Starting position determines the difficulty of a scenario based on the formula. Typically only 2 or 3 cities on a map will demand autos initially. My key becomes how do I link to them by the time my Auto producing city has autos. The last one I played on US Northeast was with 2 AI's and I started in Harrisburgh. One AI started in Baltimore, the other in Dover. Only Washington and New York demanded autos. My auto city was close to Washington, but I knew access to it would get difficult because of the AI's starting position, so I beelined to New York. Once I started sending autos to New York, it was just a matter of time before I was able to buy out the competition.
Now of course in this scenario I was generating income off of Passengers, Mail ,Coal and Steel before I got income from autos which in there own right gererate a lot of income...especially Steel. The Only other resources I tapped into was Oil and Trees, because they were easy money and how I got to New York from Harrisburgh.
That is when I got a little disappointed with the difficulty because my starting position was not ideal but I still worked it out using this formula. Now I suppose with 3 AI I could have been in trouble because the last starting point in the scenario is Trenton. Starting there you always link up to New York and Philadelphia quick for passengers. But I probably still could have gotten into New York, just may have been limited to point of entry do to the AI tracks.
I am going to play with 3 AI from now on. I did not like doing it because tracks get really weird looking when every one is trying to link into the limited resources, and it becomes aesthetically unpleasant. I guess I am cought between the desire of train table like track layout, but the desire to have competition too.
You know, I think I really like this game alot, just certain things bug me alot too and I am finding the "winning" to not be as satisfying as it should be.