Sid Meier's Railroads!

[junkerman123]

Hope this isn't a repoxxy...did a search for "railroad"

Saw an ad for this game in my PC Gamer, I have to say I was a huge fan of the original railroad tycoon and RT2, so I'm pretty excited for this. Pirates! was pretty good, but this is right up Sid's alley, and Firaxis did a great job with civ4.

Railroads! Official Site

GameSpot First Look

 

[Schadenfroh]

I wonder how many "Sid Meier" games Sid Meier actually created.

 

[junkerman123]

Originally posted by: Schadenfroh
I wonder how many "Sid Meier" games Sid Meier actually created.

Sid Meier's Pirates! (1987)
Sid Meier's Gettysburg! (1997)
Sid Meier's Antietam! (1998)
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri (1999)
Sid Meier's Pirates! (2004)
Sid Meier's Railroads! (expected Fall 2006)

Officially 6, although I recall games like Colonization having the words Sid Meier's on the game box and splash screen, although it wasn't in front of the official game title.

 

[lozina]

yeah i am looking forward to this title as well. and its coming out pretty soon ... early october i think. trains are cool

 

[junkerman123]

Originally posted by: lozina
yeah i am looking forward to this title as well. and its coming out pretty soon ... early october i think. trains are cool

I just hope they don't make it too cartoonish and keep the realism of RT2, I loved working the stock market and doing al lthat stuff in RT2, so I hope they have all that stuff.

 

[Schadenfroh]

Originally posted by: junkerman123
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri (1999)
games like Colonization having the words Sid Meier's on the game box and splash screen

Brian Reynolds created that fine game (Alpha Centauri) along with Civilization 2, which were the two best "Sid Meier" games.

Unknown to many, Sid Meier's Civilization II, Sid Meier's Colonization and Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri were primarily his (Brian Reynolds) designs, not Sid Meier's.

 

[Markbnj]

Railroad Tycoon was close to my favorite game of all time. It took over the job of wasting hundreds of hours of my life right after I got bored of Civilization. Even though the original was very limited (in terms of eye candy and game play - like the 32 station limit) I kept at it long after the game had disappeared from shelves. The subsequent non-Meiers releases, RRT 2 and RRT 3 each added more eye candy, but left out critical game-play elements like signals and tunnels that had made the original so much fun. Hopefully Firaxis will restore this stuff. What Meiers was always good at was balance: providing just the right amount of detailed control elements to keep you frantically stabbing keys and punching mouse buttons as your sim evolved. I'm really looking forward to this one.

 

[lozina]

Originally posted by: Markbnj
Railroad Tycoon was close to my favorite game of all time. It took over the job of wasting hundreds of hours of my life right after I got bored of Civilization. Even though the original was very limited (in terms of eye candy and game play - like the 32 station limit) I kept at it long after the game had disappeared from shelves. The subsequent non-Meiers releases, RRT 2 and RRT 3 each added more eye candy, but left out critical game-play elements like signals and tunnels that had made the original so much fun. Hopefully Firaxis will restore this stuff. What Meiers was always good at was balance: providing just the right amount of detailed control elements to keep you frantically stabbing keys and punching mouse buttons as your sim evolved. I'm really looking forward to this one.

according to screen shots it looks like there will indeed be traffic signals, tunnels and much more extensive and flexible use of bridges compared to RT2/3. For example i've seen screen shots of bridges curving over water, and bridges on land like an overpass, so one track goes over another track and climbs up a hill at the same time. looks like it will be crazy fun !

edit:

SCREEN SHOTS!

one

two

eh i might as well just post the album page

 

[Markbnj]

Originally posted by: lozina

Originally posted by: Markbnj
Railroad Tycoon was close to my favorite game of all time. It took over the job of wasting hundreds of hours of my life right after I got bored of Civilization. Even though the original was very limited (in terms of eye candy and game play - like the 32 station limit) I kept at it long after the game had disappeared from shelves. The subsequent non-Meiers releases, RRT 2 and RRT 3 each added more eye candy, but left out critical game-play elements like signals and tunnels that had made the original so much fun. Hopefully Firaxis will restore this stuff. What Meiers was always good at was balance: providing just the right amount of detailed control elements to keep you frantically stabbing keys and punching mouse buttons as your sim evolved. I'm really looking forward to this one.

according to screen shots it looks like there will indeed be traffic signals, tunnels and much more extensive and flexible use of bridges compared to RT2/3. For example i've seen screen shots of bridges curving over water, and bridges on land like an overpass, so one track goes over another track and climbs up a hill at the same time. looks like it will be crazy fun !

edit:

SCREEN SHOTS!

one

two

eh i might as well just post the album page

Yeah, it does look like I need to clear my calendar for the fall .

 

[Atheus]

Wow, Railroad Tycoon, that was awesome! Takes me back to school - we used to play things like scorched earth, gauntlet, leisure suit larry, sim city, etc. And Civ and Railroad tycoon of course. Many hours wasted

 

[Homerboy]

why do I have a feeling my 5yr old is going to want me to play this game non-stop?

 

[junkerman123]

Originally posted by: Schadenfroh

Originally posted by: junkerman123
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri (1999)
games like Colonization having the words Sid Meier's on the game box and splash screen

Brian Reynolds created that fine game (Alpha Centauri) along with Civilization 2, which were the two best "Sid Meier" games.

Unknown to many, Sid Meier's Civilization II, Sid Meier's Colonization and Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri were primarily his (Brian Reynolds) designs, not Sid Meier's.

Colonization is to this day my favorite. I thought Alpha Centauri was over-hyped, although creating your own units was sweet! Hm...I should find that game and play it.

Nice to hear that other people are excited for this game! :thumbsup:

 

[lozina]

Originally posted by: Homerboy
why do I have a feeling my 5yr old is going to want me to play this game non-stop?

Yeah, good excuse! "Oh hi honey, yeah I'm forced to play this damn Railroads game - Billy just can't seem to get enough of it! I'd really rather be working on patching up those holes in the Living Room..."

 

[lozina]

Originally posted by: junkerman123

Originally posted by: Schadenfroh

Originally posted by: junkerman123
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri (1999)
games like Colonization having the words Sid Meier's on the game box and splash screen

Brian Reynolds created that fine game (Alpha Centauri) along with Civilization 2, which were the two best "Sid Meier" games.

Unknown to many, Sid Meier's Civilization II, Sid Meier's Colonization and Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri were primarily his (Brian Reynolds) designs, not Sid Meier's.

Colonization is to this day my favorite. I thought Alpha Centauri was over-hyped, although creating your own units was sweet! Hm...I should find that game and play it.

Nice to hear that other people are excited for this game! :thumbsup:

You know, out of all those games in the "Golden Age" I have never played Colonization yet now I hear so much fanfare about it. At the time though I don't think I ever heard of it before.

The golden age for me was Civilization, Railroad Tycoon, XCom: UFO Defense, Master of Orion, Master of Magic, Civ 2, Daggerfall ... I'm sure I'd throw Colonization in there had I ever played it

just dont see those kind of quality games (as in actually fun, immersive gameplay - not just spiffy graphics) anymore. they are few and far between

 

[junkerman123]

You're somewhat right Lozina, but that's not really because the games are poor, it's just you've seen it all before. Civ 4 I thought was a fantastic game, so was Heroes5, and LotR:WotR2. But...note the numbers at the end of all those games. The sequel craze is just making the gaming world a bore. Although the new games are great, they are not offering too much that is fresh or original besides minor changes and better graphics. Even a game like Ceasar 4, which is the sequel to one of my favorite games of all time, will probably be good but won't get me as excited as C3 (I never played C1 or C2 but maybe C3 had the same effect on earlier fans of the franchise).

Fact of the matter is, the games you listed were not just brilliantly done, but ORIGINAL (even Civ2 made some major changes). We need more originality. Game designers are now often hitting the spot with graphics, testing, game balancing etc, and making good games. They need to also start coming up with fresh, new ideas. The Sims was a fresh, new idea and made a gazillion dollars, and was a great game. The Sims should be an inspiration to producers to encourage more creative thinking.

sorry...mini-rant.

 

[Markbnj]

It's a pretty standard progression: what was originally a creative "garage" business scales up, everything becomes more expensive, and as a result the people with the money don't want to take risks. That's why we get Scary Movie 4 instead of something fresh and new.

 

[lozina]

Originally posted by: junkerman123
You're somewhat right Lozina, but that's not really because the games are poor, it's just you've seen it all before. Civ 4 I thought was a fantastic game, so was Heroes5, and LotR:WotR2. But...note the numbers at the end of all those games. The sequel craze is just making the gaming world a bore. Although the new games are great, they are not offering too much that is fresh or original besides minor changes and better graphics. Even a game like Ceasar 4, which is the sequel to one of my favorite games of all time, will probably be good but won't get me as excited as C3 (I never played C1 or C2 but maybe C3 had the same effect on earlier fans of the franchise).

Fact of the matter is, the games you listed were not just brilliantly done, but ORIGINAL (even Civ2 made some major changes). We need more originality. Game designers are now often hitting the spot with graphics, testing, game balancing etc, and making good games. They need to also start coming up with fresh, new ideas. The Sims was a fresh, new idea and made a gazillion dollars, and was a great game. The Sims should be an inspiration to producers to encourage more creative thinking.

sorry...mini-rant.

You know, that's what I used to think for a long time- that it wasn't the games but it was just me. I was either jaded in general or that I was getting tired of the sequels. But then Civ 4 came out and Civ 4 restored the kind of enjoyment I used ot experience in games.