I would like to draw the attention of railway transport enthusiasts to the premiere release on the Steam platform of the simulator-training project "ZDSimulator". https://store.steampowered.com/app/3381120/ZDSimulator/ The project began in 2010 and was actively used in the training of drivers in various locomotive depots. By modern standards, the project can be considered outdated in terms of graphics, but it implements a fairly accurate locomotive control system, a realistic physical model of train movement (train composition as one physical unit, dynamics in the train (tension, compression, bouncing, free movement of one unit of the composition in relation to another are not implemented), and interesting mechanics of emergency situations and malfunctions. I recommend everyone who is interested to try it today. The existing scenario companies have always been recreated in real time and are long (you should be prepared for scenarios lasting 3-8 hours, some runs took up to 12 hours of real time). According to available information, the team is currently working on creating a new ZDSimulator on the Unity engine.
That looks quite interesting and nice price, too. My only caveat is whether the locos have been modified so the controls etc. are shown in English rather than Cyrillic, which is the bane of the Ukrainian and Russian stuff in other sims. Secondary concern, not knowing how long the routes are, is if you can save a run in progress or is it like Zusi and SimRail in that respect. But for just over half the price of a mediocre TSW DLC, this looks like it might be worth a punt.
The previous version of the simulator (55.008) did not provide the ability to save the scenario (saves were not played properly). Saving worked correctly only in free ride mode, which is a very big problem. Before the release premiere, the developers mentioned preparing manuals, but I do not know whether this was done or not, and it is also not known whether English localization is supported. I expected a higher quality release. I hoped that the new version would receive updated models of rolling stock of higher quality. I was very upset that the simulator did not receive sound improvements and does not support the TWS sound mod. This is very bad. I was horrified by the news about limited modding. After all, only due to community members, such an outdated project continued to stay afloat. I was infuriated that locomotives that were developed more than 10 years ago and have long been in use by simmers did not receive any improvements and are presented on the platform as a paid add-on. My expectations from the release were not met!
No manuals, no sound, no mouse control (you have to figure out all keyboard shortcuts yourself and remember them). Refunded after an hour
There is a manual available on the Steam store page, which includes keyboard shortcuts and a section on troubleshooting sound issues. It recommends reducing hardware sound acceleration. Reviews are mostly negative, mainly complaints about the amount of content compared to a version available on some website. It's a pass from me, given it's age and price
