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22nd October 2007
Way too Long
Its been way too long since an update has occurred here. I haven't
given up on the site, however things away from here have been hectic
and game news quite quiet. I'm going to try for some weekly updates
to the site. I'm working on some new content too, so please stick
around here. Want to contribute to the site, get in touch at
expressworld@hotmail.com.
I'm looking for people interested in producing stuff for the site.
Steam: Railroad Tycoon Series on offer
If you have seen our last update, you will know that
the Railroad Tycoon collection was launched on Valve's Steam
service. Just to update you that this is currently on offer, with
the whole package available for $19.95 until 29 October, for this
you get RT2, RT3 and Railroads. I good time to buy if your still
without some of these games. Go to
www.steampowered.com.
3rd June 2007
Back to Reality
I'm back from Canada, had a really good time. Vancouver is very
beautiful. I'd like to go back sometime. Anyways, back to
business...
Railroad Tycoon Series adds Steam
If you are missing one or more of the games in the
Railroad Tycoon Series, Take 2 Interactive has recently released the
games to Valve's Steam
digital content delivery service.
Railroad Tycoon II Platinum Edition is available for just $4.95,
with
Railroad Tycoon 3 is only $9.95.
Sid Meier's Railroads is also available for $19.95. All three
games are also included in the
Railroad Tycoon collection, which will save you a small amount
of money
So if you haven't picked up these games, its a great
way to do so, and you don't need to worry about where you'd store
that game box. Get steam at
www.steampowered.com - theres many other great games on there
too, including Firaxis' Civilization series.
9 Years Old (Almost)
O n 26th April, Express
World will be 9 years old, I can't believe its been so long. Thanks
(in advance of the date) to everyone who has supported us over the
years, heres to the next year! I would normally actual post this on
the date, however I'll be a few days into my Holiday in Vancouver at
that point... I'll see you all back after May 6th.
This site is still very much alive, I'm still
working on new content, which will go live when I'm back from
Canada.
Remember to keep visiting the messageboards, and to
email any contributions for the site to
expressworld@hotmail.com
22nd November 2005
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.
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
Messageboards
Just a friendly reminder to
everyone to join in the fun on the Messageboards!
Railroad
Tycoon 3: New Map
We have a new RT3 map
for you today. This one is in German, and is based on the Balkans
region. It features many events and choices.
Click
here to download Srbija-CrnaGora
5h
February 2005
All
Quiet
Everything is very quiet on the RT3
and Poptop front. If you have any news, maps or features for the
game send them over to expressworld@hotmail.com
As for the site, we're working on
the long delayed new look for the site, which we hope to implement
soon. We'll be adding a new section for Poptop's new war game too
(untitled so far).
RT3:
Hard Work - New Map!
Another update, another new RT3 map
- now thats the way I like it! Send in your maps for any of our
games to expressworld@hotmail.com
Click
here to download - Hard Work (6.89 mb)
Poptop
Update
After a very long time, Poptop has
updated their page:
Well it's a new
year now and things have been busy here to say the least. It's
been a while since our last update, but the news world on RT3 has
been quiet. We do have some new employment news that we want
to share, however. We are doing a new round of hiring, and
looking to fill a few new positions! At the top of our list is
a CONSOLE
PROGRAMMER. We are also looking for a junior
programmer. For more information about us as a company and
details about the two new positions, please visit our job
page. Thanks for stopping by and we hope to have some new
announcements out to everyone soon!
Messageboards
Just a friendly reminder to
everyone to join in the fun on the Messageboards!
23rd
January 2005
RT3:
New Map
A new map for RT3 today, this one
is called 'Across the Blue Mountains'
Click
here to download Across the Blue Mountains (2.43mb)
As ever, send your maps to us at expressworld@hotmail.com
Messageboards
Just a friendly reminder to
everyone to join in the fun on the Messageboards!
9th
January 2005
New
RT3 Maps
Got some more RT3 maps ready for
download:
Tasmania
Castro's
Cuba
Weidenthal
County
Remember send any maps you have for
ANY of the games we cover to expressworld@hotmail.com
I'd particularly like some maps for
the Tropico series and RT2!
Messageboards
Just a friendly reminder to
everyone to join in the fun on the Messageboards!
14th
December 2004
Messageboards
Just
a quick reminder to everyone to head over to the Messageboards
and join in the fun. Here are the quick links to each board:
Main
- Railroad
Tycoon II - Railroad
Tycoon 3 - Tropico
Series - Railroad
Tycoon 4
Railroad
Tycoon 3: New Maps
Not to leave out our RT3 fans, we
have a new map for you also!
Click
here to download The North-East Corridor (RT3)
30th
November 2004
All
Quiet
There is still little news to
report, but the long delayed new look for Express World is shaping
up well (though slowly) and should be here towards the end of the
year!
Send any news, maps, files etc to expressworld@hotmail.com
We're working on new content for
the site, new sections etc (including new content for Tropico, and
an additional game) and they will launch soon! Meanwhile don't
forget to go and sign the RT4
Chat Board with your wishes for the fourth Railroad Tycoon game.
And head over to
the Messageboards
to join in the fun.
Railroad
Tycoon 4 Wishlists: Idea of The Day!
Here is the best idea
for the RT4 wishlists:
An inside the train
driver-camera would be great feature, 2) companies should be able to
buy stocks from other companies, 3) the stock market should be more
realistic. Its really annoying how easily i can affect the share
price by buying 10 K of shares. Moreover, it would be great if i
could buy stocks of the industries, instead of buying them. And i
think their price should be really high. - chris,
[Reply]
To reply, click the reply button at
the end of the post! To post your own wishlist, visit the RT4
Chat Board!
-
click
here
to enter Express World: RT4
13th
November 2004
Progress
Good news on the front of the
Scenario Centre... the new user upload/download service should be
entering the full testing phase any time now. To use the service,
you must be a registered member of our Messageboard.
Although the Messageboard allows guest posting (at this time), only
registered users will be able to use this service.
To
begin the signup service, click
here
As of
the moment, there isn't a great deal of news, but the new scenario
service should help things! The much delayed new look (so it could
incoporate the scenario centre) will launch shortly.
Railroad
Tycoon 3: New Maps
A
new map for you today, Arizona Rail Rev!
Click
here to download Arizona Rail Rev
and:
Canada
Bound
28th
October 2004
Poptop
Updates
Poptop
has made a quick update as a follow up to their focus group session
regarding their forthcoming war game project:
Last
night we held our focus group here at the Poptop office and we would
just like to send a big thank you out to everyone who applied and
participated! We got some very good feedback from the event,
and we promise to put it all to good use over the next few months.
If you didn't make it into the focus group this time, be sure to
keep your eyes open for some more hands-on events that we could be
doing here as we get further along on our next project. That's
all the news for now, so keep an eye open for new updates and have a
great Halloween!
Map
Department Relaunch
Just a quick note to
let you know that in the coming weeks we will be re-launching the
map department for Express World! The new system, which will work
through our Messageboards.
You will be required to register to use the service, but it will be
free! You will be able to put up any map you wish to have here! This
service is being co-created with our sister site Locomotion
UK.
Watch
this space for more news
14th
October 2004
Poptop
Wants You!
Poptop is looking for
you, this is from their site:
Looks
like we've still got some news yet this month. Nothing of note
for RT3, but something very cool for all of our fans from the St.
Louis area. Poptop Software is putting together a focus
test group for our next project, and we're looking for
candidates! The event will last for about an hour, and if
getting to influence a major upcoming game wasn't payment enough,
you'll also get $20! For all of the details click here.
You will have to print out this
form and either mail or fax a completed copy to us. Please
don't send us any applications over e-mail. Remember to
participate you'll need to be in or near the St. Louis area.
That's it for now, and maybe we'll be seeing you soon!
23rd
September 2004
Railroad
Tycoon 3: Patch V1.05
Poptop has released a
new patch for RT3.
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.
Click
here to download RT3 Patch v1.05 (From Express World)
Here are links for other language
versions of the patch: (from Take 2 UK)
France
Germany
Italy
Spain
(thanks go out to the Trivial
Psychic)
Poptop
Update / New Game Hints
Poptop has again
updated their site, with news regarding their recent hirings.
Interestingly, they are looking to hire a war game designer, with
"game design experience in the war/strategy game genre,"
which suggests their next game could be a war game. This would be an
interesting change in direction for Poptop's next project. Or could
it be their splitting into two development teams and two projects
are on their way? Interesting times are ahead of us anyways. As ever
Express World will be here to cover poptop's future projects.
Here is their update:
It
looks like Coast
to Coast was well received, and we here at Poptop would like to
thank you all for your support with RT3! We've also
heard the feedback on the expansion, and there will be a new patch
coming out soon to smooth over some rough edges. We've got
some updates on the hiring front here as well.
We're happy to report that we've filled our positions for both
gameplay programmers and artists. We had more good
submissions for these jobs then we could have hoped for; thank you
all for applying and we wish you the best of luck! Things keep
growing around here though, and we've got a new position to
fill. We're looking to hire a Wargame
Designer! For those of you curious about the position,
please head on over to our job
page and take a look. If you prefer the short version,
we're looking for a candidate with game design experience in the
war/strategy game genre. That's all for now, so go enjoy the
summer while it lasts!
RT3:
Netherlands Map
As promised, a new map
for Railroad Tycoon 3, this is of the Netherlands. This map is
available in both Dutch & English.
Click
here to download Netherlands Map (English Version)
Click
here to download Netherlands Map (Dutch Version)
22nd
September 2004
Moving
Along
The new look for the
site is moving along nicely, and will hopefully go live some time
within the next week, maybe even tomorrow (we shall see). This is
why updates have been slow this past week, and why this is a most
brief update.
The next update should
have a new RT3 & RT2 map for you! Remember, the new address for
map submissions is kingjambo@gmail.com!
11th
September 2004
New
Address for Map Submissions
I've now got a GMAIL
account better suited for larger files, so if you have an RT2 or RT3
map (or any Tropico map), send it to the new address of kingjambo@gmail.com.
I know some of you
have had to pass on sending files due to their size so far, but that
is no longer a problem, so get sending your maps to kingjambo@gmail.comand
we will host them ASAP!
TAKE
2 INTERACTIVE Closes The Gathering
Poptop's long standing
publisher Gathering (also known as Gathering of Developers) which
Take 2 owns (as well as Poptop) is to be shut down. All of its
operations will be folded into Take 2's publishing subsidiary
Global Star. It is unclear if Poptop's future games will be
published on this label or another section of Take 2's operations
(maybe Rockstar). Here
is further info from the Take 2 Games site:
To streamline
Take-Two's publishing operations, the Company is reorganizing its
publishing business into two labels: Rockstar Games and Global Star
Software. Rockstar will continue to focus on premium priced,
groundbreaking entertainment, while Global Star's portfolio will be
significantly broadened. In addition to publishing the ESPN
Videogames sports line and all value priced titles, Global Star will
publish both premium and value priced licensed properties, as well
as the products that were formerly under the Company's Gathering
label.
7th
September 2004
Back
I'm back following my
weekend off for my 21st birthday! Its been a hell of a weekend,
probably my best birthday yet. One of the amusing highlights was
receiving a fridge as a present!
For those interested,
the sequel to transport tycoon, Locomotion
is out on Friday in the UK, and a demo has been released. Head over
to Locomotion
UK for more details.
Railroad
Tycoon 3: New Map
We have a new RT3 map
for you to download today, entitled Island Time
Click
here to download Island Time
2nd
September 2004
I'm
(almost) 21
There will be no
updates after today until 7th September, as it is my 21st Birthday
on Saturday, so I've got a hell of alot of partying to do, starting
tonight! I'll see you all on the other side of my 5 day hang over!!
In the meantime, don't
forget to visit Locomotion UK, the new spin off site from
Express World!
RT3
- Coast To Coast X Pack: Express World Download Link
As promised (if not a
little delayed!) the local link hosted by express world for the
Coast to Cost expansion pack is now ready!
Click
here to download RT3 Coast to Coast Expansion Pack (119mb)
Poptop
Updates
Despite the release of
the expansion pack on August 23rd, poptop has finally updated their
site about the release!
Two updates in one
month must mean something important right? If you think so,
then you are quite correct! As some of you may have heard we
just released a FREE
Expansion Pack for RT3 - Coast
to Coast! We wanted to say thank you to all of our loyal
fans out there, and although we had to keep things under wraps for a
while, in the end we think it was well worth it. The expansion
pack features loads of new content with new maps, new trains, and
even new editing tools. You can download the expansion pack
from Fileplanet,
3D Gamers,
or Boomtown.
The list below will give you a good idea for what you can expect
from the Coast to Coast expansion, but if you want the full story
please check out the press release here.
Thanks again to all the RT3 fans, and we hope you enjoy!
RT3 Coast to Coast Contains:
- Thirteen
new maps, covering all
corners of the earth, including the all new - ‘Coast To
Coast.’ (A sprawling map of the entire United States)
- Eight
new locomotives,
including the Class 460, GP 35, U1, and The Zephyr.
- Three
new skinning tools -
The Train Skin, Company Logo, and Player Portrait tools allows
players to paint up their trains, design their own company logo,
or put themselves into the game as a competing tycoon.
- The latest patch
for the game, for a total of 108 new features, balance tweaks
and revisions since the original 1.00 release.
23rd
August 2004
(Updated)
Railroad
Tycoon 3: Coast to Coast Expansion Pack Released! MIRROR
DOWNLOADS LINKS
Here are a few more
links of where to grab the RT3 Coast to Coast expansion pack, that
was released yesterday, free of charge!
Express
World will be hosting a local copy of this file... it will be up
soon.
The file is 122.3mb
http://www.3dgamers.com/games/railroadtycoon3/
ftp://ftp.avault.com/patches/railtycoon3_ctc_eng.exe
http://www.fileplanet.com/files/140000/144579.shtml
and here are a few details on the
expansion pack:
In an unexpected move,
Take 2 Interactive has released the expansion pack for Railroad
Tycoon 3 today, free of charge to all owners of RT3! The new
expansion pack includes:
- Thirteen new
maps, covering all corners of the earth, including the
Grand-Daddy of Railroad Tycoon(TM) 3 scenarios - ‘Coast To
Coast.’ (A sprawling map of the entire United States), as well
as new maps of Russia, Poland, China, Mexico and other far-flung
locales.
- Eight new
locomotives, including the Class 460, GP 35, U1, and The Zephyr.
- Three new
skinning tools - The Train Skin, Company Logo, and Player
Portrait tools allows players to paint up their trains, design
their own company logo, or put themselves into the game as a
competing tycoon.
- The latest patch
for the game. The latest 1.04 patch has a total of 108 new
features, balance tweaks and revisions since the original 1.00
release.
- If you know of any
further
mirror sites for the file please contact expressworld@hotmail.com
and they will be listed.
We are currently
working on locating a mirrors for the file. A new page about the
expansion will be added to shortly. Express World will be
hosting a local copy of this file.
21st
August 2004
Railroad
Tycoon 3: Coast to Coast Expansion Pack Released!
In an unexpected move,
Take 2 Interactive has released the expansion pack for Railroad
Tycoon 3 today, free of charge to all owners of RT3! The new
expansion pack includes:
- Thirteen new
maps, covering all corners of the earth, including the
Grand-Daddy of Railroad Tycoon(TM) 3 scenarios - ‘Coast To
Coast.’ (A sprawling map of the entire United States), as well
as new maps of Russia, Poland, China, Mexico and other far-flung
locales.
- Eight new
locomotives, including the Class 460, GP 35, U1, and The Zephyr.
- Three new
skinning tools - The Train Skin, Company Logo, and Player
Portrait tools allows players to paint up their trains, design
their own company logo, or put themselves into the game as a
competing tycoon.
- The latest patch
for the game. The latest 1.04 patch has a total of 108 new
features, balance tweaks and revisions since the original 1.00
release.
The file can be
download here
(from file planet)
- If you know of any
mirror sites for the file please contact expressworld@hotmail.com
and they will be listed.
We are currently
working on locating a mirrors for the file. A new page about the
expansion will be added to shortly.
20th
August 2004
Site
News
Just a quick update to
let you know that the new looks for the site is now in development.
The new look greatly simplifies the navigation of the site, and it
also puts a darker blue, gray and white color scheme in place.
The new look better integrates
the Messageboard & map sections with the overall site. However,
with no more Tropico games in development, the primary focus of the
site will shift to Railroad Tycoon, however all the Tropico sections
will be maintained.
The current aim is to
try and deploy the new look, entitled "Express World Six"
in September, but a preview of it will be up by the end of August.
And for the very first time, we will be taking on staff to help
operate Express World. Although the exact positions are yet to be
determined, if you are interested in lending a hand to the operation
of this site, email me at expressworld@hotmail.com
(of course the work is all unpaid!!!).
Also, the new look
site will eliminate the unsuccessful Google adds. All readers please
be aware, that the Express World Email service will close down with
the launch of the new site.
RT3:
Map Link Fixed
Accidentally, I forgot
to rename a file yesterday, so the East Coast Steel Paradox file did
not work, that has now been fixed. Sorry!
East
Coast Steel Paradox
19th
August 2004
RT3:
New Maps
We have new maps for
RT3 today:
Mars
- The New World
East
Coast Steel Paradox
Grey
Coast & Grand River
Poptop
Update
Poptop
has updated their site, still no news on their next project, or a
formal announcement of the RT3 Expansion Pack, but here is the
update:
Time
flies when you're having fun they say, but lately things have just
been really busy around here. We can't say doing what yet, but
hopefully we can soon. There's not really any game related
news to talk about, but we do have some big news we wanted to let
everyone know about. Poptop is once again doing a round of
hiring! PopTop Software is looking for Graphics
Artists and a Gameplay
Programmer. So if you feel like you might fit the bill,
please head on over to our job
page and check out all of the details. Good luck to
everyone who applies, and maybe we'll be seeing you soon!
28th
July 2004
Railroad
Tycoon 3: Expansion Pack
I've heard rumors that
the formal announcement of the RT3 Expansion pack is imminent, as
soon as there is news, it will be posted here. Apparently there
shooting for a release before Christmas.
Railroad
Tycoon 3: New Map - Gibraltar
Another new map today,
it was recently used in a map content too, thats over, but it is
still a cool map to play!
Click
here to download Gibraltar
It's a 50 year map,
starting in 1880, and the Medal requirements involve connecting
Lisbon, Portugal to several other cities on the map. In order to
connect to certain cities, you must show your grit by obtaining a
specified Company Book Value (CBV) as well as a specified Industry
Profit (IP).
You'll also be
required to build a suspension bridge, spanning the Straits.
There is a couple
surprises in store, but you'll just have to play the map to see what
they are.
10th
July 2004
Poptop
Update
Poptop has put up a
quick update! It suggests that the forthcoming RT3 Expansion Pack
will get it's official announcement very soon!
Where does the time
go? We've been pretty busy here at Poptop, as you can gather
from the fact we seem to have missed a whole month here in our
updates. We've had some hiring luck and are happy to welcome
our new producer, Jeff Everett, to the Poptop team. We're also
no longer looking for any summer interns. We had a large
response to that job offer, and want to thank everyone who applied;
we wish you all the best of luck in the industry!
There isn't too
much in the way of game news that we can talk about right now, but
we have been working on a special something for RT3 that we think
all the fans will really enjoy. We can't say anymore than
that, but keep your eyes peeled in the coming weeks and you
shouldn't be disappointed! In case you might have missed it,
RT3 was chosen as the winner in the Game
Industry 2004 Game of the Year awards for Simulation. You
can read the article in its entirety here.
They had the following comment as well:
"The
simulation category is really becoming extremely popular, and
Railroad Tycoon 3 is a great example of why."
23rd
June 2004
Site
Upgrades
Just a quick note to
say that the site is currently undergoing some changes, and we will
be implementing a new (revised) look for the site over the next week
or so, so there may be a few disruptions to some pages while the
work is carried out. The site will not be offline fully at any
point.
I apologize in advance
for any disruption that you may encounter.
RT3:
Irish Free State Map
Another new map for
you. This one is from the new site over @ http://www.railroadtycoon.info
Click
here to download Irish Free State
18th
June 2004
RT3:
New Maps
We've been sent a few
RT3 maps, so here are them ready for download! Here are the links:
Summer
Vacation
Boston
Cape
Cod
1st
June 2004
Return
I'm returning to
updates now, as things have calmed down after last weeks tragic
events. Not a great deal of news, but I will crack on with what
there is! Also, keep the maps coming in! And I will be doing some
work on the site too!
Railroad
Tycoon 3 - (Beta) Patch V1.04a
Take 2 has released a BETA
version of the forthcoming patch for RT3. Be where that the patch is
not a finished version so there maybe some glitches in it. Use at
your own risk!
Click
here to download RT3 (BETA) Patch V1.04a
"The
latest update for Railroad Tycoon 3. Most notably, this patch
resolves an issue that prevents some users who have the latest
NVidia drivers installed (5x.xx series) from running the game. We
believe this patch fully resolves that issue. The patch also
includes a number of other updates. The patch has been through some
testing, and we believe that it is solid, but it has not run a full
test cycle yet, so if you are not using an NVidia card, you may want
to use the older, 1.03 patch"
27th
May 2004
RIP
I've just received the
news that my Granddad has past away, suddenly with no explanation or
warning. Therefore there will be no updates for a few days. I will
return to updates from the 1st June. I hope you can all understand
why I must delayed updates further.
14th
May 2004
All
Quiet
There is still little
news to report I'm afraid. I was hoping that
Poptop's "good news for all of the RT3 fans out
there" would come as part of this week's E3 event, however no
such news has yet surface. As soon as there is news to report, we
will post it! In the meantime checkout the Express
World Shop
& Messageboards.
And if
you have any maps, RT3 or RT2 (or even Tropico!) send them to us @ maps@express-world.co.uk.
I've
got exams next week, so the next update isn't likely to be until
after 21st May, unless there is so big news to report!
3rd
May 2004
6
26th April 2004 marked
the 6th birthday of Express World, but unfortunately due to
university I was totally unable to make it here to celebrate it.
We've got new features for the site in the works, that will be
coming in June... they were originally due in April, but due to uni
they had to be delayed. All I have left is two exams, so after 21st
May alot of work on the site will occur.
Anyways, thanks for
everyone who has visited and continues to visit the site, we here
only because of you (and our great hosts!).
Poptop:
Next?
The latest Poptop
update suggests what is to come next. Hopefully the good news for
RT3 fans will be an expansion pack, as ever we shall keep you posted
on this. More interestingly is the position for a Console
Programmer, does this mean Poptop will be developing their next
project directly for a console? This could be an interesting
development!
We
hope everyone is enjoying their April showers. We're still
hard at work here, but we can't say too much about that. There
will be some good news for all of the RT3 fans out there, though, so
be sure to stay tuned in over the next month!
We have some more news on hiring front for the company as well.
We have a new position open for a Console
Programmer. For more information on the job please
visit the job page as usual. This isn't an entry level
position, but we have more good news in that we are considering
working with an intern
this summer. More details on this can be found on the job page
as well. That's all the news for now, but keep your eyes open!
13th
April 2004
Nothing
Theres still absolutely
news to report to you, but Express World's sixth Birthday is on
Monday so I hope to have some new stuff here to celebrate it!
If you have any news
or maps send them to the usual email addresses.
RT3:
2 New Maps
We've got two new maps
for RT3, bizarrely one has no name!
Click
here to download The Map With No Name
Click
here to downloaded United Indian Federation V1.2
3rd
April 2004
Wow
I can't believe how
long it has been since the last update... I've been really busy with
events in my life, some good, some rather bad. I'm in a band now, as
the lead singer, so thats good... but on the downside my family is
minus a car after a horrific car crash last week, fortunately my Mum
escaped without a scratch.. we got lucky. Anyways, so much has
happened, so I guess somethings got pushed aside... not that there
would have been much news to report.
Oh and who ever hacked
the messageboards, didn't make a good job, I was able to get them
back in about 5 minutes. We've got a few new maps that will be up in
the next update (which will be very soon, not in like a month!).
We will hopefully have
some cool stuff for the 6th birthday of Express World, which is on
the 26th April, however breaking with tradition, this will not
include a redesign of the site. The current in development redesign
of Express World (titled Express World 6) won't be here until June.
Poptop
Updates
Some news from the Poptop
site (I knows its 3 weeks old, but here goes anyway!)
Happy March to one and all. Not
a lot of news to announce for now, but we have some very important
news nonetheless!
As some of you
may already know, PopTop Software is currently hiring!
That's right, we're looking for a few good people; in this specific
case a Producer
as well as a Lead
Programmer. If you'd like to see if you have what
we're looking for, please take a little trip to our job
page and check out all the details. Good luck!
On a RT3 note, we have one new review to add to our list for today.
This one was done by The
Armchair Empire. The review isn't very lengthy, but you
can check out the entire review here
if you like. Aside from receiving a recommended title rating,
it's quite obvious that they warmed up the the game quickly
and enjoyed themselves:
"PopTop’s
latest offering is a deep and engrossing game, which is easy
to get into and hard to walk away from.
The back-handed slash is that if you allow it, RT3 can
take over your life."
7th
March 2004
Progress
Progress has been made
on the new mystery section for the site, with any look it may launch
in the near future. Right peeps, I'm admitting it, I need help (with
the site, not mental help), so please read on...
RT3
Map Submission Issues (Help
Needed)
It has been brought to
my attention a problem submitting RT3 maps to Express World, since
the RT3 map can be rather large, they have been over filling the
limits of my email accounts with a single map.
This means that some
maps aren't getting through. I'm looking into solutions to this (so
my accounts doesn't overflow), or maybe some simple upload method so
that users of the site can just upload their map to me. Either way,
I'm no expert on this, and if anyone has any ideas drop me an email
to expressworld@hotmail.com
or go to
this thread on the messageboards.
RT3:
Maps
Here are a couple more
RT3 map download links:
Click
here to download - Cuba
Click
here to Download - France 1950
3rd
March 2004
Its
Oh So Quiet...
There really is no
news at the moment to be honest, and I've received very few maps to
post either. Send your maps, whether it is RT2 or RT3 to maps@express-world.co.uk.
Tropico maps can be sent to the same address too. Anyways, on with
this quiet update:
There will be two new
sections launching to the site soon, the much delayed "Other
Rail Games" and a new mystery section that will be
announced as it opens.
A revamp of the
content for Tropico is also on the cards.
RT3
Wins Award
Poptop + RT3 have won
yet another award (congratulations). Anyways, here is the post from www.poptop.com
Yes, we are still
here. There's not a lot of news for today, but we are happy to
say that we are still working to support RT3, and that RT3 has also
managed to win a Readers' Choice Award for RTS of the year!
Wargamer
ran their yearly Readers' Choice awards, and for 2003 RT3 was
selected as a winner in the Real/Continuous Time Strategy category.
You can check out the awards article by clicking here.
There isn't a lot of text accompanying the awards, but they did have
this to say:
"Railroad
Tycoon III refreshed a popular franchise, reinventing the game
in 3D and adding much-requested tunnels."
22nd
February 2004
Railroad
Tycoon 3: New Map
A quick update
tonight... a new map for RT3 - The Baghdad Railway
Click
here to download The Baghdad Railway (3.39mb)
14th
February 2004
So
Long
Its been 2 weeks since
I last updated, so here goes for an update... its been so long since
I've had a hectic (and very un-fun) return to uni (god it sucks).
Hopefully the time until the next update will be less! Anyway, here
is the update:
RT3:
New Map - Rhineland
I've been sent a new
RT3 map for you. We have German and English versions of this map!
Click
here to download Rhineland (German)
Click
here to download Rhineland (English)
30th
January 2004
Tired
I'm very tired today,
so not a big update I'm afraid, though the work in progress RT3 map archive
is open now! Also any RT2 maps you have, we still want them! Send
them to maps@express-world.co.uk
The new downloads page
for RT3 files such as patches is due this weekend, and the RT2
downloads are being re-worked too.
Railroad
Tycoon 3 Map Archive Open
It may be work in
progress, but the RT3
map archive has finally opened! Click
here to enter.
Send us your RT3 maps
to maps@express-world.co.uk
Railroad
Tycoon 3: 4 More Maps
We've got four more
RT3 maps for download today!
California
ChunnelHP
Cuba
West
Coast
27th
January 2004
RT3:
Maps
We've got some RT3
maps for you to download today! Here are the links:
Africa
Australia
China
& Korea
Sardinia
The RT3 Map department
will be open in the next day or so! But until then we shall continue
to post map download links!
RT3:
Patch V1.04 News
This info is from the
Terminal. It seems the new patch will surface very soon!
Phil
has mentioned in the Gathering's general forum that the 1.04 patch
will address the disruption of elevations by placement of buildings
in two ways. Railroad type buildings [stations, etc.] will NOT
disrupt the way they do at present] and other buildings [Post
Offices, plants, hotels, etc.,] will not be permitted on 'steep'
hillsides where they cause disruption. How one defines 'steep'
and what one does when building [in the Andies, for example] where
everything is hillsides is not covered... Anyway, they are
working on the 1.04 patch
RT3:
Cheats Update
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
21st
January 2004
Break
Any One?
The exams are over
(two went well, one didn't) and I'm on a nice little break before I
go back! So here is an update, including an RT3 patch I forgot to
post... ooppps!
We still want your Rt3
maps! Send them to us at maps@express-world.co.uk.
A map section for RT3 will open shortly! Any RT2 maps can still be
sent to the same address!
Archive
News (Finally!)
The page loaded
quicker didn't it? Thats because I (finally got round to) moved the
old news to the archive
news section.
Railroad
Tycoon 3: Patch V1.03 + Official Maps
The patch I just
mentioned is V1.03. I'm sure you all have it (and V1.04 is on its
way) however, if you didn't get it you
can grab it here.
- And if you missed
Poptop's official new maps, heres the links
Pacific
Coastal
Spanish
Mainline
Eastern
China
We still want your
Rt3 maps! Send them to us at maps@express-world.co.uk.
A map section for RT3 will open shortly!
RT3:
Gigex Review
Text from www.poptop.com
The review actually
comes in two different flavors, a short
version and an extended
version. They had lots of good things to say about RT3,
and the extended version goes into some nice detail. You can
read the full length extended version here,
or glance at the shorter one here.
They awarded RT3 4 stars in the review and had the following to say:
"Whether
you're a die-hard micromanager, or just someone who wants to watch
their trains fly, RRT3 has it all...Railroad Tycoon 3 definitely
rises to the top of the pack with its great gameplay,
excellent graphics, and immersive audio."
8th
January 2004
Delayed
A very delayed happy
new year to all our readers, I've been busy with the revision, hence
no updates! Exams end in a week, that is when normal functions will
resume here. So, on with this quick update
RT3:
New Review
There is a new review
of RT3 out for you to read, here is the link
http://www.wargamer.com/reviews/railroad_tycoon_3/Default.asp
Here is an extract
Railroad
Tycoon 2 was a welcome return to a classic game, with an updated
approach. But, it was only a whistle stop on the way to what should
be considered the full evolution of the original and Railroad Tycoon
3 appears to be the final destination... an exceptional game lurking
around the bend that will steal hours and hours of your computer
time."
23rd
December 2003
Happy
Christmas!
Happy Christmas to all
out readers, and have a good new year (I doubt there will be anymore
updates this year!). On with the news...
RT3:
Catch Up
Again, the best way to
catch up is to post the latest news from Poptop
This week we don't
have much news yet, but we do have some good deals kicking in just
in time for the holiday season. Our game landed in the Value
of the Week section over at the Gone
Gold website. We're happy to say that we've made pretty
good fans of the people over at Gone Gold, and while mentioning our
game in their article here,
they had the following to say:
"I pity
the gamer that must wait to open this one or for that matter,
doesn't have it yet..."
Things are all
quiet on the review front as of now, but we'll be sure to keep
everyone posted as they continue to trickle in. In the
meantime, we are still working on RT3,
and are actually hard at work on some things that you should be able
to get your hands on soon. Until then, stay warm and remember
that RT3 makes for some great company on those snow days!
Just a quick little
shout out today to let everyone know that an ALL
NEW MAP is available for download! This is the first
completely unreleased map that we've made available since the game
was shipped, so of course everyone should go get it while it's hot!
The new map is called the Spanish
Mainline, and as you might guess takes place in Spain, an area
mostly untouched by any previous official maps. You can find a
downloadable copy of the map at either one of two mirrors; 3D
Gamers or GameCenter.
The map is only a 3.6MB download, so it should be accessible to
everyone. That's all the news for today, we hope you all enjoy
the new content!
The newest patch
for RT3 has been
released! This patch, which you can download by going to
either 3D
Gamers or the Tiscali
Games site, will bring your version of RT3 up to v1.03.
This patch addresses some bugs and contains some balance tweaks as
well. It also adds the ability to bulldoze in multiplayer
games, and implements vastly improved AI. For a full list of
all the changes in the v1.03 patch please click here.
Of course we recommend that everyone upgrade to this version of the
game as soon as they can. That's it for today; be sure to GET
THE NEW RT3 v1.03 PATCH to make your holiday playing as
enjoyable as it can be!
As we're sure you know, we just released the v1.03 patch for the
game, and today we have another ALL
NEW MAP for you to grab and play for the holidays!
There's even a new review to mention, so let's cut to the chase.
For starters, the Eastern
China map was just released for you to download. The new
map covers the previously untouched lands of China, stretching from
Beijing to Shanghai. It's only a 4MB download, and you can get
the new map by going to either 3D
Gamers or Gamer's
Hell.
We also have a new review that just came in from Reviewgamer.
They break down the game into the usual aspects and have some
general impressions as well. You can check out the full review
here,
or just take our word for it that they thoroughly enjoyed our
product.
Happy first day of
winter to everyone out there! If you're having some cold
weather feel free to warm up to some of our reviews, as Gamespy
announced Railroad Tycoon 3 as 2003
GAME OF THE YEAR for PC empire builder. We're of
course proud of the recognition the game has been receiving, but
don't take our word for it and check out the full Game Of The Year
article here.
RT3 was also listed in the 2003
Game of the Year Top 10 for PC. That article can be found
by clicking here.
8th
December 2003
FTP
The FTP server has
been inaccessible for a week, hence no update! The page died the
other day... I finally got it back up today! And now for an
update...
RT3:
From The Horse's Arse
(sorry didn't
meananything by that, just couldn't resist!) Here is Poptop's latest
news update:
It's our first
update in December, and we've got some nice new content for RT3
showing up around the web. We've got an all new interview, two
reviews, and some fan site update news as well. With so much
to cover it's best to just dive right in, so here we go.
GamerDad
is back this month with a special treat, an exclusive interview with
RT3 designer and Poptop president Phil Steinmeyer. As
you could probably guess from the name of the website, the interview
does discuss family issues in relation to gaming, but it also
contains a lot of information on RT3's development and support.
You can read the full article here;
and below is a small excerpt from the interview.
GamerDad:
Included on the game disc is a little game called Loco-Commotion.
Where did you find this little game and why was it included?
Phil Steinmeyer: This was released by our publisher a
couple years ago, with little fanfare, and basically nobody
noticed (or bought it). It's a fun game, but not really sexy
enough to be a full stand-alone product. But I thought it would be
a great accompaniment to RT3, and because it was released by our
publisher, it was easy to secure the rights to do this. It shows a
different approach to a railroad game - simple and puzzle
oriented.
Our first of two
reviews comes our way by the people at Fragland.net.
While one might not expect it, given the name, they actually warmed
up to RT3 very well. It received a score of 87.9% and many
compliments as well. You can browse over the entire review here.
When not getting caught up in mimicking train sounds, the author had
the following to say:
"Railroad
Tycoon 3 is a great game with lots of possibilities and extreme
graphic power. The music makes you urge to build and let trains
ride. The whole game shines class... If you will
excuse me now, my train is waiting…"
The second review
for today was done by UK
TrainSim. The review goes into some good detail on changes
and improvements in RT3 over RT2, and has tons of really nice
screenshots showing off the game in all its different flavors.
The review also has a small extra section talking about Loco
Commotion, the free game that comes with RT3.
We recommend you check out the full length review here,
as it's time well spent if you don't already have the game.
The website was of course happy with the game, and they had the
following praise to give:
"...I
personally found [RT3] to be immensely enjoyable...I've
enjoyed testing this for the review very much indeed, more so than
I did playing Railroad Tycoon 2. They have not over complicated
things, if you know the series then you can easily move in to this
one and if you don't then it's not going to be a huge mountain to
climb to figure it out at all....I've been playing Railroad Tycoon
3 so much that I've got the tunes stuck in my head now, argh!"
Even though it comes
at the end of today's update, the Fan Site info is definitely not
the least. The fans of RT3 have always been a great addition
to the Railroad Tycoon family, and we're glad to see their
support for our newest addition in the series. If you own
the game and you haven't visited any of the Fan
Sites, we strongly encourage you to do so as they are great
resources for information and even new user created content, such as
maps.
28th
November 2003
ooh
look, An Update! (a 3:35am update!)
I'm very sorry for the
break in updates, I've had a very hectic couple of week with some
huge courseworks to do, and I've got the big 25% presentation this
Thursday, help! I'll try and fit in updates where possible, todays
update is going to be a quick catch up thingie...
Remember, peeps...
post on the messageboards!
& the shop!
On with the news
RT3:
Patch + New Scenario
Poptop has released
two official downloads for RT3. The first is a patch, V1.02 &
the second is a brand new scenario! I will get locally hosted copies
for the next update (since I'm in a rush at the moment, after all it
is 3:38am as I write this in the UK!)
Patch
v1.02
New
Scenario - Pacific Coastal
RT3:
Mass New Roundup
As it gets later and
later (or earlier, since its the early hours, but I'm still up),
I've just got the latest words from the Poptop site (and there is
many!). So here goes.
Well it's the day
before Thanksgiving, and before the holiday season kicks into full
gear we've got three reviews up for your enjoyment. On the RT3
front we're still hard at work supporting the game, and you should
be able to see some results soon. We're sure everyone has a
busy weekend planned, so let's dive into the reviews.
The first review today was done by the people over at Warcry.
The full review, that you can read here,
is very positive and we can happily say they were extremely pleased
with the game. It scored a 90%, and they had the following
praises for our newest installment in the Railroad Tycoon series:
"I consider
Railroad Tycoon 3 to be the crowning achievement of the series,
and potentially a contender for the crown of the tycoon genre...[it's]
one of those games I intend to keep on my desktop for many years
to come."
The second review
comes to us from a web site called Frictionless
Insight. Their review, which you can read in full here,
is actually of good length, and offers a little more insight (no pun
intended) on how the game feels versus the technical low down.
They though the game felt pretty good obviously, because it received
a ranking of 4.5 stars and garnered the following praise:
"Railroad
Tycoon 3 absolutely overwhelms with its raw charm.
Clever scenarios keep gameplay interesting, deep and
varied. Most
important, Railroad Tycoon 3 keeps you busy without
swamping you with keystrokes, delivering those “just five more
minutes” moments that leave you rubbing your eyes three hours
later, cooing contentedly over quality time with your little
engines that can."
Last but, as
always, not least, Dailygame
rounds out our update with their review that you can read in full here.
It's a short but sweet little review that does a good job in
summarizing the game. They enjoyed their time with the game,
and had this to say:
"In sum, Railroad
Tycoon 3 is a very enjoyable game that I had a lot of fun
playing...a great addition to any sim fan’s
collection."
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