Still Hooked on Railroads

GS-Railroad · Post by **GS-Railroad** » Wed May 23, 2007 12:46 am

Recently I've been playing alot of games and I was kind of burnt out so I decided to reinstall Railroads. Despite some of it's shortcomings and lack of support it is hard to beleive they would abandon a game this good. So much potential for greatness here and while some of it was tapped into there was still plenty of things to fix before adding more content. Sadly it seems people have already moved on and there are no plans for another official patch. How could they just walk away from such a great game? I feel for the people with compatibility issues.

I was up pretty late last night building the Golden Spike Railroad. I had around 350 Million net worth before I managed to pull myself away. The constant sound of money flowing like a raging river ringing in my ears. I really did build an amazing railroad. I had lines running that just are not possible in games like Train Simultor or any of the previous Tycoon games. While it is some what annoying I can't select a section of track to place an engine on I can still drop them down using other trains to force my engines where I want. With some practice and patience you can really do some cool stuff.

I had loops within loops with some trains running clockwise around the outer loop and some running counterclockwise. Lines that could branch off from that and enter another loop all running like clocks. This even with hard routing. If you do make an error in building though you will know it. If you see one train going the wrong way you know you have made a mistake somewhere. Sometimes in a very advanced setup it can be hard to find what track is causing the problem if any assuming your design works properly.

I don't like to double bridge or tunnel myself due to the graphical glitches associated with double track. Instead I single bridge with ample space for a double line in and out via switch. That is only if the line is busy enough to warrant that kind of complexity. If you keep passenger traffic moving one way the wait times are pretty low and it can be done with some good planning. Of course I still have lines that have traffic moving both ways but for passenger routes I try and keep them fast and free of congestion. The game is still pretty amazing when you take this all into account.

I just wish they would have continued to work on it. I would definantly love a bigger sequel with a bit more complexity in the single and multiplayer game modes. Hell even a few expansions would have been nice. All those things listed in the wishlist I would have payed for in the form of expansion with bug fixes and extra content. I still find myself wanting to play the original Railroad Tycoon but Railroads definantly sets a good foundation for a sequel more akin to the original in my opinion.

I think the train routing and signal system in Railroads is pretty damn good it's just missing a few key options that would make it easier to use. The way the engine handles the actual realtime terrain deformation is also pretty amazing. Again a few more track options and some bug fixes would be nice. If you could take the original Railroad Tycoon and meld it with Railroads keeping the good from both games and not trying to re-invent it you would have a kick ass game.

keotaman · Post by **keotaman** » Wed May 23, 2007 4:11 am

GS-Railroad wrote: (excerpt) ... I really did build an amazing railroad. I had lines running that just are not possible in games like Train Simul ...

Great post GS-R! Got a screenshot handy? I'd love to see what you did with the Golden Spike Railroad.

Maybe you could add some ideas to the Wiki.
Keo

GS-Railroad · Post by **GS-Railroad** » Thu May 24, 2007 4:54 am

Here is a look at the layout. I have found one bug with one section of track. One switch that I added as a bandaid solution so I could finish an objective. I have since re-routed the train I used to haul the objective so there is no need for that switch anymore. Occasionally one of my trains would go the wrong way because of another train blocking the switch. The funny thing was it would re-route itself properly using one of my loops and it would try again if it encountered the same problem. So it rolls in and then heads off in the wrong direction and goes back into a loop and comes back out and tries again. It actually corrects itself without causing any congestion heh.

Post by **Warll** » Thu May 24, 2007 5:12 am

Man nice! Got it in a save I would love to see the trains going around on it.

GS-Railroad · Post by **GS-Railroad** » Thu May 24, 2007 5:28 am

Actually I do

See if you can find the one train with a problem and identify where it is. All you need is the Tender Mod for it to work.

BadKharma · Post by **BadKharma** » Thu May 24, 2007 11:21 pm

What map is that? I have something close to that made as a 144 square map I am working on for my scenario.

Dr Frag · Post by **Dr Frag** » Fri May 25, 2007 12:47 am

I believe that's the standard Widwest U.S. map.

pherschel · Post by **pherschel** » Thu Jul 19, 2007 10:59 pm

There is somthing that keeps me playing. I think its the routing. The circle concept is new to me. I've always been an A.B.C type.

I get mad at myself when I have a major route with lots of traffic and accidently connect a spur in such a way that all the traffic wants to run down the spur now. ARG!

One concept I'd like to see added is adding more structures. If you could build switch towers for better traffic mgmt on congested sections, etc... I liked RRT2 idea of water and sanding stops.

Still its fun of doing good routes and trying to understand getting the fastest heavy traffic using the least track.

Another thing I enjoy is the sound. I have a 5.1 sound system and the sound is great. The new loco available tune is nice -- I often let it play out when a badly needed loco arrives.

K-class · Post by **K-class** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 10:58 am

Hey GS-Railroad I have been playing your save game for a while and I had forgotten about steam trains.

Had loads of fun and some great track laying and the circle thing is great idea.

GS-Railroad · Post by **GS-Railroad** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 6:57 am

Glad to see some people had some fun with it. I really had fun making that map. Just hopped on to see if by chance another patch had found it's way out or an unofficial patch or something.

K-class · Post by **K-class** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 7:54 am

Hey GS-Railroad forget the patch they have long gone and deserted us.

We are waiting for the FanExpansion/Patch.

http://hookedforums.com/a/viewtopic.php?t=1978

Post by **Warll** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 1:34 pm

Yeah,I need to talk to Atani sometime about that.

Smr Simple!

Still Hooked on Railroads

Still Hooked on Railroads

Re: Still Hooked on Railroads