Simulators have been part of Microsoft's bread and butter ever since they came into the games market. The Flight Simulator series has been a huge success all around the world and with every release the scenery and dynamics wow its players, and makes them put their hand in their pockets to pay to upgrade their computers just to up the detail settings.
Since Microsoft announced Train Simulator there has been a flurry of activity in online forums and web sites waiting with anticipation for this anoraks wet dream. There have been few Train Simulators on the PC and those that were any good were Japanese, for some reason (BVE for example). As such an anticipated release and it is so large, I have decided to expand my review into several pages, showing more screen shots so you can get a better feel for the game. As far as I know this is the longest most in-depth review of Microsoft Train Simulator on the Net.
The Beginning
Now on to the Review. On opening the game up you are presented with four main options. Introductory Train Ride, Tutorials, Drive a Train, and Load a Saved Activity.
The obviously choice was to start with a tutorial. I decided to start with the electric tutorial. Then went on to complete all the other tutorials. Each tutorial takes you through step by step how to drive the train, and what the gauges and controls are. This made it very easy to get straight into the game with out reading the 90 page manual with came on the CD. The tutorials were both spoken and written which was a good job, since in the steam engine tutorial the noise was too loud to hear the speech. After doing the tutorials several times to get the hang of things, I decided to have a look at some of the activities.
Settle to Carlise
| Location: | Northwestern England |
| Route length: | 72 miles (116 km) |
| Railway, circa 1930: | Midland Railway |
| Player-drivable locomotives: | LNER No. 4472 Flying Scotsman steam locomotive |
This was the route most British train fans were looking forward to. Settle to Carlise was thus the first route I choose.
Built in the 1870s to provide a faster route for the growing Midland railway company's traffic between England and Scotland, the Settle & Carlisle railway ("the S&C") is considered the most dramatic train line in England. The line travels 72 miles through Yorkshire Dales National Park and into the Pennine Chain, skirting Lake District National Park to the west.
The scenery right from the start was brilliant, the stations looked realm the engine looked every bit as real as the real flying Scotsman. I do however thing the speedo on the panel was a bit strange. It had stated in the tutorial that it was only added to help driving the train. In that case, why didn't they add a speedo to the other stream train?
The sound of the train as it pulled out of Settle station is so life like, and I recommend you use a sub woofer to get the most out of the sound. The wheels on the flying Scotsman. moved as they should and the detail surprised me. The coaches running behind clanked as you would expect from a train. I had ten coaches on this first explority run, and getting the Scotsman. moving seemed hard at first. The physics and dynamics with the load seemed to be a bit on the heavy side as it took some time to get the train up to 20 mph.
The screen shots here look a bit grainy, but that's just because its raining, and its hard to tell on these shots.
Later I opted to chose autumn instead of summer, and was surprised to see that the colour of the trees had changed to orange. This game me the thought that KuJu, the people behind the game had done a fantastic job.
Train Simulator includes the entire line from Settle to Carlisle as it was in the late 1920s. You pass through beautiful countryside, where stone walls separate fields of barley, cow pastures, and country lanes. You'll need to skillfully control your use of steam as you climb up to the wild Blea Moor, and then carefully make your way down the grade while keeping your passengers safe and comfortable.
The smoke of coming out of the engine even changed colour depending upon how hot the engine was, and whether the fireman was shoveling coal. Even though you were given instructions on how to be a fireman, I decided to turn automatic fireman on so I could concentrate more on the driving and looking at the scenery.
There are several view points from the flying Scotsman. You can choose to view from the outside at practically any angle, and from the footplate looking out as in the screen shot on the right above. As well as this you can also view as though you are a passenger on the train.
In a few of these screen shots you may have noticed a black box or two. This is the track monitor and the next station stop monitor. These are key to making sure you are keeping to the track speed limit and what the next signal is. This is brilliant and well thought out, can you imagine how difficult it would be to remember all the speed limits and actually spot the signals. I'd be surprised if you could. You can turn this feature off or on as you desire.
The Next station stop monitor tells you how far you are away from the next scheduled stop and when you are supposed to arrive by. This saves you having to look at the timetable all the time which is handy.
Take a good look at the screen shots and you can quite clearly see the detail of this route. I have a fairly powerful computer, an 800Mhz with 256Mb Ram and a Gefore 2 64Mb graphics are, and so the shots are all at maximum detail levels.
Further Screen Shots
North East Corridor
| Location: | Eastern United States: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Washington, D.C. |
| Route length: | 135 miles ( 220 km) |
| Railway: | Amtrak |
| Player-drivable locomotives: | Acela Express trainset and Acela HHP-8 high-speed electric locomotives |
For over 150 years the rails of the Northeast Corridor - which stretches from Boston, Massachusetts, south to Washington, D.C. - have traversed the historic heart of American business, industry, and government.
Today's Northeast Corridor is the home of the Acela Express, the
fastest passenger train service in North America, and the HHP-8
powered Acela Regional service. Using Train Simulator, you'll take
your turn running these high-tech trains between Philadelphia and
Washington D.C., a section of the Corridor that was historically
the domain of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR).
This is one of the easiest routes of the game since the trains are electric and easier to control than the stream ones. The details levels on this route seem far better than that of the Settle to Carlise route with mainly is accountable for the amount of buildings and track side objects. Right from the off here I noticed passing trains riding in the opposite direction, which made the route feel all that bit more realistic. The other routes all have passing trains, but they seem more frequent on this route.
The dual cab, 8,000 hp Acela HHP-8 (sometimes called the HHL, the
manufacturer's abbreviation for "High Horsepower Locomotive")
has by far the highest horsepower of any locomotive in Train Simulator.
In Acela Regional service between Philadelphia and Washington, the
HHP-8 will pull 8 to 10 refurbished Metroliner cars, each of which
is highly detailed.
As you pass under the many bridges and next to the roads you will notice many cars driving along. These even stop for you at crossings and on outside views you can hear the noise of the traffic.
One bad point to mention that I first come across on this route, is the poor placement of some objects. Obviously the majority are fine, but there are occasions where trackside objects appear on the track. I have also noticed that some buildings and trees down the length of the route are not on the ground, but hovering a few meters above the ground. This is not a major mistake, but with good testing these problems should have been found.
Also on a downside, this and most of the other routes suffer from problems while taking the explority activity which allows you to pick starting and ending stations. On certain combinations I have found myself traveling along and then sent straight into a siding which obviously derailed the train. This should never have happened, and it seems the developers failed to set the correct points for the explority activities.
However from views and comments on the Internet I hear that this route is most accurate, and seems to be the favorite of the American train fan. The gauges on this train are most detailed and really clear to read. The gauges all seem accurate, and the sound of the electric locomotives is as good as it gets.
Further Screen Shots
The following shots were taken of the Series 7000 train to show you that you can drive trains from other routes.
The Marias Pass Route
| Location: | Northwestern Montana |
| Route length: | 168 miles (270 kilometers) |
| Railway: | The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company (BNSF) |
| Player-drivable locomotives: | Dash 9-44CW, GP38-2 |
Train Simulator includes the entire BNSF mainline from Shelby to Whitefish, as currently operated by The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company, as well as the 13-mile Kalispell Branch.
You'll work your way west from the rolling prairies of Central Montana past fields of grain and herds of cattle and through several small farm and ranch communities, all the while keeping an eye on the spectacular Montana Rockies rising straight ahead. Along the 84 miles between Shelby and Marias Pass, you'll climb 1,950-feet, but thanks to the efforts of Great Northern's construction crews you'll never exceed a grade of 1.2 percent. The scenery is especially superb throughout the entire run. Because this is a not a passenger run, some of you may get a little bit bored with just running the train looking at the scenery, but you hardened train buffs will love it.
Once you make the long, hard climb to Marias Pass you face the really fun part of the trip: successfully negotiating your train 79 miles down a 1.8 percent grade, losing 2,173 feet of altitude in the process as you pass through towns like Blacktail, Red Eagle, and Columbia Falls. Look off to your right as you pass through Essex (18 miles west of the summit) and you'll see the famous Izaak Walton Inn, a former Great Northern bunk house and maintenance crew point now popular with railfans and travelers.
The Dash 9 is part of the highly reliable and cost-effective line of locomotives descending from the Universal series of locomotives (nicknamed "U-Boats") that first hit the rails as part of the "2nd Generation" diesel era in the early 1960s. The Dash 9 is very well built and you really get the feel of the grunt of the beast when pulling a whole heap of freight along this beautiful route.
The GP38-2 is equally as good as the Dash 9 and well suited to performing switching duties in the freight yard. While not a high-horsepower long-haul specialist like the Dash 9, the GP38-2 continues to serve the railroad as a valuable "jack of all trades."
The cabs of each of the two trains on this route are well detailed and clear to read, but this route suffers from a few minor problems. I myself have not encountered this problem, but many people on the Internet discuss failures on the couplings on this route. It appears that in certain circumstances the coupler tends to break too easily and thus end your run. I'm sure Microsoft will address this in the first patch, should it turn out to be a bug.
Further Screen Shots
Innsbruck - St. Anton
| Location: | Austrian Alps |
| Route length: | 63 Miles |
| Railway: | The Orient Express |
| Player-drivable locomotives: | Golsdorf 330 Steam Locomotive |
The Orient-Express, like its other famous sisterships such as the Blue Train, is still synonymous with luxury, glamor, and adventure. In its heyday of the 1920s and 1930s, the list of passengers read like a Who’s Who of international royalty and celebrities. The Orient-Express still enjoys a fantastic prestige worldwide with its characteristic blue and cream livery, decorated with the two-golden lion monogram.
Microsoft Train Simulator includes the portion of the route from St. Anton and the Arlberg Pass to Innsbruck as it was in the late 1920s. You’ll travel past spectacular alpine peaks and visit beautiful Tyrolean villages in pastoral valleys. The line has been recreated as it was before it was electrified.
The weather effects really stand out on this route, especially when its snowing. The difficulty of driving the Golsdorf 330 Steam Locomotive on this route is hard. The train seems to have a lot of power and can build up speed rapidly, even while pulling a large load.
However when it comes to breaking in wet or dry track conditions the train seems to take an age to slow down. This is probably realistic, although not having driven the train who knows. The cab looks the best out out of the two steam engines in Train Simulator, and they look like they decided not to add a speedo for usability, which is good for authenticity.
On pulling out from stationary it is recommended to sand the track first, since a lot of the activities are in the snow. Again as a beginner I recommend the fireman be on auto. Not having seen the route before it is difficult to know whether the stations are this small. This route and some others suffer from very small platforms when compared to the length of the train. Without any knowledge of this I can not comment on whether its a problem or not.
Just to mention at this point that filling the tender with water can be an especially tricky affair with this and the flying Scotsman. It required the engine to stop exactly in the right position and there is little room for error. This margin for stopping in exactly the right position was probably not enough for the average user.
Like the other routes the Innsbruck - St. Anton route scenery could not be better, and the frame rates only drop a little when getting near densely populated scenery.
Tokyo-Hakone
| Location: | Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefectures, Japan |
| Route length: | 56 miles (88 km) |
| Railway: | Odakyu Electric Railway Co., Ltd. and Hakone Tozan Railway Co., Ltd. |
| Player-drivable locomotives: | 2000 Series and 7000 Series |
Odakyu’s Odawara line runs from bustling Shinjuku station in downtown Tokyo to the city of Odawara. The line is one of the longest private railroad lines in Japan. The Odawara line has become known for connecting Tokyo and Hakone with the luxurious “Romance Car” express service, but it also serves many metropolitan-area business commuters.
The line is famous for its stunning scenery and seasonal foliage. Hakone is a world-famous spa resort with spectacular views of nearby Mt. Fuji. Service from Shinjuku to Hakone-Yumoto began in August 1950. The Hakone Express is now one of the most popular rail excursions in Japan. Train Simulator includes the line from Shinjuku through Odawara to Hakone Yumoto. You’ll travel from downtown Tokyo, through the suburbs, and into the countryside before you start your final climb to Hakone.
You can drive the commuter train (2000 Series), which makes frequent stops throughout the city and suburbs. Or, you can choose the famous Hakone Express, reaching speeds of 68.4 mph (110 km/h) as your passengers enjoy the luxury of the Romance Car. You can see more shots of the series 7000 Tran on page 2 of this review.
A few of the screen shots show what happens when the train derails. In all of the circumstances that I have derailed the train I was either speeding, else the game had pushed me in to a siding in explore mode without me knowing about it. When you crash or derail you are automatically switched into an outside view and then the game ends.
On this route more than the others you will notice traffic queuing at crossings waiting for you to pass. One other thing that is a bit of a disappointment is the lack of people. Yes their are cars and bikes riding on the roads, but the lack of people make this sim feel a bit, well, dead.
Even on the outside views of the train and the internal passenger car views there is no one to be seen. Even in Flight Simulator you can see people flying the planes, why not see the driver when in an outside view, or populate the inside of the train with passengers. I think that Microsoft did want this and I have heard that they did test people in the game, but maybe it lowered the frame rate a bit too much. In that case we should have seen an option to toggle on or off people in the game.
As you can probably guess, this route is one of the most demanding for your graphics card, and may well force you to lower the detail down a tad. I only suffered from the odd sudden stop frame rate problem, where the game would pause for a millisecond then continue.
Further Screen Shots
Constructed in the first decade of the 1900s, the Hisatsu line was the main railroad line in Kagoshima prefecture on the southern Japanese island of Kyushu. This route is more scenic than the previous Japanese route.
Today, the Hisatsu line is used mainly for scenic day trips with trains consisting of one or two cars. Occasionally, historic steam locomotives are used for special excursions. The ability to choose the time of day allow you to ride at night, but remember to turn on the lights!
The section between Yatsushiro and Hitoyoshi is called the River
Line because it runs beside the Kuma river. There are 24 railroad
tunnels in this section of the line. The section between Hitoyoshi
and Yoshimatsu is
called the Mountain Line. Trains climb the steep grade to the mountain
pass (at 1772 feet (540 meters) above sea level) using two switchbacks
and a loop.
“Isaburo/Shinpei,” the sightseeing train, runs on this
section and
stops at viewpoints for sightseeing—it has one of the three
best rail views in Japan. Long station stops allow passengers to
get off the train and explore the surrounding area before reboarding.
The route is a little smaller than the other routes, being only 53 miles long.
That's the end of the reviews of the routes, not to mention my final findings and additional features.
Other features worth a mention
With the addition of a route, and activity editor, this game is complete. Both editors are easy to use after reading the manual, and consulting help. With a bit of trial and error you can be creating your own activities for distribution over the net. There are already a number of web sites providing addons such as locomotives, activities and cars. New routes will fast become available as soon as people get to grips with the editors. As well as the ability to drive a train, you can also opt to sit in the passenger car and watch the scenery as the computer controls the train. This is a good addition for you to get to see the route without having to worry about driving it.
In addition to the normal driving activities Microsoft have included some shunting type activities which allow you to assemble, or split trains and carriages. The activities are so wide ranging in both content and difficulty that they should take quite a while to complete.
The routes themselves are very large, and when new ones appear for download, I'm sure they will take a considerable amount of time to download, which is a downside.
Useful Related Links:
Overall
Microsoft Train Simulator is THE best simulator of its kind. There are already people complaining about the few bugs of the game, and lack of some features. This is the only thing that comes close to driving a real train, and with the ability to add on new routes, trains and activities, I can't see why the complaints are there. It must have taken a considerable amount of research to get this far, and the routes are fantastic. The ability to switch the points and do a bit of shunting can only be the icing on the cake.Its fair to say that the bugs that do exist in the game should have been removed before shipping, and some of them are just stupid, like the flying trees. If anyone had actually gone through the route with their eyes open they would have noticed the problems.
The activities are so brilliant, it just make you want more. I can't wait for some more British routes.