Looking for advice, I am totally new to trains and have no idea. I'm heavily involved in flight simulation, add ons, payware so no stranger to this kind of stuff, configuring, study level etc.. Which simulation to get, TS2022 or TSW2, advantages, disadvantages, why etc etc? Thanks in advance for the help.
Hi samainville, welcome to the TS2022 forum. Firstly might I mention this forum is for TS2022 The TSW2 forum can be found here https://forums.dovetailgames.com/forums/trainsimworld/ As a starter for 10, TS2022 is an older game designed for PC that has been around for years and runs on DX9 TSW2 is newer and runs on later DX versions hence it has better graphics rendition etc and can be played on consoles. It is also aimed towards the more recent end of rail history i.e. No Steam locos. TS2022 has been around for years and though maybe less glossy in the graphics area, has a wealth of routes / locos / rollingstock from all around the world. There are also a load of 3rd party developers that support and build stock for TS2022 e.g. Armstrong Powerhouse, Digital Traction, Steam Sounds Supreme, Virtual Railroads ....... the list is endless You can run anything from 1920's german steam locos to the latest japanese Hitachi 800 series. In summary, In my own opinion TS2022 is more of a real life simulation, you can run 500 miles non stop from London Waterloo - Penzance - 5Hrs. TSW2 is more of a game (achieving goals etc.) I believe the longest run is around 45 mins. I would suggest have a browse on Youtube etc. where there is a myriad of videos / tutorials / streams of both TS2022 & TSW2 I personally only use TS2022 and found it during Covid lockdown last year. It has gone a long way to keeping me sane - (although my bank disagrees, it can cost you a an arm and a leg if you are not careful) Hope this helps
Thank you so much, sounds like what I was looking for, a simulation not a game. Yes our sanity, Xplane 11 did that for me, I've gone around the whole planet, started in Ottawa Ontario Canada and now sitting in New Zealand, should be returning home by the spring..LOL I'm retired I have lot's of time on my hands. Cheers
I have TSW (not TSW2- don't get me started) but haven't used it much so I'll let someone else talk that up in detail- it's certainly prettier and makes much better use of new hardware. Train Simulator's big advantage is its huge choice of DLC- remember there's at least as much available from third parties as you can see in Steam and there's even free content not to mention the oppoortunity to create your own if you have the nerve. If you want to drive steam trains it's the only choice (for the moment) and the fact that there are a few Canadian routes might interest you. Occasionally the forums on Steam are visited by trolls or the generally clueless boggling at the thousands you need to spend, "to get the whole game" (must be overdue a thread on this topic actually) but being into flight sim's I'm sure you realize that's bunk. If you just want to dip a toe in the water TS is much the cheaper option. A few of the routes can be bought without having to own TS first such as The West Somerset Railway or Faversham High Speed (there are others that I will have forgotten) and I believe these can be added to just as the full-fat version of TS can. Alternatively you might find an older edition of TS available as a Steam key on another website- every edition of TS has at least three routes and an older one may have a bundle that interests you more than the current offering. A couple even have routes that are no longer available any other way. Older editions usually go for pocket money prices and installing through Steam ensures you get automatic updates to the latest version of the core program so compatibility with newer DLC need not be a concern. Having one edition of TS does not preclude you from buying up any or every other edition that you can get a Steam key for. On the down side TS is based on a proprietary game engine that is over ten years old and pretty hopeless when it comes to making efficient use of newer hardware. It can be unstable for some (famous last words but it's been pretty reliable for me on a few different PCs) and even downright flakey with the habit of damaging its own installation to the point where it won't even start up though you'll find the Steam forums a ready source of advice in case of trouble. There has been some development, notably TS was 32 bit until three or four years ago with the introduction of a 64 bit .exe going commendably smoothly and there are third party add-ons that offer some improvement, but it's never going to look as good as or run as well as newer software because big updates would be hideously difficult to implement without breaking compatibility with older DLC that some users have spent hundreds or even thousands on and, naturally, want to keep using. It should be noted that the quality of DLC does vary a lot especially with age- naturally some DLC is as old as TS itself. Old doesn't necessarily mean bad though and usually means cheap but you do need to bear it in mind. As Craigie-C says there are many videos on line that will help you make an informed choice. I'd steer you towards those posted by PTGRail and Dovetail's own Matt Peddlesden (and I'd say the same if you looking for video of TSW BTW). https://steamcommunity.com/app/24010/discussions/3/4015478340400996980/ Hope this is helpful.
