Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I have used Trainz since the 2006 incarnation and while it has some rough edges and somewhat arcane maintenance and updating issues, the behavior of the basic simulator and the richness of detail in the included railroad layouts is superb. This is easily the most accurately detailed Railroad simulator out there today. You can operate as either a real railroad engineer with nearly complete behavioral fidelity on both electric and steam trains or as a model railroader using a basic DCC potentiometer-like control. The rolling stock is highly detailed. The factories at which you load or deliver goods are detailed and animated to give a real operational feel to the tasks you are performing. The game comes with a great set of railroad system maps which are representative of the cottage industry that exists supporting this product. There are people out there going to great lengths to provide highly detailed working railroad layouts for this engine and some of the best are included in this edition, from backwoods narrow gauge working railroads to High Speed futuristic passenger railroads.
I think what I love the most is the freight railroads because of the planning you have to do to put together a set of consists from multiple sources and then deliver those goods to multiple destinations having to work out not only all the switching to put your loads together but also the ordering of the consists for delivery. It can be challenging to get the cars in the right order and the cab pointed in the right direction to accomplish a "scenario." The game comes with a number of layouts (Routes) each of which can contain multiple planned scenarios that will vary in difficulty. And, of course, you can create your own scenarios or just drive around exploring the detailed countryside.
I've used the Microsoft product and while enjoyable it is not as richly detailed or complex in operation as Trainz. And the Auran software folks have done a good job improving the product over time such that they never intentionally make your previous customizations obsolete - the product has been great for maintaining backward compatibility through multiple generations.
And this latest incarnation has the best tree simulations! The trees are articulate - they bend and twist as if in the wind. Much better than previous generations and competitor products. I think the scaling of the trees may be off (too large) in some of the layouts but overall the fact that the trees are not static as you drive by or look around helps with the authentic feel of this simulation.
PROs: Richly detailed, highly authentic looking and acting, with multiple layouts. Well-supported by 3rd party vendors and an active user community supported by Auran, the game manufacturer, to give you the ability to operate a massive model railroad or simulate working on a real one.
CONs: The Content Manager used to update and add layouts and components to the simulator has always seemed to be a bit arcane to me. I've slowly gotten used to it and I like the new automated update notification - but the fact that the Update notification occurs outside the Content Manager just seems to make the content management process seem even more arcane. The good news is that you don't have to do any of it for the game to work! Another con is the deliberately slowed down feed of updates. Auran wants you to subscribe to priority download service to get full high speed access - it's not mandatory but without it your downloads will be slow - on the order of 30kbits/second or somewhere close to that. I can't fault them too much for that because I imagine that a high fidelity railroad simulator like this doesn't have the business volume to support a simulator as refined and accurate as this.
Summary: If you really like detail in a railroad simulator or are a model railroading buff who never had the time build the layout you really wanted then you'll love this simulator. You'll get some layouts in this that are more richly detailed and operational than any model railroad I've ever seen. And if you're looking to see what it's like to manage 100s of tons of metal in motion and have to deal with conflicting traffic on busy mainlines and in complex switchyards then this is the simulator for you! It gets better and better every year - in large part due to the loyal users who keep adding content to what is a great railroad simulation engine!
Click Here to see more reviews about: Trainz Simulator 2010, Engineers Edition Deluxe, US Edition
If you love trains, then Trainz Engineers Edition Deluxe for PC is for you! Starting with the interface which has been thoroughly overhauled to provide a more user-friendly and intuitive interface. Along with the usability improvements, content creators can also create their own menu items for their routes and sessions. Along with speed improvements to get you moving faster than ever, a large variety of upgraded content and many graphic enhancements, Trainz Simulator 2010 features: SpeedTree - Highly detailed trees breathe new life into the routes and bring the rail sim environments to life. New and upgraded routes are available with upgraded content specific to TS2010 and including SpeedTree throughout. Developed specifically to run in 'Native' mode, these provide the best Trainz experience ever. If you are not sure where to start, then check out the new tutorials. Among the topics included are: DCC Control, Industries, Junctions, Signalling, CAB Control of Diesel, Electric and Steam Trains, Passenger Stations and more. The Trainz interface has been thoroughly overhauled to provide a more user-friendly and intuitive interface. Along with the usability improvements, content creators can also create their own menu items for their routes and sessions. Backwards compatible with TS2009 content - Trainz Simulator 2010 will work out of the box with all content created for TS2009.New routes, more details, faster trains and a better interface:
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