Which Trainz sim for 8 yr old?

[leigh123]

Hi all

Basically i want to know what would be the best trainz game to buy for a 8 yr old boy as i have 2006 on my shelf but i see there have been newer versions available since 2006, Also is there any newer versions other than 2006 that are easier to learn/build routes with..

I have good knowledge of 2006 for building routes etc and he wants to have a go now for himself at building routes, Hopefully 6 months down the line he will know more about the game than me.

I looked at play.com website (UK) and there are about 8 different trainz games on offer from £5.00 upwards.

Cheers

Leigh

 

[Corporal_Major]

Hi Leigh

I have all the Trainz from UTC to TC3 and will shortly receive 2009 when it is distributed in the UK.

I wouldn't say any are easier to learn/buildroutes in than the other I have found that TC3 has much better sound and more UK content and all that content worked even better for me in 2009 BETA.

I would if it were myself buy 2009 as it is the latest version although without the content from TC3 I'm not sure if the sound would improve.

I have invested in both.

hope this helps

Ron

 

[leigh123]

Cheers for the reply Ron

I have thought about 2009 for myself but i do not know what it is like yet i know 2006 was ok but in the end the sound totally put me off and kuji's input sorta side tracked me. I still have kuji's RS on the shelf, The route building to me was easier with 20006, If 2009 is as good as they say i might buy it. but reading the forums i get the impression it is just a updated version of 2006.

Also I heard it will not be out over on the UK shelves until mid January anyway?

Leigh

 

[ex-railwayman]

Hello Leigh,

I personally would suggest TC3 - it's available right now, it's British and it uses what is known as CMP - Content Manager Plus - which will be used for all the newer versions Auran will release over the next few years, so this will give him some working knowledge of it before he expands into TRS2009, TRS2010, etc.....see below for the website created for this Trainz version, which will explain the route and showcase the superbly created locomotives and rolling stock that was purpose built for this layout, in fact, I'd obtain 2 copies if I were you, 'cos you won't be able to put it down either.....:hehe:
Not quite sure how much it costs, but you can get it from the Auran shop on-line.

http://www.trainzclassics.co.uk/


Cheerz. ex-railwayman.

 

[Corporal_Major]

Hi Leigh

I was impressed with 2009 and have heard all the bad vibes but for me it was a good sound platform. If you look on the DLS you will see I have made a few routes some good some bad but I found that 2009 was even easier to make a route in as it has smaller squares on the baseboard and the flattening tools etc make for narrower cuttings etc.

As I said in the previous post TC3 with the updated UK content and better sound was much better than 2006.

2009 does NOT come with much content and there will be an add on next year with more content. However you can import or download most items from 2004/2006 or TC3.

My advice would be buy the boy TC3 and yourself 2009 and if you order from Mike 10 you will get genuine Auran items. I once made the mistake of buying a version from a shop that required the DVD be kept in the drive until I bought a "proper" version from Auran via Mike10.

You can find Mike10 here:
http://www.trainzclassics.co.uk/

or here:

http://forum.uktrainz.co.uk/index.php

Hope this helps a bit more

Have a good Christmas

Ron

 

[JRT]

I personally would suggest Trainz 2004

 

[johnwhelan]

And just to add confusion I'd suggest going with TRS2009 for the game engine but there is some very good content in TC3 so buy that as well and just import the content into TRS2009.

TRS2009 gives you all the built in content from TRS2004, TRS2006 and needs a less powerful machine.

Cheerio John

 

[ColPrice2002]

Hi,

Just my tuppence worth,

If you have a high end gaming computer, then TC3 has some great UK content, and will import a lot of the routes. The Modelling used has some high details - this needs a better-than-basic PC to avoid juddering.

Many of the routes on the Download Station (and sessions) require content that was built-in to TRS 2004 and TRS 2006 - but was not included in TC3.

If you are going to download a lot of routes (and that is part of the entertainment - the other routes not the downloading!), then TRS 2006 is a better option.

I would recommend that you don't get the "Just Trainz" version - the copy protection forces you to keep the CD/DVD in the drive all the time and there are reports of this disc cracking and then the program can't load.

If you buy a version from a store, I would suggest that the first task is to install and chekc which version (build number) you have.
Then check out the links to find out which service pack to install. TRS 2004 - with SP4 and TRS 2006 with SP1 are the latest versions, and the updating is both simpler to do when you start, and ensures that things work as well as possible.

Colin

 

[john259]

New copies of TRS2004 and TRS2006 are likely to be already upgraded to SP4 and SP1 respectively but it is indeed vital to check and upgrade yourself if necessary.

The only problem with TRS2004 or TRS2006 is the probability that in the UK the DVD will be required in the drive to run the program, and cannot be backed up. With a young child, no matter how mature, accidents can happen. On the other hand, a replacement would be equally inexpensive.

Opinions are divided roughly 50/50 between TRS2004 and TRS2006. It's has been an emotive issue on this forum.

TC, being newer, is more expensive. It lacks many of the built-in items that were included with TRS2004 and TRS2006.

A quick scan round here will soon fill you in with opinions regarding TRS2009. Being new it's more expensive than the old versions but if you opt for a download then you'll be able to make backup safety copies.

FWIW I greatly favour TRS2004 mainly because it has an asset management system that is both reliable and simple to use, whereas later versions of Trainz have a database asset management system called CMP that gives rise to a lot of pain. But there are plenty of people with differing opinions.

HTH, John

 

[johnwhelan]

I would recommend that you don't get the "Just Trainz" version - the copy protection forces you to keep the CD/DVD in the drive all the time and there are reports of this disc cracking and then the program can't load.

If you buy a version from a store, I would suggest that the first task is to install and chekc which version (build number) you have.
Then check out the links to find out which service pack to install. TRS 2004 - with SP4 and TRS 2006 with SP1 are the latest versions, and the updating is both simpler to do when you start, and ensures that things work as well as possible.

Colin

Translation buy direct from Auran on the web site do not buy the normal store version in the UK which has copy protection put on by "Just Trainz" the publisher.

Cheerio John

 

[Bigbird76]

Thankyou for all the reply's all

Someone who was totally new to all of this would not have a clue that you guys are on about but i think what you are saying is to purchase TC3 or 09 and have a play with it...

I think i will let him loose with 06 for now for a few months as it has quite a bit of content built in, That way he can learn 09 or TC3..

I do have a high end PC, At the moment i have a Q6600 quad core, Asus PK5E motherboard, 2gb matched corsair ram, XFX 8800 GTX 768mb gfx card and a 22" samsung pebble screen and 580w enermax psu. Also i have 4gb spare and am thinking of getting vista and a 280GTX gfx card.

As for content i managed to slow the pc up by inserting too much scenery before here is some of the old stuff i was working on, I hope i still have it on my old HDD so i can carry on and give the boy something to work from he's eager to get started.

 

[Iced8383]

I would choose Trainz 2004. It's simple to use and it's easy to get Downloaded content into it.