Sid Meyer's Railroads

[Bort]

I've been playing with the Demo and this game is way cool!
Great graphics, great interface, and great gameplay.
I've never relly been a big fan of Sid Meier games, but this one is definately on my X-mas list!

[scrapser]

Well, I've played a few rounds and the maps are definitely too small. On top of this, the proportion of cities and resources is too large, making the maps seem even smaller. Perhaps this is to cater to the eye candy crowd but I don't like it as a default view.

In addition, the passage of time is too fast. Over a year passes while a single train moves from Trenton to New York. You barely get started building when the next generation engine appears, making the first train almost pointless. I do hope they make some changes in these areas so people can tweak the sim to their taste.

scrapser

[tycho102]

You need to pause the simulation while you're building, same as you do with RT2/3.

It takes quite a bit of strategy to effectively micromanage your trains. The instruction manual doesn't list the mass-to-speed ratings like the Tycoon series does. As you put more cars on your trains, they will slow down. And, when they go uphill, they slow down even more. The really good cargo engines aren't as fast as the good passenger engines, but they can take grades under load without losing nearly as much speed as the passenger engines.

So you have absolutely got to look at your inclines between stations, and either limit the number of cars or pick a more suitable engine.

I'd tell you good picks, but I'm so distracted right now, I can hardly remember. I'll post some kind of simple guide later.

[Tikigod]

I agree Railroad Tycoon 3 is much better than sid's railroads!....if you like the model trainset style game play....RRT3 has the day to night transitions as well as different types of weather....track laying is much easier, and overall 3-d world looks alot nicer when you can zoom in at eye level.

sid's might become something in a following series...but, for now Tycoon series has much better gameplay and has more options available with its interface....sid's has neat loading animations for the cargo and buildings/structures thats about it....not to mention its in need of a patch for its unstable multiplayer connectivity.

I prefer Trainz for more simulation style of gameplay...you can run trainz like a model railroad or as a 1st person sim....the campaign and economy is a bit more complicated because you might be tied to a passengers schedule or a the needs of a facility like a powerplant that might shut down if you dont ship coal or oil in time to keep it running, etc.

Two different games, both very fun.

[Kresge]

I just found RT3 at Target for $10!!! I can't wait to get going on this one. I had the demo of the game and had really enjoyed playing, but for some reason I had never bought it. Must have came out the same time as another game on my list. I get easily distracted by bright shiny graphics sometimes

[Tikigod]

First official Patch was released (v.1.01)

Use the game auto-update in multiplayer or download it here:
http://www.firaxis.com/support/suppo...eid=12&patch=1