Chris Sawyer's Locomotion - transporting to new heights (Locomotion (PC))

Member Name: ecolier

Product:	Locomotion (PC)
Date:	04/10/09 (51 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lots of new features, new graphics

Disadvantages: Limited map size

It's now been 5 years since Chris Sawyer's Locomotion (CSL) is released. On that eventful day on 7th September 2004, possibly the best business strategy game since Transport Tycoon (and of course its successor TT Deluxe) was released.

---the BASICS---

CSL is a business transport strategy game. In this game the player is presented with a map with several cities and/or industries and is challenged to connect them with trams, buses, trucks, railway, planes and/or ships. The aim of the game is to make as much money as possible, or to fulfill the criteria set by the scenario creator (e.g. transport xx units of cargo by xx time).

---the MAPS---

The game comes with several categories of maps - ranging from novice to expert. The player is free to create his/her own maps or to download ones made by others from the internet. The maps that come with the standard package includes Britain, various parts of America, and other fictional or real landscapes. The expert maps are different from the beginner maps in the fact that they start later (e.g. 1960 as opposed to 1900) and there are more competitors.

The maps are limited to a maximum defined size. This means that a player would have to play in a restricted area - for example in the Britain scenarios many cities are omitted where there is simply not enough space. In this case many players have created regional maps which is much more detailed.

---the CITIES---

The maximum population of the city, due to programme and graphical limitations are limited to around 50000 - 60000. The geographical span, however, can be disproportionally big. This means in the Britain scenario, for example, a fully grown London can go from Chelmsford to Brighton!

The cities are easily grow-able with a steady supply of passengers - be it by train from other towns and cities or intra-city transport by tram. The buildings of the city changes with time (e.g. a 1900s building will not exist in the 1950s) and with population (e.g. a small town house will not be seen in a large city).

---the INDUSTRIES---

The industries in the game are varied but mainly carried forward from Transport series. For example players will earn money by transporting wood from Managed Forest to Sawmill - which would create goods - to be transported to the cities; or by transporting coal from a Coal Mine to a Power station. The options to transport include railway, planes and ships. The cargo payment rates vary between the cargo transported, the distance transported, the time it takes and over time.

---the UNITS---

As in real life, vehicles are introduced and retired over the years. When the player first start playing in the 1900s, there is only 1 train (which is very slow and has very limited horsepower), 1 bus, 1 tram, 1 ship (wind powered!) and no planes. As the game progresses more powerful vehicles are available to the player, and the older ones need to be replaced. The first airplanes available from 1920s are truely experimental and useless in the game. It is only with the release of the DC3 that air transport is viable.

In my opinion the best decade in CSL is the 1980s. This is the decade when the arguably best passenger train (the APT), the best airplane (the Concorde), and the best ship (the Hovercraft) are available. These vehicle would become obsolete one by one in the 1990s replaced by ones more expensive, carrying less people and slower.

The name of the vehicles are fictional, but can be renamed by the player. There are also speed limits applied to the wagons individually, so even in the 2000s the fastest freight train will be limited to 70mph - which is realistic.

Additional vehicles can be obtained by downloading mods from the internet. For example there is a future mod which is a pack containing new scenarios and trains and introduces the Maglev trains for playing after 2020.

---how to START a game---

To start making money (or not losing money) try building a tram network in a city. The tram tracks are relatively cheap and the running costs are minimal compared to a bus.

The best industrial money-making way at the start of a game is to build a line between a Coal Mine and a Coal-fired Power Station. It is the most profitable non-tertiary route and provides a nice income each time the train pulls into the station. Once you start making a nice profit consider a tertiary line (e.g. transporting wood to Sawmills which makes goods to be transported to a city) which makes the most money.

When you have millions of ££ and looking to make even more - start by building an underground, direct railway line from one (huge) city to another. For this to work the cities much be big and be poviding enough passengers to fill an express train. The best train to do the job is the APT - fast and carrying loads. The initial outlay may be a lot but you will easily make them back within 5 loads!

---CONCLUSION---

This is simply one of the best transport games - not that there are many. After 5 years there is still a vibrant community around and the mods are being made as I type. CSL is unlikely to have a sequel as it would most likely involve a radical overhaul of graphics and programming but would be unlikely to sell well. There are improvements to be made but I am very pleased with this game. I am sure I will be playing it in another 5 years. I hope you will give it a try too!

Summary: I would recommend this game to anyone who likes strategy games - just give it a try you may like it.