BVE Trainsim
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| BVE TrainSim | |
|---|---|
 Screenshot of a Class 323 (BVE 4) |
|
| Developer(s) | Takashi Kojima (Mackoy) |
| Publisher(s) | Takashi Kojima (Mackoy) |
| Distributor(s) | Takashi Kojima (Mackoy) |
| Latest version | BVE TS 2.6.3 BVE TS 4.2.1947.25355 |
| Release date(s) | BVE TS 2: 2001 BVE TS 4: 2005 |
| Genre(s) | Train Simulator |
| Mode(s) | Single Player |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows (Except Vista) |
BVE Trainsim (formerly BVE, which is an abbreviation of Boso View Express) is a freeware train simulator written by Takashi Kojima, a Japanese graduate student[1]. It is currently available for the Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows 2000, and Windows XP operating systems. Users have also had success running BVE on software emulators such as Virtual PC, and WINE. Version 2 of BVE requires DirectX, while the latest version 4 release requires the Microsoft .NET platform be installed. Its former name, Boso View Express, was a pun based on the name given to the East Japan Railway Company 255 series EMU.
Users from all over the world have created hundreds of routes, objects, trains, and sounds for BVE.
Contents |
[edit] Versions
There are currently two versions of BVE. Version 2 was released in 2004. Version 4 was released in 2005.
[edit] BVE 2
The original program had a display on the right. It featured items such as "ATS" and "BRAKE APPLY". These are general items used in most modern rail systems and are helpful to the player. On top of those items were the timetable, which gave the times which the train was due to arrive at or depart from stations. This version of the game can work on older computers, and most of the routes are available. It's also the easiest to use, and it's better for beginners.
Most add-ons for this version have disappeared but some are still downloadable at some sites, as BVE 4 becomes the normal, standard wise.
[edit] BVE 4
This newer version had many innovative features, including:
- Ability to zoom in or out,
- New and more controls, including allowing the player to view analog Shift/Power or Brake Applied/Time/Speed,
- Power and brake application on one side of keyboard,
- Increased clarity of images and details,
- Better signaling,
- Ability to customize controls,
- Track viewer (move around station & environment),
- Fully working AWS & TPWS Systems,
- Realistic train performances,
- Wheelslip & Working Wipers,
- Cabs with Night and Day textures, i.e. cab goes dark when passing through a tunnel,
- Pause/Fast forward/Slow motion affecting rate of time passing and train speed (F7, F8, F9).
This version is more realistic and is not recommended for beginners. Route editing is more difficult. A few of the routes developed for BVE2 work fine with BVE4, but extended features are not available. Also, currently no route developed only for BVE 4 can be run on BVE 2.
[edit] Creation of content
Routes are written in the newer CSV (a variant of the data format) format, or in the older RW format, and use specialized commands (rather akin to HTML). Routes must include the appropriate object files, a default train to run, and may include additional sound files played along the route. Some routes were constructed as .RW files which only can run in BVE 2 (though they can be converted).
Objects in routes are written either in CSV or in the older B3D format. Objects without simple RGB colours use bitmap files instead, and they must be included. BVE 4 also supports use of DirectX (.x) files for objects, although not all features of this format work correctly in the program.
Trains may be either drivers' view or passengers' view. Both consist of large text files with the train characteristics and physics, a series of bitmaps files for the panels or surroundings as well as a picture of the train itself, and sound files. BVE sound files include: door opening, door closing, clearance to depart, engine sounds, brake application, emergency brake application, running sounds, short horn, long horn, bell, and drivers' vigilance device.
Sounds are simply WAV files.
While routes for BVE have traditionally been hand-coded in any text editor (such as vi, emacs or Notepad) or spreadsheet package (such as Calc or Microsoft's Excel) due to the lack of an editor, some routes today are made using a utility named RouteBuilder [1].
BVE supports all types of train operation (manual, ATO, etc.) but does not simulate moving objects. Therefore, one will see a static train on an opposite track. BVE also does not currently support flashing signals. Signalling support has been vastly improved in version 4.
Important things to note are that due to different character encoding between Asian and Western systems, Asian routes take much repair to work on Western systems, unless the author has made a western version, and that the .RW format is not supported since version 4. Current version available are BVE 4.2 and BVE 2.6 .
[edit] Route Structure
The 3d world in BVE is constructed through a variety of object types:
- Ground objects - usually flat grass but can include larger scenery objects such as hills or large buildings
- Rail objects - the player's track and other scenic lines
- Signals on the player's track
- Walls and Dikes - repeating items of scenery (walls, tunnels, viaducts, trees etc)
- Free objects - all other miscellaneous objects
- Backdrop image - completes the 3d effect
[edit] Downloading BVE
The program can only be legally[2] downloaded from the official website set up by its creator, Takashi Kojima, also known as Mr. Mackoy.
Other utilities may be downloaded from the same website, including:
- Track Viewer - for viewing CSV and RW routes
- Structure Viewer - for viewing CSV and B3D objects and converting them to the X format
- Motor Editor - for editing train sounds
- Train Editor - for making trains (the English version is available at Trainsimcentral).
There are also these utilities, which have not been translated yet into English:
- Gauge Editor - a useful tool for making gauges on train panels or for display
- Mirror - for rotating an object
- Object Converter - for converting B3D objects into CSV objects, and vice-versa
- CSV-X converter - for batch conversion CSV objects into the new X format
Note - For batch conversions of objects without textures, the CSV-X converter is recommended, but for converting objects with textures, the latest version of structure viewer should be used. This is due to the fact that CSV-X will remove textures which will then have to be added in manually (and due to the nature of the X format this can be time consuming, especially for complex objects), whereas Structure Viewer includes textures. On the other hand, Structure viewer only allows the conversion of one object at a time.
[edit] External links
- Official BVE Website
- BVE Route Database
- RailServe - directory of BVE websites & routes
- B-V-E.info- extensive info on the technical issues of BVE
- Official BVE Hong Kong Route Database
[edit] Notes and References
- ^ http://mackoy.cool.ne.jp/trifle/me.html linked 12 January 2007
- ^ Google search for "BVE download" provides additional download sites for BVE Trainsim, which is, in fact, illegal to download outside of the Official Website.
