There's a new train a coming

Definitely a beautiful looking sim. As long as they get the content creation tools done right, I will go over to that sim in a heartbeat lol.
 
Well,well,well. How about this. TS2017 and TSW. Promo's look good. Wonder what Trainz is going to do now?

They're probably going to continue developing their sim, since the very large Trainz fanbase is predominantly loyal and full of people who, despite the Sim's faults and their grievances with management, want to see it continue.

Whoop, a trailer looks nice, better throw in the towel
 
The expression "talk the talk ... walk the walk" comes to mind.

Interesting that they have started TSW from scratch with no compatibility with anything that has gone before. A bold but potentially risky move. Lets them take all previous errors off the table but also removes all the good stuff too. Everyone will have to rebuild all of their asset collections again. Meanwhile their TS2017 will be running in parallel without any connection possible. Since TS12 and T:ANE can also run in parallel but with the added benefit that the best of TS12 can also be used in T:ANE, I think that's a plus for Trainz.

They also mentioned looking at several simulation engines. Most they said were only good for local simulation whereas a train simulator needs to create a complete world both near and far which is why they settled on the UE4. Being an off-the-shelf solution, I wonder how much they have or even can modify it for train specific simulation demands? With Trainz using their own E2, they have to risk all the development but with the advantage of also being able to customize it exactly as they needed.

Some of the images are quite spectacular but nothing that hasn't been seen before given a completely modern asset. A "DirectX 10 Compatible GPU with 2 GB Video RAM" doesn't appear to be too demanding. If that's all they need, hats off.

Since driving canned routes is only part of the fun, I'm also waiting to see how easy it will be to modify and create new routes, as well as making new assets. Will it be an open world welcoming all who want to add to it or a closed shop?

Will be watching this developing story to see how it pans out. Healthy competition is good and keeps everyone on their toes. :)
 
They're probably going to continue developing their sim, since the very large Trainz fanbase is predominantly loyal and full of people who, despite the Sim's faults and their grievances with management, want to see it continue.

Whoop, a trailer looks nice, better throw in the towel
Define large.
 
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I'm definitely adding TSW to my collection, the CSX looks so great, and the details are awesome.
 
Yeah I agree with you Dave on that one. Their content system is nothing to be proud of either. Seriously makes me frustrated just to get a reskin to work, (Which I have not gotten to happen lol) Much of the reason I love trainz for the simplicity of stuff like this. UE4s editor is downright amazing. Hopefully they will implement a similar spline type system to trainz. Time will tell come february if this game is going to be good or not.
 
Tell me:
Is the surveyor, actually building a route all that difficult to use ?
Will the game require at least hundreds of dollars of payware locos and railcars ?

I once had a dog that had no nose ... How did he smell ? ... Awful !
 
It seems unclear whether TSW will be a railway simulator or follow in the tradition of their present product and just be a railway driving simulator.
 
They have in the past built pretty routes. I built one and enjoyed doing it. Then tried to run two trains on the same track, NO CAN DO. I came back to Trainz.
 
I have been with TS 2016 and previously Railworks for 5 years.

Purchased T:ANE on the 7th August this year.

Neither are perfect and no sim ever will be.

But what I am really enjoying with T:ANE is the drive to commands,
the fact that I can change the weather while on route and the fact
that I can Start or stop an AI at any time, plus one more thing
that I like is being able to jump to any train anywhere on the route
and start driving.

Dave.
 
I honestly can't wait for TSW. Yeah, i'm trying not to expect too much from a pre-alpha game, but this just looks...amazing, better than T:ANE does now, even after a service pack and 4 HotFixes. Being able to walk around comes to mind...it's stuff like this that hasn't been done before, and it makes the game stand out. And hey, if it's not for you, TS2017 is still gonna be supported through TSW's development, and probably even after it's released. I dunno, i'll probably watch the video again at some point, but for now, i'm excited for what it might bring to the table.

And no, i myself is not going to buy the game the moment or day or maybe even the month it comes out. I decided against buying T:ANE early, because i didn't know what to expect, and it's the same with TSW. This is the first time i've ever seen a game this innovative in the train-sim market, and i wanna wait a bit after it comes out to read up on people's thoughts and opinions before getting the game for myself. If i had bought T:ANE when it was first released, i would've sent it back claiming it was a beta version of the game: that's how unfinished and buggy it was. Basically, i don't want to make the same mistake with TSW, if it does turn out to be a failure.

In the end, i'm eager to see what DTG will give us to chew on, but i'm not gonna buy the game on day one due to how poor T:ANE was when it was first released (and still kinda is), for fear of TSW being the same way (even though it probably won't).

I believe the term was a dark, interactive scenery sim.

Oooh i see we have our first hater, huh? We'll save a seat for ya when Tony and his Titanic go under.
 
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In the end, i'm eager to see what DTG will give us to chew on, but i'm not gonna buy the game on day one due to how poor T:ANE was when it was first released (and still kinda is), for fear of TSW being the same way (even though it probably won't).[
careful, that is close to fanboi territory. :eek:

Oooh i see we have our first hater, huh? We'll save a seat for ya when Tony and his Titanic go under.
sigh, only page two and this already? Besides, what's so wrong with "a dark, interactive scenery sim?" Their colours are generally darker, more gritty, there is an interactive element to some of it, there is lots of scenery and it is a sim.
 
The thing that makes me wonder is why they are marketing it as CSX Heavy Haul. Is this going to be the only route included in the sim? I would hope not...
 
TSW looks great. T:ANE looked great in the trailer.

Look at the amount of vertices on those Geeps! If we've got folks here bugging over the low frames with what low-poly content we've got now, I can't wait to hear the cries from the other side when people expect the engine to run on integrated graphics.

To stay on the same level, N3V would be best doing is hiring a set of content creators to create extremely-stunning routes and high-detail content to go with it. What we've got now is great, but everyone's off on their own tangent. No real cooperation for a high-detail route goal, all doing what they wish. Which is how it should be, we have to pay people to stick to the plan. Hobby is just that, if people are paid there's a whole other side to creating. I imagine the move to Unreal will give the TS content creators a broad slap to the face, now they've got the task of pushing the actual engine room and interiors, if they want to keep up. It looks like I'll love TSW for the game, not really from the content creating aspect.

To compete with TS2017, hire a set of dedicated content creators and release regionally-targeted releases with a few medium-sized routes from each (and make it available overseas!).
 
At least unlike TANE with the "target graphics" Photo-Shopped images, that never came to fruition DTG have provided a demo from a working alpha as proof of concept.

As someone who embraces all sims we have to be careful how we discuss a competitor product here so as not to offend our hosts, however I think Tony & co really need to sit up and sniff the air on this one... The deed is done with TANE but for "Next" they need to be considering that same quantum leap, perhaps.

In particular casting off the shackles of backward compatibility but retaining support for and nurturing the legacy product is a very wise move for DTG, obviously Matt Peddlesen couldn't say in as many words but I suspect that was a lesson learned from N3V.

Of course the presentation (from a virtual Marseilles station) was heavily scripted and managed but there was enough there to be very positive. My concerns as Mr. Pragmatic are, 1 x US route is not going to offer global appeal and for the UK we need to see a demo of a HST in the West Country or a Class 37 on a rusty mineral line. And my principal fear is that, although apparently user tools are being provided, these or the utilities to support them will be far beyond the skills or financial ability of the hobby builder producing the odd freeware route. So don't ditch TANE, TS12 or MSTS/ORTS just yet as they might still end up as the go to place for building your own world.
 
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