The most fun for me is the surveyor module of the game. It allows you to raise mountains, cut gorges, fill indentations you create with water and place a wide variety of structures. You can even choose the ground cover and weather. Graphically it is sharp, clear, and very photo realistic. The sheep you can place in a field even BAAAAA! as you go by! How much better does it get than that?
I'm not a train sim junkie. I dont care how many pounds of steam is in the engine and stuff like that. I bought this program because I like to create things my way and then thought it would be fun to watch my world go by. Right now this game has no goals or scenarios for you to complete, so if you love that kind of stuff, stick with train sim. According to the publisher's web page, there are many more options they will be presenting in the future including scenarios. The program includes a 3D utlity that according to the readme file, says it allows you to build whatever you want and put in in your set. I haven't touched it yet, but if it works at all, would add a good bit of more flexibility in this program.
Speaking of flexibility, this program includes lot of structures like train stations, houses, animals, factories, trees, people, cars, shopping centers, churches and bridges. You can build your layout any way you want, including tunnels and bridges and it is actually very easy. You dont have to be a 3-D animator with a PHD to build things and that is another plus. My 8 year old daughter can build a layout in about 15 minutes that is OK.
Of course, once your layout is done, you can ride it! You can choose from two methods of controlling your engine. You can choose the more realistic mode, that makes you push levers, buttons and knobs in the cab to get going or you can choose a mode that is little more than the transformer/speed controller on a real HO scale train set. Slide the slider in one direction and you go forward, the farther you go the faster. Reverse the direction of the slider and you go backwards. Easy!
You can choose from 3 views. The in-cab view, looking out the windows of the engine, the chase view, where you hover along next to the train's exterior as you go or the tracking view, where you are standing in various places as your train zooms by. You can move around and watch your train from any angle you choose by pressing a button or sliding your mouse. Again, easy.
I think if you like building things, you will like this program. If you are more into simulated train operations and are more concerned with watching gauges and pushing levers, stick with MS Train Sim, (I have both programs)but for my money, I enjoy this program more due to the greater level of creativity that you can explore with and create.
Now, with the latest free upgrade (SP3), its now even better.Run the new scenarios or design your own.
Fed up with provided layouts and objects ? Then download hundreds of user-designed ones for free.
If you can spare some time away from the sim itself visit the Trainz Forums. Thousands of users to offer advice etc.
The only drawback is that you need a decent PC with a decent graphics card - a 100Mhz pentium just will not do.There are,however, plenty of options to tune the performance of the software to your performance of your PC
I am impressed ? You bet! I have even removed MSTS from my hard drive.