FAQ - Guide for Railroad Tycoon 2

RT2 FAQ

1. Introduction
1.1 Forward

Railroad Tycoon II is a complex strategy game with a lot of diverse,
interlocking systems.  The way these elements work together and off each other
deeply affects how the game plays.  Understanding some of these elements will
help the player enjoy the game more.

There have been a lot of people clamoring for some sort of FAQ, particularly
since the European version of the game was initially sold with a misprinted
manual.  I waited for a while to see if some one would start one, and then
having some free time one morning decided to at least get one started.

1.2 About this FAQ

This is version 0.2 of the Unofficial Railroad Tycoon II FAQ (RT2 FAQ).
Version 0.1 was scrapped when I realized that I had just reproduced the
manual, and then the document could be used as a proxy for those who had
obtained their copy of the game illegally.  I think it is a fairly complete
outline of the game, however, and so included its index in the Misc. section
of this FAQ.

This FAQ is not written or supported by PopTop, Gathering of Developers, or
any other person or company connected to the publishing of RT2.  It is an
unofficial document written by a third-party user.

This FAQ deals exclusively with game play issues, and does not address any
technical problems, bugs or patches, except where patches may contain features
that affect gameplay.

This FAQ also does not, in this version, deal with the editor.

1.3 Obtaining this FAQ

Of course, if you're reading this, you've already found it . . .

Via Usenet: This FAQ will be posted on comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategic on the
first of every month.  The subject heading will be "RT2FAQ v*.*" with the *
indicating the current version number.

Via the World Wide Web:
The latest version of this FAQ should be obtainable at The Surveyors' Office
website, at http://hompage.davesworld.net/~kiyote23/tso/faq.html.  Versions of
this FAQ may also be found at different RT2 fan websites.

1.4 Adding to the FAQ

Several sections of the FAQ maybe marked with [blank], indicating an area
where information is needed.  To help improve the FAQ, send your addition to
[email protected].  Please include your name and email for inclusion in
the acknowledgement list.  All submissions become the property of the FAQ.

Right now, the FAQ desperately needs filling in.  If you have any questions
and/or answers that you feel should be in the FAQ, please email them in.

Also, this is my first FAQ.  If you have any comments/suggestions/criticisms
about the format, structure or content, feel free to send those in as well.

1.5 Acknowledgements

The original Railroad Tycoon was written by Sid Meier and Bruce Shelley, and
was published by Microprose.  Railroad Tycoon II was written by PopTop
Software and published by Gathering of Developers.

This FAQ was written by Peter Birk, [email protected]

1.6 Accurate Information

While a concerted effort has been made in respect to veracity and accuracy,
no guarantee is made regarding the data contained in this document.  If an
error is found, please contact the FAQ maintainer, listed in section 1.4.

1.7 The format of this FAQ

This FAQ uses a format pretty much standard to FAQs across the net.  Right
now, I'm cribbing it from the Unofficial Civ2 FAQ, written by Edward
Kenworthy, who acknowledges he was cribbing his from Hank Leukart's Doom FAQ.

This FAQ should be available in ASCII text, HTML, and MS-Word formats.

2. Game Elements
2.1 System Requirements

To play Railroad Tycoon II, you will need at least:
* Pentium 133 or greater
* 16 MB RAM
* 4x CD-ROM
* 1024 x 768 capable video card and monitor
* 130 MB free hard disk space
* 28.8 modem (for Internet multiplay)

The game only runs at a 1024 x 768 resolution, and can't be run at any lower
resolution.

2.2 Infrastructure

2.2.1 Track

2.2.1.1  Rail Placement-- To lay track, select the appropriate button on the
main screen or use the hotkey "T".  The pointer icon will change, as will the
list box.  Select the type track desired in the list box, then move the
pointer to where you would like the section of track to begin.	Press the
left button and hold it down as you drag the track.

2.2.1.2 Auto leveling-As you drag the track through hilly or mountainous
areas, you will notice the grade indicators giving various readings in red
and yellow. As you move the line of track through, the track will
automatically "level" certain sections of the grade slightly to gradually
even the grade of the entire length.

2.2.1.3 Canceling track laying-Press the Esc key once while holding down the
left button to cancel that line of rail.  Be sure to let up on the button
after pressing Esc, not while you press it, or else the track will be laid.

2.2.1.4 Electric track-The entire length, from station to station must be
electrified for an electric train to make its route.  The train will check
this before it leaves the station, and if there is a break, it will not
leave, displaying "Cannot reach station" in its status in the list box.

Often, when you are upgrading a section of track to electric track, and
you pass over a bridge and also upgrade that bridge, only the bridge will be
upgraded, not the track. You'll need to upgrade the section of track on the
bridge to electric separately.

2.2.2 Stations

2.2.2.1 Connecting cities-As of patch version 1.02, when a station will
connect a city, the cities name will read "connected" underneath when either
a new station highlighted circle passes over it, or when a the pointer is
over an existing station to highlight its effective area.  A "connected" city
meets certain scenario conditions, and has no other real effect on gameplay.

2.2.2.2 Selling station improvements-You cannot sell back station improvements
once you've purchased them.

2.2.3 Engines

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2.3 Industries
2.3.1.Supply/Demand

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2.3.2 Distance/Time

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2.3.3 Purchasing Industries

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2.3.4 Cargo types

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2.4  Consumer Base
2.4.1 Goodwill

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2.4.2 Track/Train Rights

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2.5 Financial
2.5.1 Personal Finances

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2.5.1.1 Cash

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2.5.1.2 Stock

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2.5.1.3 Purchasing Power

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2.5.2 Company Finances

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2.5.3 Stock Market

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2.5.3.1 Buying on margin

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2.5.3.2 Short selling

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3. Strategies

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4. Multiplayer

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5. Misc.

5.1 Index of RT2 FAQ v0.1

Railroad Tycoon II FAQ

1. Introduction
1.1 Forward
1.2 About this document
1.3 Acknowledgements
1.4 Caveat Imperator
1.5 The format of this FAQ
1.6 Adding to the FAQ
2. Interface
2.1 Shared elements
2.1.1 Hotkeys
2.1.2 Mouse interface
2.1.3 Main screen
2.1.3.1 Buttons
2.1.3.2 Windows
2.1.3.2.1 Map/Radar Window
2.1.3.2.2 List box
2.1.3.2.3 Display box
2.2 Game specific elements
2.2.1 Game buttons
2.2.2 Game screens
2.2.2.1 List/Detail
2.2.2.1.1 List box tabs
2.2.2.2 Station
2.2.2.3 Train
2.2.2.4 Player
2.2.2.5 Company
2.2.2.6 Stock Market
2.3 Editor specific elements
2.3.1 Buttons
2.3.2 List box features
2.3.3 Game elements carry-over
3. Game Elements
3.1 Infrastructure
3.1.1 Rail lines
3.1.2 Stations
3.1.3 Engines
3.2 Cargo
3.2.1 Supply/Demand
3.2.2 Time/Distance Sensitivity
3.2.2.1 Days to Delivery
3.2.3 Cargo Types
3.3 Industry
3.3.1 Industry production
3.3.1.1 Industrial dependencies
3.3.2 Industry value
3.3.3 Purchasing Industries
3.3.4 Industry buildings
3.4 Consumer base
3.4.1 Goodwill
3.4.2 Territory rights
3.5 Finances
3.5.1 Personal
3.5.2 Company
3.5.3 Stock Market
3.5.3.1 Buying on Margin
3.5.3.2 Selling Short
4. Multiplayer
4.1 Set Up
4.2 Protocols
4.2.1 TCP/IP
4.2.2 IPX
4.2.3 Modem
4.2.4 Serial
4.2.5 Misc.
5. Strategies
5.1 Please submit strategies
6. Map editing/Creation
6.1 Base map creation
6.1.1 From Scratch
6.1.2 Importing images
6.1.2.1 Image file format
6.1.2.1.1 Obtaining grey-scale images
6.1.2.1.2 Creating grey-scale images
6.1.2.1.2.1 Known utility programs
6.1.2.1.2.2 Known locations of resources
6.1.2.1.2.3 How-tos
6.2 Editing maps
6.2.1 Main screen buttons
6.2.1.1 Raise/Lower Ground
6.2.1.1.1 Raise or Lower ground
6.2.1.1.2 Smooth out an area
6.2.1.1.3 Lower an area to sea level
6.2.1.2 Paint Terrain
6.2.1.2.1 Palette
6.2.1.2.2 Solid
6.2.1.2.3 Mix
6.2.1.3 Fill Terrain
6.2.1.3.1 Palette
6.2.1.3.2 All
6.2.1.3.3 Adj
6.2.1.3.4 Match
6.2.1.3.5 Above
6.2.1.3.6 Below
6.2.1.4 Add Trees
6.2.1.5 Territories
6.2.1.5.1 Territory set up
6.2.1.5.1.1 Name
6.2.1.5.1.2 Default goodwill
6.2.1.5.1.3 Border visible
6.2.1.5.1.4 Allow separate rights purchases
6.2.1.5.1.5 Buyable
6.2.1.5.2 Territory creation
6.2.1.5.3 Territory removal
6.2.1.6 Build new building
6.2.1.6.1 Add city
6.2.1.6.1.1 General
6.2.1.6.1.2 Industry
6.2.1.6.1.2.1 Industry weighing
6.2.1.6.2 Add region
6.2.1.6.2.1 defining area of a region
6.2.1.6.3 Add label
6.2.1.6.4 Lay river
6.2.1.6.4.1 Bridgeable water
6.2.1.6.5 Reserve cells
6.2.1.6.6 Buildings
6.2.1.7 Undo
6.2.1.8 Game buttons
6.2.1.9 Map options
6.2.1.9.1 General
6.2.1.9.2 Events
6.2.1.9.2.1 Scripting
6.2.1.9.2.2 Trigger/Effect list
6.2.1.9.3 Map properties
6.2.1.9.3.1 Players
6.2.1.9.3.2 Player pool
6.2.1.9.3.3 Managers
6.2.1.9.3.4 Economy
6.2.1.9.3.5 Engines
6.2.1.9.3.6 Industries
6.2.1.9.3.7 Restrictions
6.2.1.9.3.8 Ports
6.3 Scenarios
6.3.1 Events
6.3.1.1 Win/loss criteria
6.3.1.2 Occurrences
6.3.1.3 Display
6.3.1.3.1 Dialog
6.3.1.3.2 Newspaper
6.3.1.3.3 Choice
6.3.2 Briefing
6.4 How-tos
7. Misc.
7.1 Other sources of information
7.2 Other sources of information on the Internet
7.3 Publisher info
7.4 Clans/Corporations



--
k23@TSO

The Surveyors' Office ==
http://homepage.davesworld.net/~kiyote23/tso/