Railway Empire: Video Review Games

The genre of strategies is great and varied. There are many Podzhanrov – military, economic, indirect control, in real time and step-by-step, in historical or fantastic entourage … If you break into the very depth of such a classification, you can find such an amazing beast as a railway sim signal simulator.

All these years, the genre did not stand in place, but developed and evolved. The developers are no longer limited to one railway – now from such games in Taikina fashion, covering the entire spectrum of vehicles, including cars and aircraft.

But there are those who remember how it all began. Railway Empire from Gaming Minds Studios (This German studio has put a hand to such a series as Patrician And Port Royale) – classic simulator of the railway in no less classical setting of railway boom in North America XIX century.“Cartoon” execution clearly does not form a serious attitude to the game.

GO WEST, YOUNG MAN

Do not confuse Railway simulators with rolling stock simulators. In the latter case, the player assumes the role of the train driver and its task – on time and without critical consequences, deliver the goods or passengers from point A to point B. A reliable location of the rocket on the boiler of some Rocket (one of the first English locomotives) and a realistic management system with the need to comply with all the rules of movement – to taste.

“Taikun” is quite another. Here you have to think at the strategic level, and the trains and railways themselves are only a money making tool. And there are other ways to replenish the bill in the bank: game on the stock exchange, buying and developing own industrial enterprises. Railway Empire – exactly about it.

Time and place of action Games are chosen not by chance – in the USA XIX century, the railway played a huge role in the development of new possessions of the West Coast. Aviations and cars have not yet been and in risen, and the geases and water vehicles could not fully satisfy the growing transport requests of the young state. In addition, if you compare with Europe, the developed road system has not yet existed in the North American continent, so one of the first video games in history is dedicated to the West, one of the first video games in history is a real test The Oregon Trail).

The creation of the railway network could become (and became a little later, in the second half of the XIX century) a real salvation for the logistics of the whole country. As it should be in the capitalist society, the development of a new type of transport has been given to private businesses. The state in every possible way contributed to the enthusiasts, who decided to take up the construction of the railway: For example, the land at a distance of 10 miles from the paths were given to the owner of the roads, and targeted loans and loans were very and very profitable.

Again, as it should be in the capitalist society, particularly thoughtful guys did not fail to take advantage of similar preferences. For the sake of the very lands and subsidies (issued from the calculation of the length of the road), the paths tried to do as long and winding as possible, sometimes on purposely ignoring a shorter route (in some cases the authorities had to make “straighten” such roads). A very important issue for the local population, through which the city will run road, often dealt with considerable bribes to the owner of the railway company.From time to time we show such newspapers, where they are reflected both game and various historical events.
And then the civil war arrived, during which the trains played far from the last role. The ability to quickly transfer troops and resources was very important, which also influenced the development of this type of transport. It was not without busy episodes associated with the railway on this war: here and the first armored tickets. and great locomotive race. Finally, in 1869, the creation of the first transcontinental railway was completed, which connected the west coast with the central and eastern regions of the country, which ensured a huge leap of the economy of the entire state.

In short, the time was cheerful. Oddly enough, the spirit of this great era in the game is fully felt, despite the rather specific genre that does not have to such immersion. It can be seen that the cities grow and come in decline precisely thanks to the actions of the player and its computer opponents, the sake of profits of the company owners can go to everything, and the creation of an effective transport system means for the economy of the country a lot. Especially good is noticeable during the passage of the campaign, which at the same time represents and learning the basics of the game.

Debit and Credit

In addition to the campaign (very short, I must say – only five chapters) In stock Separate scenarios, free regime and “sandbox”. In the latter, there is no need to make money, all the possibilities for building your own railway network are available from the start. In scenarios, it is necessary to achieve certain goals for the successful completion of the mission;sometimes tasks get very nontrivial.

But the main mode in such strategies is, of course, a free game where you can engage in the construction of the railway empire in his pleasure. Looking forward, I will say that in our case the list of tasks is still available: to get the highest assessment upon completion of the game, it is necessary to achieve certain indicators for 20 years.You can switch the camera on the view from the train. Looks beautiful, if you do not pay attention to the disproportionate scale.
The whole of America did not pull the developers, so the country is divided into five parts, each of which is a separate map. They differ not only by the location of cities, but also relief – for example, in the West, the terrain is quite deserted, and coastal cities are at all for the mountain varnish, through which the rails are simply not. In addition to the card, it is possible to determine the year of the start of the game: there is a choice from 1830 to 1910 – with an interval of 20 years old, half the options. Finally, we decide where to start and who will manage the company. It depends on the latter, which bonus will receive a player: for example, a fraudster spends 20% less money when buying locomotives and during auctions, and a retired general can build a decent discount path.

The main task of the player will be the earnings of money – by itself, he must be high and stable. Profit, as it should be, folds from the balance between income and expenses. Income can be obtained in several ways: cargo transportation performed by our company, delivery of mail and passengers and so on. Expenditure except for the purchase of steam locomotives, construction of stations and paths, consist of trains maintenance, staff salaries and interest payments for loans.

Economy B Railway Empire Not static, but evolving depending on the state of the railway system in the country. In addition to cities on the map, various farms, mines, oil-producing stations and other sources of resources are scattered. These most resources must be delivered to the city, each of which has the demand for certain goods. For example, if a brewery is located in the settlement, wheat is needed for the successful production of drink. Beer, in turn, can be a source of demand in another city – you have to build logistic chains to ensure the greatest profit.

When demand is satisfied by more than 60%, the number of urban population begins to grow. The more inhabitants, the more enterprises can be built in an urban feature and the more potential passengers and recipients of correspondence and parcels. In addition, in developed cities higher demand for more goods. It turns out a mutually beneficial cooperation of the railway and residents of the neighborhood: we are money for providing goods and resources, they – the development of the economy and the satisfaction of all needs.The more trains in the property, the hard to understand what is happening.

“Blue wagon runs, swinging”

Put the station in the right place and connect its rails with a little – it is necessary to purchase locomotive and determine its route. In addition to banal transportation between two points, it is possible to finely configure the track list quite fine: what cargo to unload and receive at each station, determine the priority of loading and the outlook of visiting stations. Different models of steam locomotives become available gradually, depending on the promotion of the study tree. The latter here is very extensive and is not limited to the rolling stock. But if you look at, then the difference between improvements is not so great: for different descriptions there are banalities like an increase in profits from shipping on N%.

Once the number of trains on one way will be more than one, the player will face one very unpleasant feature Railway Empire. The fact is that there is either a funny accomplice, or a very difficult system of shooters and semaphores – but most likely, both. Even if you try to dilute two ways to a multidirectional movement according to the instructions, the trains can still get stuck, overlooking the stop signal, although the rails are completely free. Along with this, some complex junctions for the permutation of the compositions at the station do not need to do – the train will “turn over” on the ways and will calmly go in the opposite direction. To flirt with the realism of the meaning is not – the spent nerves are not worth. It is much easier to turn on the simplified path mode in the settings, in which the compositions pass through each other when moving on one road. Computer opponents, by the way, such a mode is permanent – they, apparently, also problems with the semaphore system.

Rivals themselves, in theory, should prompted the player to fight for the domination of his company on the map. But tools for this is not enough. You can, for example, send to an opponent of a spy or provocateur (or detect the same), but these guys do not do. Yes, there are auctions, but special logic in how rivals are involved in them, not visible. In addition, there are certain suspicions that AI a little chiterite is too sharply sometimes the assets of one of the competitors begin to grow without visible.

Check or influence this is unlikely to succeed – among other things, here on rarity non-informative for the genre interface and functionality of statistical data. The more stations and active paths, the harder it is to understand what is generally happening. Railway Empire, Of course, it does not claim to be a serious simulator, but it does not mean to forget about banal convenience.Probably, investments in alcoholic business will be justified – before the dry law is still far.
In addition, the game has a fairly large reservoir mechanics, little affecting what is happening. For example, personnel – there are office employees, there is a crew of locomotives, various employees of the auxiliary level (the same spies or guards). But if you do not pay for due attention (one microcontrol), then nothing will not happen, it will not really really really build a successful business without anything with each driver or conductor.***
Railway Empire It turned out very “casual”, as if specially designed only for newcomers. However, the unfriendly interface, bugs and the toothlessness of opponents lead to what it is worth a slightly relief in what is happening on the screen, how boredom fell. Much could be forgiven, be in the game Multiplayer. But it seems to be not. And, judging by the information from the developers, is not planned at all. You can pass a campaign and scenarios, play a couple of times in free mode … And all – on this interest in the strategy fade. The sentence for a representative of the genre, where the refeplening is incredibly important.