Railroad Tycoon 3
Encyclopedia
Railroad Tycoon 3 is a computer game in the Railroad Tycoon series, released in 2003.
The economic model has been reworked. In previous games, goods could only be picked up at a station, and revenue depended on the distance between stations. Carloads in RT3 slowly move across the map (representing road and water transport) along the gradient
of a scalar field
representing price, where supply and demand
sites function as sources and sinks. Revenue depends on the price difference between pick-up and delivery. This has several effects; raw materials can find their way to industries and get processed, without any trains involved, and a train does not need to pick up goods at the source.
Other changes include: each carload of mail, passengers and troops now has a destination; car setup can be automated, so that trains always pick up the cars that yield the most revenue; warehouse buildings also appear in the game, completing the commodity market the same way as ports do; trains can pass each other on a single track (as in RT1 on lowest difficulty level); no need for signal towers; service and maintenance depots, as well as station improvements (post offices, restaurants etc.), are placed individually on the map; players can buy industries, and also build processing industries wherever they like; processing industries have limited capacity, but they can be upgraded.
, the game contains a campaign with several scenarios, presented by continent - North America, Europe and the World. The campaign interface is an interior of a railway museum
, with the voice of the elderly eccentric museum guide from RT2.
North American missions:
European missions:
World missions:
Futuristic missions:
Besides these, the game contains several stand-alone scenarios, such as post-war Italy, France, Western Europe in 1990, Australia, Germany and more.
Other mods have been created including new locomotives, rolling stock, industries and other building types to enhance gameplay.
New features
The game interface is in full 3D, with free camera movement. The square grid is no longer rigid, as it was in Railroad Tycoon and Railroad Tycoon 2 - rail and structures can now be rotated 360 degrees.The track building function is not very realistic, as tracks are sometimes built at angles almost at 90 degrees to each other.The economic model has been reworked. In previous games, goods could only be picked up at a station, and revenue depended on the distance between stations. Carloads in RT3 slowly move across the map (representing road and water transport) along the gradient
Gradient
In vector calculus, the gradient of a scalar field is a vector field that points in the direction of the greatest rate of increase of the scalar field, and whose magnitude is the greatest rate of change....
of a scalar field
Scalar field
In mathematics and physics, a scalar field associates a scalar value to every point in a space. The scalar may either be a mathematical number, or a physical quantity. Scalar fields are required to be coordinate-independent, meaning that any two observers using the same units will agree on the...
representing price, where supply and demand
Supply and demand
Supply and demand is an economic model of price determination in a market. It concludes that in a competitive market, the unit price for a particular good will vary until it settles at a point where the quantity demanded by consumers will equal the quantity supplied by producers , resulting in an...
sites function as sources and sinks. Revenue depends on the price difference between pick-up and delivery. This has several effects; raw materials can find their way to industries and get processed, without any trains involved, and a train does not need to pick up goods at the source.
Other changes include: each carload of mail, passengers and troops now has a destination; car setup can be automated, so that trains always pick up the cars that yield the most revenue; warehouse buildings also appear in the game, completing the commodity market the same way as ports do; trains can pass each other on a single track (as in RT1 on lowest difficulty level); no need for signal towers; service and maintenance depots, as well as station improvements (post offices, restaurants etc.), are placed individually on the map; players can buy industries, and also build processing industries wherever they like; processing industries have limited capacity, but they can be upgraded.
Campaign Scenarios
Just as Railroad Tycoon IIRailroad Tycoon II
Railroad Tycoon II is a game for the PC, Macintosh, PlayStation and Dreamcast in the Railroad Tycoon series. The Dreamcast version is a Gold Edition with improved graphics and gameplay...
, the game contains a campaign with several scenarios, presented by continent - North America, Europe and the World. The campaign interface is an interior of a railway museum
Railway museum
A railway museum is a museum that explores the history of all aspects of rail related transportation, including: locomotives , railway cars, trams, and railway signalling equipment.See List of railway museums...
, with the voice of the elderly eccentric museum guide from RT2.
North American missions:
- Go West: New York State & New EnglandNew EnglandNew England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
, 1840-66. - Germantown, USA: Midwestern USA 1850-80.
- Central Pacific: San Francisco-Salt Lake City, 1855-76.
- Texas Tea: TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
& northeastern MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, 1888-1918. - The War Effort: Mid-Atlantic USA, 1941. Tactical scenario.
European missions:
- The State of Germany: Germany, 1848.
- The Flying ScotsmanFlying Scotsman (train)The Flying Scotsman is an express passenger train service that has been running between London and Edinburgh—the capitals of England and Scotland respectively—since 1862...
: Great BritainGreat BritainGreat Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, 1848-65. - Crossing the Alps: Venice-Munich-Zürich, 1875-1910.
- The Third Republic: France, 1871-96.
- Orient ExpressOrient ExpressThe Orient Express is the name of a long-distance passenger train service originally operated by the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits. It ran from 1883 to 2009 and is not to be confused with the Venice-Simplon Orient Express train service, which continues to run.The route and rolling stock...
: Balkans, 1880-1914.
World missions:
- ArgentinaArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
1880-1909. - Rhodes Unfinished: Eastern Africa, 1902–33
- Japan Quakes: Japan 1964-85.
Futuristic missions:
- The Seeder: GreenlandGreenlandGreenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
, 2050. Tactical scenario. - Dutchlantis: Western Europe, 2021-51.
- A chip off the Old Block: CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, 2050-80.
Besides these, the game contains several stand-alone scenarios, such as post-war Italy, France, Western Europe in 1990, Australia, Germany and more.
Loco Commotion extra content
A train based puzzle game included on the Play Disc as a 141MB optional extra. Loco-Commotion involves solving route and shunting puzzles by moving trains at precise times over increasingly difficult environments throughout the multiple levels.Coast to Coast expansion pack
The freeware expansion pack Coast to coast contains some new locomotives, maps and scenarios. Among the scenarios are imperial Russia and the People's Republic of China. There are unusual scenarios as well; including one in which the United States never underwent the Revolution.Modding
With the release of the Coast to Coast Expansion pack, in addition to creating maps and scenarios, players were provided with tools to create customs logos, locomotive skins, and players. There are now more than 200 user created scenarios and 100 custom logos available.Other mods have been created including new locomotives, rolling stock, industries and other building types to enhance gameplay.