Microsoft Train Simulator 2 News

[johnwhelan]

I'm dis-satisfied, the engines still have the air brake hoses 'painted' on the end of the loco...

Are we talking TC here or a specific loco? Technically it is possible to have air brake pipes but it does add to the load on the PC so Auran would probably avoid it since that kills performance on the average PC..

Cheerio John

 

[sfrr]

Are we talking TC here or a specific loco? Technically it is possible to have air brake pipes but it does add to the load on the PC so Auran would probably avoid it since that kills performance on the average PC..

Cheerio John

I'm talking about MSTSX, it still has air brake hoses painted on the fron and back of the engine...look at some of the posted pictures...you will know what I'm talking about.

 

[PatrickTaylor89]

I'm talking about MSTSX, it still has air brake hoses painted on the fron and back of the engine...look at some of the posted pictures...you will know what I'm talking about.

I don't believe that those are nescessarily the finished models. Like the rest of the game, I'm sure the models are "in progress". In fact, I believe I read somewhere that those models were simply being re-used from the original MSTSII project - so they were in effect just placeholders.
Either way, just because the built in equipment doesn't have all of the fancy features doesn't mean that third parties aren't going to come along and supply superior content later on. Just compare one of the built-in Trainz engines to some of the stuff that World or Trainz and others are producing.

Patrick

 

[GP_38-2]

Also remember that should that happen you most likely are going to see the same thing happen to MSTS II that has happened to Trainz.
Obviously the Trainz graphics engine has it's issues, but one of the biggest reason for poor performance (except on the latest computers) is the extreme poly count of 3rd party assets.
Yes the default Auran content is at best basic, however the poly count is about as low as one can get it. The more polys a computer has to display the harder it has to work. At some point it's too much, the computer just can't keep up.
If Microsoft and Auran both locked down their games (allowing no custom content) and did everything themselves you'd probably see a huge increase in performance. However, these types of "games" just wouldn't work without the community. But, at the same time it's also the cause for the problem. Though from what I'm told, I'm not so sure game companies take care of their own stuff now.....

What's going to be the biggest turn-off for MSTS is most likely going to be the fact it will be Vista only. Yes, yes we all know that 99% of computers come pre-loaded with it. BUT, this doesn't mean they stay that way. Most Vista pre-loads I see come to me to be wiped and loaded with XP xxx. Those that know about computer tech haven't even loaded Vista for obvious reasons. Yes it is the next step, but until MS can get it together there is zero reason for those with XP to upgrade. The Vista only will probably play a huge roll in MSTS II's popularity to the mass public.

P.S. Even if MSTS II is superior in every way to Trainz, you're also going to need some major cash for a new computer that can handle both Vista and MSTS II
Vista can take anywhere from 650MB to 850MB of system RAM on idle, as well as up to 35% of the CPU. A superior game will need a superior computer. For those that are truely interested in MSTS II, downloading the Flight Sim X demo (or buying the full game) will give you a pre-view of what you can expect as far as performance and visuals.

 

[BidMod]

When do we expect this to ship? year end 2008? 2009? If so, then the Vista issue is probably a good move by MS.

Also bear in mind that when I first got MSTS I had the performance sliders at about 1/3, so perhaps the hardware demands would be proportionally the same again this time?

As with other comments, it was the third party stuff that forced me to turn them down - I can now run the S&C on full, but only about 3/4 on the West Somerset (and it crashes on the approach to Blue Anchor quite often )

The WSR for MSTS was really good, better than the Trainz version, though there was less stock provided.

Personally, I think that this will be another great sim to run next to KRS, TRS or TC. I can use any for a different task.

 

[Vern]

One of the MS spokesmen posting on UKTS kind of confirmed late 2008 in a response on the issue.

My concern is not so much upgrading the main PC to Vista (as I will keep the laptop as XP) but the fluid state of the hardware at present. Seems the first gen 8800 Geforce cards are not truly DX10 compatible and I read somewhere there is a new 9800 card in production which will also require a different type of mobo socket (PCI-E 2?). (And no doubt a more powerful PSU!).

It's also not very clear if MSTS2 will run in degraded mode on a DX9 system. I'm actually very happy with my BFG 7600GT card and TBH I would rather spend the money on an extra 2Gb of RAM for Vista if I can get away with the lower spec card.

Re WSR for MSTS - the line loops back on itself in the Blue Anchor area and I have a feeling the developers busted the maximum object limit for the tiles. They also went OTT with sound sources both ambient and track regions, including sounds on every set of points - if these are large sizes can also cause MSTS to fall over.

 

[Magicland]

P.S. Even if MSTS II is superior in every way to Trainz, you're also going to need some major cash for a new computer that can handle both Vista and MSTS II
Vista can take anywhere from 650MB to 850MB of system RAM on idle, as well as up to 35% of the CPU. A superior game will need a superior computer. For those that are truely interested in MSTS II, downloading the Flight Sim X demo (or buying the full game) will give you a pre-view of what you can expect as far as performance and visuals.

Nah, computers are cheap. I just purchased one for the office with a quad-core (Q6600) processor, 2 gigs of ram, DVD burner, 80 gig HD for $600. Throw in a decent graphics card and a larger HD, and you're still under a grand.

 

[springtransit]

For those that are truely interested in MSTS II, downloading the Flight Sim X demo (or buying the full game) will give you a pre-view of what you can expect as far as performance and visuals.

When you look at them, I think TRS2004 gives you a pre-view of what you can expect in MSTS 2 as far as not just performance and visuals, but functionality as well. The passengers loading, and working turntables were planned to be in MSTS 2, but we know the rest ...