Get the latest tech news
Railroad Tycoon II
Like a lot of boys, I grew up loving trains. And like a lot of men, I retain my fascination for them today.
The story of Railroad Tycoon II begins with a young Missourian named Phil Steinmeyer, who in 1994 sold to the Los Angeles-based studio and publisher New World Computing a light wargame called Iron Cross that he had designed and programmed all by himself during evenings and weekends. In some ways, Iron Cross was quite forward-looking, doing a lot of what SSI’s Panzer General did to major commercial success that same year: it personalized the experience of war, by having you create a character, CRPG-style, and lead him through a dozen scenarios, with the possibility of promotion or demotion looming at the end of each of them. The few places where it does show its age — like the lack of an undo function when laying track, which forces you to do the save-and-restore dance if you don’t want to waste tons of money tearing out your mislaid lines — only serve to highlight the general rule of modern elegance.
Or read this on Hacker News