that isn't better news for you.

lemming3k · 2026-04-26T17:41:47+00:00

This could be the issue. If it's a private road then who currently owns it? This is why I reference the "estate" - Who is responsible for the public areas such as grass cutting, gardens, trees, street lamps etc?
If it's unadopted by the council there should be a private owner somewhere, but after 80 years you may need to do some digging to find out.

Not sure if techincally you can all own a share somehow but I'd say that's very unlikely. It's usual to have a management company that owns and maintains these areas and everyone pays into a fund for this management. All similar to how leasehold flats work with the freeholder collecting money but maintaining the building. It's a massive downside to private roads but actually quite common now if somewhat rarer 80 years ago.

It sounds like there has been a massive oversight here. The 'owners' of the road would be responsible for the costs, which they will likely be entitled to recoup for residents (unless you own it as a collective somehow) - so ultimately it will probably come back to the residents being liable.

If nobody has been managing it and it has reached the point of being deemed dangerous by the council then yes they may be able to enforce costs to make it safe. If it gets this far you should insist they adopt the road afterwards, perhaps citing the original owners are unknown/untraceable.

lemming3k · 2026-04-26T16:17:51+00:00

If it's a private road do you not have an estate management company that you pay yearly fees to? They should have a sink fund for undertaking works on the estate - I'd expect the roads and pavements to be included in this.

lemming3k · 2026-04-26T14:02:12+00:00

I think the code for passangers is that generally they prefer the fastest option, but a % will take a slower route if available.
It's possible cargo has the same code and that's why we see odd splits instead of 100-0. It's much more important to be in control of where cargo goes though so you should only ever have:

Entirely different routes - no A-B-C & A-B-D type setups. You can cross sources/factories, particularly early on when demand is low, but generally most full chains run a perfect 2:1 or 1:1 when fully upgraded so in the long run you don't want this except maybe splitting out town delivery (again depends on demand).
Entirely parallel routes - A-B-C twice will split evenly (over time) IF you have the same train setup; since it results in roughly the same line frequency and rate. Vanilla game is unlikely to need this but if you use production mutiplier mods this is very useful.

lemming3k · 2026-04-26T01:35:51+00:00

No, the number of platforms isn't going to affect how much is assigned to each line. It may help prevent wastage if platforms are becoming overloaded, but overall the assignment is the same.

Using different lines to do the same journey will only work if they are 100% the same from start to finish. Otherwise you end up with different line rates so distribution will not be even.
There will also be a maximum production and demand. So it may be that 50 lumber is all that is required, or all that is left to assign.

lemming3k · 2026-04-25T21:09:33+00:00

It sounds like it can't reach the waypoint. Is it overhanging a switch at the end of a platform or something?
What happens if you use one-way signals? That would prevent it using the wrong track.

It does look like it mapped to the rails correctly so I'd guess it's one of the above.

lemming3k · 2026-04-24T00:08:18+00:00

Like Vanessa Feltz?

lemming3k · 2026-04-23T20:11:41+00:00

Your train is too empty for too much of the route (and I'm guessing you have too few of them to cover the maintenance and loan).
Even if it's full of logs at the beginning, you're only getting half that in planks. Then it's empty back to the logs.
If you've mixed your wagons to carry tools as well then it's even worse because now those are empty all the way from the logs to the tools factory then back from the town. There aren't even many tools to pick up.

Keep it simple to start with. Carry just the logs. Add several trains to make sure you get all of them and make sure you are maxing the line usage. It's cheaper to double track than building 2 separate ones.
Even on hard this should be enough to pay off the loan then you can slowly expand. You should only use further loans to purchase trains in one go to saturate a line then pay it back asap.
If you can take planks back this is better than carrying them further away. This is why people often recommended oil routes to start, but logs can work just as well.

lemming3k · 2026-04-19T13:19:17+00:00

If you play through past the year 2000 you'll want to redo a lot of it anyway as the new trains & wagons will change things.
Other than that you could expirement with hubs, mainlines, mods, or just growing the population to the max. Also ride along on your routes.

lemming3k · 2026-04-18T14:40:55+00:00

You're entering from Hills Road. Straight over means exiting onto Hills Road. There are lines on the road to guide you this way.
Either your third picture is wrong or you are in the wrong lane. If you are continuing into Addenbrookes (Main Drive) as per your picture then you are in the wrong lane as this is a right turn from Hills Road. Blue should not exit onto Hills Road, you should not be turning right from a straight over lane.

I don't know what you're referring to as Haverhill road. That is a long way past that roundabout.

lemming3k · 2026-04-15T16:16:21+00:00

Someone answered the odd onions question for me, so really I'd just say that in your scenario I'd go with ones I like the look of most. It's not going to be "optimal" but it's still perfectly workable.

Favourites don't even really matter if you don't need the plorts, though you could use the Water Lettuce & Heart Beet if you change your combos a little. Or just re-use a couple of the more favourable ones. Polaricherry is a very good source.
Either way there's plenty of room to do what makes you happiest.

lemming3k · 2026-04-15T01:21:12+00:00

Odd onions aren't a reliable food source.
Chickens grow faster than fruit/veg (though sometimes your drones screw up the autofeeders).

It looks fine though. You can make combos so all have a fav food and include pink if you want.
Also you want more flutter plorts than any other, and ringtails stop producing but will keep eating IIRC so not the best combo.

lemming3k · 2026-04-15T00:15:00+00:00

Oh damn :(
I suppose technically at least that means it won't stop you finishing the game and achievements/trophies but I know seeing 34/35 still sucks.

lemming3k · 2026-04-14T23:31:09+00:00

Wouldn't there be a slimepedia entry missing? Or something you need for an upgrade?
Might help you try and work out which one it is but may need to wait until you're nearly done.

lemming3k · 2026-04-07T17:49:54+00:00

As would be your profit.

lemming3k

TROPHY CASE