In this next route learning video, we head over to Japan to drive the full length of the Wakayama and Sakurai Line. Along the way, we call at Kaguyama, Unebi.
I've never been able to muster much enthusiasm about trains, but 1 have sympathy for those who do. When I was asked to go and look at Microsoft's Train Simulator, the very words filled me with a kind of quiet dread. How could anyone think about taking a form of transport that is fundamentally boring in the first place, and actually try to simulate that boredom?
Train Simulator Free Play
However, after seeing the sim I wouldn't say I was actually a convert, but I've a little more appreciation for what the thermo-clutching masses are on about. And the fact remains that some people just adore trains -usually quiet men of a certain age who remember when trains were interesting, romantic even, and when a new a la carte menu didn't just mean the same crap as before only with a sprig of parsley on top.
This sim, which seems destined to do for trains what Flight Simulator did for planes, puts you primarily in the role of an engine driver in charge of one of a number of steam, diesel and electric locomotives and allows you to drive them across 600 miles of authentically landscaped real-world routes. Alternatively, you can just take a passenger's eye view and spend the time admiring the digital scenery.You're not going to be driving the 5.15 from Liverpool Street to Southend either, because Microsoft has chosen to go down the more commercially viable 'period* route. This puts you in the driving seat on routes such as The Flying Scotsman from Settle to Carlisle in the 1920s, or a modern-day freight train through the Rocky Mountains.Each train requires a different style of driving, from extending the flange valve and cranking up the ratchet handle on the steam locomotives (which will undoubtedly be the game's strongest selling point), to the random button pushing and dial watching involved in manipulating the current electric beasts. It's every trainspotter's wet dream.
- Train Games are driving and building games where you lay tracks or drive a locomotive. Our amazing train games are like a roller coaster, where you can transport goods and enjoy the scenery. We have a wide selection of the best online train simulator games for kids and adults, too.
- A-Train 9 V4 Japan Rail Simulator adds new features that bring you control from the transport planner level. It's now possible to sort and filter your vehicle by type and group them into color-coded teams. How you use these features is up to the player.
One of the most unique things about the package, and one that will reach deep into the hearts of train enthusiasts everywhere, is the route editor package included with the game, which contains many of the original tools used to create the sim. This will allow you to create your own rail routes and locomotives, plus terraform and decorate the landscape to suit your whims.
There's no doubt that this feature makes the possible scope for TYain Sim huge. Expect to see new routes, locomotives, landscapes and buildings, spreading like Internet wildfire after the game's release this spring. These people are dedicated.
Boring or not, TYain Simulator is breaking new ground for sim games, and if it attracts the same kind of audience as Flight Sim, its success is assured. But let's hope it stops there; a couple of years from now I don't want to be previewing Caravan Sim -all the thrills and spills of open-road caravanning from the comfort of your bedroom...