At this point in the game, no pun intended, TRS19 is by far the best version of Trainz yet. This is true more so for those with the hardware to strut the stuff that the program can do. For those with less stellar hardware, this program will be no different than TS12 or T:ANE except for a different interface. For those with the capable hardware, the performance is truly the best yet even with a very immersible environment with thick fog, shadows, reflections, and dynamic lighting.
I am still not 100% convinced that the PBR textures are the way to go. In many cases, they cause awful anomalies with routes that are difficult to remove without replacing the textures completely. What is worse is having textures get automatically updated to PBR as they were replaced by DLC versions of the same textures used previously. In cases like this, it's a bit disconcerting to have a route that looked good previously change to one that suddenly has holes under tracks and roads, and a gel-like appearance in places along with roads, tracks, and other splines buried under the baseboard.
The driver interface is different, but it's easily navigable once the user gets used to it. There are still some things missing which are important such as actual distance to upcoming signals and destinations in addition to running mileage, and the ability to add in driver commands on the fly as we can with T:ANE.
The actual driver images need replacing. The 3d drivers are not nice, and to add insult to injury they have mixed up genders. There's nothing like seeing a blonde female with a name like Fred, or a completely bald Ami! These moving creepy faces are more alien-like and belong in another video gaming genre. It's a good thing we can change the actual individual drivers assigned to the old 2d images, but we still have their 3d counterparts when viewing the driver list. This needs to be addressed if it has not been already.
The new main menu interface is different than all previous versions including T:ANE with its side-to-side slide and larger interface, and the old Rail Yard, albeit in a new form, is a welcome reintroduction into the Trainzing world, which disappeared with the introduction of T:ANE after having been part of the program for so many years prior.
But as much as this version is about the visual aspects, there are still many underlying things that need fixing. The underlying sound engine is still the same so that there is no real difference in ambient sounds, and there is still no stereo or directional sounds. The locomotive sounds are still the same locomotive sounds we've had since day one in TRS2004, and this is an area that needs improvement. With all the pretty stuff on the outside, this now seems old in comparison which it is!
There's nothing perfect in this imperfect world we live in, and we're all human and make mistakes. Given that this is a computer program, it's not without faults. We've come a long way since the earliest days of Trainz, but I feel we still have a lot more to go.