Trainz Vs Rail Simulator - Which Is Better

[Snaptrap]

I'm quite upset that I can't get Trainz Railwayz in local retail stores. A friend on MSN has indicated to me that there's another train sim called Rail Simulator. In fact, he has a unopened copy of the UK version of the game that he got for his birthday. He said he's going to check it out now and decide if he wants to keep it.

My question is how does RS compare to Trainz. I notice the visuals in RS are better, but I like good controls, interface, and selection as well. I found Trainz world creator a little on the complex side which isn't a surprise since it's a very intricate sim game. I did check out some RS vids though I think they're from the UK version of the game. I have Trainz 2006 which I was having trouble getting to run on Vista, but I learned that the data execution prevention feature was the cause.

All I want is a really nice looking and easy to use train simulator. I play PC games for a reason, and titles like this are why.

I love trains. Living in Canada, our premier rail line is CN, and for several years our family lived by the tracks in a farm town. Watch the train come by each monday was always a thrill. Sadly, I learned a few years ago that the track which lead to my hometown was removed. All that remains are the stones. Changes in grain delivery location was the cause.:'(

 

[meridious]

At the present time, you'd be better off sticking with Trainz.

 

[paulhobbs]

In its present state I wouldn't have RS as a gift. You should make your own mind up though, start with the RS forums and read what people are saying about it (nothing particularly good it seems).

Paul

 

[WileeCoyote]

Well heres my rant

Trainz (for the moment) is hands down all around better than Rail Simulator, although the DLS webpage (you can still download via CMP and FTP) isn't functioning at the moment, Trainz has about 70000 or so available assets. RS? Almost none.

Trainz Surveyor is (with practice) very easy to use and quite yielding. RS? Try laying some track, its nearly impossible, in fact, once you lay that track and save the layout, you can't delete the layout.

Trainz has a *relatively* good signal system code which with the use of some good signals can be very easy to manipulate to do what you want. RS? Not a chance.

Trainz (with some difficulty) has a good working AI system which when programed properly will run without any problems. RS? Hardly any AI and as far as I know no way to make any.

Trainz has the convenience of a working level crossing system, and if your into German railroading, crossing position inidicators. RS? The crossings are always down leaving you with some very cross motorists.

Trainz has roads with traffic on them that you can actually set, and with TC you can have it go on more than one lane. RS? Well, I've yet to even see a car.

Trainz has a very friendly, helpful user community that releases loads of great content and can easily help with a lot of your Trainz and PC problems (heck, they even have their own chatroom!). RS? Say one thing blatantly degrading about their game (like what I've just written above) and you'll find yourself banned pretty quickly.

Trainz is a relatively easy to use program for a great price and with it you can do some pretty cool things (TPR's layouts prove this bit). RS? Overpriced, half finished program that doesn't do a lot with a lousy selection of rolling stock (Not one bit of Canadian content, and when the US release comes there still won't be any).

If you want me to say more I'll gladly take this thread beyond any reasonable conclusion.

WileeCoyote

 

[Snaptrap]

Is there anything good about RS? I watched the tutorials and it seems relatively simple to use. Nice visuals too. I seem to be a sucker for graphics. Trainz 2006 is great though I would like to upgrade to TR. My guess is RS is a new series and with time they can refine the problems listed. The weird thing is that RS the most downloaded train sim. LOL!

I'm going to check out RS just to see which works best for me although expecting no CN content from either edition is a little disheartening. Apparently there's a development tool for people to use to create new content though it looks limited.

The problems I've experienced in 2006 is that with SP1, derailed locos are still running. Without SP1 everything works fine except when I play demolition derby with CN and Amtrak I get an exception error. I also notice that if you stop on a road crossing, you can be derailed by a vehicle when cycling through the trains available. I've even seen vehicles drive through my train when cycling. This is one reason why I'd like to upgrade Trainz or obtain a different sim altogether.

I need my CN though. Too bad the CNR SD40-2 loco's horn sound is wrong in the 2006 version. It should be like the green colored SD40-2 in the Empire Builder scenario. These engines would drive by our home and I heard that sound hundreds of times as a kid. We used to run down to the tracks and stand on the hill next to them and watch the train pass.

 

[paulhobbs]

Is there anything good about RS? I watched the tutorials and it seems relatively simple to use. Nice visuals too. I seem to be a sucker for graphics. Trainz 2006 is great though I would like to upgrade to TR. My guess is RS is a new series and with time they can refine the problems listed. The weird thing is that RS the most downloaded train sim. LOL!

The graphics in RS are great, yes (there, I said something nice about it...). Maybe RS the the most downloaded train sim because it's the only one available for download? Hornsounds can easily be changed in TRS BTW.

Also people don't seem to have grasped that RS is not trying to be like Trainz, it's a driving simulator and Trainz simulates a complete railway system. Even when the bugs in RS are fixed it still won't be a better Trainz.

Paul

 

[Snaptrap]

The graphics in RS are great, yes (there, I said something nice about it...). Maybe RS the the most downloaded train sim because it's the only one available for download? Hornsounds can easily be changed in TRS BTW.

Also people don't seem to have grasped that RS is not trying to be like Trainz, it's a driving simulator and Trainz simulates a complete railway system. Even when the bugs in RS are fixed it still won't be a better Trainz.

Paul

I want to change the horn sound. I seen Trainz 2006 and 2007 for download as well. I'm not a fan of piracy though. I use these sites for popularity rankings and it helps me decide which people prefer to use.

 

[JCitron]

"I need my CN though. Too bad the CNR SD40-2 loco's horn sound is wrong in the 2006 version. It should be like the green colored SD40-2 in the Empire Builder scenario. These engines would drive by our home and I heard that sound hundreds of times as a kid. We used to run down to the tracks and stand on the hill next to them and watch the train pass."

You can easily change the horn used by the locomotive by editing the config file. Open up the Grenn SD-40-2, and copy the line for the horn, and paste that into the configuration file for the other CNR SD40-2. Once you've edited the asset in CMP, commit the changes so that the modified assets are returned for use in Trainz.

Once you get used to Surveyor, you'll find that module in particular to be extremely addicting.

John

 

[Snaptrap]

Also people don't seem to have grasped that RS is not trying to be like Trainz, it's a driving simulator and Trainz simulates a complete railway system. Even when the bugs in RS are fixed it still won't be a better Trainz.

This is actually the only aspect of a train simulator that I use besides editing/creating. I just want to hop into a train and cruise around. I also like causing chaos with major derailments.

Is there a really good site for free Trainz content? I would like to get some CN stuff.

 

[Snaptrap]

You can easily change the horn used by the locomotive by editing the config file. Open up the Grenn SD-40-2, and copy the line for the horn, and paste that into the configuration file for the other CNR SD40-2. Once you've edited the asset in CMP, commit the changes so that the modified assets are returned for use in Trainz.

Once you get used to Surveyor, you'll find that module in particular to be extremely addicting.

John

Thanks! I'm such a novice. I got Trainz 2006 a few months ago as a gift from the company I work for, which is CNR. Once I'm done training, I'll finally get to the real deal which is Traffic Coordinator.

 

[atsfrr3000]

To be perfectly honest, you're most likely not going to get a completely objective, neutral opinion on the topic here. This is a Trainz forum, filled to the brim with Trainz users, a lot of whom think Trainz is the best thing since sliced bread, and that's exactly how it should be. It would be near impossible to get an objective review here.

Nonetheless, I'd say that if what you're after is a driving sim, RS is definately worth a look. I personally find just driving trains quite boring, and prefer to manage multiple simultaneous trains at once, which is why I prefer Trainz, but in your case I'd say RS is worth looking into further.

Also, as a side note, there's lots of good Canadian content on the DLS (you can access it through CMP), as well as at TPR's Download Depothttp://www.builderau.com.au/news/soa/Brisbane-game-developer-shuts-shop/0,339028227,339284557,00.htm

 

[meridious]

To be perfectly honest, you're most likely not going to get a completely objective, neutral opinion on the topic here. This is a Trainz forum, filled to the brim with Trainz users, a lot of whom think Trainz is the best thing since sliced bread, and that's exactly how it should be. It would be near impossible to get an objective review here.

Sure you can. There are many of us who would rather not waste our time on anything past 04 but RS vs Trainz is not even something that should be considered. Trainz wins hands down.

BTW, the link for the TPR DD is wrong in your post.

 

[atsfrr3000]

Sure you can. There are many of us who would rather not waste our time on anything past 04 but RS vs Trainz is not even something that should be considered. Trainz wins hands down.

BTW, the link for the TPR DD is wrong in your post.

Fixed the link.

But your post, in a way, proves my point: you refuse to even consider looking at RS, and if that doesn't show a very biased opinion about it then I don't know what does. The original poster is simply not going to get an objective viewpoint here; everybody here is a Trainz user, thus this forum is, by default, biased against RS.

Nothing against you or anyone that prefers Trainz, that's just my beliefs on what you will find here.

 

[meridious]

Ah but you are wrong my friend. I have tried RS and simply do not like it. Their surveyor (if you will) is alot harder to use than Trainz. Mind you, I am not a route builder but Trainz Surveyor is so easy to use.
I haven't even tried to create anything for RS as I don't use the modeling programs that are available for it. Gmax took long enough to learn and at this stage, I am not about to learn a new program when I am happy with creating for Trainz.
So from what I have tried to do in RS, I'll gladly stick with Trainz.

 

[atsfrr3000]

Ah but you are wrong my friend. I have tried RS and simply do not like it. Their surveyor (if you will) is alot harder to use than Trainz. Mind you, I am not a route builder but Trainz Surveyor is so easy to use.
I haven't even tried to create anything for RS as I don't use the modeling programs that are available for it. Gmax took long enough to learn and at this stage, I am not about to learn a new program when I am happy with creating for Trainz.
So from what I have tried to do in RS, I'll gladly stick with Trainz.

Well, that is certainly a hundred times better than saying you didn't even consider trying RS because there's no way it could possibly be better. I apologize for jumping to conclusions so quickly; I misinterpreted your post.

However, I still stand by my statement that you won't get a 100% objective statement here; even the die-hard Trainzers that try RS to come to their own conclusions are going to go into it with some previous bias, whether they admit it or even know it or not. You really can't get an objective review when the reviewer looked at a product with the specific intention of sizing it up to another product, because often the reviewer will be looking for things that the "other" product has over the new product.

I would still advise the OP to also try to get opinions from forums not partial to one sim in particular; UKTrainSim is a good one off the top of my mind, although they might be slightly biased towards Kuju/EA as Kuju has a bit of influence there. If anybody else can recommend multi-sim forums it would be handy.

But in the end, the only end-all beat-all way for the OP to find out which sim he prefers is to try both. You already have Trainz, or so I conclude from your original post, so find a way to play Kuju's sim, approach it with an open mind, and play it for as long as you played Trainz. In my opinion that's the best way to go about this.

 

[Snaptrap]

To be perfectly honest, you're most likely not going to get a completely objective, neutral opinion on the topic here. This is a Trainz forum, filled to the brim with Trainz users, a lot of whom think Trainz is the best thing since sliced bread, and that's exactly how it should be. It would be near impossible to get an objective review here.

Nonetheless, I'd say that if what you're after is a driving sim, RS is definately worth a look. I personally find just driving trains quite boring, and prefer to manage multiple simultaneous trains at once, which is why I prefer Trainz, but in your case I'd say RS is worth looking into further.

Also, as a side note, there's lots of good Canadian content on the DLS (you can access it through CMP), as well as at TPR's Download Depot

Ufortunately for some sad reason Trainz doesn't want to connect to the net. I checked the firewall settings to insure that there's access but alas, nothing. Probably some hidden Vista setting that I have to destroy.

Driving is fine with me so long as I have control over the rails themselves and can switch tracks to create chaos. Perhaps since one is more leaned towards driving and the other towards a more broad spectrum, I'm just better off having both. Then again I have to wait for my friend to get his butt over here so I can try RS.

 

[Snaptrap]

Ok. After 15 minutes of playing RS I made my decision. With the lack of support for my 1440x900 monitor, the power hungry graphics engine, the retarded controls (I even had trouble exiting the game), and the new found content for Trainz, I decided to stick with Trainz. Granted RS looks better, but I have a Radeon 3870 and a Athlon X2 6400 and I still experience chugging motion. On top I have 4GB RAM.

I think the amazing content for Trainz (thanks to the link by atsfrr3000), the decision was made a lot easier, especially after the experience I just had with RS. I did some playing with Trainz' editor and it's not that difficult. I needed to do some key searches, but it reminds me of Sim City 2000.

Besides, Auran has terrific support. The help desk member who has been giving me assistance with Trainz 2006 had done a great job to help me get Trainz on track. For now I'll keep the copy of RS my friend handed down to me and wait until I get a mainframe system to run it. RS is a beautiful game with amazing detail to the stock, but just a little too demanding for what it puts out.

Thanks guys for the help. Now I'm going to download everything from that site.

 

[WileeCoyote]

I couldn't resist

Yay, another convert:hehe:

WileeCoyote

 

[Snaptrap]

Oh, I'm asking if that content from that TPR site works for 2006? Love the CN content.

 

[NICKEL]

I have it all and I run 2006 with no problem.