Sid Meier's RR vs Railroad Tycoon3

[Andraeianus I]

Hi, I don't have Sid Meier's RR and was wondering if there are people around here that have also played Railroad Tycoon 3. This game I loved very much. Imagine trains rolling through a 3d landscape and you having the freedom to zoom in everywhere and even to hop on a train and see the landscape pass by. I also liked the game as a game. So beauty and fun in one game: can it be better?

So then the big questions: Is Sid Meier's RR better than RR Tycoon 3? Or worse? And in what respect? Or are they too different from eachother that you cannot really compare them? Which would be hard to imagine; it is all about trains after all...

 

[GenMarshall]

RRTycoon III is better than SMRR. Mainly RRTIII has more choices in locomotives IMO.

 

[blue_rail]

It would be so great if RTT3 could get a signal system and multiple platforms for stations similar to TT. It has great graphics and great gameplay.

 

[Greybriar]

I like Sid Meier's Railroads! better than Railroad Tycoon 3. Actually, I like Railroad Tycoon II better than Railroad Tycoon 3. And despite its age, I like the original Railroad Tycoon better than Railroad Tycoon 3. I just did not care for Railroad Tycoon 3.

But to compare SMRR to RRT3 is like comparing apples to oranges. They are two different types of games. Therefore it's up to each gamer's tastes as to which of the two he or she prefers.

 

[ffifield]

I thought RRT3 was pretty sad. I never could figure out how the economy worked in that game. When I want a railroad game I still go to RRT2. To me that game is like the original but with better graphics.

 

[shmily_dana]

Which one has a better sandbox mode?

 

[Tarascan_King]

My all time favorite RRT I
But since the question is RRT III VS SMRR, My answer is Railroad Tycoon 3 is better.
Also for sandbox mode i choose RRT 3

 

[davion76]

Like many other have said, RRT3 and Railroads! are VERY different. RRT3 is more like a railroad/economy simulator (not train sim). Railroads is more like RRT2 or the 1880s boardgames. Railroads! lends itself well to short multiplayer games.

Railroads! - It is a simple take this cargo to there, and it will make a cargo to take to another place. Very little supply demand - prices don't change all that much if at all for how much you take there. The train routing (if you use hard) is pretty lackluster to crappy. On medium its not great, but then since trains will pass through each other after a while, Railroads will prevent the gridlock very common in the hard setting. I have found out that its generally better to just make each train have its own independent track. Which brings me to two of my other complaints. 1) track don't seem to cost much at all to maintain. (the trains maintenance drives cost) 2) laying track is expensive, while leveling land is cheap. - the opposite of reality. Laying track on flat land is really pretty cheap, moving dirt for cuts is pretty expensive. Finally I haven't noticed and maintenance cost difference for trains waiting fo a load and trains pulling a load - making wait for full kind of useless unless you are on a long haul from which other trains are taking the same good.

Personally I like RT3 better, but I have been having alot of fun playing Railroads!. Railroads is MUCH prettier and has alot of neat animations to watch - if that is your bag.

As for which has a better sandbox, I would probably say Railroads, since it has better eyecandy. (why else would you play sandbox, but then why would you EVER play sandbox....) About the only thing I can say the RT3 does better in sandbox would be free zoom. You can find plenty of complaints and explanations about the zoom in railroads.

Davion76

 

[parachute4u]

I played the RRT2 campaign on an atari ST multilpe times, later I played it on PC again. After RRT3 came out I played it for one week. Then I installed RRT2 again and enjoyed it. SMRR I have uninstalled after 5 hours. It doesn't run very well + it's written for kids. I did not install RRT2 after playing SMRR. So I guess RRT3 is better, cause it made me want to build a railroad and manage trains and tracks and industries.

 

[moshelinho]

SMRR is pretty close to RRTIII which in a way is nice. financial system is not as deep as RRTIII. But track laying especially overpasses and bridges is good. Moreover, in RRTIII trains used to make a U turn on a single track. which is not in this one. which is good.....if u set a train from one station to another station and if at some point the train need to make a practically impossible turn then ur not allowed to do it.

 

[teccuk]

Well I have played the demo (at about 4fps) and at a mates house. From reading reviews and playing for a few hours, i would generally say that this game lacks the scope and depth of the RRT series.

The tiny map sizes are particularily dissapointing. Although RR3 was on a smaller scale than RR2 anyway, this is in effect a downward step. Graphically though, its much nicer than RR3.

It also lacks the realism of Transport Tycoon or Locomotion (which have thier own shortcomings anyway).

Its not as pretty as Trains and Trucks Tycoon.

So graphically its better than RR3 (so was RR2 in terms of prettyness), its smaller scope, but it is nice and simple and pretty satisfying.

Are comparisons fair? Not really but they help. All said and done though its certainly worth getting, and when i upgrade my PC its on my to-buy list.

Wow, two posts in one day... back to lurking. See you all in 2007.

 

[Geekyone]

I'm highly dissapointed with this game.

Small maps.

No map or senero editor/creator.

Buggy as all get out.

Small maps make for a very clustered game play.

Mapping down tracks is sometimes like trying to unwind a ball of string. Gets very messy and with the cramped/small maps this gets agrivating.

Too Easy to make money and there is no money sink in this game. Takes away challenge.

Bugs!

 

[Thorvald of Lym]

Ouch!
When I first heard that 2K Games had bought out PopTop Software, I was rather eager to see how Sid Meier would redesign Railroad Tycoon, but from reading what people have been posting, it looks as though I'll let it pass.

I for one admire Railroad Tycoon 3's economy-driven gameplay. This is what makes it a 'tycoon' game, and not simply a train sim. Indeed, it appears that Railroads! is geared more toward the trains themselves, and while I do respect that, I'd rather drive a train in SC4: Rush Hour; at least I'd have more space to work with.

 

[Krupo]

LOL, that comment about SC4 and train driving room is, sadly, sort of accurate. Still funny though.