Tr**n S*m 2020

What is the definition of SIMULATION surely it's not just driving a train, that's too boring for many Trainzers.

I recently downloaded a superb route and session:
Dearnby & District: UK 1950s - 1960s Mainline, Branchline & Narrow Gauge v2.0 and the accompanying session Dearnby & District 1950s - 1960s v2.0 Trainspotter session which is a portal spawning session allowing train-hopping or just watching things go by. This session contains about 20 drivers each going about their business. Five or six of them are pilots giving you aerial views over the layout. This is what I call SIMULATION.

I think it is fair to say that there is room for more than one railway simulator where there are marked differences in their strengths and weaknesses.

Ken

The core argument seems to be the old - simulation versus game. When Tony needed more revenue to fund advancements he had to add "game" features. A better database, more accurate engine performance, etc were not the market of the day.. In other words, expand his market. Personally, I have no idea if an engine has accurate performance. Most "gamers" could also care less. So, without going through a menu of differentiation between games and simulation he chose a game approach and he is still in business. A top notch choo-choo simulator would have landed him in bankruptcy court. The exact same strategy preceded his with Sir Paul at DTG. He was faced with the same dilemma. Simulation=bankruptcy or gaming to survive. I was upset and left DTG only to be eventually faced with it again at N3V.

There are quite good simulators on the market but they are for aircraft. Here the market is mainly "upscale customers" who, in many cases, are pilots. Lockheed Martin jumped into the void left by Microsoft (being refilled) with P3D, a top-of-the-line simulator. The same level of simulation of railways would cost a fortune. Lockheed Martin had the cash, Tony did not.

A few weeks ago I reinstalled P3D after some years of not using it. The evolution was overwhelming. I was far behind a moving target. Obviously I was faced with some time to catch-up. I was also faced with spending money. My flight controls were old and the new stuff was expensive. I was in the HD area of video, these guys were in the latest ultra-definition stuff with multiple monitors displaying the entire cockpit in one go. Shaders were old stuff. The new things - I never heard of. I packed my ancient control yoke and pedals and returned to the less complex world of Trainz.