What Do You Do in Train Simulator?

[goofey]

Just wondering what people most like to do in this simulartion.

Personally I would like to do more of the career scenarios but I have hit a few snags with those and I hate to sign up for an hour and a half of high anxiety only to find out the career scenario is dorked or otherwise can't be won. As a result, I probably end up spending about seventy five percent of my time doing the "standard scenarios" or else doing quick drive. Nothing too strenuous in other words

I haven't tried making a scenario of my own. Seems like a steep learning curve and maybe too much frustration for me.

Wonder how others spend their time in Train Simulator. This is a little different game in that there really isn't the same degree of built in competition as you find elsewhere. So we have to make our own fun, or at least that is how it seems to me.

Thanks.

Michael

[Mr._Headshot]

I am currently creating all of the Northeast Corridor throughout my home state of Rhode Island. I sometimes play custom scenarios of the NEC as well.

[N Quarter]

I play both Career and Standard without the HUD.

Of course though as the Game doesn't provide the information to do this straight off the bat, so either a lot of learning of a Route, or simply each Scenario from playing with the HUD, or by creating your own Diagrams.

I generally play once with the HUD, speeding to get through the Scenario ASAP, then a few days later I'll go back and see what I remember without the HUD. Adds some mental Challenge to the Game, and is much more rewarding by getting Gold Medals at the end.

However, as my motivation started to diminish from lack of anything being "fixed" I ended up printing up the Route Maps, and then adding points of interest ect to save me the hassle of playing the Game for too long.

Of course though, as you say, many are broken, but I've been reletively lucky, but I do come across Formula Train Driver Scenario's too often. It's a Shame I can't use my Wheel and Pedals to help fit in with it's atmosphere of Driving like a maniac!

[Azanthriel]

I love Steam without the HUD. But they vastly simplified the simulation to almost make it a game. So it really no longer simulates what is required to prepare and start a steam engine moving and clear all lines of moisture. Though some of the legacy engines still have the valves that work; but the proper procedures are no longer required to operate. I also use the correct whistle signals when approaching/leaving stations and RR X-ing, etc. (Wish game tracked required horns/bells/whistle signals.)

[FOUR The Dark Side]

I only play TS still because I've got enough high quality third party scenarios and some nice mods as well. Believe it or not, but when I see the variety in almost everything (stock, operating companies etc) this incites me to do some additional research here on my side, thus it has quite an educational aspect for me. I already have a huge collection of different links, resources and literature on trains of all kinds from the countries represented in TS and even from those which are still not represented in it.

Apart from that, these kinds of scenarios give me the feeling of real immersion. I like meaningful scenarios, which make you follow the route, be alert at all times and make you drive carefully.

I still use HUD quite often, but never full version, only F3 one and I use it only when I return to the route which I haven't visited for quite some time. When I get used to the route again, I switch off the HUD, since I am perfectly confident with most of locos controls and the route.

Career mode is something I normally try to avoid, because it's just a waste of time, however, since DTG now release the content only with the Career scenarios, I have to use it from time to time.

In general, since I've started playing TS/Railworks/Rail Simulator (I've even lost count of years, what was it? 6 or even more years ago?) I've learned a great deal of things about the trains across the world. I've even started trainspotting here in my country - I really like to compare how the trains work here and, say, in UK or US, because they are completely different. And one thing for sure - our EMUs are way more spacious inside than British. Those now seem to me like tin cans :) On the other side, our EMUs look terribly dull outside, I really like SWT and East Midlands in UK - bright and very optimistic looking :))

The downside of this all is that when you really are into trains that much, especially when you are watching the trains working in real life, you start seeing how many things are neglected/omitted in TS and how far it is actually from real life.

[mazherman455]

Most of my time is spent on my own scenario. I like to do that because it involves a lot more than just driving a standard scenario. The little towns that I created are not far apart and they all have a couple of industries that are depending on rail cars. The task lists are sometimes quite large as cars have to be pulled and spotted.

I like locomotives (I used US and Can. only) that can be driven "face forward" instead craning your neck side ways. This important for me as I try not to use the HUD. "HUDless" driving is of course is easier on your own creation.

[Dodgydruid]

I prefer career as its a set of goals, quite tight goals that require you to play to a certain maximised level, in standard you can speed, jump a red, be noticeably late with no penalty as you will get your tick regardless of how bad you have driven.

For me career keeps me honest and when you drive like it the majority of time, you find it easier to keep to top speeds within limits and no speeding and whilst getting a perfect 1000 is nice, getting a gold for me is very good, I live by my medals whether gold, silver or bronze and I would say the careers in WHL make one realise just how tricky it can be when one second you are climbing steeply, the next second with little warning you are plummeting down an incline, in standard it wouldn't matter, in career thats points dripping away every mile over you go.

Some trains lend themselves to HUD driving, some lend themselves to HUDless driving, the 365, 365, 86, 87 for instance I can drive without HUD quite expertly now, the constraints on the view is the maker or breaker of this for me, I need to see the road ahead and the speedo but some like the Hymek make it all but impossible to view both and so I go with the HUD's on that.

[Glenn]

I find the OPs choice of words ineteresting: he speaks of "...can't be WON...." and "....built in COMPETITION......" -- Interesting because this is SUPPOSED to be a simulator, and in that respect you don't 'compete' with anyone and you neither 'win or loose'. But then I suppose the argument is reduced to the other age old argument; Is it a Simulator or Arcade game?

That aside, I spend the majority of my time route building with an occasional run on the London / Brighton line or the Faversham HS (but only the bit between Northfleet and Faversham).

[FOUR The Dark Side]

Originally posted by Dodgydruid:

in standard it wouldn't matter,

If one cares about actually realistically driving a train, that WOULD matter. The purpose of any simulation isn't that simulation controls you, but it is that you and simulation both help each other.

The fact that you wave away standard mode as such, proves that simulation controls you. And, considering that simulation in TS is quite faulty, I doubt it's the medals are really telling.

Simulation and caring about overall ticks and medals aren't really compatible. They are in some context coexisting, but relying on them as a proof of the mastery is wrong, imo.

To add to that, considering that most of the rolling stock in TS is overly simplified to comply with the "wider audience" strategy, that is, only the simplest buttons active, I fail to see how positive scoring on the incline or climb really demonstrates the mastery of the loco - too many aspects omitted, like physics, proper incab controls, random faults etc etc etc.

[Dodgydruid]

I don't dismiss standard and I think you misunderstood my meaning.

I have quite a lot of green ticks in my standard scennies but the choice is mine, to me, the option to speed in career is the choice whether to lose points to get "ahead" or to work it to the design of the scenario maker.

Knowing railway staff all my life, most drivers and other operational staff would surprise outsiders at how rigid they work to the rules, one of the old sayins was letting standards slip a little for a good excuse was a disaster waiting letting standards slip for a bad excuse.

But when you start pulling full points with ease doing a career, surely too that is a sign of expertise? If a driver is late in real life and late continually without good cause or his black box shows speeding outside of the TPWS checks, he's up in front of the area manager with more than a flea in his ear. When I play, I play to drive proper, when I pull into a platform if there are car stop points, I pull to them, I always on long distance and IC services ensure that all carriages get their doors open or if not follow the first 4/8 cars rule, on signals I follow the rules and set speeds for yellows and very quickly can fall into the pattern of only having doubles to follow.

And yes there are glaring omissions in the game, whistles, track workers not raising their arm, shunter instructions and pullback tests, drivers visual inspections, guards visual inspections and brake testing, I could fill a page up of what is missing and all I ever was, was a railway dogsbody who blew his real chance in getting anywhere in BR by playing the stupidest of jokes, I have driven trains for real, as I have driven Foden traction engines, piloted large water craft and flown a glider and operated the massive 90 inch beam pump at Kew too, the trains were little saddle tanks like Kew Bridge's Peckett or worn out DMU's like the Pressed Steel I was given a go at Swanage with or sitting in a 33 with my uncle Ray from Hoo in my young childhood summer holidays.

Now I am getting on and disability is claiming its toll, I drive my trains nowadays on the computer, I don't drive just for the medal but for the pressure a career gives me, one of my most played routes is actually CR's ECML Modern 1 which has no careers on it at all, all standard, same with sECML, my second most played route so no I don't disregard the standards at all and don't know why DTG stopped doing scenarios in standard AND career form.

[goofey]

I have really enjoyed all the opinions on this topic.

In a regualr "game" sort of game we always know what the purpose is. Kill the most monsters. Score a million points. Checkmate. Make it to the next level. You know the the drill.

But in a simulation (if that's the right word) like this, we each create our own purpose. This is evidenced by the posts thus far. And maybe that's part of the attraction, the essence of the addiction. Maybe it's even an analogy to life itself.

Sorry. I'm getting too philosophical. I'll shut up now.

Thanks all.

Michael

[N Quarter]

Originally posted by goofey:

But in a simulation (if that's the right word) like this, we each create our own purpose. This is evidenced by the posts thus far. And maybe that's part of the attraction, the essence of the addiction. Maybe it's even an analogy to life itself.

Sorry. I'm getting too philosophical. I'll shut up now.

Thanks all.

Michael

We can't create our own without having the technology for the Simulation.

As it stands, we have to limit our usage, increase our imagination, and practically "pretend" there is a point to the Gauges that are just pictures stuck on with no function. We have to pretend that we have to follow correct procedures such as the Correct allowed Speed through a Platform, the use of Horn / Bell ect.

That's all we practically have. It mainly comes under the "Game" side of things, which revolves around scoring points, and the other half, is for the people who wish things were much more, so we just "pretend" that it is.

For this to be classified as anything like a "Simulator", then it needs to have more depth to what we can Control, and what Operations are required. The Routes themselves have so much more attention to detail in them, and I wish DTG would start putting the same amount of work into the Loco's, rather than pushing them out ASAP as Copy and Paste Jobs.

[Glenn]

Originally posted by N Quarter:

For this to be classified as anything like a "Simulator", then it needs to have more depth to what we can Control, and what Operations are required. The Routes themselves have so much more attention to detail in them, and I wish DTG would start putting the same amount of work into the Loco's, rather than pushing them out ASAP as Copy and Paste Jobs.

But that would be against DTGs religeon of " Appealing to the wider audience " !

[bvand61]

I like playing Standard. In general, I generally find the Career scenarios too close to the edge of sanity. Real railroaders don't operate on the edge normally. And yard speeds...are they really 15 and 20 mph? I believe each route should come with a map so one can familiarize themselves with it before playing. One more thing, coupling speed...I've crashed when barely going 1mph. I know humping speed is about 6mph in real life, so it seems coupling speed should be anything under 5mph. I once worked on a project for the Army, where equipment was permanently installed in containers. That equipment had to be mounted in such a way to withstand a 6mph. humping speed without damage or mis-alignment.

I guess what I'm saying, is let's have more operational realism, and not just gorgeous scenery.

[MaTT]

From pretty much day one it became apparent TS is actaully a kit, if you want it to entertain you you have to make the content yourself ... the career and standard scenarios that come with DLC are either broken, boring or purile, FR and QD are really just demos ...

I make my own scenarios. thats all i do now, on average about two a week, ... I used to share them but to be honest its more trouble than its worth, these days i just make them for myself, quite often I dont even bother driving them after i finish testing, its just the process of making scenarios that I enjoy (and the process of finding workarounds for bugs), the more complicated, intricately timed and AI packed the scenarios are, the better ...

Ideally i would like to be route building but i dont have enough faith in the future of this product to put the required effort in ... no point in spending thousands of hours on something DTG will probably destroy with one of their broken updates or the cynicl re-brading beta they force users to endure every year, i'll save my route building until after TS has reached end of life, then i can be sure my work will not be affected by DTGs meddling.

[Pooh Face]

I used to enjoy doing the 'quick drive' mode and selected 'random' to choose me an interesting choice of train, route, and weather. But they appear to have taken this away when TS2015 came along.