RRT3 vs RRT2

[cburgess]

I have been playing RRT2 since it came out, and have been looking at RRT3. Details about the content of RRT3 has been hard to find, and I am wondering whether to buy the newer version. The website for RRT3 offers little info other than what I see on the box...much better graphics.

My question is: Other than better graphics, what newer features does RRT3 offer that is not already in RRT2?

Are there more industries; intermodal cars; better coverage of diesel locos; smarter AI opponents?

My only dissappointment with RRT2 was the lack of intermodal cars and better coverage of modern locos and the slow time clock bug.

[gfbeat]

I bought RRT3 a while ago and played RRT2 for a loooong time. And will perhaps play it soon again.

To answer a few of your questions:

Industries: Seems to be the same than in RRT2, only a very few more (rice farms for example). And a few more changes: There are warehouses acting like ports, none of them can be bought. Bakeries also can't be bought, they just have certain demand. The same with department stores.

Intermodal Cars: Don't know. Only played in the steam and early diesel era yet.

Coverage of diesel locos: BAD. Sadly there are fewer than in RRT2. For the US you have F3's, GP7's, FP45's, DD40x's, AMD-103's and SD90MAC's. That's it.

AI opponents:
I didn't notice the AI being any smarter, and I always play in "HARD"-mode.

Other changes:
You don't need to manage the cargo of every train, the computer can do it for you and it does OK. Industry prizes depend from revenues. You can earn money much more effectively by buying industries.

All in all I'd say it's a nice game, but I tend to go back to RRT2. The graphics look awesome in RRT3, but the are too few engines. And I loved to play maps in RRT2 for a very long time, this isn't very exciting in RRT3.

It would be great if engines could be created and imported like in MSTS. Maybe there will be an addon improving some issues (I hope so!)

Hope this helps.

[CFRF_1]

You can also build your own industries, and better camera views as well. More campaigns, and a slightly better editor.

[asn5000]

I think RT3 better than RT2 but I wish they had more diesels.

[Captain_Scarlet]

I have played RT2 for yeeears, like 99 or something, i have also extensively tested RT3, and i recon i get a lot more kick out of RT2, it's more interesting, more fun... And RT2 will virtually work on any pc ! I have 3 player games on my PCs, and even with the slowest PCs it still runs, yeah RT3 has 3D and all, but do we really need it? I mean like does it add that much to the pleasure of having your train co ?

[ukrainik]

I'm a big fan of RRT series since the original. And I must say that 3D not only doesn't add anything to the game play but actually makes it worse for the eyes and creates a confusing overview of the map. comparatively I would go with RRT2 any time of the day. The only feature that RRT3 truly has over RRT2 is building your own businesses but then again depending what angle you approach from it makes it sometime more fun to figure out a tricky root for the resources and products. For me personally RRT3 had nothing new or interesting to offer.

[ac4400cw]

There's a download for RRT3 but i can't remember where it is at. I believe it's on the Railroad Tycoon website. There are more locomotives on there and there is a program which you are able to repaint the available locomotives that you have. I believe that the same program would do the logos too which you can create your own in here as well. In some ways, I think it's easier and others I think it's harder. You can make tunnels and bridges to go over stretches of mountians, valleys, and rivers. You can even go over other tracks as well. I've played it some and I was able to win it but I've had to cheat a little (redo the settings) to beat it.

[Bullhead]

(first of all my apologies to my American {& perhaps other places} readers as I have used bits of UK railway terminology in the following & I’m aware there are differences so hope it’s understandable there!)

I have been playing RRT2 for some time now and have been considering upgrading to RRT3. There seems to be "mixed messages" on the forums about whether RRT3 is an improvement on RRT2 or not. Opinion seems to be divided on the benefits (or not) of 3D views etc. My question is does RRT3 fix the things that (to me personally) have become a constant irritation on RRT2? (though I do like the game enough as it is) {or maybe someone out there knows how to make RRT2 do these things!}. The features I’m looking for on my "wish list" are:
A) When you have developed an extensive and complex network it would be really handy to route a train "via" a particular station (without it stopping there) this would be to avoid congestion on other parts of the network and make better use of the lines you have built. The only way of achieving this on RRT2 (that I have found) is to make the train stop at the "via" station at which point it unloads its cargo which may be of little or no value at the "via" (but highly profitable at your intended destination). The result is that on (2) you end up with under utilised lines in some places while close by there are trains queuing to pass busy junctions and costing you money!!
B) Closely related to the above point it would be great to be able to build "grade separated" junctions at busy interchanges (just as is done on real railways) to allow one track to pass over or under another before turning and connecting into the other – this cuts out the need for e.g. an "up" train to cross over a "down" line at a junction forcing the down train to wait until it has cleared. Junction capacity could be significantly increased this way. Is this is available on RRT3?
C) Again to increase realism it would be good to be able to construct tunnels under hills / mountains (at appropriate cost of course) – just as in the more recent versions of "simcity" have they done this on RRT3?
D) To me the "grading" system for the trains is a "cheat too far" ie. where you can designate an "express" that will overtake an ordinary train on an "ordinary" line – on a real rail network this would be achieved with a "passing loop," usually at a station where the slow train waits while the express makes use of a short stretch of third or fourth track around the station. Have they put the facility to build these and the software to make the slow trains wait for the "fasts" in RRT3? (a similar case could of course be argued for opposing trains passing each other on single line working)
Thanks
Rob

[Daniel G]

>B) Closely related to the above point it would be great to be able to build "grade separated" junctions at busy interchanges (just as is done on real railways) to allow one track to pass over or under another before turning and connecting into the other – this cuts out the need for e.g. an "up" train to cross over a "down" line at a junction forcing the down train to wait until it has cleared. Junction capacity could be significantly increased this way. Is this is available on RRT3?<
Yes, in RRT3 you can make one line go over the other, and curve it to connect.
>Again to increase realism it would be good to be able to construct tunnels under hills / mountains (at appropriate cost of course) – just as in the more recent versions of "simcity" have they done this on RRT3?<
Yes, in RRT3 you can make tunnels by dragging the track through the mountain.
D) To me the "grading" system for the trains is a "cheat too far" ie. where you can designate an "express" that will overtake an ordinary train on an "ordinary" line – on a real rail network this would be achieved with a "passing loop," usually at a station where the slow train waits while the express makes use of a short stretch of third or fourth track around the station. Have they put the facility to build these and the software to make the slow trains wait for the "fasts" in RRT3? (a similar case could of course be argued for opposing trains passing each other on single line working)
Yes, in RRT3 you can designate 1st class from second, third, and fourth class. There isn't however a facility for it.
Hope this helps. :)

[Jondor]

I'm pretty late on the draw here, but better late than never.

To answer your questions:

A) Yes. You can designate waypoints to route a train through a particular branch of track.

B) Yes. You can create overpasses, though you have to have plenty of flat land to do so.

C) Tunnels are available.

D) There are no passing loops available. This function works just as it did in RRT2, where trains with a higher priority pass by lower priority trains, causing them to halt and have to accelerate again.

The main problem people have with RRT3 vs. RRT2 is with the freight system as I believe is mentioned above. Rather than there being simple demand, there is a price for each good at each station that fluctuates with supply and demand. The problem is that there is no option to simply store a cargo at a station, and trains will NOT haul cargo from a higher price station to a lower one, even if an even higher priced station lies beyond. That is the main drawback to the game.

[stationmaster]

For game play, I would still prefer RRT1 - although some of the bugs (16-bit overflow for example) interfered with being too successful.

A DOS game with crude graphics by today's standards, but it was one of the best RR games ever and was fun. With RRT2, it seems like I spent all my time dealing with engine breakdown and not on the interesting game mechanics and strategy.

Ron
http://www.railwaystation.com