When combined with the more 'compressed' terrain, it allows for tactical placement of track to obstruct and frustrate opponents. Tracklaying is automated and much easier than other editions of Railroad Tycoon. However, the game does not have the dynamic pricing of goods across the entire map or cargo that can find alternate means of transportation if no train service is provided that were features of Railroad Tycoon III, and other simplifications compared to previous Railroad Tycoon games are that there is no separation of individual money from company money, nor the ability to raise money on an in-game bond market. Similarly, individual industries are also put up for auction amongst players. This gives the player a ten-year exclusive use of that technology. Gameplay changes from previous editions of Railroad Tycoon include a system where new technology is first auctioned to the highest bidder. The game is heavily focused on economics – players have to build and sustain entire industries using the railroads they develop.

The terrain is more compressed in this game there are few areas where players are allowed a long, straight run of track without earthworks or a bridge, meaning that terrain (such as hills, mountains, rivers and inlets) plays a more important role, at least in the early stages of a game. Railroads! is fully three-dimensional and geared more toward head-to-head real-time strategy than the previous versions, resulting in it being less suited to single player play, and a less realistic simulation of railway operation.

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