TS future

[_o_OOOO_oo-Kanawha]

I wish they would post the specs which they use when they make these videos. I don't want to know the minimum, I want to know what I NEED for it to run/look good.

These clips don't necessarily have to be rendered in real time during game play. Do these game engines have a render function using maximum settings running a scripted scenario using any amount of CPU time it takes to produce those clips?

More pixels and eye candy, more realism, means your new 'most and best of everything needed' gaming rig usually ends up running compromise settings in real game play, just like today with TS 2016.

Creation tools, documentation, DRM, etc. Anybody knows?

[bnsfsubdivision]

I wish they would post the specs which they use when they make these videos. I don't want to know the minimum, I want to know what I NEED for it to run/look good.

These clips don't necessarily have to be rendered in real time during game play. Do these game engines have a render function using maximum settings running a scripted scenario using any amount of CPU time it takes to produce those clips?

More pixels and eye candy, more realism, means your new 'most and best of everything needed' gaming rig usually ends up running compromise settings in real game play, just like today with TS 2016.

Creation tools, documentation, DRM, etc. Anybody knows?

UE4 is free and open source. Question is: To what extent will the SDK be released?

[_o_OOOO_oo-Kanawha]

UE4 is free and open source. Question is: To what extent will the SDK be released?

Does that SDK mean 3D design and texturing/animating of models? I think that topic is well covered in content creation courses, commercial books/periodicals and free resources available on the Net.

Locomotive and wagon physics, light, sound and smoke emitters, signaling and interlocking scipts, AI/automatic dispatcher work orders are the areas of expertise current and wannabee content creators or route builders need to get themselves acquainted with. Many of these subjects are barely documented for Railworks even, and require strong perseverance and lots of trial and error when one doesn't want to resort to copy-paste.

[bnsfsubdivision]

UE4 is free and open source. Question is: To what extent will the SDK be released?

Does that SDK mean 3D design and texturing/animating of models? I think that topic is well covered in content creation courses, books and free resources available on the Net.

Locomotive and wagon physics, light, sound and smoke emitters, signaling scipts, AI/automatic dispatcher work orders are the areas of expertise current and wannabee content creators need to get themselves acquainted with. Many of these subjects are barely documented for Railworks even, and require strong perseverance and lots of trial and error when one doesn't want to resort to copy-paste.

SDK includes basically everything (including the things you just mentioned). Hence I'm curious to see as what extent we will be able to play around with the files.

[Derek]

Hi,
The grab was from real time playing the game, but as of yet no lods have been made and no real optimization. Sorry not sure what the PC spec was but it was no beast, those details will come soon enough though once we have nailed it.

US route because we wanted to.

Game or Sim?

I think Ben put it right, we are redefining what a Simulator is. It certainly feels real to me when I have to start up my engine, walk and climb into the cab and run through the start up sequence... (we did not model the cab to that high fidelity for no reason...)

So much more to come I promise, but I know you will have many more questions.

http://train-simulator.com/the-future-o ... imulation/

regards

derek

[plovdiv21]

I wish they would post the specs which they use when they make these videos. I don't want to know the minimum, I want to know what I NEED for it to run/look good.

These clips don't necessarily have to be rendered in real time during game play. Do these game engines have a render function using maximum settings running a scripted scenario using any amount of CPU time it takes to produce those clips?

More pixels and eye candy, more realism, means your new 'most and best of everything needed' gaming rig usually ends up running compromise settings in real game play, just like today with TS 2016.

Creation tools, documentation, DRM, etc. Anybody knows?

UE4 is free and open source. Question is: To what extent will the SDK be released?

Steam IS DRM.

In the comments and answers by DTG on FB they said there would be a route editor for players and devs

I believe it stated the clips were alpa renders from the game

[bnsfsubdivision]

I think Ben put it right, we are redefining what a Simulator is. It certainly feels real to me when I have to start up my engine, walk and climb into the cab and run through the start up sequence... (we did not model the cab to that high fidelity for no reason...)
derek

..or stop your train, go outside and take a dump because the onbaord toilets are beyond unacceptable condition...

[buzz456]

I think Ben put it right, we are redefining what a Simulator is. It certainly feels real to me when I have to start up my engine, walk and climb into the cab and run through the start up sequence... (we did not model the cab to that high fidelity for no reason...)
derek

..or stop your train, go outside and take a dump because the onbaord toilets are beyond unacceptable condition...

You have spent waaaaay too much time hanging around with Anthony and Nate.

[plovdiv21]

I wish they would post the specs which they use when they make these videos. I don't want to know the minimum, I want to know what I NEED for it to run/look good.

These clips don't necessarily have to be rendered in real time during game play. Do these game engines have a render function using maximum settings running a scripted scenario using any amount of CPU time it takes to produce those clips?

More pixels and eye candy, more realism, means your new 'most and best of everything needed' gaming rig usually ends up running compromise settings in real game play, just like today with TS 2016.

Creation tools, documentation, DRM, etc. Anybody knows?

UE4 is free and open source. Question is: To what extent will the SDK be released?

UE4 is free but not open source

[bnsfsubdivision]

I wish they would post the specs which they use when they make these videos. I don't want to know the minimum, I want to know what I NEED for it to run/look good.

These clips don't necessarily have to be rendered in real time during game play. Do these game engines have a render function using maximum settings running a scripted scenario using any amount of CPU time it takes to produce those clips?

More pixels and eye candy, more realism, means your new 'most and best of everything needed' gaming rig usually ends up running compromise settings in real game play, just like today with TS 2016.

Creation tools, documentation, DRM, etc. Anybody knows?

UE4 is free and open source. Question is: To what extent will the SDK be released?

UE4 is free but not open source

The entire Unreal Engine source code is available on their GitHub page.

[NorthernWarrior]

Where to start...!

Big grin on my face at the pre-Alpha demonstration of TSW, have to concur with Paul Jackson's sentiments that this is some sort of culmination to all the text based and side scrolling sims of the late 1990's when we could only dream about high quality graphics. This is where TANE should have taken Trainz and I agree that if the price of getting such a quantum leap is dumping backward compatibility that is the correct decision. Better physics etc., well we will see but a more open world you can walk around in is another positive step for me - a proper living, breathing environment.

Of course with my Mr Pragmatic hat on, the presentation was very much what Dovetail wanted us to see and there are many questions probing just below the surface not just in more depth:

* Despite the TS2017 offer almost inevitably many will see this as the wrapping up of this era of the franchise. Look how quickly Rail Simulator fell off the grid once Railworks came out to play. Certainly if I was a commercial developer, expect to see sales of anything due to come out between now and TSW tail off dramatically. On my own part, useless new laptop notwithstanding, I would be disinclined to start anything new in existing TS, route building wise.
* Hardware requirements - this is presumably going to need a fairly bullish rig to run on - are we getting into the territory that FSX did when it the PC that could run it at full capability hadn't even been conceived at the initial release stage.
* Is the final version of TSW going to just be the Sandpatch route or will there be other content too?
* And now to the doozy where my interest and that of many others lies - the sandbox to create your own worlds, routes and physical assets such as rolling stock or static objects. I fear the technical advance into UE4 is going to represent a serious sucker punch to those creating content at the hobby level of time and money - particularly if high end graphics and modelling programmes are going to be required. In which case, we will be almost entirely dependent on Dovetail and their professional level associates for additional content, which will come at a price.

In conclusion I still think it's a great development, if nothing else one in the eye for N3V games and their lacklustre attempt to reboot the franchise. Definitely going to be investing in the TS2017/route pack upgrade at 75% off and get on the beta access.

[_o_OOOO_oo-Kanawha]

The entire Unreal Engine source code is available on their GitHub page.

Isn't any game or sim more than the game engine alone? The game engine might be available in open source, but anything that is bolted upon it doesn't have to be?

Or is UE like a high level programming language that can be used to create the game's world? Clear text lines of code that cannot be obfuscated to hide your tricks or secrets? I don't think commercial creators would like that.

Train physics is mostly Newtonian, signaling scripts are like a patch board, but realistic and varied AI operation of trains or dispatcher intelligence, in what language comes that? Open Rails source code should shed some light on these aspects of railroad simulation.

Interesting times lay ahead and no doubt BNSFsub and many other content creators feel their brains buzzing, their hands itching to try for themselves.

[peterhayes]

It looks good, but why use DirectX 10.0 when versions 11.0 and 12.0 are much superior graphics wise. When P3D release their version of FSX wit DirectX 11.0 it was amazing when compared to ver 9.0c used in FSX and TS2016.
Ah well, we can't have everything!
pH

[JM1261]

What I don't like about the new TSW is that there will not be any backwards compatibility (granted the "old" content would stick out like a sore thumb). Nevertheless, that AC4400 just begs for heritage stickers..

[ZekTheKid]

What I don't like about the new TSW is that there will not be any backwards compatibility (granted the "old" content would stick out like a sore thumb). Nevertheless, that AC4400 just begs for heritage stickers..

Hey now, we have Kevin, Anthony, and Nate here, working on the best AC4400CW that TS will get, so don't get too hung up on the one for TSW.