TrainSim 4000 by smbe19
In "TrainSim 4000" it is your job to build and manage a train network!
This Game is only a prototype to demonstrate gameplay, there are no fancy graphics and the scope of delivery is really small, no manual or tutorial, heck, not even a title screen ;) So be sure to read the manual you find below.
Manual
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You start with a clean Map with a few Cities (blue rectangles) and a few hills (gray rectangles). It is your job to connect the cities so that the trains can deliver their freight. Trains will travel autonomously (they take always the shortest path), so you only have to provide the tracks. Your goal is to reach a certain amount of money.
If there are too many trains on a given track, they will wait there until there are less trains on this track. You can increase the capacity if you buy an upgrade.
From time to time new cities will appear.
There are from time to time earthquakes. They can destroy some of your tracks. (An earthquake you hear may destroy no tracks at all or may even destroy several tracks)
Controls
--------
Left click to start building rails. Move the mouse to the end of the desired track (which has to be straight without corners) and left click again.
To delete a track, perform the same action but click at the end with the right mouse button or press Space.
Scrollwheel: zoom
F5: generate a new map (Sorry, doesn't work in web, I didn't think about that...)
F8: disable audio
Money
-----
You will get money when:
- a train arrives at it's destination
- you delete tracks
You will spend money when:
- you build tracks
- trains have to wait
- continuing for upkeep
Colors
------
City:
- blue: normal
- red: a city without any tracks
Train:
- green: normal
- orange: waiting (either the destination isn't reachable or there are too many trains on the given track at the moment)
Track:
- black: normal
- red: there are too many trains on the given track
This Game is only a prototype to demonstrate gameplay, there are no fancy graphics and the scope of delivery is really small, no manual or tutorial, heck, not even a title screen ;) So be sure to read the manual you find below.
Manual
------
You start with a clean Map with a few Cities (blue rectangles) and a few hills (gray rectangles). It is your job to connect the cities so that the trains can deliver their freight. Trains will travel autonomously (they take always the shortest path), so you only have to provide the tracks. Your goal is to reach a certain amount of money.
If there are too many trains on a given track, they will wait there until there are less trains on this track. You can increase the capacity if you buy an upgrade.
From time to time new cities will appear.
There are from time to time earthquakes. They can destroy some of your tracks. (An earthquake you hear may destroy no tracks at all or may even destroy several tracks)
Controls
--------
Left click to start building rails. Move the mouse to the end of the desired track (which has to be straight without corners) and left click again.
To delete a track, perform the same action but click at the end with the right mouse button or press Space.
Scrollwheel: zoom
F5: generate a new map (Sorry, doesn't work in web, I didn't think about that...)
F8: disable audio
Money
-----
You will get money when:
- a train arrives at it's destination
- you delete tracks
You will spend money when:
- you build tracks
- trains have to wait
- continuing for upkeep
Colors
------
City:
- blue: normal
- red: a city without any tracks
Train:
- green: normal
- orange: waiting (either the destination isn't reachable or there are too many trains on the given track at the moment)
Track:
- black: normal
- red: there are too many trains on the given track
Ratings
| Coolness | 49% | 1204 |
| Overall | 3.50 | 269 |
| Audio | 2.84 | 461 |
| Fun | 3.54 | 184 |
| Graphics | 2.22 | 1068 |
| Humor | 1.95 | 812 |
| Innovation | 3.17 | 546 |
| Mood | 3.00 | 534 |
| Theme | 3.00 | 724 |
Else it was, as I said a nice relaxing experience.
The new city sound should work correctly, but as a new city might lie on an already built track the city isn't red and you might not have noticed the new city.
The sound for the earthquakes is a bit stupid because an earthquake might not destroy anything at all, but it fires the sound anyways (stupid, I know)
Fast forward: if you want to jump over a level, try LeftShift + F9
Played the web version until the graphics got too small and the rails could not always be recognized anymore.
It's mesmerizing to see all your green cubes move over the map, it's like an ant colony of moving awesomeness.
The first level was a bit harsh, it's easy to fail if the cities spawn too near each other. The later levels are the most fun. As a big Transport Tycoon fan I found it entertaining and inspirational. Well done!
One request: could you make the screen move on the arrow keys as well as the mouse?
At the start, its a bit confusing, however that gets surpassed almost immediately. After the initial learning curve, it just turns into a waiting game. I think this could benefit from some random events, different problems, upgrades and the sorts. I understand the limited time probably made it not likely to happen, but you should continue development because it is fun. Graphics could use some improvement, the blue green red didn't really mix well. Other than that, this was super fun. I think I spent a good 45 minutes on this.
The cost of the upgrades isn't quite balanced, I found the cheapest was just to connect all cells as a grid. Plus selling tracks doesn't make any sense, as your money balance can go negative.
Anyway, I really enjoyed the game. I would love to see it with better graphics!