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Sid Meier's Railroads! - Now with fun!
wobblyheadedbob
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Sooooo... for my first thread ever I'm going with the wildly unpopular Sid Meier's Railroads!
From wikipedia:
"Railroads! is fully three-dimensional and geared more toward head to head real time strategy than the previous versions.[4] The terrain is also more compressed in this game; there are few areas where players are allowed a long, straight run of track, meaning that parts, such as hills, mountains, rivers, and inlets, play a much more important role in the game."
Now, all of the default maps are too small, too quick and too simple. None (as far as I know) use the maximum amount of industries the engine allows, and many can be play in as little as 20-40 minutes. Ridiculous. However! Some mappers have created gorgeous, big maps which require real strategy and foresight to pull through. The landscapes are much better and more in line with the focuse of the game, which is track layout and industry chain planning.
Oh, and make sure you install the patch. It makes the game more stable, and eliminates many bugs.
First here's how to install SAMs (Stand Alone Map)
I'll list some of my favorite maps here:
NAFTA Phase I
Covers N. America. Has a nice circular industry chain with random placement and lots of possibilities for tracks.
Styx
Half the maps is hell and half the map, uh... isn't Fun, but difficult.
Inauguration Special
I love this map. Many of the industries are diffirent population types and you get to focus on which one to get to D.C. in time for the inauguration. I've been able to do all except for the hippies. San Fransisco is so far away!
Side to Side
Very difficult map in which all industries are in two corners with a narrow land bridge connecting the two. Also no passengers or mail!
Chicago to the Rockies
The most professional, complete map I've played.
So here are the places I get my maps from:
Hooked on Railroads map forum
Bobby's Railroads SAM/SAM2 listings
Now any of these map would be fun, with or without AI. And not every map will work with AI, though all of the above will.
Now screenshots!
DISCLAIMER: If you really want the more detailed economic options of Railroad Tycoon II & III, well you're shit out of luck.
DISCLAIMER 2: I fully expect the thread to go nowhere, but! if it gets a few people addicted then I will have done my duty.
From wikipedia:
"Railroads! is fully three-dimensional and geared more toward head to head real time strategy than the previous versions.[4] The terrain is also more compressed in this game; there are few areas where players are allowed a long, straight run of track, meaning that parts, such as hills, mountains, rivers, and inlets, play a much more important role in the game."
Now, all of the default maps are too small, too quick and too simple. None (as far as I know) use the maximum amount of industries the engine allows, and many can be play in as little as 20-40 minutes. Ridiculous. However! Some mappers have created gorgeous, big maps which require real strategy and foresight to pull through. The landscapes are much better and more in line with the focuse of the game, which is track layout and industry chain planning.
Oh, and make sure you install the patch. It makes the game more stable, and eliminates many bugs.
First here's how to install SAMs (Stand Alone Map)
I'll list some of my favorite maps here:
NAFTA Phase I
Covers N. America. Has a nice circular industry chain with random placement and lots of possibilities for tracks.
Styx
Half the maps is hell and half the map, uh... isn't Fun, but difficult.
Inauguration Special
I love this map. Many of the industries are diffirent population types and you get to focus on which one to get to D.C. in time for the inauguration. I've been able to do all except for the hippies. San Fransisco is so far away!
Side to Side
Very difficult map in which all industries are in two corners with a narrow land bridge connecting the two. Also no passengers or mail!
Chicago to the Rockies
The most professional, complete map I've played.
So here are the places I get my maps from:
Hooked on Railroads map forum
Bobby's Railroads SAM/SAM2 listings
Now any of these map would be fun, with or without AI. And not every map will work with AI, though all of the above will.
Now screenshots!
DISCLAIMER: If you really want the more detailed economic options of Railroad Tycoon II & III, well you're shit out of luck.
DISCLAIMER 2: I fully expect the thread to go nowhere, but! if it gets a few people addicted then I will have done my duty.
wobblyheadedbob on
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That's a simulator in which you drive a train. Railroads is where you plan track layout and deliver goods/passengers.
Here's the Steam page.
Would you say Railroads! is better than Transport Tycoon? because I looveeee OpenTTD.
The routing is a lot better post patch. Late game the trains will get confused and choose inefficient routes, but this can be avoided be creating simpler, more streamlined routs.
But yes, it's better post patch.
Nah I like OpenTTD better. It's more epic and has many more options. I'm eagerly awaiting the 32 bit graphics. OpenTTD, though, does lack the pleasure I take in watching all my stuff get delivered and the interface can be daunting.
I would say Railroads is more pick-up-and-play, while OpenTTD takes some dedication to learn.
To elaborate, Railroads is nice because when the train goes to pick up lumber, you can see the crane take the lumber and drop it off on the cars. Then the conductor peeks out the window to see where he's going. The visual presentation has a nice balance between table-top set and realism.
Multiplayer is nice, you can buy and sell stocks of each player in 10% increments. Once all stock is owned, then it costs twice as much and you have to buy it all at once. Unlike Railroad Tycoon you cannot use other people's track. So track layout can get convoluted, but this means you can set up your track to really screw up other people.
It can get pretty ruthless and competitive.
EDIT: Multi can get pretty epic with the bigger maps. Especially with planning route and tracks to swoop in to steal others goods.
Ehhh... it's to buyout your competitors's stock. There are no scenario objectives. Just the best strategy wins.
Have you tried sny custom maps? They are a billion times better than the default ones.
The two games were pretty damn similar in terms of how everything worked, though Railroads is a bit less complicated.
Still pretty fun though.
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