MSTS is abandonware and Openrails is built on it. If you do everything in MSTS you'll know what you're in for with paid content, so to speak. Almost all of it is paid and all of the prices suck, but there's a lot of user generated content if that matters. Current Train Simulator was supposed to be Train Simulator 2 but MS cancelled it for stupid reasons hence why it's done by Dovetail.

I personally find TrainZ to be superior BUT it's features like custom consist building and custom layouts are kinda autistic and not appreciated unless you want to make your own routes.

>>1807648
also trainz jews you both on the dlc and by releasing a new edition every year
overall, remember the golden rule of train simulators: there are no good train simulators

>>1807611
>i want to get into train sims
Don't. Even railway modelling is a better use of your time.

It gets really boring quickly

>>1807668
like what?

try giving BVE a try

MSTS: old

Train Simulator 2022: Will steal all your money, but probably the best one if you want a wide range of routes without wanting to rip out your eyes. Good physics for most locos nowadays, with plenty of community made mods .

Train sim world: looks nice, but in practice doesn't really live up to expectations. Physics are off, and if you've ever driven in other sims it'll 'feel' wrong. Plenty of bugs and routes that they say they are updating but abandon for a B-team to do stuff with.

Run8: Just released a big update to V3, but otherwise takes a long time to get anywhere. Best sim for north american operations, will give you a good run for your money if you're hauling a full train over Tehachapi pass. Will also steal all your money.
also, has multiplayer. You'll find some decent servers with an okay community, which run sessions doing locals, through runs and yard work independantly of each other.

trainz and openbve i haven't played so can't comment.

Train Life: its okay, free roam type game but not really high on simulation. very early access.

>>1809635
>also, has multiplayer
Does it let someone be a dispatcher

>Play train sim
>100% throttle
>Max speed
>Crash
>Repeat with each train/ consist to find the best crasher
On MS Train Simulator, it was Odakyu 7000 series LSE, crashed out of Shinjuku like a MF

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>>1809635
>MSTS: old
original routes are peak soul though
>Plenty of bugs and routes that they say they are updating but abandon for a B-team to do stuff with.
same is true of ts2022
>trainz and openbve i haven't played so can't comment
trainz jews you on fucking everything, including releasing new paid versions every year
openbve is open source, which is a plus, but is much more limited than other simulators
>>1809671
fun fact, the station at the end of that route appears in evangelion

Does OpenBVE has moving NPC trains yet?

what control setup do yall use?

>>1809635
The physics on BVE are excellent. OpenBVE always seemed slightly off but improves often. So maybe it's been fixed by now. Visuals on both BVE versions aren't exactly great. BVE visuals in particular are suboptimal as you might expect given it is made by a mechanical engineer and not a software engineer. Basically cardboard cutouts on rails. Some routes are very well done visually but the incentives aren't their for high quality DLC.

Zusi 3 is a commercial version of software used to train German enginemen. Haven't tried it but it physics are allegedly perfect and visuals not too bad. Includes a lot of German routes.

https://www.railway-technology.com/analysis/train-simulators/

>>1809705
Yes

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What is the best train sim to experience glorious Nippon train sovl?

>>1809643
Yes Anon

>>1809961
BVE 5?

>>1809961
Depends on how you define "sim". Densha De Go and Japanese Rail Sim are not sims in the western sense, but do capture a few things pretty well (arguably nothing can beat Jap Rail Sim in terms of visual accuracy). BVE is sort of their Train Sim equivalent.

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>>1811984
They said it themselves, it's going to be Kino.

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>>1807611
Train Sim World by far, looks great, locos are detailed. Train Sim Classic has tonnes of routes but it's an old game and everything is very basic.

The 101 is great fun btw

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>>1813080
>slam doors

>>1809728
Zusi is bona-fide eye cancer though.

Does Train Sim World 2 have any route DLCs that connect to each other? Meaning two DLCs that share a station? I want to be able to ride a service from one route and then transfer to another service from a differnet DLC route at the shared station.

>>1811984
there's also the train simulator and railfan series by Ongakukan, they also made games with densha de go
https://www.giantbomb.com/ongakukan/3010-6456/developed/

>>1813044
>Tab
>it's actually coming to Steam this month
Damn, japs finally waking up to the PC I see. Also reminds me of Train Crew. Still in development and low budget as hell, but it looks promising.

Just downloaded Train Sim World 2. Its tutorial is awful

>>1816228
Yes. I had to watch their YouTube tutorials/livestream to learn how to play the game properly.

>>1813410
No

>>1807611
The Initial D one

>>1816228
Read the manual pdfs, the in-game tutorials are shit and skip over things.

>>1813080
are steam locos any good in train sim world?
i saw they just released the first dlc containing them

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>>1807611
>look at train sims on Steam
>base price of game isn't that cheap
>additional locomotives are anywhere from $7 to $25 each
>additional routes are anywhere from $20 to $40
>quick Google search says the total DLC amount is like $10,000 USD

>>1816439
>niche game requiring high level of detail is expensive
imagine my shock

>>1816439
TSW2 is half off on Steam right now. It gives your three routes to play with.

>>1816314
Where do you find those?

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>>1809961
Not a sim but give A-Train a pirate

I've only watched maybe a dozen vids of people playing a territory with North American rolling stock and none of them know how to read the air brake gauges or know how to use the independent brakes correctly or when to bail them off

>>1816439
Generally the idea is you don't have to buy every single DLC to get the full experience.
For example, I mainly play the North America lines and don't really care about all the European stuff, and even with the base game and a couple of DLC, there's a ton of content

>>1816856
https://live.dovetailgames.com/live/train-sim-world/articles/article/tsw-help

>>1820747
Man really hope the next one they make manages to combine the strengths of 9, PC Classic and Tourism into one game. Whichever one I play, always really miss features or mechanics from the other ones. Still my favorite urban development series.

>>1820747
Is there a tutorial anywhere for pirating A-Train 9 v5.0 and installing the fan translation?

>>1821212
Just search for the game on archive.org. But for the translation patch you have to join the discord until its fully released. Installation is super simple though. Just get the official patch to the latest version from the A-train 9 site and install it, then overwrite the file in the game folder with the translated file.

>>1809635
also train sim world is dreadful for custom content because of how limited and consolised the tools are, even if you just want to download stuff

May not be what you're looking for per se but Derail Valley is a pretty fun freight moving train sim. Was designed for VR but works just as well on a normal screen - it's played from an FPS perspective, you can get on and off the train.

Is there a multiplayer sim which allows for realistic operations?
>someone in the seat running
>someone on the ground switching
>realistic air brakes and hand brakes that allow for kicking and dropping
>clueless brakeman that sends it to the wrong track
>yardmaster driving around in circles screaming profanities out his window

>>1824815
Run8 anon

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>>1807611
try MaSzyna https://eu07.pl/?setlang=en

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What's your favourite route in any train sim?

why is train simulator the only steam game that manages to frequently break when asked to download tiny files from the workshop

>>1820758
Is there a good way to learn this stuff without actually becoming a train driver? Genuinely curious.
I've played a bit of Derail Valley and while I think I get the basics of it, I find myself in dumb situations that I feel like I probably wouldn't be in if I had more familiarity with trains.
Like - the train has an independent brake, and a train brake - is there a rule of thumb when you should use one or the other? I get that you should probably not throttle up too quickly to avoid wheelspin (unless you pour sand on the tracks), but generally how quickly should you expect to speed up? Do you change speeds as soon as you hit a sign for the next speed limit, or prepare for it in advance? Is there a good rule of thumb for tackling steep grades up or down?
The game implies that once you've got your train up to speed, you don't really need to have the throttle on since momentum will do a lot - but what about going uphill?

>>1833950
What are you even asking? Is there a way to learn stuff without learning stuff?

>>1833990
I guess is there a way of learning to drive trains that ISN'T "go to train driving school"? Books or something that can teach theory?

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>>1830654
SACRAMENTO
NORTHERN

I wish there were more comfy early 20th century interurban routes.

>>1833991
I learned TSW2 from semi-official youtube tutorials made by the devs. Felt almost like sitting in class.
Kind of sucks that they don't teach you everything ingame. And some of the stuff they do teach you in the ingame tutorials is wrong.

>>1833991
If you watch videos about how various irl locomotives and their systems work (in particular the air brake system), the games work the same way. First figure out air brakes and how the automatic and independent brakes work and how to bail off the independent (because you don't use them to slow the train down). Learn what the air brake gauges mean. I've seen many train sim videos of people who simply don't know shit about how to stop a train. It was actually surprising to me how few foamers knew how air brakes worked.

>>1834086
>people who simply don't know shit about how to stop a train
Hey, the train stopped, didn't it?

>>1834044
yeah TSW2 sucks dick in terms of explanations
they don't even give you manuals like ts classic does

>>1834087
>He uses dynamics on passenger trains

>>1834093
That's why I say just look for help watching IRL explanations of locomotive systems, especially the brakes, steam diesel or electric the air brakes all pretty much work the same (except for non-lapping vs self-lapping systems, but that's not as big of a difference as it seems). There are a handful of locomotive firing & running videos that really cover that operation well, both on the real thing and on live steamers (miniature steam locomotives).

Train handling itself is hard to teach without being on an actual train to learn it. People playing sims try to stop at a station by progressively applying more air instead of experimenting with making a single set with the automatic, bailing the independent, and power braking the train in. That's something that is done in real life but I've not seen a single video explaining how it works. Another aspect that isn't covered in any video is how to run DPUs, for example running them together or split. Just hard to find a lot of information about certain topics.

>>1834102
>Train handling itself is hard to teach without being on an actual train to learn it. People playing sims try to stop at a station by progressively applying more air instead of experimenting with making a single set with the automatic, bailing the independent, and power braking the train in. That's something that is done in real life but I've not seen a single video explaining how it works. Another aspect that isn't covered in any video is how to run DPUs, for example running them together or split. Just hard to find a lot of information about certain topics.
Aw man, this is exactly the kind of thing I mean - like, playing Derail I CAN stop the train, but I do get the feeling like I'm doing it wrong. Like someone playing a driving sim without ever having done a single lesson, read a highway code book or anything like that.

I think I'm gonna hunt down more videos like this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iecqOtCaTXQ

>>1816228
I gave up after 30 minutes because the train wouldn't move, got out of the cab and glitched through the floor immediately. Is this really the best train sim? Shit graphics, poor performance and no steam trains? I mean come on.

>>1834281
remember the golden rule >>1807656

>>1834264
I think the mistake everyone makes is trying to progressively set more air to make a precise stop, or trying to do the same with dynamics, when using air correctly is so much easier.

First thing to know is you never want to stop a train with any of the independent (locomotive) brakes. You want to use the brakes on the cars to slow or stop but leave the locomotives' wheels free to roll so you can apply power to stretch brake, or apply dynamics to stop.

Trouble with the automatic brake is that it automatically applies the train AND locomotive air brakes every time it's used. To utilize only the brakes on the rail cars themselves, you should bail off the independent every time you apply the automatic, even for subsequent reductions. That will quickly release any air in the locomotive air brake cylinders, allowing them to roll freely so that you can apply the throttle or dynamic braking.

Stretch braking is just setting air on the train and then notching up on the throttle, applying power until you reach a desired equilibrium speed. Then you can reduce power as you get closer to your target and stop pretty quick by going to idle. At around 2-4 mph you can apply the independent as a way of throwing out the anchor if you need it.

>>1834527
I don't understand a lot of that but your post is a good jumping off point, so thank you.
I watched that BR safety video and am now watching this one from Conrail:
https://youtu.be/i85njdLmBCo
I think I understand the basic principle of how the brake valve works, what 'lapped' brakes are.

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>>1834651
I should add I don't know how anything outside of North America works. I'm just talking about stuff here in the US. This guy's site explains the air brake systems better than I can:
http://www.railway-technical.com/trains/rolling-stock-index-l/train-equipment/brakes/north-american-freight.html

Pic is all the positions on the automatic brake handle. The small grey handle underneath is for the independent brake.

>>1834662
Fair enough, thanks for the link.
FWIW I don't believe that the brakes in Derail Valley are meant to be any particular model, so I don't know if they have those kinds of set positions.

>>1834677
If they're modeling North America, that's what it will have. I haven't played DV though. 26-L is what almost every freight locomotive here uses, or a modern derivative of it. It looks different if the locomotive uses a desktop control stand instead of a side stand, but everything works the same way. It's a self-lapping air brake valve. The older lapping air brake valves had a similar layout but I think the position to the left of release was lap. You really don't see them in mainline service anymore.

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>>1834697
Not at my main PC so this is the best pic I could get, the red units are the two brakes.

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Is there a game that combines urban / rail planning with an immersive experience of controlling a train?

>>1834937
A-Train 9 is the closest I can think of, it does let you manually control your trains. The mechanics for that are extremely simple though. Wouldnt call it very immersive.

sad:( someone has to do it, imagine how awesome it would be to have a game that combines rail planning management with immersive first person experience controlling a train

>>1830654
>>1833994
London and Port Stanley

>>1835110
>someone has to do it
Well, get to it.

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>BUY THE SAME GAME FOR THE THIRD TIME IN FIVE YEARS GOY

>>1837185
What will this improve over TSW2?

To be fair though, I never bought TSW2. I got it for free in a promotion and I've spent an embarrassing amount of time with it.

>>1837188
dynamic weather
better lighting
new ui
that's literally it
forty dollars please

>>1837193
mmmneh... I think I'll stick with my free copy of 2.

>>1834710
The larger is certainly the automatic and the smaller is the independent. Doesn't look like a North American locomotive but the brakes are probably similar.

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>>1809671

Best crasher I've found on TS22 so far is running a Class 221 on the Isle of Wight route from the pier head station. As soon as it tilts in the Ryde tunnel that has the wrong loading gauge for it it just launches it into the sky at 350mph

>>1807611
if you dont care much there is a pretty nice torrent of ts 2016 laying around with almost 100gigs of content

and yes i paid for msts and trainz but i refuse to pay those fuckers

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>>1839231
>and yes i paid for msts and trainz but i refuse to pay those fuckers
>paid for trainz
auran/n3v are bigger jews than dtg

>>1837185
It's dovetail, they make EA look good.

>>1839305
How so?

>>1839323
at least EAs content can pretend to be good quality at times.

>>1837185
the only fucking steam route we get and its practically a barren wasteland with a subpar locomotive compared to what was already available with train sim already. genuinely disappointed with TSW at how they hyped it up just to get a shitty version of a steam loco.

still mad they haven't introduced multiplayer.

>>1839426
>at least EAs content can pretend to be good quality at times.
Then I don't see why you're so upset. Don't like their shit, don't play their shit. But at least >>1839231 seems to think their shit of good enough to play with.

>>1820747
>>1821229
Fan translation doesn't work with the latest patch right now, anybody have any older version?

>>1839426
>multiplayer
>in a train simulator
Literally why? What is it with people asking for multiplayer in every game.

>>1839745
Normies dont actually care about playing video games, they just care about being social and finding something to do with their bros, so if you want to tap into the bigger market your game needs multi. Seriously the amount of times Ive heard the blanket statement "but why would you play a game single player, that just isnt fun at all" is perplexing.

>>1839745
>>1839819
there is something special about being able to interact and see other people that as an autist makes me very happy.

the multiplayer aspect is fun for me in the sense that other players can fuck up, or run a perfect shift. the variety is nice, compared to "run this service, which will be the same every time becuase we made it that way, or play this scenario to have a one time thing!"

Run8 is genuinely fun for me when i can get into it because the aspect of multiple people running trains and working together to make a system actually work is interesting to me.

They also promised multiplayer, so y'know, would be nice that they follow their promises. Sometimes it's cool to have friends.

>>1839428
thanks man i'll go play the other train sim that has the wide range of content- oh wait, there isn't one. third party is the place to be, dovetail misses most of the time.

>>1839841
Why would you rather play with shit than doing literally anything else?

>>1839938
because i like trains