My Review of Patch 1.1

[Bleser]

I just wanted to point out my thoughts about SMR Patch 1.1 after playing my first game with it installed.

Double-Tracked Tunnels
This was a pretty weak attempt to fix ugly double-tracking. As you can see from the screen shot below, my first ne turned out just as ugly as before. It seems all they did was make the walls of the tunnel thinner to attempt to clean it up. If this is all it was going to be, they should have just left it alone.
See attachment - SMRTunnel.jpg

Four-Track Terminals
This is a mixed bag. As can be seen in the first screen shot, traffic is freed up quite well and I didn't have a single cross-over track for the first time since I've played SMR.
See attachment - SMR4Tracks.jpg
As a counter-point, they seem to have done a pretty half-assed job with the graphics, as now the people walk on thin air and the first part of the stairs didn't get moved with the rest of the terminal.
See attachment - SMRTerminal.jpg

Station-Connected Track
This seemed like a pretty cool idea, but the implementation is random at best. There is no consistency of what track gets re-drawn versus left alone. I hope there is a way to disable this new "feature" as now my stations look like they have blind construction workers laying concrete on my tracks.
See attachment - SMRStation.jpg

AI
The AI's behavior has changed. They seem to be able to expanded faster and make profitable routes, and I didn't have any AI that fell way behind (as I usually do). On the other hand, a bug that had been fixed with 1.01 seems to be back, as I have yet to have an AI initiate an industry auction.

Free Camera
This new in-game camera works great and it can be a lot of fun lining up some great shots!

No More Clouds
Thankfully I can now zoom out and not have an obstructed view. Thanks Firaxis!

Things I Haven't Tried
I still haven't tried the new iTurnsPerMonth feature to slow time down or the map editor, so others will have to report back on that. I've gotten used to the time scale but am sure I'll mess with it in the future.

[Falconer]

Hi Bleser, good review there, lets see if others will agree.

Could you do me a favor though, could you add the screenshots as attachments? That way the forum still looks in one piece as the screens are too big.

[Bleser]

Hi Bleser, good review there, lets see if others will agree.

Could you do me a favor though, could you add the screenshots as attachments? That way the forum still looks in one piece as the screens are too big.

Thanks.

I could, but it says I can only add two attachments... should I just pick my best two or leave it alone?

[Sundog]

AI
The AI's behavior has changed. They seem to be able to expanded faster and make profitable routes, and I didn't have any AI that fell way behind (as I usually do). On the other hand, a bug that had been fixed with 1.01 seems to be back, as I have yet to have an AI initiate an industry auction.

I think it's working ok, I've played a few games since installing the patch and have seen the AI initiate several auctions.

[d53642]

I have as well, and they are very aggresive at bidding too. Been pushed up to 476k so far for a refinery I was feeding well.

[Zoso]

The problem with the AI and auctions is only on Robberbaron setting. I tested it out and went back to Tycoon and the AI would start auctions. I then went back to Robberbaron and nothing. This problem has been around since the Robberbaron setting was introduced in the 1.01 patch.

[Falconer]

Changed. Two is not that much, upped to 5 attachments now.

[Bleser]

The problem with the AI and auctions is only on Robberbaron setting. I tested it out and went back to Tycoon and the AI would start auctions. I then went back to Robberbaron and nothing. This problem has been around since the Robberbaron setting was introduced in the 1.01 patch.

Good catch - all I have been playing on lately is robber baron. I'll switch back to Tycoon so the AI will act a bit smarter.

[Bleser]

Changed. Two is not that much, upped to 5 attachments now.

Fixed.

[keotaman]

I just wanted to point out my thoughts about SMR Patch 1.1 after playing my first game with it installed. ... (excerpt:)
As a counter-point, they seem to have done a pretty half-assed job with the graphics, as now the people walk on thin air and the first part of the stairs didn't get moved with the rest of the terminal.See attachment - SMRTerminal.jpg ...

First, my apologies for bringing an old post to life. Second, good observations, I agree with all except the "stairs." The part next to where the 4th track would go is not "the first part of the stairs," it is a load/unload platform for train passengers. Where passengers board/depart via the door "traps," the last step to the ground is huge, so a box, platform or stool must be provided. Actually quite realistic, except the prototype would have a platform between 2nd & 3rd tracks, so any train would have a platform available. Hadn't seen it mentioned before.
I'm a bit curious how you did the "highlight" portion of that image - good effect!
Keo

[Bleser]

I just wanted to point out my thoughts about SMR Patch 1.1 after playing my first game with it installed. ... (excerpt:)
As a counter-point, they seem to have done a pretty half-assed job with the graphics, as now the people walk on thin air and the first part of the stairs didn't get moved with the rest of the terminal.See attachment - SMRTerminal.jpg ...

First, my apologies for bringing an old post to life. Second, good observations, I agree with all except the "stairs." The part next to where the 4th track would go is not "the first part of the stairs," it is a load/unload platform for train passengers. Where passengers board/depart via the door "traps," the last step to the ground is huge, so a box, platform or stool must be provided. Actually quite realistic, except the prototype would have a platform between 2nd & 3rd tracks, so any train would have a platform available. Hadn't seen it mentioned before.
I'm a bit curious how you did the "highlight" portion of that image - good effect!
Keo

Thanks for the correction about stairs vs. platform, but I think I was just trying to say that people now float in mid air, and they need something to walk on.

The effect was done by simply selecting the area of the image I wanted to highlight, and then doing and inverse-selection and changing the brightness to make the background darker, thus 'highlighting' the portion I wanted. This can be done in any basic photo editing software.