Is Train Simulator 2013 appropriate for a beginner?

[ewsg]

Hello,

I'm very interested in to start playing a train simulator. Do you think that Train Simulator 2013 (former Railworks) is a good choice, or Trainz Simulator 12, from NV3/Auran, is better/more easy?

Thanks in advance for any help.

[isoc]

I don't have Trainz, but I think TS2013 is appropriate for a beginner. If you have never used a train simulator before, be prepared for a bit of "discovery."

The harder part comes in using the editors, which you may never need to or want to do.

- Ted

[Bananarama]

Railworks (RW) works fine for the beginner, but there's a few oddities that put some off.

However, if you're looking for something fun there isn't much out there that's better than Trainz. Easy to learn and operate, and there's tons of downloads available - over 10 years worth.

I'm partial to RW, but if this is your introduction to train simming, then Trainz is probably the better choice of what's available today.

[hminky]

Trainz 12 is on sale:

http://forums.auran.com/trainz/conte...Y-75-OFF-SALE!

I have them all and they all do different things.

They are all fun!!!

Harold

Buy Trainz 12 for the upcoming Reading and Northern:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0CX...2&feature=plcp

[sniper297]

I haven't played with Railworks for a couple of years, been playing with Trainz all this time. Two objections to Trainz for a beginner,

1,

Specification

Minimum Specification
OS: Windows XP SP3
Memory: 1GB
Graphics: nVidia GeForce 7200
Processor: Pentium D 3.4GHz
Hard Drive: 16GB Free Space


Recomended Specification
OS: Windows Vista
Memory: 2GB
Graphics: nVidia GeForce 8800
Processor: Core 2 Duo
Hard Drive: 16GB Free Space

I'd go with the recommended as a minimum, I have the minimum Pentium D 3.4 and meet or exceed the recommended specs for all the other hardware, including a solid state drive, but on my system it runs like a 3 legged turtle.

2, over half the stuff you download needs some kind of repair to make it work, especially if it was built for older versions. Again I haven't tried Railworks in a couple of years, but last time I looked nearly everything you downloaded worked out of the box. That might or might not be true for the latest versions.

Couple of obsolete versions have playable demos so you can try before you buy;

http://rail-simulator.en.softonic.com/

http://download.cnet.com/Trainz-demo...-10246407.html

Both look a lot better than the old demos now, but they'll give you an idea of the flavor of the two games.

[ewsg]

Thank you all for all your suggestions and kindness. I'll take a look, but am very inclined to Trainz, now.

[sniper297]

If you can afford it and have the disk space buy them both, after playing for a few months toss the one you like least in the dump. Can't build a 4x8 HO scale layout with 1 simple trainset for less than $200 these days, so buying both train simulators is actually pretty cheap.

[HighSpeedRail]

..

[OTTODAD]

I switched to RailWorks which I found much more human-friendly.

Apart from having reversed the MSTS A & D keys, I have reversed back in the TS-2013 InputMappers, it uses most of the Keys MSTS uses so all my programmed with them X-Key pads and my Raildriver can use them for both MSTS and TS-2013 !

One of the reasons why I do not like these locos which have special for them InputMappers with changed and added keyboard keys functions, like the J.T. Voyager !

O t t o

[hminky]

I would suggest buying both, but keep in mind the option of waiting until there is a sale on so you're not throwing too much money at the one you get less use out of. The next time there is almost definitely going to be a good deal on TS2013 on the Steam Store is probably going to be in December, or possibly around the weekend of 'Black Friday' in late November.

The only drawback with doing it this way is if you get so used to the control layout of the first one you get that you find it hard to learn the second one. This was never a problem for me as the Trainz keys seemed to have been chosen by the staff getting extremely drunk and playing a late night game of Twister - even before I switched to RailWorks which I found much more human-friendly.

The Trainz keyboard can be mapped anyway the user wants. Just edit keyboard.txt under UserData\Settings.

That is one of the fun parts of Trainz, modifying Trainz is easy enough for a "caveman".

Harold