| Microsoft Train Simulator | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Kuju Entertainment |
| Publisher(s) | Microsoft |
| Distributor(s) | Microsoft |
| Version | 1.2 |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows |
| Release date(s) | June 2001 |
| Genre(s) | Simulation |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: E PEGI:3+ (Everyone) |
| Media/distribution | CD-ROM (2) |
| System requirements
Microsoft Windows 95/98/Me/2000/XP, 266 MHz CPU, 32 MB of RAM for Win 95/98/Me; 64 MB for Win 2000/XP, 500 MB of HD space minimum (1.5 GB for full install), CD-ROM drive, DirectX 7.0a or later compatible 4 MB video card. Requirements will change depending on the active map. Big and complicated maps requires 1 GHz+ processor, 512 MB or more RAM, and 64MB or better video card to run. |
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Microsoft Train Simulator (sometimes referred to as MSTS) is a train simulator for Microsoft Windows, released in July 2001 and developed by UK based Kuju Entertainment, and is available for purchase through Amazon.com.[1]
Contents |
The simulation allows players to operate a train on various routes in Europe, Asia and the United States. Players need to stop and start the train, couple wagons, using the computer keyboard or a hardware addition such as Raildriver to operate the controls. Sound effects are enabled.[2]
The original game featured six routes:
Included with the game was the Editors & Tools program, which allowed the user to build custom routes. Users could also create activities for any route, create custom cabviews, or edit the default ones.
The original version contained many bugs. For example the "front coupling bug", where the locomotive's front coupler would not work, the "white void bug", where the route scenery disappears, leaving a white void, and the "end-of-the-line bug", where the locomotive, if it crashes through the last buffers on the route, would fall into an empty void. There are also issues with the signalling and AI dispatching. The game is also notoriously unstable with unusually high tendencies to hang, crash without giving reason, and display error messages incorrectly and/or at the wrong times. In many instances, out-of-place error messages, usually for missing files, will cause a highly undesired crash at the wrong time. MSTS 1.2 addressed some of these issues.[3]
v1.2 added new items such as British and American rolling stock, namely the British Rail Class 50, British Rail Mark 1 Coaches, an EMD SD40-2 and general US freight cars, along with two new activities each for the SD40-2 and Class 50.
On May 7, 2003, Microsoft announced that it would be making a sister game of MSTS called Microsoft Train Simulator 2 [4] and it was first demoed to the public at E3 on May 15.[5] Seemingly its main improvements were the addition of people to the game (e.g. passengers waiting at the stations, people operating the new locomotive roster, etc.), more realistic crashes and other accidents, and turntables. It was being developed by Kuju Entertainment, the original MSTS creators. Despite restructuring efforts at Kuju, the project was however handed over to Microsoft Game Studios on August 18, 2003.[6]
This project was ultimately halted, as the following statement on April 24, 2004 from Microsoft confirmed:
Microsoft Game Studios has halted the Windows-based game "Train Simulator 2.0." The decision to halt "Train Simulator 2.0" was made some time ago and was based on a long, hard and difficult look at our business objectives and product offerings. We remain focused on the simulations category with successful, platform-driving franchises such as "Microsoft Flight Simulator."—[7]
On January 19, 2007, Microsoft announced the relaunch of the Microsoft Train Simulator project. This time the game was being made in-house by ACES Game Studio (Microsoft Game Studios) known for its long line of Microsoft Flight Simulators, as a part of the "Games for Windows" initiative. The game would have used the Microsoft Flight Simulator X graphics engine and it was planned to be compatible with both Windows Vista and Windows XP. A post on the 'The Little Wheel Goes in Back' blog, written by one of the developers, on August 23, 2007 suggested the working title was 'Train Simulator 2'.[8]
On January 23, 2009, Microsoft announced that it was permanently closing ACES Game Studios, the internal development studio responsible for both Microsoft Flight Simulator and Microsoft Train Simulator. As a result, all future development on Train Simulator 2 (which was entering the final stages of development at the time of the closure) was immediately halted, marking the second time that the project was terminated. While Microsoft states that they are committed to both the Flight Simulator and Train Simulator brands, it is currently unknown if the Train Simulator 2 project will ever be resurrected and completed sometime in the future. Although Aces Studio has closed, they have reopened under the name of Cascade Game Foundry, and they are planning on continuing to develop simulations.