Microsoft announces all-new Train Simulator

Just as a note of warning, this game is listing on that mini-site as being a DirectX 10 game, which means Windows Vista ONLY. Those of you on anything older won't be able to play, assuming they stick with the DX10 (and being Microsoft, I bet they will). The line coverage map on their page looks rather densly packed, though, so assuming it's even close to what they plan on doing they may have coverage for most of the North American lines (Guilford/Pan Am anyone? )

With respect to the new MSTS site (http://www.tsinsider.com/en-US/Pages/default.aspx), the screen shots look amazing. You definitely can tell they're using the Flight Sim X engine and the latest in 3D modeling.



And though the shots are small, see also: http://www.tsinsider.com/en-US/product/ ... fault.aspx

I'll likely be replacing my Dell in the next year or so. I guess I now have an excuse to load up the video card side of the new one.

OMFG! That is some good resolution!
Go Red Sox

According to the website, they plan on including EVERY RAILWAY. Seems very ambitious, possible. I think it'd be so sweet to have my local commuter rail (LIRR) I've always wanted it for MSTS1.

renderings and screenshots have been added

they do look good i'm getting a second job to get a cpu that can harnace vista and MSTS2. Bring on the LIRR MNRR and NYCTA Subway!!!!

Any idea when this is due

If it's in a year and a half thats fine, because i'll be out of college is in big time debt

so long as it comes out after I get my new pc

i think i left one thing out of my last post vista is looking better and better

GP40MC 1116 wrote: Any idea when this is due

The messaging around release date has always been Holiday 2008. That means November 2008, in order to catch Christmas shopping. This, of course, assumes, that development proceeds on-schedule.

drumz0rz wrote:According to the website, they plan on including EVERY RAILWAY. Seems very ambitious, possible. I think it'd be so sweet to have my local commuter rail (LIRR) I've always wanted it for MSTS1.

Metro North as well? I have my doubts.

Wow all the railways... does that mean that they want to have every branch of Class 1 having a segment of track or what lol.

amoreho1 wrote:the microsoft site has been update ( no longer the signal)
http://www.tsinsider.com/en-US/Pages/default.aspx

Just checked this website, and it says "Coming in 2009."
So much for that Holiday 2008 estimate.

Actually though, game releases in the spring, after the holidays, aren't so bad. Sure, you have to wait longer... but you (or the folks buying gifts for you) can only afford so many games before the holidays anyway. When all these games come out at the same time, it's much more competitive.

I wanted to see more about their claim to include so many railroads, so I entered "map" in the search box, hoping to get a close-up view of the tiny map from the main page. But, the genius Microsoft search engine just loaded a Windows Live Map instead.

What I'm miffed about is that I was hoping to buy Auran Trainz Classics because it included M-7's on the Harlem Line. But it appears the company went under. Even though one news website said the Trainz line would not be affected, my attempts to visit Auran's website were unfruitful. Bummer.

If waiting for the new MSTS means we'll get all 3 Metro-North lines, I guess it'll be well worth the wait! If we can't get all 3, hopefully we'll at least get the Hudson and New Haven, as they are both part of longer lines. I wonder how much hard drive space this sucker's gonna chew up.

This seems like a pretty awesome game, but I will definitely need a new computer before I can run it. Oh well, I have time!

You should be looking at forums on sites dedicated to computer simulations if you're interested in following the progress of the upcoming Train Sim 2. Train-Sim and UKTrainSim are both good ones which remain updated with information. This one has a lot of outdated information (for example, XP is now a supported platform for the game, it's no longer Vista-only) because it's not as active.

"Every railroad" means simply that all the tracks catalogued in the licensed commercial track databases will be present in the game. This does not mean all the details will be correct (switches, signals, whatnot), simply that the basic outlines will be there. In addition to that, some railroads will be modeled to higher fidelity than others out-of-the-box, and there will be support for user additions. Others will likely take advantage of autogenerated scenery and other defaults.

There is no indication that Metro North or the LIRR will be one of the routes which have been modeled in detail.