Express World - The Railroad Tycoon Resource

A demo of Railroads has just been released, so if your still unsure whether to part with your cash or not, you can give it a go!

There have been many reviews of Railroads already, and they have been largely positive. Here are a round up of the first few:

Interview with Firaxis' Barry Caudill

A very interesting interview with Barry Caudill of Firaxis has emerged at Hooked Gamers, its well worth a read! Click here to see it.

And here is an extract:

Firaxis has a history of 'springing' games on us. Sid Meier's Railroads! was announced in May and currently has a shipping date of October 2006. How -and why- do you do that? Most other games are known a year or longer in advance.

Barry: I’m not convinced that having a really long lead time in the marketplace is necessarily a good thing. There are so many games out there now and it’s too easy to get lost in the shuffle over a long period of time. I would rather see focused marketing and information that builds up interest right to the release. For the record, Railroads was in development for quite a while before it was announced.

After Railroads! was announced, most people wondered what happened with the Railroad Tycoon name. Why this change of name?

Barry: We felt the Tycoon name had been overused in the marketplace and didn’t carry the same meaning it did when Sid first invented the genre. For every solid game like Roller Coaster Tycoon or Monopoly Tycoon (a vastly underrated game), there are numerous stinkers like Mall Tycoon or heaven forbid, Prison and Hell Tycoons. Also, we didn’t want people to assume this was RRT4 because it is much more of a return to the train-focused gameplay of Sid’s original title... and Sid is designing this one.

Should we consider Railroads! a totally new game, or more like a remake of Railroad Tycoon, like Sid Meier's Pirates! has been updated some time ago?

Barry: It’s a little of both. It is definitely a spiritual successor to the original game, but it’s built around a new prototype from Sid which makes it a totally new game as well. It’s a return to what we thought was fun about the original title but there are also lots of new things like the introduction of great multiplayer.

Railroads! IGN Preview

IGN have published an in depth preview of Railroads. Check out the interview here.

Here is an extract from the preview:

In order to make money, players will have to create working railroads connecting resources to cities and run trains back and forth to deliver the goods. Natural resources are worth less money than manufactured goods like cars farther down the line. Players can make a lot of money delivering goods between different industries and finally where the final goods are demanded. Players can also eventually buy into industries and make a longer ranged profit that way.

Laying track in between destinations looks to be an easy task as the land and track will conform to any plans. The click and drag interface allows players to create paths anywhere on the map while the game adds tunnels, rises, and bridges where necessary. The trick is just laying track in a way that will be cost effective and help shipments get to new locations in a short amount of time.

Railroads! Trailer

The first trailer for Railroads has emerged on the web, and we have a version at Express World for you to download. Click here to download Official Trailer One

16th August 2006

Express World To Get A Makeover!

A radical redesign of Express World is in the works, in preparation for the forthcoming release of Sid Meier's Railroads, and the future of the Railroad Tycoon series. It will unveiled in stages this Autumn.

Railroads! Gamespot Preview

Gamespot has released an "updated impressions" preview for Railroads! Check it out here. Here is an extract:

Railroads! will offer multiple lengthy scenarios that will let you build up a railway empire by purchasing the fastest trains for the job of transporting mail, freight, and passengers; by being the first to lay out tracks into new territory; by controlling the flow of expensive goods throughout the land; and even by doing a little corporate raiding as you attempt to buy out your competitors in the stock market. The game's scenarios will take place in the four corners of the USA, as well as in Great Britain, France, and Germany. Each of them can be played during different time periods that can be adjusted easily at the start of each game with a slider. So, if you want to hunker down and carve a railway empire out of the American Northwest from 1831 all the way to 1970, you can, though you can just as easily play through only 30 years or so of a certain time period, which can take about 30 to 45 minutes of playing time.

Though all of the game's terrain has a colorful, pastoral look to it provided by completely separate rendering technology that the Firaxis team has developed for use with the GameBryo 3D engine (an engine that also powers Firaxis' outstanding 2005 strategy game, Civilization IV), each of the different territories has a different look and feel. The game's artists didn't attempt to painstakingly create exact replicas of real-world locations but instead created abstracted versions of each territory, taking the same approach as a hobbyist train modeler would to building out sandy deserts outside of Santa Fe or leagues of limpid ocean off the coast of Cornwall.

Railroads! New Movies

See the game in action! New movies featuring footage from the game have also just surfaced! (the files are archived in a .zip file, and should be extracted with a programme such as Winzip or WinRAR). The gameplay movies first appeared at Gamespot.

Gameplay Movie One

Gameplay Movie Two

Gameplay Movie Three

3rd June 2006

Railroads! Official Site Opens

2k Games has created a small official website for the forthcoming Railroads! game from Sid Meier & Firaxis Games. Click here to visit.

Railroads! Features List

Firaxis has issued a product feature list for Railroads!

Real-time action - lay track, route the trains, and the world comes to life. Cities and industries grow up around you as you service them, hauling raw materials to market and carrying manufactured goods away; Cargos are loaded onto train cars and passengers shuffle between cities.

Easy to get started - laying track is as easy as clicking and dragging. Bridges, tunnels, railroad stations and switches sprout up automatically where they're needed.

Challenging to master - with a new market system that tracks supply and demand and complex random events that can cause a boom or bust at any time, players must stay on their toes at all times or risk obsolescence, financial collapse, or hostile takeover.

It's all about the trains! - over 30 trains to use, from the primitive 0-4-0 Planet to the Super powerful 4-6-6-4 Challenger, from the classic diesels to ultra-modern bullet trains.

LocoBuilder - design your own steam engine from the ground up, and deploy it across your rail empire! Customize your train liveries, from colour schemes to custom logos.

We've got the goods - over 20 different goods to harvest, produce, and sell, and 30 unique industries, from lumber mills to war factories, each with detailed, unique animations.

Scenario and map editor support - enables user-created maps and scenarios. Want to create a race to complete a transcontinental railroad in 30 years using only steam engines? No problem!

Something for everyone - build your dream train layout in train table mode, or challenge historical giants like Cornelius Vanderbilt, J.P. Morgan, and others in single-player scenarios.

Multiplayer - Ruthless real-time LAN and Internet play. Buy out your rivals or cash in favours to sabotage their shipments! Whether you prefer heads-up competition or the camaraderie of cooperative team play, you'll find a fantastic multiplayer experience here.

Sounding good so far!

10th May 2006

Express World is 8 Years Old!

Express world turned 8 years old on 26th April 2006, so I just would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support! Heres to the next year!

Railroads! New Info

Things regarding the recently announced "Railroads!" have been quiet until now (as was expected), but the E3 event began today, and as expected further info about "Railroads" has been released. We will have new screenshots up tomorrow!

Here is the new press release:

Sid Meier's Railroads! marks the return of the watershed title in simulation/strategy gaming that launched the popular "tycoon" genre, and inspired a new generation of games. Sid Meier's Railroads! comes home to its original creator, the legendary Sid Meier, who, together with his team at Firaxis Games, will take this game to a whole new level of fun!

The greatest railroad building game of all time is back in a vibrant 3D world delivering exciting multiplayer options, in-game customization tools, streamlined interface and unmatched gameplay, that's easy to learn yet challenging to master. Combining the best of real-world and model railroads, Sid Meier's Railroads! puts you in charge of building the greatest rail empire in the nation - managing trains, cargo and your bottom line - while engaging in all-out corporate warfare against rival tycoons, slick entrepreneurs, and robber barons!

Features:

Easy to get started - laying track is as easy as clicking and dragging. Bridges, tunnels, railroad stations and switches sprout up automatically where they're needed.

It's all about the trains! - over 30 trains to use, from the primitive 0-4-0 Planet to the Super powerful 4-6-6-4 Challenger, from the classic diesels to ultra-modern bullet trains.

LocoBuilder - design your own steam engine from the ground up, and deploy it across your rail empire! Customize your train liveries, from colour schemes to custom logos.

We've got the goods - over 20 different goods to harvest, produce, and sell, and 30 unique industries, from lumber mills to war factories, each with detailed, unique animations.

Scenario and map editor support - enables user-created maps and scenarios. Want to create a race to complete a transcontinental railroad in 30 years using only steam engines? No problem!

Something for everyone - build your dream train layout in train table mode, or challenge historical giants like Cornelius Vanderbilt, J.P. Morgan, and others in single-player scenarios.

Multiplayer - Ruthless real-time LAN and Internet play. Buy out your rivals or cash in favors to sabotage their shipments! Whether you prefer heads-up competition or the camaraderie of cooperative team play, you'll find a fantastic multiplayer experience here.

Developer: Firaxis Games
Publisher: 2K Games
Platform: PC
Release Date: October 2006

16th March 2006

MAJOR NEWS! Poptop Closes, Next Railroad Tycoon Announced!

There has been some major news developments over the past 7 days.

- The first point is that Poptop Software no longer exists. Last week Take 2 Interactive (owner of Poptop) announced an in-voluntary merger between Poptop and their other studio, Firaxis Games. The new development studio will operate under the Firaxis name, with Sid Meier leading the studio. No information about redundancies at Poptop have been disclosed.

- The new combined studio, Firaxis is working on a new Railroad Tycoon game, which will carry the title Sid Meier's Railroads, and is due for release at the end of the year.

More details on each of these topics follows below. Imagine the possibilities of the original creator of Railroad Tycoon leading development on the next title in the series. I'd just like to re-iterate, that even though Poptop software has closed, Express World will continue to operate following the games from the new combined studio.

The new Firaxis games studio has also announced development on an expansion pack to Civilization IV & a new CIV spin off series called CIVCITY: Rome.

Sid Meier's Railroads! Announced

The next game in the Railroad Tycoon series, has been announced as "Sid Meier's Railroads!" due for release in Autumn 2006. The game is in development at the Firaxis Games studio, which now incorporates some elements of Poptop Software. The game appears to be developed with the GameBryo graphics engine that powered Civ4 & Pirates.

Quick Links for Railroads!

First Information - an archive of the initial information released about the game
Messageboard - The Express World forum for Sid Meier's Railroads!
Screenshots - An archive of Screenshots for Railroads!
Railroads! Wishlists - Post your wishes, hopes & desires for the game!

Here is the official press release (from http://ve3d.ign.com )

2K Games, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., and the Company's world-renowned development studio Firaxis Games, today announced the next edition of the award-winning Railroad Tycoon franchise, Sid Meier's Railroads! for the PC.
The Golden Age of railroading is back with Sid Meier's Railroads! Combining the best of real-world and model railroads, Sid Meier's Railroads! puts you in charge of building your own railroad empire, running everything from steam-powered locomotives to more modern diesel and electric trains, managing cargo and your bottom line, all while engaging in corporate warfare against rival tycoons, slick entrepreneurs and robber barons.

"In addition to winning countless awards, the Railroad Tycoon franchise pioneered the simulation and strategy genres by introducing limitless gameplay," said Christoph Hartmann, Managing Director of 2K Games. "Building on the franchise, Sid Meier's Railroads! will deliver a simulation experience that caters to both strategy gamers and locomotive fans alike."

"We're thrilled to have the opportunity to bring this game back home," said Sid Meier, Director of Creative Development for Firaxis Games. "Railroads is near and dear to our hearts and we're looking forward to delivering the endlessly fun gameplay experience fans of our games have come to expect."

Cities and industries grow up around you as Sid Meier's Railroads! enables players to lay track and route trains, haul raw materials to market and carry manufactured goods throughout the land. Sid Meier's Railroads! introduces a large number of different single-player game scenarios and a variety of play modes including the "sand-box" modeling mode, real-time LAN and Internet play.

Sid Meier's Railroads! will be released for the PC this fall.

The following is an article from www.gamespot.com

Sid Meier is set to be inducted into the Walk of Game tonight for a career's worth of highly regarded PC strategy games including Civilization, Pirates!, and Alpha Centauri. He doesn't seem content to rest on his laurels; this morning, 2K Games announced that it would be publishing the next game in the developer's body of work, Sid Meier's Railroads! for the PC.

Currently in development at Firaxis Games (Take-Two Interactive's recently acquired studio, of which Meier is director of creative development), Railroads! is the next installment in the Railroad Tycoon PC strategy game series.

"We're thrilled to have the opportunity to bring this game back home," Meier said in a statement. "Railroads is near and dear to our hearts, and we're looking forward to delivering the endlessly fun gameplay experience fans of our games have come to expect."

Sid Meier's Railroads! will challenge players to create their own railroad empires and keep them up to date with the times. Working with trains ranging from steam-powered locomotives to modern diesel and electric trains, players will not only have to worry about getting cargo to its destination on time, but will also have to worry about business rivals and robber barons, among other things. 2K is promising a variety of gameplay options for Railroads! (including real-time LAN and Internet play), as well as a "sand-box" modeling mode.

Sid Meier's Railroads! has not yet been rated. It is scheduled for release this fall.

Here are some screenshots: Click to enlarge:

6th February 2006

File Uploads Are Here!

I'd like to announce that you can now upload your game related files directly to Express World. You will no longer have to email them to us to get them hosted here (you can however email them if you wish to). The system works through Express World's Messageboards, where you can upload files in a specific forum for each game we cover.

This service is open to registered forum members only, guests can not upload (but can download). Uploaded files will then be linked to from the main site.

Only compressed files in the .zip format are permitted, the system is programmed only to accept these file extensions. Anyone who uploads a none game file will see the file removed and receive an immediate ban. The service is being launched for a three month trial period, at which it will be reviewed!

To attach a file to a post:

- Either start a new topic OR make a post on an existing thread. (a thread for each file is recommended).

- Create a subject line relevant to identify the file, and include in the body of the post information about the file.

- At the bottom of the post creation screen, click the link (its in black) "Additional Options." This will open a small menu with further options, including adding a file.

- Find the word "Attach" and an address bar. Just use the "browse" button to locate your file and select it.

- Check everything. Make sure the file location path is correct, then press the button "POST" at the bottom of the screen. Please note it will take time (possibly minutes, depending on your connection speed) to make the post, as the file will be uploading to our server. Please be patient.

- You can see an example of the RT2 file I posted here

So lets get uploading:

Shattered Union Game File Uploads

Tropico Game File Uploads

Railroad Tycoon II Game File Uploads

Railroad Tycoon 3 Game File Uploads

Tropico 2: Pirate's Cove Game File Uploads

22nd January 2006

Shattered Union: Game Crashes

A few people have experienced crashes with the game as it tries to load into the actual battle maps. I haven't personally encountered this fault, but I've read in certain places that Take 2 / 2K Games are not providing any support over this issue. While I can by no means guarantee the following information will provide a fix, I've read that some people have fixed this fault by this method. Here is some information I posted on the messageboards:

I've read in other places of some people beating this problem by changing your computer's audio settings from something other than "Creative EAX"

Also, I have this quote from another place "Changing audio to Dolby Surround and lowering my hardware acceleration on my video card one click made the game work fine for me"

Hope that helps you

Shattered Union: Quick Reference Sheet

Messageboards member "Wizz" has created an amazing reference sheet for SU! It is very useful for the active players of the game. To view the reference sheet, click here. (to save a local copy, right click the link and save the file)

We hope that some of you will have enough time on your hands to give our new game, Shattered Union, a try. We don't have a demo for it yet, but if you keep your eyes open you should be seeing one in the not-so-distant future. While we don't have much game related news (that's been going onto our Shattered Union mini-site, that we're sure you've all been checking) we would like to point out that there is finally a company message board! There's no link to it on the side menu just yet, but you can access it by clicking here. The new board is for all of our games, including RRT2, RT3, Tropico, and Shattered Union. So stop on by, sign up and say hi - you never know who might respond back! Well that's all the news for now, so stay tuned and we hope to have some more tidbits for everyone soon!

New Year, New Things

There hasn't been a great deal happening related to Poptop's games or Shattered Union since our last update. This is just a quick update to wish you all a happy new year! I hope you will stick with us through 2006, as I'm sure it will be an exciting year. We've got some great content coming up for you soon. And further plans to expand the site.

On the Shattered Union front, Poptop recently confirmed on their messageboards that a PC demo of Shattered Union will be released in the near future, but no timescale of when to expect this was provided. As soon as I know more, I'll post it here for you (and I'll post the demo file too).

Also, remember to keep posting to the RT4 wishlists about what you wish to see in the next generation of the Railroad Tycoon series. The Express World Forums are also open for your posting.

22nd November 2005

Shattered Union / Site News

There haven't been many updates regarding Shattered Union here for you, unfortunately that's because I've not found a great deal of content to report to you. The apparent lack of a map editor hasn't helped. Anyways, if you have any Shattered Union content to contribute, please send it to expressworld@hotmail.com.

- Until we are able to bring you news on Shattered Union, or any developments in Poptop related news, we will focus on bringing content for the other games we cover. To begin this, we have a repost of a very important file (see next article).

I find it very interesting that Firaxis has now been bought by Take 2 Interactive (who also own all the rights to the Railroad Tycoon series). Wouldn't it be interesting if Firaxis & Sid Meier were to be involved in developing the next Railroad Tycoon game?

Railroad Tycoon 3: Express World Download Links Repost for Coast To Coast Expansion & Final Patch

This seems to be our most popular download file that we host here on Express World. I've recieved many emails thanking me for hosting it, but I realised the download link had been quite well hidden into the older news in the RT3 section. So until the new RT3 section is revised, I'm reposting the link for ease of access!

Click here to download RT3 Coast to Coast Expansion Pack (119mb) (from EW)

... and another important file to use with Coast to Coast is the final patch Poptop released! Remember though, this file is for ENGLISH LANGUAGE VERSIONS ONLY!

Click here to download RT3 Patch v1.05 (From Express World)

Patch info:

This latest patch updates Railroad Tycoon 3 to version 1.05. This patch does NOT require you to have any prior patches installed. Whether or not you have installed patches 1.01 to 1.04, the RT3 - Coast to Coast expansion, or none of the above, this patch will work fine in any of these scenarios. If you have already downloaded and installed the RT3 Coast to Coast expansion, all you need is the stand-alone 1.05 patch.

Version 1.05 Changes

Fixed a multiplayer crash bug inadvertently introduced in patch 1.04.
Resolved the bug that could cause trains to slow to 1 m.p.h. sometimes when approaching stations and/or service towers.
Fixed a bug that would cause industries with 2 possible inputs i.e. textile mill), to produce at only half of their targeted rate, even when supplied with both inputs.

***PLEASE NOTE***
This patch should only be applied to English (UK/US/OZ) versions of Railroad Tycoon 3.

4th November 2005

Poptop launches Developer SU Site

Poptop has launched it's own developer's Shattered Union site! It will soon feature a Messageboard too. Access the site here

Shattered Union: First PC Review

The first PC review of Shattered Union is up at Gamespy, you can catch it here. Gamespy awarded the game a 3.5 Star (Good) rating!

Here is an extract:

The real meat and potatoes of the game are the tactical battles that take place on hex-based maps that represent regions of America. It's here that the game really shines. Play begins with each player placing up to 42 military units down on "deployment hexes." Once that's done, they can move their units a certain number of hexes each turn, occupying cities or attacking enemy units. When battles occur, the combat is resolved using attack and defense ratings in various categories. When the player has finished his or her moves, their opponent (human or AI) gets to go. The winner is the player who has destroys all enemy units or manages to occupy a certain number of "victory points" -- hexes representing valuable cities. The Campaign adds an extra layer of strategy on top by stringing together these battles, with the winner conquering one of 24 regions of the country which will provide money, bonuses, or new units. The Campaign winner must take over all 24 zones. That's really all there is to it.

Except, of course, that that's not all there is to it. Underneath this simple surface is a very enjoyable strategic challenge. Player units are divided into 10 different categories, including heavy, medium and light armor, artillery, air and anti-air, and infantry. Within each category, players have two or three choices of units, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Each faction also has a "special" unit. The Great Plains Federation, for example, has a killer piece of artillery that's incredibly powerful but slow and fragile. Figuring out how to best use your assets, which ones work well together, and which carry the most bang for the buck in a particular situation is the kind of enjoyable problem solving strategy game junkies live for and there's a lot to chew on in Shattered Union.

Shattered Union: French Review

Continuing with the review theme of this update, I've found a French review of the game for PC! Click here to access (a score of 6/20)

- If you want to read the review in English (or indeed another language), there is always the helpful (and free!) text translation tool from Altavista - access it here

22nd October 2005

Shattered Union: First Review!

A quick update to inform you, I've found the first review of Shattered Union! Its over at team xbox, where the game scores 8.2/10 (review for xbox version). No PC reviews so far. Read it here. Here is an extract:

- I have now received my copy of the game, and I've had a quick play - so far, so good! I will post an article with some impressions on it after I've played a bit further. I don't know if I will write a full review, but I will post some comments.

Any review sites out there, just let me know you've reviewed the game and I'll post the info! See the Contact Us page for details.

18th October 2005

Shattered Union: Section Revised

I have revised our Shattered Union section, ready for the new content that will come as a result of the games release. Although there are some pages with no content so far, our new "story" & downloads archive pages are active! The new SH Download Archive also contains new movies of the game. Head to the SH section here

Shattered Union: New Screenshots

Some links to new screenshots:

Team Xbox: single player info, more screenshots

IGN: Image archive

Poptop Updates

As described earlier, Poptop has finally updated their site after a long absence. Here is the latest update:

As a great man once said, reports of our demise have been greatly exaggerated. Yes, we are still alive and kicking here at Poptop, we've just been so busy the thought of one of us sitting down to type up an update had been little more than a pipe dream for quite some time. Things are finally coming together now, and we'd like to let everyone know that our latest game, Shattered Union, has shipped out to stores! You can read the full press release here. For those of you that are sitting there wondering what Shattered Union is, there's an official 2K Games Shattered Union site that will hopefully shed some light on our latest project. We're currently hard at work putting together a little site of our own here that we hope to have up for everyone later today. Starting today you'll see more regular updates here again, and we will try to make this place the place to be for any and all news related to Shattered Union! As a little thank you for your patience and support, we'll be putting up some brand new wallpapers here shortly that showcase the 7 different factions from our new game. Thanks for sticking with us, and we hope everyone enjoys our new title!

I'd like to congratulate everyone at Poptop on the release of their latest game! I sure am looking forward to the arrival of the copy I pre-ordered!

Shattered Union Released...

After a little confusion over the release date of Shattered Union (and the lack of any gold announcements), 2K Games has finally confirmed that the game has shipped for both PC & Xbox today, in North America. The game should appear in European stores from Friday! (Press release to follow shortly)

In another news, Poptop has updated their site for the first time since early April, with a new design to coincide with the launch of Shattered Union. Though, at the time of writing, it seems not all content has yet been implemented.

As soon as we have reviews, we will put them up! AS you know, the press / marketing for this game has been a little thin, so it will be interesting to see how the game is received! I'll post some thoughts when I get my copy.

Here is the press release:

2K Games, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc, today announced that Shattered Union is now available in retail stores in North America. Developed by veteran strategy game creators Pop Top Software, a Take-Two studio, Shattered Union is available for the PC and Xbox video game and entertainment system from Microsoft.

In Shattered Union, following an increase in terrorism, internal strife and ultimately, the nuclear destruction of Washington, D.C, the United States shatters into a half-dozen nation-states that become embroiled in a civil war. Gamers take the helm of one of these newfound sovereignties or control European peacekeepers as they struggle to reunify America by force, in either a dynamic and non-linear single player campaign or in one-on-one multiplayer skirmishes with friends.

"Shattered Union has a unique and exciting storyline," said Christoph Hartmann, Managing Director of 2K Games. "With its non-linear missions, fully destructible environments and addictive gameplay, Shattered Union is a highly anticipated strategy game."

Battles can be fought on a hex-grid -- popular among tried-and-true turn-based strategy gamers and military strategy gamers -- allowing for full six-way movement across the detailed landscapes of the United States.

Key Features:

Modern 3D, "hex-grid", turn-based, war strategy game.
Non-linear mission progression with changes based on player-made decisions.
Real-time resolution of turned-based moves. Take your time while you decide your move, but once you have selected your action, see the results all play out in full animation models, exploding vehicles, and burning cities and forests!
Fully destructible terrain/environment. As the battle proceeds, everything from explosions and destroyed buildings permanently mark the terrain. At the end, very little will look the same.
Fight your way across the United States! Had enough of the windy city? Then go ahead and bomb Chicago! Invade across the Rockies into California, capture the tank factories in Ohio, and lay siege to New York City! You decide - the fate of the nation is in your hands!
Choose to play as one of seven different factions: California Commonwealth, Pacifica, Republic of Texas, Great Plains Federation, The Confederacy, New England Alliance and the European Expeditionary Force.
Call up National Guard forces equipped with M1 Abrams battle tanks, Bradley fighting vehicles, Apache helicopters and stealth bombers. Or utilize the unique Future Combat Systems (FCS) of each nation-state and mow your enemies down with futuristic weaponry.
Online and offline multiplayer support.

28th September 2005

Site Upgrade News

The Shattered Union & Railroad Tycoon 4 sections of the site have now been converted to the new look! The Tropico sections are the next phases of this operation. Thanks for your patience.

Shattered Union: Trailer

We now have a copy of the trailer for SH hosted on Express World. Its around 15mb, and you'll need windows media player to view it! Click here to download

Shattered Union: Official Site Goes Live

The official site for Shattered Union has now gone live. To access it click here

Shattered Union: New Features List

The launch of the official site has brought an updated features list from 2K Games.

Story:

Following a great increase in terrorism, internal strife, and ultimately, the nuclear destruction of Washington, D.C., the United States shatters into a half-dozen nation-states that descend into war. Take the helm of one of these newfound sovereignties (or the "peacekeeping" European Expeditionary Force) and struggle to reunify America...by any means necessary!

Features:

Modern 3D tactical war game viewed from a "bird's-eye" overhead camera.
Non-linear mission progression with changes based on player-made decisions.
Real-time resolution of turned-based moves. Take your time while you decide your move, but once you have selected your action, see the results all play out in full animation models, exploding vehicles, and burning cities and forests!
Fully destructible terrain/environment. As the battle proceeds, everything from explosions and destroyed buildings permanently mark the terrain. Moving tanks will leave tread marks that stay for the duration of the mission. At the end, very little will look the same.
Fight your way across the United States! Had enough of the windy city? Then go ahead and bomb Chicago! Invade across the Rockies into California, capture the tank factories in Ohio, and lay siege to New York City! You decide - the fate of the nation is in your hands!
Choose to play as one of seven different factions: California Commonwealth, Pacifica, Republic of Texas, Great Plains Federation, The Confederacy, New England Alliance and the European Union.
Call up National Guard forces equipped with M1 Abrams battle tanks, Apache helicopters and stealth bombers. Or make a deal with the Russians and equip your boys with MiG fighters and T-95 Heavy Tanks.
Online and offline multiplayer on all platforms.

25th September 2005

Welcome To Express World Seven

We are proud to finally unveil the new look of Express World to you, named Express World Seven. The site is still under re-construction, and the new look is being introduced in phases of the next week or so. So far the new look has been applied to the main site pages section. Please note the new "Contact Us" page, and the altered methods for contacting the site. Also, the old links page where you could upload your own links to the site has been discontinued. We have a new links page here.

The Express World Shop has also been revamped, and a North American version is in the works! The Shattered Union and Tropico sections are the next phase of the implementation of Express World Seven. Please bare with us through these changes.

Shattered Union Release Date Nears?

Though not officially confirmed, many British retailers, including Amazon UK, are listing the release date as October 7th 2005 - not long now. Hopefully we can get this confirmed soon.

RT3 Cheats

There have been requests for this, so here is a re-postage of the RT3 cheats!

Press the '.' (fullstop) key to activate the cheat dialogue window. Enter the cheat, then press enter:

trains are in my blood : All locomotive types available for purchase
double shift : Buildings produce cargo at double normal rates

we have a winner gold : Win the game (Gold Medal)

all is lost : Lose the game
big dog : Give your player $10 million
fat cat : Give your player $1 million
bailout : Give your company $10 million
we have a winner bronze : Win the game (Bronze Medal)
safety first : Trains never crash

subsidy : Give your company $1 million
passport : Give your company access to all territories
go go go : All trains go double speed
oops : All trains crash
we have a winner silver : Win the game (Silver Medal)

upgrade : All trains upgraded to HST 125 (A nice diesel)
orca : Get the Orca engine

23rd September 2005

Under Re-Construction

I'm posting this notice to inform you that Express World is now under reconstruction. The process has begun of implementing the new layout of the site, so for the next week or so, you may find a few errors etc as we role out the new look in phases. Please bare with us, the end result should be good!

The first phases was completed earlier this month with the launch of the new messageboards. To enter them click here. The next phase, will be the new frontpage for the site, which will be very soon.

10th September 2005

New Forums Open!

The new Express World Forums are open, to access them click here.

Please update all links and bookmarks to our forums to the new address of http://www.expressworldforum.com/forum/index.php

All memberships and messages have been copied across to the new boards, so you can still login as normal and post! We still welcome guest posting as well. I hope to launch the file upload service for the forums in the next few days.

The new forums run on the simple machines PHP forum software! Enjoy!!

3rd September 2005

Progression

The work on the new look for Express World is progressing well, and I hope to have it up in the near future. And hopefully the new PHP message boards will be an interesting step forward for the site! More on this as it develops.

A fair amount of Shattered Union news for you today!

Tomorrow is my birthday, I'm 22 (I'm getting old now!), so a well deserved break for partying is in order :P

Shattered Union: Gamespy Hands on

Another preview for you, this time the Xbox version from Gamespy. Grab this one here

Shattered Union: Team Xbox Interview

Team Xbox has conducted an interview with Poptop's art director, Franz Felsl. Take a peek here. An extract for you:

In this era of real-time strategy games why did you decide to do a turn-based strategy game?

Franz Felsl: Because, it’s the era of real-time strategy games. Really, it’s because we felt it was a niche we could scratch. PopTop’s been a strategy game maker since its inception so it was a natural move for us. The fact that we believe there is an actual market for such games gave us the impetus and the fact that there are so few turn-based strategy games make us feel like were blazing a new trail…so to speak.

PopTop has developed two popular, top-selling franchises: the Railroad Tycoon and Tropico series. What have those series contributed to the development of Shattered Union?

Franz Felsl: It’s made us even more comfortable doing strategy games. Shattered Union doesn’t really take anything from them from a game point of view since they were real-time and the rules for such games are significantly different. RT3 did give us experience using 3D though and that was a big step for us. Also, the idea of making a game system that is expandable was carried over from those games. The idea is that a different theme or story might be useable within the context of the game system.

Now let’s talk about the game. What is the backdrop for Shattered Union and what incidents lead up to the circumstances in which the player finds himself as the game starts?

Franz Felsl: The premise is that in the U.S. there have been a series of unpopular elections. Not just the official elected president, but the process itself has become overtly corrupt. No party is without blame and people are becoming fed-up with politicians and government. Therefore, more homegrown militia start popping up and causing problems which then leads to more and more strict government restrictions and continued civil rights abuse and erosion. Finally, the previous president “wins” a second term in office after legal abuse of the system essentially installs the president against the will of the people. During the inauguration celebration a nuclear weapon is detonated in the D.C. area and kills off most of the elected officials. The loss of the obvious presidential successors sets off a series of legal barrages that essentially drives another wedge between different groups in the US. This quickly escalates into a run to establish a government that the “people” will recognize and hopefully find the “heir to the throne” so to speak. After numerous small conflicts occur, large portions of the country decide to secede from the union to protect what they each feel is the “rightful” government. During this whole process, the European Union sees the loss of stability in the US as a threat to the world at large and that the chaos from the loss of the US market causes in the world is creating even greater negative ramifications. Therefore, the EU sends in Peacekeepers into the decimated D.C. area to help protect both EU interests and world interests. As the dissolution of the US comes to a fevered pitch, the EU decides it can’t wait any longer and decides to take an active reunification role to speed up the process.

And, there you are. A faction leader in the violent reunification process.

Shattered Union: Gamespot New Content!

Gamespot's recent PC newsletter brought new content related to Poptop's new game Shattered Union! A hands on preview - including new game footage & over 50 screenshots - can be found here. An interesting point I've noticed is all reference to the PS2 version of the game have vanished - maybe that version has been canned?

- The video is here. Here is an extract from the article:

...There's a lot in Shattered Union to remind you of older PC games, notably the classic Panzer General games from SSI. We've had the opportunity to play a number of battles in Shattered Union thus far. The action is fast-paced, and the gameplay mechanics are simple to understand; this is crucial, since Shattered Union will also appear on the Xbox. It doesn't take too long to start picking up on the rocks-scissors-paper balance between the units, either. Artillery can smash infantry; tanks can crush darn near everything, but are vulnerable to air power; antiaircraft units can shred helicopters and incoming bombers; and so on. As we mentioned earlier, terrain plays a role in the game, so you have to worry about maneuvering to keep your units in defensible terrain for their bonuses--a unit caught in the open is at a serious disadvantage against one entrenched in a city's streets...

...The visuals of the game are also fairly strong for the genre. They're not cutting-edge, but the graphical style is simple and appealing in its own way. Factor in the multiplayer gameplay on the PC or the one-on-one multiplayer battles over Xbox Live (which we didn't get a chance to test), and there could be a considerable amount of replay value as well. All in all, we came away from Shattered Union impressed; it's shaping up to be a lightweight, beer-and-pretzels-style wargame that is user-friendly and simple enough to be played by anyone. And the game's premise of a second American civil war fought with modern-day weapons is certainly appealing. With luck, Shattered Union may bring about a revival in the turn-based PC wargame genre. We can expect Shattered Union to ship on the PC and Xbox this fall.

15th August 2005

The Death of a PC

I've finally returned to you, after my pc died on me about two weeks ago! It took awhile to get it all sorted, but I'm finally back online. The last few days I've been working on a revised look for the site. We haven't had a new look in over two years, so I'm hoping to produce something that is easier to use.

The revised look will not be a radical change to the site overall, but should freshen things up a bit, and implement a few changes. Most notably, the new message boards will be launched at the same time. We're moving the boards over to a new home, and they will also take advantage of php technology!

Other than this little bit of site news, everything is still quiet on the game news front.

Railroad Tycoon 4 Wishlists: Idea of The Day!

Here is the best idea for the RT4 wishlists:

I would like to see locomotives from others places, like Africa, Asia, Japan etc. A country like South Africa has a proud history of locomotives (steam as well as diesel and electric). Political dispensations and the causes thereof should be worked out better. I wonder how Apartheid whould have effected RT's passenger? Some driving 1st class others 3rd. The graphics should be more polished - The Chaplain, [Reply]

To reply, click the reply button at the end of the post! To post your own wish list, visit the RT4 Wish Lists Board!

- click here to enter Express World: RT4

27th July 2005

All Quiet Still!

Everything is still really quiet on the Poptop games news front, there seemes to be little new info on Shattered Union at this time. I guess once Poptop gets the go ahead to launch an official site there will be more news! Anyways, we are still here and as always we will being you what we have.

Also, please keep your maps, articles or anything you'd like to submit for inclusion on the site to expressworld@hotmail.com. I'm particularly interested in anyone who has Poptop game related content they may wish to contribute.

Shattered Union: Video Interview & Game Footage

Veteran Poptop software member Franz Felsl has given an exclusive video interview to Gamespot about shattered union. You'll need to be a member of Gamespot basic to view it, but its a free sign up! To view click here

(the site notes to say the game footage is from the pc version)

- The video page also includes the official game trailer, an official video of the game and three short videos produced by Gamespot. There all worth a look!

Shattered Union: IGN New Content!

The IGN site has added additional screenshots of Shattered Union! Included in the collection is some concept art pictures of units in the game. To view click here

Also at IGN are further video files! To view them click here. Unfortunately you need to be a IGN Insider member to view them, and I am not a member at this time. So if anyone has the videos, could you email them to me? I'd like to take a look!

Railroad Tycoon 4 Wishlists: Idea of The Day!

Here is the best ideas from the RT4 wishlists:

Being a Multiplayer purchaser of RT1 2 & 3, I'd like the stock market to be fixed. It bugs out after 2 hours consistently on my machine and others. Haven't tried the 1.05 patch yet, perhaps that fixes this. In future releases, please focus more on the Multiplayer aspects. I love them so far, but I feel you could improve. After all the maps are played and won, MP keeps me playing. :) - Adam, [Reply]
Authentic Company Cars and Engines... Would love to see the historic B&O Chessie, PA RR, Conrail, CSX, Union Pacific, Santa Fe... in the next RR Tycoon game. Also station coverage of the cities needs to be revamped.... theres always 1 building in a city outside of the station coverage. Finally, I think it would be cool to be able to actually engineer a train on one of your routes... - Engineer Scotty, [IMAGE] [Reply]

To reply, click the reply button at the end of the post! To post your own wish list, visit the RT4 Wish Lists Board!

- click here to enter Express World: RT4

24th June 2005

Shattered Union Gets Release Date

According to Gamespot the Playstation 2 version of Shattered Union has a release date of 14th November 2005. This is the first time an actual date has been suggested for release. However, we must take this with a grain of salt as the game is still quite far off. Also, the gamespot site lists the other versions as having no release date so far. But at least we have a general idea of when to expect the game.

More shattered union news as we get it...

Railroad Tycoon 2: New Maps

Today, we've got a few new Railroad Tycoon 2 maps for you! Click the links below to download: (they all need TSC or later to play)

Arizona

California

Montana

Remember to keep sending all your maps to us at expressworld@hotmail.com

Railroad Tycoon 4 Wishlists: Idea of The Day!

Here is the best idea for the RT4 wishlists:

Station addons as ADDONS. It'd be nice to be able to simply select a handful of stations and click an "add tavern" icon, instead of having to go to each city and add them.This holds particularly true when adding all the addons at once. - Nazdak, 0 [Reply]

To reply, click the reply button at the end of the post! To post your own wish list, visit the RT4 Wish Lists Board!

- click here to enter Express World: RT4

17th June 2005

Catchup With Phil Steinmeyer

As you may, or may not know, the founder of Poptop, Phil Steinmeyer left Poptop last year to pursue new interests. Well, for anyone interested, he now has a website so you can keep up with him! Click here to access

Shattered Union: News Updates

Some quick news items on Poptop's new project:

- Xbox version preview here

- E3 Impressions here

- Gamers Info mini preview here

Railroad Tycoon 4 Wishlists: Idea of The Day!

Here is the best idea for the RT4 wishlists:

REAL sandbox mode! Maybe I just havent discovered it yet, but I cant find a sandbox mode that includes rival companies, or even economics. It'd be nice to set up a sort of quickie match. Select a map, designate strength/maturity of economy, set number/wealth of opponents, etc. Maybe a Tournament type system where you face off against 12 increasingly difficult rival tycoons over a span of 12 maps. - Nazdak, [Reply]

To reply, click the reply button at the end of the post! To post your own wish list, visit the RT4 Wish Lists Board!

- click here to enter Express World: RT4

2nd June 2005

Mirror, Mirror

There is now a second domain that can be used to access the site. If you goto www.express-world.org.uk you can now access Express World. For now this simply redirects you here, but we may put up a full mirror of the site there in the near future. Remember, its www.express-world.org.uk!

As a side note, Express World will soon be launching the spin-off site ExpressWorldForums.com which will give a new home to the Express World Messageboards, and will allow the upload of map files!

Shattered Union: News Updates!

Some quick news items on Poptop's new project:

- 12 New Screenshots can be found here

- An interview with Poptop's Franz Felsl is here

- A gameplay video is up here

- A sneak peak is now up at Gaming Nexus

Thanks to Pjay for those! More Soon...

Railroad Tycoon 4 Wishlists: Idea of The Day!

Here is the best idea for the RT4 wishlists:

please in the new rt 4 have it wear you can have a company build its own factoriels and be able to have train yards, and sideings, and be able to make roads and freight depots, and make trains longer, and be able to chose your companys train colors, and cooler logos, and better graphics than the third tycoon, thanks. - jimmy, [Reply]

To reply, click the reply button at the end of the post! To post your own wish list, visit the RT4 Wish Lists Board!

- click here to enter Express World: RT4

31st May 2005

Quick Update

Like the title says, a quick update to let you know that my exams are over, and I'm working on a big update hopefully that will be up tomorrow. Thanks everyone for sticking with us through this last year, its been tough... but back to normal updates now!

7th May 2005

Next Poptop Project Announced: Shattered Union

Poptop's new projected has been announced. The game is a turn based strategy war game called Shattered Union. Its due out towards the end of 2005 for PC and consoles (a first for a Poptop developed project - they normally outsource any console version). So far the project has been confirmed for Xbox. The game runs on an enhanced version of the 3D engine that powered RT3.

The game is to be published by Take 2's newly formed publishing label 2K Games. The announcement of this game has led to a new section of the site being added here. Also, a few cosmetic changes to the site layout on this page to accommodate the new section. They will be incorporated site wide ASAP.

Here is an excerpt from the press release (from VE3D)

Set atop the smoldering ruins of a fictional United States torn apart by civil war, Shattered Union is an action-packed turn-based strategy game for console and PC. Gamers will play through an exciting single player campaign to reunite the country by force or online in one-on-one matches.

Read the whole thing here.

So far only three screenshots have been released. See them below or here

From www.ign.com

(click to enlarge)

We will bring you more news as and when we get it. The Poptop site has yet to post anything about this game. We will be archiving all know information on the game on our Shattered Union first information page.

- The Messageboard can be found here

Shattered Union: Gamespot Article

GameSpot has released an article about the newly announced Shattered Union game. To read it click here

Here is an extract:

Shattered Union focuses on a fictitious future where the United States has descended into civil war. Players must managed their army of tanks, helicopters, and modern-style war machinery to take back the American landscape and reform the union.

The game appears to be entirely three dimensional, and the three released screenshots show detailed representational units the size of large buildings. According to the press release issued earlier this week, the game will offer an engrossing single player campaign and head-to-head online play for two players.

3rd May 2005

Flying Time!

Where does the time go? I'm so sorry for the bigger gaps between updates (luckily news has been very thin during this time so there wasn't too much to miss out on), my finals are almost upon me, the semester ends on Friday and my final project is due in then (almost done for all those interested!). Anyways, I finish exams on 26th, and from then on I'll be doing alot of work on the site to get it all back in shape, and some big updates including a new look! The long in the works redesign for the site will hopefully reach completion soon (it has been on the back burner for a while due to university).

On another note, Express World turned 7 years old on the 26th April, so I just want to say thanks for all those who have supported the site through the years and I hope you will continue to do so as we approach another fascinating project from Poptop!!! I normally like to mark the birthday of the site, but I was buried in coursework at the time.

Anyways, please bare with me just a little longer until late May! Please continue to send your maps through to expressworld@hotmail.com and we will get them hosted for you. (I hope to do a couple more updates during my finals, but if not, I'll see ya all on the other side!)

Poptop Updates

A quick update from the Poptop site:

Just a quick update today to thank all of the applicants we had for the Junior Artist position. We will not be accepting any more applications for this position as of today; but, if you've already sent portfolios that we haven't received yet we will include them in with the other applicants. We were lucky to have lots of interested and talented people to pick from for this opening, and we wish all of you that have applied good luck!

Railroad Tycoon 4 Wishlists: Ideas of The Day!

Here is the best ideas recently in the RT4 wishlists:

Country specific train packs would be a good start, as i live in England I'd like to see more British locos, generally more diesels and electrics like class 47,58,60 etc, also with working liveries like gwr, virgin, Scot rail and finally more detailed and customizable rolling stock - Phil, [Reply]
For RT4, I would really appreciate to build more complex track layouts at the train station e.g. build a real central station with 20 or so platforms, separate cargo unload facilities aso... I think, RT4 should lay much more emphasis on micro-structures and building realistic track and station constructions. - Wolfgang, [Reply]
In RT3 there was very big problem I like to build complex railroad lines with signals and so on My point is that there was no crashes in the game and when to trains come on each other and on of them make him self transparent it makes the game totally unrealistic. In the old games for example Transport Tycoon Deluxe the traffic was much more interesting Try to sort this out Thank you! - Auris, [Reply]

To reply, click the reply button at the end of the post! To post your own wish list, visit the RT4 Wish Lists Board!

- click here to enter Express World: RT4

29th March 2005

I'm Back

After being forced to take a brief hiatus from updates due to the pressures of life, I'm returning to you with an update! Sorry for brief absence, but I was, and still am very busy with things at university (its nearly over now). So bare with me, and when we get to May, its freedom time!

Poptop News: Next Game Info

Poptop's new project has yet to be announced, we do know however that it is a war game, and it may get a console release for Xbox and PS2 alongside a pc release. We have a few more details from Poptop's job page, its not much but it gives us an idea what to expect:

Following the success of Railroad Tycoon 2 & 3 and Tropico, we are now developing on a console & PC strategy title (turn-based war game). PopTop offers you the chance to make a major impact on a new, original I.P. game in a great environment. We are looking forward to making a truly next-generation war game – one that innovates and invigorates the genre, like Panzer General, Command & Conquer and Advance Wars did in their day. Come be a part of an outstanding team, and help us make an outstanding product.

With that in mind, we are launching a new section today that will contain any and all information available in relation to the game. Once the game is formally announced, we will launch a full section (similar to our existing coverage of Poptop projects). Click here to enter Poptop's War Game - First Info

Poptop Updates

Poptop has updated their site after a long absence too. Here goes:

Things continue to be quiet about the goings-on here at Poptop, but we can assure you that it doesn't mean we aren't busy behind the doors. In fact, the biggest bit of news we can relate to you for now is that we have more positions to fill, this time in the artist catagory! We are currently seeking both an Experienced Industry Artist and an entry-level Junior Artist. Please feel free to browse our job page for any additional information. Thanks for hanging in there, and we hope to have some big news for you all in the near future!

We're updating again this month with more news of open positions in the company! This time we're on the look out for some on-site game testers (local applicants only please!). So if you live in the St. Louis area, and you'd like to aid us test our latest yet unannounced game, just download a copy of this Tester Application, fill it out in its entirety, and send it back to us (mail, fax, and e-mail are fine). If you'd like more information about what we're looking for in a tester, please look at our job page for additional information. Happy St. Pat's to everyone out there, and good luck!

Railroad Tycoon 4 Wishlists: Idea of The Day!

Here is the best idea for the RT4 wishlists:

Building Restaurants, Hotels, Taverns etc. seems to have modest effect on the income and number of passenger. Since there is no way of measuring the effect of such buildings it seems a waist of money in difficult scenarios where money is scarce. Maybe is should be the AI that raised these buildings depending on the appeal, numbers and regularity of passenger trains that visited the station. - Tordenskjold, [Reply]

To reply, click the reply button at the end of the post! To post your own wish list, visit the RT4 Wish Lists Board!

- click here to enter Express World: RT4

10th March 2005

Frogcity Announces New Game

Frogcity, developer of Tropico 2: Pirate Cove has announced their latest project today. The game goes by the title "Snow" and "is about the creation and distribution of illegal drugs in the 1970's and 80's." The game will be published by 2KGames, the (newly created) publishing label of Take 2 Interactive. 2K Games are also responsible for Poptop's forthcoming war game project.

Few details are available at the moment, but the following is from VE3D

"The fictional underground world Frog City has created for Snow is the perfect setting for a real time strategy game," said Christoph Hartmann, Senior Vice President of Publishing for 2K Games.
"Snow will challenge players to oversee every aspect of the drug trade, all of which require calculated thinking in order to make your business prosper while at the same time keeping it safe from the authorities and other rival kingpins. This will surely make for an intense, paranoid and most importantly, strategic gaming experience."

Railroad Tycoon 4 Wishlists: Idea of The Day!

Here is the best idea for the RT4 wishlists:

In RT3 I do not find much use for specifiying different cargo. The safest way of making money seems to be to tick off "Any Cargo". It would be more fun if at least Express in a higher degree could be separated from Freight. If that also demanded different Locomotives it would be a more interesting game experience - Tordenskjold, [Reply]

To reply, click the reply button at the end of the post! To post your own wish list, visit the RT4 Wish Lists Board!

- click here to enter Express World: RT4

28th February 2005

Archive

With today's update it was incredibly clear to me it was time to clean this page up a little. So I've moved all the pre-2005 news to the Archive News section.

Please bare with me over the next two months, I will update as often as I can but I'm reaching the final stages of my final semester at university, so as you can imagine its rather hectic. But update will continue, and after May 6th 2005, very regular updates! So stick with us, we are not going any where.

If you have any news, or maps etc to be posted just drop me an email at expressworld@hotmail.com