Railroad Tycoon 2 : PopTop Software : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive (2025)

Railroad Tycoon IIis atrainandbusiness simulationvideo game forMicrosoft Windows,Mac OS,PlayStationandDreamcastin theRailroad Tycoonseries. The Dreamcast version is aGold Editionwith improved graphics and gameplay.Railroad Tycoon II: Gold Editionwas ported toLinuxbyLoki Software.

Gameplay is displayed indimetric view, unlike the top-down view ofRailroad Tycoon.

Railroad Tycoon IIis arailroad simulationthat covers the entirehistory of railroadsfrom inception to the present day and beyond. Theplayerchooses a map and assumes the role of chairman of arailroad company. The player tries to make profits for investors and completes various other objectives while being hindered by rivals, random events such as train breakdowns,train robbers, economic swings, and scripted events particular to the scenario.

Most of the gameplay consists of building tracks, stations and trains, which are used for hauling passengers and freight from one station to another. Delivery revenue can vary by time, distance, demand, cargo type, economic state, station improvements and difficulty level. Companies can connect to and use each other's tracks and stations, so revenue can be split. Expenses include the fuel, track and engine maintenance and management fee. The fuel cost depends on the cargo weight and the distance each engine runs. Engine maintenance depends on engine age and the engine's type (some locomotives cost more to maintain than others). The elder engines cost more to keep them on the line. The track maintenance is solely calculated from trackmileage.

The player determines what kind of cargo(es) to put on/off at each station that the player adds to its routing. Way-points may also be inserted to override default track selection where multiple paths are possible.

There are many industries in the game, and each can produce and/or convert specific cargoes. For example, coal mines produce coal, iron mines produce iron, and, in the advanced game, asteel millcan convert 1 load ofironplus 1 load ofcoalinto 2 loads ofsteel. The players are encouraged to find a chain of production to make new cargo by hauling the right type of cargo to each step of the industries. By doing this right, the player can haul raw materials one way, "create" manufactured return cargo, and make even more money hauling finished products back the other way.

Locomotives and industry[edit]

One of the key elements of gameplay relates to the player purchasing and operating a variety of locomotives, each of which possesses different attributes relating to speed, fuel type, preferred cargo, and the ability to traverse hills and steep track grades. In general, the player should balance the cost of operating a train and the time required to transport cargo, with the balance being that the profit from cargo delivery outweighs train operating costs. The player also may purchase various industrial plants to earn extra money based on the amount of cargo received and delivered. Basic industry, such asbakeries,textile mills, andtool and die factories, earns less profit than advanced factories such ascanneries, steel mills andautomobileplants, although the latter require multiple goods delivered to produce one final product. Furthermore, idle industries which do not produce goods will generate a negative profit, thus increasing overall operating costs andoverhead.

The following locomotives are available for gameplay. Locomotives are only seen in specific time periods and scenarios. In addition to the attributes described above, locomotives are subject to "mechanical reliability", which is a randomly generated factor influencing how often a locomotive will break down. All locomotives begin their operational lives with a set chance of mechanical failure, with some types more prone to breakdowns than others. Breakdown percentage chance increases the older a locomotive becomes. A train may also suffer awreck, which completely destroys the locomotive and all hauled cargo.

The game also features one futuristic train, the "Mag-Lev TBX-1" which is portrayed as released in the (then) future date of 2008. The train operates usingMaglevtechnology which, as of 2015, has been prototyped in both Europe and Japan. The first successful Maglev train to be operated was theSCMaglevwith speeds approaching 400 miles per hour.

Economics[edit]

Gameplay also includes financial manipulation of companies, issuingbonds,share repurchases,stock issues, manipulatingdividends, merging with other companies and declaringbankruptcy. These features are required in some scenarios and may be used for either great financial gain or total fiscal disaster.

In normal financial mode, the player may buy or sell any companies' stocks at various prices depending upon the economy. On advanced settings, the broker may allow the player tobuy on marginorshort sellstocks if he has enough value of stocks or cash to rely on. The computer players may also engage in these practices and will attempt to bankrupt the player when he is heavily in debt.

The economy may fluctuate during gameplay, with five economic states possible: Booming, Prosperity, Normal,RecessionandDepression. When the economy is good, the revenue of hauled goods and stock prices will be higher. Bond interest rates will also be adjusted with the economy level, including the interest received from cash and the interest paid for the bonds.

Campaigns and scenarios[edit]

The original game features eighteen missions, divided between North America, Europe and the rest of the world. The missions can be played on three difficulty levels, and each also includes three listed objectives. Completing only the first objective awards the player a bronze medal, the first two a silver medal, and all three a gold medal. The player may play any mission in each set as many times as they wish; they may also continue even though a mission has been failed. The final score for the whole 18-mission campaign is calculated by the difficulty level and the number of each type of medal achieved.

In addition to the campaign,Railroad Tycoon IIfeatures many single scenarios. As with the campaign, each scenario is based on a geographical location, which may be fictional. Most scenarios also have a medal system similar to that of the campaign, although any scenario may be played insandbox modeas well. Many scenarios constrain the player to some specific point on the timeline and feature scripted events: for example, theKoreanmap presents analternative historyas the player is informed about the avertedKorean civil war.

Additional single scenarios may be created using themap editorincluded. Maps may be imported, drawn from scratch, or edited from existing maps and saved under new names. Many fan creations have been shared on variousfan sites.