Nice, concise video demonstration: for US based virtual railroading, still the standard Lots of features not available elsewhere, and still no proper web shop allowing you to purchase more than one item at a time, nor Paypal support
Run8 fans are insane in their evangelism. It doesn't matter what you ask for, they'll recommend Run8.
Run 8 is great but several drawbacks... First already mentioned, their e-commerce system is out in the dark ages. One item at a time in the basket (so if buying from outside the US you pay a currency exchange fee on each transaction). A limited time window to download the item you purchased, with the onus on the player to keep a backup. No customer account page to double check what you own and what you don't. The developer has outdaed security certification on some of the files resulting in Windws throwing a wobbly when you download and try to install. File management is not exactly seamless though at least now there is a (sort of) updater which will grab the latest files. But typically most of the content is still sold as for V2 which can mean having to run the original installer to get it to show up, then the updater again. Graphically it's somewhere about MSTS in 2003... And it's not cheap, to assemble all the route, loco and stock packs. However that said, it's an absolutely brilliant railroading experience, the massive SoCal route spans from Seligman all the way to LA and Fresno. The SE Florida/Georgia route is getting pretty big too. Your railroad so you can just drive end to end, or use one of the preset scenarios with trains and cars seeded at various locations. You can do industry runs, dropping cars off at various spurs to load and unload, collecting several hours or even in game days later to form up into outgoing manifests. SoCal has two working hump yards at Barstow and West Colton. So if you can get past the initial hurdles it's a very good game.
Run8 got another extension this week: Fresno to Modesto through California's Central Valley. From Bakersfield towards Stockton on both BNSF and UP main lines. "The new route includes over 250 miles of track and industries. A new M&ET MP15. Several yards and four new Amtrak stops and some with new stations." Plus another update of the base simulation, now at v18, with lots of new features: Read all about Run8 here: Train Simulator World by Run 8 - We put the TRAIN back in Train Simulator (run8studios.com) Also, since there are (documented) interfaces, external applications controlling or extending the simulation have become available: "Run 8 Towers" "Go back in time when each interlocking was controlled by an individual tower. Run 8 Towers simulates a US&S Model 14 electro-pneumatic interlocking machine to control the switch and signals on Run 8 V3s Pittsburgh route. Run 8 Towers is designed to have each tower manned by a friend where you will each coordinate which trains are coming and relay that information to the next tower. Towers “C” and “ALTO” even have CTC Machines! You can throw switches, signals, add/remove blocking devices, add Rusty Rail tags, Time out signals and much more." Obviously, best suited for multiplayer, one of the strengths of this simulation: Run 8 Towers – railcoder And last but not least, "External Locomotive Display" External Locomotive Display (ELD) is a custom-built solution that utilizes Run 8’s UDP data to recreate a fully functional and accurate SDIS screen. Designed for enthusiasts looking to enhance their Run 8 experience, ELD allows for a dedicated monitor setup to replicate the real-world locomotive environment. It’s an ideal tool for anyone dreaming of a true-to-life control stand setup, bringing an added layer of realism to their setup. ELD is built with meticulous attention to detail, adhering to General Electric’s real-world standards for locomotive displays. Some of the current and upcoming features include: – End of Train Device (EOT) Integration – Manually input the EOT ID and pair it with your locomotive. Receive an audible emergency tone if your EOT goes into emergency. – Measured Mile – Slow Speed Control – Precision speed adjustments at low speeds. – Screen Controls – Adjust screen brightness and configure your screens as you would in a real locomotive. – Traction Motor Cutout – Distance Counter Setup – And more! Currently, ELD only supports General Electric (GE) locomotive screens. However, an Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD) variant may be considered for future development." An external MFD for enthousiasts building their own control stands with a dedicated small PC connected to the screens: External Locomotive Display – railcoder
Because it's good, doesn't have the flood of bugs TSW has, and delivers what it promises. It lets you be a real railroad engineer in a realistic open world network, and your locos and trains act as close to real life as possible. People are happy with that, and it seems you have a problem with people praising quality stuff, be it AP or Run8. Deal with it I won't take "insane" as an insult, as it's only coming from someone permanently making unjustified snarky one-liner claims.
Run8 devs know their stuff, don't run around in circles around heaps of bugs collected over years of making false promises, and don't do livestreams in cat ear headphones. Of course Run8 is not without its flaws, there still are gaps in the network they somehow seem reluctant to close, and some older rolling stock could use an update. It is a more serious simulation, while TSW more and more seems to be degrading into a game to give thumbstick warriors a break from shooting baddies, zombies, aliens or whatever. Like most of the kind, it gets expensive soon but newly acquired rolling stock isn't limited to routes and timetables like in TSW.
My point is that they'll recommend it with no regard to whether or not the person they're recommending it to is interested in modern American freight.
Really looking at getting into Run8. I've been running TSW, RRO, Railroader, Derail Valley and want to get a more "into" bigger freight jobs, especially multiplayer with more variety. It has some things the others don't. It's multiplayer and more "realistic" physics unlike TSW. It's modern unlike RRO. There's more variety of tracks unlike Rairoader. There's a lot of variety of stock unlike DV. Just wondering how "interactive" the servers are. Is anyone on and do they communicate? Also the learning curve looks pretty steep without a lot of instructions so looks like it'll be lots of Youtube videos. Any suggestions? The things it's lacking that the others have is some sort of economy or tracking to "add up" things done in game. I don't see any big organizations other multiplayer games have or "cash" or anything. The ability to go just about ANYWHERE (instead of just back and forth o a few miles sounds great, but if it's too open and "sandbox" without more content and structure it seems kinda...empty? As I said that's where normally there are multiplayer orgs to put more content and structure into a game "Tonight we're going to run a convoy here" or "This week/month we're trying to gather X amount of tons of resources for the challenge goal" Maybe I'm just not seeing the MU content that would fill that HUGE world?
Warren VanRoss' channel has very good introduction and gameplay videos: https://www.youtube.com/@WarrenVanRoss/videos For multiplayer servers I suggest check in with The Depot website. When you load a fully populated World Save, you'll get your hands full with dozens to hundreds of trains all over the network. Put Otto the Auto Dispatcher at work, pick a train for yourself and enjoy the action. Like with all more serious simulations, there is a learning curve. And acquiring all the routes and rolling stock isn't cheap either, but ask any model railroader, and you'll find that virtual railroading is the cheaper option.
Ok I'll give it a look. I don't have a spare room, let alone the warehouse required to do all you can do on a video game in real life. =-) There is an old retired judge down the street though that DOES have an old factory he converted into a "train museum." Even does tours sometimes for the schoolkids.
Just be aware there is a fairly steep learning curve, particularly key commands which are totally divorced from how the other sims do it (Ctrl - F11 to get in the cab). However the quick start up by clicking on the front loco of your train is handy. Also there’s no real objectives unless you decide to do the Industry sub game which can be quite fascinating. So no AP, no achievements or anything like that.
Are the keybinds customizable? The other thing not clear from the videos is if you can just jump into a train and do a run, or does every train have to be spawned individually on the whole map to populate the world? I guess is it more like "Free Roam" in TSW where you can pop into a populated world... or is it more like "Scenario Editor" where you start with nothing and have to program every train?
I believe so, but once you start altering one... TBH after a while you do start to remember them. In fact coming back to TSC or TSW after a period of time in Run 8 I keep accidentally hitting + or - for the throttle rather than A and D!
You can change key assignments. I like Farming Simulator the best, ASDW for moving, arrow keys for looking, independent of each other.
I mean... I usually use the arrow keys for movement in games and that leaves the ASDF open for other stuff like the usual "W/S" for the Reverser and "A/D" fr the throttle.
The SoCal bit you get standard looks pretty bland (not the game, just because from experience I know it's accurately depicting the Barstow area which is very flat and boring desert.) I do get that it's flatter and simpler for beginners so it's a good choice for the "newbie" map area and there's a lot of miles there. However, I have the Tehachapi in TSC and that's pretty cool so if it's similar in Run 8 that could be cool. Cajon Pass is next door, and Roseville is basically the Donner Pass route from TSC it looks like (Reno to Roseville) Those are a lot more interesting with their grades and scenery. (TSC honestly does abetter job of simulating freight than TSW in my book. You don't just stop in the middle of the mainline at the end of a run) They seem to be of similar map texture/quality. (TSC and Run 8) Beyond the physics being improved, and you can walk around like TSW, but what else sets Run 8 apart to invest in all that new content? Is there anything added from multiplayer online servers? Not to just throw another game in the mix, but I really do like the shunting bit in Railroader. It does "hold your hand" a bit more, which I kinda enjoy. Gives you some tags to take generated cars to instead of having to spawn in your own. But Railroader is still just one rail line, so after awhile it's kinda nice to get a chance of scenery!
Well to me it's mainly the industry game. You can spawn in manifests for the various "local" runs and then progressively work these along to the various industry sidings. Of course for the Bakersfield area you really need the Arvin/Oak Creek branches and the Trona Railway add on to get the most out of the industry side. Think the Buttonwillow branch is included with the default SoCal stuff. Of course it can get quite expensive adding all the bits and at the outset you will have a lot of default Run 8 boxcars as placeholders until you acquire the various wagon packs. However there is a certain satisfaction in having a continuous route over 500 miles (600 if you add the Modesto section recently released) to run across.
I did see the Trona route looks neat. It's fairly short and quiet which is appealing. I generally like locals and shorter runs. Yes it can be neat to see a massive 14,000 ton consist but it's a lot more satisfying to drop off a couple cars at several locals. That's what I dig about Railroader. Also some interesting terrain, scenery and more "lively" trackside animation (traffic, people, buildings in cities/towns, bridges and winding trackage, etc) The straight shot desert drives for hundreds of miles with little variety is...meh. As I said though, Mojave from the vids looks decent over to Bakersfield (if it's like TSC) and Trona goes off Mojave too so that's connect. Roseville doesn't connect yet, but I figure eventually they'll make the part between Bakersfield and Roseville.
Roseville is okay but the terrain textures palette is a bit off, doesn’t really capture the rugged feel of climbing through the Sierra Nevada.
Best physics in any train sim, you have to be very careful with the long heavy trains, being aware of slack, gradients, different braking effects etc. You really do feel you're dealing with a lot of weight/momentum in this sim. Even the graphics are good enough, the weather and lighting can look very nice indeed. Unlimited gameplay, random nature of AI gives the sim an added dimension of quality. MP if you want as well. Save game works a treat. The Pittsburgh route + coal branch is great fun, so much to do and the graphics are a step up from the earlier releases I reckon. And another great thing with this sim is the performance. Even with hundreds of trains I still get a constant 60fps with an old PC. Nothing worse in simming than a jittery fps.
I may pick it up this weekend. Hate to have to put in too much setup work during the week with other stuff to do. Will prolly take a but to get into. Is there a lot of work to set up AI trains, or can you just load a "timetable/session" that loads them all in for you? I'm guessing when you save in single player, it'll just start up where you left off, AI trains and all? Any suggestions on multiplayer servers? I'm guessing MP servers have AI in by default.
It is rather confusing at first, takes a while to get used to it because it's quite complex. No tutorials in the sim, but plenty on YT or take a look here https://www.thedepotserver.com/ Still discovering new things myself having owned it for a good few years now. However, it is definitely worth it if you're into ultra realistic US freight ops.
Ok gave it a run this weekend. Took a bit of setup tweaking. Definitely not user friendly! It's not bad. The sandbox thing is both a curse and a blessing. Ran a manifest from Barstow to Bakersfield. Holy LOVE are those corners tight around Tehachapi and beyond! I can definitely see the appeal of the wide variety of "real work" shunting and locals. Gotta look into finding a good group to do online sessions with. I think that's where this game could really shine. Also looking at Roseville and the NY expansions. I'm kind of putting it (in my mind) in the TSC category of train sim rather than TSW. I get that it has more sophisticated physics (some), but I think the signals and systems are what sets it apart, not the trains and such themselves. Pretty basic graphics, you aren't as "hands on" in the cab, etc like TSW would be. Yes it's realistic but you're still hitting buttons, not moving the throttle levers and brakes and such. So it still "feels" like it's more of an open ended sandbox TSC with a full rail network to work on. All in all, well worth the purchase =-)
The "auto dispatcher" is a bit finicky and unreliable, but if you do it yourself it works fine. There's a LOT more content on the Run 8 maps compared to TSW or TSC. The sheer number of sidings to work is really amazing. There are some direct parallels to compare... Pitsburgh is the same as the "Horseshoe Curve" on TSW/TSC. The Tehechapi section on Mojave is the same as Tehechapi on TSC. Roseville is the same as Donner Pass on TSC. Cajon Pass is the same on all three. Run 8 is quite a bit steeper learning curve, but there's a lot more to "do" as long as you don't care about "points" or "xp." It's weird... some stuff like the foliage isn't done as well (especially compared to TSW) but there are whole long branch lines that aren't in the other games, and in TSW especially (which has zero shunting or even lets you pull off mainlines to deliver cargo) you also get more actual track for your money...albeit not as detailed as I said. You can tell they focus on operations and not scenery, but it's not unplayable, just... sparse. Lots of reused building assets. Ground textures are kinda plain. On the other hand, San Bernadino in the Run 8 version is almost all the tracks between SBD and Los Angeles. 300+ industries modeled and hundreds of miles of track in a whole network. It's just 5 guys doing the whole game I think too (except for one third party company that does a couple maps) It's kind of impressive, but I can see the tradeoff. It can be deeper play levels... or eye candy. It's kinda nice having all of them to be fair depending on what I want to do. They're sort of on a spectrum from "prettiest" (looks good, least to do) to "grittiest" (most to do, least graphics)
Can be, but check your train symbol routings using this handy little tool, may be some issue https://symboleditor.highballrun8.com/
I heard about this game a little while back, but wasn’t a major hit with only being a small start up. So seeing this today gives me delight in how things have changed. Unfortunately I don’t have access to the game, but from what I have heard it’s quite something. More and more people are becoming aware of this new simulator so are starting to play, most coming from TSW. Some great comments from a few of you here too, I’m sure it will be helpful to anyone interested in Run 8.
As a US freight fan , I have a few questions since I am considering to buy RUN 8 . I hear a lot about the ''best physics'' of any train simulator. by the term ''physics'' do we mean everything about the locomotive and the whole consist? For example , is the power application as in real life? the braking throughout a big consist? Most important for me ,do the locomotives behave based on horsepower / tractive effort output in real life? Also , as of sounds and especially engine sounds , are they good? Because in some videos of SD40-2 i have heard again the default kuju engine sounds which is horrible. in other videos there are other engine sounds , while still better , are not so close again to the real thing (are there any mods?)
Not sure what you're using from "real life" to compare to. I don't drive trains for a living, but I grew up around them rolling through town all my life, so on that basis they seem accurate. At least the ones I've experienced in the Base Pack I have (don't have the DLC yet) The physics are the best I've seen in a video game... and since that's all you can compare to since it IS a video game.. then they're the best available outside of a real train. Engine power up delay, airbrake delays, horsepower, slippage, car/coupler slack, car sounds (not just bogies, but cargo moving, metal bowing, etc) It's the best I've seen in a game. So if you're on the fence... not sure why? It's the best you're going to get. It's this... or nothing since nothing better exists yet. Nor is on the horizon really. (Century of Steam maybe for steam content, but that won't be modern freight so they're not in competition and that's a year or two out anyway) The only thing CLOSE might be Derail Valley. But again, that's Eastern Europe, short line stuff with a little bit of make believe in there (although it's still fun) The only thing you could be "waiting on" is whether you want to spend money to play a realistic train sim. That I can't answer for you.
Is right and why I too am interested in this title. I have heard so much praise from user such as your self. It’s seem what is important to uses of a game has been considered when developing the title. About having faith in a developer that has limited resources yet does all it can to build something amazing for fans. I don’t have money but if I did I buy it just to support them. I always say if we want something then we have to make it happen. And I have to say you are and it was such a delight reading your comment. Thank you✌
Well I have nothing to do with it. I just support them by buying and playing it. But I will say that for a team of I think 5 guys that might not even be full time, they do a LOT with a little. You GET more too. For example the base game is hundreds of miles of track with 500+ local industries and a built in AI train spawner with multiplayer support. All for about TSC level of scenery and superior rolling stock. That's just a good deal. Even the other DLC is a decent price (it's all $40 for full routes, $20 for partial add ons and loco packs) Donner Pass, Cajon Pass and Horseshoe Curve are all about the same price as their equivalents in TSC or TSW and are far superior in content. There are simply huge areas NOT modeled in those DLC (the whole branch line down to Holidaysburg on Horseshoe Curve for example) and there's more to simply DO on those maps. You don't just get 5 or 6 scenarios, or a timetable that doesn't really end anywhere specific (ie stops in the middle of the mainline) You actually take individual cars to individual industries, then shuttle those empties back to the depots, then you can assemble trains to put send back out, etc It's a depth that other games just don't have. I understand if you don't have a PC to run it. That sucks. It's not very resource intensive though, so you don't need a high end "gaming computer." That's one of the bonuses over having lower-resolution graphics unlike say TSW. It's very low requirements so it runs a lot better on a wider variety of computers. Sadly you won't see it on consoles though, for the same reason you won't see it on Steam. It's just a small team that doesn't have the time to make it "compliant" with so many different systems. They focus on making more content and bug-fixing that content (unlike some other groups) so most things just work. I'll take simplified TSC-style graphics if it comes with more content and better physics. =-) To be clear, I still tool around on TSW and TSC. There are simply things you don't get in Run 8 (non-US content for starters!) but it's really worth the investment. If you can find a community (discord, server, etc) it's a friendly group who are willing to help people learn the ropes as the "real world" setting with authentic physics signals and ops can be a steep learning curve.
Hey I wanted to respond in more depth but I am completely overwhelmed at the moment. I am sorry for not responding in more detail as I feel your comments deserve one. I will keep your post in mind tho and will endeavour to get back. TSLP✌
If any of you get Run 8 and need help, I'm learning what I can myself with the base game still. Found a couple good teachers and a couple servers so I'll help what I can. It's not a bad community, but it is still fairly small but growing and it's a steep learning curve so it's easy to get frustrated at the beginning.
Hey again thank you, it maybe some time before I get with this generation. Ie a PC. My son is getting tech savvy so I will at some point get involved with the game and community. I have heard that it can be as you say, but I’ll try get to grips when I get my hands on it all. And just quickly I wanted to say thank you for your detailed response I agree and something I found very annoying about TSW in that there’s not much for hard core fan of real world immersion by the Jobs they do, not necessarily graphics based like TSW5. TSW5 does what I need to fair, it’s fairly simple but can get more complex with Euro units. UK and US Locos and units I’m fine with Even understand all the safety systems etc. Nearly every route I will get Platinum if using on board safety systems. Yet Run 8 adds more real work immersion so hence Run 8 is vastly superior on that front but also very complicated. Why I think TSW5 on consoles is the right marketing place and not to complicated, where as TSC is for PC yet I’m not sure if that adds any more complexity than what TSW5 does. PC games I feel are for more complex demanding games where on consoles they are less complex so it appeals to the young audience. Hopefully I move up market soon. Again thank you so much for understanding and getting back to me. As I say I feel you deserve a response for how enjoyable and helpful your comments are. Until next time Have fun. TSLP✌.
