Slitherine

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ORIGINAL: Grell

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ORIGINAL: Valkyrie

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ORIGINAL: Grell

Hi Valkyrie,

I adored Trainz, it was really a great game, I didn't know they made a second version.

Regards,

Grell

Actually, there are about five different versions available. They started fairly simply and kept adding stuff on until it started getting too complex to run well. Trainz 2006 had a lot of detractors. Their latest is something called "Trainz Classics" I believe which was a bit of a step backwards in complexity.

Someone said Auran was in bankruptcy.. I hadn't heard that, but just checked out their forums and it seems that "Auran Development" (that was producing a ton of non-TRAINZ titles) went under but the core TRAINZ group remains in operation (though with a smaller staff) and development on their next product continues. It looks like they tried to do this massive expansion beyond Train simulation and that is what blew up on them.

Anyway, they have a collection pack that includes the orginal TRAINZ, Ultimate TRAINZ, TRAINZ 2004 and TRAINZ 2006 in one affordable package.

Hi Valkyrie,

Five versions holy moses is that alot. I never saw them in stores ever. I wish that I could find that classic collection you mentioned but i doubt it.

Regards,

Grell

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ORIGINAL: Valkyrie




Correction: The Classic Collection doesn't include the original TRAINZ (which is now no longer sold) but does include three collections of TRAINS Routes plus UTC, 2004, and 2006 versions of TRAINZ. That's a great bargain.

Look for it Here at the Auran online store. I bought all my versions online from them as they never had much store penetration, especially here in the US.

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ORIGINAL: ravinhood
Then for a bit of everything there is "Transport Tycoon Deluxe" and "Industry Giant II", both are excellent fun of cargo hauling of various kinds though the IG-II gets a lil bogged down with the 4 wheel vehicles and there will be 10000 on the screen before you know it. lol Transport Tycoon Deluxe on the other hand has an improved AI (I think the game cheats now lol) and staying at the top is not as easy as it once was.

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ORIGINAL: marcusm

Did anyone here get the new Railroad Simulator from EA/Kuju? I wonder if has any
kind of activities/industry like Trainz. I havent seen anything in reviews.

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ORIGINAL: Son_of_Montfort

Oh, Transport Tycoon not Transport Giant. Yeah, I mentioned Locomotion, which was Chris Taylor's half hearted attempted to "update" Transport Tycoon Deluxe. This ended up failing miserably and was a giant, crappy, buggy, horrible mess.

BTW RH, have you seen the Open Transport Tycoon Deluxe project? Apparently they are updating the open source to add more functions without changing the gameplay.

RH, this is the Transport Giant I was talking about. It is also by JoWood. Funny, I just saw that Trainz 2006 and 2004 got put up on Gamersgate last night, as we were talking about them. Which is the better pick?

Marcusm,
looks like the Kuju program only comes with 4 real world routes, which depends on the country version you buy. They said each route is about 90 miles. That seems rather short, even if one can create their own routes via a world builder.


SoM

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ORIGINAL: ravinhood

There's 1830 Railroads and Robber Barrons for the PC made by Avalon Hill (I think) that is probably the best strategic simulation of them all since the AI is ruthless to the core.

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ORIGINAL: Valkyrie
The better pick? I'd go with TRAINZ 2004 to get your feet wet. Afterwards, if you want more depth and complexity (and have a heavier duty computer) you could move up to 2006. I just found 2006 to be extremely impressive, but just not as much fun for someone like me who isn't a hardcore train buff. A lot of people on the TRAINZ forums would agree. 2006 was greatly improved by a massive patch (and I mean it was HUGE)which was necessary to fix a lot of issues with the original release. One issue with 2006 was with the utility to manage all of your downloaded content - it was complex, confusing, and often buggy. 2004 was easier to add new content to IMHO. Honestly, there is so much stuff out there to download that you can easily end up with thousands and thousands of trains, rolling stock, scenery, and routes. Each new route may add it's own list of additional terrain and building items that need to be downloaded which further complicates things when you try and run a route and suddenly find the track ends at a bridge that you don't have <LOL>. The "download station" has always been the strength and weakness of the series for this reason: tons of great stuff to download, but increasing complexity to manage it all if you take advantage of the huge library of assets.

It's all worth it though... at the prices being charged now they are all worth having in your gaming collection. If you go with TRAINZ 2004 be sure and visit TRAINZ Pro Routes and download their Clinchfield Route... it's my favorite!

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ORIGINAL: Adam Parker

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ORIGINAL: ravinhood

There's 1830 Railroads and Robber Barrons for the PC made by Avalon Hill (I think) that is probably the best strategic simulation of them all since the AI is ruthless to the core.

If Matrix is still in the business of resurrecting old games, I'd like them to give us this one.

Another guy on these forums, Mark Shot, fell in love with this old game recently.

As for me, I've been playing Railroad Tycoon 3 alot lately and I've noticed one big thing compared to RRTC 2. There's no AI! I've played 4 scenarios in a row now and not once has the AI started a railroad of its own - not laid a single track!

What gives?

(But compared to the Sid Meier game, RRTC 3 at least, is immensely more intuitive to play - and looks fantastic).

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ORIGINAL: Son_of_Montfort

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ORIGINAL: Valkyrie
The better pick? I'd go with TRAINZ 2004 to get your feet wet. Afterwards, if you want more depth and complexity (and have a heavier duty computer) you could move up to 2006. I just found 2006 to be extremely impressive, but just not as much fun for someone like me who isn't a hardcore train buff. A lot of people on the TRAINZ forums would agree. 2006 was greatly improved by a massive patch (and I mean it was HUGE)which was necessary to fix a lot of issues with the original release. One issue with 2006 was with the utility to manage all of your downloaded content - it was complex, confusing, and often buggy. 2004 was easier to add new content to IMHO. Honestly, there is so much stuff out there to download that you can easily end up with thousands and thousands of trains, rolling stock, scenery, and routes. Each new route may add it's own list of additional terrain and building items that need to be downloaded which further complicates things when you try and run a route and suddenly find the track ends at a bridge that you don't have <LOL>. The "download station" has always been the strength and weakness of the series for this reason: tons of great stuff to download, but increasing complexity to manage it all if you take advantage of the huge library of assets.

It's all worth it though... at the prices being charged now they are all worth having in your gaming collection. If you go with TRAINZ 2004 be sure and visit TRAINZ Pro Routes and download their Clinchfield Route... it's my favorite!

Well, there is the collection, and it isn't much more than the Trainz 2006 by itself. I am really interested in city routes with elevated trains or trams (I live in NYC). Does 2004 have these, or is it all locomotives? Why is 2004 more "user-friendly"? I have both demos and literally can't tell much of a difference.

Incidentally, and a bit off-topic, anyone try Ship Simulator 2008? If there is anything I like more than trains, it is ships!

SoM