Non-train enthusiasts may want to play before buying...
Written: Apr 12 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Highly accurate simulation, Challenging, open architecture
Cons: Long install, crashes, activity editor difficult to use
The Bottom Line: A good first attempt marred by bugs, crashes and non-support for included editors. Microsoft rushed it a bit.
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| narenji's Full Review: Train Simulator for Windows |
I have always loved trains... When I was young, I lived in India where trains play a vital role in transporting people around the country. My grandfather's house was close to the tracks, and I've been inside many train engines as they waited to get to the station. Thus began my fascination with trains and how they work. Surely Microsoft would have made this simulation earlier, but in the US, the interest in trains isn't nearly as strong as in Europe and Japan.
I agonized for a few months before I bought MS Train Simulator, because it was priced at $50, and the price didn't budge for at least 6 months. Finally the price was reduced to $20 at a local store, and I couldn't resist. Although it is very good for a first generation Train Sim, it has the usual Microsoft bugs.
I brought it home to find two discs with game information. The installer informed me that I would need 1.8GB to install the whole game or about 500 MB for the smallest installation. I chose the larger installation, and I was waiting for quite a while for it to finish. My DVD drive is slower than most dedicated CD ROM drives, so that might be a factor.
GRAPHICS:
Train Simulator (TS) has very good graphics, but requires a powerful machine for best results. My computer is an AMD 1.0Ghz with 256 mb ram, and 32 mb N Vidia video card. I think even more video memory would really make the game run smoothly. That said, the game runs smoothly in most situations, unless you're running a custom activity or custom route. Its as if the game is better at executing those routes and activities that were made by Microsoft, not ones that were altered. I get more crashes on Custom routes and activities. Even changing an activity slightly (like adding an extra engine to a set of cars) makes the program more unstable. This forces me to save the activity progress more often so I don't have to start over again.
Graphically, the trains have very good detail, but the landscape could use some help. The terrain sometimes even covers railroad tracks in the distance, but the game will correct this error as you get closer to the area. Signals are hard to see from a distance, no matter how you set up your graphics options. The rain and fog effects are very well done. The light level outside changes according to the time of day. Other trains on tracks and surroundings still maintain a good level of detail. The level of detail on steam engines is very impressive- even the color of the smoke changes like it does in real-life engines. At night, headlight lighting is dynamic, and actually lights up the track ahead. The trains follow the tracks accurately, and changes in elevations are apparent.
The graphic detail is so high that the inside of passenger coaches are full done, and they're even visible from the outside. Developers chose not to show actual people inside or outside the trains to save memory. Though that would be more realistic, I fear to think of how much memory that would necessitate. I feel that the graphics are fine, Microsoft may just want to fine tune some errors.
SOUND:
This is another area where Microsoft went for maximum accuracy. Surely this requires some memory resources as well. Almost everything has appropriate sound effects, and they sound pretty realistic, though I don't have first-hand experience with many of the trains or locomotives. The sound of trains moving on tracks changes with speed, the type of surface, and weather. The sound of the engine also changes. Even the cars that follow the locomotives have their own unique sounds. Traveling through the countryside also brings ambient sounds appropriate with the time and surrounding.
Sometimes there are some sound errors. For example, when you have brought a train to a stop from a high speed, you might still hear the sound a train produces when it's moving even when it isn't. I don't know if this is an actual bug or just the game running out of usable ram. The sound effects in all engines are especially well done.
CONTROLS:
TS has more controls than you can keep track of. I've been playing the game for about two months, and I'm still nervous about going to the full controls (I'm still using Simple controls, which automates many of the train functions for you). You can also choose to turn derailments on or off (I play with them off, because some trains will derail easily). There is a guide to the controls of all three types of locomotives, but you can never memorize all the controls. There are about 5 different views as you drive the train, and adjustments are possible to each view.
TS also includes a full complement of helper windows which give you information about various aspects of running the train or activity. My pet peeve is the Train monitor window which only provides information about 1 upcoming signal. At some of the higher speed tracks, a signal could change from clear (green) to approach (yellow) to stop (red) within a matter of .5 mi, which is nearly not enough distance to stop a train running at 100 mph. Even emergency braking may not be strong enough. When you pass a red light, the activity automatically quits.
With the myriad of controls, especially in the steam locomotive, its hard to fathom how TS expects one gamer to control all aspects of the engine when there's two usually two people controlling a steam engine. Thus, it's a bit too easy to be unsuccessful at an activity, and TS doesn't provide a way to start where you left off unless you saved the activity progress yourself. I guess its warranted cause the activity usually ends when you do something really serious. It can also end when you have an equipment failure, such as a broken coupler, which can happen randomly.
OVERALL:MS TS is a good first attempt at a Train Simulator. Microsoft's own Flight Simulator wasn't bar none its first year. I fully expect TS to improve into a great train sim, but its still remains very playable in its current form as long as you have a powerful machine. I imagine the game would crash even more on machines slower than mine. It can be addicting and time-consuming because of the long activities. TS doesn't come with any way to speed up time so that you can go further in the activity quicker (maybe something like Sim City).
TS also includes some extensive activity and route editors, but provides no instructions as to how to use them well. It provides only vague directions, and the editors don't always work well. They are definitely not meant for novices, because they are completely non-intuitive unlike other Microsoft products like Word. Many people have been successful at creating new locomotives, trains and routes, but they seem to have used other software to get to their goals. If Microsoft provided proper support for its editors, and fixed the bugs in the game, it could have released a very well polished 1st generation TS, but I think they were just greedy for the money that the game might generate.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
narenji
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Location: Glendora, CA
Reviews written: 99
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