Complete Newbie Questions!

Trainz Sim 12 Digital Download

Greetings!

Can someone tell me what I need to do after I download Trainz Sim 12? I downloaded all the files, which are "bin" files, then ran the installer like it stated. It keeps asking me for disk 1! I tried burning the files to a disk...but I must be doing something wrong. I have other versions of Trainz that I purchased on disk. This is the first time I've downloaded from Auran's website. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks all!
 
buzzy51 said:
Greetings!

Can someone tell me what I need to do after I download Trainz Sim 12? I downloaded all the files, which are "bin" files, then ran the installer like it stated. It keeps asking me for disk 1! I tried burning the files to a disk...but I must be doing something wrong. I have other versions of Trainz that I purchased on disk. This is the first time I've downloaded from Auran's website. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks all!
Click to expand...

I would strongly suggest posting your question in the 2012 panel instead of here. Or, you could submit a request for help at the Help Desk (a link at the top of this page).

Bill
 
NJCurmudgeon said:
There wasn't any manual. If there was, I wouldn't have to be asking these stupid-basic questions! I bought it at Office Depot on the discount rack.I don't recall it asking for a serial number when I installed it.
Click to expand...

Then you are missing 80% of the fun. The full versions also allow you to download thousands of additional assets (locos, rolling stock,scenery, industries, etc.) for use in surveyor to build a new route or modify an existing one. The driver only version won't maintain your interest for very long.

tomurban
 
May I suggest, you may be much happier getting Office Depot to exchange your Driver edition of Trainz, for one of the full editions, as mentioned. A lot of the fun, at least to me, is learning Surveyor and trying to make your own world to play with. A Driver only edition sounds much too limited. And, on topic, its strange that the game didn't come with even a small manual, and didn't ask for a serial number. That puts up a red flag, that Office Depot may have inadvertently sold you a 'returned' item. I.E. someone may have opened it, tried Trainz, then returned the game. I would ask for an exchange.
 
One of two things has happened:

A. You have got a corrupt .bin file.
B. You have not saved all the .bin files and the setup.exe file into the same folder.

NOTE: There was a discussion about naming the files somewhere on this forum, but I cannot remember where.

Shane
 
Thank you and one more question!

Thank you to everyone who gave answers here! I have another newbie question...what does a "lap" brake mean? I understand that there is an engine brake (I didn't know about "E" applying them, so thanks for that!) and the brakes on the train behind it. Driving a train seems to be a lot like a good hobby - easy to start but difficult to stop!

As for the serial number, I don't remember anything involving that. I bought and installed this several months ago now and just never got around to playing with it until now - silly things kept getting in the way of this important stuff, like family, work, etc. I know, I need to get my priorities straight! ;)

I don't think I still have the receipt and since just learning how to drive the thing is proving challenging enough for the moment, I think I'll keep it. I do like the idea of getting to create my own layouts, though, so maybe when I'm more confident in my skills I will invest in a full-blown version.

Thanks again!
 
Brake Sequence?

Hello again...I had a chance to experiment a little more with this and I was wondering if there is a preferred sequence to the braking - train first then engine? Engine first then train? Something else? I've shut the throttle off, train and then engine braking and have come pretty close to the platform, though I seem to undershoot a bit. Maybe I'm turning the throttle off too soon? Or should I even be doing that?

I'm running the Amtrak No. 8, Maria's Pass layout, which is the first one the player drives.
 
I very seldom use the engine brake. When connected to a train, the train brake includes the engine. Primarily, I use the engine brake when in the yards shunting cars around and such. Throttle usage is tricky, but can be learned in short order if you do enough of it.

Bill
 
One of the great things about Trainz, is everyone has their own way of playing. Some really get into designing content, others like making routes, others only drive premade routes by others, etc. Some like to be in Cab Mode doing exactly like a real engineer. Me, I only use DCC (model railroad) mode. Not realistic, but I don't mind. I'm just interested in seeing the train run thru my world. DCC is much easier than cab mode, just start, stop, backup, accel, decel.
 
HiBaller said:
I very seldom use the engine brake. When connected to a train, the train brake includes the engine. Primarily, I use the engine brake when in the yards shunting cars around and such. Throttle usage is tricky, but can be learned in short order if you do enough of it.

Bill
Click to expand...
Thanks Bill. So when I have a train behind me (as I do in the Maria's Pass scenario), I only need the "A" and "Z" since the engine brake "E" is included (so to speak) with the "A-Z" combination? I notice that when I press the "E" key it seems more responsive than the "A-Z" to the point where I can slow myself down without dropping the throttle. that makes me think I'm still not doing the "A-Z" combo correctly.

I'm still a little fuzzy on what the "lap brake" ("Z") is and how it differs/works with the train brake ("A").

Again, sorry if this is "see Spot run" kinda stuff, but I am interested in learning - particularly as it gives something of an idea of how the real thing works.

Thanks for your time!
 
To further add to your confusion: :hehe:

A lot of diesel engines (and I think the Marias Pass route has them) will have dynamic braking. This means that you keep pressing the throttle until it goes "negative". What happens then (in real life) is that the wheel motors become generators and dump electricity into huge resistor banks in the body of the engine. It will slow you down without using train brakes at all. Marias Pass is a good one to use this on downgrades for when you know there will be another upgrade very soon.

Bill
 
Hello Again

I agree with Bill HiBaller - leave the engine brake alone unless you are running with just the loco and no train. Otherwise it just complcates matters and things are complicated enough without that.
You asked about "lap". Well it's a kind of "hold" position. If you hit the A key so that the brakes start to come on and then hit the Z lap key before thay are fully applied, the brakes will hold for a while in their partially applied state. I say "for a while" because they won't stay like that for ever - they will continue to "leak" on but more slowly than before. So the Z key is good if you want to make a gradual stop rather than a "slam on the brakes" kind of stop.
If you are driving your Amtrak train and find yourself stopping short of the platform, hit Q before it's too late and your train will coast slowly with brakes off. Then hit Z followed by A and you should, with practice, stop exactly right.
You also asked about when to throttle down - the answer is well before you need to brake. A train will coast for quite a long way with its own momentum. So, with a heavy train, you could shut off the throttle, say, a couple of miles from your destination and coast in. Once again every train is different and much depends on weight and, of course, gradient. You won't coast very far uphill but perhaps much too far going down!!!

Have fun

Alan
 
Well THAT was strange

Okay...I just had something happen in Maria's Pass that has me confused. I came to a red signal and a notice of a derailed train ahead. I stopped in front of the red signal and sat for a couple minutes, waiting for a green. Then, while it's still red, a freight comes from the other direction on MY track (there are two in that section, I was on the right side) and hits me head-on, albeit slowly!

Did I misread the block signal or what I'm supposed to do when I see it? I thought a red signal meant that the block I was entering was occupied or obstructed and I had to wait AT THE RED LIGHT. Should I have proceeded BEYOND the red light and stop INSIDE that block?
 
It has been a long time since I've run Marias Pass, but I am almost sure you have to be on the left side of double-tracks. Having said that, however, I'm am just not sure. AI (Artificial Intelligence) trains aren't known for their actual smarts.

If you had been displaying the mini-map (the "M" key), you could have seen the train approaching you and taken evasive action.

Bill
 
HiBaller said:
It has been a long time since I've run Marias Pass, but I am almost sure you have to be on the left side of double-tracks. Having said that, however, I'm am just not sure. AI (Artificial Intelligence) trains aren't known for their actual smarts.

If you had been displaying the mini-map (the "M" key), you could have seen the train approaching you and taken evasive action.

Bill
Click to expand...
I didn't mess with the switches (as far as I am aware!) and just assumed they would automatically set to wherever I needed to be. When there have been two tracks, I've always been on the right hand one (with one exception where I was switched to the left heading towards a platform).

Could this be a glitch in the game that would be fixed by a new session? While I'm not thrilled with having to start over, it's not like I couldn't use the practice!

I don't have a "mini-map." When I hit "M," it opens a large full screen map while the simulation runs in the background. I can watch the train move on the map. I am starting to wonder just what I really have here with the software. It seems to be a very stripped down Driver-only version and the whole serial number thing has me wondering too. The packaging all seems legit and I bought it at a store, as opposed to somewhere that might be dealing in knock-offs.

Considering I am such a rank beginner, if I wanted to buy my first Trainz, what version(s) would you recommend. I think I would like to graduate down the road to creating layouts.

I appreciate the help!
 
Well, what I would do, NJ, is go here:

http://www.auran.com/shop/display_product.php?PID=198

And take a look at Trainz 2010. If you have a fairly new system (with a good non-integrated video card) 2010 would be the best for you. TRS2006 is considered discontinued by Auran (N3V) and, as such, has very limited access to other routes and content. TRS 2010 will give you everything you need to run and build routes.

TRS2009 is probably also available, but 2010 is better because it melds into 2012 easier. I don't recommend 2012 for a beginner because it is very complex.

If you decide to buy, buy direct from Auran Games. You can either buy a boxed set (I advise this) or you can get a digital download. Be aware that the size of the download is over 5 GB and may take a while with no guarantee of being a flawless download. Be also aware that your bank will charge you a small fee to "convert" Australian dollars into US dollars. It isn't much though.

There is a sale going in right now with deep discounts for everything in their store. You might also consider buying a First Class Ticket. This will allow you to download content from the Download Station at very fast speeds (350K) versus 3K without a FCT.

What you get for your expenditure is a very enjoyable and absorbing simulator with which you can build railroad layouts that are as big as you want them to be.

But, don't take my word for it. I'm sure others will jump in here with their advice. In fact, I hope they do because an informed purchase is a good thing.

EDIT: I think you may have some sort of demo game. How it ended up in Office Depot I haven't a clue. As I recall, demo games didn't require a license key. Maybe not, anyway.

Bill
 
Last edited:
In my opinion, I would be wary of TS2010 if I was a newbie, due to the layers issues.

My TS2009 is working OK, and I am happy to stick with it, although SP4 does have it's issues.

Shane
 
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