Railworks America

It's easy to get annoyed and sometimes down right ticked off about a product's short comings and flaws, and Railworks is no different than any other product to a greater or lesser degree when it comes to it's annoying quirks. This week many of us are having the frustrating "Dash 9 update" issue with our installation of RW3, so I've thought about my experience with RW3, MSTS, and Trainz and what it is about RW that makes it the best train sim for me and why I choose to use it over the others in spite of its quirks.

In a word: realism. Overall when I'm using RW I find it to be the most immersive experience, where I can be in a virtual world that is the most believable and satisfying for my personal perception.

So, what do you like about RW and what makes it worth using, warts and all for you?

i like the same things i liked about N scale modeling.. It fits in a small physical space. Its non demanding ( no responsibilities ) Its relaxing, It doesnt have to be real ( it can be a little artistic, unlike the planes i work on ). Its Just enough of a pain in the behind to stay interesting and it can be as challenging or simple as i want on any given day..
Pam

I, too, like the immersion of it. Sometimes you can get really lost in it. I like to drive from the cab or head out view. That keeps me down at the real engineers level. I do explore, but I like to stay down to earth with for the most part. I also like being able to create with it. I like to paint trains, build routes and write scenarios. The only thing I have not tackled yet is 3D modelling. Then being able to share it and have people actually like what I did.

Dare I say it...

I like model building.

I don't think I have driven an engine in months other than testing for SMM and MadMike.

Much of my family worked in railroading (My grandfather was a locomotive engineer for some 40 years, my aunt was yardmaster of a fairly large yard for a number of years, my uncle did customs for some 45 years) and I was around it a lot as a kid and I thought it was cool, and the northern transcon runs about 1000 feet from the house I grew up in, the sheer size and power of locomotives is just awesome. I sort of grew out of it when I got a bit older but I bought Railworks because it was on sale during the March Madness sale and I got a bit hooked on it

The immersion, and the realism. Take it a step further, join VORA. They take a route like Barstow/ San Berdoo, and customized it to absolute real. Then you train to be an engineer, take tests, then run an actual timetabled route. It's as real as you can get. Nick and his team are just fantastic. Oh, you cannot get that perfect route unless you join VORA, so don't look for it. And it is perfection, right down to the signals, mile posts, roads and scenery.

What do I like? Well, I know also that this game is full of bugs that can be quite annoying (eh-em, dash 9 update...) but during times like that, I have HO scale model railroading. What I like about real model trains is the same thing I like about Railworks. I like the amount of creativity and detail that goes in to locos and rolling stock. I love the way that it has an immersion factor as many people have already stated. With Railworks 2012 specifically, although I can't truly enjoy ALL the benefits (lights, wet windows, etc.) with TSX turned on, I can pretty much max out the sliders otherwise and to me, that makes a very good representation of driving real freight trains. The cab sway, superelevation, ability to pan around the cab, and interactive environments are all things I wished for during my MSTS days! All in all, I love this game and moreover, I like all of the people who have created things for this game...Even the RSC guys that keep catching lots of flak. I'd say that after most of these little bugs get worked out this sim will be far better than anything previously offered! I just sure hope that these little bugs don't spell the demise of this great sim sooner than later!

-Richard Wongsing

Oh, and I forgot to mention, the Horseshoe Curve route, NEC, ALL of the DLC loco packs (i.e: HH NS SD40-2's, Dash 9's, widenose SD40-2's, SD70's) I have purchased and the Footeforward NS scenarios (just purchased last night) are my specifically favorite things! I hope there are many more exciting things to come for my sim enjoyment...(anxiously awaiting my future purchase of Amtrak P42's, F40's and Sherman Hill...I'll surely be adding those things to the list!)

-Richard Wongsing

i have played all the train sim's out there. I still have MSTS but not installed i also have trainz 12 installed but RW3 gets played the most. Thats becuse i love the 3D Cabs i love just seeing how Railworks as grown. Reminds me how MSTS started off. RW3 will be here for awhile and i think with mr Danny beck working on stuff RW3 will take off like MSTS Did. After all Streamlines did that for MSTS when mr Beck was over there.

I started with train simulators in the mid 90's when Train Master was still a side winder before they went to TM4 that featured a out the front window cab view. It wasn't long after the release of TM4 that the software was sold to PI Engineering and it is still available today. Then in early 2001, I pre-ordered MSTS and once it arrived and over the course of the next 9 years I created several routes in MSTS, a few scenery objects and I even attempted a few engine repaints. I finally moved on to Rail Works in 2010. I do agree that Rail Works is the best looking train game on the market today. The Detail on the DLC locomotives is outstanding and the 3D world is very good looking. Having built routes in both MSTS and Rail Works, I feel Rail Works is a real step up in route building compared to MSTS. To make a comparison, route building in MSTS was like using Atlas snap track, whereas route building in Rail Works is like using Atlas flex track with hand laid switches (turnouts for all you model railroaders ) without the extra work involved in hand laying switches. As for realism, to be honest, I can tell you from rail world experience RSC has missed the boat on several issues. That being said I still do enjoy switching cars in Rail Works and really like being able to throw a switch by clicking on the switch stand and being able to stand beside a car in the #8 view when I knuckle in. All in all I do enjoy Rail Works and the Rail Works community and I believe RSC is continually trying to improve the product, but that being said, I also believe RSC is happy with the current physics and I believe they do not have any plans on updating the physics in the near future.

Regards,
Rich S.

I LIKE that modellers, scenario builders and drivers, both hard- and softcore seem all to unite in this sim and enjoy it together.
I LIKE the look and feel of TS2012
I LIKE that there is one nice forum (sorry, don't care about the other two US forums) around in order to discuss the sim and enjoy the sim even better.
I LIKE that there is a nice and easy way to download and install add-ons via Steam.

One of my favoritie things about Railworks is its stability. It was rare for me to be able to complete a MSTS activity without it crashing. RW lets me complete scenarios. Even though the physics in RW are not great, I like the way the keyboard controls are laid out. Completing a task in RW is much easier that MSTS. I also like being a part of the RWA community. This forum is a great source of help when I have questions or issues. Thanks to all of you for your contributions.

Harry

Modeling. Sometimes it makes me want to jump out a fifth-story window into a cup of water, or dance naked with a porcupine, but it's definitely the 3D modeling that keeps me in the game. Even though i've been a train enthusiast since I was old enough to remember anything, I rarely run routes or trains because I would rather be building them or making accesories.

SMMDigital wrote:dance naked with a porcupine,

OUCH!!!! That's gotta hurt.

Dancing with a porcupine?