I just don't get how to play this game. It's got a ton of scenarios career modes. I started with Acedemy - I'm in the UK so I went with a little DMU thing (class 170). Got a bit bored with that as the acedemy sessions are crushingly easy and take longer to load than play. So I got to Go Drive or something. The Class 170 isn't featured in a scenario, I was dumped into a Waterloo to Portsmouth train (class 444) that I had no idea how to get moving. After a few minutes I gave up. I want more from this game and it feels like I'm missing something vital about using the software.
Try reading the manuals first... that would be a good starting point... Every class / type of train is different and so are the controls... Have a look on the forums, theresa ton of info and others I'm sure will chime in also... Eric
I have to concur with the RTFM comments but the OP may be surprised to learn that there are manuals because they're not that obvious. Look in your RailWorks folder and you'll find a Manuals folder divided further into languages- you can safely delete those for languages you don't need though they don't take up crazy room. Of course having the manual and TS open on the same system can be awkward so I'd suggest you get them on your 'phone, tablet or anything else with a screen that you can keep handy. You will find that, as well as TS, most if not all DLC will come with eight or ten pages of PDF and it's usually worth at least skim reading especially for loco's and trains which, although the HUD standardises the controls to some extent, can have details specific to them which you need to know about. You can download the manual for TS or a DLC from its page in the Steam store.
Welcome to train simming The main thing to realise that this isn't a "game" as such, in that there's no start point, no end point and no "progression" as you might see in other types of game The advice of "find the manuals" is a good one because it will tell you how to get the 444 going but that's only because the Portsmouth trains do have a couple of extra keys you need to know about. For the most part driving is the same in all diesels and pretty much all the electrics too depending on whether youve got integrated accelerator / brakes or separate Not knowing which routes and locos you have it's harder to say which would be the easiest "in" for you, but it can be very enjoyable finding out how the various locos drive and so on Good luck
I understand perfectly craker, I bought Railworks 3 on a disc all those years ago. after an hour I gave up. 3 months later I gave it another try, and now I am almost 80 and doing routes and scenarios. So my advice is stick with it, it is a wonderful train simulator.
It's almost the difference between reading a book and watching a film, TS sparks the old imagination back up. I find myself daydreaming consists, routes to drive, locomotives to build, how I can improve the experience further. Scenarios are great because you get to play the simulation as someone else intends, and often you'll experience something you wouldn't necessarily create yourself. If you are handy with code, or 3d modelling, you can even scratchbuild your own assets for stock or routes. Even down to the audio used. It's my most played game. I thought 300+ hours in Skyrim was a lot but TS rips that to shreds with a whopping 1955 hours.
Just to chime in on this, I have a ton of DLC and have hardly played yet, as I want to enjoy the playground of the various places I can go and also have a schedule for streaming, Youtube, etc. when I get going rather than having things on pause for a while. I think I have succeeded in preventing this by now... Note that all locos have similar keyboard controls, with unique ones based on the type of train (diesel, electric, steam). Therefore, the various brakes (train, loco, dynamic) are the same controls, though some again may behave differently. Trains of a similar type do have their differences, but the core concept is the same if you can master one of that type. You want to play the tutorials pertaining to a train of each type, then find a train of that type and try a scenario using that for more of a challenge. However, as noted, read the manuals. They are at, from your program files folder (likely different name outside of Win10), Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\RailWorks\Manuals. I have personally put all of my manuals into a free 5 GB iCloud storage space and utilize that for reading on the iPad, but will be printing out certain parts of them for reference as well.
