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  • World of Subways

  • General discussion of computer gaming and railroad simulations. Topics include MS Train Simulator (MSTS), Auran Trainz, Railroad Tycoon, Railroad Dispatcher and more...
General discussion of computer gaming and railroad simulations. Topics include MS Train Simulator (MSTS), Auran Trainz, Railroad Tycoon, Railroad Dispatcher and more...

Moderators: LIRRMEDFORD, 8th Notch

 #954920  by pnaw10
 
Hello all... I received a copy of World of Subways Volume 1 last Christmas. I mentioned some thoughts about it briefly in another thread, but didn't get into much detail since that thread was mostly about Trainz Classics.

Edit: I see there was an earlier thread on WoS volume 1 (it had a more obscure title, so I missed it at first), and as a result I've deleted most of this post since most of my thoughts on WoS Volume 1 were already expressed by others.

So, I'm looking for some thoughts on WoS Volumes 2 and 3. Has anyone purchased either of these newer versions? The screen shots look more impressive than Volume 1 did, and I even watched one of the promotional videos for Volume 3, but I'd also greatly appreciate any "real life user reviews" from anyone who has 2 or 3.

My initial impressions on Volume 2, from what I've seen:
- Entirely underground; on another site, someone writing about the game's pre-release screen shots mentioned how that might be boring since you never see daylight. Although, if the simulation follows the route truly, I agree with the designers to choose the longest route, rather than some other shorter route just because it goes above-ground.
- Are the announcements entirely in German? While I respect the reality of the simulation, I would imagine that's not much fun if you don't know German.

My initial impressions on Volume 3:
- The Circle Line seems like a fun idea, and it does offer a variety of underground, open cut and elevated railway.
- The game's website claims that they used the actual recorded announcements used on the prototypes. (Never having been to London, I can't confirm or argue, but the announcements I heard in the video certainly sounded realistic -- much, much better than the awful announcements on the PATH in Volume 1.)
- The controls seem more complex, since you have to access controls on both sides of the cab. Do you really have to walk back and forth all the time, or is everything still operable via simple keyboard commands like Volume 1? Can you reassign the commands, for example, if you'd rather scrap the defaults and use the commands you're used to using from a previous volume?
 #956909  by LIRRMEDFORD
 
Being that I am a NY metro fan I haven't gotten WoS 3 yet but I have tried 2 and I agree with you that it would be better if the announcements weren't in german. I'm looking into getting 3 when my funds open up again, but I would imagine you could adjust the controls to the liking of your keyboard like in volume 1(Still My Favorite Sim). I'll let you know what I find when I come up with vol 3.
 #957444  by pnaw10
 
LIRRMEDFORD wrote:Being that I am a NY metro fan I haven't gotten WoS 3 yet but I have tried 2 and I agree with you that it would be better if the announcements weren't in german. I'm looking into getting 3 when my funds open up again, but I would imagine you could adjust the controls to the liking of your keyboard like in volume 1(Still My Favorite Sim). I'll let you know what I find when I come up with vol 3.
Thanks for the feedback. I think I'm going to skip 2 and get 3. Played volume 1 for the first time in awhile the other night, and it kept crashing for no apparent reason. Haven't quite been ambitious enough to try an uninstall/reinstall but it just might come to that.

To anyone just joining in, any thoughts on the WoS Vol 1 "Expansion Pack" that's on the Aerosoft site? It's only available as a download. The description doesn't really thrill me enough to spend $15 extra on a game that crashes fairly often. I'm thinking the money would be better spent on volume 3.

I'm also a fan of NY, but volume 3 is supposedly built on a brand new 3D engine which might have some perks. Would love to see them come back and model a NYC subway line (something nice and long like the A) but for now, I guess OpenBVE will have to suffice for my NYC subway fix.
 #957739  by LIRRMEDFORD
 
From what I know the expansion pack isn't really worth it. Its suppose to be just additional activities which include stop of dropping maint workers and such around the route while still trying to keep to the tight schedule. Another board I am a member of just completely trashed it in their review section. I wouldn't think its worth it eaither. And 3 is suppose to be based on a new 3d engine I cant wait I put my order in for it this saturday! :D