What if our decisions mattered? That might actually be possible with these self-imposed “rules.”
Why normal gameplay is weak
The hand-crafted campaign and scenarios in Railway Empire 2, do not have any way to adjust difficulty. The ease to gather money is absurd. We end up snowballing forward, able to do everything, and therefore the game requires us to build-out most of the map to have any satisfaction that we did a “decent” job of management. Once you build-out the map once or twice, things get repetitive.
Normal gaming consists on seeking marginal profits through strategies that feel like hacks and exploits, such as teleport, insta-switching industries, and other forms of full refund exploitation. These appear to be the only ways to gain a strategic advantage while on a predictable snowball toward build-out.
In my opinion the fundamental issue is that funds come in so fast that spending it becomes a literally chore. In Custom Game mode there are some settings that allow us to moderate this some. However, 90% of the time, at least one task requires massive build-out of the map. Such as achieve $15M a quarter in passenger revenue. The settings might slow our journey, but the destination is the same: map build-out.
The idea
The fundamental notion is a “voluntary rule” that sets employee costs to the maximum. 6 hour days and 200% efficiency in all departments. As a result, we are focusing on engine efficiency.
This should be linked with another voluntary rule: after purchasing an engine, we will keep it running on the map without exploiting refunds to reset its route in order to avoid dead-heading. We will want to change its course considerably more frequently. Try to do it legally. It’s a war against the reset mechanics of the game. But if the train does anything idiotic, it’s fine to reroute him. (The standard procedure is to remove the train from the track and then re-add it.)
The next rule: don’t use special cars such as Dining Car, or station add-ons that increase revenue.
The final rule is no bonds. This is mainly to avoid strategies that rely too heavily on industrial profits.
Other exploits exist in the game and more will probably be found in the future. Don’t use them. The whole idea of this is to have as realistic a railway as practically possible. Everything should be connected together, maintain your locos instead of frequently replacing them, etc..
A better game
Employee pay increase by approximately 240% from optimum efficiency to highest cost. When combined with no bonds, this has a large impact on early game expansion speed when cities are small. Expansion possibilities are one of the best decision points in the game because they greatly increase strategic worth. It will also be significantly more critical to choose which towns to grow in.
Because of a variety of legacy research impacts that raise income, cut employee wages, and so on, the effect will be more evident in older eras than in subsequent ones.
In custom games, we can select Barti Shiloh for the additional 30% higher track/bridge/tunnel cost. We might start in 1830 and do no research except what is required for engines. With up to 5 day refunds we can also negate any connection bonuses. A fun challenge is to try to build the Transcontinental on hardest settings with these additional restrictions.
Happy Tycooning!
Credit to: gardlt
Is Railway Empire 2 fun?
Railway Empire 2 is a wonderful experience that may bring numerous hours of amusement for anyone who like railway simulators or management games. On May 25, 2023, Railway Empire 2 was released for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
What is the increasing distance in Railway Empire 2?
What does INCREASING DISTANCE also mean? The longest train is used to calculate the distance between signals. In later years, the intervals between signals become longer. The phrase ‘increasing distance’ refers to a train waiting to gain some distance from a train ahead on the same rail line.
What is the difference between Freemode and sandbox in railway empire?
In Free mode, the job list is generated at random upon startup, and the tasks assigned are optional. Players can also select the number of competitors (between 0 and 3). Sandbox mode has no missions and all locomotives are investigated automatically. There are no competitors, and the money is limitless.
How many trains are in Railway Empire 2?
Build a huge railway empire from scratch in 1830, at the dawn of the railway age, and choose from 60 detailed, vintage locomotives that you can customize with your own colors and corporate initials.
Does Railway Empire 2 have a sandbox mode?
Gameplay modes| Aside from the campaign, Railway Empire 2 has a few other modes. There are scenarios in which you have to fulfill the stated aim with some items already in place. I refer to them as ‘campaign +’ missions. Then there’s the standard Sandbox mode.