Multiple Installations of Railroad Tycoon 3

[Hawk]

Oh yea! The Program Files directory is for 64 bit programs and the Program Files (86) directory is for 32 bit programs, but neither one is good for programs that you will need to change the exe in.

[Sauerteig]

Even the slow horse finishes the race. I think I have it. Never had that problem before with program files. Program files 86, yes.

[Hawk]

Most newer programs are designed to install into either one of those directories. They're designed in such a way that any files that need to be or could be overwritten are not in the Program Files (either one) directory but are actually in a hidden directory in your Docs/<user> directory somewhere.
Railroad Tycoon was written long before this idea ever came about.
With a lot of older programs, this issue may come up. Just one of those things we have to live with.

I'm still running XP so I don't have to deal with it, but this issue is discussed in numerous threads in this forum. Many have been down this road before so we get lucky in that we can learn from their experience. You just have to read a bit.

Actually, I'm getting Win 7 via UPS Monday or Tuesday so I'll be dealing with this issue myself. But then - I haven't installed anything into even XP's Program Files directory since Win 95. Starting with Win 98 I always create new directories outside of the Program Files directory.
As a matter of fact, I only install the OS on C drive. I always partition my hard drive and install everything on a different partition from the OS, except for those programs that give you no choice.

[OilCan]

Actually, I'm getting Win 7 via UPS Monday or Tuesday...

Does this mean that you were on Santa's nice list this year?
(I think you'll enjoy Win 7. It took me some time, but now I really like it.)

[Hawk]

Does this mean that you were on Santa's nice list this year?
(I think you'll enjoy Win 7. It took me some time, but now I really like it.)

Kind'a. I bought it with some money I got as a Christmas gift. A friend of mine also sent me a WD Raptor 10,000 RPM drive I'm going to install it on.
I'm going to set up a dual boot for now (on separate hard drives), to make sure I like Win 7 before I completely abandon XP. Course I may still keep XP around for some of the old games I like to play that just barely run on XP. I almost wish I still had an old Win 98SE rig around. I still have the installation cd for it. Just need a rig to run it on.
I'm thinking about getting the Badger a lap top with Win 7 on it (she also still runs XP). She doesn't do much on a computer so I don't need a really good one. Then I can install Win 98SE on her old computer.

[Shamough]

Win 7 allows you to set 'XP' in Properties/Compatibility.

[Hawk]

Win 7 allows you to set 'XP' in Properties/Compatibility.

Yes it does, as does XP allow you to set compatibility to 98 and 95, but it's not quite the same thing. I have a couple games that were designed for 95 and 98 and even though I can set compatibility in XP, neither one plays as good as they did in 98.

[lovemallets]

Hi. I just installed RT3 1.06 using a separate directory per the guidance on this list, and while it is working, it is not pulling up any of the saved campaigns or scenarios from the RT3 1.05 install that I copied it from. Is that normal, or is there something I can do to get my saved games from 1.05 to work in 1.06? I'm running Windows 7 in case that matters.

Dave

[Hawk]

Yes, that's normal. Saved games from 1.05 won't load in 1.06. Also, new scenarios made in 1.05 and earlier may not play as intended in 1.06. They'll most likely be easier than id played in 1.05 due to changes made in 1.06. Mainly the ship at a loss option added in 1.06.

[lovemallets]

Hawk--

Actually I realize I misspoke a little. The saved campaigns and scenarios that won't load are actually the official scenarios from Coast-to-Coast, not 1.05 specifically. That kind of broke my heart because I'm about 2/3 of the way through "Alternate USA" which I do NOT want to try starting over. Since the main thing I'm interested in is the new locos, I just manually loaded all of the ones I want (Mastodon, Berkshires, N&Ws) into my 1.05 Data folders where they are working fine so far. That doesn't give me the benefit of all of the other 1.06 mods, but I'm probably not smart enough to take advantage of most of those anyway. I'm more of a "look at the choo-choos" sandbox guy than someone who can fine-tune all the routes and consists to maximize my profit the way a lot of the scenarios want me to.

[Hawk]

I guess I should have said 'Saved games from 1.05 and earlier won't load in 1.06.'
At least you can still play them in 1.05, since you set up multiple installs.