Contrary review on SMR

[CaptainPatch]

If you love everything Sid Meier, I guarantee you will hate this review.

I have played to death nearly every Sid Meier's title since the very first version of Pirates! In particular, I've worn out all of the versions of Railroad Tycoon (of which SMR is essentially RT4). Each version had improvements that I enjoyed, as well as some changes that I didn't think improved the game all that much, if at all.

As far as I am concerned, SMR is the worst of the series. It has been soooooo "dumbed down" that it has lost all of the elements that made the tycoon series of games appealing. About the only real improvement is the graphics -- and as someone else on this forum mentioned, there is already enough "eyecandy" in the marketplace. Give me a game with so-so graphics but with a lot of "meat to chew on anytime!

Specific complaints (not necessarily in order of priority):
1) You can't even name your own railroad, as you could in every previous version.
2) No ability to survey routes in depth as you could in previous versions. Instead, you just sort of swing the cursor around from Point A to Point B and live with what the AI comes up with.
3) No variety in the architecture of your stations, as was available in previous versions.
4) No ability to place additional signals, to better facilitate two-way traffick, as was available in previous versions.
5) No differentiation between the player's finances and the railroad's finances, as was available in previous versions. (Historically, some Robber Barons deliberately bankrupted their railroads while making themselves rich in the process. Then they used their ill-gotten gains to start up another railroad.)
6) Reduced ability for "creative finance". No more bonds. No ability to short sell opponent's' stock. Your only option for quick cash is to sell your own stock.
7) Loss of assets when you merge railroads. Like, if you spend millions of dollars to buy out a competitor, you wonder what happened to the 25 million dollars that had been in that company's treasury at the time of acquisition.
8 ) Monumentally stupid AI opponents. Like, while you're busy buying up their stock, they sit on huge treasuries with enough money to buy you out 5 times over.
9) No ability to determine your own starting location, as was an option in previous versions.
10) And why, after having worked out the process in three earlier versions, are we still limited to only three opponents? Historically, the playing field was huge, and there were scores (if not hundreds) of railroad startups. How can we reflect that playing arena when at most there will be only 4 competitors?

I could keep on piling on complaints, but these 10 should suffice to make my point: SMR is less of a game than any of the earlier versions. In this day and age, improved graphics is a given for a new game. Improved mechanics and interface should also be a given. On a new version of a game, the player should be given more options, not less. The only reason why this game was released that I can ascertain is that the company needed quick cash and they knew that there was a huge cadre of gamers out there that would buy anything with Sid Meier's name on it.

My apologies in advance to anyone that is offended because I've blaphemed their sacred cow.

[leo]

Last time I checked the title of the game was Railroads! not Railroad tycoon 4 . The game doesnt even have tycoon in the title... I think that should be the first hint that the game isnt going to be RRT4. You are not the only one to feel this way about the game tho.

The game is designed to be easy to understand , easy to play , and quick multiplayer games.

[rupertlittlebear]

maybe so, but you should expect any any game on a topic to be at least as good as any existing version.

[congregation]

What you described is an entirely different game. It is obviously what you desired. Some of that stuff would appeal to me as well.

But what this game is... is really good fun. And where this game outshines all others is multiplayer!!

While this loses some of the complexities of a slower more involved single player, it gains a lot in a different vein. In multiplayer while you have less decisions EVERY decision is important. Money management while a simple approach is VITAL in MP.

It's just a different game.

One I thoroughly enjoy!

[CaptainPatch]

Last time I checked the title of the game was Railroads! not Railroad tycoon 4 . The game doesnt even have tycoon in the title... I think that should be the first hint that the game isnt going to be RRT4. You are not the only one to feel this way about the game tho.

The game is designed to be easy to understand , easy to play , and quick multiplayer games.

I somewhat beg to differ. What the consumer public was given to under stand was...

"Sid Meier's Railroads! marks the return of the watershed title in simulation/strategy gaming that launched the popular “tycoonâ€

[Falconer]

I understand why you are disappointed if you were expecting RRT4. To be honest, I wouldn't have minded the game to be a little deeper than it currently is as well. But judging the game as RRT4 is completely unfair. Other than a train theme, the RRT series has very little to do with Railroads!

I don't know if any of the Firaxians can confirm this, but as far as I know, Firaxis/Take2 doesn't even own the Railroad Tycoon name. Even if they would like to make a true sequel, they could only make it a spiritual sequel under a different name.

Edit: If anything, Railroads! would be an improvement over RRT1

[leo]

I have played them all. I have played them all quite a bit ... I still like Railroads! for what it is ... This game certainly isnt the worst game I have played.

I am dissapointed a little that this isnt RRT4 but thats life.

All the articles I read said that the game was based on RRT 1 .... no mention of 2 and 3. That should be the second hint that this isnt RRT 4. You and some others read what you wanted to hear... you wanted it to be RRT4 so that is how you read it.

Dont worry you have plenty of people that feel the same as you ... and there are plenty that feel this game is great for what it is and still enjoy it.

There are still going to be patches that will give the game a bit more .. and plenty of user customizing.

This game still wont be RRT4 tho.

[CaptainPatch]

I don't know if any of the Firaxians can confirm this, but as far as I know, Firaxis/Take2 doesn't even own the Railroad Tycoon name. Even if they would like to make a true sequel, they could only make it a spiritual sequel under a different name.

Edit: If anything, Railroads! would be an improvement over RRT1

And that is what my thought was as well, that Firaxis couldn't use the name RRT, so they settled for SMR. But as far as I know, the copyright issue pretty much ends with the name. The content of the game could be pretty much whatever the designers wanted it to be.

BTW, to all of you out there that enjoy SMR, understand that I don't condemn you for enjoying SMR. My surly attitude derives from -- as many of you surmised -- from the reality falling short of my (apparently) unrealistic expectations.

You seem familiar with all the versions, so I'll pose this query to you:

I believe that it is a given that the graphics would have improved (which they have).

Mechanically, tracklaying has been simplified to drag-and-click, and that will have great appeal to those that do not want to do any actual surveying in order to lay the "perfect" right-of-way.

Not being a multiplayer gameplayer (I've never appreciated head-to-head play when there are disparities between PC's and Internet connections), I don't know whether SMR's multiplayer features are better than those that were available in RRT2, RRT2 Platinum, and RRT3. So you'll have to tell me why SMR's multiplayer function is superior.

All that aside, what does SMR have that previous RRT versions did not have that makes SMR so much better? From what I've seen playing the game (yes, I've actually played it, quite a few times), there are no new enhancements, and the game is characterized by the many, many things that were taken out.

And maybe that's the point: the game has been converted from being a micromanagement jawbreaker into a lighthearted beer-and-pretzels game that players can zip through in a couple of hours. (Sort of like a round of Parchesi instead of a Monopoly marathon.)

[Lama]

I'm pretty sure I read in one of the news releases that they DO own the name 'Railroad Tycoon'.

[Sundog]

And maybe that's the point: the game has been converted from being a micromanagement jawbreaker into a lighthearted beer-and-pretzels game that players can zip through in a couple of hours. (Sort of like a round of Parchesi instead of a Monopoly marathon.)

Well, I've never played RRT2 or RRT3, but was a big fan of the original game. I never considered the gameplay to be a 'micromanagement jawbreaker'. On the contrary, the basics components of the game (train operations, economy, financial) were simple in concept and very easy to grasp. What made that game so compelling and challenging was how well those components worked together. You had many hats to wear in the game, yet it was easy to switch hats without being bogged down in excessive detail. It was about as elegant a design as I've ever played.

[CuZZa]

Poptop Game sown Railroad Tycoon. They took Railroad Tycoon down the hardcore simulator path that you see in RRT2 and RRT3. I think with this, Sid Meier and Firaxis wanted to go back to the roots, make things easier and more enjoyable. If sliderules and gradients get you off, then maybe stick with RRT3. I admit this thing is missing a lot of the stuff that would just make it more playable or slightly more of a challenge without becoming stupidly difficult with cheating AI and stuff. To me, this is the successor to RRT1 as RRT2/3 really lost a lot of the heart and soul. To me, this is a demo of what a true RRT1 successor should be be.

I don't really agree, but I do in a sense. I enjoy the game immensely because on the outside it's given me a game I spent used to play for DAYS 10 years ago. But I do agree it's not all it could or should have been. Most particularly since it was released so buggy and unstable. You'd think EA released it really.

[Brad]

But we want a better RRT, we want RRT4!!!!

Railroads is fun on it's own <once it gets patched> but is too short lived. We want epic stuff like RRT

[recca421]

But we want a better RRT, we want RRT4!!!!

Railroads is fun on it's own <once it gets patched> but is too short lived. We want epic stuff like RRT

Which "we"? the Royal "we"?

I wanted a train game without all the BS, and I got it. Yeah it's glitchy, but so was City Life. At least WE are getting a patch BEFORE the developer starts circulating the "Participate in shaping Railroads! 2" questionaire.

[Brad]

We are not amused <grin>

It seems to me the majority of opinion I have read are in my camp. The difference being those who want Civ4 in a locomotives skin and those who just want to play with toy trains.

If I really wanted to split hairs I would start talking about how deisels can MU together with more then 1 engine per train so they can haul longer trains and still maintain they're speed and that kind of thing.

[recca421]

We are not amused <grin>

It seems to me the majority of opinion I have read are in my camp. The difference being those who want Civ4 in a locomotives skin and those who just want to play with toy trains.

If I really wanted to split hairs I would start talking about how deisels can MU together with more then 1 engine per train so they can haul longer trains and still maintain they're speed and that kind of thing.

I certainly hope you posted that in the "suggestions" thread, that's a great idea, I'd completely forgotten about that.

that's what happens when the only rail lines nearby are a private one (owned by a forestry museum and run on a steam engine), and a rather limp passenger line servicing I think 5 towns up the island... Used to be more I'm sure, but they closed the coal-gas plant well before my time.