I gather from our son that computer games now pretty much all require one of these game boxes (e.g. Playstation) to play, thus are no longer available for personal computers.
Is this the situation with railroad-based games and simulators? I can no longer play my classics because I don't have the space to keep older machines active. A web search has failed to turn up any updates allowing them to be played on Windows 7, let alone Windows 10. Am I correct, or am I missing something?
I have seen a site by an outfit called Dovetail Games but it is just about the most useless site I have ever visited. No information on what platform is needed, on whether a "base" or "foundation" program is needed, etc. (Also no indication that it covers steam).
Look froward to becoming better informed thanks to the Forum.
I used to mess around with MSTS and bought a few add-ons, such as Sand Patch for the B&O.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Train_Simulator
Is this the program you mean by "classics"?
Maybe the following links will help.
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows8_1-gaming/microsoft-train-simulator-wont-start-on-my-pc/19855827-287d-4a93-8f6c-80b6d645f8d3
Mine ran fine on XP and Win 7. I haven't tried it on Windows 10 yet but maybe I'll give it a go sometime. DirectX 8 was the video codec needed and support for that may have been pulled?
http://windowsreport.com/microsoft-train-simulator-install-play/
My video card is an Nvidea so maybe it will run OK in Win10.
Open Rails seems to be the off-spring of MSTS and, presumably, can run some of the former routes and equipment.
http://openrails.org/
Hope that helps;
Good Luck, Ed
I have used Trainz: A New Era it is a very good simulator I would recommend two things, 1 only use payware add ons through the Trainz store or from JointedRail which has some of the best add ons for Trainz products; another thing is use a great anti virus (not McAfee or Norton I have used both and on my computer I had a flight simulator called X-Plane 10 on my systemwith plenty of "trusted" freeware neither antivirus software detected the all out malware infestation on my machine... point is trust nothing! (On the Internet))
Steve
If everything seems under control, you're not going fast enough!
You should be able to run older software on a new computer. If you have problems running old software on a new computer you can try running it in compatibility mode. It is a built in part of windows which allows you to run older programs, but it usually is only good for games or programs which run on XP or newer. It doesn’t work right for programs that were originally designed for Win98, Win95 Win3.1 or DOS. It is the greedy businessman scam to always make you have to buy something new from them to keep them turning a profit. If you have software designed to run on anything before Vista then you need to buy an old XP computer. XP was the best version of Windows before they changed the number of bits. You might have to search your windows help section to learn how to run programs in compatibility mode. One trick to make it work is to run the install program in compatibility mode. As far as only being able to play games with a game console I don’t think that is correct. There are gaming computers which are designed especially for people who mostly use their PC to play games. They have upgraded video cards and extra RAM, etc. And the last time I looked at a store in the computer software department it was full of games for PCs.
Do a google for Open Rails. It can run all ( or almost all ) MSTS stuff. It will easily run on Windows 10 and it is freeware and open source. I used to run it but I am not much for operating I am more for building. If you want to try simulators you owe it to yourself to try Open rails.
Don't let on that you know any of this, but most of the games, especially the first person type games, are FAR better on a good gaming PC than any of the consoles. There are, as has been mentioned, several train simulators. The top ones have many user-created routes available - you might even be able to find your favorite railroad. People also custom create models of various locos and rolling stock, so you can even run your favorite time period.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
I will state again be extremely wary and untrusting of free ware unless it's recommended by the game publisher even then be careful, I'd stay away from freeware all together because they probably in addition to giving you your favorite motive power they also include a bonus malware that steals your info and gets sold to malicious companies... payware there is less risk! Also get a very good anti-malware software NOT Norton or McAfee both bog down your machine and stress it to the max and running a simulator too equals fried computer! The guy I take my PC to says to use Malware Bytes supposed to be practically inpenetrable but very light weight doesn't bog down the machine... Just my two cents from experience...
do you know that there is a Train Simulation Software forum
greg - Philadelphia & Reading / Reading
One of the best forums for train simulators is www.trainsim.com. Large file library as well and despite what the post says above it is virus free, as is open rails.
Folks, thank you all for your responses.
Now I have to try to find copies of these simulators. Unfortunately I loaned somebody my MSTS a few years ago and it never came back.
I'm not sure that I agree that most computer games today come in PC versions. Out of curioisity I went into a computer-game store a couple of weeks ago and when I asked about PC games they basically said I was from the Stone Age.
But even if true, it seems agreed that "ordinary" computers can't play the games anymore, that a "gaming" computer runs $2 - $3K.
Thanks again, I will look into your suggestions.
All the popular ones are available in PC version. Distrbution is different these days though. You need to check places like Steam or GOG. Instead of going to a store and getting a box with a DVD in it, you order online and directly download the game. A fast internet connection is pretty useful since a typical game is several gigabytes.
The problem with asking a hardcore gamer about this is they will tell you things like you need to spend $3K and have stuff like water cooling to play the games. My desktop is now about 6 years old, although 2 years ago I upgraded the video card (this is probably the most critical part) to what was then the second tier card (I NEVER buy the very latest top of the line thing - the incremental performance is NEVER worth the price jump) - so the card I have in there now was the second best card of the previous generation. It plays all the games I have (I don't play too many, the one I play most lately is World of Tanks) at best quality, but I also only have 1080 displays - I could not do max quality with a 4K display. Anyway, the whole thing cost me well under $2k and it had far more CPU than you'd need for a strictly gaming system - I also use it to run virtual machines for work-related stuff so I need the extra CPU cores and memory, plus when I built it, solid state drives were still quite expensive, I can get a 500GB drive today for less than I paid for the 240GB drive I had in it.
I just ran across this interesting looking simulator of a steam locomotive running in Disneyland--it looked pretty good to me and it looks as if it is only available as a digital download.
http://ckhollidayplans.com/disneyland-railroad-steam-simulator/
Modeling HO Freelance Logging Railroad.
CGW121, I was led to believe that X-Plane.org was safe and virus-free being that the creator of X-Plane recommends using that site, I was fooled and probably will no longer use X-Plane... I recommend to get a good anti-malware AND have a back up of your PC AND only download from trusted sites... Best of luck!
Gaming computers start at under $600 at Dell. Order online. The slowest ones are more than fast enough for games like Train Simulator.
NWP SWP The reason I say that TrainSim is virus free is many years of experience. It also has a vocal community that would raise a loud fuss if any file was infected, I have seen this happen.
Video cards are more important than CPU for the more modern sims as is memory. A word of warning if you want to run MSTS on any operating system like windows 7 or later you will have a ton of trouble due to windows permission settings.
NWP SWP I will state again be extremely wary and untrusting of free ware unless it's recommended by the game publisher even then be careful, I'd stay away from freeware all together because they probably in addition to giving you your favorite motive power they also include a bonus malware that steals your info and gets sold to malicious companies...
I will state again be extremely wary and untrusting of free ware unless it's recommended by the game publisher even then be careful, I'd stay away from freeware all together because they probably in addition to giving you your favorite motive power they also include a bonus malware that steals your info and gets sold to malicious companies...
As a freelance developer who does many things as freeware and a large amount of open source or CC licensed work, your warning is not only rude but it's incorrect.
Respectfully, your experience in the world is limited. Before condemning freeware, perhaps you need to check the source for where you are downloading things.
This space reserved for SpaceMouse's future presidential candidacy advertisements
I'm not sure that I agree that most computer games today come in PC versions. Out of curioisity I went into a computer-game store a couple of weeks ago and when I asked about PC games they basically said I was from the Stone Age. But even if true, it seems agreed that "ordinary" computers can't play the games anymore, that a "gaming" computer runs $2 - $3K.
A good budget gaming PC build is less than $1000, and sub $750 is possible if you are wise with your purchases and planning.
My high end machine was in the $2000 range, but only because I utilize it for things that are processor and graphics intense.
My son spent about $10,000 on a high end video card. but he does special effects for video applications. The average gamer wont need to spend that much.