LOGistICAL - Sublime Logistical Strategy Puzzling

I’m steaming some screenshots from the Steam Community here, so hopefully they work. In each case look at the yellow box in the top right of the screen and ignore everything else.

https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/858347889397839565/71F5F52AA05244F9BED1B65FEF1CDB421F1CF74D/

See the 6 on the Car Factory and Truck Factory? That means if those factories produce 6 goods they’ll level up. To make them produce goods, give them input resources, and if their output pile is full, take some goods elsewhere. Also note that the factories are level 0 here, as there’s no stars.

https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/862851459011086166/ED6CCD1BBFCFF7F8FA270A121EC40ED2BC283542/

Here there’s a red star on the quarry, that means it’s level 0 waiting to go to level 1. It needs 6 dynamite. You can tell this because of the flashing dynamite sybmol and the 6 (top left of the quarry – the big 6 in the bottom right means it’s “size 6”)

https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/80343531727857538/4B835F2943D53308C0099D2607B7D6CED6C89A02/

It’s a bit hard to see here, but the cannery needs 100 bricks to go from level 2 to 3 I think it’s size 4? Hard to tell in the screenshot. The size 4 shearing shed is already at level 3, and the size 10 clothes storage is already level 3.

Note that: With level 0->1, you usually need to make the factory produce it’s size in goods (which is also, for level 0, the size of it’s input and output piles*). level 2 -> 3 is usually double it’s current storage size. Not sure about level 1 -> 2, somewhere inbetween? 1.5x? There’s probably numbers on this somewhere but I can’t be bothered finding them.

* though in that first screenshot it isn’t, which clearly means I have no idea what I’m talking about. I think it’s some scale factor of the industry size, level, with each level being capped at 10, 250, 500 respectively?

Wow, thank you so much for all these explanations!
Now I am starting to get it. Also I begin to notice the crates that indicates what I think is the final trigger to a level up (at least in the farming sector I am revolving around right now). Dear, that UI… You weren’t kidding in your earlier posts ;)
I have encountered quite a few glitches in merely an hour of play, but it is so easy to quit and relaunch thanks to the constant saving, that it is hard to hold grudge against the game.

I am shocked at how quickly time passes as I am just tooling around in this. All of a sudden I’ve been playing for three hours and it feels like I’ve been on for no time at all. I have a question regarding one of the earlier quests you get to start up the steel mill, the iron ore is probably a long way away isn’t it? As all I can see currently are two storage locations for it on my map, both of which are empty. This is some sort of longer term goal isn’t it?

Yeah, there’s a town with an iron mine to the west. Leumeah. Only way I found it was searching the Steam forums.

Also thanks for that amazing post, Pod.

@Pod, I think tried to unpause and the game didn’t respond.

I meant to say this days ago, but thanks for the suggestions!

I’ve gone ahead and refunded the game for now – there’s something fairly broken with my computer that I’m not going to bother messing with. I tried loading the event logger to see if there were any system-level error messages associated with LOGistICAL and it failed with several messages about MMC plugins not working. A reinstall of Windows seems to be indicated, but it limps along well enough for everything else I do with it.

Since no one else in this thread or the Steam forums has run into the problem I have, I don’t want to waste the dev’s time on one $10 sale. Tying this to the $1 indie game thread, I’m costing him more money than it’s worth to fix it.

It’s west of Sydney. If you can find Liverpool, it’s on the road south of that.

Use Google maps?

Thanks @Pod. So here is my map:

Edit: seconds after I posted this, all those towns filled in on my map. So that’s nice, but um… this game can be pretty frustrating when you have no idea how you’re supposed to unlock stuff and then it just randomly happens.

There’s Woolahra, on the right. There’s no roads that go there. Darlinghurst isn’t even a town, I can’t click on it. Is something going to make those magically appear? Because I’m at the point where solving any more towns is going to take hours of moving stuff back and forth with my two crappy trucks. I must be missing something?

Roads to towns appear as you drive closer to the edge of your current map, so in that example Josh, just send one of your trucks out to Darlinghurst and a whole section of the map will be uncovered. At least I think that is what is going on. I have saved my little tuk-tuk for fog of war clearing.

This is the 2nd time I’ve had trouble pausing the game (because I needed to google to see how to do something in game) and then having the game get unresponsive so I can’t unpause the game. I have 2.4 hours played - not sure if I am still in the return window or not so I’m hesitant to fire it up to keep that option open.

As far as the game itself… I don’t dislike it. It has a certain draw to it but at least this far into it the game is a bit simplistic because it has been obvious what I needed to do. For example, I need to deliver resource X to finish a town, but the town uses it up faster than the industry produces it. So, I know I need to upgrade that industry so I can make faster deliveries. I do so and complete the original town. Does the game become a little less obvious as you progress through the game? I’m not sure just needing to do that with more resources will be enough to make it more interesting.

In this respect it feels similar to the latest Anno 2205. It was always so obvious what the player needs to build, to the point that it wasn’t very interesting. Logistical almost seems to have the approach of a clicker game but has the player at least do something more interesting than clicking. As I said, I don’t dislike it at this point and there is something satisfying about completing a city, but unless it really requires more thinking to solve the problems as the game progresses I might rather just return it.

What do you think?

PS - My original problem is that I can’t seem to deliver an Ute to a city so I can get a dumptruck. I’ve had an Ute enter the city to make a delivery, but that didn’t seem to register as delivering an Ute. Is there a way to send it to a city without making a delivery?

I personally hope the game doesn’t get more complicated: I enjoy it tremendously for its relaxed nature. It gives me the sort of same simple pleasure as Picross games, I’d say, with the same sense of achievements each time a city is “ticked”.
I find the chain of resource aspect you describe lovely: it’s actually my favorite aspect of those casual time management games some people hold in contempt, without the stress of time! And looking at the trucks is mesmerizing, somewhat.

If only it could be less glitchy… and boy, that UI!

rob, you can drag an empty truck onto the city. beware, he wants a good ute before he will trade with you.

PS: damm you brian rubin

I know it’s all a matter of opinion and not a matter of “this game is bad”. I don’t need every game to be super complex, but I think I need to feel like I’m at least figuring something out instead of just doing tasks from a checklist. I don’t think I’m been a fan of simple time management games. But that’s OK. Not every game is for every person. I can’t play point and click adventures anymore even though I used to love them.

Thanks deanco!

I AM FUELED BY YOUR HATRED.

Seriously it’s like my morning coffee.

So I’ve written a pretty extensive newbie guide for this goddamn game.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=954485217.

Thanks to you guys I bought this, and have been loving it. But now Ive been hit with the endless Restart Timer message which has apparently resulted in a corrupt save game file. Has anyone else here experienced this? I noticed several people on the Steam Forums had this problem, but there doesnt seem to be a solution. As much fun as it is I don’t think I can stomach starting over (Even though I only have 48 towns done) knowing that it may just stop working again. Any ideas are appreciated.

Oh no, I’ve no idea why that happened! Hopefully the dev can help!

This is great, thank you! I couldn’t quite figure out when I would really need storage facilities, but road restrictions makes that make more sense. Also, I hadn’t dug in to see if upgraded industries use inputs faster, slower, or the same, so it’s good to verify that they’re more efficient.

I feel like it was almost just luck that got me over the learning curve of the game to find the fun. I can see this deterring a lot of people, but there is definitely something magic in this messy little game.

Yes, sorry I didn’t chime in earlier, but this is awesome. I’m so glad you’re not only enjoying the game, but felt compelled to write this amazing guide.