Software:Rails Across America

From HandWiki
Short description: 2001 video game
Rails Across America
Developer(s)Flying Lab Software
Publisher(s)Strategy First
Designer(s)Paul Canniff
Russell Williams
Platform(s)Windows
Release
  • NA: September 18, 2001
  • EU: December 2001
Genre(s)Business simulation
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Rails Across America is a railroad simulation game released in late 2001 by developer Flying Lab Software and publisher Strategy First. It received generally positive reviews.[1] Though no official expansions have been released, a rudimentary map-editing tool was made available to the player community.[2]

Gameplay

The game covers the period 1830–2040 in North America (including parts of Canada and Mexico). The game is 'strategic' with emphasis on expansion of rail networks, finance, and competition with other railroads. The general goal of the game is to accumulate the most "prestige", although specific scenarios may have other goals.[3]

The map is the main gameplay screen.

Rails Across America uses a proprietary 2D engine and 3D-flavored sprites, which are outdated when compared to contemporary games of the time.[4] The game is played in a top-down view with various zoom levels. At the closest zoom, one can see animated trains and industries. At the furthest zoom the map is an abstract of the rail network. The user interface includes many 'report' style screens which allow players to analyze the performance of specific aspects of their railroad, to compare themselves to their competitors, to obtain financing, etc.[3]

The seamier side of the great age of railroad expansion is represented by a system of 'influence' which is gained by various achievements, and which can be expended in various ways to undermine the competition. Influence is represented by colored 'cards' with number values and some flavor text. The color and numbers are used in contention with opponents and the outcome can affect finances, construction, prestige, etc. Some smaller scenarios do not use the influence system.

Going bankrupt mid-game can be a viable tactic, suffering a temporary set of restrictions but allowing the player to shed excessive debts in robber-baron style.[5]

Single-player mode includes multiple scenarios with specific goals, and longer 'campaign' games. Multi-player mode supports up to eight players over LAN or GameSpy.[6] Players who drop out are replaced by AIs.

The game provides several options which allow players to customize the experience, especially in multi-player mode.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic81/100[1]
Review scores
PublicationScore
CGWStarStarStarStarHalf star[8]
GameSpot7.6/10[3]
IGN7.5/10[7]
Computer Games MagazineStarStarStarStarStar[9]

According to Phil Steinmeyer of PopTop, developer of Railroad Tycoon 3, Rails Across America received "outstanding reviews" but "sold poorly, and Flying Labs abandoned plans for follow ups".[10]

The game won Computer Gaming World's 2001 "Best Game We Just Don't Get" special award. The editors wrote, "Rails Across America is a very, very good game—according to a pack of our freelancers. We respect our writers' opinions, but not one of the CGW edit staff could warm up to this 4.5-star robber baron game."[11] The editors of Computer Games Magazine nominated Rails Across America as the best strategy game 2001, but ultimately gave the award to Civilization III. However, it won the magazine's special award for "Best Multiplayer".[12]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Rails Across America". Metacritic. https://www.metacritic.com/game/rails-across-america/critic-reviews/?platform=pc. Retrieved October 26, 2014. 
  2. ↑ "Rails Across America Patch Released". 4 May 2012. https://www.gamezone.com/news/rails_across_america_patch_released/. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Osborne, Scott (October 11, 2001). "Rails Across America Review". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/rails-across-america-review/1900-2817444/. Retrieved October 26, 2014. 
  4. ↑ "Rails Across America". https://oldpcgaming.net/rails-across-america-review/. 
  5. ↑ "Rails Across America". https://www.giantbomb.com/rails-across-america/3030-13055/. 
  6. ↑ "Rails Across America PC". https://www.gamepressure.com/games/rails-across-america/zf2463. 
  7. ↑ "Rails Across America". IGN. October 15, 2001. http://uk.ign.com/articles/2001/10/15/rails-across-america. Retrieved October 26, 2014. 
  8. ↑ Geryk, Bruce (January 2002). "Reviews; Rails Across America". Computer Gaming World (210): 115. 
  9. ↑ Chick, Tom (January 25, 2002). "Railroads and Robber Barons in Real Time". Computer Games Magazine. Archived from the original on June 6, 2004. https://web.archive.org/web/20040606221439/http://www.cgonline.com/reviews/railsacros-01-r1.html. 
  10. ↑ Steinmeyer, Phil (October 2002). "Inside the Sausage Factory; I Hate 3D". Computer Games Magazine (143): 98. 
  11. ↑ ((Editors of Computer Gaming World)) (April 2002). "Games of the Year; The Very Best of a (Sometimes) Great Year in Gaming". Computer Gaming World (213): 69–73, 76–84. 
  12. ↑ Staff (March 2002). "11th Annual Computer Games Awards". Computer Games Magazine (136): 50–56. 
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
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