RT3 running on Windows 7

[edbangor]

I am getting Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit. I do plan to get all the "compatibility" updates and I will make sure the game installs in the Programs (x86) folder. Is there anything else I need to know? This thread is a little confusing, probably because it spans almost 2 years.
Thanks!

Actually I'd install the game - and all other games come to that - outside of the Programs (x86) folder.
All mine - three different flavours of RRT3 inc TM, along with Civilization4 (complete) - are in a folder called. simply, GAMES.
This makes it a lot easier for you to access the files, especially when updating patching.

[thietavu]

Just ordered my first-ever Windows 7 computer. Of course one of the programs I'd like to install as soon as I get it up and running is RRT3, followed shortly by all the maps Hawk will let me download.

I am getting Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit. I do plan to get all the "compatibility" updates and I will make sure the game installs in the Programs (x86) folder. Is there anything else I need to know? This thread is a little confusing, probably because it spans almost 2 years.

Thanks!

We still don't know enough of the problems between RRT3 and W7/Vista (or modern hardware) to give very good advice. To me, the combination of all-AMD hardware (including an AMD/ATI graphics card) seems to do the trick - but maybe an Intel/Nvidia combination would work equally well. Or then not... It's still too much guessing. Someone in this forum suggested, quite convincingly, that the amount of available video memory might explain a lot. My latest two graphics cards (Radeon HD 5770 and 5850) have both had 1 GB of dedicated video RAM. That number just might (?) be "right" for RRT3 - an old game, confused with our modern hardware. More than 1 GB of video RAM might (?) confuse RRT3 (experiences, anyone?). Less might be a problem, too, since I remember having had the notorious "low quality graphics" problem with one of my previous graphics cards... It was an Nvidia card with 512 or 768 kB of video RAM.

Anyway, I wish you good luck - and we'll try to help in any case!! :)

Tommi

[Hawk]

As Ed suggested, DO NOT install RT3 in the Programs (x86) folder. Microsoft decided to make that folder where you can't write to files in it. This will cause problems with RT3.

Also, check out this thread on multiple installs. viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2363

[canis39]

Hawk, that 2nd link is this thread, I believe.

I read this thread and it's a little confusing because it starts back in early 2010, when there were apparently lots of problems. More recently there do not seem to be as many problems, but I guess my mileage may vary.

I am getting an Intel CPU but an AMD video card (Radeon 6870) with 1 GB of video memory. I have high hopes for RRT3...I'll let you all know how it goes.

Thanks.

[Hawk]

Hawk, that 2nd link is this thread, I believe.

Right you are. I deleted that link. I didn't have a clue what thread I was in when I posted it.

[Steamtrainz]

We still don't know enough of the problems between RRT3 and W7/Vista (or modern hardware) to give very good advice. To me, the combination of all-AMD hardware (including an AMD/ATI graphics card) seems to do the trick - but maybe an Intel/Nvidia combination would work equally well. Or then not... It's still too much guessing. Someone in this forum suggested, quite convincingly, that the amount of available video memory might explain a lot. My latest two graphics cards (Radeon HD 5770 and 5850) have both had 1 GB of dedicated video RAM. That number just might (?) be "right" for RRT3 - an old game, confused with our modern hardware. More than 1 GB of video RAM might (?) confuse RRT3 (experiences, anyone?). Less might be a problem, too, since I remember having had the notorious "low quality graphics" problem with one of my previous graphics cards... It was an Nvidia card with 512 or 768 kB of video RAM.

Tommi

I have 1GB of video ram, and I have those problems! (Nvidia)

[Moggie]

Me and thietavu both had a marked improvement in RT3 graphics when we added our PC's memory 4G -> 8G.

[canis39]

My new PC should arrive just in time for the long New Year's weekend, so I am anticipating a weekend of loading and exploring and tweaking. I have high hopes that I'll be able to get RRT3 up and running...but if not, I will be here asking for assistance!

Merry Christmas to all!

[canis39]

I should probably knock on wood...but I just had about the easiest time ever installing RT3 on my new Windows 7 machine. (Win 7 Home Premium 64-bit).

I ran the setup.exe file using Windows XP compatibility mode. The only issue I had was when the installation program tried to install the Readme.rtf file...that didn't work. But I got the old standby error message (Abort, Retry, Ignore), chose Ignore, and the setup completed with no problem. (I installed to my storage drive, which is the I: drive for me, as opposed to the C: boot drive).

Then I ran the game as normal (not using compatibility mode) and it ran with no problem. It was already version 1.05, which was surprising...I guess my jewel case game must be 1.05 out of the box, which I didn't know.

Anyway, just wanted to share. I am considering installing the 1.06 patch but not sure yet. That can wait...right now I need to download all the maps I can find.

[Hawk]

Before you install the 1.06 patch, you might want to read this thread about multiple installs.

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2363

[cdm44]

Now that I'm forced to get a new machine , I'm stuck with Windows 7 . Any problems with this OS & RT3? Is it possible to get XP installed on the new machine?

[Spot]

I'm running W7 and am not having any problem whatsoever,now. I did at first but I troubleshooted the compatability,after having several CTD's,since then everything is running fine.

[Hawk]

I moved these posts into the thread already started on this topic.

[andrea]

Hi everyone!

I just got a new copy of RT3 (v 1.5) and installed it. I figured out the engine.cfg replacement to make it actually run. However, now that it's running it's choppy and slow as all get-out as far as map scrolling making it impossible to even get through the tutorial.

I'm running Win 7 on an AMD Phenom II with 8 GB memory and an NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250. Not the flashiest of machines but considering I run Sims 3 smoothly there's no reason RT3 should even think about being choppy.

I've tried different display settings but none of them seem to help the problem, even with the graphics turned all the way down.

Anyone had any luck dealing with this situation? My 4yo really wants to play the train game!

[Hawk]

Not the flashiest of machines

Comparing it to my Win XP rig, yours it quite a few steps up so it should run RT3 just fine.

Motherboared - Gigabyte GA-M57SLI-S4
Processor - AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ AM2 - 2.4 GHz
Video Cards (2) - Nvidea GeForce 7600 GT KO 256 MB (not in SLI mode) - Driver Version: 178.24
Hard Drives-Internal (2) - WD 160 GB SATA II 7200 RPM
Hard Drives-External (2) - WD 320 GB SATA II 7200 RPM, WD 650 GB SATA II 7200 RPM
Optical Drives (2) - LG HL-DT-ST DVD-RAM GH22NS30
Operating System - Windows XP Pro SP3 32-bit
Case - Antec P-180 ATX
Power Supply - Sparkle 650-W ATX
Memory - (4) 1024 MB PC2-5300 DDR2-SDRAM Kingston - 667mhz
Case Fans (5) 120mm
Sound Card - HT Omega Striker 7.1
Speakers - Altec-Lansing 5:1 w/sub woofer
Monitors 19"(3) - Samsung, ViewSonic, Dell (all CRT)

[andrea]

That's what I thought! Was wondering if anyone else had these issues.

During track laying the FPS can drop down to 0.5. I have an admittedly fuzzy memory but I'm fairly certain the game ran much more smoothly on a much lesser machine. It also seems to take forever to quit out. Half the time I end up ctrl-alt-del and cancelling the game from the task manager.

[Hawk]

Hang in there. Maybe someone else will come along to help you out.

[Spot]

andrea,
I also found that the game was choppy and slow,played around with settings all to no avail.
I mentioned it to a friend, he suggested that I run a game booster and set the graphics to above average.It worked , well to a degree that is,only becoming choppy once I have 100 + engines running.
I got my game booster off of an Iobit Malware Fighter which is freeware. You can pick it up at http://www.Iobit.com

I hope this is of some help to you.

[thietavu]

Strange things... I'm currently doing the final testing of my absolutely gigantic and ultra-detailed Great China 4 (yes, yet another) scenario for TrainMaster with 380 (!) engines currently running between 200 cities, all graphical details maxed, at windowed 1440 resolution. I get 30..80 (occasionally 100+) FPS. And no, although pretty fast, this isn't an ultra-expensive supercomputer. There must be some simple reason why similar-looking computer setups behave so differently with RRT3.

One possible thing... Since this is an old game, it probably relies on some pretty old supporting technology and software, such as old versions of DirectX. Could it be that RRT3 takes some of this software for granted although modern Windows 7 doesn't include or install it anymore? If that's so, then I must have installed some of that stuff accidentally. I also still suspect that Microsoft's optional (!) compatibility updates for W7 may well have something to do with this. If they help other "old" software to run on W7, why not RRT3, after all?

Have you guys also tried running in both windowed and full-screen mode?

[Blackhawk]

Slightly off-topic, has anyone attempted to run RT3 on Windows 8? I've been tempted to download the win8 beta but I haven't had a chance to yet. I wonder what sort of issues RT3 will have on Win8.