LAST EDITED ON May-15-03 AT 04:26 PM (EDT)
EDIT: It seems this has aready been posted.May 15, 2003 - Amidst the chaos and confusion that is the E3 show floor, I sat down for a demo of a fairly quiet and structured game. Microsoft's Train Sim 2's team outlined the three big improvements in the game for us. Lots of new content has been added and more details and gameplay options have been added.
In all the team has added six new routes and engines. In North America you can run the Horseshoe Curve, a late 1940s route that uses a steam engine. You can also run a Norfolk-Southern route. Three European routes include a British route, a Deutschebunde route and the BLS route that runs through Switzerland. This last is described as the "eye candy route." The final of the game's new routes lets you run private freight or passengers through Japan. Driving a train in the original Train Sim made you feel a bit like the Omega Man. There were tiny counters representing your passengers but there were no people anywhere in the sim. Now you'll see people dressed in clothes appropriate for the time and setting getting on and off your train at each stop. You'll also see people sitting in the passenger cars. There are even scripted events by the side of the track. Running one route we saw a few trucks parked by the side of the track. A small group of men were digging a few holes nearby. The environmental are made denser through the addition of extra trees, towns, mailboxes, fire hydrants and a host of other objects. The interior of the cab is in full 3D now and you can pan your view all around. You can operate all the controls in the cab by using your mouse. There's also a fire in the fire box now and it casts a flickering light all around the cab. The exteriors are just as authentic. The team shot over 140GB of digital reference material at museums and rail yards around the world. On the gameplay side, the team has expanded the game with the addition of a much more realistic signal system. (The original system simplified the model so it could apply to all periods and locales.) Wannabe engineers can now familiarize themselves with all the correct signaling used when traveling the rails. New turntables give you more options for switching cars. Most of the routes will have large yards, making these types of switching activities even more compelling. It's clear to see that the Train Sim team is committed to the franchise. They're offering backwards compatibility with nearly all aspects of the original Train Sim. Since there's so much user-created content floating around in the community already, Train Sim 2 will benefit from a broad base of fan work. The only thing that won't translate to the new game are the created activities. Look for more information soon.
Danny - Pittsburgh
Official YARD DUTY Junkie
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