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Tips & Strategies
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This section is for sharing knowledge and wisdom between fellow Bridge Builders. Feel free to Submit any bridge building hints you may have.
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Beginners' Tips
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- Read the FAQ / Readme / Manual / Forum!
- For the bridge to be stable, it has to basically consist of triangles. Any other shape with more sides will tend to bend and collapse. In Bridge Builder, it is most effective to keep the triangles as big as possible. So you should stick to triangle "nets" as the basic elements of your bridges - regardless of bridge size:
- This is pretty obvious, but nevertheless worth mentioning as it's essential for understanding the game: Always use the "Analyze stress" feature to see which elements are stressed more (red) or less (green). If the bridge breaks, try to reinforce the red parts. Elements which stay solid green all the time are candidates for removal. A good bridge has the stress distributed so evenly that most of the elements gradually get colored red when the train passes.
- In order to build a good bridge, you have to try to distribute the stress evenly on as many beams as possible. In general, this is managed by building bridges that consist of oval (round) shapes. Don't get me wrong, of course you should stick to the triangles - but try to give your bridge an overall "round" shape - take a look at these examples to get the idea:
- Learn from other's bridges! There are loads of bridges in the records and bridges sections. You can learn a lot of tricks by examining those bridges in action. So get inspired and build even better ones!
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Advanced Tips
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- Of course, you not only want to complete the level, you also want to build the cheapest bridge possible. So after you've built a working bridge, you start to remove parts and optimize the construction. Keep in mind that the stress the bridge has to withstand is asymmetrical (even if the level is perfectly symmetrical). That's because the train moves from one side to another rather than stands still or moves vertically. So the best bridges aren't always symmetrical. If you remove a part on one side and the bridge doesn't work anymore, it doesn't mean you shouldn't try the corresponding part on the other side.
- If your bridge is just a tiny little bit away from working as it should, try to delay the train by different amounts of time. Sometimes, a bridge works better if you let it "stop swinging" first. There might even be just one specific moment when you have to start the train for the bridge to work...
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Level 15 Tips
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Many people have asked for this, so here are some hints on how to solve the original level 15:
The problem here is to lift the train somehow, because the right side of the terrain is a bit higher than the level where rails can be built. I'll just give you a small hint first in case you don't want to know the solution right away:
The bridge can rotate around the anchor point.
Now, the solution....
-------------------- SPOILER FOLLOWS --------------------
There are several ways to solve this one. The simplest way is to lift the right end of the bridge by building a counterweight on the left side of the anchor point. This way, when you start the simulation, the left side of the bridge, which you should make heavier, will fall down and pull the right side (and the rails) up. You have to get the angle right so that the right end of the bridge is on about the same level as the ground near it. Also, make the counterweight heavy enough so that the train doesn't push the bridge back down as it passes.
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