I've been recently thinking of playing a train simulator and as I'm completely new to the area, I'll need some advice. I did a small research and I can see that there are two major positions on the market. Train Simulator 2017 and Trainz: A New Era. Problem is that on Steam and Metacritic they both receive mixed or bad reviews and I don't want to spent money on something I'm going to play for one evening and then delete it from my hard drive forever. Last train simulation gps fleet tracking game with good or excellent reviews I saw, was Microsoft Train Simulator, but it's been released over a decade ago. I don't have to play something very new, especially my hardware is not-the-newest MacBook Pro (mid-2012, i7-3520M @2.9GHz, 8 GB RAM and Intel HD 4000), but running also Windows 10 via BootCamp. For some reason I can't see previous editions of Train Simulator availabile for buying and Wikipedia says there was a game every year recently. I'd be grateful if you can recommend me something with short sentence of explanation to justify the choice.
The current version of DTG's train simulator is TS2020. You'll find it on steam. Train simulator's tend to get mixed reviews because none are perfect, all have good and bad points, and a lot seem to be bought by gamers who have no simulator experience or no real interest in trains, so they get judged by arcade/console standards. I love TS2020, as I can get all the content that interests me and I like the driving experience, but others will have a different view. My advice is to just get one and stick with it so you get to know its strengths and weaknesses.
I guess it depends on what you're looking for. TS has much better driving simulation than Trainz as well as more prototypical routes based on real locations. However if you're looking to build your own worlds, I'd definitely suggest Trainz, as their world builder is the best I've seen in any train sim.
If you like trains, like - like like trains... like driving them, hearing them and the sheer vast sea of options then TS2020 all the way If you like simply watching trains, from a semi considerable distance then Trainz
I'd choose TS 2020 for sure. I've had it since 2014, and love it. The physics are good, the modeling is good, and its just fun.
Trains is to trains what lego is to housebuilding... Has a lot of things that TSx can't do for various reasons but in the end still looks a bit... pony TSx has the biggest selection of routes, locos etc that I've seen, but is built on an old game engine so can often seem limited in scope, the editor is "finicky" but with third party freeware, payware and subware theres endless scenarios out there. TSW is the new kid on the block, wouldn't run on your kit but has the best graphics, but is restricted to DTG only when it comes to routes and consists.
If you're looking for realism TS20 is a much better choice. I had Trainz for a bit but didn't really enjoy it. The physics aren't too realistic and it feels more like a game and less like a simulator to me.
Each year DTG updates the Program that runs Train Simulator - we are currently on TS2020 and next September it will be updated to TS2021. You can buy Train Simulator 2020 from Steam, DTG and a number of gaming places along with Amazon. DTG releases the new program along with three routes a UK, US & German are the favourites https://store.steampowered.com/app/24010/Train_Simulator_2020/ Don't buy it now unless you see it in a Sale - both DTG and Steam have them thru the year and the next should be over Christmas. The program update that comes out is Free but it does not contain any routes or stock this is so any problems reported to DTG are on the latest version of the software and each year the core program has new features. In TS2019 we got 64bit for the first time but the option to run 32bit is still there. If you purchased an Earlier version then the program would be updated automatically to TS2020 but it must be new as you have a Steam Key that can only be used once - a second hand disk won't work You do need a Steam Client as the main Game files and any updates are distributed automatically via Steam Each version of Train Simulator has brought new routes and Stock for people to run and it is all backwards compatible so anything purchased will always run in whatever version of the game is current. I started with Railworks/TS2012 and each year the program has been updated for free There is a large amount of third party providers binging new content to the game in the form of locos and routes. Like MSTS there is a large amount of Freeware available from places like UKTS and Railworks America On Steam is the Workshop where routes and Scenarios are available for Free. I started with Trainz 2006 and then got TRZ 2009 but I swapped to Train Simulator 2012 and have not looked back This is what is available for the game just from DTG and Partners via Steam https://store.steampowered.com/search/?term=24010 Peter
I have both, Train Simulator is far superior. i bought Trainz New Era when it came out, it was only half finished, i persivered with it for 2 years waiting for updates. then they brought out a new version for which they expected customers to pay again. I have not bought anything from them since.
I have Trainz 12 in my steam library but I never really liked it much. The time it took to redraw the scene every time I switched views would drive me nuts and kill the realism for me. There were some nice features like the way the industries work but overall I didn't enjoy driving the trains that much. At that time I found Train Simulator (started with v2013) ran much better as it wouldn't have to redraw everything every time a view changed. I also thought it looked better and the driving interface is quite simple, intuitive, and easy to use. Recently I've been playing TSW as it looks nicer again but I have a better PC I can run it on now. I realise graphics isn't everything but for me it's a large part and why I could never bring myself to get Trainz: a new era, as to me all the screenshots I've seen of it look ghastly. This is just a personal opinion, of course.
I've been playing train simulators since the ancient MSTS.I've bought various Trainz versions hoping I would like a newer version.But I just could never get to like Trainz .TS 2020,while it's not perfect , is the way to go in my opinion.
If you honestly believe either, you are either delusional or woefully uninformed. Locomotive adons that worked in the 2019 version no longer work in 2020 (work perfectly but are invisible or produce "out of memory" or "runtime140.dll" errors), and how on earth can you clain that RW has more freeware then Trainz? Go to the Trainz DLS, you'll find HUNDREDS for free locomotive, routes etc. And thats just the official DLS, disregarding all of the other sites.
So because an older loco won't work on Your Computer that means TS2020 is broke. Most people are playing this game everyday without a problem How do you know it's not a problem with Your Computer? Tell us what the add-on is and other people can try it And there are Hundreds of Free items on UKTS, Railworks America, Rail-Sim.de etc
Has the Trainz downloader (or whatever they call it) been fixed? I removed Trainz from my computer several years ago for two reasons: 1) it always struck me as more of a model railroad simulator (consider the fact that the building blocks of a route are called boards) and 2) the downloader was much too frustrating.
I certainly would go for TS over Trainz. I purchased Trainz a new era, mainly as I wanted the ECML route which is extensive and is in the BR period. However it seemed to contain three sessions. I tried to find information about how to create your own sessions but I could find very little. When I found some information and tried making a suggestion it was so slow and long winded I gave up. The scenario editor is so much easier to use on TS1 although not as powerful as Trainz. The graphics are much better though.
Trainz 2019 Positives 1. World Builder 2. Stability 3. Good Updates Negatives 1. Realistic models Train Simulator 2020 Positives 1. Models 2. Driving Simulator 3. Realism These are just somethings I have thought about as I have played with these simulators. Train Simulator has a lot more realism because of the engine used in the game. I had a lot of criticism of Train Simulator in the pass but with some stability improvements and other things added its just a lot better and is actually closer to Flight Simulator X as far as a simulator then Trainz based on realism. Realism of the models and the routes and the controls. but if you want to build routes I think Trainz is one of the best. If Train Simulator can make the World builder a little better then it will have passed Trainz no question. Thanks Keith
I too have had Trainz in the past. I loved the world builder and would waste away hours after hours in it just making beautiful places. But as a train driving sim it is not that good and not very accurate. DTG TrainSim is by far the best for accurate maps and driving experiences.
