QUOTE: Originally posted by alexander13 So MSTS Is sort of sitting in a cab driving a train right? Living in australia, some australian based themes would be nice
Microsoft Train Simulator was the first software out and has much more support than Trainz. MSTS was developed by Kuju in England who are now producing a follow on called Kuju Rail Simulator (KRS).
Check out www.train-sim.com for the forum and download section to find what has been done with train simulation. MSTS has primarily been assosciated with more portotype routes than has Trainz--you will find many Trainz routes that are more like a model railroad route than a true prototype. It is true that Trainz can make easier content, but the quaility of content is still with MSTS. KRS will make it much easier to build content that supports MSTS.
There are numerous links provided by train-sim.com where add-on routes and rolling stock can be purchased. However, one of the big differences in Trainz and MSTS is the amount of free routes and rolling stock that is available for download. MSTS is way ahead on that account.
Train simulation is becoming almost like being in the engine of a real train. The use of photo transfers on top of 3dimages make rolling stock look like the real thing. Cab positions are fully functional with guages, levers, and so forth that also operate. Trains may be ran from point A to point B with multiple AI trains passed along a route. Switching can be made at all sidings and spurs. All trains are controlled by block signals that interact with each other. Rail sounds are very realistic with actual sounds of various type of engines associated with that particular model, road, and manufacturer.
How real is a route? Bob Wirth's free ATSF/BNSF Seligman Sub that runs from Needles, CA to Winslow, AZ is 295 miles long and contains all tracks including the old and new sections between Williams and Crookton.
What is required? A good system with a good sound card and good video card. Recommended would be a system with an Audigy sound card, at least 128 mb of video memory on an ATI or Nvidia video card, 1 MB of RAM memory on the computer and a large hard drive. Access to fast downloads would be advisable since one you get started you will want more and more and more of those fantastic engines, cars, and routes.
train-sim.com has over a 100 different protype routes from all over the world, thousands of diesel engines, over 350 steam engines, and 1000s of cars to choose from. With the Gallup Sub coming out soon, the Needles Sub will be missing, but one can take a train from San Bernardino, CA all the way to Raton, CO over www.3dtrainstuff.com 's Cajon Pass route which is payware. Freeware Seligman Sub, Gallup Sub to be released soon, Glorieta Pass and Raton Pass will take you to Colorado from Needles, CA.
Isn't time you get on Board?
Bob Edwards
North Port, FL
I would get Microsoft Train Simulator. It has every kind of train and track you can think of.
James, Brisbane Australia
Modelling AT&SF in the 90s
Okay, I have both MSTS and TRS2006, and there are major pros and cons between each.
Microsoft Train Simulator is now very inexpensive (it's already more than 5 years old), going for about $10 at most stores. However, I have been playing it since it was released and it's very good. Every default route is based on a real railroad in a certian part of the world. Included are Amtrak's Northeast Corridor between Washington and Philadelphia, BNSF's Marias Pass from Whitefish to Shelby, MT, and 4 other routes. MSTS is basically "driving the train". There are also several external views such as trackside (where the train goes passed the camera), views "1" and "2", which are cameras that follow the train, a passenger view (in passenger trains), coupler view, and a yard view, which is basically a free-roaming camera. You can also create your own routes, activities and cabviews with "Editors & Tools".
Now for the downsides. The horn and bell sounds are looped, meaning you can sound them for as long as you want, but they aren't looped correctly; in other words, the horn/bell will continue to sound for a couple seconds even after you've turned it off using the key command. This isn't a large problem though. There are also no brake sounds. You must create an activity to run a train on a route, which is a fixed scenario that is set for you. Even in the "explore" session, you cannot switch and drive different trains, and even if you could, only one train is on the tracks during "Explore the Route." On commuter lines with express trains, you can't flip the station (cab controls) to the other side of the train to return. The game ends every time you derail a train, so you can't "examine" the crash very long (only for about 20 seconds). The game also immidiately ends if you pass through a red signal. This gets annoying sometimes, especially during yard movements, because you have to start the whole activitiy over again if you accendentially stray passed a stop signal. Editors & tools is not supported, and it crashes often, usually when copying and pasting objects on a route. It is very hard to upload custom locomotives, rolling stock and objects into MSTS for the first time. In fact, it took me so long to figure out that by the time I just mastered re-painting a default locomotive, I was ready to move on to Trainz. There are several more problems, but once you know what they are and how to deal with them, it is a very excellent game.
Trainz Railroad Simulator is created by austrailian-software company Auran, so there are already austrailian trains (and routes) in the game. The most recent installment, Trainz Railroad Simulator 2006, is currently going for $20 at most stores. As observed by many already, it does seem like a cross between real trains and model trains, but in my opinion, that's a good thing. TRS2006 comes with countless routes, 10 already with scenarios, and hundreds of rolling stock items ready to use (to think...MSTS only had 6 drivable locomotives and in this game there are probably 40 or 50!). The horn and bell sounds for each locomotive are perfectly looped, allowing you to make accurate long and short horn blasts, and bell rings. The locomotive cabs have at least 4 different positions, each with a 360-degree view, as well as zoom. Every time your train goes over a switchpoint, the rails screech, just like in real life. You can hear the brakes come on quietly in the cab and on the outside of the train. Most objects (including some buildings) have sound built right into them, unlike in MSTS where you have to place each sound manually along with the buildings. Probably one of the biggest advantages to TRS2006 is that there are people in the game. They are not usually animated, but they appear and dissappear on station platforms when boarding/leaving a train, which adds to the effect. Industries are also excellent. Most freight cars and industries are interactive; for instance, while pulling empty hopper cars under a coaling chute, coal comes down and fills the car, with sound effects and realistic coal dust. Then, you can take your train to the power plant, unload the cars, and continue the scenario over and over again. You aren't isolated to just one train, either; you can switch from different trains and drive them. You can also assign other trains to do certian tasks without your help; you can be running your train while other trains do a job by themselves. There are "portals" you can place at the beginning and end of a route, which, when programmed, will allow trains to be generated and sucked up, in and out of your route, just as if the route was continuing on passed the end. There are much more advantages, but those are the ones I thought of.
There are, of course, downsides. The biggest one is the space it takes up. You'll have to have a 260 MB sound card and at least 4 GB of space to make this game work. When installing, even if you have enough hardware, a message comes up saying "please install most recent drivers". If your system has plenty of space (described on the box), just ignore this message and continue. Even though sound in TRS2006 is looped correctly, there are still problems. Using the bell on trains a lot can, later on in the scenario, "drown out" other sounds, including the horn and engine sounds. Then the horn startes coming "in and out", going back and forth from its regular sound to barly being able to hear it. There are two types of train control in TRS2006: DCC (like a model railroad), and Cab control. Using both types of these systems can be tedious, because they do not use the same commands. Getting to know these commands after playing MSTS is also hard to do; for instance, the horn command is not the spacebar, instead it is the H key. In MSTS, the H key was for headlights, but in TRS2006, the headlight command is the L key, and so on. It is harder to crash (derail) a train in this game, too; most of the time, it only happens occationaly when a switchpoint is flipped the wrong way. Even when the derailment mode is set to "Realistic", when a crash occurs the cars all come apart and fly in different directions, unlike what would probably happen in real life. Train derailments are more realistically presented in MSTS. Another big con is that, even though TRS2006 comes with a very easy-to-use route builder, it is VERY hard to create your own activity, as well as submitting your own content. However, an activity is not needed to run a route. You cannot download any add-ons without becoming a member of "Planet Auran", which, although free, is unnessicary.
Well, each game has their pros and cons, and while I would say TRS2006 is better for basic train operation and route building, I don't think one is really better than the other. You'll have to decide for yourself!
Hello: Living in Rural Northern Michigan sources are limited. The nearest large town is Traverse City (120 mi round trip) and none of the computer stores there have even heard of MSTS. Where can I get one? If it is no longer being produced has the support also stopped? If not what would the liklihood of it stopping be. I don't want to buy it and not be able to do anything with it. I'm a computer idiot and don't want anything fancy. Just want to run some trains.
Thanks, Nicholas