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.
Given the fact that now we have the huge and connected map it is worth doing. The word "world" in the title is more proper for SimRail rather than for TSW ). In Simrail you can implement and feel fast trains like "Pendolino", while in TSW they look ridiculous due to short routes.
Steam Workshop for Lua scenarios is now available for betatesting. To participate please switch to "next" branch, and join this group: https://steamcommunity.com/groups/simrailworkshop Workshop upload tool is available through in-game "Editor" menu.
This would make more sense if they had introduced a GUI driven scenario editor first. However it will be interesting to see what those skilled in LUA can do, also let’s hope they are written in a format compatible with the alpha save feature.
Some stations that will appear in the next Simrail DLC. Łódź Chojny - a junction point for Łódź Widzew, Łódź Olechów and Łódź Kaliska routes that celebrates 122nd birthday this year. It has 4 platforms, 6 main tracks and in the old days - it was the most important station in Łódź.
It's time for Łódź Lublinek– a railway station located in the south-western part of Łódź, on line no. 14 (Łódź Kaliska – Zduńska Wola). It mainly serves regional and suburban trains, providing fast connections to the city center and Łódź's Airport by utilizing 2 platforms and 5 tracks.
Not sure what happened to the Searchlight US route, seems as dead as the Class 104 DMU pack for TSW Peak Forest. And this new route, or route extension whichever it is doesn’t look like it will bring much new. Same double or multiple track main line, relatively flat and straight running. I guess Poland doesn’t have much in the way of hill or mountain scenery but they could do a route in the more interesting terrain. And where are the diesel locos and multiple units for something different to do, along with advancing the fledgling save game for single player. I looked on there yesterday evening and even the Polish server was only half full with drivers, less for signallers and INT1 for English language was down to single digit numbers.
I liked Simrail but I don't like the routes. Double track is often straight and not so hilly. So you get bored. Good way to sleep at night I have noticed Lol. For me, single track has a lot of curves and hilly terrain is so much more fun. As is the case in much of northern Sweden.
I have so far resisted. Got well into German stuff a good while so not averse to non UK trains but something tells me I won't spend very long in Simrail if I get it....
Seems like some devs in that group are more focused on making TSC locos again than developing for Simrail right now, also apparently the CP and KCS merger threw a wrench into their plans IIRC from what Woody said on the TSC discord in the past. It still in development, but we don't know how far long its at or when we'll see any updates for it......
One should wonder if any but the busiest USA routes would make good DLC for SimRail's multiplayer oriented game. Dispatching long stretches of single track CTC with slow freight trains? No switching industries? Unconvinced this route extension is a compulsory purchase for me, as it essentially is more of the same without any real challenge. So far, SimRail's lack of a fully fledged single player mode with sensible AI and a fail safe Save function kept me from playing the game much. SimRail isn't yet what TSW should have been ... Going over my Steam wish list, it seems like Train Planet is stillborn, or at least kept in cryogenic suspension. No updates, no webpage with a roadmap, no news whatsoever? I play and enjoy RailRoader, Run8 and TSC more, and must find back that removable HDD with OpenRails again, now version 1.6 is coming.
The Run 8 approach to US railroading is still the best one and even they realised that a decent SP game is absolutely key to a good player experience. The industry sub game is unsurpassed. Something like Kansas City to St Louis via both Sedalia and the River Sub could work in SimRail but then it is so long just going to get frustrating if you end up having to drive the same section over and over. Even worse than constantly going through Zawierce on the Polish route. And I have a feeling they enhanced the Polish route timetable anyway to provide more trains to go round.
Jan 2024 they say this They said this Nov 2024 EN: At what stage of work are the foreign routes? EN: After the release of the full version of the game, we will publish information on the additions that are being made, but work is still ongoing. But the result after 9 month. Just quit, No information at all. The only thing you will know from them, is that they are expanding the Polish part bit by bit. So in 20 years then maybe the entire Polish network will be in Simrail For me 2 thing is interesting with this simulator now 1: Train editor. This could do this simulator really big in whole world. (if not to hard to work with) 2: Foreign routes. The US route and the German route.
what about entering the console market, the holy grail and fountain of fortune for any self respecting game studio?
Having finished the TSW Monthly Mastery I fired up SimRail last night. The actual tactile driving experience is still very good and IMHO the EU07 etc. slightly beat the JT 86 and 87 for enjoyment factor. However the same chestnut of driving in MP reared its head. Picked a run I thought I could finish in the time I had, but approaching Lodz getting repeated signal checks (signalboxes actually under AI) so I had to abort. Now as discussed in the main TSW forum, I’m all for random delays and emergent gameplay… when you can save your progress and come back. But in this instance, with the wife breathing down my neck wanting on the PC I had to throw my arms up in the air and quit. Also is it me, but have there been some graphics changes since I was last on the game a couple of months ago? Everything looked a bit sparkly particularly the trees. Playing around with settings and the various post processing options didn’t seem to help. And while the Polish No.1 server was fairly well populated, Int 1 was fairly quiet and not just English speaking either.
