Back To Basics

by Guru3

Looking at recent coop games, it feels to me that the game is being played a bit backwards. A lot of times I look in and I see the game at an advanced date with a huge network, really nice hubs, the lot. Only problem is, there are only a handfew of train running on it. Maybe I just don't look at the right times, but I propose to go back to the original style of gameplay. Start with a 256x256 map. Or maybe even a 256x512 as we've got more people now. Either way then, the game would start out in 1950 and we'd connect a coal mine to a power plant like we used to. And then, just keep connecting and expanding. Nothing thought out and planned so much that the rails are there for the trains. Do we need a line going off to the side? Ok, do it. Which ever branch that's become the "main line" of the game has too much traffic, we'll rebuild it, make it better. Make the network fit the trains, not the trains fit the network. Building a 4 way hub in a huge empty space is great, takes a lot of skill, but there's still something about squeezing a regular hub in between a couple of towns. I propose we play again like we used to. For an example, look at Collective Transport.