Railroad Tycoon (series)

Railroad Tycoon is a computer game series from the kind of economic simulations. The main game content of all parts is the successful construction of a railway company.

The first part, Sid Meier 's Railroad Tycoon was developed by Sid Meier and MicroProse and published 1990. 1998 followed with Railroad Tycoon II, the second, 2003, Railroad Tycoon 3, the third part of the series. Both titles were developed by PopTop Software without any involvement from Sid Meier. This draws only again for the fourth part, Sid Meier 's Railroads! Responsible.

Sid Meier 's Railroad Tycoon

• MS- DOS 5.0
• Intel 486 DX 40
• 1 MB RAM
• 5 MB HDD
• 2x CD -ROM
• VGA graphics card

Sid Meier 's Railroad Tycoon, an idea of the successful game developer Sid Meier, appeared in 1990 and was considered the first real railway simulation. The publisher of the first part was MicroProse and there were versions for Amiga, Macintosh, Atari ST and PC. In the game, areas of North -West America, North - Eastern America, England and Europe were available.

The game is about building a thriving railway company with an initial investment of $ 1,000,000. On a map of the game area with real cities whose size varies from game to game, the player can now choose the starting point of its route network. The initial capital is sufficient at first for little more than a short distance, two train stations and a locomotive. By judicious choice of route and the train consist, the player can achieve a high income, with which he can expand its route network. There are mail, passengers and a whole host of special goods for transport to disposal, must be brought by the occurrence of possible demand locations. As the game progresses occur three computer opponents on the schedule, the step up their own routes and inhibit the growth of the player. Rounding out the game by a financial market on which you can issue bonds and shares in their own and others' businesses buy and sell.

The game assets are its three components. First, it is an excellent business simulation game in which both technical aspects ( development and organization of the railway operation ) and konkurrentielle aspects ( takeover battles in the stock market, limiting the route network of the opponent) must be mastered. The economic situation also plays a role as the growth of cities, and technological progress. Second, the game is closely embedded in the real story. But the guide is an introduction to the history of the railway. The computer-controlled competitors represent entrepreneurs and politicians who pushed forward the construction of railways in the 19th century, as Cornelius Vanderbilt, George Stephenson and Napoléon III. From the time of its invention, the players are historic locomotive types available, from the first steam locomotives to high-speed trains. Third, results from the arbitrary route with switches, tunnels and bridges as well as the sparse, but lovingly animated moving and serviceable trains a certain " model railway Feeling".

While the playful quality is excellent even today, the graphic was mediocre even for that time. You can see the 2D map in plan view, the grid squares may well take a dozen different types of landscape, the menus and buttons are functional and straightforward. Only a few captions with graphics not impressive but loving animations provide variety.

The deluxe version was released in 1993 and was improved in some areas version of the first part. But they also brought a few disadvantages, despite some improvements. So very exciting and challenging early scenario was removed to England and replaced by the regions Africa and South America.

This version is available as freeware since 2006.

Not to be confused: Under the name Railroad Deluxe also an unofficial extension of Railroad Tycoon II was published.

Railroad Tycoon II

• Windows 95 or higher
• Intel / AMD 100 MHz
• 16 MB RAM
• 300 MB HDD
• 4x CD -ROM drive

Railroad Tycoon II ( 1998) was a complete new development by PopTop Software and there were versions for PC ( Windows and Linux) and Macintosh ( Application Systems Heidelberg). The economic system was considerably expanded and strengthened; so there was now, for example, national borders, which had to be observed in the construction of the railway lines as well as significantly more sophisticated stock trading. Sid Meier was no longer involved in the game, which is indicated by the absence of his name in the title.

The graphics engine offered instead of a 2D view shows a high-resolution, detailed isometric 3D view. In a separate building mode high-resolution 3D maps could be created. A particularly impressive result was achieved to develop outstanding landscape models with the manufacturer recommended option, for example, to feed satellite maps and with a variety of processing tools ( coniferous forests, tropical forests, deserts, ice, rock, buildings, rivers, fields, etc.). At the stations regional peculiarities could be considered. There were two patterns of European rail early days as well as colonial and Art Nouveau stations. Even for the Asian countries was taken care of.

Furthermore, were also possible for the first time in this series multiplayer sessions with human players with Railroad Tycoon II.

Railroad Tycoon II also had a special playing technique disadvantage compared to its predecessors. There were no tunnels are built more. That the interesting regulating the train service was also abolished by block signals, not fell on neueinsteigenden Railroad Tycoon fans. Because you could have 30, 40 trains " in the race ", it would also become very difficult to monitor hundreds of switches. The German players were missing various famous German locomotives. Taking the German reconstruction of the Soviet diesel locomotive " Ludmilla " to which is to this day as class 232 in use, but Germany was not yet eight locomotives poorly represented (Japan: 1, France 1, Italy 1, Austria: 2, Switzerland: 3, England: 9 (including the supplied in the USA John Bull) ). Otherwise, the game makers lifted the U.S. position in the railway history with 34 locomotives particularly prominent.

For Railroad Tycoon II appeared in 1999, an expansion titled Railroad Tycoon II: The Second Century. With this package, the railway ticket was amplified trains of the modern era (including TGV and Transrapid / Maglev ), new maps and business types.

Railroad Tycoon 3

• Windows 98 or higher
• Intel / AMD 400 MHz
• 128 MB RAM
• 1200 MB HDD
• 4x CD -ROM drive
• VGA with 16 MB

Mac:

• G3 400 MHz
• 256 MB RAM
• 1200 MB HDD
• 8x CD -ROM
• VGA with 16 MB

Railroad Tycoon 3 was released in 2003 for Windows PCs. In this part can be selecting different scenarios all over the world. The game was first shown in this release in the form of a true 3D graphics. In addition, the game features a versatile editor with which the player can create their own scenarios. The dynamic pricing system that calculates between the market price adjustments for each good at any location due to supply, demand and the distance is great progress. In this new edition, however, also significant game elements were lost; some was added. Train movements can now be automated or continue manually compiled. Even the much more extensive movement of goods has been largely automated. The track construction engine has undergone a lot of criticism. By switching from " Drauflosbauen " on scenarios with fixed targets, although some variety was created, on the other hand, one is forced also to certain decisions, you want to reach the round destination. Overall, the game from the creative Railway Construction and Operation (now with tunnels ) developed an economic simulation.

Locomotive enthusiasts were, firstly, disappointed that no longer stand on the one hand important European machines available ( as all German locomotives were deleted from the period 1900-1934 from the game and in Railroad Tycoon II still highlighted global pioneering role of European electric locomotives taken out ) but on the other hand also satisfied because some other important locomotives are finally available. So the eagle, the proven Prussian P8, which for decades successfully spilled DR / DB Express Train Class 01 (in very getting used to wine-red paint), and an example of the powerful German Kriegslok series in schmutzigweißem Wintertarnanstrich. As in previous games, however, missing just about all pioneering steam locomotive new buildings after 1945, apart from the " Red Devil ". The focus is again on the U.S. locomotives, although there are some impressive machines have been taken out as the " Daylight". Even Eastern European productions were considered amplified. Besides the already known from RR II Soviet diesel locomotive " Ludmilla " (Series 232 ), there was now the Soviet electric locomotive VL80T, as well as the Polish electric locomotive ET22.

Thus, the following countries are represented in the 2004 release Macintosh version: U.S.: 24, UK: 10 ( with "Eagle" ), Germany: 7 (without the " Eagle", Umbaulok " Red Devil " and " Ludmilla " ), Switzerland: 3, Italy: 2, USSR: 2 (with " Ludmilla " ), South Africa: 2 ( " Red Devil " ), Japan: 2 France: 1, Poles: 1 invented in England, but the world almost exclusively in France and Southern Germany to find and further develops, the Crampton locomotive a non- assignable machine dar. addition, four fictional locomotives in the race. Thus, in Railroad Tycoon 3 as many locomotives in use, as in the previous game. The Austrian locomotive developments as well as some pioneering Swiss electric locomotives from RR RR II fell into three completely to suffer cuts.

In August 2004, appeared for Windows users, the free extension ( add-on ) Coast to Coast, with which it is possible to integrate new players portraits, corporate logos and other Lokfarbgebungen in the game. In the same year, the German edition for users of the operating system Mac OS X was released by MacSoft The extension Coast to Coast Beginning with the game included.

Since Railroad Tycoon 3, savvy hobby tinkerers offers a way not specified by the manufacturer option to open the pk4 files to the locomotives, wagons and buildings or offer your own locomotive creations on fan sites on the net for free. The quality of these now numerous extensions, in most cases, quite the norm provided by the game manufacturer. The focus of these free extensions is English and American locomotives. However, it also German cars from all eras were created. Even the ICE and some German steamers which were still found in Railroad Tycoon II by the manufacturer are, so come back on the rails.

Sid Meier 's Railroads!

• Windows 2000 or higher
• Pentium 1.4 GHz 4/Athlon
• 512 MB ​​RAM
• 1.7 GB HDD
• Geforce 8500 3/Radeon

Recommended:

• Pentium 4/Athlon 2Ghz
• 1GB of RAM
• 1.7 GB HDD
• Nvidia 6800/Radeon X800 128MB

Mac:

• Mac OS X 10.6.8 or higher
• 1.8GHz Intel
• 3 GB RAM
• 1.5 GB HDD
• 128 MB, the following graphics cards are not supported: ATI X1xxx, NVIDIA 7xxx series and Intel GMA series.

Recommended:

• 2.4GHz Intel
• 4 GB of RAM
• 512 MB ​​GPU - RAM

Was published in 2006, Sid Meier 's Railroads!. Sid Meier has here developed his original game concept and fitted into a three-dimensional landscape, with the bumps a significantly greater impact on the track construction than its predecessor; Long straight lines are there so hardly. In addition, the focus of industrial production was significantly increased again. The player has now a production chain plan to keep his features useful running. 2012 appeared a Mac version of Feral Interactive.