Railfan Technology > Train Simulator 2014.

I have been playing with this wonderful Train Simulator 2014 for the better part of a week now. If you have a high end powerful computer. I would suggest buying this awesome simulator. I'm having a wonderful time with it.

It's graphics are great, but it does a horrible job of simulating real train physics. There are also a lot of bugs in the software that the developers don't seem real excited about fixing. Some things in the sim have been broken for years. In short, it's a great "game" for eye candy, but not a very realistic simulator.

I have to second the opinion here.

As noted below, Run8 by 3DTS, is probably the best out at present. They did some great add on work for MSTS.

Sharon Evans
Glen Allen, VA

thaddeusthudpucker Wrote:
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> I have to second the opinion here.

Which one?

"I would suggest buying this awesome simulator. I'm having a wonderful time with it."

"In short, it's a great "game" for eye candy, but not a very realistic simulator."

Ok. With all of that said. How do we make Train Simulator 2014 a more realistic product. Any suggestions?

msdgbar Wrote:
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> Ok. With all of that said. How do we make Train
> Simulator 2014 a more realistic product. Any
> suggestions?

the forums at trainsim.com have all the info everybody needs regarding ALL of the train simulators......

66

goneon66 Wrote:
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> msdgbar Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Ok. With all of that said. How do we make Train
> > Simulator 2014 a more realistic product. Any
> > suggestions?
>
> the forums at trainsim.com have all the info
> everybody needs regarding ALL of the train
> simulators......
>
> 66

They do indeed.

They are also often a morass of fragmented detail in which gaining some high level, contextual perspective can be a real challenge. Once you get into the nitty-gritty of one or more of the sim products they can be a great help. But even there trying to gain some good context and perspective for an issue you are facing can occasionally result in endless frustration with the fragmentation, and the sometimes half-baked responses and answers that are posted. Getting a good, accurate, step-by-step answer to a question can be a long, wandering journey sometimes.

It's been a long time since there was much discussion here on TO regarding the train sims. I enjoy them, all of them, and I would like to see more discussion here. I think they relate a great deal to other content here on TO. It has always surprised me that there was not therefore more interest here.

For example, people here on TO recognize and create great rail photography. The sims can offer some truly spectacular visual effects, and allow you to see trains in visual contexts that most of us as photographers dream of. And folks here on TO are very interested in operational challenges, and how different roles from train crews to dispatchers and others deal with those. The sims allow you to get a taste of those in many contexts.

Yes, it's simulation. Yes, the graphics, even if they are very good, don't equal the level of precision and visual quality that we as photographers have in our images. And yes, you can only go so far in simulating on a computer any real-life experience. And it can be awkward to do that. No argument. But I think that there's more relationship than might meet the eye.

Todd has always left open the old Railfan Gaming section in the background. Just click the bold type Discussion link on the left, then scroll down to near the bottom of the list. I'm going to start posting some content there in the hopes of getting the discussion started here on TO. I suggest that we leave the nitty-gritty how-to-do-it details to the train sim boards, and keep the discussion at a higher level here. Perhaps focusing on the relationships and intersections we might see between the sims and the kinds of things we especially enjoy here on TO. I don't know where that will go, or whether we'll even get very far at all. But let's give it a try. The train sim world has expanded a great deal, and with that expansion come a number of opportunities to see relationships to more things we do and share here on TO.

Also, I suggest initially we perhaps post just a short cross-reference link here in the railfan technology section pointing to the Railfan Gaming section. Then if we start to get some critical mass going again over there, we can withdraw our cross-posts here in Technology. Don't want to "hijack" this section, after all.

Hope to see you there. I'm preparing a post with visuals about Run 8's new hump yard and car-kicking feature, a first in the sim field, and hope to post it soon.

And regarding TS2014, the initial topic of this thread, it is indeed terrific visually. I'm not a rail, so I speak with caution. But I do not find the train handling physics to be that significantly "off" or unrealistic as some make them out to be, at least judging comparatively to other sims where the physics are more highly thought of -- Run 8 particularly. I wonder if the poorly evaluated physics are the result of the base sim, or downloadable content. Inquiring minds may wish to discuss.

Let's get it going again in the Railfan Gaming section. Just a couple extra clicks to get there.

MC
Columbia, Missouri

i agree mc. i would like to see more involvement in "train simulations" here on t.o.'s.

i am partial to run 8 (because of the realistic physics and great developer support) BUT still have msts on my laptop.

when, i get a new laptop, i will also include train sim 2014 (railworks?) for the pacific surfliner route.

there is something for everybody in today's world of train simulations.........

66

Best simulator? It's not out there yet.

The best simulator would have:

The eye candy scenery of TS2014.

The multitude of easily installable freeware and payware of MSTS.

The continuing refinement and development of OpenRails.

The physics of Run8.

The weather effects of Rex4 Direct ( http://www.realenvironmentxtreme.com/ ) that is available for Flight Simulator X.

The worst simulator would have:

The content and installation model of TS2014.

The clunkiness and lack of modernization of MSTS program engine.

The lack of content of Run8.

The current dependence of OpenRails on MSTS for route building and modification.

I've run all the simulators. The one that I run the most is OpenRails--best all around, though not yet a champion in any one area.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/10/14 09:10 by WW.

WW Wrote:
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> Best simulator? It's not out there yet.
>
> The best simulator would have:
>
> The eye candy scenery of TS2014.
>
> The multitude of easily installable freeware and
> payware of MSTS.
>
> The continuing refinement and development of
> OpenRails.
>
> The physics of Run8.
>
> The weather effects of Rex4 Direct (
> http://www.realenvironmentxtreme.com/ ) that is
> available for Flight Simulator X.
>
> The worst simulator would have:
>
> The content and installation model of TS2014.
>
> The clunkiness and lack of modernization of MSTS
> program engine.
>
> The lack of content of Run8.
>
> The current dependence of OpenRails on MSTS for
> route building and modification.
>
> I've run all the simulators. The one that I run
> the most is OpenRails--best all around, though not
> yet a champion in any one area.

Thanks for your post.

And I have also run all of them, and fairly regularly, because there is something I like in each one. I agree on the "bests" -- good summary. I would add another "best" -- the dispatching and multi-player functions of Run 8. They really add another significant dimension, and are unequalled in the other sims right now.

Of the "worsts", I'd only disagree on the content and installation model for TS2014. I like the content that I have (several US routes, and some European ones). The scenery is superb, and for me that's an important factor. I am going to guess that many of the photographers here on TO (and I number myself among them) would agree. We enjoy photographing trains in the scenic context, and the relation of the track and train to the physical environment is important to many of us. I have found the TS2014 installation process to be OK. The installs have always worked and been relatively painless, although I do not particularly like having them managed by the Steam portal. I find Steam to be a major irritant, and have turned it off as completely as I can. What's left of it I can coexist with.

Bottom line: totally agree that there is no single best sim. And I too hope for and support the continue development of Open Rails into a full, freestanding platform. I think that's a good piece down the pike, though, for now. And I look forward to continued development in the others as well.

MC
Columbia, Missouri