A-Train 8 Reviews

this is not Atrain im sure of that, you cant pan out, its start with 4 premade towns, this is some knock off thats rubbish, not worth $2, for me not playable, be warned

Just when you think you're doing well, It's time to pay your taxes. But don't give up, it'll get better. your taxes only go up by 100 million a year. If you like difficult financial problems and finding a way out on them, this is your game.

I can't understand the abomination that is this game. It has the least user-friendly controls I've ever had the misfortune to use. The creator tools are underpowered and just virtually useless. It all takes far to long to do. You can't click and hold to build more. You have to click once, then again and so on just to build upwards. You then have to move onto the next block and do the same. If you click and drag the camera moves. The game lacks any decent form of help other than a long-winded guide that doesn't fully explain things. Don't buy this game.

I like the game. However, there is no tutorial that I know of. There is issues building tracks and stations and setting the train times etc. For example you assign a train to a station and there is no way of making sure that train will stop there and not move on to the next connected station.

Still has all of the fun and challenge of the original Maxis distributed version I played 30 years ago, with better graphics and gameplay. Great train building and property management mechanics. I also always enjoy a good stock market in a game like this.

I enjoyed A-train when i was a kid years ago. But this game I have no clue what to do and there is no tutorial. Pass on this

It's a rather old game based on a very old game, that's Japanese. Now, being Japanese is important, because they have not been following the western developments of user interfaces. Specifically, nothing is intuitive and works as you'd expect. You can't just click on a train to get information, not even in the train list information window. No, in order to get information about anything, you must know exactly which window to open. The graphics in this game are just that, graphics. They have nothing to do with gameplay. A small city can bring much more passengers than a large one and there is no hint as to why. It's also all very dated being grid based even though it is in 3D, but A-Train 9 apparently at least improves on that aspect.

I played the original version back in the 90s and loved it. I thought i'd give this version a go. I find it way to over complicated and glitzy. its really in your face and hard to work out unless you spend allot of time. The original starts off very simple and you feel in control and want to develop the train network. This one... I could not wait to turn it off. Its aggressive and confusing.

A-Train holds a special place in my heart, as the 1992 version published by Maxis is the first video game I ever bought and I spent countless hours on it. I was a bit hesitant to purchase A-Train 8 as it looks dated, the GUI feels awkward and the reviews and overall player feedback seemed mostly negative. But I played the time-limited demo, and even if one hour is a bit short to get a good feel of the game, I ended up purchasing it. The game has quite a learning curve, and trial and error is very expensive, so you’ll probably botch your first attempts. There isn’t much of a tutorial, the provided documentation is useful but minimal, and I found very little help on the web. The interface is functional once you get used to it, but not very intuitive and it doesn’t provide much feedback about what you can and cannot do. Finally, the track building is rather restrictive, as there is only one turn radius possible, and that’s a bit frustrating at times. That being said, I am really happy with this game, and I am glad I bought it. The mechanics are simple (dispatching building materials and tweaking train schedules) but designing an efficient and profitable network is a challenging task. Watching the city grow and the numbers add up in response to your actions is very satisfying. The visuals are simple, but I like the style and it makes the game perfectly smooth on my mid-range video card, with everything maxed up on high resolutions, even when the screen is filled up with large buildings. I haven’t encountered any bug so far, and the game runs fine in windowed mode and allows unconstrained resizing. It is a game that will not suit all tastes, and I think it takes time to start appreciating it. But if like me you are willing to bring back good memories from 1992, don’t hesitate.

A simple and intriguing game! The A-Train series has been published since 1985, and was the first game of its kind! It inspired Maxis to implement the isometric perspective in SimCity 2000! It has been a very long time since A-Train received a US release, since A-Train is developed by Artdink in Japan. The most well-known US release was published by Maxis in 1992. A-Train has a very large learning curve, but when you accomplish the basics through repetition. It can be a rewarding experience! As with any simulation management game, each one varies in difficulty and has to be approached with a clear mindset. No references can be made, or confusion is inevitable! A-Train 8 has simple mechanics in theory, but can have very complex behavior at times with certain situations. First, you must build a simple passenger line from point A to point B. This system can be built anywhere on the map (unless you are trying to accomplish a scenario). Purchase a basic commuter train and place it at any section of track that is straight. Let the train make full stops at each station (which will be done automatically, unless you command it a specific route). When this occurs, the passenger line will attract people and businesses to your railroad. Now that you have people swarming to you transportation services, they need materials to build houses and offices. Next, you will build a “materials factory” near your passenger line. You can choose the size of the factory, but larger the building does not produce any faster or better. Larger factories just have more lot space for storage. Materials factories produce “materials” which are used to build structures and houses for you town.[i] Tip: material factories only produce materials on weekdays; Saturday and Sundays they are closed.[/i] You can combine passenger and freight systems together on 1 rail system, but I see at times they are more efficient if you separate them (costs more money to build extra track though). Build a separate freight line to deliver the newly produced materials. Build another station next to the material factory and one of the passenger stations (for now, point A station we previously built), then build the new rail towards point B. At point B build a “materials depot” anywhere near the station. This is where the newly developed materials will be stored for you citizens to use. Once all these basic systems are in place, your town will now start to developed and eventually turn into a giant metropolis! You can help further the growth and development of your city by purchasing company owned buildings and structures; when placed properly can earn you extra money. If you continually build more passenger stations around your small town, it will attract more and more people and businesses. Larger the rail system, the more volume of passengers it can handle. And that is the basic mechanics of A-Train! If you need more information on how to play, I found a tutorial at their website: http://www.railwaysims.com/support Dated graphics, but not the worst. It accomplishes more in gameplay than visuals. Some mechanics need detailed explaining, but once you learn how they function then it makes sense. Map editor is a great addition, custom scenarios and maps make for endless replay value.