Atomic Systems

Just read a preview of this game. Reading the bit about custom routes and objects being uploaded for "sharing" reminds me of the same 'feature' in Trainz.

In practice it meant the game shipped with some really useless routes as they passed the route-building buck to the community, and then hardly any of these routes that I downloaded worked (NONE worked to be specific).

So I'm hoping that this new game is a little more than "all pretty face but no trousers". eg: use of a good sound engine utilised inteligently for an immersive track 'clicketyclack' sound (loud sound feedback from trackside objects - bridges, passing trains, etc - would be a REAL NICE feature too), and with a sense of speed that makes 100mph FEEL like 100mph and not 50 ala MSTS, Trainz, et al.). Talking of speed:- a route which gives a chance of getting close to the engine's top speed, for more than a few seconds.

I wont be holding my breath though, I dont think.

Well MSTS came with a good selection of routes, and the ability to make routes.

I don't see why KRS would be any different. I had MSTS for about a year before finding out about UKTS and the sort, so that was a year of running standard stock on the standard routes, and i reckon a good number of MSTS users are still doing this.

Kuju will know this, and will know they can't sell a half done product and hope the community finishes the other half.

While there are many questions yet unanswered about KRS, one thing that is certain unlike Trainz we are getting several prototype length UK routes two of which offer considerable scope for sustained high speed running.

The problem in default MSTS, ISTR, is not so much that there was no route for high speed running, but that the S&C and NEC both suffered from physics issues on the track and stock which meant taking even gradual corners running under line speed could still derail the train.

3rd party development for KRS and subsequent distribution of files however remains an issue where the information is still a bit scant. And the memory of "unsupported" editors not fully coded and beta tested hurriedly bundled with MSTS to meet the production deadline is an enduring one. I hope this time that aspect is not left for the community to sort out by a mixture of trial and error, figuring out obscure math formulas to calculate gradient profiles and having to manually copy across objects into route folders and ref files!

stevecl9 wrote:In practice it meant the game shipped with some really useless routes as they passed the route-building buck to the community, and then hardly any of these routes that I downloaded worked (NONE worked to be specific).

In defence of Trainz I've downloaded several routes, including Lambourn Valley, Heartbeat and Camel Valley which found all the assets and worked without any problem. My own Stranraer route was uploaded with all my custom objects embedded in the cdp file to provide a seamless install.

bigvern wrote:In defence of Trainz I've downloaded several routes, including Lambourn Valley, Heartbeat and Camel Valley which found all the assets and worked without any problem. My own Stranraer route was uploaded with all my custom objects embedded in the cdp file to provide a seamless install.

Did you also have any earlier versions of Trainz installed?

My theory that nothing I downloaded worked has something to do with a long chain of dependant dependancies ending with maybe one or two assets comimg from a version of Trainz that i didn't have installed.

multiple post

I think at the time only 2004 was installed.

aha - Just as i suspected. All I had installed was 2006.

Well, no previous versions of RailSIm exist, so there shouldn't be a similar problem. At least not until subsequent versions get released.

My understanding is that all releases of TRS up to 2006 were culmulative, i.e. included the default content from all previous versions. This has (apparently) changed with Trainz Classics which only includes the route specific objects so if you haven't got TRS2006 installed you won't be able to download and use content that draws on previous default assets.

A debate of the rights and wrongs of that probably belongs on the Trainz area of the forum. I can see why Auran have done it, to "clean house", but it effectively means anyone buying TC who wants to use 99% of the existing content is going to have to buy TRS2006 as well, so TC is more akin to the Railwaves "Train Driver" but with Surveyor built in.

Not Trainz bashing here, but given that Trainz Classics is still really only a further updated version of the 2001 original and not an all new product where the loss of access to the old sim would be understandable, is (and coming back on topic) probably an example to Kuju and EA of how *not* to do it.

Hey.

I don't understand people who bought a version of Trainz... At its original price this game is a real shame, particularly if you are a french like me. The 3D of the french rolling stock is a slaughter... Even if there is a good editor and people manage to do beautiful things, the simulation side is not interesting. The cabs.. we shouldn't speak about them..

Here we are speaking of KRS, a game with full 3D cabs for example. Just for this feature, people who dared to buy Trainz will be forced to buy KRS to confess .

Some people are blaming Kuju for not answering their questions or they think the KRS team don't pay attention for them. It's sure with sentences like "a sense of speed that makes 100mph FEEL like 100mph and not 50 ala MSTS, Trainz, et al.). " or "loud sound feedback from trackside objects - bridges, passing trains, etc - would be a REAL NICE feature too" won't help Kuju.
Do you really think that EA would trust Kuju if there wouldn't be these features????
What's more, if you have ever watched the few videos which had been taken during the Games Convention at Leipzig, you wouldn't talking about the speed.


The more people look desappointed, the more they will find they have been ridiculous at the release .

See ya.

ZVince wrote:Here we are speaking of KRS, a game with full 3D cabs for example. Just for this feature, people who dared to buy Trainz will be forced to buy KRS to confess .

What a strange comment. You do know that Trainz has "full 3D cabs"?

Mike.

I could have sworn there are already a series of payware quality French add on packs for Trainz if you are interested.
But like many of the default content provided it was poor,which was advanced greatly by the Trainz community,you can equally say that MSTS stock is a 'shame' if you compare it to the recent advanced MSTS models since it's release. And yes,Trainz cabs are 3D and a fully accessable inside,with many additional features provided in custom content.

As for Kuji,I think it is nice to see we're getting some real life UK routes,with good backround interest put into them. But as the communtiy grows I expect more people to take up building their own routes shortly after the game is released.

harcourtstation wrote:As for Kuji,I think it is nice to see we're getting some real life UK routes,with good backround interest put into them. But as the communtiy grows I expect more people to take up building their own routes shortly after the game is released.

I agree, having played with the editor already i can say it's a far easier process to create routes than it is with MSTS. That's one of the first things i intend to mess with when i buy this.

Mike10 wrote:

ZVince wrote:Here we are speaking of KRS, a game with full 3D cabs for example. Just for this feature, people who dared to buy Trainz will be forced to buy KRS to confess .

What a strange comment. You do know that Trainz has "full 3D cabs"?

Mike.

Of course I know it. If you didn't understand me when I said "full 3d" I apologize Mike . I would accentuate on the fact there will be a serious difference of level between KRS and Trainz for the cab modelling and you can't deny it..I was just astonished by the poor level of 3D of Auran's trains ( paritcularly the french rolling stock, sorry to repeat this )
Some people like making very easy shortcuts between KRS and other sims.

It's very normal for example to think the editor of Trainz is "a far easier process" because the game is more recent, the 3d engine is more recent than MSTS which had been released under DirectX 7.5!!

And for the MSTS/Trainz rolling stock, you are good as the germans. I won't speak about french add-ons, i'm not keen on them. The avereage quality of french add-ons which have been released until now is not very good compare to yours..

It was a parenthesis and I close it, everybody has his own opinion on this .

See Ya.

I was a huge Tainz fan. I invested in the very first version, Trainz CE and was with them all the way up to TRS 2006. But by then, the quality of the product was failing. TRS 2004 was the best in the series. 2006 had issues that went unresolved for months and months, so long in fact that I left the Auran community. I know they have a new Trainz Classics out but I won't be investing. I haven't even been back to the forums on months, if not longer.

Since Rail Simulator is being made by Kuju and they made MSTS, I use that as a template of what I'll get from Rail Simulator and I like what I see. Trainz was very easy in the route making department (I never succeeded in making a route in MSTS even when I bought the book on MSTS, I still couldn't do it), but MSTS was more realistic. I felt like I was driving a train in MSTS, I was felt like I was playing with trains in Trainz.

I'd really like to know more about Rail Simulator but just want to wait. Wouldn't mind a look at that Preview the first postee mentioned, if possible.