Display - [RBP Help Contents]

The "display" is the main RBP game window.

MAP BOX

The majority of the display is occupied by the map box. It is here that RRs are displayed and trains are moved during play. To adjust the size of the map box, drag the resize icon found near its lower-left corner. Other aspects of the map display, such as text font, can be adjusted to suit your preferences via the Display Settings window.

HISTORY BOX

Beneath the map is the scrollable history box. It records the events of a match.

RR LIST

At the left of the map is the RR List; it shows the names of the railroads on the map. Click on a RR to highlight it on the map; use Ctrl+click to highlight combinations At the start of a match, the RR List is automatically replaced by the Player Stats box, but may be restored by clicking the RRs/Players button.

PLAYER STATS

At the start of a game, the RR List is replaced by the Player Stats box. The Player Stats box lists the players in order of net worth. The listing for each player resembles:

.....(engine image) (avatar image)

.....PM

.....Magenta

..... A 20 to *New York

..... +$16.0 = $35.0

..... 22 Home: Dallas

(engine image) depicts the player's engine type, either Standard, Express or Superchief. Click to zoom the map to the location of the engine. An asterisk overlaid indicates the player has no friendly RRs at his current location. If the map lacks engine icons, instead RBP will display the text "Eng:" followed by the name of the type of locomotive.

(avatar image) depicts the type of player, such as human (top hat) or computer AI (historic rail baron picture). You can customize your avatar image via the Display Settings window.

PM (shown for local human players). Click on this line to display/edit a personal message that can act as a reminder to yourself. Such messages are not visible to your opponents.

"Magenta" is the player's name. Click on this line to easily highlight the player's current RR network on the map; unowned RRs will be displayed as well so you can observe which the player needs most.

"A 20 to *New York" means this player is 20 dots from arrival at his next destination, New York, via the route RBP expects the player to take. The letter A, when present, indicates automove is engaged. The player may, of course, choose a different route. In some situations, RBP will not know the anticipated route, in which case the distance estimate will not be shown. An asterisk (*) before the destination name indicates the player has no friendly RRs that serve that destination. B+ is shown when the player has arrived at the destination with a bonus roll pending (the so-called "bounce out"); if the size of that bonus is already known, its value will be shown instead of the + sign. Click to zoom the map to the destination listed.

"+$16.0 = $35.0" is the player's cash level if he were to arrive now. In this example, upon arriving in New York, Magenta will collect a $16,000 payoff and will have a cash total of $35,000. Note that the cash total is only approximate because RBP does not estimate the RR use fees that will be incurred along the way, nor the amount that might be collected from other players via RR use fees. If you have opted to keep cash levels secret, this line will read "Get $16,000" (i.e. it will show only how much the player will collect). Click to zoom to the departure location.

"22 Home: Dallas" is the player's home: the location to which he must return with sufficient cash to win the game. When a number is included, in this case 22, it is the minimum number of dots between the player's next destination (in this case, New York) and home. During the end game this helps you quickly determine if the player can declare with minimal risk of being rovered. Click to zoom the map to the location listed.

The text of a player's information is italicized if the player can declare, underscored if he is presently declared, or struckthrough if he is bankrupt. Mouse over the info for some details below.

The Player Stats box can be hidden (thereby making the RR list reappear) by disabling it via the Display Settings window, or by clicking on the RR/Players button.

CASH BOX

Near the bottom left corner of the display is the cash box. It shows the current cash level for each active player. Players are listed in turn order; the name of the current player is underlined. The Cash Box can be hidden by double clicking on it. When you enable the "Keep cash secret" check box on the Program Settings window, multiple dollar signs will show the approximate cash levels of the players.

Left click on a player's name in the Cash box to scroll to that player's information in the Player Stats and highlight his network on the map. If you find the text in the Cash box too difficult to read, right click on it to reverse its background color.

The Cash Box can share its area with the Thumbnail mini-map. To toggle between the two click in the area above the Cash Box / Thumbnail and below the Player Stats.

After at least one player has received a track use fee, on the right side of the cash box RBP will display color bars whose length depicts the amount of those payments incoming from each opponent. The most recent such payment received by each player within the most recent two rounds is also shown (in thousands) via digits, in the color of the opponent who paid. The longest bar shows at a glance who has paid whom the most. If you do not wish to see this data, make the cash box narrower by dragging sufficiently to the left the symbol above the upper-right corner of the cash box.

THUMBNAIL

The Thumbnail "mini-map" blinks city and train locations plus facilitates zooming into the main map. You can reposition the thumbnail into any corner of the main map, or share the area with the Cash Box, or place it to the right of the Cash Box. To reposition the Thumbnail, right click upon it then drag and drop it near one of the aforementioned locations. Alternatively, instead of drag and drop, you can reposition (and resize) it via a dropdown menu in the Display Settings window. There you will be given a chance to resize the thumbnail if from the dropdown list you choose one of the six top/bottom left/right choices. Do not select the UHD choices unless your display resolution is so wide the main map box does not fill it.

To zoom to an area click or double-click on the Thumbnail map, or then rotate the mouse wheel upon it. To scroll the main map, drag the Thumbnail's viewport via its upper left corner.

BANTER BOX

During Play by Email matches, a separate box for player conversation appears. Left click to view a long message, right click to add a message. Adjust the width of the box by dragging the separator between the History and Banter boxes.