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'Microsoft Train Simulator 2' - 8 New Screens

by Rainier on Aug. 27, 2008 @ 3:06 a.m. PDT

Announced way back in 2003, Microsoft Train Simulator 2 provides the opportunity to command a 200-ton modern diesel locomotive or operate a steam-breathing behemoth from the past.

Train Simulator 2 will model almost all of the world’s railways using sophisticated processing techniques and real-world track data.

Powerful tools will let users build upon this framework by customizing, extending, creating, and sharing their own content with other virtual railroading enthusiasts.

Detailed 3-D cabs, locomotives, and rolling stock with real-world physics, functioning signals and switches, passenger/freight loading and unloading, dynamic weather, highly-detailed DirectX 10 graphics, and 5.1 Surround Sound all provide a highly realistic experience.

Highly-detailed modern and historical routes in North America and Europe combine with innovative terrain modeling, custom and automatically-generated scenery objects, and 3-D systems to enable a realistic low-and-slow experience that brings the world alive. A sophisticated dispatching system with AI trains model realistic railroad operations.

Microsoft Train Simulator 2 features :

  • Five new, highly detailed routes from around the world. "Microsoft Train Simulator 2" allows virtual engineers to relive the golden age of steam by taking trains around the historic Horseshoe Curve on the Pennsylvania Railroad circa 1946, or on a high-speed run through Germany on the world-famous Deutsche Bahn AG.
  • A living world. Railroads in "Microsoft Train Simulator 2" run through a dynamic environment, immersing conductors in a virtual world. Virtual engineers look out of their locomotive to see people in the stations and on the streets, cars moving about, and animals roaming the countryside. A new dynamic weather effect adds an additional layer of realism.
  • Realistic railroad simulation. Virtual engineers can take charge of one of 13 fully interactive 3-D cabs complete with accurate, fully functional gauges and working controls, including, for the first time, U.S. steam locomotives. Vivid sound effects bring to life the rumble of a powerful modern diesel as it lugs a long coal train and the distinctive sounds of high-speed electric locomotives as they operate over famous routes in Europe.
  • Real-world rail activities. Operational events unique to each route allow virtual engineers to choose from a variety of activities such as operating a passenger train on a strict timetable or keeping a heavy steam-powered freight train running at peak efficiency. Alternatively, users can sit back and enjoy many of the routes in the role of a passenger as the train rolls down the tracks.
  • Open architecture. "Microsoft Train Simulator 2" allows users to customize and expand their experience by creating new trains, routes, scenery and challenges that suit their specific interests. Users also will find it easy to add content from third-party sources and import content from "Microsoft Train Simulator v1.0." Updates on the latest railroad features will be available online to enhance gameplay.

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