I was so excited about this game two weeks ago

[joasoze]

I just found out that this game existed two weeks ago, and I was soooo happy. I loved RT2 and was lunkewarm to RT3. With the Sid Meier title and all it could not go wrong... or so I thought.

I still havent tried the game, but I am more and more reluctant to shell out any money to buy it. Simplified stock marked, smaller maps, simpler economy than ever before, lots of bugs, the list just goes on and on.

I am aware that the naysayers always get more attention and are more active on the web than the ones who are happily playing the game, but I am disheartened still. Making simple versions of great concepts (CivCity Rome or whatever it is called) and now this, is not the way to go. CIV IV is possibly the best game ever made. Pretty please with sugar on top, keep making games with depth like CIV IV and dont simplify everything...



/Rant mode off

 

[Strahlemann]

Why don't you play the demo? Then you can judge for yourself if the game sucks or not.

I played it yesterday and i quite like the game. For me it has the same philosophy like pirates.. quick, easy and fun to play.
Although the game is not that high on my priority list, i definitely will buy this game... someday.

 

[Reignking]

Try the demo first. I wish I had.

First of all, the performance is so poor that I can barely get into the game, and even when I have, I haven't liked it. I was hoping for RT3 with a better challenge, and it seems to have gone the other way.

I think I am going to stop buying games shipped in October -- it seems that they are games rushed to the deadline so they can be sold and marketed for Christmas.

 

[joasoze]

Can anyone link to the demo? Usually I dont like demos. Installing and uninstalling demos will slowly but surely leave more and more things in the registry and on the disk.

Sorry - found the link in another post....

 

[IronJeff]

I like this game, Ive been playing it for years. I keep an old computer around just for it.
The key to the game for me is the stock market. That is where you dominate your opponents.

The version I have is the original, so old it is on floppy disks.

 

[zx1111]

This game is not Railroad Tycoon IV. It is Railroad/Model train simulator. (ie, Sim-Rail?)
Yes, the stock market and economy model are simplified. But I welcome such change.
I can concentrate more on building good rail network and managing supply -demend chain than trading stock.
I find it more fun and rewarding to build such railroad network than buying and selling stock.
It is more like SimCity from Maxis with competitors (especially Rush Hour expansion) than Monopoly tycoon.

AFAIK, this game is first full-3D PC game dedicated to model train simulation.
There is Japanese console video game that simulates driving and operation of japanese train and network. But it lackes building new network. It is kind of driving simuation like Flight simulator of MS.

And yes, It felt like somewhat premature and lacks some features.
But, in terms of rail network simulation game, Firaxis did good job for first try.
It is beautiful and pleasing game to fiddle with. I hope that they fix the bugs and iron out remaining irregularites.

.

 

[Grotius]

Don't knock it til you try it! I've had a blast with SMRR. I like it better than RRT2 or RRT3, to be honest. It hasn't mesmerized me the way RRT1 did, but it's a very fun game with more of a model-train-set feel than a "tycoon game" feel. It's more about trains than tycoonery. I like it that way.

As for stability, once I turned trees to sparse, my stability problems ended. It runs fine for me.

 

[joasoze]

I love the economic and strategic parts of a game, and I will just have to accept that this game is not for me. Back to CIV IV Warlords I guess.

 

[Roads]

I downloaded the demo, played it and won't be buying the game unless there are some major changes made to it. It is Railroads Lite. I realize a lot of people like that but what about a game for people who prefer something a little heartier? Actually I think it would be a good idea to re-name this one Railroads Lite and then come out with the real game. Ditto for Civ IV.

Before you start flaming me, Civ IV is pretty robust and I did buy the game. Still a lot of content could be added.

 

[Fobok]

I was a fan of RT2, but for the aspect of laying track, routing, and meeting supply and demand. The economic model, the stock market aspects and such, floored me, however. I just could not get a proper grasp of it, and resultingly the game just got increasingly frustrating. I will perfectly admit, economics are just not my specialty.

I've tried the demo of this game and I think I will get it. I've seen a number of bugs and performance problems, (and I was hoping that was just the demo, but from what I hear here isn't), but those will get patched up just like Civ IV. This game seems to have taken what I liked about RT2 and gotten rid of what I didn't like, which I think from reading interviews was the intention. They've said they designed this game around the train, not the market elements, to try to catch the train enthusiasts rather than the economic strategists.

And, from my experience, the game still has some economic depth. Events effect the value of resources, and sometimes it's precarious balancing a route's income with the maintenance costs. Is it as deep as RT2? No, it isn't. But it is fun.

In my opinion, custom scenarios and multiplayer will be the saving grace of this game, after it's patched up.

 

[Roads]

I'll say multi-player is the only thing that will save it unless watching the trains chug along is all you want from it. Maybe the full game is more robust but the demo was so easy I couldn't in my wildest dreams consider it a game, much less a challenge. I just built one train per city and around 1940 had over 2 mil in cash and well on my way to getting the last of the 50 passengers to Glenrock. I did go ahead and build a railroad to one of the non-required cities because I got bored...

Can we please have a game with no multi-player and something to do besides enjoy the scenery?