London Brighton Express, first impressions / queries
Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2003 11:59 pm
Fantastic route, well done!
I havent played all the activities but have got through all of the route and this is what I think for those wondering whether to shell-out on this addon:-
This is the first commercial contemporary addon for MSTS, I was a bit worried as I started at Victoria that my system couldnt handle this (I have a Duron 800MHz/GEForce 2MX), but with a few tweaks to MSTS settings i`ve managed to squeeze reasonable and playable frame rates out of my old PC in the low framerate areas (Victoria & Brighton), this is probably because of the high traffic density in the activities (which is not a bad thing).
Excellent attention to detail on the London approaches, a nasty bend at Battersea Park derailed me a few times, Great! you cant just leave it at the speed limit and hope all is OK without watching whats going on.
The signalling system has been tweaked, opposing traffic passes swiftly, others have had close shaves but I havent experienced this so far. (SSI is required for real traffic but you need good traffic throughput in a sim and this route seems to achieve that)
Sounds are well up to the job, simple but effective EMU sounds, nice air rush at high speeds, mainly uses default MSTS track sounds (these can be tweaked to give a more realistic high speed sound). My soundcard is . so I dont always get to hear the station announcements but they seem to be there at most stations, points rattle is present also (excellent touch, like BVE) but seems to occur prematurely before the junction, dont know if this is my . soundcard or a mistake?
Ive got to tell you that the multiple unit models are 1st class, (best ever i`ve seen on MSTS), cabs are also of excellent quality as one would expect from a commercial product. Variety is excellent, South Central, Thameslink, NSE liveries, differing models, it`s well believable, particularly as the activities are well populated. One question - my electrostar doesnt seem to spark, some of the other trains do, is this prototypical or an omission?
You get wierd wobbles and jinks in the rail, I think this is intentional, it adds to the realism, the train moving around as the prototype does (again, like BVE). Excellent 3rd rail track, very realistic, you need to have objects quality up to max in your MSTS settings to see them though.
Stations are fantastic, the platforms are at the right height and distance from the train!!. They are well detailed and modelled. Victoria is amazing, great junction of tracks etc, signing on all stations is as prototype, this is custom built stuff (high quality), particularly as its a contemporary route. I`m going to have a look at the night textures in a minute, apparently these are good as well.
The in-between stations areas of the route appear realistic and are well varied, I like the viaducts and deep cuttings, the tunnel mouths are also good but its a shame that the inside tunnels seem to be at American rather than British dimensions, (can anything be done about this?)
Overall, you must get this route, it`s what I thought MSTS would be like when I got it but was (slightly) disappointed. It`s well worth the dosh, it converts your MSTS from a train set simulator to a real-life BR Trainsim.
Adjectives which spring to mind - realism, playability, quality.
BUY IT NOW
Ben
I havent played all the activities but have got through all of the route and this is what I think for those wondering whether to shell-out on this addon:-
This is the first commercial contemporary addon for MSTS, I was a bit worried as I started at Victoria that my system couldnt handle this (I have a Duron 800MHz/GEForce 2MX), but with a few tweaks to MSTS settings i`ve managed to squeeze reasonable and playable frame rates out of my old PC in the low framerate areas (Victoria & Brighton), this is probably because of the high traffic density in the activities (which is not a bad thing).
Excellent attention to detail on the London approaches, a nasty bend at Battersea Park derailed me a few times, Great! you cant just leave it at the speed limit and hope all is OK without watching whats going on.
The signalling system has been tweaked, opposing traffic passes swiftly, others have had close shaves but I havent experienced this so far. (SSI is required for real traffic but you need good traffic throughput in a sim and this route seems to achieve that)
Sounds are well up to the job, simple but effective EMU sounds, nice air rush at high speeds, mainly uses default MSTS track sounds (these can be tweaked to give a more realistic high speed sound). My soundcard is . so I dont always get to hear the station announcements but they seem to be there at most stations, points rattle is present also (excellent touch, like BVE) but seems to occur prematurely before the junction, dont know if this is my . soundcard or a mistake?
Ive got to tell you that the multiple unit models are 1st class, (best ever i`ve seen on MSTS), cabs are also of excellent quality as one would expect from a commercial product. Variety is excellent, South Central, Thameslink, NSE liveries, differing models, it`s well believable, particularly as the activities are well populated. One question - my electrostar doesnt seem to spark, some of the other trains do, is this prototypical or an omission?
You get wierd wobbles and jinks in the rail, I think this is intentional, it adds to the realism, the train moving around as the prototype does (again, like BVE). Excellent 3rd rail track, very realistic, you need to have objects quality up to max in your MSTS settings to see them though.
Stations are fantastic, the platforms are at the right height and distance from the train!!. They are well detailed and modelled. Victoria is amazing, great junction of tracks etc, signing on all stations is as prototype, this is custom built stuff (high quality), particularly as its a contemporary route. I`m going to have a look at the night textures in a minute, apparently these are good as well.
The in-between stations areas of the route appear realistic and are well varied, I like the viaducts and deep cuttings, the tunnel mouths are also good but its a shame that the inside tunnels seem to be at American rather than British dimensions, (can anything be done about this?)
Overall, you must get this route, it`s what I thought MSTS would be like when I got it but was (slightly) disappointed. It`s well worth the dosh, it converts your MSTS from a train set simulator to a real-life BR Trainsim.
Adjectives which spring to mind - realism, playability, quality.
BUY IT NOW
Ben
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