Microsoft Train Simulator

by Dale Farris, President, Golden Triangle PC Club
August 2001

Game Overview

Microsoft Train Simulator is a new PC simulation game that builds on the success of the many flight simulators, including Microsoft Flight Simulator, that have attracted PC gamers interested in the experience of flying airplanes. Now, Sim enthusiasts can also explore the experience of controlling locomotives.

There is a magic and mystique about trains that is difficult to explain. Trains touch people in many different ways. For some it is awe-inspiring respect they feel when they stand near a rail crossing and feel the earth shake as tons of steel rumble by at over 60 mph. For others it is a historical connection, tying them to a place or an era that the railroads helped shape. Still others marvel at the engineering systems of such machines.

Many people are drawn to the romance of the rails, a means of travel that keeps them close to the earth while sending them to far-away places. Whatever the reason, for nearly 200 years, railroads have captured the hearts and minds of thousands in the U.S., as well as around the world.

Microsoft Train Simulator brings the power and excitement of some of the world's most famous trains to your PC, placing you in the role of engineer with unprecedented realism, exciting real-world rail challenges, and the tools to recreate almost any railroad experience in the world.

In this new Sim, Microsoft has gone to great lengths to design a game that will totally immerse players in controlling various trains that traverse many realistically displayed routes, all the while being responsible for all the train controls.

In designing this super new game, Microsoft has recreated real trains and real routes with authentic landscapes and real-world challenges. All the complex details involved in engineering a real train come to life in this complex, detailed game.

Players take the controls from the engineer's cabin with thousands of tons of freight carried by the engine. Or, you can choose to play the game from the passenger's seat and enjoy the unfolding scenery that realistically simulates a real train moving through the country settings and landscapes built into the game. Also included are different types of engines, including electric, steam, and diesel.

There are literally hundreds of accurately recreated miles of scenery and landscapes, many of which will challenge your expertise and dexterity with the controls in the engineer's cab. Microsoft also worked with railroad companies, such as BNSF and Amtrak, to create authentic trains with realistic performance and sounds, all coded into the game and controlled by the player with the controls in the engineer's cab.

Some of the travel challenges include controlling a train coming down the Rocky Mountains in a snow-storm, as you keep your passengers comfortable while you race to keep on schedule. You can even drive a simulated Orient Express on a typical journey.

Multiple views from inside and outside, and various camera angles from a variety of perspectives are built into the game, including the view of the engineer, passenger, overhead, trackside, and others. You are responsible for managing the train, operating from the cab of nine detailed locomotives with accurate, fully functional gauges and working controls that you manipulate.

These nine realistically modeled locomotives travel various routes in Europe, Asia, and North America, and you can also create your own routes and activities with the included editors and tools.

In addition, you can modify rail routes to suit your own preferences or add houses, train stations, vegetation, new track, and more. With imagination, you can create many diverse adventures that will test operator skills with the controls.

Game Features

Authentically recreated trains, routes and sounds
Nine drivable locomotives including steam, diesel, and electric
Six highly detailed train routes from around the world
Over 600 miles of accurately detailed routes across three continents
Real-world train operation activities from novice to expert
Conditions such as snow, rain and time of day affect your performance
Be the engineer, passenger or watch the action from multiple views
Customize trains and create and share new routes and activities
Realistic experience of rail equipment
Authentic train, route sound recordings of actual equipment and locations
Real-world rail activities
Variety of rail challenges and levels, from easy to hard
Open architecture encourages customization of trains, routes, scenery
Classically designed in the superior "Microsoft Flight Simulator" heritage
Based on unique design to optimize on-the-ground train railroading
Partnerships with leading railroad companies
Real-world simulation of effect of weather on train operations
Watch as real time elapses and effects landscape and scenery
Simulation of grade crossing and traffic interactions
Exchange parts of the game with others
Free-form exploration also possible
Extensive manual (PDF), online help, tutorials help speed the learning curve
Freight and passenger lines are included
Sounds enhance the simulated experience aboard the trains
Sit back and enjoy the ride, or step up the challenge to control the trains

Some Game Concerns

While this very brief overview conveys but the merest of the rich, dynamic nature of this fascinating new simulation, nevertheless there are some key points here that need further discussion. Notice that this new simulation focuses on actual, real-world train operations, and the emphasis is to present situations that require the player to fulfill the role of locomotive engineer.

This means the controls are as realistic as possible, and in addition, as complete as would be seen in an actual locomotive. For anyone with any flight simulator experience, including Microsoft's own Flight Simulator, these gamers have likely become accustomed to the complexity of the controls, and are adjusted to having to learn the controls for the keyboard keys.

In Train Simulator, Microsoft has worked hard to make the initial learning of these many complex controls as easy as possible, including an excellent Keyboard Shortcuts handout and a super summary of the many signals and signs the simulated trains encounter on the various routes. However, novices to simulator games are forewarned that it may take a long time to learn these controls.

Glance down at your computer keyboard. In Train Simulator, nearly ALL these keys, except for the number pad, are used in this game. Only the Q, Tilde, 9, Dash, Equal, Ctrl, Alt, Shift, Caps Lock, and Backspace keys are NOT used singularly as a command, although the Ctrl and the Shift keys are used in conjunction with other keys. So, get ready to spend some major practice and learning time, to get acquainted with what all these keys do in order to quickly enter these various commands when necessary to keep your train on track and on schedule.

In the many simulated routes, as the engineer of the train you will be in complete control of the train as it moves through the selected route. The simulations include realistic weather situations you have to manage, along with all sorts of crossing signals and signs you come across as the train moves across the country. All this is designed on purpose to very closely approximate what a real engineer has to do in real-time in order to maintain control over the train during the route.

While all this may intimidate novice gamers or folks that have never played any PC simulation game before, I think the many gamers with expertise with other Sim games will thoroughly enjoy this super collection of realistic train operations. The highly complex array of numerous keyboard key commands will not intimidate gamers already experienced with this level of complexity in controlling flying airplanes, helicopters, tanks, or other movable objects. Also, with the major interest by so many gamers in flight simulators, I think Microsoft has a great new concept with this Train Simulator program.

If the many included routes in the game are not enough, Microsoft also will be providing new updates to the game at their special Train Simulator web site. Go here to get updates to the game, new routes, patches or fixes.

Basic Functions

Be sure you understand the basics of how this game functions. Also notice the minimum and recommended system configuration requirements listed below. I found this game to be a "resource hog," and I would highly recommend anyone interested in the game to run this on high-end, "gamer PCs," if at all possible.

The idea in Train Simulator is to simulate the actual driving of a train along various routes, and the program further complicates the learning curve with the different types and models of trains. While the keyboard command function does not change from one model to another, the need for various of these commands in the different types of trains will of course vary.

You experience traveling in and driving the train along the route, and as you travel you move through the realistically portrayed landscape and scenery. This affect is heightened by the required 3D video card, which produces the sensation you are actually moving ahead as the surrounding scenery passes by. I thought the attention to the landscape and scenery was a bit rudimentary, and seemed less of an emphasis than the superb production of the trains, the various controls in the different trains, and the managing of the different trains with the keyboard commands.

The sense of movement does add to the overall illusion of moving on the train, which significantly challenges the required 3D card. Again, the more powerful the 3D card, the more likely this part of the game experience will not bog down or crash a system.

The attention to the high level of detail with all the different trains genuinely conveys the experience of actually driving these trains, and the realism realized with these graphics is super.

Once you succeed in completing all the many technical steps with this game, playing the game can indeed be quite fascinating, but equally frustrating. This all boils down to how much free time you have to fully learn and master the many complex controls that drive and manage the trains.

Targeted Customers

With Train Simulator, Microsoft clearly is focusing on the highly unique interests of the many times quirky group of customers referred to as simulator gamers. In my opinion, some of the most complex, difficult games now on the market are the simulator programs that have long since moved beyond the limited definition of being a "game," to being something totally unique. While operating these various simulators may be considered gaming, in actuality I think simulators are designed for folks that are interested in what it is like to actually fly an airplane, or in this case, control and drive a train.

One thing is certain after you have played Train Simulator for any length of time. You will definitely have a different point of view what a train engineer really does all day, unless of course you already are a train engineer. In the case of real engineers, this game will still be just as much of a challenge to learn as those that have never driven a train.

Install and Setup

Be sure you are prepared to support what I consider "high-end" requirements for this game. If you want to speed up the game's performance, and you have the free hard disk space (1.8GB), then load all the files and run the game from your hard disk. With the tremendous complexity in the game's program, and the need to always be processing the screens with the required 3D video card, be prepared for possible glitches and crashing, especially if you have a minimally configured system.

With most other computer simulator games now on the market, those experienced with these high resource demands have long since learned to always load and go with a simulator on as powerful a system as they can afford. In the world of computer games, the simulators are the games that most significantly challenge the hardware capabilities of a computer system.

Concerns Regarding Operations

I found learning the multiple keyboard controls that are used to drive the trains too tedious and complex. However, many experienced simulator gamers will not find learning the controls for Train Simulator to be any more difficult than what they have likely already done many other times with many other simulator games. While sitting back in the passenger role is much easier, this represents a mere fraction of what Train Simulator is really about.

This game will definitely be a hit with model train hobbyists or train aficionados, who I suspect will gladly spend the many hours required to master the complex controls.

Strategy Guide and Secrets

With the complexity of this super new Sim, I think some gamers might find a strategy guide to be helpful. While the guide to Train Simulator is not designed as other game guides that provide a step-by-step walkthrough how to get through the game, in this case the strategy guide will likely prove of benefit in better understanding how this Sim works and how to handle the complex operational controls.

"Microsoft Train Simulator: Sybex Official Strategies & Secrets"
by David Chong, Rick Selby, and Richard Wayne Smith
ISBN: 0-7821-2910-2
June 2001
1st Edition, 320 pages, soft cover
$19.99

Game Price

$54.95

Minimum System Configuration Requirements

Multimedia PC with a Pentium-II 266 MHz or higher processor
4MB 3D video hardware accelerator or better
Windows 95, 98, 98 ME, 2000
(Does NOT support Windows NT)
32MB RAM for Win 95, 98, 98 ME
64MB RAM for Win 2000
500MB free hard disk space (minimum install)
1.8GB free hard disk space (maximum install)
DirectX 7.0a API or higher
DirectX 7.0a or later compatible 4MB video card (800 x 600) (32K colors)
DirectX 7.0a or later compatible sound card with speakers or headphones
4x CD ROM drive
Microsoft mouse or compatible pointing device
Super VGA, 16-bit color monitor (800 x 600)

This system configuration indicates the minimum and recommended hardware and hard disk space requirements. Note especially that this game will NOT run in Windows NT, and also note the relatively steep CPU requirements. Also, as any gamer well knows, playing any computer game requires all other TSR files to be closed, including virus checkers or other utilities designed to work in the background. This train simulator game will significantly stress minimally configured systems, so the more power you have in your entire system, the better this and any PC game will play.

Contact

Order Online at Microsoft Corporation

http://www.shop.microsoft.com

You can also order from other retailers or online vendors.