Hello everyone and first thoughts.

Hi everyone,

My name is Steve and I just purchased Trainz 2012 on Steam today. I just wanted to say hello and give you some of my initial thoughts.

I just glanced the forum, and I haven't seen so many friendly, talented, and creative people under one little roof. I hope with your help and a lot of time and luck, I might be able to contribute assets to this wonderful community.

Now some thoughts on my first hour with the game:

The graphics are well, um, OK. I have a mid-to-high end PC, and maybe with just a few settings I can get them a little better. I played through the first two lessons and loved it. They were well constructed. I went to the rail yard next, and there were a lot of assets. Are these all mine, or do you have to purchase them individually? I also went to the route section and was happy to see many of them.

All in all I look quite forward to what this simulator offers. I hope like Flight Simulator, you can hack it, or at least have some kind of scripting capabilities. I also hope there are a lot of add-ons from the community.

Steve.

Welcome, Steve. Just a couple things: There is a totally new version coming out around December, currently known as T:ANE (Trainz: A New Era). From what we've seen, which is admittedly very little, that graphics will be quite different. But, remember that virtually all the content for Trainz is user-created, so some things may look better than others.

If you do buy it, I suggest not buying off of Steam but here directly. Steam introduces extra support and compatibility issues.

Yes, you can script for Trainz. If you're familiar with C++, you shouldn't have too much trouble. Content itself is mostly created with 3D modelling programs like Blender.

As a result, there are addons...about 350,000 of them! Get familiar with Content Manager, downloading from the DLS, and, if you want, one of the many third-party content sites like TrainzProRoutes (www.trainzproroutes.org) or TrainzCommuterRail (http://w11.zetaboards.com/Trainz_Commuter_Rail/site/). The stuff you're seeing in Railyard is stuff already installed in your game and, no, you don't need to purchase them. When you download other locos, you'll also be able to preview them in Railyard (assuming all their bits and pieces are there and that there is no some issue with the loco itself.) You don't need to pay for anything from the DLS (although you can purchase a First Class Ticket, giving you premium, high-speed access to it with no waiting) nor do you usually have to pay for content obtained from third-party sites.

Incredible. Thank you for your help and information. How do you use Trainz?

You're welcome.

I'm more into route-building and making content. I have three major installations. One has every bit of content I've acquired over the years including stuff from now-defunct websites, payware (BTW, I recommend only buying payware from the original authors, not through resellers like N3V or others) as well as DLS content. It's got something like 500Gb of stuff. But it runs SLOOOOOW and is too big to fit on my SSD. I have a second "driving" installation located on an SSD that just has a few of my favorite routes in addition to the included stuff. I export routes and content I like from the huge installation into the driving one as needed for performance reasons. I also use this installation for testing out my creations in-game, repairing assets, and such. Last, I have a separate installation (of TS2010, because routes and sessions will not work with earlier versions) just for building my route. Up til now, I've only been using stuff from the DLS to build my route, although I may start hosting and using content from TrainzProRoutes. This prevents me from accidentally using payware or stuff from other sites in my route - I don't want whoever gets my route to have to go through the "Great KUID Hunt" looking for content on sites all over the internet, and which may not even exist anymore.

Wow! Really cool. You know you stuff.
Thanks again.

Hi Steve and welcome to the forums.
What you get out of the game depends a lot on your personal choices. Do you prefer to act as the engineer driving the train around a pre-made route? Or would you prefer to make your own route? (and then be the engineer) Or make your own assets? The choice(s) are yours to make. There are few restrictions - the biggest one being your imagination. There are some very talented folk on here who either create routes or assets (or both) and there are some equally talented folk who can tell you when an engine is not performing at its peak etc. You can play solo or join multi-player to join in with other folk like yourself. As I said the choices are yours to make.

Hi Steve and welcome!

Anthony sums it up well. This is a program that will reward you with lots of enjoyment for many years to come. Believe it or not like many people here, I've been at this for over a decade now. It's hard to believe that it has been this long. The good thing is much of the stuff you download today should be useable in the future, unlike many other programs. There truly are so many aspects of the programs, and you've only just scratched the surface.

Like RRSignal, I also enjoy route building over driving, although it is quite an experience riding in the cab of a locomotive through the route you designed yourself. At the present time, I'm working on a couple of personal (private) routes which are based on fictional lines. They both make use of DEMs, which available through another program after processing. Having said this, I find this to be both exciting and sad at the same time as I bring back to life some lines that have been long gone for decades. That truly is one of the best things about route building. We can bring back to life those areas that have been long replaced by progress and urban renewal.

Regarding the assets... Anything you see in Trainz is available to you for use. Anything you see in Content Manager, which allows you to download and install stuff, is content that is available to you as well as installed. You can see this based on the search filters you can setup. With over 300k items to choose from on the DLS (short for Download Station), there is more than enough to choose from. If you can't find anything there, there is also a lot of third-party websites located all around the globe in addition to payware providers who add in a whole more to the simulator. Speaking of payware, I would like to introduce you to the fine content creators at Jointed Rail. www.jointedrail.com They have both freeware as well as payware routes, locomotives, and other content. Their wares are well done and they are all members of the forums here as well. And... if you still can't find what you are looking for, you can always create the custom asset yourself using current 3d modeling programs such as Blender as well as reskin assets should you not like the textures but like the model.

As said, this is only a tiny fragment that's available to you to enjoy. Feel free to play around and ask questions.

John

Hello, Steve. I'm Chris. Nice to meet you.

Trainz is probably the best train simulator line around. There are millions of freeware and payware (mainly freeware ) downloadable items availabe though the DLS and 3rd party sites. Here are some:

www.jointedrail.com
www.rrmods.com / www.vrrmods.com
www.uslw.com
www.steammachine.com

Those are some of my favorites, with JointedRail and RRMods both being freeware and payware for TS09 and up, USLW has some good freeware stuff, with the store button taking you to Jointed Rail, and Steam Machine a completely freeware site, owned by Ben Neal (bdaneal), who makes a lot of good steam locos for TS04 and up, however some might need to be fixed to work in TS12, as well as some of the stuff from USLW. There are a lot more, so look around and see which ones you can find.

The forums are a good place to go if you need help with your game, to find news on Downloadable Content (referred to as DLC) from N3V, announcements for content creation and releases, and anything relating to Trainz. You'll easily get into it.

So have fun and get into it; Trainz is one of those games you can play forever without getting bored. It's an everlasting hobby that never gets old.

Sincerely,

Thank you all. You guys are great. Personal I think the best part of Trainz is this community. I can't wait to dive into Trainz and learn everything.

Thanks again guys.

Hi Steve. I'm Jim. (sounds like a 12-Step meeting; well maybe we are all addicts here... )

A good source for top quality steam locomotives is K & L Trainz. http://www.kltrainz.com/

Have fun.

Thanks Jim. Another great place to shop. I am adding everyone's suggestions to my list. It is awesome.

Yes good to see you joining us and you will giving yourself a chance come to enjoy Trainz I am sure. I came to it by chance having first discovered MS but it was far too techy to build anything. Trainz was a joy and when I needed a break from work or health issues was a great tonic as I foud it a really easy thing to use and build routes. You will find people on the Forums to help you along and on anything more detailed with anyone especially by using the Private Message link too. My only caution to you judging by myself is that it can become a very big part of your life! :Y: