Rails Across America is a game of railroad empires in North America, covering the period from 1830 to the near future. It blends real-time strategy with simulation elements. Rails allows hundreds. Probably my MOST played game. Even more than Dues Ex and The Sims. A very misunderstood gem! Plays more like a strategy game. Probably even more closely to that of a monopoly type business tycoon game. And that the 'Rails' played a very small part of the game. The graphics were not much and neither was the sound / music.
To many, the romanticized American road trip looks something like this: a full tank of gas, seat pockets filled with snacks, the family buckled in and a massive playlist. Mile after mile of highway is sped across, the open road paving the way to a new sense of freedom as sights are seen until, ultimately, a destination is reached.
But what if this road trip instead could somehow be car-free? At oM, we want to help you explore by bike and by foot. And now a nation-wide project is helping to make that cross-country road trip a car-free reality.
Rails Across America Download
IMAGINE WHAT’S POSSIBLE WITH A TRAIL THAT CONNECTS THE COUNTRY
Rails Across America Game Download
-RTCToday, the nation’s largest trails organization, the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC), unveils its planned route for the Great American Rail-Trail — a 3,700 mile contiguous route of multipurpose paths stretching from Washington, D.C. to Washington State. Once the site of old railroad corridors, many of these trails have been revitalized for biking, hiking, wheelchair use, cross-country skiing and horseback riding. And to boot, the goal is to remain totally off roads open to vehicular traffic, providing a truly car-free cross-country “road trip”. Can you taste the fresh air yet?
Though the trail is currently only 52% complete, RTC continues to work with local trails partners and state agencies to shape the rest of the route, and intends to open new sections every year. The final product is decades away, but the work to get there is ever-constant. RTC’s analysis of 34,000 existing trails has helped them compute a preferred route for the Great American to take.
The Great American Rail-Trail fittingly begins on the steps of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. It winds around the National Mall and enters the Capital Crescent Trail of Georgetown, then the Chesapeake Valley. Ideally, cities like Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Omaha, Lincoln, Bozeman, Missoula and Seattle will be along the way; and iconic landmarks like the Hennepin Canal Parkway in Illinois, the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge in Nebraska, Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming and the Panhandle in Iowa will be easily accessible.
You can reach famous sites like the C&O Canal in Maryland and Fort Robinson State Park by foot or bike, revel in Idaho’s sweeping valleys and learn about the land’s Native American history, and be wowed at art installations like at the High Trestle Bridge in Iowa.
This week, America will also be celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad and the people who dreamt of long-distance travel, connecting with the country and experiencing the land in a new way. They are not unlike us; though we have solved the interconnected dilemma, still we seek innovation and, in a sense, a return to a life of uncharted territory and simple, limitless joy in the natural world.
Rails Across America Roster
RTC’s co-founder David Burnwell realized the potential of this trail in the 1980s. His vision has served as the organization’s guiding light to finishing what RTC’s president Ryan Chao describes as a national treasure. A mission that harkens to childlike curiosity and imagination, that brings to life our own pilgrimages across the country, that transforms the landscape as trails mingle with local communities.
This is a nature-infused answer to road trip favorite Route 66. It is an easy way to immerse yourself into the local flavor of new destinations from one of the best places in the world: your feet or on a bike. As landscapes shift and merge into one of the twelve states the Great American Rail-Trail passes through, so do the diverse people that make up these places. Suddenly, the art of traveling is fresh, invigorating, non-motorized and genuine.
Ryan Chao declared that this is going to be America’s trail; and for the bridges it is beginning to gap, he couldn’t be more correct. There is still a long way to go, but it’s about the process as much as it is about the finish. This is just the start of something magical.
Overview
Rails Across America, the brainchild of Seattle-based Flying Lab Studios and Canadian publisher Strategy First, is a very in-depth and intense look into the world of cutthroat railway management. From the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution to the present day and beyond, Rails Across America combines financial and territorial based strategy to see who will become the greatest railroad magnate of the last century. Will it be you?
Gameplay, Controls, Interface
Rails Across America is easily explained: Overpower your opponents to become the dominant force in railway travel and commerce. The purpose of the game is to garner respect rather than merely having the most money or track mileage; a novel concept. This respect is allotted in the form of Prestige points. Prestige can be earned in many ways: through completing important rail lines, such as the Intercontinental Railway or the Trans-Canadian, through continually posting profits on your lines, or even through direct purchase.
That’s not to say money’s not important, though. Finances play a big part in this game, allowing you to purchase track, trains, access rights, influence, and many other things. You also have access to bank loans in case your cash on hand gets low (and it will, trust me). Combine this with a constantly fluctuating economy and you’ll see just how important a good grasp of finances can be. I found myself on the edge of bankruptcy several times, building what I thought would be a financially sound rail line when the country suddenly went into a recession. While bankruptcy is severe (the game auctions off some of your lines to raise money to cover your expenses), you can still win the game after coming out of it. I personally needed to use some 'influence' to get back into the game.
While we’re on the subject, let’s discuss my favorite aspect of the game, the 'Dirty tricks' department. The game allows you to do a lot of behind the scenes dealing (meaning 'illegal'), everything from a mildly annoying safety inspection on your tracks to the devastating stock raid. As the game is played, randomly generated 'cards' are dealt to the player. These cards have different point values and can be traded in for cash or used to influence your opponents. Be warned, though. Using such tactics may be harmful to your Prestige if you aren’t careful.
Gameplay is extremely simple, yet can become complex quite quickly. Laying track is a matter of clicking a button and selecting a destination city. Building tracks is the easy part, but maintaining them, making sure you have enough trains or decent switching, and constantly monitoring traffic becomes quite difficult quickly. The game does provide you with the ability to hire a track manager to take care of the day to day maintenance, but if you like doing it all yourself, the option is there for you.
The game is a fantastic tactical experience, pitting you against either live or computer controlled opponents with rail lines such as yours, along with owners of 'shortlines,' small market railways connecting just two cities. Shortlines themselves add strategy to the mix, as you can buy them out, control them, or simply try to bankrupt them into submission or auction. Believe me, your opponents will try to do the same as well.
All of the aforementioned aspects of the game are mentioned in a ticker at the bottom of the screen, which works in real time. If a player makes an offer on a shortline, a bankruptcy or dirty trick is played, or if lending rates rise or fall, you’ll see it happen. The ticker can be your best friend in this game.
Multiplayer
The folks at Flying Lab stress this is the best part of the game: the ability to link several players together online, either locally or via the Internet. The game itself works either via LAN or Internet and supports up to 10 players simultaneously. I can see this is the real draw for this game, unfortunately, I received this game before the Internet site was up. My opinion is that it would generally not have the latency problems associated with FPS or other real-time strategies in that the interface seems to be quite simple and not a lot of data would have to travel across the wire at once.
Graphics
Graphics are standard, but not anything to shout about. While cut-scenes and in-game menus look to be hand drawn and nicely done, the playing field itself is rather mediocre. Simple city locations and some terrain and rail iconography a la SimCity pretty much tells you what to expect visually. In the game’s defense, 'eye candy' is not actually necessary, as the game’s main draw is its strategic aspects. My guess is the designers sacrificed graphics for pure gameplay, to their benefit.
Audio
This is possibly the weakest aspect of the game. While in-game noises like train whistles, construction noises, and the like are rendered admirably, the repetitious soundtrack leaves something to be desired. Maybe it’s just me, but I can only listen to a banjo version of 'I’ve Been Working On The Railroad' so many times… Mercifully, the controls allow you to turn off the music without losing any of the ambience.
System Requirements
P200, 64MB RAM, and Win9x/ME/2000/XP.
Bottom Line
Fans of strategy gaming (as well as the rabid 'Tycooners' out there) will easily enjoy the detail and strategy associated with this game. However, if you’re looking for a lot of graphics, like with Railroad Tycoon II or others, or for a decent soundtrack, it might be better to look elsewhere. Never having played any of the Tycoon series of games myself, much of this was new territory, but an extremely enjoyable time nevertheless. Recommended for all strategists out there who like a good, non-violent competition, both singly as well as for the multiplayer aspect of it.