Rail World less "raily" than a normal game

[avaspell]

So, with .015 I started with a normal map and then in my second game selected the "Rail World" scenario. What I found is that while Rail world encourages researching trains early, it actually encourages less overall train usage. The main issue is that resources are _so_ plentiful with Rail world that once I get an initial rail setup going there is no need for me to make it anymore complex (especially when I start driving productivity up). In my game the large Iron and Copper resources were sufficiently close that I actually had room to build my large smelting yard, at which time I only needed my rail network to bring me in my liquids (water and petrol gas, along with sulphur) and some coal to get plastics and grenades going. After that I was able to launch with plenty of resources to spare. My first .15 game with a normal map actually had a more complex train network going before I could launch.

My suggestion to help make "Rail world" more of an actual rail world is to make the non-starting resource fields rich, but not nearly as big, like maybe half the size they are now. This allows me to do what I started with (build initial factory next to starting resources, then build new main factory in a rail-centric manner), but then once I get the secondary factory actually running, I can keep those resources flowing but need to continue expanding to keep my mining rate improving as necessary to get to launch my satellite.

As a reinforcing factor, in a Rail World scenario I literally killed 1 biter base, that cleared the way to my initial rail buildout. After that I just built walls and towers. With the elimination of alien science, there was literally no reason to really engage enemies at all (I was near to launch time before I even had shields).

[Shokubai]

"Railworld" really feels more like "Less Resources Further Away" mode but i get the idea is for long distance trains.

In practice it doesn't lend as well to LOTS of trains but IDK if this is really a problem.

[avaspell]

"Railworld" really feels more like "Less Resources Further Away" mode but i get the idea is for long distance trains.

In practice it doesn't lend as well to LOTS of trains but IDK if this is really a problem.

See, intuitively I think of "rail world" as a map that encourages your use of trains throughout the entire game, not just as a single one-shot setup that you just let sit forever. It may not be a 50 train setup or anything to 1st launch, but it should require that I regularly seek out new and better train routes as the game progresses.

[Mimos]

As far as I understand the resource settings, the overall resources per area are higher in a railworld preset than in default. Frequency does not influence the resources per area, it just scales patch size and distances between patches with the same rate. Thus having a bigger size means having more resources per area than default - which in my opinion discourages building rails.

So I started a game in my own railworld style by setting size to normal and frequency as low as possible. Which Is not even low enough in my opinion.

What I would like for a railworld preset:
- even lower frequency
- less resources per area to increase overall area needed -> longer travel distances
- maybe about the same patch-size as in the current railworld-preset. And still adjustable by the size-setting.

This could propably be achieved by way lower frequency combined with small patch size.

Regards
Mimos

[Lav]

My recommendation. In addition to Railworld preset, modify water settings to Normal frequency and Very Big size.

This will result in ~50% of your world being water, and many resource deposits will be "swallowed" by the ocean, greatly increasing average distance between the land-based ones.

Plus these water settings result in much more interesting maps than standard Normal/Average.

[Factorie]

My recommendation. In addition to Railworld preset, modify water settings to Normal frequency and Very Big size.

This will result in ~50% of your world being water, and many resource deposits will be "swallowed" by the ocean, greatly increasing average distance between the land-based ones.

Plus these water settings result in much more interesting maps than standard Normal/Average.

I'll have to check this out. Now I really want bridges and boats ;_;