Biggest appeal is the traction sounds, specifically the EU07 and its derivatives plus the EN57 EMU. But I have to admit, even with the new route section the appeal waned after a few runs.
I think I paid less for SimRail than for a single full price TSW route. The multiplayer is definitely worth a punt, and supporting other developers gives you a warm feeling inside. The philosophy is also different in that they focus heavily on refining one route, and grow it by adding sections via DLC to make a complex network.
Price wise, SR seems the better value at the moment. Perhaps hourly wages are smaller in Poland, perhaps it is easier to develop on Unity? But with a very small catalog of only 2 DLC, the lower total cost doesn't mean much. I'll see for myself how SR is being developed, a proper save feature, a decent single player experience, more varied gameplay with intelligent AI, a simple business model that gives some sense and purpose to your running trains are high on my wishlist for SR to become a true rail transport simulation.
Once you get used to the non-TSW-like control keys (which you can remap), both single and multiplayer are quite immersive. The former will be getting a save feature to make those long scenarios more feasible.
Last time I tried the alpha version it did seem to be working again, perhaps following a silent update. That plus a GUI scenario editor would be a game changer for SimRail. Might give it a whirl later and test to see if the save function is holding up.
14.06 update MULTIPLAYER The departure signal (buzzer) has been synchronised in the EN57. Some fixes have been made regarding the spawning of trains on servers. Optimisation and smoother operation for voice chat. Server optimisation and fixes. STOCK ED250: Straightened the walls of the chassis. Fixed (cut) decals in the EN57-919. Fixed painted texture of TRAXX cab unit. Fixed the texture of the headlights in the EN57. Fixed the binding of the cab light switches in the EU07. Fixed the binding of the cab light switches in Dragon2 for the second cabin. SCENERY The crashing windscreen at some level crossings has been fixed. Corrected an error regarding trains leaving Płyćwia at signals F and G travelling in the wrong direction. DISPTACHER Added separate sound about free track for a train from AI Removed notificitation about leaving game area when leaving CCTV SINGLEPLAYER L: added the ability to set the lights' state in the passenger cars. LUA: added translation options to the PlayAudioClip function. Modernisation of the Krakow scenarios. Missing paper timetables added to Łódź scenarios. OTHER Fixed a bug that caused the Next Signal HUD to be hidden. Tinting and shadowing fixes for cars. Achievement "Hard Journey" fixed – it is now possible to complete it in single-player. S ome textures have been adapted for snow. Small internal bug fixes. The speed of driving on sight has been changed to 40 kph.
Was just over on the SimRail forums and looking at the numbers on the servers, the totals are a little worrying. One of the Polish servers is moderately busy but the International (English) servers only have a tiny handful of players between them right now. I'm just firing the game up but it's to test the SP save, not to do MP. From the list of fixes Denis kindly posted above, it looks as if more SP scenarios might have been updated to work with the Alpha save game.
I think this is my biggest issue with SR at the moment. EN servers are a ghost town. And im on the other side of the pond, which probably doesn’t help as I’m likely playing off peak hours. Run8 “The Depot” server is probably my best bet if I want good train sim multiplayer action. I think for single player, TSW and Derail Valley with probably hold me over for a while, until I can figure out what niche SR fills
To be fair when I looked at Steam DB immediately after there were 354 players shown on SimRail which compared favourably with around 900 for TSW (and a similar number for TSC). So it looks like the balance in Simrail may be shifting towards the SP game. Though I have to report the alpha save game still fails to work with older scenarios.
I wouldn't worry too much about how many people are on, think of them more as a timetable servers where you can jump in and take the place of an AI driver or signalman. If you do see a human player that's cool but it certainly wouldn't deter me from playing if I don't.
Oh definitely. My biggest frustration last night was having started a SP scenario, spent ages trying to recall the cold and dark start procedure for the EN57, to then find it wasn’t one that could be saved! However as you say best just to jump in on a server and see what you can grab. The initial rush after the Lodz release has died down, so pretty much any train should be available to pick from.
