I need some tips from some of you...

[Peach Jelly]

I'm only on the very first level, and I'm already running at a loss, earning less than I'm spending on salaries. I currently have one garage, 3 drivers, 1 repair guy, and the first 2 managers.

I would sorely appreciate some tips on strategy for balancing revenues vs operating expenses in this game. Should I be only aiming for certain kinds of contracts, should I fire some people, or what?

[Eekes]

Maybe you don't have enough trucks ? I'd get around 4-6 trucks right away and have them drive cargo nonstop, then get a mechanic and a little while later on a vehicle manager to reduce vehicle wear&tear. Worst thing you could to is get managers too early, they cost a lot. Best way I found to make money is to get a lot of trucks. (They only take up the garage slots when they're parked there, so you can actually have tons of trucks on a lvl1 garage)

[Peach Jelly]

Ah, kay. I think my biggest mistake then was hiring both managers right away, haha :)
Thanks for the tips! I think I will start fresh keeping those things in mind and see how it goes.

[hafkoeslag]

i bouth 2 200k truck and the 12t rigs.. that way you van haul annithing thats in the menu.
and if you take for example 4t hauls with 7 stages you wil do 3 satages at ones. so you finish your contract early.

[Peach Jelly]

Good thinking, hafkoeslag!

Hey, guys, how many garages do you operate with? I have like 8 cars going and just one garage with no issues so far. When should I buy another?

[Eekes]

I have 20 cars and still just one garage, mainly because I have most of my vehicles on a job 24/7 and they're only in for repairs. (Thinking about upgrading a garage to lvl 2 though to get more slots if repairs start increasing due to age)

[Raspina]

What is a good strategie? Keep the cars as long as possible although they can't fulfill every job, because they are too slow, or get better cars as soon as they are out?

And what orders should I focus on:
- slow or fast cars needed?
- more stacks or less (don't know the exact english word for it in this case; I mean the number above the tons)

e.g.
Which order is better and why? Or what is the most important part where you look at?

Offer A:
money 50k
speed 60
tons 10
stacks 7

Offer B:
money 70k
speed 71
tons 12
stacks 5

I'm just asking, because I constantly put orders and use 6-9 cars on a level one garage, but although I don't really fail a contract I sometimes just don't make money out of it so I can upgrade my garage.
I only hire a engineer and when I have more than six cars I also hire a manager for vehicles.

[Peach Jelly]

Raspina,
I think it is best to consider the pay-out. In your example, if your car can handle Offer B, take that one. Making $ is the highest priority. The stack number doesn't matter; if it is low, you will just have to pick a new contract for that car sooner.

Also, if you can comfortably afford it, you should replace your cars with better ones when they come out. There's not much use keeping cars that can't handle the better contracts as they become available. Plus, as your drivers level up in experience, you have to pay them more. It only makes sense to put your drivers in better cars so that they can make more money to offset what you're paying the them in salary.

[Raspina]

How do I switch the (experienced) drivers from an old car into a new one?

Edit: I usually put 2-3 cars on one contract to make sure that I will be able to fulfill it in time. Is there an easy way to see if a single car would be able to fulfill the contract so I can fulfill more contracts at the same time with other cars?

[Peach Jelly]

If the car can carry the tonnage and can match or exceed the necessary speed for the contract, it will get completed by that one car, unless it breaks down sometimes. But I wouldn't worry about a contract not getting completed every so often. If you're doing enough of them, your profits should exceed the occassional penalty costs.

So as an example, one of your cars completes its current contract and goes to the garage. It is a tank car and can carry 8 tons and can go 70 km/h. Start looking around for a contract... First, filter by contracts that can be carried by a tank. Then try to find one that is less than or equal to both the tonnage and speed your car can handle. Then, out of those choices, pick the contract that pays the best.

To switch drivers, PUT YOUR GAME ON PAUSE. Then, dismiss the driver from his current car (or sell the car), open the hiring window, and re-hire him to the new car. (If you forget to pause, you might lose that driver forever.)

[Raspina]

Thanks for the nice tips :-)

[Peach Jelly]

New Question: Are there any hotkeys in this game?

[Lord Strong]

For garages it seems to work to build a second, third, and so on after 10, 20, and 30 cars etc. But I'm still experimenting sorta. My most recent strategy is to start out with 3 armadillos and save money for trucks rather than the smaller cars. the armadillos are the ones that haul money. but I would try to get short routes rather than long big paying routes. Because if one my armadillos breakdown I could end up going bankrupt real early in the game.

[Peach Jelly]

I've been only buying extra garages so that the trucks can just go to the nearest one for repairs and they don't have to go too far.

As for the money trucks, I hardly ever use those. Maybe I just haven't had a map yet that has those sorts of contracts available. They seem to only come from banks. When I buy trucks, I go for the ones that can carry the most since the speed will go up depending on the driver's experience.

I found something handy that's been saving me time: If you double-click a building on the mini map, you'll go there right away instead of panning to it slowly. If you right-click the building on the map, it'll open up its information window.