Railworks America

I need to make arrangements for a mobile broadband connection at home to update my RW installation to the new version and purchase Horseshoe Curve (given that there is no broadband connection at home) . Given that the cost of prepaid mobile broadband is not cheap ($50 for 3G, $80 for 4G or $100 for 6G) does anybody know the relative size of both the update and the new Horsehoe Curve route? I dont want to be caught short, nor do I particularly wish to purchase excess bandwidth that I am not going to use...

Cheers





edit: typo

I have broadband wireless also... although it's not as expensive as yours... :-)
Looking at my logs for when I upgraded and downloaded Horseshoe Curve, I'd estimate about 4GB.

Thanks
Don

Oz, the update to RW3/ TS2012 is huge. I don't recall exactly how big it was but I'd say it's in the $200 to $300 range for you. Will you be downloading to the PC/ laptop you are running RW on? If so, Steam is gonna try and update RW automatically, unless you turn off the option to "keep this game updated automatically" in the game's properties updates options tab.

This is a question that I couldn't get an answer to in the days leading up to the release. In the end, I topped up my prepaid internet a day early creating a data surplus of 8GB after ot was already built up from previous months, and in the end the RW3 update size was only about 2GB. If you're prepared to stick to forum browsing, email, and very small downloads, then you should be ok with 3GB. Prepaid mobile broadband here in Australia isn't cheap either being $50 for 4GB or $30 for 2GB. The next one up from $50 though is 6GB for $100, which is a rip off in my opinion. That's only with the provider I'm with though. The pricing with others is similar, but the reception varies.

I put up with 1GB monthly data allowances (with excess charges at $150 per GB) for 6 months in 2008 when I was living in a semi-rural area, and including the set up and exit costs, it worked out to about $150 month for me (which looking back was extraordinarily excessive)

The Horseshoe curve route is under 500MB I think. If you're downloading the full RW3 program, then you'll need in excess of 6GB.

Hope this helps.

Cheers SAR704 - I agree that the price Telstra charge is eye watering, but with this update there really is no choice. There is only a 28.8 dial up at home (thanks again to Telstra) and I just will not pay for satellite, which is rubbish considering I live in the Adelaide suburbs.

Might opt for the 4 GIG and if it bottoms out, just delete the whole thing. It is getting out of hand.

Cheers

Wow, another Adelaide based RW user. I thought I was the only one. Perhaps it may be time to reconsider providers, as it seems you aren't getting much bang for your buck by the sounds of it.

The reception here is so unpredictable no matter where in the city areas you are. Some people report problems with their internet even living right next to the exchange, where as I've found that I've been able get normal ADSL2 speeds on fixed line plans being 5 kilometres away. Where I am, I've noticed that people have had trouble getting mobile phone reception in the room next to me, yet it works when they stand in a specific spot 15 metres away. Hopefully the NBN will solve the internet reception problem when it is implemented across Adelaide. You may even want to consider naked DSL if you can afford the set up costs.

There are a few of us RW'ers about here in SA (we just dont advertise the fact :) )
I am on a pair-gain line courtesy of Telstra so can not get any type of broadband service. I at one stage begged to be unpaired and offered to pay to have it done but Telstra were uninterested, but then had the temerity to annoy us with cold calls asking us to consider BigPond as an ISP. Put them in their place and have just done without it. In the past I have had RW installed in my office in Lyndoch (which has brilliant broadband speeds) and updated it etc and then copied the folders to my home pc, but it seems this one installs other components needed for the graphics etc which means having to update the home installation to get all the updates etc. Not having a connection, Telstra mobile Broadband looks to be the best option, but it is starting to get expensive - $80 for a dongle that may or may not work and then another $30 for Horseshoe Curve. Might just be time to give it all away....


Grant