initial thoughts
just wanted to pen down my initial thoughts regarding trainz 2010. i believe there is a lot of misconstrued prejudice regarding the series prevailing among many who arent using trainz (some of which I admit I had). so this comes from a new trainz user and a novice in the trainz genre as well. I've played MSTS (thoroughly) so far and tinkered with railworks 2 and 3 for a few hours. so the trainz fanboy tag cant really be applied to me. this is primarily aimed at people who are still having second thoughts about trainz.
1. Graphics - I thiink many, if not most, in the train lovers' category believe that one of the primary flaws of trainz is its graphics. I was hence hoping for the worst when I launched the game.
To my surprise, I found the graphics to be okay. Its not nearly as bad as most people claim it to be. The trains look amazing and are quite detailed.
This should clear things up for new users who, like me, think trainz has terrible graphics.
It clearly doesnt.
Also, the biggest advantage of Trainz is that you can select the highest resolution and still have FPS of around 60 throughout the game, even with a mid range graphics card like mine (Nvidia GT 525M), unlike Railworks 2 and 3 where the FPS is horrendous, even on high end computers, to say the least (from personal experience).
However there are a few glitches/flaws. The textures are a serious drawback in trainz. Everything apart from the trains look a bit 2000-ish. Being a fan of Half Life 1, I can say that some of the graphics elements do look a bit like the early 2000s game.
I for one had some serious difficulty in identifying this specie:
BUT this is not a dealbreaker. And I'll tell you why...
2. Gameplay - I think this is clearly one of the strongest areas in trainz. And the developers have exploited it to the fullest. The gameplay is interactive, the environment isnt just scenery and plays an active part in whatever you do. The industries arent picture perfect but they are very much a part of the game. This is something the other sims dont really have. Even the brilliant and still contemporary MSTS doesnt have such a massive interactive environment. It will take one a long, long time to "complete" all the routes. And the track changes are like puzzles at places, so there is a lot of "gameplay" involved. Its not just about driving the trains and admiring the scenery around you.
3. Audio - I'll be frank, I was disappointed. The absence of Doppler effect (now included in Trainz 2012, even though a bit 'crudely', judging from the youtube videos) is really a letdown. MSTS had this and even now, in 2011, that feature still manages to impress me. The overall audio in the game is sort of okay-ish. I can't really add any other adjectives.
Final thoughts? I'll go ahead and say it out loud, even with its flaws, Trainz is still the best train sim at present. The PC optimisation (giving you proper above-40 fps at all times even on mid range graphics cards) and gameplay makes this a winner. Unless the other games clean up their PC optimisation and gameplay issues, its wise to stick with Trainz as its the only "proper", playable train sim out there right now.
