Trainz Interest

rwaceyw · Post by **rwaceyw** » Sat Jun 08, 2002 5:35 pm

No offence to anyone but does anyone actually like this game or prefer it to Train Sim?

Post by **NeutronIC** » Mon Jun 10, 2002 9:35 am

I have both and I like both.

I prefer the interactivity of Train Sim thanks to Activities, plus the very good 'realism' qualities of it. But making your own routes is a fairly hard task and requires much patience and effort.

Trainz is aimed at the modeling community, Surveyor makes it very easy to make layouts/routes but they look more toy-like when you drive them. That said, i've downloaded some of the newer third party scenery items that are available and they look out of this world - seriously boosting the realism.

It lacks activities of any form, which is a major downer - but Service Pack 3 (July 1st) is due to fix that.

It currently doesn't have transparent window support, which does nothing to help the "toy" look - Service Pack 3 is due to fix that.

Currently Trainz isn't happy dealing with prototypical length routes, it's possible but it does become less stable. Service Pack 3 is due to fix that.

Yes, it does seem that SP3 is going to fix all the major problems with Trainz that made it much less of a product than it should be.

I've started on a prototypical route (fictional) and I have to say that I <I>really</I> enjoy driving the trains (when you drive them properly that is, driving them in DCC mode is quite obviously going to look and feel like a model railway

.

One thing I like a lot is the ability to drive more than one train in a single session - so you can build up a train with a shunter, then pull a loco in and take the train away meaning you get the best of both worlds.

So as it stands, no, Trainz is a far inferior product to Train Sim in my opinion, all the focus was on Surveyor and very little on what the drivers would be doing.

But with Service Pack 3 it <I>looks</I> (forward looking statement disclaimer goes here) like it will finally be up to scratch and be a good peer for MSTS - and from the route creation point of view, it'll be scores ahead (though I do wish it had some set track pieces so that points and things could be laid so much neater).

Matt.

isambardkingdombrunel · Mon Jun 10, 2002 1:03 pm

There are third party locos and rolling stock with transparent windows already,Matt.
Alco RS3 is one i can think of,i posted a piccie on here which includes it.

regards,
IKB.

rwaceyw · Post by **rwaceyw** » Mon Jun 10, 2002 5:24 pm

no its just from what i've seen there is very little add-ons for it as with Train Sim there are loads

Post by **NeutronIC** » Mon Jun 10, 2002 8:09 pm

Well, in the UK Trainz isn't even out yet so there are a vast number of people that don't even have it yet.

Go to http://www.auran.com and you'll be able to download a load of stuff from there directly.

I don't know why but the Trainz community don't seem very interested in our humble abode here

Matt.

isambardkingdombrunel · Mon Jun 10, 2002 9:24 pm

Its a control freak thing,you have to be part of the team,hahahahahaha
Me i make sure im spread about all over the place,dont like monopolies.

regards,
IKB.

rwaceyw · Post by **rwaceyw** » Tue Jun 11, 2002 7:35 pm

So do you recommend i get it with having train sim?

Post by **NeutronIC** » Tue Jun 11, 2002 8:00 pm

Personally I very much enjoy it occasionally, but as there's less out for it so far I don't use it quite so often.

Service Pack 3 will almost certainly change this, and either way, the amount of stuff available for Trainz is growing on a week by week basis very rapidly so it won't be long before there are tons of downloads.... even more so now that GMAX is available for both Trainz and Train Sim, meaning developers can build it once and get it in both now.

So yeah i'd recommend picking it up but don't get your hopes up for the product that comes directly out of the box

Matt.

rwaceyw · Post by **rwaceyw** » Wed Jun 12, 2002 6:08 pm

Can you only run diesels for it or can you get steam?
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rwaceyw · Post by **rwaceyw** » Wed Jun 12, 2002 6:08 pm

Can you only run diesels for it or can you get steam?

Post by **NeutronIC** » Wed Jun 12, 2002 6:11 pm

Right now it's just diesels and electrics, but people are working on Steam at the moment - in fact I recently saw a screenshot of a spectacular Flying Scotsman model in Trainz that IKB posted up so it's definitely possible, it's just that there aren't any available yet. Won't take long though

Matt.

isambardkingdombrunel · Mon Jun 24, 2002 4:26 pm

There are at this time ,4 other steam locos available for Trainz (screenies posted in appropriate forum).

I dont understand the non interest in Trainz,be it lack of information or pure msts supporter snobbery.

There are more add ons available for Trainz,at this point.Than there were over the same time period from the release of msts.

And its a damn side more versatile,when sp3 is released a week today,it will have far more playability than msts could dream of.

Personally i would be more than happy to dump msts completely,if it wasnt for the contacts i have made through the sim,which keeps me interested.

regards,
IKB.

Post by **NeutronIC** » Mon Jun 24, 2002 8:34 pm

I certainly think Trainz deserves a bit more respect than it currently gets - but that's pending the outcome of SP3, right now it has some flaws imho but SP3 looks like it might be fixing an awful lot of them from the descriptions i've read so far, not to mention going a tad bit further too.

I'm looking forward to SP3, that's for damn sure.

I want some UK steamers, and some DMU's (other than Pikka's 101!) dangit!

Matt.

CaldRail · Post by **CaldRail** » Thu Jun 27, 2002 10:57 pm

isambardkingdombrunel wrote:I dont understand the non interest in Trainz,be it lack of information or pure msts supporter snobbery.

The exact same thing happened in the flight simulator world. MS Flightsim evolved over many years to its current state with FS2002. During that time there have been similar sims that frankly put MSFS in the shade, but they failed to take away MS's thunder. MSTS vs Trainz will go the same way. Many people will swear that Trainz is a better product. MSTS meanwhile is the box sitting on the shelves in bright, attractive packaging.

isambardkingdombrunel · Fri Jun 28, 2002 7:53 am

Just shows you that most people havent got 2 braincells to rub together then.
I know which i prefer,a sim thats been on the shelf for 12 months and is going nowhere,is restricted in its playability (one controlled consist per session) and has no support from its developer.
Or a sim that has continually been improved from day one,has the full support of its developer has the flexibility to simulate railway operations properly and a route creation tool ,that couldnt be much simpler.
I have both on my drive,msts because it looks pretty and because of the contacts i have made through using it,but Trainz because of its felixibility and the fact i know its going somewhere over the next few years.Roll on monday and SP3.

IKB.