Train Simulators

[Anonymous]

Can anyone give me a list of any Train simulator games that are available for PC's? I am hoping to get one sometime in the future if all goes well (and can find someplace- ? where to get it.

Is there any that have any BNSF locos with the new swoosh logo, Santa Fe Warbonnets?

Do any have any flaws/problems playing with them?

Do you need any special controllers to play them (or is there any controllers to make it more fun?

Thanks:)

Roger

[fsm1000]

Get Trainz at www.auran.com
It works better then ANYTHING currently out there, for looks, realism, also you can use the app 'surveyor' to create your own lanscapes etc.
I have the older version and it still kicks.
Download the demo and try it out. You won't believe how good it is especially if you have a decent machine.
I only have a 1.13 Ghz machine and the demo still looks good.

As for controllers you can get one for the game and it also works on your layout as well. I forget the name off hand but they may have a link to it. It is kind of big though, but very good.

Hope that helps:)

[Train900]

Get Trainz at www.auran.com
It works better then ANYTHING currently out there, for looks, realism, also you can use the app 'surveyor' to create your own lanscapes etc.
I have the older version and it still kicks.
Download the demo and try it out. You won't believe how good it is especially if you have a decent machine.
I only have a 1.13 Ghz machine and the demo still looks good.

As for controllers you can get one for the game and it also works on your layout as well. I forget the name off hand but they may have a link to it. It is kind of big though, but very good.

Hope that helps:)

Raildriver
It also works with MSTS. Another plus with Trainz is the huge amount of 3rd party content availible on the auran download station and 3rd party sites.

[fsm1000]

Raildriver, yes that's it. That thing is fantastic from what I have seen and heard from others as well.

And yes third party addons are HUGE. I have a dvd of just the ones I got from auran itself. Silly but I got so much i can't even use it all.
I have Ultimate trainz, it came out a few years ago but it is still great.
If you want a great train sim then get Trainz. :)

Sheesh, I almost sound like I work for them LOL. {I don't by the way].
I do like the surveyor for making ideas on layouts too and recommend the demo for doing that.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the help guys. Is there any simulator program that has BNSF engines, desert/rugged terrrain?

Thanks

Roger

[fsm1000]

eah Trainz. As for terrain you can make your own if you want to.
Also the paint shop in Trainz lets you make BNSF or anything else your little heart desires:D
Like I said earlier.
The best is Trainz, simple :)

[ozzy01]

There are plenty of BNSF locos and freight cars and routes on auran's download station and 3rd party sights. Routes, a new one just released from www.ustrainz.com  the Red Rock subdivision. There are dem maps which have the land contours already in place, combined with hog textures (which shows where roads,rivers,creeks,rail lines go) make it a lot easier to build routes. Trainz TRS2006 can be bought for $20 at wal-mart. There is a service pack for it SP1, 638MB download and must be installed in a specific way,instructions on auran's forum.

[StillGrande]

You can still get MSTS cheap at Walmart and other places.  It has tons of routes and locomotives and rolling stock available, both for free (many sites, but best is train-sim.com in amount and variety if nothing else).  There are now freeware routes to take you from LA to the Texas border on the same line, through most of Canada, and most of the BNSF in the NW.  The Swoosh BNSF is available in freeware, as are all the heritage units for UP.  You can also get free stuff from a class 1 railroad site (Candian Pacific), including a demo route, locomotives (heritage and current), passenger trains, and rolling stock. 

[plokky]

Well.. a little bit more differentiating is better.
You cannot compare Trainz and MSTS directly. Yeah.. both run trains.. but how?

Auran has great graphics, but poor physics and I won't call Trainz as "real".
Trainz is GREAT if you like model railroads being created in your computer.

MSTS is better supported by the add on providers... simply because you can get more realistic routes. MSTS is good, if an add on developer is good. MSTS has it's limitations.. .and an add on provider should realize that and even make use out of it. (The Berlin Subway Add On shows that much more can be done in MSTS if the developer shows some effort! But don't forget the add ons of Making Tracks (Great Eastern is a good one!) or Streamlines! All awesome artists/developers that KNOW about the railroad.

the Berlin Subway will run great on your smaller machine and will provide you with lots of very real gameplay!

[StillGrande]

And lately a bunch of the MSTS payware routes have been getting upgrades to the scenary, both for free and payware, which really improve the graphics of the terrain and the trains. 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the help everyone, I really appreciate it:)I did find exactly what I wanted on the railserve website, and found a skin for a ywllow/blue Warbonnet in a Dash 9-44cw. I downloaded it, BUT, I cannot get it to work. Can anyone help me in getting it to work properly (or is this the actual download that will work?

I would most appreciate any  assistance in getting this skin to work, I so much want to use the yellow/blue Santa Fe Warbonnet Dash 9-44cw.

Thanks,

Roger

[e-mail]

[donoteat]

Which simulator is it for?

If it's for Trainz, it'll be a Content dispatcher pack (.cdp).  Double click it and the Content Manager Plus will do all the work. You will have to commit the loco, which is a simple matter of righ-clicking it and selecting commit. You may have to download missing dependencies, which is a simple matter of right cliking the asset with missing dependencies and clicking "show missing dependencies." Then click "Show in Main List." Right click the items listed as being on the Download Station, click Download, and it will be added to the download queue at the left side of the screen.

 If it is for MSTS, go to the C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Train Simulator\Trains\Trainset\ and  unzip the file there.  There may be consist files in the folder (.con) which should be moved into the Consist folder in the Trains folder. BE SURE TO READ THE README within the folder or .zip file, asit will contain important information regarding copying cabviews, sounds, and other locos you need to make it work. Eventually, when you are sure you have sorted everything out, launch MSTS, select the loco in "Drive a train," and select a consist. The route you have selected will load and you will be able to run the train. Be aware that if you do one thing wrong with the loco installation process, the simulator will throw you an error message that reads something like this: 

    "Microsoft Train Simulator has encountered an error and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvience."

    This error message will become very familiar to you in your experience with MSTS. As you get new stuff, the likelyhood of this error occuring increases, and your reaction will get worse every time, until eventually you become this: Eventually you will be unable to start routes at all, and will require payware programs like Conbuilder and Route Control to sort things out. Alternatively you can use Train Store, but that merely filters out faulty routes without fixing them.

 A good resourcefor MSTS downloads is www.train-sim.com.

 

My advice: Get Trainz. I tried MSTS; I hated it and it hated me.

[Anonymous]

If you do everything right the first time you will never see an error message from MS or anyone else.  If you have the money then buy both MSTS and Trainz, great fun to be had with either one.

[Anonymous]

i got my train simulater game thru jrs.com i thinke thats the wright site to go check and see .i paid like 10.00 for it. then i went to 3d train stuff.com and got add on for it .

[West-Coaster]

Just my opinion but I think the very best simulator is BVE. Sorry if it sounds like I'm selling it but the following post is merely to let you know why I think it's the best simulator around (if actual driving is what you want rather than scenery etc) This is mainly from a British point of view however.

The best thing about it in my opinion is that it's free and can be downloaded immediately. It does come from a Japanese site in the Japanese language though however If you go to http://www.trainsimcentral.co.uk/ there is a superb BVE help section which explains step by step how to download the programme in English- It's actually very easy. Once you have the programme downloaded you then download routes and trains from the various developers online. There are 2 versions BVE2 and BVE4. BVE4 has more realism due to enhanced features such as AWS on the British trains.

It's bad points;

1)At first it can be difficult to get to work. BVE2 is easier to get to work than BVE4. Personally however I found BVE4 works superbly but occasionally when first trying it the train and route files where not found. The train files download to one folder and the routes and sounds to other folders. The scenarios then use files form those 3 folders combined. The problem was that occasionally the developer had left them in another folder which when downloaded resulted in a 'folder withing a folder'. BVE would look in the folder to find the train file, only find another folder and would flash up 'train not found' when the train file was just in the next folder. A little moving about of files in my BVE folder sorted that easily.

2)The other Trains are all stationary. This to me doesn't detract from the game as the scenery on certain routes is frankly amazing. If you imagine the other trains are held at signals or approaching them slowly it doesn't make a difference.

3) (More of a bad point for yourself) I haven't seen many routes in Nth America or any BNSF ones. That's not to say there aren't any. Being British I've mainly found British routes.

4)It may only have a cab view but lets face it when you are driving a train you don't generally get to spend time looking at 360 degree panoramas or checking where the rear of your train is.

It's good points;

1)It's Free.

2)The scenery is superb. Admittedly some developers have created frankly appaling routes which look nothing like but if you get a route like this you'll think you are driving a real train. Incidentally I've travelled this route in real life and the guy has modelled it exactly. Check it out. This is a real-line into Birmingham in the UK as modelled for BVE. http://www.anthony-b.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/rsr-uk/x-city_south/screenshots.html

Also, some of the cab views are almost like a photo. Even some of the cab graffiti is like that in real life and what at first looks like someones bad attempt at placing a number on the cab is actually a real representation of the fact it is usually done in think marker pen in real life.

For example -compare this Real Class 170 cab- http://cjm.fotopic.net/p9399474.html to the BVE cab- http://www.trainsimcentral.co.uk/image/ts_170new.jpg   

3)The physics and sounds are realistic. The train makes the right noises on jointed and welded track. It leans slightly into the camber of curves, rocks slightly when passengers board. The brake applications are as in real-life and in bad weather the train will lose grip with the resultant wildly fluctuating speedometer readings. The sounds are exactly like the real trains (at least on the British ones). You even hear the alarm when the doors are closed and the air valves closing them.

4)There is more to think about than on other simulators. While other simulators will apply the brakes if you don't reset the alerter BVE4 will dump the brakes if you fail to reset the alerter, trip an overspeed sensor, pass a signal at danger or fail to cancel the AWS. It also wont allow the train to move if the DRA is set plus you have to start your engines on certain scenarios. All of this is realistic. If you trip and overspeed sensor or pass a signal it has a 'timeout' to prevent you setting off again.

Personally I think you ought to try it. Sorry if it sounds like I'm trying to promote it but in my opinion as someone with MSTS, Trainz and BVE I think it's the best actual 'simulator'. The other 2 are good but not as realistic from a 'Driving' point of view however they do allow you to look around your train more. Just my opinion but I would say BVE is a 'Simulator' the others are 'games'.