Well The Long Awaited V3 is here

[WesternDivision]

Originally Posted by NorthernWarrior

And it would have been nice to see a timetable editor so you could plan all your spawns and times before jumping in the actual sim.

Wonder if they have any further route extensions in the pipeline?

Hmm! pity that a timetable editor is missing and there appears to no real advancement in how the trains spawn or freight car managment, that would have gone a long way towards more protypical running with a purpose.

Watched NSHorseheadSD70's video with his first look at V3 and the Calwa crossing on the BNSF Bakersfield Sub has been upgraded for expansion on the Union Pacific side so that would indicate that the UP Fresno Subdivision is coming and adding on to the Fresno Subdivision are the rumours of Martinez subdivision and Roseville Subdivision (Donner Pass).

[seagoon]

Nice work, Run8 Studios; my thanks to John for responding so quickly to my downloading issue.

This version has certainly improved game-play for the solo engineer, no doubt about that. It is a pleasure to open up a World and select the auto-despatcher and then let it do its thing.
(I have no idea whether it was intentional or not, but if it was then the use of the name "Otto" is a nice touch. Otto Wipfel was a huge train-simulation fan and was heavily involved in the Trainsim.com forums).

I have a question or two:

1) A couple of saved worlds which I had in v2 have shown up in the v3 list, but only those couple, which relate to some work at Trona. Can any of the other v2 saves be imported into v3?

2) On the despatcher screens in v2, if a train ID was right-clicked it popped up a small info note and it was possible to modify the N,S,E,W heading. I can't seem to find how to do this in v3....or is it not possible?
Reason for enquiring is that when I open up a despatcher screen I like to see which way each train is heading, which helps identify whether or not it is coming towards me or moving away.

Thanks again for the update.

[NorthernWarrior]

Glad you're liking it Bruce. I only had time for a quick look last night after the ordering and download delays but, with a few caveats, very pleased with what I've seen. So much to learn and relearn. I noticed that about the DS screen, wanted to see which way a train was heading but all the right click does is cycle the description on and off.

Also really need to find the list of descriptions so that trains I place in the world myself can be correctly routed.

I haven't tried reloading any of my saved sessions from V.2 or the pre placed scenarios from The Depot. There was some indication in the release notes these might not work due to the track changes. Might see if I can get my Bakersfield - Mojave - Trona session up and running.

One thing though Bruce, this has pretty much killed off TSW at least so far as US routes are concerned.

[SMRY]

Honestly, I've yet to play v3. Frankly I'm just so happy to learn John & the 8-Team alive & well.
Eventually, I'll begin to explore both the playing world & read the mountains of PDFs to go alongside.
Already, reading TS forums Hey / Ney so fast has my O'l head ah spinning.
Again, Thank You R8 for giving me another outlet to be creative again, while the O'l noggin still spins.

[SMRY]

Following along though out the innerweb (Monkey Garage).
I've my personal hunch many of the users of Run8 products, be a much younger crowd this go around, esp. many shut-ins
due to C19 about. Seems, many be hell bent on appearing much older with their talk of rivet counting, graphics, over ops, general dismay about every last detail graphics wise, etc.
Already, talk of who wants to read any of the PDFs, who can create the largest wreck, drifting, a host of other silliness. I've a feeling seasoned v1/v2 servers going to see an influx of younger users from time to time, looking for things to be tailored / tweaked fitting more of their style of play with v3. esp. when it comes to engs / liveries, general hangout spots, things along those lines. Other Rolling Line style of play if you will.

[seagoon]

......I haven't tried reloading any of my saved sessions from V.2 or the pre placed scenarios from The Depot.

The ones which appeared in the World list for me, Vern, were included with the Trona and the Arvin Creek expansions. They weren't saved by me but are, I'm certain, the default "activities" (for want of a better term).

One thing though Bruce, this has pretty much killed off TSW at least so far as US routes are concerned.

Well, for me this version has provided what I wished for in v2......AI despatching.
So far it appears to be working well with the default World (Bakersfield) provided with the program.
In fact, I had to laugh when, after twice messaging Otto that I was sitting at a red signal (and the track was clear several blocks ahead), I received a reply "Yeah, yeah, yeah.....I heard you the first time!"

[rcasaucao]

I'm glad about the new V3. On the other hand, I feel a bit of an idiot.

On the 22nd I bought the V2, since I have not read anywhere that the new V3 was coming out, otherwise I would have waited.

I've been saving these weeks to buy Run8 (my salary in Spain doesn't allow me to buy too many simulators or games), and now I find this version. I understand that someone who has had this version for months finds it worthwhile to buy V3, but in my case it would be spending 100USD in less than a week for the same simulator.

And the worst thing is that the improvements it has (AI in the dispatcher, rain,...) I love.

If any developer reads me, I don't ask for V3, but at least a discount. I haven't even played this week, just 30 minutes to try it out, I thought I'd enjoy this weekend.

I was thinking of buying the Bakersfield sub, the amtrak, in the following months, but now I don't know what to do with the old version.

[seagoon]

Further to the above about saves....whether it be Extra-board or Trains.

There are a lot of both in the respective lists in v3....all carried over from v2. Some go back to 2017.
However, not all will be any good.
I loaded three in a row and each had no tracks appearing.
The fourth one I tried was fine, and it dated back to 2019.

So it will be a matter of trial and error, methinks, with some working fine and others needing to be scrapped.

[htl]

Tried the download link in different browsers, all I get is :"Apologies, Server Problem: please contact customercare@3dtrainstuff.com or hiball@run8studios.com"...

[NorthernWarrior]

Already, talk of who wants to read any of the PDFs, who can create the largest wreck, drifting, a host of other silliness. I've a feeling seasoned v1/v2 servers going to see an influx of younger users from time to time, looking for things to be tailored / tweaked fitting more of their style of play with v3. esp. when it comes to engs / liveries, general hangout spots, things along those lines. Other Rolling Line style of play if you will.

I actually think it's DTG may have indirectly done 3DTS/R8 a huge favour, introducing a much wider audience to the delights of North American railroading. As good as some of their stuff is, it doesn't come near to providing a 400 mile plus main line run and in the case of Sherman Hill is a huge stutter fest (less than 10 FPS in some places on my PC). Given the server issues last night, still ongoing if the post above is anything to go by, I wouldn't be surprised if they have sold several thousand copies on Day 1. I suspect the introduction of "Otto" has also played a large part in that. And even with the detail turned up still runs nice and smooth.