I feel rather silly posting this, but if it helps another member then it will have been worthwhile. I have been involved in Trainz since before the release of the first edition. I have made content, and worked on some that Auran has published, and I have been a member of TrainzProRoutes for a long time. I also was quite active in the old forum, so I speak from experience.
I have always liked Trainz, and like everyone else, always wanted each new version to be the best it could be, but the magic has been missing for a long time. I remember driving a train in MSTS, and thinking "Wow....this is so awesome!" I remember showing it to people...anybody that would look, I just thought it was amazing. When I switched to Trainz, I got the same feelings, because it was so much easier, and had better features than MSTS. Then I started making content, and got involved in TPR, and most all of my time was sunk into creating. I think the most I ever used Trainz as it was intended was when I was making the sessions for Regional Passenger Transit, and that grew into repetitive work very early on.
Well; I recently built a new computer and went out for the best parts I could afford, namely a Duo Core 6850, and an 8800 GPU 640. I know soon they will be like the P4 and 7800AGP I just moved up from, but the thing is, I've actually been playing the game lately. The beefier PC certainly helps, and running congested routes is a pleasure now, but I have to say I have a new appreciation of the program in general.
Whatever faults it has (2006, BTW) it still has, but it occurs to me that the magic is back. Perhaps I just needed a better PC, but man, it's running great! I spent about 6 hours yesterday running one continuous session, and I really began to marvel at all the program actually does. It kept track and co-ordinated movement of all 16 drivers and 23 consists without a single error. It spat out consists from 4 portals without a single glitch. The graphics were superb even in the driving snow and darkness. The sound was.....well, the sound was acceptable...better than it was on my old PC, even though I'm still using the centuries old SB live card! I really got immersed in the game for the first time since the Community Edition.
I don't know, maybe Trainz needs some real processing power to run right, or maybe I've turned a corner on it or something, but I have to admit that Trainz is really one Heck of a great program. With all it accomplishes, it's just pretty amazing. I may even buy Trainz Classics now....maybe.
Ed
I have always liked Trainz, and like everyone else, always wanted each new version to be the best it could be, but the magic has been missing for a long time. I remember driving a train in MSTS, and thinking "Wow....this is so awesome!" I remember showing it to people...anybody that would look, I just thought it was amazing. When I switched to Trainz, I got the same feelings, because it was so much easier, and had better features than MSTS. Then I started making content, and got involved in TPR, and most all of my time was sunk into creating. I think the most I ever used Trainz as it was intended was when I was making the sessions for Regional Passenger Transit, and that grew into repetitive work very early on.
Well; I recently built a new computer and went out for the best parts I could afford, namely a Duo Core 6850, and an 8800 GPU 640. I know soon they will be like the P4 and 7800AGP I just moved up from, but the thing is, I've actually been playing the game lately. The beefier PC certainly helps, and running congested routes is a pleasure now, but I have to say I have a new appreciation of the program in general.
Whatever faults it has (2006, BTW) it still has, but it occurs to me that the magic is back. Perhaps I just needed a better PC, but man, it's running great! I spent about 6 hours yesterday running one continuous session, and I really began to marvel at all the program actually does. It kept track and co-ordinated movement of all 16 drivers and 23 consists without a single error. It spat out consists from 4 portals without a single glitch. The graphics were superb even in the driving snow and darkness. The sound was.....well, the sound was acceptable...better than it was on my old PC, even though I'm still using the centuries old SB live card! I really got immersed in the game for the first time since the Community Edition.
I don't know, maybe Trainz needs some real processing power to run right, or maybe I've turned a corner on it or something, but I have to admit that Trainz is really one Heck of a great program. With all it accomplishes, it's just pretty amazing. I may even buy Trainz Classics now....maybe.

Ed