TRAINZ Railroad Simulator 2006
All right … All right &hellip I'll stop playing with the game and
write the review!
If you (or someone you know) has ever loved trains, then you or they most likely
still do, and TRAINZ Railroad Simulator 2006 will re-awaken that love.
This is a really huge item (I think it would be an insult to call it a game),
where you can ride many pre-constructed routes, assemble your own idea of rolling
stock (engines, passenger cars, freight cars), play with the weather and time of day.
You can control the speed of the trains, start and stop them, switch them around
the tracks, and even run more than one at once. The box bills it as "the most realistic
train simulaion ever" … which doesn't seem far fetched.
The simulator provides for several viewpoints: inside the driver's cab, tracking along
right outside the train, in some cases riding inside of a passenger car, or set up
any senic vantage point you would like. You can move around at will, change the angle and
height of your eyeball and which car in a train you are tracking. Sounds accompany the
trains, with the hum of diesel engines, the click of the cars on the tracks, the chug
of steam locomotives. Of course, you can blow the whistle.
Most of the routes which are provided have been lovingly created, with trees, buildings,
mountains, valleys, streams, bridges, tunnels - you name it. The autos on the roads also
move along, and they stop at grade crossings when the train goes by. The attention to
"physics" pays off, the speeds are realistic (and going too fast CAN result in a
derailment!), and effects such as wheel slippage and coupler breakage can also occur
during advanced operation.
For really, really serious railroaders, you can set up schedules, make manifests of
goods to be picked up and delivered, and run the train from the cab with all the
controls appropriate to the engine you have selected, if the simplified mode is
just not right for you. However, you do not get grease on your hands in either case.
I tried out the construction mode, and was quickly able to make a simple, home
style 'layout' - a double track loop with some switches, and assembled two trains
to run in opposite directions on the tracks.
This simulator comes with a huge number of 'assets' which you can use to create your
own routes, and with an internet connection, you can access tens of thousands more.
It does prefer a reasonably hefty PC to run on, as it is constructing the 3D
scenery on the fly, and its operation can be a bit quirky - expect to spend some time
reading the manual and learning all the features.
Unlike physical model trains, you can fit the entire continent on the hard drive in
your computer, and you don't have to move the tracks out of the living room when
company comes. A perfect gift for that special parent or child, after you get your own
copy, of course.
The one disappointment for me was that the routes were European and Australian, with
a few from Canada, but essentially none from the US.
I would really have liked to ride some route I was already
familiar with. I guess I will have to build it myself (and then I can share it with
the rest of the community). The websites for Merscom,
Auran and Virtual Railroader
will point you at other entheusiasts.
The 'companion' simulator, TRAINZ Driver Edition has a some of the
routes, but does not have the constrution facility. For only 10 bucks, you can have some
very nice railroading on your machine when you are not working.
Reviewed by: Lou - 11/06
Ages: All