It's usually around Christmas time that I get the bug to try a train sim (again) .  No idea why it's this time of year, but nonetheless.  I might give Run 8 a go this year.

15 hours ago, nealmac said:

Aye, I have it, and a couple of the expansions. It's pretty good but it gets a bit...samey after a while. I'm guessing TSW does too, but I just thought at least it would be a bit of a change.

Although you will pay the price if you're a fussy driver.

 

These days all I play is Elite Dangerous, my Goflight stuff and all my Controls are sitting in the loft.

I just got burned out with FSX/P3D and the relative lack of progress in the hobby over the years... Oh and the cost, I really don't miss the constant purchasing of addons, I feel sick when I think how much I have wasted over the years on FS9, FSX, P3D and chasing hardware.

Trainz 2019 looks interesting.............

 

2 hours ago, Jude Bradley said:

Although you will pay the price if you're a fussy driver.

 

God thats good

 

although if they can afford to drive a Scania R620 TOPLINE, they could afford to buy a modestly priced train simulator.

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Still not not sure what to go for haha. But it's nice to see all the options in one place.

For train sims I would currently still recommend Train Simulator 2019 because the available selection of addon routes and trains is comparable to FSX. I would suggest waiting for a sale on Steam to get the base package, keep the advanced mode enabled (there is a simplified mode, but it is too boring for me), watch some youtube videos about brake systems, signaling and other stuff. When you are happy with what you see, you can then purchase some routes and more detailed trains. The quality and depth varies, so read reviews on Steam and elsewhere to see what fits your expectations.

Some of the trains have a "TS Pro" badge, those are usually (but not always) of better quality, just like with addon aircraft in flight simulators. One example: The DB BR 101 included in some of the German routes is OK, but on a basic to medium level. You can then buy the DB BR 101 Loco Add-On from virtualRailroads, either on Steam (most convenient; it has the TS Pro badge) or directly from virtualRailroads' shop (manual installation; from the ExpertLine; I think it has more liveries available than the Steam version). Of course for the UK you'll probably want a different locomotive 🙂

ETS/ATS are great, especially with a wheel instead of using a controller.

Hi Folks,

There's always the free option - Open Rails Train Simulator - it's been a labor of love for more than a decade... The game engine isn't as pretty as TSW - but it has far greater depth with a focus on physics and operations... TSW is known for flash - not substance... ORTS has been developed by the community without concern for profit margins or deadlines - it's pretty amazing how far its come... If you like steam locomotives - which is my niche - ORTS has the most complex and realistic steam physics model ever placed in a sim... 

http://www.openrails.org/

 

Some of my modeling efforts in ORTS:

Regards,

Scott

Edited December 18, 20187 yr by scottb613

Thanks Scott, that looks interesting. And a freebie might be a good way to check out the train simming world to see if it's for me or not

6 hours ago, SierraHotel said:

Trainz 2019 looks interesting.............

 

I actually have the previous Trainz, A New Era, but barely use it. What it appears to promise and the actual experience are very far apart, and even the process of purchasing new routes seems very strange and a bit confusing. I don't regret the purchase, as it satisfied my curiosity, but it's not really what I was expecting from the videos at all.

I do note that the new title is using Nvidia Turf-FX, and that adds some very nice graphical touches that would have certainly raised my opinion of the previous title.

4 hours ago, scottb613 said:

There's always the free option - Open Rails Train Simulator - it's been a labor of love for more than a decade... The game engine isn't as pretty as TSW - but it has far greater depth with a focus on physics and operations... TSW is known for flash - not substance... ORTS has been developed by the community without concern for profit margins or deadlines - it's pretty amazing how far its come... If you like steam locomotives - which is my niche - ORTS has the most complex and realistic steam physics model ever placed in a sim... 

http://www.openrails.org/

Ah, I never noticed ORTS. A long time ago I played https://openbve-project.net/ which still seems to be pretty active, too.

20 minutes ago, ThomasAH said:

Ah, I never noticed ORTS. A long time ago I played https://openbve-project.net/ which still seems to be pretty active, too.

Hi Thomas,

Yeah - I've heard good things about that as well - I haven't tried it though...

It's the steam locomotive physics that sucked me in to ORTS... When I'm not here - I'm usually over there... I model on that side of the fence and each steam locomotive is probably 9 or 10 months worth of free and not so free time...

While Erik Cantu kind of faded out over here - I've crossed paths with him with ORTS - where he bring his impressive skills to bear on locomotives and rolling stock...

Here's another one I made:

Regards,
Scott

9 hours ago, Glynn said:

I feel sick when I think how much I have wasted over the years on FS9, FSX, P3D and chasing hardware.

Why feel sick about it when it did give you fun over the years...? You can't expect things to stay fun forever and ever. I spend a LOT of money on various flightsims but I don't feel sick about it at all and I also wouldn't feel sick about it if a new sim would be released tomorrow and I would never ever use any of the old purchases again.

I think that from time to time we all get bored of Flight Sim, i like the addons that give structure, but the end result is that they turn an enjoyable experience into another job.

When i get bored i take a break, play some Forza or go out with my camera, the desire to sim comes back eventually, even if it takes a few months.

34 minutes ago, WotanUK said:

When i get bored i take a break, play some Forza or go out with my camera, the desire to sim comes back eventually, even if it takes a few months.

Yep, this.  I took a break that lasted almost 2 years not that long ago, but eventually the interest ramped back up again and I'm back enjoying semi-regular flights.  Lots of other interests out there to keep me occupied when the sim flying stales a bit.

Back on topic, for some reason the London Underground sim intrigues me.  Not enough yet to actually try it, but I've been tempted.  On the other hand, if someone did a quality sim of Chicago's "L", I'd be first in line.  As a kid growing up in Chicago, I thought a job running the "L" would be the best thing ever.  As an adult, well... I'm still very much a kid.

Scott