MSTS vs. TRAINZ...what's the difference?

[seagoon]

Don't call me sir, i worked for a living.

He's clearly deferring to your age, Mike, not your social standing.

[haverfordwest]

Bit off both Gerry, depending on the day of the week.

Should have just called me, old git then Bruce

Mike.

[rt35ge]

Given the choice of MSTS or Trainz, I'd go with MSTS. Yes, MSTS is a dinosaur, but it'll run a whole better than Trainz and is more forgiving on your computer regarding overheating. On my 4th computer, best I've ever owned and Trainz overheated my baby till it shut down on it's own for protection. Ditto for the first 3. With MSTS, there's not nearly as much crap to deal with compared to Trainz. And errors in MSTS are a lot easier to figure out and fix. OR would ideally be better than MSTS, but if you have a Windows 7 or older computer, MSTS will run. It's said to work on Windows 10 as long as it's installed correctly which their are tutorials on.

[R. Steele]

Well I finally figured out the difference between MSTS and TRAINZ...took me a while, this thread helped.
TRAINZ has six letters in it and ends with a Z, on the other hand MSTS has 4 letters in and ends with a "S" ... and furthermore, all letters are different except for the "T" which is significant because that's where MSTS and TRAINZ are similiar.

Okay, throw anything you want, except rotten tomatoes, I like pineapples, but they hurt when they hit my head.

(The above is a good example of "Hardly working" )

[NorthernWarrior]

Personally I still think the OP (who has gone rather quiet) best choice is DTG's TS. Really at this point recommending MSTS to anyone new at the hobby is a bit futile, chances are they won't even be able to install it and that's before the faffing about to get it running. And while there might be a little bit of original OR content circulating, sorry boys and girls but if you want to make the best of it you're still going to need to run all that MSTS content requiring the core sim along with all the third party routes and trains, X Files, Y Files, New Roads, Old Roads Super Duper Roads etc to be installed. Welcome to file management 101.

TS - buy the core, buy a couple of great UK routes such as WCML North, Weardale or Riviera Line in the 50's and you're playing after a few mouse clicks.

[CSRX]

Personally I still think the OP (who has gone rather quiet) best choice is DTG's TS. Really at this point recommending MSTS to anyone new at the hobby is a bit futile, chances are they won't even be able to install it and that's before the faffing about to get it running. And while there might be a little bit of original OR content circulating, sorry boys and girls but if you want to make the best of it you're still going to need to run all that MSTS content requiring the core sim along with all the third party routes and trains, X Files, Y Files, New Roads, Old Roads Super Duper Roads etc to be installed. Welcome to file management 101.

TS - buy the core, buy a couple of great UK routes such as WCML North, Weardale or Riviera Line in the 50's and you're playing after a few mouse clicks.

Sure, if you want to spend $29.00 with every addition. Thats the flaw with Trainsimulator and Train Sim World. That and it's ultra unrealistic game play underneath all that eye candy.

[ex-railwayman]

If anybody has tried out the TRAINZ sim program and can explain how TRAINZ is differs from our querky ol' MSTS and how it works, I would be grateful.

Happened to see some very nicely detailed locos and rolling stock advertised for TRAINZ19 and am intrigued. Been using MSTS for many years now and am very familiar with the way it works, querks and all, but TRAINZ seems to me to be entirely different. I'm curious to know if TRAINZ is interesting or unique enough to look into.
1. Looks like a British product but has some nice North American rolling stock and steam engines. Since their North American selections are somewhat limited, do you think it work the cost?
2. Is it a download deal like Flight Sim FSX on STEAM or do you buy a set of disks? Coming from England that could be problematic!
3. Is there freeware available and will they easily install and run in TRANZ, or are you limited to buying what is sold at their store in the way of add-on locos, cars, scenery and the like? I notice that the add-ons aren't cheap, either!
4. I see where they say you can easily create your own routes in TRS19. Well, just how easy is it to do? MSTS in rather complicated in that department.
5. There seems to be a whole list of TRANZ programs available at their store. Question is...can they be installed separately on the same drive and are they different/interesting enough to be worth the effort and cost or are these just updated versions stemming from their first release?
6. Assume you can have both MSTS and TRAINZ running on the same drive; is that right? Has anybody tried that?
Would appreciate any info or thoughts. Thanks in advance.
JonB :

This could get to be a real lengthy answer, so, I suppose it all depends where you are from and what your main interests in trains/railroading are.

Microsoft is about 20 year's old now and shows it graphically, but, with the vast amount of content still available to download it still stands up as an enjoyable hobby. Trainz is Australian created and has been around since about 2001, so over 20 year's old now, it kept having different versions to try and keep up with other companies, that's why you will see different versions like Trainz 12 and 19 and T:ANE (Trainz A New Era), they are all made by the same company. and were discs to start with, but i understand that you can now obtain the game digitally from Steam, HOWEVER, there is a lot of 3rd party routes and locomotive packs freeware and to purchase but I don't know if they are compatible, as I never bought anything off Steam, I wanted to help the 3rd party developers financially, and the game can get expensive if you start buying lots and lots of add-ons!!!!
Trainz has content from around the world, they have a lot of Aussie/New Zealand stuff plus North American and Eastern European and Russian, they have steam and electric and diesel routes for you to play on, so you have a wide choice to play with. British stuff is quite small unfortunately for us, but, the hobby seems to have waned over the years and gamers/customers have gone our separate ways in many cases.
The two games are very different, so you can have both of them running on the same hard drive if you wish, the bigger in volume the better.

Cheerz. Steve.

[NorthernWarrior]

Sure, if you want to spend $29.00 with every addition. Thats the flaw with Trainsimulator and Train Sim World. That and it's ultra unrealistic game play underneath all that eye candy.

The gameplay is what you make of it, the biggest issue with TS is that often routes come with very few scenarios but some of the UK stuff such as the routes by Keith Ross or Derek Siddle’s Weardale are first class. The tap changer operation with the AC electric locos on WCML is pretty much spot on.

And why shouldn’t people pay if they want to? Quite frankly there are times when I’m happy to part with the money and enjoy someone elses creation. The hobby doesn’t just revolve around freeware and with the way file hosting seems to be going (UKTS have put up a yellow card about future of their downloads and forum), the commercial option might eventually be the only way, or built in utilities such as Steam Workshop.

[philskene]

Well, here's my take.

MSTS. The ground breaker at the time. OK if you are fine with 20th Century graphics. But even its most ardent supporters would have to admit that everything about it is dated.

DTG TS and TSW. Good if you want to relive childhood and later memories of real routes, which are highly detailed and immersive. The graphics are smooth and realistic. Not so good if you want to explore 'cause you are tied to sessions that are very prescriptive -- you have to do precisely the right thing at the exactly right time, otherwise it's game over, man, game over:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdqyG3CcoLM

Lots of excellent payware add-on but a dearth of community generated freeware.

Trainz TRS19: Graphics better than MSTS but not as fluid as DTG. Some payware, some excellent (particularly locomotives), some not so. Masses of community made freeware on the Trainz Download Station, with some absolute gems amongst a mass of dross. Gives you all the tools to make routes and sessions, with total flexibility. Some of us think it's actually fun:



But as you can see from some of the comments above, others hate it with a vengeance.
_____

But, of course, ultimately it's your choice.

Phil

[haverfordwest]

TS2022 has Quick Drive, so you are not tied to scripted scenarios.

It also has Free Roam, which i never use.

Also scenarios for TS2022 are far easier to create than sessions in Trainz. Which has never had a proper front end for session creation.

After 20 years of using Trainz, i have still never been able to create a meaningful session. With all the stupid faffing about with rules and a path creation tool that is decidely stone age.