#TRAIN SIMULATOR GAMES DRIVERS#
#TRAIN SIMULATOR GAMES SOFTWARE#
#TRAIN SIMULATOR GAMES PC#
#TRAIN SIMULATOR GAMES SERIES#

It’s quite important for training that you can simulate these telephone calls because they are really important for safe operation.” They can use Euroradio to have telephone calls with the driver. “Maybe he can switch signals interactively, or maybe cause some special situations,” Hölscher says.

#TRAIN SIMULATOR GAMES SOFTWARE#

The professional version of the game is based on the same software but allows supervisors to manipulate the simulation for training purposes. “If you’re new to any train simulation, this has a heavy learning curve and is not easy to start with.”įor gamers, simpler and more beginner-friendly simulations are available, but the painstaking technical detail packed into Zusi 3 has made it particularly interesting to the German rail industry as a simulated training programme for drivers.

#TRAIN SIMULATOR GAMES PC#

“This might be the most close to ‘reality’ level that is available for consumers,” wrote user ‘Nyhmps’ in a post on Steam, the leading digital marketplace for PC games. There might still be some little errors, but basically they are quite accurate.”Įarly customer reviews for Aerosoft’s edition of Zusi 3 praise its complexity and realism, while warning that this complexity makes the game an intimidating prospect for inexperienced sim players. I have some sources that are not public, and I collect all the documents that I can find. But the old German systems, so LZB for example, is not public. “Some of the systems are documented very well – for example, with ETCS, everything is public. “You have to try to get information wherever you can get it,” Hölscher says with a chuckle. Nevertheless, finding data sources to accurately recreate complex rail systems is still tricky, and depends somewhat on the public availability of industry documentation.

#TRAIN SIMULATOR GAMES DRIVERS#

Many of my users, at least those who are writing in my programme, have a professional background, so maybe train drivers and engineers in the railway business.” So while I was developing the software components, they developed the routes and the trains, so at the beginning we already had a lot of locos and many kilometres of track. Some of them, about 15 or 20 people, helped during the development of the software. “Most of these trains and routes are created by the community.

“I’m the developer of the software, and we have a strong community,” Hölscher says. The game incorporates driving physics that account for the train’s tilt, air and curve resistance, detailed simulations of in-cab Sifa safety systems, as well as accurate recreations of European and German signalling and train protection systems, including the European Train Control System (ETCS) and the older PZB/LZB systems that are used in Germany, Austria and other countries.Ĭreating this level of verisimilitude is a tall task for a single developer, but Hölscher is supported by an online community of rail enthusiasts who have made massive contributions. What sets it apart is the incredible detail that has been put into the game’s simulation of German railway systems. The point of differentiation for Zusi 3 among the competition is not its visuals, which Hölscher acknowledges are “not that good”. Zusi 3 – Aerosoft Edition was released in June, repackaging Hölscher’s software along with the newly-added Cologne-Düsseldorf route.įetch.AI and the UK rail network’s digital revolution

#TRAIN SIMULATOR GAMES SERIES#

While Hölscher has primarily marketed the Zusi series to the German market himself, for Zusi 3 he teamed up with German sim developer and publisher Aerosoft, which has logged more than 25 years in the world of simulation. The game, developed by Carsten Hölscher, models more than 500km of driveable routes on the German rail network, including Cologne-Düsseldorf, the upper Ruhr valley railway, the marsh railway Heide-Westerland and the Intercity-Express (ICE) route Kassel-Göttingen. Zusi 3 is an excellent example of the latter style of professional-level train sim games. In some cases they have also been industrialised for use as part of rail operators’ simulated training programmes.

These games, which in many cases blur the line between entertainment and technical training, might not have the prettiest graphics on the market, but they are designed to emphasise something arguably more impressive – the detailed modelling of complex rail systems, from train braking physics to true-to-life timetables and signalling systems, in the most realistic way possible.Ī cottage industry of software developers, often supported by extremely active online communities, have allowed users to get to grips with the nitty-gritty details of train operation with more authenticity than ever before. And then there is the ‘hardcore’ end of the train simulator spectrum.

Train simulator games