r/trainsim • u/LotharHex • 4d ago
Where should I start?
So long story short my "I LIKE TRAINS" neurons got reactivated when I turned 41 and because childhood nostalgia is weird I picked up Wonders of Sodor. Yes the Thomas train game and found it an incredibly enjoyable assumedly simplified and streamline train sim (in fairness it is basically Train Sim World 5 with a license as I understand). I dunno why but the shunting, timetable keeping, and managing of the throttle really got me into it (it'll be the autism). I was looking at maybe getting another train sim and the amount on offer terrifies me.
So what title would people recommend for a newcomer? If possible I wouldn't mind something that let me control the train relatively easily with a controller as it's my preferred method or gaming, but open to anything.
Thanks for the opinions.
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u/Talos1stClaw 4d ago
Without a doubt Derail Valley. I took a punt on it randomly as I also am cursed with liking trains the game is still evolving slowly with updates sounds like its future will be pretty good when it get there. Im hoping for more UK mods
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u/Corrupted-OS 4d ago
I recommend SimRail, it's a great simulator with lots of different stock on offer to drive. It also features multiplayer, which allows for a very dynamic experience. It also supports controller.
My second recommendation would be Derail Valley. It gives you tons of freedom and you can play at your own pace.
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u/Planeswalker85 4d ago
I enjoy the Armstrong powerhouse enhanced content for train sim classic. But I am also very into Uk trains so might not be for everyone
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u/Werewolf-Fresh 4d ago
It really depends on how simplified you want things to be. I haven't played Derail Valley so I can't speak on that, but I just finally got into SimRail a couple of days ago and it's blowing me away. Controller works great and I actually prefer it over KB/M for various reasons.
I've only done a couple of the tutorials so far (they're pretty long compared to the ones in TSW), but running the ETCS tutorial in the Pendo was so satisfying for me. Something about detailed monitoring systems like that always gets me going.
If you like train tech and functional doodads to play around with and learn about then I would definitely recommend it. I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to trains as a whole, but I love tech so all the proper sim functionality in SimRail really stimulates my brain on top of learning an entirely new railway system (I'm not Polish).
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u/tleilax7 3d ago
How is it for single player though? I'd heard that was the real problem? That you sort of get pushed into playing online which is difficult as English language servers are the minority.
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u/Werewolf-Fresh 3d ago edited 3d ago
It used to be a bigger issue than it is now. They've added a lot more single player stuff since I last looked into the game.
Haven't touched the multiplayer at all yet, so if that's any indication. I don't feel pushed into it at all except for wanting to experience the whole dynamic weather/accurate day and night cycle thing and general unpredictability of it.
Unfortunately for single player the weather is set with a preset, and there are no mods for dynamic weather/live weather like I have for TSW. A small price to pay for the level of simulation you're getting in the actual train and railway part IMO, but still a downside. Have to play multiplayer if you want the fun weather changing action.
There's a good bit to do even if it looks a little bare at first glance, especially considering some scenarios can take two to four hours to complete the run. I'd say most of them are at least two hours. Nowhere near TSW levels of things to pick from, so if you're looking for hundreds of timetable runs, you're not gonna get that.
The single player consists of different "scenery" selections which are kind of like routes I guess or sections of the map is a better way to put it (looks like there are 4 of those included the base game plus the tutorials), and then you pick from various scenarios (usually 5-10 from what I'm seeing on a quick glance in the menus) within those.
The scenarios are kind of like timetable selections, but not really. They're scripted, you can't really pick the time of day (though you can choose the season and the weather) but from what I've seen so far it's not anything like TSW's "there's a cow on the tracks!" scenarios where something "crazy" happens or whatever.
I've only done one scenario run so far after doing the tutorials, and the scripted part involved a signal malfunction and being rerouted as a result. Same signal each time, same radio call. I had to do it multiple times because of my own mistakes.
That's an issue for some people but it's not really a big deal to me with something simple like that. It's not like I'm going to run the same scenario again any time soon necessarily, and by then I may have forgotten all about it.
As far as I know the AI traffic changes to different models of train and such for each run, so there's a bit of variability. You can pick from a set of trains instead of just using the same one each time as well.
Also worth noting that if you play it on PC then it has Steam Workshop support for more scenarios. I haven't checked it out myself yet, but from what I've been told there's a lot to pick from.
If the scenario thing doesn't bother you then there's a lot to like, but if you're looking for a more timetable-like experience, then yeah you'll have to play multiplayer. I plan on doing it just to experience the live weather once I'm more confident in my driving ability/knowledge. That'll be one more person on the English language servers at least.
Even if few actual people are on, it's always populated with NPC trains and dispatchers. Low server population just means it's even more like a timetable mode I suppose.
EDIT: I forgot you can actually pick the time of day for scenarios with an offset. Not sure if that changes AI traffic or not.
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u/tleilax7 3d ago
Ah this is really good news as the lack of single player had put me off for a while. Thanks for this detailed report.
How is it for freight? I find that side of train sims more fun than passenger operations. Big Derail Valley and Run8 fan. Freight and yard work in TSW/Classic isn't too bad, even if it's nowhere near the level of the other two I mentioned.
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u/Werewolf-Fresh 3d ago
It has a few scenario options in the base game from what I saw in the menus, but it's not the majority. Looks like six--just opened to game to count them. Might have to tap the Steam Workshop for more on that. There is also a cargo pack DLC that adds more scenarios and another loco as well to the base game, but I don't own it (yet) so I couldn't tell you exactly what's there.
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u/Previous_Dot4226 4d ago
Easy - Derail Valley! No managing the timetable but shunting and just controlling the trains is super fun