CHRIS SAWYER S-LOCOMOTION
INTRODUCTION
One of the most common questions people ask me is, “How many are there on your development
team?” Most expect an answer of at least five, maybe 10, even 15 or more — like most, if not all,
other games development teams. They are usually stunned to learn that I create my games with
only the help of a freelance graphic artist and a musician. I do all the design, programming, project
management and research myself. Does this mean my games can’t be as good as those developed
by large teams? Not at all. In fact, I think many game designs suffer from having too many people
working on them, losing their individual character and becoming games that look and play like so
many others. Of course, the work involved in creating a modern game is immense, and when you
don’t have a large team it takes a long time.
Chris Sawyer’s Locomotion™started life in 1999 after I completed RollerCoaster Tycoon®, but has much
earlier roots. In the early 1990s, I created the game Transport Tycoon, which was a tremendous suc-
cess. In 1996, I wanted to start from scratch on a sequel to Transport Tycoon, and put a lot of work
into it, but then something came along and distracted me — roller coasters! So, the whole project
was gradually re-shaped into what we now know as RollerCoaster Tycoon, one of the best-selling PC
games of all time. In 1999, I resumed work on the Transport Tycoon sequel, but once again I post-
poned the project while creating RollerCoaster Tycoon 2. In fact, RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 was created
using large parts of the programming intended for this game. Once RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 was complete, the sequel got my full attention again, and after two more years of work, the game is at last
completed.
In some ways, Chris Sawyer’s Locomotion is a very simple game. The concept is basic: transport
cargo and passengers from a location that produces them to a location that wants them. But the
game is vast in scale and depth, where you can play in your own style and get drawn into the
world you are building in, getting personally attached to your handiwork. It isn’t the perfect game,
but then I don’t see that as the aim of my job — a perfect game would have no flaws, no character,
no individuality. I try to create games that are unique and different in style, games from which the
player can achieve satisfaction through construction rather than destruction, games with ongoing
gameplay rather than a limited script or only a single definition of success. People are still playing
Transport Tycoon 10 years after it was published — I hope that 10 years from now people are still
playing Chris Sawyer’s Locomotion! Chris Sawyer
TABLE OF CONTENTS
WELCOME TO CHRIS SAWYER’S
LOCOMOTION
GETTING STARTED 5
THE README FILE 5
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS 6
SETUP AND INSTALLATION 7
MAIN MENU 8
TAKE CONTROL 9
CONTROLLING THE VIEW 13
GAME OPTIONS 14
SOUND MENU 19
VIEW MENU 19
STATUS DISPLAY 20
TIME DISPLAY 21
SINGLE-PLAYER GAME 22
TWO-PLAYER GAME 23
CHRIS SAWYER’S LOCOMOTION
BASICS 29
THE OBJECT OF THE GAME 29
FIRST STEPS 29
Status Window 30
SURVEY THE LANDSCAPE 34
Mini-Map 35
Supply and Demand 38
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INDUSTRY 39
MANIPULATING THE LANDSCAPE 42
BUILDING ROADS 46
BUILDING RAILROADS 49
BUILDING VEHICLES 54
Vehicle Information Window 56
Vehicle Status Window 63
MESSAGES 64
RUNNING YOUR TRANSPORTATION
EMPIRE 66
STATIONS 66
Building a Station 68
Station Catchment Area 69
Road Stations 70
Rail Stations 71
Airports 72
Docks 73
The Station Window 74
TOWNS AND CITIES 76
Towns List 76
Town Information Window 77
Local Authority Rating 78
AVAILABILITY AND
OBSOLESCENCE 79
FINANCIAL MATTERS 80
Loans 80
Optimizing Your Finances 81
The Companies List 82
Rival Owner Characteristics 84
MONITORING YOUR PROGRESS 85
Company Value 85
Performance Index 85
ADVANCED STRATEGIES 88
ADVANCED VEHICLE CONCEPTS 88
Adding To Existing Vehicles 88
Refitting a Vehicle 89
Vehicle Reliability 90
Routes and Stops 91
BUILDING ON DIFFICULT TERRAIN95
Slopes 95
Bridges 96
Tunnels 98
STATION MANAGEMENT 99
WORKING ON THE RAILROAD 101
Locomotive Power 101
Building Junctions 102
Signals 103
EFFECTIVE TRACK DESIGN 104
INDUSTRIES 112
SCENARIO EDITOR 114
SCENARIO MAIN SCREEN 114
CREATING A SCENARIO 116
CREDITS 130
ATARI WEB SITES 132
TECHNICAL SUPPORT
(U.S. & CANADA) 133
END-USER LICENSE
AGREEMENT 136
INDEX 140
KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS 144
GETTING STARTED
THE README FILE
The Chris Sawyer’s Locomotion CD-ROM game has a ReadMe file that includes
the License Agreement and up-to-date information about the game. We strongly encourage you to take the time to read this file in order to benefit from
changes made after this manual went to print.
To view the ReadMe file, double-click on the ReadMe.txt icon on the Chris
Sawyer’s L o c o m o t i o n d i re c t o ry found on your hard drive (usually C:\Pro g r a m
F i l e s \ A t a r i \ L o c o m o t i o n ) . You can also view the ReadMe file by clicking on the
Start button on your Windows®taskbar, and then selecting Programs > Atari >
Locomotion > ReadMe.
WELCOME TO
CHRIS SAWYER’S LOCOMOTION
E v e rything needs to get somewhere: iron ore to the steel mill, steel to the factory,
goods to the city, and passengers and mail across town or across the country.
The world needs transport. Your challenge is to build and run the transport networks to keep the world moving — to provide the locomotion!
Of course, you’re not in the transport business just to keep the world moving...
you’re in it for the m o n e y. Design and build efficient networks, and you’ll be raking
it in and extending your routes before you know it. While you’re doing this, the
world is changing: well-served towns gro w, industries close down as new ones start
up, and transport technology advances with faster and more efficient vehicles.
But not everything will be smooth sailing — resources will run dry, vehicles will
break down and, worst of all, you probably won’t be the only company competing for items. Your opponents might be ruthless and aggressive, building
stations right next door to yours to compete for passengers and cargo, running
better services to attract more cargo, and generally getting in your way. But
with careful planning and good management you can beat them at their own
game and build a dominant transport company worth millions.
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5
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Operating System: Windows®98/Me/2000/XP
SETUP AND INSTALLATION
1. Start Windows®98/Me/2000/XP.
Processor: Pentium III 500 MHz or equivalent
Memory: 128 MB RAM
Hard Disk Space: 85 MB Free
CD-ROM Drive: 8X Speed
®
Video: Windows
Sound: Windows
®
DirectX
: DirectX®version 9.0b (included) or higher
98/Me/2000/XP-compatible video card*
®
98/Me/2000/XP-compatible sound card*
Internet: 56 Kbps or faster connection required for Internet play.
®
* Indicates device should be compatible with DirectX
version 9.0b or higher.
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2. Insert the Chris Sawyer’s Locomotion game disc into your CD-ROM drive.
3. If AutoPlay is enabled, a title screen should appear. If AutoPlay is not enabled,
or the installation does not start automatically, click on the Start button on
your Windows
®
taskbar, then on Run. Type D:\Setup and click on OK.
Note: If your CD-ROM drive is assigned to a letter other than D, substitute
that letter.
4. Follow the remainder of the on-screen instructions to finish installing Chris
Sawyer’s Locomotion.
5. Once installation is complete, click on the Start button on the Windows
®
taskbar and choose Programs > Atari > Locomotion > Locomotion to start
the game. You can also click on the Chris Sawyer’s Locomotion icon on your
Windows
®
desktop to start the game.
Note: You must have the Chris Sawyer’s Locomotion game disc in your CD-ROM
drive to play.
Installation of DirectX
The Chris Sawyer’s Locomotion game requires DirectX®9.0b or higher in order to
run. If you do not have DirectX
click “Yes” to accept the DirectX
the DirectX
®
9.0b Install.
®
®
9.0b or higher installed on your computer,
®
9.0b License Agreement. This will then launch
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MAIN MENU
The Main Menu opens automatically when you start the game:
1.Start New Game: Start a new single-player game.
2.Load Saved Game: Load a previously saved game. To load a game, click the
Load Saved Game icon and click on the name of the saved game.
3.Show Tutorial: Click the Show Tutorial icon to display a list of available
tutorials. Click the name of a tutorial to view it.
4.Scenario Editor: Open the game editor, which allows you to create your
own scenarios.
5.Single-
Player/Two-Player
Game Toggle:
Switch between
single-player game
(see page 22) and
two-player game
(see page 23).
6.Exit Game: Close
Chris Sawyer’s
Locomotion and
return to the
Windows
®
8
desktop.
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2 3 4
5
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TAKE CONTROL
In order to get the best experience while learning to play Chris Sawyer’s
Locomotion, we recommend that you start with the in-game tutorials and read
the following overview of the game interface before you dive into the scenarios.
The game screen contains a number of basic control and display elements,
which are described in detail later in this manual. The icons along the top of
the screen provide access to drop-down menus.
Game Options: Access general game functions, including saving and
loading, and game options (see “Game Options” on page 14).
Sound: Adjust sound and music (see “Sound Menu” on page 19).
Zoom: Zoom in and out on the game screen, and access the Mini-Map.
You can also spin the mouse wheel to zoom in and out.
Rotate: Rotate the game screen clockwise or counterclockwise. Holding
down the right mouse button and spinning the mouse wheel also rotates
the game view. You can also rotate the landscape clockwise by pressing
the Enter key.
View: Change view options (see “View Menu” on page 19).
Landscape: Change the height of the land, plant trees, and so on (see
“Manipulating the Landscape” on page 42).
Tracks: Build train and tram tracks (see “Building Railroads” on page 49).
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Roads: Build roads and bridges (see “Building Roads” on page 46).
Ports: Build airports and docks (see “Airports” on page 72).
Vehicle Construction: Buy and upgrade vehicles (see “Building
Vehicles”on page 54).
Vehicle Status: Access information about your vehicles (see “Vehicle
Status Window” on page 63).
Stations: Access information about your stations (see “Stations” on
page 66).
Town/Industry: Display information about towns and industries (see
“Industries” on page 112 and “Towns and Cities” on page 76).
Status Display: View financial information and
approval ratings for all companies
(see “Financial Matters” on page 80).
Information and Control Windows
1 2
All windows in the game share common interface
and display elements:
1.Title Bar: Shows the name of the window,
station, vehicle, and so on. Click on the title
bar of a vehicle or station you own to change
its name. You can reposition a window by
clicking on its title bar and dragging it.
2.Close Button: Click to close the window. You
can also press Backspace to close the topmost
window. Pressing Shift + Backspace closes all
open windows.
3.Tabs: Many windows include multiple panes of
information, which you can access by clicking
the tabs at the top of the window.
4.Checkboxes: Some windows include options with checkboxes.
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4
5
10
Time Display: View the current date, control
game speed, and open the Messages
window
and Mini-Map (see “Mini-Map” on
page 35).
5.Drop-Down Menus: Some windows include drop-down menus.
Most windows are resizable. To resize a window, click and drag the resize
handle in the lower-right corner.
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Sorting Window Information
Some windows include scrolling lists with multiple columns of information. You
can sort the information in these lists by clicking at the top of a column.
For example, the Industries window contains the Industry, Status, and
Production Transported columns. By default, industries are ordered alphabetically
by name (Industry). If you click on the Status column header, the industry list is
resorted by the type of cargo produced.
Pop-up Help
Most tabs and buttons have “floating help text” that identifies their function.
To see this text, hold the mouse cursor over the tab or button for a few seconds.
For example, if you select a bridge type while building a track and hold your
mouse button over it, a box pops up showing the type of bridge, maximum
height and maximum speed.
Opening Multiple Windows
You can open up to seven windows at a time. If you attempt to open more, the
game automatically closes one of the open windows.
CONTROLLING THE VIEW
Chris Sawyer’s Locomotion uses an overhead isometric view. To rotate the view in
90-degree increments, use the Rotate Menu or press the Enter key. You can
zoom in and out of the main view by either pressing the Page Up / Page Down
keys or by using the mouse wheel.
The main view will automatically move when you scroll the mouse to any edge of
the screen, if you have this option checked (see “Control Options” on page 18).
You can also scroll the main view by using the arrow keys, or by right-clicking
and dragging on the landscape.
Most objects in the game will display context-sensitive information that can be
activated by the mouse. For example, when you move the mouse pointer over
a station, you can see what goods or people are waiting there. Left-clicking on
an object generally opens the window associated with that particular object.
Right-clicking on a road or track allows you to edit it in that location. Rightclicking an object such as a station or train displays the general status window
associated with that type of object.
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GAME OPTIONS
The Game Options menu provides access
to a number of basic in-game functions:
Game Options Window
The Game Options window provides access to various basic game play
options, including video, sound, music, and game controls and preferences.
• Load Game: Load a previously saved
game.
• Save Game: Save your current game.
Enter a name in the Save Game dialog
and click Save. By default, single-player
saved games are saved in the Single
Player Saved Games folder in the Chris Sawyer’s Locomotion directory, and twoplayer games are saved in the Two Player Saved Games folder, but you can
save in any folder you choose. You can also open the Save Game dialog by
clicking the Game Options Menu icon.
• About
• Options: Open the Game Options window (see next page).
• Screenshot: Save a BMP-format screenshot of the game in progress. You can
• Quit Game: Quit the game in progress and return to the Main Menu.
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Chris Sawyer’s Locomotion: View the game credits.
also save a screenshot at any time by pressing Ctrl-S. Screenshots are automatically saved in the Chris Sawyer’s Locomotion game folder.
Display Options
• Display Resolution: Set the graphic
resolution for Chris Sawyer’s
Locomotion. The default resolution is
640x480, but the game supports
higher resolutions. Higher resolutions
may cause performance issues on
slower machines.
• Landscape Smoothing: When this option is checked, the edges of the land-
scape tiles on the main view are smoothed. By default, this option is ON.
• Gridlines on Landscape: When this option is checked, the landscape grid is
visible. By default, this option is OFF, however landscape gridlines appear
when you are building tracks and roads.
• Vehicles min. display scale: Determines the smallest size at which vehicles
appear when you zoom in and out. The default selection is Quarter-scale.
• Station names min. display scale: Determines the smallest size at which the
text for station names appears. The default selection is Quarter-scale.
• Construction Marker: Toggles the color of the cursor used for constructing
roads, tracks, and so on between white (default) and translucent.
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Sound Options
• Sound Driver: Chris Sawyer’s
Locomotion automatically selects an
appropriate sound driver when the
game is installed. To change to a different sound driver, select it from the
drop-down menu.
• Sound Quality: The game automatically selects the most appropriate soundquality setting (low, medium, or high) upon installation. You can change this
setting here.
• Forced Software Buffer Mixing: Some computer/sound card combinations
can cause compatibility issues with Chris Sawyer’s Locomotion. If you experience a crackling in the sound or the game hesitates when sound effects play,
toggle this option to its opposite setting to alleviate the problem. If you do
not experience sound problems, you do not need to change this option.
Music Options
• Currently Playing: Shows the name
of the music track currently playing.
To play a different music track, select
it from the list.
• Music Player Controls: Controls the music playback. From left to right the
controls are: Stop, Play and Next Track (skip to the next music track on the
Currently Playing list).
• Volume: Controls the music volume.
The drop-down menu below the volume slider allows you to select the music
tracks you want played in the game. You have three choices:
• Play only music for current era: Select this option to play only music associated
with the current game year (or time period).
• Play all music: Select this option to allow all music tracks to play throughout
the game.
• Play customized selection of music: Select this option to play only the music
tracks selected (checked) on the Edit Music Selection menu.
When “Play customized selection of music” is selected, click on “Edit selection…”
at the bottom of the window to create your own list of music tracks. The Edit
Music Selection window will open, listing the names of all music available in
the game. Check music tracks to select them. When you finish making your
choices, close the window to save your changes.
Regional Options
• Distance and Speed: Toggle the
distance and speed measurements
between Imperial (miles, miles-perhour) and Metric (kilometers,
kilometers-per-hour).
• Heights: Toggle the height marker displayed when the Show Height Marks on
Land option is selected on the View menu. Options are: Real Values (feet,
meters) and Units (a positive or negative number that shows the land height
in units relation to sea level: +1, -5, and so on).
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• Current Currency: Sets the currency type (dollars, Euros, yen, and so on)
used in the current scenario. Current Currency defaults to the currency defined
by the scenario.
• Preferred Currency: Set the default currency. This setting has no effect unless
you click one or both of the checkboxes described below.
• Use preferred currency when starting a new game: Select this option to
use the currency type displayed in the Preferred Currency menu each time
you start a new game. When you load a saved game that specifies a type of
currency other than the preferred currency, that specified currency is used.
• Use preferred currency always: Select this option to use the currency type
displayed in the Preferred Currency menu at all times.
Control Options
• Scroll View when Pointer at Screen
Edge: When this option is checked, the
view automatically scrolls when you move
your mouse pointer to the edge of the screen. (You can also scroll the view
by holding down the right mouse button and dragging the mouse in the
direction you want to scroll, or by pressing the arrow keys.)
• Customize Keys: To change a keyboard shortcut, click the command on the list
and then press the key to which you want to map the control. If you select a
key that is already used, the newly selected shortcut replaces the old one. Click
on Reset Keys to reset to default values. Close the Keyboard Shortcuts window
to save the settings. (See “Keyboard Commands” on page 144 for a list of
default shortcuts.)
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Miscellaneous Options
The miscellaneous options group
allows you to set a default owner
name. To change the preferred owner
name, click on Change. Check the “Use preferred owner name when starting a
new game” option to use this name every time you start a new scenario.
SOUND MENU
• Mute: Toggle all game sounds and music ON and OFF.
When Mute is selected, the Sound Menu icon has a red
X through it. You can also toggle mute mode by clicking
the Sound Menu icon.
• Play Music: Toggles the music ON and OFF.
• Music Options: Opens the Music Options section of the Game Options window.
(See “Music Options” on page 16 for details.)
VIEW MENU
• Underground view: Renders the ground trans-
parent so that you can see tunnels.
• Hide foreground tracks & roads: Hide roads,
railroads, airports and docks in the lower half of
the screen.
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• Hide foreground scenery & buildings: Hide terrain objects (such as trees)
and buildings in the lower half of the screen.
• Height marks on land: Display the height of every land square not occupied
by a road or railroad. These marks are only visible in the closest zoom mode.
• Height marks on tracks and roads: Display height marks on all roads and
tracks.
• One-way direction arrows: Display one-way arrows on roads and tracks.
• Town names displayed: Display town names.
• Station names displayed: Display station and passenger stop names.
STATUS DISPLAY
The Status Display in the lower-left corner provides
access to information about all of the transport
companies in the game. This display shows your
company’s current treasury (the amount of cash on
hand) and Performance Index. (See “Performance
Index” on page 85 for more information.)
The face icon on the left side of the display is your
owner image. Click this image to open your
company’s Status window. (See “Status Window” on page 30 for details.)
Move the cursor over the face icon to display the Owners menu, which lists all
of the companies competing in the current scenario and their current standing
in the game from highest-ranked (top) to lowest-ranked (bottom). To open a
competitor’s Status window, click that company name.
Click the Companies List option to open the Companies List window, which
contains a number of graphs and displays that compare your company’s
progress to those of your competitors. (See “The Companies List” on page 82.)
TIME DISPLAY
• Pause: While paused, you can look at status
menus and displays, but you cannot manipulate any objects on the landscape.
Doing so starts play again at normal speed. To manually resume play, click on
Pause again, or click one of the three Play controls. You can also pause the
game by pressing the Pause key.
• Play Normal Speed: Play at normal speed. This is the default time rate.
• Fast Forward: Play at three times the normal rate.
• Extra Fast Forward: Play at nine times the normal rate.
Click the icon on the right side of the Time Display to open the Mini-Map (see
“Mini-Map” on page 35 for details).
Note: The fast-forward play options are not available in two-player games.
The Time Display also shows scrolling ticker-tape messages. Click this display to
open the Message window. (See “Messages” on page 64.)
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SINGLE-PLAYER GAME
There are over 40 single player scenarios available in Chris Sawyer’s Locomotion,
each one challenging your transport management skills in unique ways.
New Game
Click the Start New Game icon on the Main Menu to open the Select
Scenario window.
• Challenge: The goal or goals you must achieve.
• Start Date: The starting year of the scenario.
• Competing Companies: The maximum number of companies that will com-
pete directly against you and the amount of time that will pass before they
start to do so.
Click on the scenario name to play that scenario.
The scenarios are divided into
five levels of difficulty:
• Beginner
• Easy
• Medium
• Challenging
• Expert
Select a tab on the Select
Scenario window to display a list of scenarios. Move the cursor over a scenario
to display a thumbnail image of the game map, a description of the highlighted
scenario and the following statistics:
Start with the Beginner scenarios, and move on to greater challenges
as you gain familiarity with the game.
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TWO-PLAYER GAME
Chris Sawyer’s Locomotion allows you to engage in fiscal combat with the most
unpredictable and potentially cunning rival on the planet: another human player. In terms of speed and reliability, two-player mode is ideally suited to local
area network (LAN) play. The game will play on dial-up connections, but might
be prohibitively sluggish.
Chris Sawyer’s Locomotion supports only the TCP/IP network protocol for LAN
and Internet play.
Starting a Multiplayer Game
To start a two-player game, click the
Single Player Mode/Two-Player Mode
toggle on the Main Menu. This opens
the Two-Player Game window, which
has two tabs:
• Two-Player Game: The left tab has
two options: Host and Join.
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• Two-Player Game — Options: The time-out value sets the amount of time
the game will wait for expected data from the other computer while playing.
The games will disconnect if this time-out value is exceeded. The second
option, “Share additional companies/owner faces”, allows you to share owner
images that you import from an external faces editor (not yet available) with
your opponent. Select this option to automatically copy your custom companies and faces to your opponent’s machine when you connect over the LAN
or Internet.
Host A Game
To host a game, click “Set this computer up as host” on the Two-Player Game
window. The game will wait for another player to join. Click Cancel to exit
Host mode before another machine connects.
error prompt to return to the Two-Player Game window.
Start New Game/Load Game
Once two machines are connected, both players see a message in the TwoPlayer Game window that indicates a successful connection and identifies the
computer to which they are connected. At this point, the Main Menu updates
and displays new controls:
• Start New Game: Start a new two-player game. This opens the Select
Scenario window, from which you can choose any available scenario.
• Load Saved Game: Load a previously saved game. You can only load two-
player saved games when in two-player mode. Either player can start or load
a game.
Join a Game
To join a game hosted by another player, click “Connect to host” on the
Two-Player Game window. This opens the Enter Host Address dialog.
The next step varies for Internet and LAN play:
• Internet Games: To join an Internet game, type the IP address of the host
machine in the text field and click OK. You must know the host IP address in
order to play over the Internet.
• LAN Games: To join a game on a local area network, type the IP address or
the name of the host computer in the prompt and click OK. To search for any
valid host machine, leave the dialog box blank and click OK.
If the host computer isn’t located, an error message appears. Click OK on the
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A Chat (red telephone) icon appears on the updated Main Menu. Click this
icon to send text messages to your opponent during the setup mode. Just type
your message and press ENTER to send.
Click Disconnect on the Two-Player Game window to return to the Main
Menu before the game begins.
Connecting Through a Firewall
When attempting to play a two-player game on a computer that uses a software
or hardware firewall, you might have to change some settings in order to
connect.
Some firewalls automatically prompt you when an attempt is made to send
data from a program that the firewall doesn’t recognize. If the connection fails,
25
you might need to manually configure your firewall to open the following
ports:
• 6073
• 2032 through 2400
If you are attempting to use an Internet connection through a network router
with NAT, you must configure the router’s Port Forwarding to forward the
above-listed ports to your local computer’s IP address.
If you are unfamiliar with changing your firewall settings, consult your firewall’s
documentation.
Playing the Two-Player Game
Once you and your opponent are connected, the two-player version of Chris
Sawyer’s Locomotion plays nearly identically to the single-player game, with a
few exceptions:
• Human opponents are not bound by the time restrictions for entry of new
companies — both human-controlled companies are present from the
moment the game starts.
• The game’s only speed-related controls are Play and Pause. When either player
pauses in a two-player game, the game pauses for both players.
• Above the Time Display, there is a Send Message control. Click this to send
text messages to your opponent. Type a message in the prompt and press
ENTER to send it. Messages from your opponent appear in a pop-up window
tagged with the opponent’s image.
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All single-player scenarios are available in the two-player version. Two-player
saved games are stored in a folder separate from single-player saves. You cannot
load a two-player saved game in single-player mode (or vice-versa).
The game automatically disconnects when either player quits the game.
How to Play Chris Sawyer’s Locomotion in GameSpy Arcade
You can play Chris Sawyer’s Locomotion online through GameSpy Arcade, which
comes conveniently bundled with the game. If you haven’t done so already,
insert your Chris Sawyer’s Locomotion CD and install Arcade now. Then, to play
Chris Sawyer’s Locomotion online, just follow these simple instructions:
Launch GameSpy Arcade and Go to the Chris Sawyer’s Locomotion Room:
Click on the GameSpy Arcade link in your Start Menu. When the software starts,
you’ll see a list of games and more along the left-hand side. There’s plenty to
do, but there’s time for that later: Click on the Chris Sawyer’s Locomotion button
on the left to enter the Chris Sawyer’s Locomotion room.
Find or Start a Chris Sawyer’s Locomotion Server: Once you’re in the Chris
Sawyer’s Locomotion room you can meet or greet other players, find servers or
create your own server. The top half of the application will list all of the available servers, including the number of people playing and your connection
speed (measured by something called “ping.” The lower your ping, the better.)
Don’t like any servers? Click on the “Create Room” button to start your own
server and wait for people to sign up. (A clever server name, such as “Taste the
end of my rusty hob-nailed boot!” usually attracts people). Otherwise, doubleclick on a server of your choice to join in.
Joining and Starting a game: Once you double-click on a server or start your
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own, you’ll be in a staging room, in which you can trash talk with your fellow
players and prepare for combat. When you’re ready to play, click the “Ready”
button at the top of the screen. When everyone in the room has signaled their
readiness, the host can then launch the game. Arcade will fire up Chris Sawyer’s
Locomotion and the carnage will begin!
Problems?
If you have problems using Arcade, whether installing the program, registering
it, or using it in conjunction with Chris Sawyer’s Locomotion, consult our help
pages, located at http://www.gamespyarcade.com/help/ or e-mail us by using
the form located at http://www.gamespyarcade.com/support/contact.shtml.
CHRIS SAWYER ’S LOCOMOTION
BASICS
THE OBJECT OF THE GAME
Your company starts with a modest bank loan and a simple survey map. Where
you go from there is, well, your business.
Your underlying mission in Chris Sawyer’s Locomotion is always the same: deliver
cargo and passengers from one place that produces them to another place that
requires them. You must provide necessary services to the towns and industries
in the areas you serve. If you do a good job, you are rewarded with a burgeoning bank account and a high Performance Index. If you are unable to meet the
transportation needs of the people, your Performance Index drops… along with
your profits.
In order to complete each scenario, you must successfully reach defined goals.
Your first few Chris Sawyer’s Locomotion games might seem a bit overwhelming
— there can be a lot to think about at once, especially once rival companies
enter the scene. However, if you understand the basic game systems and take a
measured approach to planning and building transport lines, you’ll soon be at
the top of your own transport empire.
FIRST STEPS
Each scenario begins with a view of the game world. Pause the game and take
some time to scroll around the landscape and check out the terrain features,
towns, and industries. Once you’ve done an initial survey, it’s time to set up
your company.
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Unless you set a preferred owner name in the Miscellaneous Options section of
the Game Options menu (see “Game Options” on page 14 for details), entering your name is the first task. There are a number of additional company-related tasks that you need to attend to before you get started. All of these initial
options are set on the Status window.
Status Window
The Status window automatically opens
when you start a new game. To open the
Status window while playing, click the
owner icon on the Status Display. There
are six tabs on this window:
Company Owner and Status
• Status View: Shows the viewpoint of the
company owner. The Status View is
most useful for “spying” on other
company owners, to see where they are building, or what they have their
sights on next. Click the cluster of arrows in the lower-right corner of the
Status View to center the game screen on the area shown.
• Owner Image: The owner image is randomly selected at the start of each
scenario. Click your owner image to select a new one.
• Owner Name: The owner name appears below the owner image. Click on
the name to change it. You can click on the title bar of the window to change
the name of your company.
Use the Status View to keep an eye on your opponents. If they’re surveying
the landscape, chances are they’re about to build in that location.
Details
The Details section tab shows basic company performance statistics and allows
you to construct and view the company headquarters.
• Company started: Lists the year the
company was founded.
• Performance index: Displays the
company’s current Performance
Index.
• Owner: Displays the owner’s name.
When viewing a computer-controlled
opponent’s Status window, the owner’s Intelligence, Aggressiveness, and
Competitiveness ratings appear below his or her name. (See “Rival Owner
Charactistics” on page 84 for details about competing owners and companies.)
The image on the right side of this display shows the company’s headquarters
(if one exists). Click the icon on the right edge of the window to construct your
headquarters. Select a spot on the landscape and click to construct the building.
Construction is completed after a short time.
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To move your headquarters to a different location, click the construction icon
and then click the new headquarters location. When construction begins on
your new headquarters building, the old one is automatically destroyed.
You can operate your company successfully without a headquarters, but building
this structure is inexpensive, and its growth and changes in style (or lack thereof)
over the course of the game serves as a visual symbol of your success.
Color Scheme
The Color Scheme tab allows you to specify
colors for your company displays, structures, and
vehicles. You can set both an overall color scheme
for your company and a specific color scheme for
every vehicle type.
Finances
The Finances tab shows a breakdown of the company’s income
and expenditures, company value
and current profits, and provides
an interface for applying for and
paying off loans.
• Expenditure/Income: Shows
the company’s profit and loss for each year.
• Loan: Shows the total amount of money owed to the bank. Click the up
arrow to the right of the loan amount to
borrow more money, and click the down arrow to pay down your loan.
• Main color scheme: Defines the background
hue of your window title bars and the colors
used on your buildings. The two colored squares
show the currently selected colors. To pick a new
color, click on a square to open the palette of
available colors and then click on a new color.
• Special color schemes used for: Defines the colors for individual vehicle
types. Click the checkbox beside a vehicle type to display the vehicle type’s
current color scheme. Change the colors as described above.
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• Cash: The current amount of cash available.
• Profit from Vehicles: The monthly profit or loss you are incurring from vehicle
operations.
If you run out of cash and need some more, be sure to check with the
bank to see if they’ll loan you more money. Banks continue to raise your
credit rating as you progress in the game.
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Cargo Delivered
This tab provides information on cargo successfully transported and delivered.
Challenge
The Challenge tab provides an overview
of your goals in the current scenario,
including a summary of your progress,
and, if the scenario has a time limit, the
time remaining to achieve these goals.
SURVEY THE LANDSCAPE
After naming your new company and double-checking your objectives, you
need to determine your first transportation task. Should you haul grain with
trucks, build a railroad and carry coal to a steel mill, set up a bus line in the
biggest town? The choices are usually many, but not all of them make sense as
your first venture.
You generally start a new game with enough cash to build a modest transportation
network. Once that starts to turn a profit, you are able to afford more expensive
vehicles and more ambitious routes.
One of the best resources for surveying the landscape is the Mini-Map. You can
examine the landscape, towns and industries with the game paused, which is
usually a good idea at the beginning of the game. Click Pause on the Time
Display (or press the Pause key) and then open the Mini-Map.
Mini-Map
The Mini-Map provides a strategic overview of the territory covered
in the scenario. To open the Mini-Map, click Map on the Zoom
menu or click the Mini-Map icon on the Time Display.
Click a spot on the Mini-Map to center the main game view on that
area. The black dashed-line rectangle defines the area that is currently displayed
on the main view.
On the right side of the window is a list of items, each of which is represented
by a different color on the Mini-Map. Moving the mouse cursor over an item
causes every object of that type to flash on the Mini-Map for easy identification.
This Mini-Map has five tabs:
Default View
The default Mini-Map view provides a basic
overview of the scenario landscape. It shows the
locations of towns, industries, roads, railroads,
stations and vegetation.
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Vehicles View
The Vehicles view shows the locations of all
vehicles in the game. Holding your cursor over a
vehicle type on the right causes the corresponding
objects to flash on the map and show the number
of vehicles of that type currently deployed.
Industries View
The Industries view shows all of the industries
currently in the scenario, and is probably the
most important Mini-Map tab early in the
game.
The total number of industries is shown in the
space just below the map. When you place the
mouse cursor over an industry on the list, this
number changes to show how many facilities
of that type exist. The
supplies or demands of that industry type are
shown in parentheses next to the industry type.
Transport Routes View
The Transport Routes view displays all of the
land, air, and sea routes that are currently operational. The routes are broken down by type for
easy identification.
Companies View
The Companies view lists all of the companies in the game. In this view, the map
breaks down the routes, vehicles and stations
by the company that owns them.
Getting too ambitious too quickly is a good way to go bankrupt. In many
scenarios, setting up simple bus or tram services within towns is a safe way to
start. It not only provides a steady income, it encourages population growth.
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Supply and Demand
One factor that leads to success is keeping track of available cargo and determining where this cargo is required.
You can assess the transportation needs of the community at a glance by moving your mouse cursor over
the buildings, stations, and
industries in each town.
When the cursor passes
over a building, a pop-up
shows what the building is,
the cargo it produces and
what deliveries it accepts.
You can deliver and unload
cargo that is not accepted at a station, but you are not paid for it. In this situation, the unwanted cargo simply sits at the station and waits for you to pick it
up again.
In order to pick up and unload cargo, you must build stations — cargo loading
bays, passenger stops, airports, docks, and so on. Open a station’s Station
Overview window to assess the station’s needs. (See “Stations” on page 66
for details.)
INDUSTRY
The industries in each scenario generally provide a large percentage of your
potential transport business. Some industries provide goods and raw materials
from the surrounding land. Farms, mines, oil wells, and managed forests, for
example, all produce cargo that is just waiting to be transported.
Other industries, such as sawmills, flour mills and oil refineries, require the raw
materials produced by the aforementioned industries in order to produce products. Once they have the raw materials they need, these industries start stockpiling goods that you can transport as cargo.
The Industry List
Select Industries from the
Town/Industry menu to
open the Industries win-
dow. You can also open
the Industries window by
right-clicking on any industry building.
The left tab of the Industries window shows a scrolling list of all industries and
three columns of information:
• Industry: The name and type of industry.
• Status: What the industry is currently producing or what the industry requires
in order to begin production.
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• Production Transported: The percentage of the industry’s total cargo output
that is currently being transported.
Right-click an industry on the landscape to quickly display
the Industries window
To obtain more detailed information on any listed industry, click on it to access
its Industry Status window. (See “Industry Status Window” below.)
The second tab opens the Fund New Industries view. This section of the window displays a scrolling list of industry buildings. From here you can fund the
construction of new industries. This is expensive, and is not a viable option early
in the game (see “Funding New Industries” on page 112 for details.)
The Industry Status Window
Like other buildings, the products and requirements of an industry are displayed
when you move the mouse cursor over the industry building. To obtain detailed
information on an industry’s production and statistics, click the industry on the
landscape to open its Industry Status win-
dow or click its name on the Industries win-
dow. The Industry Status window has three
tabs.
Industry
The Industry tab shows a status view of the
industry. To center the main view on this
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industry, click the gray arrows in the lower-right corner of the image. Listed
below the image are the items it requires (if any) and the goods it produces.
Monthly Production
The Monthly Production tab shows a graphic
representation of the facility’s production. The line
graph charts the number of cargo units produced
on the left and the game year along the top.
Industries that require the delivery of raw materials
in order to produce goods — factories and steel
mills, for example — show production growth only
when they receive a steady supply of the materials
they need. It is up to you (or your competitors) to
ensure a steady flow of materials to these facilities.
Statistics
The Statistics tab is the most important
tab to examine before deciding whether
to build a transport route to a particular
industry. It shows the amount of
required goods or raw materials the
industry has produced or received in the
past month, and the amount of produced goods that have been transported
away from the facility. Use this display to determine whether it’s worth investing
in transporting cargo from this industry.
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MANIPULATING THE LANDSCAPE
Not all locales are ideally suited to construction. Before you build roads, lay
tracks and perform other tasks to expand your transportation empire, it is often
necessary to reshape the landscape. The Landscape menu provides the following tools to help you accomplish your earthmoving chores:
• Clear Area
• Adjust Land
• Adjust Water
• Plant Trees
Clear Area
The Clear Area option allows you to clear areas of trees
and other obstacles — including houses and other manmade objects — from the landscape. (To clear roads and
tracks, use the tools on the Build Roads and Build
Tracks menus.)
Select the Clear Area tool to open the Landscape window
to the Clear Area tab. The graphic in the center of the
window shows the size of the “brush” you are using. The number of brush
squares indicates the number of terrain squares you clear each time you click
the landscape. Click the + and – buttons in the corners of the graphic to adjust
the brush size. Click on the landscape to clear it.
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If your Local Authority Rating is too low, you might not be allowed to
clear an area around a town (see “Local Authority Rating” on page 75).
As you move the cursor over the land, the cost of clearing the land encompassed by the brush appears at the bottom of the Landscape window. The
number of objects cleared determines the price. You can also remove an obstacle from the landscape by right-clicking on it.
Adjust Land
This tool allows you to change the height and slope of a land square (or group
of land squares).
Raising and Lowering Land
When in Adjust Land mode, the cursor is a shovel
attached to a grid (brush) that defines the area
of land you affect as you make your changes.
The number of brush squares indicates the
number of terrain squares you will raise or lower
at a time. Click the + and – buttons in the
corners of the graphic to adjust the brush size.
Click and hold the left mouse button. Move the
mouse away from you to lower the land section or toward you to raise it.
If the land in the defined area isn’t level, the land evens itself out first and then
moves up or down as a unit.
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