Ain't the first $10, won't be the last $10...

August 23, 2012 6:49 PM

Steam newbie screw up: Have I wasted $10 on this game, or is this fixable?

My curiosity was piqued about the game Railroad Tycoon earlier, and after googling i saw it was availible on Steam. I'm not a big gamer but decided to try it, so I downloaded Steam, downloaded the game, and went to play, but so soap --- says it doesn't work on my system.

I thought I had verified the system requirements, but upon reflection I think I mixed up my tabs and was looking at the sys reqs for Steam itself. I'm on Mac OSX 10.6.

So, is this fixable? I know there's such a thing as emulators which enable people to play older games on new machines --- would that work here and if so how do I find one? Or is that impossible because I used Steam to download the game?

I'd appreciate any advice. (I was going to ask this over at MeFight Club, but their forums keep crashing on my machine.)

posted by Diablevert to sports, hobbies, & recreation (8 answers total)

It's possible to get WINE (windows emulator) working on Steam I think, but you also have the option of emailing Steam support and they'll usually refund you even if their T&Cs say you can't.
posted by JauntyFedora at 6:52 PM on August 23, 2012

It looks like Railroad Tycoon 3 WAS released on Mac, but Steam doesn't have the Mac version, which may be the source of your confusion. There are a couple on eBay.
posted by Ghostride The Whip at 7:19 PM on August 23, 2012

Steam generally has an all sales are final policy, but in practice they are fairly customer friendly and do on occasion grant refunds. I would email customer service and explain the situation/ask for a refund if necessary
posted by McSwaggers at 9:08 PM on August 23, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yup, customer service. They probably have evidence that you're on a Mac based on your previous sales and such. Steam also knows how much you've played the game (i.e. zero).
posted by Sunburnt at 9:11 PM on August 23, 2012

What version are you after?

I don't know about steam, but Railroad Tycoon 3 was released on mac, and is shit (IMNSHO). The PC version of Railroad Tycoon 2 is playable under Crossover, and is about the best game ever made (and is open in the other window just now).

If you don't fancy paying for crossover, RT2 is also playable under WINE in linux under Virtualbox (if that sentence doesn't make you recoil in horror). It's that old.

To test things out, the demo seems to be here. Combined with the demo of crossover (from here) that should give you an idea if you enjoy the game.

If you do get RT2 going, the trick is mastering the reverse takeover.
If you're after RT3, I could sell you my disc, but I'd feel bad, because it's shit.
posted by pompomtom at 2:52 AM on August 24, 2012

I made a similar mistake when Portal 2 came out, a much more expensive game. I followed up with them immediately by email, explaining my foolish mistake and asking whether I had any options. I didn't expect a response, frankly, but a few days later I got one, offering to refund me the purchase. I declined, as I'd managed to talk my way into a work computer upgrade that was compatible so I could play the game, but I have no reason to believe they wouldn't have followed through on their offer. So ask!
posted by davejay at 11:46 AM on August 24, 2012

I'm not a Steam user but watch the folks over at mefightclub trade/gift keys for games all the time? Maybe this would be an alternative if Steam denies you a refund and you're stuck with an install you can't use.

Again, I have no knowledge of Steam/gift codes/their system. Just brainstorming an alternative...
posted by RolandOfEld at 12:37 PM on August 24, 2012

Thanks, everyone who answered so far. I've tried emailing support, but havesn't heard back yet. I'll update when I know what the say.
posted by Diablevert at 3:52 PM on August 24, 2012