Train Sim Enjoyment
Hello friends. I hope you are well. It’s been just over one month since I announced my pause from YouTube. Yes, I’m still calling it a pause for now and I haven’t really done anything with the “rebranding” I spoke about a month ago. At least with YouTube in mind.
The SimplySafeMods project is going very well. Via the SimplySafeMods website, I’m hosting over 40 Farming Simulator 17 and 19 mods from a small handful of mod developers. The site continues to perform well and while I don’t typically toot my own horn, I’ll just say that I believe it’s the easiest mod download site to use (perhaps outside of GIANTS Modhub). No need to register, no advertisements, no need to click multiple download links to get what you want and best of all, fast download speeds. But enough about all that….
Sim Gamer
A few weeks ago my good buddy Eustace Pharmer (aka Atomic 67 G) had been discussing some gaming titles he enjoys and I decided to give Astroneer a try. Thankfully, Steam offers a full, no-questions asked refund (within limits) because I realized within about 30 minutes that this game wasn’t for me.
This is absolutely no reflection towards anyone who enjoys Astroneer (or any game like it) and likewise, this is no reflection on me. We like what we like. We all have gaming styles which we enjoy and like many of you, my time is limited…so I tend to play what truly interests me. This little Astroneer experiment caused me to take a short pause and look at some of the games I already own, but haven’t played recently.
When I built my current gaming machine (GBS Beast Mark V) in May 2018, I took the time to install Prepar3d, Farming Simulator, American and Euro Truck Simulator and a few others. Two titles which didn’t make it back on the SSD was Train Simulator and Train Sim World. I’ve now corrected this.
I Love Trains
Who doesn’t, right? When I was a child, I had a Lionel train layout and about 18 years ago the bug bit me again and I built a fairly large platform layout in my basement. The platform I built (about waist high) was “U” shaped and consisted of two 6 x 12 platforms and one 6 x 8 foot sections. I could run multiple trains, perform switching operations and I’ll admit….I was starting to get out of control with my ideas. Keep in mind this was an “O” Gauge layout.
When I came to my senses (or should I say when my wife helped me come to my senses) and instructed me to turn the basement area into an office and bedroom, I made the move from a physical train layout to a virtual one with the help of Microsoft Train Simulator. Of course, MSTS went bye-bye years ago. I replaced it with Dovetail Games Train Simulator (can’t remember which version I started with)
The Chicken or the Egg
I’m not sure and it doesn’t matter for what we’re discussing here. Obviously Dovetail Games Train Simulator came along well before they introduced Train Sim World. Initially I was under the impression that Train Sim World (TSW) would eventually replace their Train Simulator offering, much like Dovetail’s Flight Sim World was going to replace….er, well nevermind.
Anyway…as we firmly set here in the year 2020…both of Dovetail’s train simulation products are tagged as 2020 versions. My recent gaming memories of both of these products when I had them last installed was Train Sim World was buggy as heck and regular Train Simulator was stable (or at least more stable).
I’ve been enjoying both of them actually. As I’ve owned TS longer than TSW, I have more DLC and I’ve been going back through some of those. But I’ve gotta hand it to Dovetail Games…TSW 2020 is far, far more superior than what it was when I first played it. So I suppose like wine and cheese, good things come to those who wait.
What Next?
I have a few draft articles in the works regarding my rekindled experiences in both TS and TSW. I’ll discuss my opinions of these two rail simulation platforms in future postings. But for now, I have some coal I need to haul in TSW.
Until next time…
Happy Simming!
Jerry
