User talk:TW George
| TW George | |
|---|---|
| Region: Varmint Valley | |
| Minimum Rank: | Lord/Lady |
| Travel Requirement: | Calm Clearing Map Piece |
| Required Power Type: | Law |
| Number of Mice: | 31 |
| Shops: | Charm Shoppe Cheese Shoppe Trapsmith |
| Lose Gold: | No |
| Lose Points: | No |
| Lose Cheese: | No |
| Release Date: | 26 September 2013 |
| The railroad's come to town! Board the Gnawnian Express and get set for high adventure in the Old West! Guard the supplies and protect the train to ensure its safe arrival on its perilous journey across Gnawnia! | |
Overview
The Gnawnian Express Station is a location in the Varmint Valley region requiring a minimum rank of Lord/Lady and the Whisker Woods Clearing Map Piece to enter. Mice are unable to steal a Hunter's supplies in the Gnawnian Express Station.
Law weapons are required to capture the mice found in this location.
In the Gnawnian Express Station, Hunters can board trains and defend them as they travel through 3 stages: Supply Depot, Raider River, and Daredevil Canyon. When not aboard a train, Hunters are in the Train Station.
Each stage of the train requires a different strategy and has weapons and charms that provide special effects. Mice in each section vary and provide specific loot drops required for obtaining the weapons that provide special effects in the Gnawnian Express Station. Each phase of the train has the same duration, equal to 1/3 of the total Trip Time.
Hunters can earn points by completing certain tasks during each phase of the train. Rewards given to Hunters are dependant upon the points earned by Hunters and their team and by the collective points earned by all teams aboard a train.
The Gnawnian Express Station requires more interaction from Hunters than many other locations. Each phase has specific weapons and charms necessary to take full advantage of the area, requiring Hunters to actively manage these items while aboard a train. Acquiring Royal Supply Crates, Raider-B-Gone Mouse Repellent, and Fuel Nuggets as loot does not aid the team's score unless the Hunter choose to submit them through the HUD.
Trains use the same game mechanic as Tournaments. Therefore, Hunters may not be in a Tournament at the same time they are aboard a train. This also means that Hunters are limited to scheduling no more than 3 trains or Tournaments at any time.
Heads-Up Display
The HUD in the Gnawnian Express Station changes based on the Hunter's status aboard a train.
Train Station
While in the Train Station but not aboard a train, Hunters can review available train departures and manage scheduled train rides.
| Gnawnian Express -- Train Departures |
Refresh | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Departs In |
Name |
Trip Time |
Team Members |
Passengers |
Action | ||
| [Hours]:[Minutes] |
Train Name |
[X] Hours |
[X]/5 |
[X]/500 |
Invite Team |
Invite Friends |
Board/Leave |
- Refresh: Allows Hunters to refresh the list of available trains
- Departs In: Trains leave on a regular basis and the schedule shows departures for the next 24 hours.
- Name: The name of the train that Hunters can board
- Trip Time: The length of the trip. Trains generally run on 6 hour, 12 hour, and 24 hour trips. Longer trips are occasionally scheduled.
- Team Members: The number of members from the Hunter's Hunting Team that are signed up to board the train. Only 5 members from a Hunting Team may join each train.
- Passengers: The total number of Hunters signed up to board the train. Each train is limited to carrying 500 Hunters.
- Action: Hunters can board or leave a train and invite Hunting Team members and friends to board the same train.
Aboard a Train
The HUD while aboard a train has two sections. The upper section shows information about the train and its progress and is visible regardless of the train stage or the Hunter's current location in the Kingdom. Information shown on the lower section varies based on the current stage of the train.
Upper HUD Section
| Now At: [Train Stage] |
Time Left: [Hours]:[Minutes] |
Progress |
Train Points [X]/[Y] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passenger: 50% |
Engineer: 75% |
Conductor: 90% |
Tycoon: 100% | |||
- Current location of the train.
- Time remaining for current stage.
- Progress toward the combined points goal for the train. Flags mark the 50%, 75%, 90% and 100% marks, which determine the rewards earned by Hunters.
- Train points: Hovering over this section reveals the points earned by all Hunters for each stage, [X], and the total number of points required to reach Tycoon status, [Y]:
- Total points for [Train Name]:
- Supply Depot: [X]
- Raider River: [X]
- Daredevil Canyon: [X]
- Train goal: [Y]
Supply Depot HUD Section
"Catch mice carrying Royal Supply Crates and load them onto the train!"
"For even more supplies, equip Supply Schedule Charms and hunt for Warehouse Manager mice to a trigger a Supply Rush, releasing Supply Hoarder mice!"
This HUD section shows the following information:
- The Hunter's inventory of Supply Schedule Charms. Theses charms can be armed/disarmed through the HUD.
- The Hunter's inventory of Royal Supply Crates. Hunters can load Royal Supply Crates through the HUD, earning points toward the team and train goals.
- The amount of points the Hunter's Team has earned.
Raider River HUD Section
"Defeat the waves of raiders!"
"Earn Train Points for catch raiding mice and bonus points for defeating a wave! Raider waves are endless, so try to push back as many as you can!"
"Some mice drop Raider-B-Gone Mouse Repellent, which helps scare mice away faster!"
This HUD section shows the following information:
- The Hunter's inventory of Roof Rack Charms. Theses charms can be armed/disarmed through the HUD. Use when Raider mice are attacking the roof of the train.
- The Hunter's inventory of Door Guard Charms. Theses charms can be armed/disarmed through the HUD. Use when Raider mice are attacking the doors of the train.
- The Hunter's inventory of Greasy Glob Charms. Theses charms can be armed/disarmed through the HUD. Use when Raider mice are attacking the wheels of the train.
- The section of the train being attacked (roof, door, or wheels) is highlighted. The section being attacked determines which charms Hunters should arm.
- The number of Raiders left in a wave. A wave is defeated by earning 10 points.
- The number of waves defeated. Each defeated wave earns the Hunter's team a bonus of 10 additional points.
- The Hunter's inventory of Raider-B-Gone Mouse Repellent. Hunters can use their supply of Repellent from the HUD.
- The amount of points the Hunter's Team has earned.
Daredevil Canyon HUD Section
"Use Fuel Nuggets to speed up the train!"
"The bridge is out! The train will safely clear the gap, but better build up some speed to be certain!"
"Collect Fuel Nuggets and toss them into the train engine to build up speed. The more nuggets you toss in at once, the bigger the speed boost and points will be!"
"There is no speed limit! The only limit is your mind.
This HUD section shows the following information:
- The Hunter's inventory of Dusty Coal Charms. Theses charms can be armed/disarmed through the HUD. Required to attract the Coal Shoveller Mouse.
- The Hunter's inventory of Black Powder Charms. Theses charms can be armed/disarmed through the HUD. Required to attract the Black Powder Thief Mouse.
- The Hunter's inventory of Magmatic Crystal Charms. Theses charms can be armed/disarmed through the HUD. Required to attract the Magmatic Crystal Thief Mouse and Magmatic Golem Mouse.
- The number of Fuel Nuggets in the Hunter's inventor. The HUD allows Hunters to use their supply of Fuel Nuggets to stoke the engine.
- The current state of the train engine
- The total number of Fuel Points Hunters have earned through stoking the engine.
- The amount of points the Hunter's Team has earned.
Hunting Outside Gnawnian Express Station
While hunting in areas other than the Gnawnian Express Station, Hunters who have boarded a train will see the upper portion of the HUD and will be able to track the current stage and progress of the train.
Hunters are also presented with the following warning in the lower section of the HUD:
- You're away from the train!
- Come back as soon as you can to help support your fellow hunters!
Gnawnian Express Station Mice
Hunting Strategy
While hunting in the Gnawnian Express Station, a hunter may board a train, if the hunter is a member of a Hunting Team. Trains run according to a schedule, and each train has its own name, duration and maximum capacity. A team can have up to 5 members aboard a single train.
Hunting on a train is similar to doing a tournament, apart from the fact that it is collaborative rather than competitive, and the fact that there is no tournament horn, so that a hunter can be brought along for a friend's hunt even if the friend is not on the train. The goal is to collect a target amount of Train Points throughout the journey, and hunters will be awarded loot according to both their own team's performance as well as the performances of all the teams combined. The community goal is determined by the rate of 2 points per hour per registered hunter (so a train holding 75 hunters for 24 hours has a target of 3600 points). There is a limit of 100 teams participating on a train (for example, if a 24 hour train holds 150 passengers, but filled up to 100 teams with only 135 players, the goal is 6480, not 7200). Once the community goal is set, then each team goal is determined by the number of teams registered (if the community goal is 3600 and there are 50 teams registered, then each team is responsible for 72 points towards the community goal, regardless of whether there is 1 or 5 players from the team riding the train).
There is an interesting effect from how the points are assigned - if every team participating has a full component of 5 players, then fewer teams can register for the train, and the team's goal will be higher than if only one or two hunters per team register but get more teams involved. On the other hand, meeting the team goal requires less effort from each team member if multiple teammates are on the same train, in part because the progress towards higher-point accomplishments are shared across the team.
Hunting on a Train
A train journey has three phases, namely the Supply Depot, the Raider River and the Daredevil Canyon. Each phase requires a unique hunting strategy, and has different mice.
Supply Depot
When the journey begins, the following message will appear on the journal.
- The journey begins!
- The Train has embarked on its epic journey along the Gnawnian Express Railway! We must work together as MouseHunters to protect it until it reaches its destination!
- First stop is the Supply Depot to gather supplies for the train that are to be delivered to parts of Gnawnia!
- If I smuggled any items with me from the last train, I will be able to use them now!
The following hint is displayed when hovering over the Heads-up Display:
- Catch mice carrying Royal Supply Crates and load them onto the train!
- For even more supplies, equip Supply Schedule Charms and hunt for Warehouse Manager mice to a trigger a Supply Rush, releasing Supply Hoarder mice!
Hunting with Supply Schedule Charms armed will allow a hunter to attract a Warehouse Manager Mouse. Upon capturing it, the following message is displayed, and for the next five hunts, every hunter in the team will be able to attract Supply Hoarders (if more than one teammate is on the same train, then every team member gets the five hunts, and not just the one that triggered the rush).
- Caught a big one!
- Hunter caught a Warehouse Manager Mouse! Supply Hoarder mice will be scrambling out in the open for 5 turns! Supply Hoarder mice carry up to twice as many supplies as the Warehouse Manager Mouse, so I should catch them while I can!
When the Supply Rush ends, the following message appears in the journal:
- Time's up!
- The Supply Hoarder mice have crawled back into hiding. My team and I should try to catch another Warehouse Manager Mouse to flush them out again!
Mice in this phase drop Royal Supply Crates. While tournaments normally ignore mice caught on trap checks, the points in this phase come from loading crates rather than catching mice, so it is beneficial to hunt during trap checks. Loading these crates onto the train (by clicking a button on the Heads-up Display) will give the team Train Points, and display the following message on the journal.
- I wish I had a forklift!
- I loaded X Royal Supply Crates onto the train, earning X Train Points!
Hunters also collect Iron Pellets during this phase. Up to 10 Royal Supply Crates not loaded onto the train at the end of this stage can be smuggled onto the next train, as long as the hunter rides this train to completion; any crates beyond 10 that were not loaded will be lost.
Raider River
Upon entering the Raider River, the following message is displayed on the journal (the last line appearing only if something was actually smuggled):
- The train picks up some speed and starts to chug along!
- Laden down with supplies, the Train is a tempting target for raiding mice! A wave of 10 Raiders are swarming the train, trying to smash their way inside! My team and I should equip the right charm to attract and capture these raiders!
- There is an endless number of waves and defeating a wave will earn my team and the train extra points. We should try to defeat as many waves as possible!
- The mice are also launching automated attacks during our hourly trap checks. Special robotic mice will always take the place of normal mice during trap checks, but they can also be encountered during normal hunts. They drop special mouse repellent that can aid us in depleting the raiding mice waves faster!
- I was able to smuggle X Royal Supply Crates with me.
The following hint is displayed when hovering over the Heads-up Display:
- Defeat the waves of raiders!
- Earn Train Points for catch raiding mice and bonus points for defeating a wave! Raider waves are endless, so try to push back as many as you can!
- Some mice drop Raider-B-Gone Mouse Repellent, which helps scare mice away faster!
In this phase, hunters need to defeat waves of Raider mice. During a Trap Check, any mouse encountered is guaranteed to be one of the Automice, for all other hunts, a Raider or Automice encounter is possible regardless of charms, although the right charm increases the chance of a Raider and is required to attract the Dangerous Duo worth 2 points instead of 1. Raiders only attack one part of the train, the roof, door, or wheels, at a time, and the part being attacked will be indicated on the HUD. The part being attacked changes every hour, on the hour. To attract more Raider mice, hunters will need to arm Roof Rack Charms, Door Guard Charms, or Greasy Glob Charms, depending on the part being attacked.
Upon collecting 10 points to defeat a wave, the team will be awarded an extra 10 Train Points, and the following message will be displayed.
- My team broke through the wave!
- Our victory earned the train an additional 10 Train Points! But there's no time to celebrate, as another wave of 10 Raiders is already clambering onto the train!
Automice have a chance of dropping Raider-B-Gone Mouse Repellent. While tournaments normally ignore mice caught on trap checks, the fact that no Raider mice will be attracted on a trap check, and that Repellent is worth a point when the hunter uses it (by clicking a button in the Heads-up Display), means that hunting during trap checks is beneficial. Each Repellent used will decrease the wave count by 1, and is accompanied by the following message.
- The piercing blast of the Raider-B-Gone Mouse Repellent scared away X Raiders, earning X Train Points!
Actions worth more points than mice remaining in the current wave are not wasted (catching a Dangerous Duo or using multiple Repellent in one click); the next wave just starts with the appropriate number of mice already defeated. Hunters also collect Copper Beads during this phase. Up to 10 unused Raider-B-Gone Mouse Repellents can be smuggled onto the next train, as long as the hunter rides this train to completion; any repellent beyond 10 that were not used will be lost.
Daredevil Canyon
Upon entering the Daredevil Canyon, the following message is displayed on the journal (the last line appearing only if something was actually smuggled):
- The train leaves the last of the raiders behind!
- But it looks like those bitter mice have smashed down the Daredevil Canyon bridge! The Train should clear the gap just fine, but let's build up as much speed as possible to guarantee our landing.
- The faster we go, the greater our reward!
- I was able to smuggle X Raider-B-Gone Mouse Repellent with me.
The following hint is displayed when hovering over the Heads-up Display:
- Use Fuel Nuggets to speed up the train!
- The bridge is out! The train will safely clear the gap, but better build up some speed to be certain!
- Collect Fuel Nuggets and toss them into the train engine to build up speed. The more nuggets you toss in at once, the bigger the speed boost and points will be!
- There is no speed limit! The only limit is your mind.
In this phase, the goal is to collect Fuel Nuggets and stoke the train's engine (by pushing a button in the Heads-up Display). While tournaments normally ignore mice caught on trap checks, the points in this phase come from stoking the fire rather than catching mice, so it is beneficial to hunt during trap checks. A hunter can obtain up to 20 nuggets; stoking with 1-10 nuggets is worth 1 point each; stoking with 11-19 is worth an additional point for every nugget beyond 10, and stoking with a full 20 nuggets includes an additional bonus of 7 points, for a maximum of 35 points per stoke. Each time the engine is stoked, a message is left in the journal:
- Thanks to my furnace stoking, I have increased the train speed by X gnawts per hour, earning X Train Points!
In this phase, Train Engineer Mice drop Dusty Coal Charms (or a hunter can purchase them at the Charm Shoppe). Hunting with Dusty Coal Charms allows a chance to attract the Coal Shoveller Mouse who drops Black Powder Charms and more Fuel Nuggets. Hunting with Black Powder Charms allows a chance to attract the Black Powder Thief Mouse who drops Magmatic Crystal Charms and even more Fuel Nuggets. And hunting with Magmatic Crystal Charms allows a chance to attract Magmatic Crystal Thief and Magmatic Golem mice for the largest amount of nuggets. If a mouse drops more nuggets as loot than the hunter's cap of 20 would support, the extra nuggets are not wasted; once the hunter stokes the fire, the next round of collection will start with the remaining nuggets already counted.
Hunters also collect Tin Scraps as loot during this phase. Up to 10 Fuel Nuggets not used for stoking the fire can be smuggled onto the next train, as long as the hunter rides this train to completion; any nuggets beyond 10 that were not used will be lost.
Train Station
At the end of the train ride, the following message is left in the Hunter's Journal (the last line appearing only if something was actually smuggled):
- The train launches through the air!
- Launching itself off the end of the tracks at X gnawts per hour the Train soared through the air majestically. At the peak of our jump, the hunters onboard the train released the payload of supplies, making it rain onto the kingdom below. The King's Royal Supply Gatherers will be out in force to collect them soon.
- During my brief weightlessness, I reflected upon what odds and hardships we fought against and am proud of my fellow hunters for successfully protecting and helping deliver the needed supplies!
- The train safely crash-landed in the cushioned train yard below. I have disembarked and should now claim my reward!
- A big cheer to the hunters of the Train!
- I was able to smuggle X Fuel Nuggets with me.
Once the hunter claims their prize, this message is left in the Hunter's Journal:
- I helped the train Train safely reach its destination on the Gnawnian Express!
- My team reached the rank of X, scoring X Train Points toward the team goal of X.
- The train as a whole reached the rank of X, scoring X Train Points toward the train goal of X.
- In total, I claimed the following as a reward for protecting the train:
- X Iron Pellets,
- X Copper Beads,
- X Tin Scraps,
- X Train Badges,
- X Fool's Gold,
- X Gold,
- X Points.
The base awards are determined by what percentage of points the team achieved towards the team goal, as follows:
| Reward item | Duration | Goal achieved | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sleeper (1%) | Passenger (50%) | Engineer (75%) | Conductor (90%) | Tycoon (100%) | ||
| Iron Pellet | 6 hours | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 12 hours | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | |
| 24 hours | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 6 | |
| Copper Bead | 6 hours | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 12 hours | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | |
| 24 hours | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 6 | |
| Tin Scrap | 6 hours | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 12 hours | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | |
| 24 hours | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 6 | |
| Train Badge | 6 hours | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 |
| 12 hours | 1 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 9 | |
| 24 hours | 2 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 18 | |
| Fool's Gold | 6 hours | 2 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 10 |
| 12 hours | 2 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 18 | |
| 24 hours | 4 | 18 | 22 | 24 | 36 | |
| Gold | 6 hours | 1,000 | 3,000 | 3,000 | 3,000 | 5,000 |
| 12 hours | 1,000 | 5,000 | 6,000 | 6,000 | 9,000 | |
| 24 hours | 2,000 | 9,000 | 11,000 | 12,000 | 18,000 | |
| Points | 6 hours | 3,000 | 12,000 | 12,000 | 12,000 | 20,000 |
| 12 hours | 4,000 | 20,000 | 24,000 | 24,000 | 36,000 | |
| 24 hours | 8,000 | 36,000 | 44,000 | 48,000 | 72,000 | |
Additionally, depending on how well the community did, a community bonus of up to 30% is added to the trap crafting supplies (Iron Pellet, Copper Bead, and Tin Scrap) reward, with the result being rounded up to the next integer. A Tycoon team can get a larger bonus than a Passenger team, and all teams get a bigger bonus if the community reached the Tycoon level, but even for a team that ranked only Sleeper on a 6 hour train where the community ranked Sleeper, the bonus is still rounded up to 1. The maximum community bonus is 1 for a 6-hour or 12-hour train, and 2 for a 24-hour train (possible via either team at Tycoon and community at Engineer or better, or by team at Engineer or better and community at Tycoon). A team that scores 0 team points is designated Super Snoozer and will not get any reward (even the community bonus is 0); at least 1% of the team goal is required to reach Sleeper level. Even with a minimum of 1 hour downtime between trains, it is faster to earn rewards from sequential 6-hour trains (9 of each metal every 21 hours for a team that hits Tycoon even if all three trains only rank Sleeper) than from longer trains (12-hour and 24-hour trains cannot earn more than 8 of each metal in 25 hours, even with the community hitting Tycoon); however, the longer trains provide more time actually hunting in the areas where the metals are available as loot from mice.
Location-Specific Effects
Charms
- The Supply Schedule Charm allows the Hunter to attract the Warehouse Manager Mouse during the Supply Depot phase at the Gnawnian Express Station, as long as a Supply Rush is not already active.
- The Roof Rack Charm allows the Hunter to attract the Raider mice in the Raider River phase of the Gnawnian Express Station; it is required in order to be able to attract the Dangerous Duo when the roof is under attack.
- The Door Guard Charm allows the Hunter to attract the Raider mice in the Raider River phase of the Gnawnian Express Station; it is required in order to be able to attract the Dangerous Duo when the door is under attack.
- The Greasy Glob Charm allows the Hunter to attract the Raider mice in the Raider River phase of the Gnawnian Express Station; it is required in order to be able to attract the Dangerous Duo when the wheels are under attack.
- The Dusty Coal Charm allows the Hunter to attract Coal Shoveller mice in the Daredevil Canyon phase of the Gnawnian Express Station.
- The Black Powder Charm allows the Hunter to attract Black Powder Thief mice in the Daredevil Canyon phase of the Gnawnian Express Station.
- The Magmatic Crystal Charm allows the Hunter to attract Magmatic Crystal Thief and Magmatic Golem mice in the Daredevil Canyon phase of the Gnawnian Express Station.
Traps
- The Supply Grabber provides 1500 additional power in the Supply Depot phase at the Gnawnian Express Station.
- The Bandit Deflector provides 1500 additional power in the Raider River phase at the Gnawnian Express Station.
- The Engine Doubler provides 1500 additional power in the Daredevil Canyon phase at the Gnawnian Express Station.
Adventure Book
Hunters can Ride the Gnawnian Express by collecting crafting items and completing a train ride, earning a Train Badge.
Hunting Tips by Larry
YEEHAW! All aboard the Gnawnian Express!
The construction of the first trans-Gnawnian railroad is complete! Hunters are coming from all around to board the Gnawnian Express and journey across the land!
The King has tasked MouseHunters with the duty of securing a train filled with supplies bound for different parts of Gnawnia, ensuring its safe arrival!
Our goal as a collective group of several hunting teams is to collect supplies in the Supply Depot, defend the train from raiding mice when passing through Raider River, and then make the jump across the downed bridge over Daredevil Canyon!
The trains will be challenging at first, but hunters are rewarded for their efforts, so the better you do, the more you receive! The main goal is to work together with other hunters and any aid we provide is welcomed!
It's one big effort and teams will work together with other teams aboard their train to complete the journey successfully, so just do your best and enjoy the ride!
Train Names
Train names are chosen randomly, with the first word from this list:
| First Name | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blind | Brittle | Bronze | Charred | Coal | Copper | Dawn | Desert | Dusk | Dusty | English | Fast |
| Fiery | Fiesty | Funky | Garden | Gnawnian | Gold | Grand | Great | Iron | Mean | Mountain | Pony |
| Quirky | Royal | Scorched | Silver | Soaring | Speedy | Steel | Super | Tiny | Turbo | Twilight | Valley |
and the second word from this list:
| Second Name | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ace | Albatross | Bullet | Cascade | Cavalier | Continental | Dancer | Deluxe | Diamond | Eagle | Evangeline | Emperor |
| Express | Guardian | Golem | Hawk | Heart | Hudson | Intercity | Jack | King | Landracer | Lightning | Limited |
| Line | Monarch | Queen | Sparrow | Storm | Thunder | Zephyr | |||||
Shops
These are the shops that can be found in the Gnawnian Express Station:
History and Trivia
- 26 September 2013: Gnawnian Express Station was opened.
Links
