The freight economic model alone is what does it for me in this game. That's really the core system that makes or breaks a game such as this, because it determines what it pays off to do. In other games like Transport Fever and Railroad Empire, the simpler system results in strategies based on pretty simple and straightforward premises (even if the execution often gets complex). In Railroad Tycoon 3 though, the economic dynamism and the way that freight smooths out the very differences between prices that you rely on for profit means the art of making money is far less straightforward, and the answer to everything is "it depends".
Man i wish when i played this game 16 years ago, someone actually taught me about economics , i somehow managed to make nice train routes, but if i learned about all the aspects of the game then, i would have been fucking killing it on wallstreet right now.
It was fun in this game to manipulate the industry and supply/demand model, and also the stock price by pausing highly profitable trains just before the EOFY was due. Also building track during depression phases for cheap labour.
This was a great game, though I never cared for the Japan Quakes or any of the futuristic scenarios. I could get the gold in just about every one except Orient Express. I could never get that 30mph express speed even with the Orca locomotive. But the very first mission is my favorite since I live in the northeast.
I've always found that the southern route works best. Immediately connect Boston to New York City via Providence, Hartford, and Bridgeport. Then work your way up the Hudson River to Albany, then simply follow the Erie Canal west to Buffalo.
I hope somebody did a RRT3 style economic simulation, retaining the good mechanics and adding more complex industrial modeling. Owning industries by buying stock from them and having individual balance sheets. Graphics need to be done carefully, In RRT3 those giant trains and houses really support the game as the objects are not too small, only the important stuff is show.
This game is already 20 years old. Is there some newer and better (or at least as good as RT3) railway or transportation game? I would like to try some new challenges, but I did not find any such game so far (I would agree to the question in the title), which is quite sad, given how old it is. If anybody has some advice, it would be highly appreciated.
There is Railroad Tycoon 2 that is a pretty solid contender.. but it's RT3 predecessor lol. More recently Railway Empire was released. It is the only other game very similar to RRT3. It is honestly not as good but still worth a try! Railway Empire 2 has been announced and should be released this year so we will see what this one offers. Other great trains games are Sweet Transit, Mashinky, OpenTTD and my personal favourite Simutrans. But they are very different in style and approach compared to RT3. Finally there is also Transport Fever 1 & 2, they feel more like a Cities Skyline or SimCity but you only build a transport network. Sid Meier whom made the first Railroad Tycoon also made "Sid Meier's Railroads!" but it is a different experience to the king of train games, SMR is much more arcady, similar to Railroad Corporation.
A little late but, I 100% Railway Empire on release. It's goodish and just barely scratches the itch. I highly recommend Mashinky tho. Check that game out.
Well I have been playing an obscene amount of time RRT2 in the last few weeks. I even consider naming the upcoming review "Better than the Third?🤔" So RRT2 is a great game in its own rights and RRT3 has a lot of common in it. They are both superb titles and play fairly differently even if there is a lot of familiarity! If you have appreciated the second installment I have absolutely no doubts you will be able to enjoy greatly the third one!! You should indisputability give it a try.
I have patch 1.06 and one of the texture patch. I don't remember exactly what was my set up but both are available here hawkdawg.com/rrt/rrt3/rrt3_main.php
This game used to run fine on Steam, but after an update, I keep getting a resolution message when I try to launch it. It says I can improve my screen resolution to 1920x1080, which it's already running at. Any suggestions?
I disliked that scenario. The requirements for each country is too specific and unless you make dedicated trains to fulfill them, they are absurdly complicated to pull off.
I'm assuming 2K Games still owns this franchise and has back-binned it, probably never to see the light of day again, as they are squarely focused on NBA and other sports titles.
I wanted to love this game when it came out but when it wouldn't let me run a route at a loss (to deliver goods for the next route and real money maker) i just lost interest and couldn't stay invested in it.
Railway Empire is an exceptionally good game. Many including my self think it is a successor of the Railroad Tycoon series game due to the similarities. But I still think RRT3 is better. I feel the economical systems both as a company or as a investor in the game and the goods logistics (including moving on its own when underserved) add a lot of depth and strategy to the game. And frankly the goofy 3d world and low polygon details of RRT3 makes it feel more like a computerized business management lol
For me, Sid Meier's RailRoad is too focused on building tracks and running trains non stop. A scenario last like 20 minutes from start to finish. Each city will have fixed factories and primary goods are always near. In RRT3 you have to set up most valuable routes for goods to make money and expand. You can build more rails to tie in more goods in your transport network gradually. You can buy and expand industry where ever it's more fit. Railroad Tycoon 3 is much more about the simulation of a train company. If I can compare to strategy genres, RRT3 plays more like a 4X game and RR more like a RTS.
