Converting sessions to revenue generating operations

[jjanmarine3]

This is actually a question as well as a suggestion :
Would it be possible to create sessions in the existing Trainz game where one could generate revenue in said sessions by for example operating farming and other suitable industries, selling products harvested or created to generate revenue , then using the revenue earned to 'buy' other commodities from say a central store stocking earmarked suitable items that are dl from the DLS or similar - to add a sense of achievement to the game. Something that works similar to Sim City or many of the other games where one 'upgrades' from one level to the next.
Perhaps I am being very vague and shooting wide but I would welcome thoughts and other suggestions on this subject .

 

[pware]

Lets call the game "Railroad Tycoon" ... but wait ... that's already been done!!

My first railroad "simulation" was Railroad Tycoon II where the railroad made money by transporting goods between industries and markets. The money earned was used to expand and upgrade the railroad. You could also play the stock market and buy out other railroads. I forget when it was, early 1990s perhaps. Then they brought out Railroad Tycoon III which had better graphics but was, in my opinion, a bit too "cartoonish" for my liking.

 

[JCitron]

I had thought about something like this too awhile ago. This would give the simulator a different edge over the competition by being both somewhat realistic as well as having the revenue side similar to the Euro-Truck simulator. Actually, another Trainzer's son had mentioned that to me as a suggested candidate when we were discussing this missing aspect from Trainz one day.

The problem though is the railroads own very few outside feeder industries, at least in the US, due to conflicts of interest and anti-trust issues. It's more of the other way around where an industry, such as a coal mine, owns its own railroad to haul the coal for them. If the industries just paid the railroads to haul their goods it would be different.

How would this be enabled for the rail cars to accept paying goods, and how would the industries be enabled for this? I could see this being done using a commodity-coding system such as that developed by the National Motor Freight Carriers, or international customs. The NMFC created a set of codes that represent certain weight-classes and commodity types so that rates are set for that type of commodity, and so railroads and motor freight carriers don't under bid too low to drive their competitors out of business. Coal, for example, is classed differently than lighter materials at a lower rate too, because the railroads and trucks need more vehicles to carry the same quantity of coal as a much lighter stone. For boxes, they use cubic feet or cubic meters, in addition to the tare weight, and this is used as a fixed figure as well.

The customs organizations use harmonized tariff codes, which are assigned to each class of commodity. Each code represents a type of commodity. Using film for example which I was familiar with, the HTCs for this are broken down into clear films, plastic sheeting, coated films, and photographic films. This can become quite granular, but it helps set the proper and consistent customs values for the different commodities.

Using the NMFC for the commodity type along with the HTCs for the rate, a formula could be derived for each freight class, which has been simplified somewhat for the simulation.

John

 

[jjanmarine3]

So much scope, but I am not sure what it would entail implementing such a system and what the cost would be for trainz , perhaps it would be considered a stretch goal some day..
I can imagine it will be fun to have a session for example where one has to pay for basic locos and rolling stock, coal and fuel - starting with a kitty - load it somewhere, deliver it to your RR loco depot and stock up , fill up the locos, work out how many locos and rolling stock is needed for a trip to be economical and worth it, stick to the roster and penalties for being late, see the bucks rolling in after a delivery , upgrade etc..etc..