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Trainz Railway Simulator 2004 Interview Feature
Chris Leyton
09/10/2003
We chat with the guys at Auran in an interview that no trainspotter can miss...
Trainz Railway Simulator 2004 will be released later in the month by this, ever expanding, UK publisher which is rapidly extending its range of games. Specialising in many areas, including Flight simâs and add on's, they have now created a new label, to add to their Just Flight Brand, with Just Trains. Developed by Auran, which has a proven and distinguished pedigree, including Dark Reign, one of the first truly epic RTS titles on the PC. They are also renowned for their in house technology and entrepreneurial spirit, and Trainz Railway Simulator 2004 is the follow up to the highly acclaimed Trainz released by Mindscape.
Straight away there will be comparisons to Microsoftâs Train Sim. Both titles have been successful and with this success there has seen a growth in many third party add on CD's. Perceived as an âanorakâ, even nerdy, hobby, anything to do with trains has a massive fan base and notably Triainz, as well as Microsoftâs' own offering, has managed to bring a commercial feel to this very niche market and has opened up a gaming area that is in some cases is more interesting than those already successful themes. Trains are real and there is a rich history to explore and Trainz Railway Simulator 2004 is a case in point in taking this subject matter and turning into an entertaining experience.
Trainz Railway Simulator 2004 builds on a great heritage and places you in control of building, controlling and managing a variety of railways around the world, from the golden era of steam, through the change to diesel, right up to modern day electrics.
Immersing yourself in this experience can be taken from a number of vantage points:
As Engineer you can move and delve in the interactive, realistic world. Choose from high-speed passenger runs, shunting cars in a busy industrial yard, or carefully navigating a 200-ton logging train down a steep mountain range.
As Yardmaster you can manage your drivers as they carry out their daily tasks. Ensure your trains are in the right place at the right time to keep pace with supply and demand of the interactive industries.
As Route Builder you create your own stunning routes and worlds.
As Operations Manager you can set industry production levels, commodity requirements and passenger schedules and create multiple task lists for your drivers in a few simple steps.
This is only a fraction of what is on offer:
If you are into the driving/control aspect you can choose from more than 50 authentic real world locos from famous railways around the globe and there are hundreds more to download from the Trainz web site. There are realistic controls for steam, diesel and electric locos with accurate physics, tested and verified by real life train engineers! There are complete 3D cabs with interactive switches, levers and dials and the player can control one or more locos and issue orders to other drivers!
The World Builder allows the player to create and design dynamic environments quickly and easily with intuitive 3D editing tools, which allows you to move mountains, plant forests, construct towns and cities! The more creative you are the better the end results could be. You can build a complete railway infrastructure that you interact with, including rails, tunnels, bridges, signals, junctions and trackside objects. Plan activities, set goals for you and your drivers and totally customise your railroad experience. The open architecture and fully supported toolsets allow for practically unlimited additional features to be added.
The whole experience is on offer and we spoke with Tony Hilliam, Marketing Director at Auran, to give us a fuller insight.
TVG: Have you been surprised at the success of a number of Train Simulations?
The train fan market mightnât be as cool as skateboarding or car racing, but the market is huge. There are millions of people around the world who like all different aspects of railways including driving, signalling, model trains, even train spotting. We listen to our fan base and always try to include the types of things they would like to see.
TVG: Many people compare your title to Microsoftâs Train - sim who are now working on their new version. You must have seen this product - what are your general thoughts?
We saw their E3 demo and it looked like it was progressing well. However, since then they have announced that Kuju has handed back development to Microsoft, so weâre not really sure what the future holds for MSTS2.
TVG: What kinds of new train sim features and trains will this version feature?
The edition of Trainz is our first official release that supports steam, so this is a huge plus for steam fans. Weâve included several famous locos, including the largest loco ever, the 4-8-8-4 Big Boy and the world speed record holding Mallard.
In addition there is a whole new industry resource model that introduces visible loading and unloading and offers the opportunity of bringing strategic elements into your railway operating sessions.
TVG: What routes are on offer - how did you come to choose them and can you tell us some distinguishing factors on one of them to entice the reader?
Our focus has been primarily on the functionality and weâve worked very closely with the 3rd party content creators with regards to new routes. Weâve got some great new semi-prototypical routes, including a recreation of the route from Glasgow to Falkirk.
TVG: How would you sum up the ethos of Trainz, its prime goals, for anyone purchasing it and would you say it is aimed more at people who have a love of trains?
Our motto is that it is the most complete railway simulator ever created, and we really have tried to create something for every type of fan. This means there is a mix of pure train driving simulation, world building, strategic movement of goods and even a bit of signal controlling. Loving trains certainly helps, but we even have some fans who run canal boats or fly planes around the Trainz world.
TVG: What new features are you working hard on and what features are you improving that will be discernibly different?
The biggest new features are the game play elements associated with the industry model. You can give orders to your drivers and they will deliver resources, pick up goods and so on. Itâs a huge amount of fun controlling 6-7 drivers at once and even taking charge of a couple more locos yourself.
TVG: How much more focus have you placed on the outside world to create a living environment and surely you have to draw some kind of line on the amount of time you spend on this aspect?
One area is the new graphics as a result of upgrading to our Auran Jet V2.0 engine. This gives us water with waves and ripples, bump mapping on the locos and so on, so the world looks a lot better to start with. Then weâve introduced the animated loading and unloading, and background animations to make more things in the world appear alive. You can be driving along and all of a sudden you see a plane taking off.
TVG: What kind of spec list/s do you create to ensure the performance of the trains/locomotives is correct?
Research is the hardest part and no matter how good our research is, someone will find more detail than we did. We enlist the help of the community members, rail companies, museums and historical railway societies. For the introduction of steam we visited the local steam railway and found out first hand what it was all about.
TVG: What kinds of adverse weather conditions are now on offer?
Clear skies, rain, thunderstorms and even snow all dynamically change throughout your Trainz day. You can set the weather to periodic or extreme if you want wild fluctuations in the conditions. Just watch out when the lightning strikesâ¦you donât want to be standing too close!
TVG: What editors will come with Trainz and will they be easier to use?
The Surveyor world editor is widely recognised as the best part of our earlier versions of Trainz â“ very easy to use and yet powerful as well. This has been enhanced, but weâve also added a new Rules editor, which lets you create your own railroad experiences in addition to the world in which it operates. Again, it is totally expandable by the community who will create new rules that can be downloaded and used by your average player.
