The risk of putting trains into a flightsim is that I expect there’s a lot of flightsimmers that are also train simmers/train nerds (like me) and people will start complaining when they see an AI train going over Marias Pass with an incorrect HP/T ratio, or a locomotive with the wrong horn, or CN locomotives on a CP track etc 😁.

What I’m hoping for one day is that we will have MSTS and it will use the same mp world and us “pilots” will be able to watch the players “drive” their trains and vice versa but yeah in the meantime AI train engineers will do.

2 hours ago, briansommers said:

What I’m hoping for one day is that we will have MSTS and it will use the same mp world and us “pilots” will be able to watch the players “drive” their trains and vice versa but yeah in the meantime AI train engineers will do.

Unfortunately, it is not real in our lives. From satellites we never get so detailed scenery, what si needed for train or car simulator. Scenery from satellites is enough only for flight view from thousands or more feet above terrain, but not lower.

On 8/5/2020 at 7:37 AM, Paladin2005 said:

More seriously: We DONT NEED Trains or cars or whatever. We need well simulated aircraft and weather in a nice looking world and a realistic navigation environment. Thats a flight simulator.

What we don't need are statements like this, that summarily brush aside the interests of other simmers because they don't match your own. As a matter of fact,cars and trains are part of your "nice looking world", which would be less realistic without them. Bare roads and streets? Bare parking lots? Bare railroad yards? Really?

My new computer is arriving tomorrow and I’ve been making a list of some great rr yards to fly over. At least we have nice trains on them. I think someone will eventually get them moving.

On 8/5/2020 at 1:37 PM, Paladin2005 said:

More seriously: We DONT NEED Trains or cars or whatever. We need well simulated aircraft and weather in a nice looking world and a realistic navigation environment. Thats a flight simulator.

Well said , all the other stuff punches the Sim full with not realy needed things that also kills the frames that more needed for flying and smoothness alaround - IMO !

We not need everything in the Sim..

cheers 😉

Taken this train many times to get to work - I'm all set with that - way to expensive also - looks pretty nice actually if trains are your thing

https://live.dovetailgames.com/live/train-sim-world/rushhour?utm_source=social&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=tsw2-rush-hour&utm_term=core-ad-27-aug&fbclid=IwAR1tN3yGj375GmobtBLwgkftMKOUxlRiN4NxkvGOFA684u8tInJEbpPEFIA

 

 

Edited August 31, 20214 yr by Richard Sennett

3 hours ago, briansommers said:

My new computer is arriving tomorrow and I’ve been making a list of some great rr yards to fly over. At least we have nice trains on them. I think someone will eventually get them moving.

Some of the Orbx sceneries (Vancouver, WA forget which of my sims) had very nicely done 3D boxcars with real-world liveries parked about in the local yards, and DD have some nice statics in their Chicago yards as well.

Seems like an opportunity for freeware developers with way more talent than me to use some photos and low poly models to create nice static trains maybe even with realistic liveries (BNSF locos in a BNSF yard, for example)...it does add to the immersion.

I have zero memory of HOW I actually did this but way back when I had hair I created this repaint of a Train Simulator CNW bay window caboose that brought back childhood memories using online photos (incidentally for the train fans among us one of these bay window cabooses in original CNW paint STILL goes past my workplace in Sheboygan!) 🙂

And I do enjoy the motion of the XP11 trains and of course Henrick’s AI ships are amazing!

Steve

https://www.trainsim.com/vbts/tslib.php?searchid=19756704

 

Edited August 31, 20214 yr by Republic DC9

XP11 trains were good. What was even better was their automobile traffic, especially at night. MSFS could take a leaf out of their book for traffic. 

In the time before navaids, airmail flew at night using bonfire beacons. In daytime there were too many paved roads and rivers to identify. Best visual clues were railroad tracks. Muster the trains!

 

On 8/5/2020 at 12:37 PM, Paladin2005 said:

More seriously: We DONT NEED Trains or cars or whatever. We need well simulated aircraft and weather in a nice looking world and a realistic navigation environment. Thats a flight simulator.

Well, the nice world I live in has cars and trains.  When flying VFR it is very useful to see trains and vehicles to help spot tracks and roads.  Moving traffic can often be seen first.  At many airports the traffic makes an approach seem more real, really helps with immersion.

4 hours ago, pmplayer said:

Well said , all the other stuff punches the Sim full with not realy needed things that also kills the frames that more needed for flying and smoothness alaround - IMO !

We not need everything in the Sim..

cheers 😉

You could argue no ground scenery of any kind is required for smooth flight and navigation.  I fly exclusively VFR, so anything you can see in real life that is used for navigation is useful. Trees, towns, roads etc are obviously required.  Trains and vehicles moving can often be seen before the actual road or track.  Many airfields have roads very close to the runways, so moving traffic helps with realism and immersion.

Personally I will happily sacrifice frames for extra immersion.  

We Do need Trains and Automobiles and Ships and Rodents!

15 hours ago, ludekbrno said:

From satellites we never get so detailed scenery, what si needed for train or car simulator. Scenery from satellites is enough only for flight view from thousands or more feet above terrain, but not lower.

Thats wrong. The naked satelite image is barely visible in MSFS. Tons of hi-res, PBR based 3D objects like gras straws, bushes, trees, vegetation, generic but still mostly correct buildings, water surfaces are drawn on top of the aerial image (detected by AI from the image).

I am pretty sure, that MSFS as the best existing digital 3D model of the whole globe (by a large margin), would be a perfect platform to build a train simulator that contains every route globally from the start.

If Asobo and MS are visionary, they can build it. Data for the tracks coming from OpenRailwayMap. The data covers every track and turnout, the gradients and the tunnels and bridges. AI would then allow embeeding the tracks into terrain maintaining the correct gradients and correcting offsets between the track and the terrain by AI generated tunnels, bridges, retaining and breast walls. It would allow for an excellent approximation of the reality on a true global scale.

 

 

Edited September 1, 20214 yr by mrueedi

14 hours ago, pmplayer said:

Well said , all the other stuff punches the Sim full with not realy needed things that also kills the frames that more needed for flying and smoothness alaround - IMO !

You could switch it off. Take that for granted. So whats the problem?