What the use of trains?

[Darkreaver1980]

I just wonder for what trains should be used after they fix them?

Currently i can just daisy chain 2-3 drone hubs and place an universal depot on each for the same effect?

Also you still need to bring all building materials to the second railroad station. The same as if i would build a drone station?!

Also why would you use trains when you can have flying shuttles?

Can someon list specific uses that trains would do much better?

[flymar]

I always use the Chaos Theory. Right now I have access to trains and not for shuttles. I see stations are better than ubiversal hubs so yea it works like faster drones, and to get passengers to farther excavators.

[Darkreaver1980]

Originally posted by flymar:

I always use the Chaos Theory. Right now I have access to trains and not for shuttles. I see stations are better than ubiversal hubs so yea it works like faster drones, and to get passengers to farther excavators.

so you just pop down a train station next to a metal extractor and all will work?

[flymar]

I have no idea:) I never bought Maritan Express and when I played in Relauched they do not work at all:D

[Draig]

Shuttles are the best, but expensive. You can get trains up and running early on, and they can get your people from one dome to another quickly as well as materials, and for outlying resources you can put a station down in range of the extractor and people will get the train there to work without the need of a dome. It's satisfying when they work . Right now they don't - hotfix broke them - so waiting on them to fix it

[Redsnapper77]

i cant even use trains. i build 2 stations+rails and train, but i cant place train on rail ... gg

back to topic - i think its a maintanance issue?!

[Bored Peon]

Trains can be used to transport people to and from a job. The colonists will work any job within the train workspace.

For example some people used to use them to go out to the outdoors farms. The most common use would be to mine an area rather than set p a dome and everything else.

They can transport resources back and forth between stations. Which on a higher difficulty they can be more dependable that shuttles because they are immune to the dust storms which can last 2-7 sols. Shuttles can also end up restacking fuel from one depot to another.

A train track also would not require a string of drone hubs as a daisy chain does. However you want a RC Commander and RC Transport in case a track needs fixing outside of drone hub range, as tracks can be hit by meteors.

There is also some flexibility as well, like the double track station, you could use one track just for passengers and the other just for resources. This would help prevent colonists from being stranded and taking comfort penalties for missing the train.

They used to be great for underground because the old version allowed transport of water and air. However they still have their use underground because you could use them to get people and resources from the elevators to the larger caverns.

[Bored Peon]

Originally posted by Redsnapper77:

i cant even use trains. i build 2 stations+rails and train, but i cant place train on rail ... gg

back to topic - i think its a maintanance issue?!

Friday's hotfix broke them, there is supposed to be a hotfix today for them.

[Half Phased]

Moving bulk resources between domes.

Food for example is a good one, if you have a farming dome (lots of farms and a water reclamation spire), moving the food out from that dome can require an RC transport or a lot of shuttles on food duty. A train loop visiting all your domes will automatically keep every dome stocked up on food, even during a dust storm.

Similarly, moving large amounts of metals and rare metals from extractors to your manufacturing dome(s). And moving the finished products away.

As others have said, getting colonists to out-dome workplaces. Extractors are the obvious choice, but this could be polymer factories or fusion reactors. Just make sure the work places are in the stations zone of work.

[Veskel]

Does anyone know the current cost of building railways in Surviving Mars: Relaunched? In the original game, it felt unbalanced. Early on, station costs were way too high compared to just putting a Microdome near the resource, and later, shuttles were just more flexible anyway.

Has this been improved in the Relaunched version?

[Darkreaver1980]

Originally posted by Veskel:

Does anyone know the current cost of building railways in Surviving Mars: Relaunched? In the original game, it felt unbalanced. Early on, station costs were way too high compared to just putting a Microdome near the resource, and later, shuttles were just more flexible anyway.

Has this been improved in the Relaunched version?

Train station is 10 iron and 5 machine parts. So its kinda okish

[Veskel]

Originally posted by Darkreaver1980:

Originally posted by Veskel:

(...)
Train station is 10 iron and 5 machine parts. So its kinda okish

Thanks! Do you happen to know:

• How much the tracks cost—does it still take hundreds of cement?
  
• How much a train costs?
  
• Do you still need to power the station on the other side for the train to run?
  
• Do the tracks supply power to the other side?

How does track reconstruction work now—do you still have to remove EVERYTHING to move a section?

[Bored Peon]

Originally posted by Darkreaver1980:

Thanks! Do you happen to know:

• How much the tracks cost—does it still take hundreds of cement?
  
• How much a train costs?
  
• Do you still need to power the station on the other side for the train to run?
  
• Do the tracks supply power to the other side?

How does track reconstruction work now—do you still have to remove EVERYTHING to move a section?

Tracks are built easier now.
I think it is .2 cement per section.
You build the tracks similar to landscaping (only need access and they do it all.)
Trains are 5 metal and 1 computer each.
Stations are like 30 metal and 15 gears for the large one.
Power is required at both ends (I usually grab a sterling prefab with a pod)
Tracks do not supply power, neither do the tunnels (unlike the rover tunnels.)

I have not yet edited an existing track, but building tracks is simple enough it would be a big deal to rebuild (unless it had lots of curves. I would assume an edit deletes it all because when building the tracks you can easily delete the entire length, even though to plan sectional. Kinda like the way pipes are, if you delete a planned section it can eat another planned section.

[adobo]

Tracks seems to build the whole thing from one end so the only thing you need to bring resource for is the station at the end. Hope they fix it soon, I really wanted to do a multi dome economy from the start without doing weird drone chains or rely on rushing drone hubs to transport people.

[Ketamarine]

Originally posted by Bored Peon:

Trains can be used to transport people to and from a job. The colonists will work any job within the train workspace.

For example some people used to use them to go out to the outdoors farms. The most common use would be to mine an area rather than set p a dome and everything else.

They can transport resources back and forth between stations. Which on a higher difficulty they can be more dependable that shuttles because they are immune to the dust storms which can last 2-7 sols. Shuttles can also end up restacking fuel from one depot to another.

A train track also would not require a string of drone hubs as a daisy chain does. However you want a RC Commander and RC Transport in case a track needs fixing outside of drone hub range, as tracks can be hit by meteors.

There is also some flexibility as well, like the double track station, you could use one track just for passengers and the other just for resources. This would help prevent colonists from being stranded and taking comfort penalties for missing the train.

They used to be great for underground because the old version allowed transport of water and air. However they still have their use underground because you could use them to get people and resources from the elevators to the larger caverns.

Have never tried them as i didn't buy the widely panned martian express DLC.

Just to confirm, I should be able to do the following:
- Build a track and station far from my drone coverage using drone truck and transport loaded with the required materials
- Never connect the drone network at the far end
- Build a dome or just some mines or whatever
- Colonists will take train to work site
- OR between domes as they see fit

Do train tracks transport water, O2 and power?

[Bored Peon]

Originally posted by Ketamarine:

Just to confirm, I should be able to do the following:
- Build a track and station far from my drone coverage using drone truck and transport loaded with the required materials
- Never connect the drone network at the far end
- Build a dome or just some mines or whatever
- Colonists will take train to work site
- OR between domes as they see fit

Yeah put a Station A within the workspace of your "mining dome."
Put Station B near enough to some metals or rare metal to allow you to build extractors.
Passengers will then use the train to go back and forth while living in that dome.
The trains will also bring those resource back to your dome area.

Originally posted by Ketamarine:

Do train tracks transport water, O2 and power?

Not anymore, they did in the last version of the game.
They are not necessary for workers around the station because it is just considered "working outside the dome."