Another one bites the dust

Elojikal · Post by **Elojikal** » Mon Feb 21, 2005 9:44 pm

It appears the simulatortracks.com domain has expired and with it I guess the SimulatorTracks routes. I bought the Lille to Paris route a couple of years ago and while I wouldn't say it was perfect it was still quite good and it was clear that the author had put a lot of work into it so it's a shame if they too have decided to quit the MSTS market.

johncard · Post by **johncard** » Sun Mar 06, 2005 1:15 pm

I've checked the link and it works for me

John

Elojikal · Post by **Elojikal** » Sat Apr 09, 2005 4:35 pm

Hi,
Yeah, I just discovered that myself (as well as discovering an archive of the Sylium website is now being hosted somewhere.) *shrug* All I can say is it was down for quite a few days before I posted the above. Oh well good to see it's still there.

simont · Post by **simont** » Sat Apr 09, 2005 8:57 pm

Would you say the roites are worth buying, Elojikal (or anyone)? They look interesting, content-wise, but I can't see much about the quality (relatively few screenshots)

crwbandrwg · Post by **crwbandrwg** » Sat Apr 09, 2005 11:28 pm

I bought the Brussels to Lille line a few years ago out of curiosity and it totally wasn't worth the money I paid for it. The rendition of Brussels Midi was dissapointing compared to the excellent freeware Brussels to Antwerp route (available from mstrainstop.com). You get absolutely no stock with your purchase but the activities assume you have all the stock needed leading to the inevitable errors. Frustratingly there is no readme so you have to figure out what stock is required. You will also need the defunct TGV Speedworks pack installed; if you missed the boat with that one you'll need to dig into the Activity Editor to substitute with the freeware models available.

This route has been knocking around for a good few years now and it hasn't seen one update that I know of, yet it's the same price despite it's age, and other newer routes both freeware and commercial have put it squarely into the dark ages of msts routes. I'd challenge anyone to find a poorer quality route for the asking price.

All-in-all for 24.95 Euros (about Â£17) you'd be better off getting one of the Pro Trains - anything - this just isn't worth the money.

Hope that helps

simont · Post by **simont** » Sun Apr 10, 2005 4:22 pm

Thanks, I don't think I'll bother then.

Elojikal · Post by **Elojikal** » Tue Apr 12, 2005 12:55 am

I have to be honest, I haven't bought the Lille to Brussels route as going on the screenshots on the site it looked a bit plain.

I have bought the Paris to Lille line and generally I was happy with it. It's true you have to use other peoples stock - but unlike with the Lille to Brussels route the required stock is listed on the product page. The only real gripes I have with the Paris to Lille route is that while there's plenty of urban scenery sadly a lot of it lacks night textures so there's not much to look at after the sun has set - but then this same complaint can be levelled at other commercial routes, some of which are even sold at a retail level. Unlike some other commercial routes sold at a retail level the trackwork is excellent - quite detailed - and really makes the most of what is a very limited default MSTS trackwork set.

I'll post some screenshots tomorrow when those incompetent idiots at NTL can get the personal webspaces server back up.

Elojikal · Post by **Elojikal** » Tue Apr 12, 2005 6:43 pm

* Disclaimer - THe above screenshots were taken from an activity I made myself but they should given a general look and feel for the product.