Trainz Vs Rail Simulator - Which Is Better

Glad to see your understanding Mike! But I still feel that it seems as though people are never happy with anything. Just 2 years ago, there was a raging war on these very forums between the TRS2004ers vs the TRS06ers. But now that KRS is out, people are now putting TRS06 on a golden pedestal and throwing pitchforks at Rail Simulator...just like both MSTS and Trainz 1.0 had done to them when first released. If I recall correctly, MSTS was crappy out-of-the-box, Trainz 2004 was bug-ridden until the Service Packs and TRS06..where do I get started? But look at them now..all fully developed.......those that have turned a blind-eye at first are now vital members to the community. It's like deja vu all over again with Rail Simulator.

That's how it's been ever since KRS has been released. Many people, from both the MSTS and Trainz camp, were more than happy to jump on the bandwagon and snicker amongst themselves about how buggy and rough KRS was compared to their product; all of them conveniently left out the fact that their sims started off just as buggy and rough.

I pointed this out once and was told that it shouldn't be buggy, it generated too much hype, it should be absolutely razor-blade perfect, they've had years to work on it, etc etc etc. With all the hype that's been generated over each release of Trainz, and the time they had to work on each release compared to what was actually added in that time, I actually laughed out loud, but decided not to point out the irony. A mistake, in retrospect.
 
My PC was the victim of a power surge a couple of months ago in which I lost all the data on both my hard drives, and also my graphics card. Having bought a new hard drive, I picked up RS in HMV - on impulse admittedly - and although the initial release does have plenty of bugs (just like MSTS, TRS06 and from what I've heard TRS04) I am finding it far less frustrating to use than TRS was initially, to the point where I haven't bothered to install TRS06 back onto my PC.

The route editor is completely different, and whilst it takes a while to get used to, is no less cumbersome and clumsy than Surveyor, and I find is actually better in some areas. For starters you can switch to it directly from driving mode, allowing you edit the route as you drive, without so much as a loading screen between the two "modules". Then there are a couple of very nice touches, such as the way the pointwork (blades, flangeways etc) is automatically created when you attach two pieces of track together, the way you can set the exact length of a siding or platform, so that the train knows where to stop, the way the direction you lay the track doesn't affect the sim's pathfinding abilities. And the offset tool, which allows you to lay a fence or a platform exactly parallel to the track (or road), the "drive to" command which allows you to set a speed at which the train should pass the waypoint, and then of course the vastly more intelligent AI, which if it wasn't for the faults with the signalling (being addressed in the upcoming patch) would be fairly close to perfect.

The sim looks and sounds absolutely superb. I'm currently running it in 800x600 windowed mode with NO graphics card and only a crappy AMD Sempron to handle the work, yet still getting on average 15-20 FPS. Try doing that with '06.

I am not poo-pooing TRS and having been a long-term user so I hope I am providing a balanced viewpoint. It is an excellent simulator and I think it will be a long time before anyone comes up with a better route editor, or asset management system (à la CMP), but for me RS is the next step, just like Trainz and then TRS06 were when I decided MSTS was nowhere near a good enough sim. If one day TRS gets a major reworking with decent sounds and an up-to-date (or at least efficient) graphics engine then I will find it hard to resist coming back, but for now I'm with RS.

JB
 
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Which firewall software are you using ? Have you tried it with it turned off ?

John

I'm using Symantec Endpoint Protection. Unlike it's predecessors, SEP is not a resource hog and is fast and easy to use. I disabled the entire suite and still no connection. I've completely disabled all Vista protection programs. I usually go through most of the Windows settings and tweak everything. I have network technician training and there's nothing I can find wrong at my end.

Is there any way to do this manually? I know you can get the files but without the dependencies, those a virtually useless unless I know which dependencies I need to look for.
 
I'm using Symantec Endpoint Protection. Unlike it's predecessors, SEP is not a resource hog and is fast and easy to use. I disabled the entire suite and still no connection. I've completely disabled all Vista protection programs. I usually go through most of the Windows settings and tweak everything. I have network technician training and there's nothing I can find wrong at my end.

Is there any way to do this manually? I know you can get the files but without the dependencies, those a virtually useless unless I know which dependencies I need to look for.

Are you having "Can't connect" problems? or Unable validate username and password issues?

If it's the latter case. make sure that your username and password are same that you registered Trainz with, and that you passoword is correct. This might sound like a dumb suggestion, but it's just a suggestion.

John
 
Are you having "Can't connect" problems? or Unable validate username and password issues?

If it's the latter case. make sure that your username and password are same that you registered Trainz with, and that you passoword is correct. This might sound like a dumb suggestion, but it's just a suggestion.

John

I can't register at all because it refuses to connect. Even when I have no protection software installed it does the same thing. I'm wondering if this would work with Trainz Railwayz. There's no chance I can go back to Windows XP because an update messes up my Adobe Audition program. I heard that TR was streamlined from all the 3rd party modules and cleaned up in some areas. Plus it might work better on Vista. The bad thing is that I can't get a copy of it legally and I'm not about to start downloading games and stuff.

I called EB and asked them to order it for me, and they can't or won't.
 
That thread simply shows someone trying to make the sim do something it is not currently designed to do. Kuju never stated that narrow gauge was going to be supported in the initial release, it would instead be a feature in the first service pack, so I'm not sure how this can be referred to as a bug.
 
I can't register at all because it refuses to connect. Even when I have no protection software installed it does the same thing. I'm wondering if this would work with Trainz Railwayz. There's no chance I can go back to Windows XP because an update messes up my Adobe Audition program. I heard that TR was streamlined from all the 3rd party modules and cleaned up in some areas. Plus it might work better on Vista. The bad thing is that I can't get a copy of it legally and I'm not about to start downloading games and stuff.

I called EB and asked them to order it for me, and they can't or won't.

I have a question for you, did you install TRS2006 into Vista following the instructions listed in the following link ?
http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showpost.php?p=94061&postcount=3

also have you updated it with the latest service patch for your version ?

John
 
All that link does is take me to a page that I'm not permitted to see. I have Vista's SP1 and Trainz SP1. I installed the game right off the disc by clicking Setup. I don't know?? Maybe it's because I like to direct all my games to one games folder which then branches into their own seperate folders for each game. Be nice if this downloading system was simplified like Rail Simulator where you can just grab the stock you want from their website and install it.

I'll probably just give up on this and make an attempt to get the content manually. I got most if it already and all I need are the dependencies which appear to be a lot missing or I can load up 3D Max and try port the Trainz content over to RS using the tools provided. Eventually I'm going to get one of these games to work like I want them to.
 
Yay, another convert:p:hehe:

WileeCoyote:D

:hehe: Yeeeezzzzzzzzz, Wolfgang, yeeeezzzzz. I do like this thread, old-styled as they are supposed to be at The General! Aaaaaaah, how I missed this! :hehe:

BTW, some RS sunblowers over here shouln't forget to have a look at previous RS threads where some "biased" testers (like myself) gave a deep-blue-sea review of this fiasco release, -la désirée- :hehe:, and didn't write from others' impressions at all.

http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showthread.php?t=15223

Take care and have fun,

Alberte, from a sunblower to others ;) :wave:
 
You can't say that a train simulator is better than another

You can't say that a train simulator is better than another
(Comparing Apples & Oranges)


First tydev417, I'm on dial up, and pictures as big as 1024x768 aren't suppose to be in this section, as it was taking time to download the page.

Their is no one train simulator that is better or not than ANY other simulator. What is good to one person, may not be good to the other - similar to voting, or one having a preference of steam than diesels, etc. I'm not going to repeat what I already have said in another thread except to say that each & EVERY simulator & model railway have their bad & good points.

PS: Do we need another thread on an X versus Y simulator?
 
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Well, I'm using and enjoying both.
Trainz and RS are completely different and there are good points and moderate points about both. The graphical detail in RS is far superior to Trainz, and I'm sure once the bugs are ironed out it will take off. Trainz, on the other hand, is better when it comes to constructing your own routes and content. It's biggest let down is the so called Content Manager Plus, they should find a way of scapping this at the earliest.

If you can afford the time and money go for both, don't reckon you will regret it.
Geoff
 
You can't say that a train simulator is better than another
(Comparing Apples & Oranges)

First tydev417, I'm on dial up, and pictures as big as 1024x768 aren't suppose to be in this section, as it was taking time to download the page.

Their is no one train simulator that is better or not than ANY other simulator. What is good to one person, may not be good to the other - similar to voting, or one having a preference of steam than diesels, etc. I'm not going to repeat what I already have said in another thread except to say that each & EVERY simulator & model railway have their bad & good points.

PS: Do we need another thread on an X versus Y simulator?

If you'd noticed, that I wanted factual information comparing the two games so I can make a decision of which game would be best for me. Unfortunately it turned into another vs thread.
 
All that link does is take me to a page that I'm not permitted to see. I have Vista's SP1 and Trainz SP1. I installed the game right off the disc by clicking Setup. I don't know?? Maybe it's because I like to direct all my games to one games folder which then branches into their own seperate folders for each game. Be nice if this downloading system was simplified like Rail Simulator where you can just grab the stock you want from their website and install it.

I'll probably just give up on this and make an attempt to get the content manually. I got most if it already and all I need are the dependencies which appear to be a lot missing or I can load up 3D Max and try port the Trainz content over to RS using the tools provided. Eventually I'm going to get one of these games to work like I want them to.

I have to ask, but have you registered the game with Planet Auran and set up your password etc ?

John
 
Can't I do that through the game?

From memory I think there may be a "Register" option on the main menu, but I'm not sure if a) I'm right or b) it works. The quickest way is just to click
menu_serialnumber.jpg
at the top of the forum and go through the relevant steps.

Cheers,

JB
 
Can't I do that through the game? It's what I've been trying to do since it's asking me to register.

That explains why you haven't been able to connect to the DLS. You have to register the game via the web site and then use that info to input into CMP, eg user name, Kuid id and password for Planet Auran. Thats probably why you cant see the link to the post I gave you.

John
 
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Trainz Is better

You should stick with Trainz.
I've seen the video clip for it. It looks really complicating.
As Meridious said "Stick with Trainz":D
flatcar.gif
 
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