RRT3 copy protection not compatible with new Windows versions?

[thietavu]

Railroad Tycoon 2 had a very nasty copy protection system which killed the game when it detected *anything* "suspicious". For example, installing the legal Nero CD-burning suite killed RRT2 for me.

Railroad Tycoon 3 wasn't quite as difficult for us. Still, there are "No-CD" patches available, legal or not, and I get the feeling that they often solve the problems many people have with the official RRT3 versions in Windows Vista-7-8... It wouldn't be the first case of copy protection code killing an otherwise perfectly usable program.

[Hawk]

There's no-cd patches available for RT2 as well. Pretty much all versions.

[thietavu]

There's no-cd patches available for RT2 as well. Pretty much all versions.

It is a pity they can't be openly distributed. That would save many people from completely needless headaches...

[Gumboots]

Problem is that RRT3 is almost, but not quite, abandonware. The companies that have the rights to distribute it have completely abandoned any real technical support for it, but haven't quite abandoned the idea of making money out of it. So, if you want to pay for a copy they'll happily take your cash, but if you have any problem getting it running you're basically on your own. They'll give you a few canned answers if you ask, but they wont make any real effort and certainly wont ever issue any patches. It's simply not worth their while.

On the other hand, I think they are well aware that the third party enthusiasts are a net benefit to them, which is why they don't go after people who to make patches and mods. Having patches and mods around makes the game playable for anyone who really wants to look, which in turn is likely to increase the (currently trivial) number of legitimate sales. It's a bit messy, but it sort of works for the companies and for the enthusiasts.

[Hawk]

I may be wrong, but I seriously doubt Atari has any clue about RT3's use other than the sales of it.
I would venture to say they are not even aware of any RT3 websites, so even the remote idea of patches or updates is a bit of a stretch.
I would also venture to say Atari does not have the right to offer patches, much less create them.

Now that Pop Top is gone and Take2 was swallowed up by Firaxis, with Sid as one of their developers, I doubt there will be anything further on the Railroad Tycoon series, given the apparent lack of interest in Sid's Railroads.