One of the very few Maxis games that didn't become a smash hit, A-Train a great conversion of Railroad Empire, Japan's classic game of railroad empire building.
Although similar in concept to Railroad Tycoon, the difference here is that this is a much more business-oriented sim: financial success demands that you undertake property development, invest in the stock market, etc. -- hence the steep learning curve. Graphical presentation of passing time is a nice touch, as is the easter eggs-- watch the sky on Christmas eve!
Highly recommended for anyone who loves business simulations, but railroad fans who prefer route designs over the financial side of the business would do well to stick to Sid Meier's classic Railroad Tycoon.
Review By HOTUD
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Thanks to Bladez1992 and HorrorWeed for their link because it's the only one that actually works.
KC, this is the game that inspired simcity 2000s isometric mode. It was not a failure.
I spent a couple of days playing it. I didn't quite understand why I failed so bad at this game 30 years ago, LOL, now I know why. Long story short- you will get taxed to death (just like living in California). (1) the property tax of 5% on subsidiaries is way too high. most subsidiaries only makes 5% to 10% a year in a well-developed space, (2) subsidiary income tax is based on profit which is income minus expense, but property taxes are not deductible as an expense and you will get taxed another 50%. (3) if you sold your property, you get taxed as income, which is 50% of the value of the proceed. (4) if the sales of properties did not happen in the same year, then the cost basis is 0, meaning you get taxed 50% of the value of the property sold. ... So combining (1) through (4) - you will never make money. You CAN keep the company "growing" by borrowing from the bank if you keep erecting new buildings because your asset has increased. The bank allows you to borrow as much as 1/3 of the total asset. In other words, the only way the company revenue/cash position can grow is by borrowing more, but in fact, you would be losing money every year - Not unlike the United States' federal government. Good job!
Conceptually this is not a bad game. but the tax calculation is a bit wonky. If you sold a subsidiary like an apartment building, it will tax you like your entire proceed is the profit. It does not calculate the cost basis correctly unless you sold it in the same year. Makes no sense.
Crossroads build with both large and small stations; however large stations build paved roads while small stations build dirt roads, and to form a crossroads both roads must be the same type. Thus to form a crossroads both stations need to be of the same size (and the paved roads of large stations are far better for development and land value, so stick with these if you can.)
Large stations only stations that build roads behind them. Also, I get messages about bullet train once in a while but I don't see a way to buy one or know what it looks like in amiga version of the game. not sure if it's fully implemented in amiga version or not. anyways maybe it shows up eventually. i got 2 or 3 messages about it but no idea what they mean.
Crossroads show up with large stations. need to space em close to 20 tiles. Im going try small stations at this distance. Not sure crossroads will build with small stations.
Anyone know conditions to get the train game to build roads. does it have to have large stations? do they require a specific distance? doesnt seem it builds roads with small stations. i know i seen roads before today but not sure if I have to place my stations a specific distance apart. i like to eventually get a 4 way road built by game if that is possible.
I still have the original 3.5" diskettes somewhere. Had a copy of VirtualPC and the installed version of A-Train, but none of it worked on Windows 10! Now I get to remember a beloved pastime in DOSBox-X. Thank you!
KC, dude, it's 2021...don't use that term.
Used to have this game (shareware) running and by the looks I was sure it would have been a great gaming experience as a kid (as I loved this kind of game), but wasn't able to grasp the language and didn't manage to set up a train line. Finally I resigned.
This is the hardest gameplay mechanic to master in any game ever released:
THROWING YOUR TRACK A CURVE Curving track can require some wily maneuvering, but it's a skill that will serve you well in future track laying. Try running a line from east to west and then have it veer sharply up or down. Also try a few wide, looping curves. If you haven't established a practical line position, you'll get a nasty message from the track layer or construction manager. You can see that controlling t he curve isn't always easy, but small mouse motions can usually establish the desired angle in a highlighted planned line. If you have difficulty getting a curved length properly positioned, do it in short one-or two-block segments. Try removing curved track as well.
I thought the Jap's were better than this. The controls are lame, it even states in the manual it is hard, if not impossible, to make a curve. Moving around the screen using 8 different arrows....come on. Graphics are OK at best, Sim City graphics on the Amiga was much better. No wonder this game was a flop for Maxis.
How to download this games
I'm running into an odd problem, development happens as normal so long as I stick to small stations. They build up nicely, apartments, hotels, just as they should. But the moment I build a large station it will spit out a single road tile and then the entire economy dies. Apartments lose 100k value over night and start to lose money. The simulation continues to build houses, but no other buildings. This only started after I install the construction set though! Previous to installing the construction set, cities would develop as usual and crossroads would form. Is this a known issue?
I had the boxed copy of this but ended up selling it as I did not have enough money.
VOTA here is a tip, to make money you have to have the most modern trains and only run them initially at peak times
Create a directory on your C:\ drive called C:\Games\
Play is the same as when I was a kid. You must install "DosBox" or some other program to allow you to run this. Once installed use the following Commands:
Mount the directory you created
mount c c:\Games\SimAnt [ENTER]
Put yourself into the directory
c:\ [ENTER]
You will now see C:\; which if you do "dir/w" will show you all of your game files within the games folder. Drill down into the folder of interest "ATrain" for example with "CD ATrain". Look for the ".exe" file within your folder with dir/w again. Then type the name of the ".exe" file without ".exe" at the end and press [Enter].
ATrain is a little different than SimAnt which works exactly was above with "SimAnt" where you see "ATrain". This is because the ATrain game requires you to install the game. This can be done by running the install file from within "DosBox" simply by getting to its folder in the Games directory and typing install. Contact me if you have questions. FortunaJacob@gmail.com Enjoy! This site and these games are AWESOME!! Thank you!
I cant get it to work on my pc or my browser. :-(
I love this game! I have the MacBook Air with OS X, and the game won't run. Any suggestions how to get it working on my MAcBook Air?
THanks!
LOLO
I used to play this game 20 years ago and it was well done. I am going to download it and play it again!
manuals:
EDIT: THX fdisk!
Is the Manual under Mac compatible with all versions or specifically Mac?
Can I run atrain on my iPad? If yes, how? Thanks in advance, tonysesny@gmail.com
Wish this game was updated to run on wondows I played this game for days at a time and finally could not get it to run
I don't understand this game. I've loose every scenario
I like to play da a-train game. Please let me.
After 15 years playing this game, I've finally beat it! http://imgur.com/D6XOdmr
Great game! Anyone know where I can get a copy of the Editor program or the extra strategy guide that came with it originally in the boxed set?
The best game ever!!!!!!!!!
haha lol i like it
The guy that is at the bank looks like me. :)
Great railroad game. Much better than Sid Meier's train games.
No comment nor review for this game at the moment.