Hello, I wasn't sure where to post this but I am new to this forum, I have the Rail Driver system that I got several years ago along with some Simulation programs. They are old ones and I am sure since the mid 2000 years, a lot has changed. I love the new train sim programs that are out here now but confused on what it needed to run them, not PC wise, but just to run the programs in general. Am I reading this right that you need an account just to even run the Train Simulation programs? Back in the days when I got my system, I think I had the Microsoft Train sim program, cannot find now, and another one but they ran as is on my PC, didn't have to log in anywhere to play the programs. Nowadays, do these new programs need some sort of account somewhere to start and run the programs? you can't just click on the program to start it and have fun driving trains as is? Like I said, I am new to this and confused reading different things about these newer programs. I just bought the TS 2019 as it was 32 and 64 bit and currently my system is only 32 bit now, but will be updating later on. Thank you Frank
I assume that what you are questioning here is the Steam client (there are other clients out there but TSxx and TSW uses this one). Essentially it's an app that runs on your computer that has two basic roles (There are more things it can do but these are the basic and relevant for you.). First thing it does is that it updates your games automatically in the background so you don't have to worry about it. Second thing it does is that check and manages your game licenses. Basically you don't have a CD key but an account that contains your licenses to various games. You can have a shortcut on your desktop which launches the game as you are used to so you don't have to worry about Steam interface much if you don't want to. You also don't need internet connection to launch the game every time but only to launch it for the first time because the client can check your license even offline after the first launch.
Hello, that's what I needed, there is so much info out there and was a bit confusing. I understand the reasoning behind it now and why and makes sense. So I purchased the 2019 version, hard copy, online and should have it in a few days, so it won't come with the key needed to run it? I will need to go online to get the key for it? Reading what you stated, if I have to go online, it will be only for the first time I launch it and should be good after that then. I'm not at all into online gaming so its mostly offline fun but is nice that updates can be done to stay up to date which I'll probably do for sure, and add-ons as well. Thank you for clarifying this for me.
When you buy a hard copy, you will get a key to register the game to an account. I believe that the installer will just walk you through everything but it's been a while since I've installed a Steam protected game from a DVD. It was once and I just bought digital versions of games since then.
I got my sealed DVD version of TS-2019 today in the mail. Popped it into the drive and it installed the steam stuff and in the process of updating, then created account and logged in. So after all this, why don't I see my TS2019 showing up anywhere, on the account or my desktop? I was kind of shocked when I put in my key that it stated that it was now tied to my software and that I needed to log in to play it every time? Where on the CD is the program itself? This is upsetting, I buy the program, TS-2019 for a good amount of money and cannot get it to come up at all. Has to be somewhere on the CD.
There is an auto login option somewhere. In the Steam client, it should show under library tab with a green "play" button instead on a blue "install" one. Actual game files should be under C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\RailWorks unless you've specified something else. edit: It should look something like this.
Ok, I see where it is now. When I did the install, it stated it would put the icon on the desktop. But after trying a few times and finally getting into Steam, all I saw was install, no play button, which would have indicated it would have started the 2019 that I bought and was on this CD but all that was there on the steam screen was install. So I thought it had to finish installing what was on the CD but guess it installed the 2020 version which I didn't want and bought the 2019 version for the Raildriver unit support and function. So am I stuck with the 2020 version now? My pc is not fully up to par with all the new features and detail so I wanted to keep the version at a somewhat lower standard for the time being until I upgraded my graphics card. I just want to play with the program and drive trains around. How far back can I go until I find a TS year that doesn't require a log in? I have an old version of Trainz RR sim 2008 that runs fine and its just the program, no log ins, etc.
I think that the Train simulator was always a Steam game. Train simulator has an update of the core software every year which is free and automatic so what you have is a 2020 core with 2019 routes which is probably what you've wanted.
So it automatically gave me the 2020 because it saw I had 2019 and updated it then? And that makes sense, since my previous one I had years ago was the Trainz one.
