How difficult is it to drive the train?

[Starchild]

I enjoy simulators, but I've never actually played any train simulators before outside of Derail Valley, and that was with the first train that they give you, anyway. I love simulator games..I mean, I love My Summer Car, and this looks like that but more..Industrial. And Russian.

So yeah, why not? I enjoy delivering cargo in ATS. Though I'm mostly worried about how accessible it is. I tried the demo, but from what I played, it didn't really let me get up and go. And I found the setup to be *very* confusing, even with the tutorial. But maybe all it takes is some getting used to?

[GenX-Gamore]

once you get the hang of it, pretty easy, you are given the option to use a tutorial.
have a look-see https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3070357347

[Knsgf]

Driving is very easy in this game. Notch 10 gives you about 35 km/h regardless of train and slope, notch 15 - 55 km/h. When accelerating, just watch field current amps; as soon as it drops below 235 A, it's safe to advance throttle without causing wheelslip.

Speaking of train brakes, using "Release and Charge" is always more trouble than it's worth. Instead release brakes with "Service" to avoid unnecessary wear and tear.

[Moschka]

Disclaimer: I do not have a lot of train sim experience.

-Instructions are very unclear but once you understand it you can go from off to running quite quickly. You're basically hitting a bunch of switches in a certain order.
-There are very few indicator lights and gauges
-It's easier to master going forward than it is stopping. Obviously because it's a train it takes a long time to slow down. In the worst case you can usually overshoot your stop and back up.
-Collisions are not a common hazard
-Keeping parts in good repair and preventing wear is another thing to keep in mind

[boring2004]

After you turn the train on, it's pretty easy in my opinion. Normal operation is basically two or three levers, while another few buttons for "as needed". I play ATS on the absolute simplest driving mode for relaxation, and while it's a little bit more in-depth than that, after a session or two everything made sense and was pretty easy.

Granted I've only played about six hours or so, but I will say this game is a lot less "freeform" than ATS. I've only played the story mode so far, but it's a lot less "I'll take these cars to this location", and more "I'm heading east and the game says take this"... and fight a bear on the way.

[Futuristic Hexagon]

I'd say it's similar to the Polish Train Sim "Maszyna." That sim in fact has the ET42 which is similar to the VL10 in game.

It has its complexities in start up, so it could give you an idea, but this game involves more mechanics to make it more difficult with parts wear.

[Knsgf]

Originally posted by Futuristic Hexagon:

I'd say it's similar to the Polish Train Sim "Maszyna." That sim in fact has the ET42 which is similar to the VL10 in game.

And I would say there is nothing similar between this and Maszyna or SimRail. Physics are nonexistent, curves and grades have negligible if any effect, attaching a train just divides both acceleration and slowdown by a fixed number, you can drive entire route on resistance notches with blowers off and not suffer any consequences. The startup procedure has several steps in wrong order and train brake valve can't decide whether it wants to be russian type 394 or american 26L.

[Futuristic Hexagon]

Originally posted by Knsgf:

Originally posted by Futuristic Hexagon:

I'd say it's similar to the Polish Train Sim "Maszyna." That sim in fact has the ET42 which is similar to the VL10 in game.

And I would say there is nothing similar between this and Maszyna or SimRail. Physics are nonexistent, curves and grades have negligible if any effect, attaching a train just divides both acceleration and slowdown by a fixed number, you can drive entire route on resistance notches with blowers off and not suffer any consequences. The startup procedure has several steps in wrong order and train brake valve can't decide whether it wants to be russian type 394 or american 26L.

That's cool, but talking to folks who want to have an idea of what driving the train is like, Maszyna or may be the closest.

Most everything else on the market has the start up procedure very watered down to a single keybind, where with Maszyna you would have go into the back in some of the locomotives or follow a specific sequence to start.

Besides Maszyna is free and usually not a resource hog (though it can have long load times) so they can at least try that out and get an idea.