Resource Trains

[Wolf619]

I was thinking last night an neat idea would be the ability to build a train track and have a building for a train station. The building would allow you to pick what goes on the next shipment out of town. The train would return in about 3 days filled with silver for the items you put on the train. Possibly you can only start out a train to friendly factions over 30 and a train station would improve friendship to a faction by 15(maybe 20).

I think it would be a great idea to make the factions seem more real as you can trade with them in other ways than just waiting for a trader or an orbital trader.

Maybe handle it like a store and you can buy what you want from the city and it would come on the train instead of just silver.

Anyway tell me what you think!

feel free to use my idea in a mod that's why i post them here!

I'm thinking one way to be would be to (it would have no real affect on friendly factions though):

-modify a trader event so that he can only walk on a certain zone (rail road tracks)

-change the sprite of trader to a train

-train zone lays down train tracks?? (maybe switch direction with Q or E?)

Make a special event (train arrival)

if train hits end of track it turns around and leaves map

Train stops at train stop building

Train will have a '?' over top, and can be interacted with like a trader

[EvilMoogle]

I really like this idea and I see it as kind of a step towards the a sort of "alliance" victory condition.

Once you get a relationship of X (50?) with a faction, highlight a part of the map boarder, connect your train station to this spot and then spend an a lot of steel (proportional to distance to that faction on the world map?) to build a route to them.

After that you'd start getting train traders from the faction on a regular basis - at least as long as you maintain your relationship with them and keep the track undamaged.

Connect the same station to a second faction and you'll start getting traders that pay you to pass through your "hub."  If you want to get fancy add some sort of negotiation to the process to broker agreements if the other factions aren't friendly with each other.

This has the added benefit of incentivizing players to protect the train tracks across the map, which raiders would love to target.  Raiders would probably even try "train heists" with small groups that don't plan to approach your base at all, just hit the train (and your relationship with the owning faction) and escape with some quick loot.

Tie this to a victory condition of "unite all the non-pirate factions together for X days and negotiate a grand trading alliance" to establish yourself as a fixture on the world.

[Draegon]

I love this idea, they could add mine carts too with cheaper tracks. They would act like a storage that moves back and forth to either stop on the tracks when activated.
The tracks for both would probably require wood too though.
Also maybe there could be passenger trains as well that could drop off visitors to the colony which COULD include rare item traders.
Possibly add buildable cart and train variants so the colony can build their own trains however they like. A train with all storage cars or a mix of storage and passenger so traders could ride back with it.

[MeowRailroad]

This would fit really well with the Wild-West/Space setting but I feel like it would have to be done well or else just look really cheesy. I'd be glad to be the railroad consultant if Tynan wanted to develop this idea.

[14m1337]

for a more "spacy" style, make it an aircraft train, like the vehicle they used in the "firefly" pilot...

[Wolf619]

for a more "spacy" style, make it an aircraft train, like the vehicle they used in the "firefly" pilot...

not a bad idea, then you wouldnt need tracks either

[14m1337]

oh, tracks could act like walking paths: optimized ground for the the vehicle for faster movement

[MeowRailroad]

Since everything is old and worn-out in Rimworld I'd expect the railroads to be using something like this:

It's a widely built locomotive today and lots of small railroad in the US have one, so it isn't unlikely that a few got exported, and possibly were updated and repainted several hundred times so they are still around in 5500.

[Wex]

I onestly expect maglev trains instead.
It's the 5500!

[MeowRailroad]

Maglev trains are extremely expensive and difficult to make, compared to that engine which is a cheap one great for small railroads. The one I posted is like a survival rifle, a modern mainline engine is like an assault rifle, and a maglev is like a charge rifle.