Destineer subsidiary MacSoft on Thursday announced that its Mac conversion of Railroad Tycoon 3 for Mac OS X will be released on September 13, 2004. The company has not previously noted plans to publish this port, so news that Railroad Tycoon 3 will be released for the Mac so soon may surprise many Mac gamers. Also included with the software is the Coast to Coast Expansion Pack, an add-on that was available separately for PC gamers.
In Railroad Tycoon 3, players build a railroad empire, helping cities to grow as they lay tracks across the country. Rail traffic and freight hauling is a vital part of a nation’s economy, though, so Railroad Tycoon 3 is about more than just laying track and running locomotives — your success as a railroad tycoon depends on your ability to acquire other businesses, dominate industries and play a simulated stock market on your rise to the top. The game sports more than 55 different locomotives, 180 different buildings and 40 cargo types. Also available is a “Sandbox” mode that lets you create your dream rail system without any limitations. Network play is handled Mac-to-Mac over the Internet using the GameRanger game matching service, or on a Local Area Network (LAN).
Improvements over Railroad Tycoon 2 include the incorporation of a new 3D graphics engine, 25 scenarios that have players recreate historical feats of railroading history and more.
Developed originally by PopTop Software and published by Gathering, the Macintosh conversion of Railroad Tycoon 3 was handled by Beenox Studios. This is the first collaboration between MacSoft and Beenox, a Quebec-based Mac conversion studio and original game developer who has in the past worked often with Aspyr Media.
MacSoft’s Web site had not been updated with a page for Railroad Tycoon 3 as MacCentral posted this article; system requirements were not available.