Trainz
Encyclopedia
Trainz is a series of 3D
train simulator
computer games developed by Australia
n game developer N3V Games (formerly Auran). First released in 2001, the series has a large online community
that creates and shares user-created content. The game has been released in several versions, including localized versions. Trainz Simulator 12 is the latest Windows
installment in the franchise, which was released in April of 2011.
The game is divided into modules: Surveyor, Driver, and Railyard, and in some versions, Scenarios.
.
), or TRS2004, was released in September 2003. Trainz Railroad Simulator 2004 had four service packs released through 2004 and 2005. Trainz Railroad Simulator 2004 was the first version of Trainz to include interactive industries and loadable rolling stock capabilities, which allowed the player to deliver various resources (such as coal, wood, and steel) and passengers to various industries and stations across the playable area. There were many industries included and much of the bundled rollingstock was updated to include this new capability.
), or TRS2006, was released in September 2005. In Germany
, it was published by Bluesky-Interactive as ProTrain Perfect.
engines and cars, and a user-created route that was previously incomplete, Marias Pass, was included complete. The UK release date was 24 February 2006.
Volume 1, released on July 9, 2007, featured a 40-mile section of the MTA
-owned Metro North Harlem Line, Volume 2 featured Metropolis, using the Modula City system by the developer Trainzland, and Volume 3 featured the Settle-Carlisle railway line between Leeds & Settle. A demonstration of the route between Dent & Wharton with Garsdale & Hawes, titled Hawes Junction, was also included in Trainz Railroad Simulator 2006. The routes from Volumes 1 & 2 were included in Trainz Simulator 2010, while Volume 3 was released as an expansion pack for Trainz Simulator 2009 and Trainz Simulator 2010.
Trainz Classics was released as Trainz Railwayz in the United States, and was sold bundled with Trainz Railroad Simulator 2007 as De Trainz Railways in France.
The second edition, Trainz Simulator 2009: Engineers Edition, was due for release by the end of April 2009, but was cancelled for unknown reasons. The Engineers Edition would have focused on driving and operating, as well as further new content. The name was later applied to Trainz Simulator 2010: Engineers Edition.
and a retail boxed version solely via the Auran online store. Regular retail releases became available for the various regions throughout 2010. The primary additions to this version are the use of the SpeedTree
system, graphical improvements for built-in content, and performance improvements for both custom and built-in content.
Despite being called the "Engineers Edition" and focusing on the train-driving experience, the Surveyor module is still included. Specifications were announced 13 November 2009.
The game was released in the United States as Trainz Railroader 2010: Engineers Edition, published by Microsoft
.
on 4 December 2010. Users can take advantage of the iPad's functions and lay tracks, drive trains and complete tasks with the touch of their fingers. Users have access to Driver and Surveyor and can create routes and drive trains with the help of tutorials. An Android version of the game was released on 22 July 2011 and has the same features as the iPad version. The app is a port of Trainz Simulator 2010.
support, satellite view, and a multiplayer feature for the first time (multiplayer was publicly tested in TS2010). A Trainz 10th Anniversary Boxset was announced which includes the game and other extras. The game was initially released for pre-order on 18 March 2011 as part of the limited-edition Trainz 10th Anniversary Collector's Edition.
was first supported for use in Service Pack 1 for the Ultimate Trainz Collection, and is also supported by all subsequent Trainz releases.
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
train simulator
Train simulator
A train simulator is a computer based simulation of rail transport operations.-Industrial train simulations:Like flight simulators, train simulators have been produced for railway training purposes...
computer games developed by Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n game developer N3V Games (formerly Auran). First released in 2001, the series has a large online community
Online community
An online community is a virtual community that exists online and whose members enable its existence through taking part in membership ritual. An online community can take the form of an information system where anyone can post content, such as a Bulletin board system or one where only a restricted...
that creates and shares user-created content. The game has been released in several versions, including localized versions. Trainz Simulator 12 is the latest Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
installment in the franchise, which was released in April of 2011.
Overview
- Surveyor is the route editor. Here, the user can shape and "paint" the landscape with ground textures, lay tracks, and place buildings and other scenery to create a virtual world. Users can create Driver sessions (introduced in Trainz Railroad Simulator 2004) for running trains in the Driver module, both for their own routes, and for routes that were included with the game or downloaded.
- Driver takes the route created in Surveyor and allows the user to operate the trains. There are two methods of manual control: DCCDigital Command ControlDigital Command Control is a standard for a system to operate model railways digitally. When equipped with Digital Command Control, locomotives on the same electrical section of track can be independently controlled....
mode, which simulates the simple stop-and-go of a model railway, and Cabin mode, which simulates real-world physics and working cab controls. Alternatively, the trains can be given instructions and driven by the computer (Trainz Railroad Simulator 2004 and later only). This is known as "scheduling". In the Ultimate Trainz Collection and earlier versions of the game, trains ("consists") are assembled by the user and placed on the route at specific locations on the track marked in Surveyor, called trackmarks, in Driver's step-by-step setup screens, along with the weather conditions and changeability, time-of-day, train control method, etc. Starting with Trainz Railroad Simulator 2004, all of this is instead set up in Driver sessions, which are created and edited for routes in Surveyor, and Driver was changed to simply allow the user to pick a session for running. Sessions can also contain schedules for computer-driven trains, also set up by the user in Surveyor.
- Routes: Since the release of Trainz Simulator 2010, the Surveyor and Driver modes were merged into the Routes section. The list of routes which are locally installed is first shown before the list of sessions which are associated with the selected route.
- Railyard (known as My Collection in the Ultimate Trainz Collection and earlier versions of the game) is a virtual engine shedMotive power depotMotive power depot, usually abbreviated to MPD, is a name given to places where locomotives are stored when not being used, and also repaired and maintained. They were originally known as "running sheds", "engine sheds", or, for short, just sheds. Facilities are provided for refuelling and...
where the user can view locomotives and rolling stock, use some functions of the locomotives, and view the trains' descriptions.
- Scenarios are pre-scripted activities in which the user plays through a specific set of challenges, such as transporing passengers to their destinations on schedule, or switching rail cars in a rail yardClassification yardA classification yard or marshalling yard is a railroad yard found at some freight train stations, used to separate railroad cars on to one of several tracks. First the cars are taken to a track, sometimes called a lead or a drill...
without damaging the cargo.
External modules
- PaintShed is a simple program for recolouring Trainz locomotives and other rolling stock. PaintShed was included with Ultimate Trainz Collection and Trainz Railroad Simulator 2006, and was available as a separate program for Trainz Railroad Simulator 2004 and versions of Trainz prior to the Ultimate Trainz Collection.
- Content Manager is a program that allows management of the in-game files, including full descriptions, a photo, the last date modified, and its current state. It also makes downloads easier by placing objects in their proper files. It also made it easier for content creators, by making imports easier. Trainz Railroad Simulator 2006 and Trainz Classics included Content Manager Plus, the first version, Trainz Simulator 2009 included Content Manager 2.0, and Trainz Simulator 2010 included Content Manager 3.2, which has proven to be a more stable version than previous versions.
Trainz Beta 0.9
Trainz: Beta version 0.9 was released in November 2001 for testing purposes. The cover art contained a quote from Antoine de Saint Exupery.Trainz Community Edition
Trainz Community Edition was released in December 2001.- service packs 1, 2 and 3 were released from 2002, this updated the Community Edition to version 1.3. Thus the USA version is commonly known as Trainz 1.0. Service pack 3 updated Trainz to version 1.3, two builds existed; 263 and 277, the last of which was for non-English versions only.
Trainz Retail Edition
Trainz Retail Edition was released in June 2002.- service packs 1, 2 and 3 were released from 2002, this updated the Retail Edition to version 1.3. Thus the USA version is commonly known as Trainz 1.1.1.
Ultimate Trainz Collection
The Ultimate Trainz Collection, or UTC, was released on 26 November 2002 in North America. This was the first edition to include the PaintShed program and support RailDriverRaildriver
RailDriver is a desktop cab controller for train simulation software. It replaces keyboard and mouse operation as far as possible to provide a more realistic train driving experience. It is designed to be compatible with Microsoft Train Simulator, Auran's Trainz, Rail Simulator's RailWorks, BVE...
.
Trainz Railroad Simulator 2004
Trainz Railroad Simulator 2004 (also known as Trainz Railway Simulator 2004 in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
), or TRS2004, was released in September 2003. Trainz Railroad Simulator 2004 had four service packs released through 2004 and 2005. Trainz Railroad Simulator 2004 was the first version of Trainz to include interactive industries and loadable rolling stock capabilities, which allowed the player to deliver various resources (such as coal, wood, and steel) and passengers to various industries and stations across the playable area. There were many industries included and much of the bundled rollingstock was updated to include this new capability.
Trainz Railroad Simulator 2006
Trainz Railroad Simulator 2006 (also known as Trainz Railway Simulator 2006 in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
), or TRS2006, was released in September 2005. In Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, it was published by Bluesky-Interactive as ProTrain Perfect.
Trainz Railroad Simulator 2007
Trainz Railroad Simulator 2007 (sometimes abbreviated to TRS2007) was first distributed by Anuman Interactive for sale in France, Belgium and Switzerland. There were initially two versions: the standard version which consisted of Trainz Railroad Simulator 2006 with Service Pack 1 applied, and the Gold edition, which included French regional add-on items. Halycon Media later distributed Trainz Railroad Simulator 2007 with German region-specific content for the British, Austrian, and Swiss market. This is the only version of Trainz not released in the US market.Trainz Driver
Trainz Driver (also known as Trainz Driver Edition in the USA) is a version of Trainz Railroad Simulator 2006 lacking the Surveyor module, having only the Driver module, and considered a demo for TRS2006. It did, however, have different rolling stock, such as AmtrakAmtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
engines and cars, and a user-created route that was previously incomplete, Marias Pass, was included complete. The UK release date was 24 February 2006.
Trainz Classics
Trainz Classics, also abbreviated as TC, is a series of 3 standalone programs based on Trainz Railroad Simulator 2006, but with some improvements to the coding. Each release has only one or two routes, with some rolling stock and locomotives made for that route, The series attempts to focus on a particular region and point in time of the region's railway infrastructure history, for example the current release is focused on the line of Settle-Carlisle in Great Britain in the 1960s. Trainz Classics 3 was released on July 23, 2008. instead of having a lot of built-in content like other versions of Trainz.Volume 1, released on July 9, 2007, featured a 40-mile section of the MTA
Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York)
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority of the State of New York is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the U.S...
-owned Metro North Harlem Line, Volume 2 featured Metropolis, using the Modula City system by the developer Trainzland, and Volume 3 featured the Settle-Carlisle railway line between Leeds & Settle. A demonstration of the route between Dent & Wharton with Garsdale & Hawes, titled Hawes Junction, was also included in Trainz Railroad Simulator 2006. The routes from Volumes 1 & 2 were included in Trainz Simulator 2010, while Volume 3 was released as an expansion pack for Trainz Simulator 2009 and Trainz Simulator 2010.
Trainz Classics was released as Trainz Railwayz in the United States, and was sold bundled with Trainz Railroad Simulator 2007 as De Trainz Railways in France.
Trainz - The Complete Collection
Released 13th June 2008. This is a big box kind of compilation, and has 3 DVD's comprising of Ultimate Trainz Collection, TRS2004, TRS2006, Trainz Routes (volumes 1-4), and Trainz PaintShed.Trainz Simulator 2009
Trainz Simulator 2009: World Builder Edition, or TS2009, was released for digital download on 27 November 2008, and the first boxed copy orders were shipped in mid December 2008. The World Builder Edition is the full version and provides all the tools to create new and improved assets for the TS2009 engine with the inclusion of Surveyor. TS2009 contains all content from all previous versions of trains, including regional ones like Trainz Simulator 2007 and 2008. The in-game names of this regional content, however, were not presented in English.The second edition, Trainz Simulator 2009: Engineers Edition, was due for release by the end of April 2009, but was cancelled for unknown reasons. The Engineers Edition would have focused on driving and operating, as well as further new content. The name was later applied to Trainz Simulator 2010: Engineers Edition.
Addons and Standalone Packages
- Settle and Carlisle is a re-release of Trainz Classics 3 updated to be compatible with Trainz Simulator 2009 and Trainz Simulator 2010. (www.settleandcarlisle.com)
- Classic Cabon City uses the Modula City system introduced in TRS2006. (www.caboncity.com)
- Murchison 2 is an official re-release of a user-created payware route. It is a merging of the original narrow-gauge Murchison logging layout with an extensive standard-gaugeStandard gaugeThe standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
rail network. (www.murchison2.com)
Trainz Simulator 2010: Engineers Edition
Trainz Simulator 2010: Engineers Edition, or TS2010, was released on 23 November 2009 as a digital downloadDigital distribution
Online distribution, digital distribution, or electronic software distribution is the practice of delivering content without the use of physical media, typically by downloading via the internet directly to a consumer's device. Online distribution bypasses conventional physical distribution media,...
and a retail boxed version solely via the Auran online store. Regular retail releases became available for the various regions throughout 2010. The primary additions to this version are the use of the SpeedTree
SpeedTree
SpeedTree is a group of vegetation programming and modeling software products developed and sold by Interactive Data Visualization, Inc. that generates virtual foliage for animations and in real time for video games and simulations...
system, graphical improvements for built-in content, and performance improvements for both custom and built-in content.
Despite being called the "Engineers Edition" and focusing on the train-driving experience, the Surveyor module is still included. Specifications were announced 13 November 2009.
The game was released in the United States as Trainz Railroader 2010: Engineers Edition, published by Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
.
Trainz Simulator: iPad, Android
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Trainz, N3V Games released a Trainz app for the iPadIPad
The iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010 by Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs. Its size and...
on 4 December 2010. Users can take advantage of the iPad's functions and lay tracks, drive trains and complete tasks with the touch of their fingers. Users have access to Driver and Surveyor and can create routes and drive trains with the help of tutorials. An Android version of the game was released on 22 July 2011 and has the same features as the iPad version. The app is a port of Trainz Simulator 2010.
Trainz Simulator 12
Trainz Simulator 12, or TS12, was released on 12 April 2011. Among other upgrades, this product offers a variety of new routes, doppler effectDoppler effect
The Doppler effect , named after Austrian physicist Christian Doppler who proposed it in 1842 in Prague, is the change in frequency of a wave for an observer moving relative to the source of the wave. It is commonly heard when a vehicle sounding a siren or horn approaches, passes, and recedes from...
support, satellite view, and a multiplayer feature for the first time (multiplayer was publicly tested in TS2010). A Trainz 10th Anniversary Boxset was announced which includes the game and other extras. The game was initially released for pre-order on 18 March 2011 as part of the limited-edition Trainz 10th Anniversary Collector's Edition.
My First Trainz Set
My First Trainz Set was designed for the younger generation who do not want to worry about realism or management when playing the Trainz game. The game features 4 locations to lay track in that are based on rooms throughout a house, such as a bedroom or kitchen. The user has the ability to place down small toy-like objects in the replacement of buildings and scenery. However, its graphical quality of the trains, track, and objects is still very much like that of the standard Trainz simulator games. Controls are also far more simplified. The game was also ported to Android devices.Special hardware support
The desktop cab controller RailDriverRaildriver
RailDriver is a desktop cab controller for train simulation software. It replaces keyboard and mouse operation as far as possible to provide a more realistic train driving experience. It is designed to be compatible with Microsoft Train Simulator, Auran's Trainz, Rail Simulator's RailWorks, BVE...
was first supported for use in Service Pack 1 for the Ultimate Trainz Collection, and is also supported by all subsequent Trainz releases.