Re: [Rails-devel] Playtest report of 1837 under Rails 2.0.beta3

[Dr. M. B. <dr....@t-...>]

Hi John,

first of all thank you for your test and the great feedback.
Secondly i have to apologize for answering that late.

Please find my comments down below.
Am 01.08.15 um 22:32 schrieb John David Galt:
> Playtest report of 1837 under Rails 2.0.beta3 on 2015-08-01. jdg
>
> 1. After filling in the first three players' names, using the mouse to
> select the blank for player 4 doesn't work.  I can get there by hitting
> Tab, but not by using the mouse.

Seems to be an UI problem, perhaps Stefan knows something there.
>
> 2. The map looks correct except for some cosmetic problems.
>
> a) There is NO visual indication of Italy (marked off by a red line in
> Lonny Orgler's version of the printed map), which becomes off limits
> when a 4-train is purchased.
I intend to place a "real map" in the background. This map should show 
the border. Currently i dont know or rathter the mechanismn to mark 
overlays on the current system is unknown to me :(
>
> I suggest showing it by making those hexes a little darker than the
> usual starting pale-green color (say RGB 62,193,118).  I would also make
> Bosnia a lighter shade of yellow so as to avoid giving the impression
> that green tiles are to be laid there (as in the Erie and B&O home hexes
> in 1830).
Since those map is generated from normal tiles, i would have to generate 
additional tiles with different colours just for the background map. 
Thats time consuming for a cosmetical fix.

> b) Coal company start hexes show a "dit" (sometimes badly drawn) but do
> not show either their company name or run value (until the company is
> purchased; then a black "token" is placed).  The run values are
> adequately displayed as tooltips (though in the case of ZKB they forgot
> to mention the 10K dit in the same hex!), but I'd like to preprint a
> black square "mine" on each one (probably using a graphical overlay),
> and not show "tokens" for them at all.
Nice idea if i would know or someone else can tell me to put overlays 
there i would be willing to do this since this is necessary info imo.

> c) All company start spaces except S5 are labeled on the map even though
> it means that "Sd" clobbers "S1", "KK" clobbers "K1", and "Ug" clobbers
> "U1".  1835 has this problem too.  I'd like to have an option in Rails's
> game definition XML to turn off these labels for individual companies or
> hexes.
Since S5 has two start hexes that are determined by the player this is a 
dynamic info that should be handled by overlays also. See problems above 
:) I agree with you about the clobbering of the map. Game definition 
might be a good way but this might lead to a major effort for all other 
games also.

> d) The token (and share chart) color for coal companies should be white,
> and for CL should be black (they are reversed).  The lettering for BK
> should be white (because of its dark background color) and for MS, SB,
> and TH should be black (because of their light background colors).

Will try to correct that.
> 3. The square stock chart is what I expected (though I'd like to try
> fixing that as a cosmetic feature for this specific game later).
> However, the Game Status window ought to show the fixed par prices of
> Sd, KK, and Ug right away (and similarly in other games where some
> companies have fixed par prices, even when those shares aren't available
> right after the start round, as they will be in 1837).
Dont know if we have the mechansimn currently in place will investigate.

> 4. The "info" hover-buttons on the Start Round window do reveal which
> private companies come with minor companies, but only if you know how to
> read the XML object names.  I think it would be clearer if the buttons
> in the Item column actually said, for example, "SmB+S1" rather than just
> "SmB".  This goes for all games where two certificates are sold or
> auctioned together.
>
> 5. The mechanism for reducing prices for the next purchase if everyone
> passes during a start round works correctly -- up to the point where the
> prices of some of the items available reach zero.
>
> The save-game file "1837_20150801_2003_Kermit.rails" demonstrates this
> problem.  Everyone passed consecutively starting with John and ending
> with Kermit, multiple times through.
>
> What actually happened then (from the Game Report window) is:
>
>      (**)Kermit passes.
>      All players have passed.
>      Price of EKT is now reduced to 0K
>      Price of AB is now reduced to 85K
>      Price of ZKB is now reduced to 0K
>      Kermit buys EKT for 0K
>      EKT floats and receives 100K
>
>      And it is still Kermit's turn -- with AB and ZKB available for their
> reduced prices! (but EOD is at its normal price of 100).
>
> What SHOULD have happened is this:
>
>      (**)Kermit passes.
>      All players have passed.
>      Price of EKT is now reduced to 0K
>      Price of AB is now reduced to 85K
>      Price of ZKB is now reduced to 0K
>
>      Now it becomes John's turn.
>      Pass is grayed out, forcing John to buy one of the three companies
> on offer (AB for 85, or EKT or ZKB for free).  Once he does so, all
> prices return to normal, Pass is re-enabled, and it becomes Kent's turn.
Isnt he forced to buy the first one on display thats zero ? (i fixed the 
behaviour now that he will buy the first unsold company with a zero price.)


> 6. When the "first start packet" is sold out, a second one (K1 through
> K3) pops up and becomes available.  However, once all players have too
> little money to buy from that second start packet, the start round ends
> and -- the game hangs.
>
>     The second save file, "1837_20150801_2021_John.rails", is at this point.
>
>     What SHOULD happen next is an operating round.  Only the first start
> packet is required to sell out before operating rounds can begin.
>
I am gonna check and correct that behaviour next.


Thanks again,

btw. if you want to jump in, the current 1837 development branch is 
labeled mbr_2_develop_1837.


Feel free to either send me code or to build your own branch from where 
i can merge your code into mine and Stefan later on merges into the main 
development branch.

regards
Martin