Tag Archives: Train Simulator

WAP-7 Preview

WEP-7 Indian RailwaysMy graphic artist send me an in progress preview of the WAP-7 Indian Railways Engine for an upcoming release of Train Sim.  There is still allot of work he has to do on the interior of the Train, but as you can see its looking great already.

Indian trains are frequently requested by Train Sim users, often with a daily reminder.  I am happy o be able to add this train to Train Sim in the near futureWEP-7 Indian Railways

At this point I am guessing I am about 4 weeks a
way from having this train published as I
am also working on a new game (more information coming soon) so please don’t email me every day asking when its ready 🙂

Train Sim Updated iOS, Amazon, Windows Store

CTA 5000The reason that I always publish to Google Play/Android first, is that the updates are almost instant and always available the same day.   All the other platforms take longer, between 1-7 days.  Even longer if the update gets rejected for something silly.

This last update to Train Sim was especially important because of the major improvement to sound effects, so I wanted to publish these changes ASAP.  I am happy to announce that this new version of Train Sim with improved sounds is now available for iOS, Amazon Store & Windows Store.  The only remaining platform I still have to update is Windows Phone.  However Windows Phone affects a very small % of the player base so at this point over 99% of Train Sim fans have access to the newest version.

 

Train Sim Android with new Sounds!

Train SimulatorSounds Sounds Sounds!  

After weeks of work I am finally ready to release the new version of Train Sim.  This is a huge update addressing one of the most common requests for Train Sim; Better Sounds.

Each train engine now has its own custom sounds for its engine, horn, bell and breaks.  When uncompressed there are over 85MB of new sound data.  I think the end result is quite impressive, giving the simulation a much higher level of realism.  As a bonus I also added a rain sound that turns on during the Rain weather setting.

In this update I also fixed some smaller bugs and made some minor improvements to the Country Loop Scene train stations.

 

Sounds Sounds Sounds

Train Sim Southern EnglandOne of the constant complaints I get about Train Sim is that the locomotive sounds need improvement.  In the past I have been hampered by the 50 MB file limit in the Google Play store (audio files take space).  I have also had a hard time finding a sound engineer that was able to come up with these realistic locomotive sounds.

Fortunately both of these challenges are now solved.  So my focus for the next Train Sim release is to add realistic and unique audio for each of the 41 Trains in Train Sim.  I have already implemented several of the new audio effects and they sound great.

Stay tuned for more info.

 

Train Sim 3.4.5 Released

CTA 5000Train Sim 3.4.5 for Android is now live.  This new update features a new Chicago “L” CTA 5000 subway train with a realistic 3D driver cabin as well as a passenger 3D interior.

Also in this update are much requested
longer trains.  I managed to increase each train by at least 1 additional coach CTA 5000 Inside(without killing performance) and in some cases by 2-4 to match the exact historical configuration.  Opposite Trains also received a length increase.   Also in this update the Dash 9 Interior cabin has been significantly improved, eliminating one of the weaker 3D cabins in Train Sim.  I am currently working on releasing this update for iOS and Windows Store/Phone.

 

 

 

 

Train Sim All 3D Cabs

As promised in my Post in February, I have been focusing on delivering 3D cabs for all Trains in Train Sim.  With the addition of a 3D cabin for the Flying Scotsman my goal is complete and all 40 trains in Train Sim now have a 3D Cabin.

Flying Scotsman Cabin

Now to be fair not all the 3D cabins have the same standard.  The weakest of the lot are the Dash 9, LNER Mallard and the NY Hudson.  I will be focusing on improving these in the near future.  There are also a few Passenger Cars that do not have a 3D Interior that will have to be fixed.

However for now I am happy to report that there are no more 2D Train Cabins in Train Sim and that all future trains will also have 3D Cabins.

Train Sim Google Play (Android) Store

Metrovagonmash 81-760/761 Added to Train Sim

Metrovagonmash 81-760Train Sim 3.4.3 was release for Android.  This is a rather large update that added a new Subway Train and an amazing 3D Cab for the Challenger Locomotive.  This means that The Flying Scotsman is the last train to feature a 2D Cabin and I hope to have that fixed in the next release.  In this release I also made it possible for all opposite trains to stop at stations, making their behaviour slightly more realistic.

Metrovagonmash 81-760Here is the list of new features in Train Sim version 3.4.3:

-3D Cab for Challenger Train
-Track Switching to the Desert andMountain Scenes
-Metrovagonmash 81-760 Subway Train
-More Historically Accurate Flying Scotsman Tender
-Opposite Trains now stop on stations

This weekend I will try to get Train Sim iOS version updated as well, which means it could go live within 7-10 days.

40 Trains 50MB

The next update of Train Sim will feature a new 2-6-0 Mogul type steam locomotive.  This will bring the number of playable  Locomotives to 40.  This is a significant milestone for Train Sim and a bit of a technical achievement as all these trains fit in a 50MB download just under the limit imposed by Google Play.  On top of the highly detailed 3D Train Models and their 3D cabins the game also contains 23 Car models, 8 scenes and over 100 environment models and textures that make the scenes look real.  At this point there are no other mobile train simulators that can even approach the number of Trains available in Train Sim.

Train Sim Mogul

Why is this important? At some point in the future I will have to make a decision about going over the 50MB download size and splitting the download into 2 parts.  This means Google Play users will first have to get a smaller 20-30MB download and then get prompted for the additional download portion that will contain the remainder of the game.  This is not a great user experience and I am hoping to avoid this.  I hope that at some point in the near future Google will expand their single download maximum size to 100MB solving this issue.  However if that does not happen and I want to add more trains and scenes I will have to move to an “additional download” model.

For now Train Sim still fits under 50MB so enjoy the new version Coming Soon to Android (iOS and Windows platforms to follow)

Train Sim 3.3.7 Released

Train SimulatorTrain Sim Android 3.3.7 Released

-Added 3D Cabs for SD7 & TGM3
-Sky now gets cloudy during Rain
-Improved Night Mode
-Improved User Interface

This is part of the ongoing updates to improve all 28 trains in Train Sim so they have the same level of quality and 3D interiors.  I am also going to try to implement Track Switching as I think I finally figured out how to do it.

Updates to Amazon, iOS and Windows platforms will follow.