Well I haven't used 2013 a lot. What I did last night in 2012 was take screenshots with the FPS counter on the screen on several routes. One from the outside, one in the cab and one out the right side window. I used the exact same graphics settings on each shot, I didn't move the camera at all on any of them so they were all getting the same exact shot. Then I booted up 2013 and re-did the same exact screenshots with the counter on the screen.
FPS conclusions so far? I only saw an increase of 1-4fps..... with 1fps being the case on an overwhelming majority of the shots. I used all the exact same settings (TSX-ON, 8x anisotropic, 8x MSAA, all sliders on MAX, Depth of Field-ON, Bloom Lighting-OFF, Procedural Flora-OFF, Low Detail Shadows-OFF) as I did in 2012. But I noticed a couple things. In 2012 you could adjust Particle Density and Pedestrian Density..... in 2013 they are MISSING. So since I can't put those on MAX, it's not an apples to apples comparison UNLESS 2013 has those on MAX by default and doesn't let you adjust them. So not knowing what level those are set on, I can't be sure if my VERY MINOR increased FPS is due to a graphics engine improvement .....or due to 2013 setting the Particle Density and Pedestrian Density LOWER... thus putting a lighter load on the sim engine and increasing my FPS slightly as a result.
So needless to say... in the FPS department I'm not seeing the dramatic improvements as some here. I put in my sig my computer specs. It's a brand new HP laptop I got only 3 weeks ago. It is running in crossfire mode. I did test in single GPU mode in 2012 and I will see what 2013 improves on that front and get back to you guys on it. I actually have only 4GB, but my other 4GB arrives tomorrow or Saturday so I put 8GB on my sig ahead of time. I HIGHLY doubt that increasing to 8GB RAM is gonna increase FPS. My CPU is a brand new dual-core (went with that cuz it's my understanding Railworks doesn't use more then 2 cores at present), but it is NOT a multi-threaded CPU. I'm not sure if Railworks is multi-threaded or if it would make a big difference in FPS if it did. I was on a budget but it works really well. I get very decent frame rates with it.
I did notice on Castle Rock and on another route that the default camera was in a little different position and angle then in 2012. In most other cases it was the same. I haven't tried it on all routes or scenarios to see if it changed in others.
On Donner Pass the headlight SEEMED brighter and further down the track. But I didn't take a picture of it in 2012 to see if it's really changed in 2013 or not. It could be just my mind THINKING it's different. Otherwise I haven't seen any change in graphics quality. Everything seems to be about the same. I wasn't expecting to see anything dramatic anyways, so no real disappointment in that department. Maybe it only looks better with the NEW 2013 routes. I haven't got those yet since I only got the free 2013 update. I will buy Sherman Hill later to see. Anybody notice a graphics improvement on that route?
I'm off to play with it some more and will chime in later.
