Posts by Loekie

Dear players,

there has been some confusion about the recent changes for the calculation of the required tonnage in the endgame.

The previous calculation was:

The new calculation is:

These changes lead to an overall shorter endgame and bigger cities being less overpowered.

We made these changes following the majority player feedback about the endgame being too long and bigger cities being unbeatable. We know that there are very different opinions about how long the endgame should be and many among you do not consider a shorter endgame better.

Others however do and the optimal duration strongly depends on individual preferences. And not just the opinions about the endgame duration are different, the endgame duration itself also greatly differs depending on region, activity, coordination, game world and even individual game round. We will keep monitoring endgames and make further adjustments if necessary. However, we want to make clear that, due to very different playstyles, individual preferences and habits, any solution will be a compromise.

The second topic we want to talk about here is the lack of proper communication about this change.

We prepared these changes quite a while ago and waited for a bigger update to bring them to live game worlds. With the recent update for the new shop, the endgame changes went live and, quite honestly, it simply fell through the cracks that this would happen. With the actual development of the changes happening quite a while ago and everyone already working on other topics, no one noticed.

We apologize for this slipup and hope that the info provided above make the changes less confusing.

Your Rail Nation Team

PS:

• The change is active on all game worlds that started after the 20^th of April except PT2 and NL201. On these two game worlds, the consumption is . This will be changed with the next round.

• The required tonnage is currently correctly displayed in the centred window only, not the side screens. This will be fixed in a future version.

Discussion for this topic can be found > here <

FOR THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION PLEASE READ BELOW

Sevgili oyuncular,

1.2.2020'den itibaren Türk Altın Mağazası'nda bazı değişiklikler yapacağız. Türk Lirası ile Euro arasındaki büyük döviz kuru dalgalanmaları nedeniyle, ödeme için Türk Lirası ya da Euro kullanımınıza bağlı olarak değişen altın fiyatlarında zorlayıcı farklarla yüz yüze kalıyoruz. Türk Lirası kullanıldığında altın fiyatlarını yükseltmeyi düşündük fakat istikrarsız döviz kuru nedeniyle bu yükseltme işlemini çok sık yapmak zorunda kalacaktık.

Bu nedenle Türk Lirasını Altın Mağazası'nda geçerli para birimlerinden kaldırma kararı aldık. Böylece altın paketlerinin fiyatlarını sürekli değiştirmek zorunda kalmadan sabit bir fiyattan size sunabileceğiz. Tek istisna, döviz kurunun değişimi nedeniyle fiyatları önemli bir şekilde artırmak zorunda olduğumuz SMS'le olan ödemelerdir.

Anlayışınız için teşekkür ederiz.

Rail Nation Ekibiniz

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Dear players,

starting on the 1.2.2020, we will make a few changes to the Turkish Gold Shop. Due to the heavy fluctuations of the exchange rate between Turkish Liras and the Euro, we were facing drastic differences between gold prices, depending on whether you used Turkish Liras or Euros to pay. We considered increasing the gold prices when using Turkish Liras, but due to the instable exchange rate, we would be forced to do so frequently.

Therefore, we decided to remove Turkish Liras as accepted currency from the Gold shop. This way, we can provide more stable gold packages without frequently adapting prices. The only exception are payments via SMS, where we had to increase the prices significantly, due to the changed exchange rates.

Thank you for your understanding.

Your Rail Nation Team

19 April 2019

Last week, our CEO announced her retirement and the company is now looking for a successor. She was a great leader and did a fantastic job. Her retirement was quite discouraging for many employees. Some of them resigned and I also consider doing the same. I shared my thoughts with some colleagues but surprisingly, instead of confirming my thoughts of quitting, they encourage me to do the opposite. They say I should apply for the CEO position and that they think I'm fit for the role. On the one hand, the thought of being the CEO of a large company like that excites me a lot. On the other, my life will become even more challenging if I do. I'm not sure if it would be the right decision. As far as I know, there's a really tough test I have to pass in order to prove my cognitive abilities. I'm unsure. Should I go for it?

Here is the tough <test> Adam needs to pass. Can you help him? After the test is over we will post the top 10 participants wordwide here in this thread.

Task: Try to answer as many questions as possible in 15 minutes

• For each 10% of correct answers, you will get 1 point (70% correct=7 points)
• Questions that are more difficult than others also have a higher weight
• Only 1 attempt per person. Multiple attempts will lead to disqualification

7 April 2009

Today, mum and dad dropped by for dinner at my apartment. Dad's shop is doing great. We had a nice conversation about the past. Back when I was young, they often criticised my choices but now it feels so good to hear that they're proud of how I've mastered my career path and tough times at university. I told them a bit about my current work at Apex Trains, a leading train operating company. I work in the middle management and I'm highly valued among my co-workers. However, this role is very demanding at times. I have to make fast decisions under high pressure all the time, and small mistakes can result in big losses. It can be really exhausting, and I wonder if I want to be doing this forever. Another stressful situation occurred today, but I think I handled it well.

The plan:

• The express train Jumbo Jupiter with an average travelling speed of 300 km/h was supposed to depart from Stroudford to Hicksburg at 6:30 pm.
• The travelling distance between those two cities is 620 km, without any stops in between.
• Almost all the passengers plan to take a connecting train once they arrive in Hicksburg. This connecting train is also the last train of the day in Hicksburg and it always departs at midnight. The passengers need to arrive in Hicksburg before midnight, otherwise they will be stuck there overnight.

The incident:

• Unfortunately, a part of the Jumbo Jupiter's train engine turned out to be defective, so the train can't start.
• It's important that the passengers arrive before midnight in Hicksburg. If they miss their connecting train in Hicksburg, they'll have to spend the night there and your company will have to cover the costs of hotels. Estimated cost: $30,000

The options:

1. A mechanic is ready to perform an emergency fix. This fix would cause a 4-hour delay and as compensation, the passengers would be reimbursed 50% of the price for their train tickets. Estimated cost: $8,000
2. In the event of a complete cancellation, you'd need to reimburse the full ticket price.
3. Alternatively, the entire motor could be exchanged. This would cause a 90-minute delay, but the estimated cost of the new motor would be $12,000.
4. As the last option, instead of fixing the express train Jumbo Jupiter, you could move the passengers onto a different train. The train Napping Neptune would depart on time (at 6:30 pm), but its speed is only 40% of Jumbo Jupiter's.

What would you decide in this situation and why?

Task: Solve the conflict choosing the best of the 4 options.

• 3 points for the correct answer
• 7 points for the correct explanation

27 November 2002

Sometimes I wonder whether I made the right decision back then. Over the last six years, I became the best mechanic in the company. I had a great boss, a good salary, a secure future and awesome colleagues. I didn't really want to give up all of this, and yet I did. I just feel that this job can no longer teach me anything new, nor is it challenging enough for me.

I remember my old childhood dream of becoming a top manager, but is it worth giving up what I have, only to chase dreams, not knowing whether I'll ever make it anywhere? I don't know, but the decision is made now. And here I am, back with the books again, studying business administration at university. Who knows where this will end. Anyway, I need to focus right now. I'm preparing for my first exam. Let's see if I can solve this exercise:

Excercise:

Imagine you work in the middle management of a mechanical engineering company.

The general manager asked you to present a purchasing plan for machine components for the upcoming year. For the procurement of several machine components, you can choose between three suppliers:

• The supplier 'Mecha-Heads' sells their components for only $20 per unit, but the components have a relatively low durability. Also, after some online research, you find that many customers rated the supplier's punctuality with 3 out of 5 stars.
• The supplier 'Swiss Metal' is quite expensive and sells their components for $60 per unit, but their components have the greatest durability. Customers rate their punctuality with 4 out of 5 stars.
• The supplier 'General Machines' offers components with average durability and their pricing is $40 per unit. Their punctuality is also rated with 4 out of 5 stars.

Your general manager would like to purchase components of great quality that are cheap and are delivered punctually. But if it's not possible to have it all, he'd consider a low price to be twice as important as punctuality, and the quality twice as important as the price.

You have to make a rational decision. Based on this information, which supplier would you choose and why?

Task: Solve the exercise

• 3 points for the correct answer
• 7 points for the correct analysis

13 September 1996

The last two years at school felt really long. But now it's finally over. After so many years of studying, I've made up my mind: I've had enough of books! It's time for me to earn some money and become financially independent. Mum and dad aren't happy with my decision at all! They insist that I sign up for university, but I'm tired of being a financial burden. I need to stand on my own two feet from now on. They asked me to think it over, but I've decided to follow my intuition and already applied for a job as a mechanic. And my first interview went really well! They seem to like me and they've now sent me a mechanical comprehension test to see if I'm suited for the job. I could ask dad for help, but I won't. It was my choice to pursue this path, so I'll handle the difficulties it brings on my own as well.

Mechanical comprehension test:

Q1: Which wire is carrying the most weight?

1. A
2. B
3. No difference
4. Depends on the time of day
   

Q2: Which object will not float on water?

1. Empty plastic bottle
2. Wooden pencil
3. Banana
4. Scissors

Q3: Which way will the boat go through the water?

1. A
2. B
3. It will continue moving unchanged
4. It will slow down but without changing direction

Q4: At which position will the moving pendulum travel the fastest?

1. A
2. B
3. C
4. No difference

Q5: Where is the temperature change highest throughout the day?

1. A
2. B
3. Where both meet
4. No difference

Q6: If cog A turns clockwise by 20 rotations, how will cog B turn?

1. 20 rotations anticlockwise
2. 20 rotations clockwise
3. 10 rotations anticlockwise
4. 10 rotations clockwise

Q7: To balance the bar, how much weight should be positioned on the left side?

1. 25 kg
2. 10 kg
3. 5 kg
4. 2.5 kg

Q8: If block B is moved to the right by 20 cm, by how many centimetres will block A move upwards?

1. 5 cm
2. 10 cm
3. 20÷3 cm
4. 20 cm

Q9: A block slides down an inclined plane with an acceleration of A. If the mass of the block is doubled, how will this affect its acceleration?

1. Acceleration will still be A
2. 2 x A
3. 0.5 x A
4. A²

Q10: If the right plunger is moved down by 5 cm, how much will the left plunger move up?

1. Exactly 5 cm
2. Less than 5 cm
3. More than 5 cm
4. It won't move

Task: Solve the math exercise.

• 1 point for each correct answer

2 May 1994

I can't wait until school is over. Only two more years and I can finally begin a new chapter of my life. Today, dad helped me out with my homework again. This maths exercise was really confusing, but he helped me figure out how to solve it. He's really good with numbers. No wonder he's so successful with his shop. Yesterday, he asked me again if I wanted to take over his shop. I know it'd make him happy, but I have my own plans and dreams. Once I graduate from school, I'm going to become a top manager and create my own business. I can't wait! Time to sleep now. But first I'll review this maths exercise once again, just to make sure I can present the right answers in class tomorrow.

Maths task:

Due to a technical error, two trains were accidently assigned to the same rail track and are now approaching each other. The communication system of both trains is broken and the conductors don't know about the imminent danger they're in.

By the time a supervisor at one of the offices notices the problem, the trains are only 140 km away from each other. The speed of train A is 160 km/h; the speed of train B is 120 km/h.

There's a manual switch that could stop both trains from colliding, but the supervisor is 6,300 metres away from it and he needs to get there first. If he runs at an average speed of 14 km/h, will he be in time to save the trains?

Task: Solve the math exercise.

• 3 points for the correct answer
• 7 points for the correct explanation

Clash! is back!

On the 30^th of August, Clash! will go live again as one of the challenges of this year’s Masters 2 event!

Clash is free for everyone and in a global ranking we will be looking for the best player among you, who will be rewarded with this shiny physical trophy:

And of course, there will be achievements too. You can find more info about that in the Lobby.

You never played Clash! ? No problem. Clash! is a fast, exciting and simple game that can be played against other players in the Lobby. To make sure everyone has time to learn and train, Clash! will be divided in 6 phases. The first phase is just a training phase where you have nothing to lose. In every following phase you will earn more and more points for each match you win. You will be able to play 5 ranked matches per day, so you don’t need to play all day to win. You just need to be the best

Schedule & rules

• You may only participate in Rail Nation: Clash! with one Rail Nation account.
• You can play 5 ranked matches per day
• 30.8. – 5.9.: Training à No points for the ranking yet
• 6.9. – 14.9.: Preliminary round (Basic points à 1^st 6 points, 2^nd 4 points, 3^rd 2 points)
• 15.9. – 21.9.: Doubled Points à 12, 8, 4
• 22.9. – 27.9.: Tripled Points à 18, 12, 6
• 28.9. – 1.10.: Quadrupled Points à 24, 16, 8
• 2.10. – 3.10.: Five-fold Points à 30, 20, 10
• Any attempts to cheat (i.e. trying to win with anything but skill) will lead to disqualification at the end of the tournament.
• In case a BF/Travian employee wins the Clash! tournament, the physical trophy will go to the next best non-employee.
• The general participation conditions for Masters 2 apply. You can find them on the Masters 2 info page in the lobby.

May the best among you win!

Your Rail Nation team

Changelog 4.9.0

New features:

A new newspaper function has been added to the game to present players an overview of the latest content update.

The research tree has been completely reworked and new passenger engines have been added for SoE and Classic scenario. (new rounds only)

Completely reworked the values of current trains and upgrades

The left-aligned / portrait mode messenger has been reworked, so that it offers the same functionality now as the one in centred screen

Performance:

We have implemented a number of performance enhancements both on the client- and the server-side.

• When the new idle screen is active, the FPS will be limited.
• Number of server calls has been reduced to speed up various functions
• Setting a schedule will be faster than before

Bugfixes:

Mobile:

• RN2018-4273Scrollbar now correctly displayed and usable when owning three workers
• RN2018-4369Fixed several text display problems that occurred when entering the Japanese server with a set language other than Japanese
• RN2018-4370, RN2018-4371Fixed several text display problems that occurred, when switching the language from Japanese to English or vice versa
• RN2018-4428Android: Bonus codes can be redeemed via the gold shop page again
• RN2018-4430Plus account can again be purchased from the “more info” page
• RN2018-4506Adjusted behaviour when opening another screen while the train buy screen is open. so that the train buy screen doesn’t crash anymore
• RN2018-4524Servers you never played on will no longer be displayed in your active server list
• RN2018-4616Language selection screen will show up correctly again on all devices
• RN2018-4625Removed the full screen mode button from the app
• RN2018-4627You can no longer get stuck in the options menu when opening it while the tech tree is open
• RN2018-4702Fixed an issue that could crash the app after logging into the game

Lobby:

• RN2018-4478The East-West battle status is displayed again in the server score for USA Express servers