Railway Empire - Railroad Tycoon from Kalypso

@robc04 I did try one of them out west, its mostly randomized objectives from what I could tell. I got the achievement for using a diesel train, which made me happy. :)

I’m glad you guys are posting about this. Tempting! I haven’t been obsessed with a train game since Train Fever. (For whatever reason didn’t get into Transport Fever. I think I’d just had enough of the engine, so to speak.) For me the choice would be this game or Mashinky.

My impression is that Railway Empire is more about competition against other railroads, whereas Mashinky (like Train Fever) is more about just building your own rail network. Is that a fair description?

I haven’t played Train Fever or Mashinky, so I can’t compare them. It is true that Railway Empire has other companies to compete against, but I can’t say I’ve focused on them. I usually am doing my own this, focusing on the objectives for that scenario. I do occasionally buy other companies out though. Sometimes the chatter from the AI companies is a little annoying.

Thanks. Railway Empire sure looks pretty, and that does count for something. I also like that it uses real geography, not procedurally-generated maps. It’s neat seeing the Chesapeake Bay in screenshots, for example. I’ve started “following” it on Steam; if the price drops below the current $50, I might take the plunge.

It is sub $40 at a bunch of places.

It’s sub $30 atcdkeys.com

Thanks! I didn’t realize that. Tempting.

1.3 Patch

Glad to see this:

We have added steel and stone bridges. These will be shown when tracks reach a specific height.

I am not sure why, but I still can’t figure out the interface for this game. I just tried again and trains don’t move when I expect them to, and then I reach point where the tutorial wants me to do something, but I can’t.

Stations appear to act as signals, as they should, but I had a train just sit there waiting for the line to clear as the other train passed through multiple stations and signals. The line couldn’t have been more clear.

And then it was telling me to connect Cheyenne to the timber and cotton manufacturers just north of the city. To connect both where it’s showing to be put a station I had to build a large, 4 track station, which seems odd. But then for some reason I cannot get a train traveling between the two anyway.

I have no idea what I am doing wrong. I have tried to follow the tutorial. I have read through the tips, but it just isn’t clicking with me. I suppose I could find a streamer, but last I looked, there wasn’t much on Youtube.

Tom streamed this game for over 2 hours tonight!

Also…

Mexico DLC is out, adds a night mode as well!

This song not included. :(

Or this song.

The game is really great. The only thing I don’t like about it is the pace of development and income is too fast.

I agree. Most of the time I ignore it for a while and then research a whole bunch of things at once.

download

Great Lakes DLC! Oh Canada!

Yessss!

So I take you are still enjoying this, playing it, and would recommend it?

I was interested in this when it released, but IIRC people said the AI was terrible and played by totally different rules than the player. Also the UI had some problems. Have these been fixed?

They were fixed! For the most part. ;)

AI opponents are now able to use the complex track system.
The AI can now make use of signals and multi-tracks, when the player selects the realistic track-building mode in the game settings.
In realistic mode, the AI usually builds two parallel tracks – one for each direction. They will also make use of signals and crossings.
Players can select the track-system for the AI in the game settings. So there are now three modes that you can now choose from:

  • “Realistic” - Both the player and the AI use the realistic track-building system.

  • “Normal” - Both the player and the AI use the simple track-building system, where trains can pass through each other.

  • “Normal AI” - The player uses realistic track-building, but the AI uses the normal (ie. Simple) track-building system.
    Hint: Players that are looking for the greatest challenge should use the “Normal AI” setting and “Very Hard” difficulty.

Players and AI can build crossings.
Players and AI can now make use of a multitude of crossings, for example the frequently-requested X-crossings, among many others.

I’d recommend the game at half price. I’ve enjoyed my time with it. Tom even streamed it for over an hour awhile back.

They completed everything on their post launch road map, and now have a 2nd post launch road map!

Are signals manual or automatic? Basically I do not want to baby sit my trains.

Automatic, but directional.

I am not sure I understand that answer. I do not have this game yet.
Let me put it this way, I have a single track connection two stations. Two trains run on this track (in the more complex mode). There is a section of track that has a bypass so the trains can pass each other which is controlled by switches (I am remembering this from rail road tycoon from like a billion years ago). Do the trains automatically switch to the right tracks, waiting if necessary, for the other trains to pass? Or do you have to fiddle with it?