British video game company Dovetail Games went to the railroad for help creating the route in their game Train Sim World, available on PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4. It’s not the track arrangements and lineside scenery that they needed information about — that can all be seen on Google Maps — but rather the inner workings of the locomotives.
Amtrak trains in Train Sim World are pulled by Siemens ACS-64 locomotives. To model them correctly, Dovetail developers spent a week at Amtrak facilities in New York and Washington learning about the locomotives and trains and their operation. They talked with engineers and shot hundreds of photos, then mounted microphones on trains and rode up and down the Northeast Corridor.
Amtrak announced the game’s release in a statement to media on July 24.
Players looking for a challenge can enable positive train control in the form of Amtrak’s Advanced Civil Speed Enforcement System and pulse-code cab signal automatic train control, plus an alerter. This adds considerable challenge to the game since any overspeeding will set off a penalty brake application.
Train Sim World is not the only train simulator available, but it has two notable differences from a traditional train sim.
First, it’s available on Xbox One and Playstation 4 consoles in addition to Windows PC. Train simulators are rarely released on consoles, which are less powerful than gaming computers and are considered to be for more casual games. Matt Peddlesden, a senior producer at Dovetail Games, wrote in an email that “Console gamers are traditionally interested primarily in raw gameplay, where the usual PC player is more looking for the depth of simulation.” He said that Train Sim World aims to deliver both.
According to the 2018 Nielsen Games 360 report, 66 percent of the United States population over the age of 13 plays video games for an average of 11 percent of their leisure time. Of those gamers, 49 percent prefer to play on a console while 21 percent prefer a computer.
The second notable difference is the player’s perspective. Instead of controlling a train viewed from a disembodied camera that can float in the air near a moving train or sit inside its cab, the player drops into the body of a railroad worker and can explore the world on foot. To operate a train, a player sits down in an engineer’s seat. They can move the controls modeled in the cab or use buttons and joysticks on their controller like hotkeys for the main controls.
The modeled world is just a short 32-mile slice of the Northeast Corridor: from Newark International Airport to New Rochelle, N.Y., via New York Penn Station. Besides Amtrak trains, players can also work CSX switch jobs out of Oak Point Yard to Hunts Point Terminal, Fresh Pond Junction, or Harlem Terminal. None of the three commuter railroads which run over parts of the modeled line — Metro-North, Long Island Rail Road, or New Jersey Transit — are included, nor is the Acela Express, although Peddlesden said they photographed and recorded other trains during their research visit for future release.
Besides the Northeast Corridor, Train Sim World includes two other routes, both set in the present day: the Great Western Railway between London Paddington and Reading, England, and the S-Bahn Mitteldeutschland in Leipzig, Germany.
More information is available online.
interesting to study the history and process of creating future top games
I’m still a fan of Auran/N3V Games Trainz series of games. They’ve actually gotten the controls of steam locomotives an option to learn as well. I can’t attest to their accuracy but it can make for an interesting experience.
Will be interesting to see if any programmers try to get network gaming involved so one person can be the engineer and the other the conductor, or in the case of steam the fireman.
Gary Caramella: You’re correct — there’s no fuel shut-off on the ACS-64. I got myself into trouble with the CSX GP40-2 which is also included in the game.
I can attest personally that Doviental Games does an excellent job in portraying railroad operations. I only have the CSX Heavy Haul DLC, but from my experience, they have added a lot stuff into the game to make it as realistic as possible. E.g. you have to have the generator field switch on in order to move the locomotive. Other train simulators like Train Simulator 2017, doesn’t even have the generator field switch as a button that you can interact with. If their NEC route is anything like their CSX Sandpatch Grade, it is going to be as close to real life as you are going to get without it actually being real life.
Emergency fuel shut-off?? It’s an electric locomotive for cryin’ out loud. By the way, Siemens diesels are junk. But they do have an emergency fuel shut-off.
If you’re looking for a good successor to the old classic “Transport Tycoon” game, give Transport Fever a try. A lot of fun just running trains around and building infrastructure or play the scenarios. Some of the mods are really impressive.
https://www.transportfever.com/
I hope they got the physics of the train’s operation right. Previous efforts by this publisher have not topped Microsoft Train Simulator/Open Rails which also has the advantage of being basically free and easy to customize with a large community and extensive collection of rolling stock and routes.
They went to the right company to learn about games – Amtrak !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@Sammy – As the creator of the C39-8, C30-7, and U30C DLC for TS2017, I disagree with your statement. We have had almost the same interactive controls as TSW since our first loco was released back in 2015.