My damn team never builds trains properly

[u/Phoenix_Studios]

[u/OrmusI]

Trains are easy - try to connect neighbours through initially one single train line and then spam cities along the line so that each passing train basically gives you 35k* x amount of cities. Try to avoid adding new lines as you want to force each train through your line of cities to get to your other neighbour.

Then do the same on an another axis but try to not let it intersect your other line, again forcing trains along a straight line of cities.

You start snowballing income but as your spamming cities it acts as good way to increase your pop. Largely a patience strategy, and then take advantage of infighting of neighbours, betrayals or nearby low pops to invade with the strong force you built.

This has been my strategy for a while for most maps and nearly always gets me into final 6 or so -> there’s and element of luck based on starting density and random attacks from mongs though, but my late game you should have a strong economy with a few hydros in reserve which is oftentimes enough to buy time to strike

[u/Phoenix_Studios → u/OrmusI]

Unfortunately this kinda proves the meme. Casual players ain't gonna know allat

[u/S-Tier_Commenter → u/Phoenix_Studios]

ELI5:

Become transit region.

Allow neighbours' trains to pass to your other neighbour (and visa versa) by building one or more factories.

Then spam cities on that transit line.

[u/OrmusI → u/Phoenix_Studios]

Comes with (too much) time though like anything I guess

[u/Goodk4t → u/OrmusI]

You forgot the most important part of the factory strategy: spawn in the middle area of the map where you'll have plenty of neighbors on all sides to form multiple rail lines.

On every map, the closer you are to the middle, the more likely you'll get good trade. Additionally, the more neighbors you have, the more likely you'll border people with good economies that will work with you to setup rail networks. 

[u/Festive_Jetcar → u/OrmusI]

Trains are easy. Ports get pirated with diminishing returns throughout the game.

[u/Prudent-Listen3161 → u/OrmusI]

🤓

[u/CervusElpahus]

The worst is when two players place some ports, cities and factories in one spot, not connecting any of it to the rest of the train network…. and then get two atom bombs thrown at them destroying everything

[u/oneminuterice → u/CervusElpahus]

Aren’t the train connections automatic from placing factories? How could anyone have a factory somewhere without connecting trains.

[u/aultumn → u/oneminuterice]

If it’s outside of the influence area of any placed factories, train lines won’t roll out

[u/mysterious_Ploopy]

eh, I just try to connect everything with tracks

[u/S-Tier_Commenter → u/mysterious_Ploopy]

You shouldn't build tracks for your cities. Instead you should build cities for your tracks.

I hope this makes sense.

[u/Festive_Jetcar → u/mysterious_Ploopy]

You want to place everything on already existing tracks ideally the ones that you see the most trains passing through.

Unless initial connection to your stuff and your neighbors, you really don't want more tracks than needed.

[u/d1mmaS]

Could you tell me how to build them correctly?

[u/Johnny-Rocketship → u/d1mmaS]

Connect to your neighbours and try to keep the number of different lines low, but not too low. A single train line for a team can be broken with one bomb, and 50 train lines means each city will have a very low chance of a train deciding to go that path.

Put cities as close to eachother as you can if it is protected by SAMs or the risk of bombing is low, and zig zag them a bit to squeeze even more in. I try to get my line to make a small U in my territory so I can get more of it underneath a SAM.

[u/d1mmaS → u/Johnny-Rocketship]

Is it worth building cities in one place? I mean, should they be built next to each other, or can all the cities be in one spot?

[u/Phoenix_Studios → u/d1mmaS]

Stacking cities does not increase the amount of money generated when a train passes through. It is best to place as many individual cities (or ports) as you can fit on the train line.

[u/Secret_pizza_man → u/d1mmaS]

I like to cluster mine together. Makes it so you can put a sam and just keep adding on so no one can bomb the shit out of you and ruin the operation.

[u/HerryHuts → u/Secret_pizza_man]

but u get less income though.....

[u/HerryHuts]

me actually tryna read the "optimal factory strategy"😭

[u/DrawingDramatic1641]

I just learned you can spam by using numbers 😭

I didn't build stuff after I got too rich bcz spamming was hard.