MSTS2 fact Sheet

[randycarnley]

Here is the offical MSTS2 fact sheet.
http://forums.uktrainsim.com/viewtopic.php?t=72833&sid=33a241e40cef587cb3484476a7f69f94

I don't understand why there is nothing being released here


Randy

[ckawahara]

There is if you look...

http://www.elvastower.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1891

amongst a few other things

[NSFAN]

OH MY GOD...THOSE SCREENS ARE AMAZING! AND IT'S AN NS LOCOMOTIVE..WOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. Can't wait!!!!..lol

[High Iron]

Excuse me, I need to go change my shorts now....

[AlanCh]

In case you missed this little bombshell tdragger has confirmed in a post on UKTrainsim that TS2 (his abbreviation) will only be available for Vista. A few caustic comments about this in the UK - http://forums.uktrainsim.com/viewtopic.php?t=73016

What do you all think?

Alan

[oakpalms]

Looking at some of the screen shots over there, it looks like they have grass growing up through the track in one picture, and those NS engines sure must be heave as the wheels appear to sink in to the track at least an inch or more. I guess they have a lot of time to work on raising the engines and things like that.

VISTA--I can see that by next year when those quad-4 computers come out and Vista has been debugged, and if my budget (and my wife) will make room for it. I will probably get a new cpu, but whether it will be for MSTS-X I will wait to find out how good it is and how much support it will get and whether third party addons will be permitted.

Bob Edwards

[hhdawrs]

>What do you all think?
>
>Alan
Too bad. If it won't play on XP, I shall pass. The money and time for needed for Vista kill the value for me.

It is fun to watch the wisdom peddlers speculate over on uk forum, though.

Aloha,
Herb

[Hawk]

Here's a quote from the 'Games for Windows' web site, which I believe MSTS2 will be released and produced for:

"Compatibility. Games for Windows branded titles work on Windows XP and Windows Vista based PCs, including both 32 and 64 bit editions."

Here's the link;

http://www.gamesforwindows.com/en-US/AboutGFW/Pages/gamesForWindows.aspx

Here's a quote from the link Randy posted.

"Games for Windows franchise— “Train Simulator 2” will ship as a Games for Windows title with easier installation, reliability standards and support for key features of Windows Vista®, including the Games Explorer and Parental Controls."

This tells me that TS2 is designed to utilize some Vista features but will work on XP systems.

[OwainGlyndwr]

tdragger wrote:


The fact sheet is accurate. TS2 will be for Windows Vista.

[Hawk]

I guess the 'Games for Windows' web site is a tad off track with their information.
Figures. LOL!
That's Micro$oft for ya'. ;-)

Another piece of software I can scratch off my list of possible purchase. :-)
Thanks for confirming that.

[bnsf1959]

I guess I better not install XP over my Vista laptop then. I'm gonna wait and see on this one.

Ken Plaza ;-)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v46/BNSF733/MOPHOU1A.jpg
www.themophouse.com
www.muschkaactivityworks.com

[TrainMan_112]

Really? Vista only? Wow. Another pathetic marketing ploy by Microsoft. I'd like to see this thing collapse on them, and see them choke to death (figurativeley) from lack of purchases, but that won't happen since a lot of people would do anything for a new train sim. As if they don't cash in enough already. Well, Microsoft better do something pretty amazing to get me to buy this.

[tcain1]

Hawk, since it seems tdragger is posting more over at the uk trainsim site I posted a question to tdragger over there on this, it will be interesting to see the response if any! Since compatibility is one of the 4 points stated as a promise for games branded "Games for Windows" I can't see how TS2 will be be able to maintain this position and keep the branding. The MS marketing people are going to love that, if one of there own developed games won't be able to use that branding, they have so heavily promoted!

[Hawk]

>Hawk, since it seems tdragger is posting more over at the uk
>trainsim site I posted a question to tdragger over there on
>this, it will be interesting to see the response if any! Since
>compatibility is one of the 4 points stated as a promise for
>games branded "Games for Windows" I can't see how
>TS2 will be be able to maintain this position and keep the
>branding. The MS marketing people are going to love that, if
>one of there own developed games won't be able to use that
>branding, they have so heavily promoted!

I think it will be optimized for Vista but will run on XP. We'll see what he says though.
It will be interesting.

[tcain1]

No Tdragger is quite clear on the subject it's Vista only! He just replied to my post, he states he doesn't know where that compatibility criteria came from, and added there are already 2 titles with the GFW brand Halo 2, and Shadow Run that are Vista only. I told him, if that's true, someone needs to get a hold of the marketing people to amend their stated criteria, as right now it looks like the left hand doesn't know, what the right hand is doing.

http://forums.uktrainsim.com/viewtopic.php?t=73016

[Hawk]

>No Tdragger is quite clear on the subject it's Vista only! He
>just replied to my post, he states he doesn't know where that
>compatibility criteria came from, and added there are already
>2 titles with the GFW brand Halo 2, and Shadow Run that are
>Vista only. I told him, if that's true, someone needs to get a
>hold of the marketing people to amend their stated criteria,
>as right now it looks like the left hand doesn't know, what
>the right hand is doing.
>
>http://forums.uktrainsim.com/viewtopic.php?t=73016

Great! Now we know for sure. At least now I know I can start ignoring any MSTS2 topics as I won't be buying it. :-)
Thanks!

[OwainGlyndwr]

My Vista is warmed up and ready to receive, whatever is thrown at it. :D

Mike.

[tdragger]

>I told him, if that's true, someone needs to get a
>hold of the marketing people to amend their stated criteria,
>as right now it looks like the left hand doesn't know, what
>the right hand is doing.

And this comes as a surprise? ;)

[TrainMan_112]

Microsoft should consider this decision carefully, there are many people who dislike Vista. I understand their strategy, but I think they would be losing even more to have the sim only compatible on Vista. There aren't many people that I've seen willing to buy a new operating system just to run the sim. With KRS' inclusion of US content, Kuju may very well be the victor of this "competition".

[djt]

This is terrific news. Looks like we will be getting a train simulator created with DirectX 10 in mind from the ground up.

Out with the old, in with the new!

[OTTODAD]

Microsoft should consider this decision carefully, there are many people who dislike Vista.

Yes indeed !

Sales of VISTA are far less than what M$ has hoped for and many who got it have gone back to WIN-XP or are dual-booting into it.

To me the main difference between VISTA and WIN-XP is that software coded for DX-10 will get the benefit running on a VISTA / DX-10 card computer but not on WIN-XP computers and from what I read, some software will be able to detect which version of DX is installed and use it.

However, software which is coded for DX-9 only can still run on VISTA computers which have DX-10 cards installed and the same applies to multi-core CPUs which can be taken advantage of in either VISTA or WIN-XP, providing software running on them can use them !

Quoted from the web:

Microsoft has decided that backward compatibly with DirectX 9,8,7 isn't really necessary as there will probably will be even less compatible with Vista.

Even so, dear Microsoft hasn't totally forgotten us. Some sort of "compatibility" will be available through a software layer (probably some emulation) which will have its price in system resources, as it will run much slower.

Problem seems to be that there is little, if any, software about which can use DX-10 ? I think I read in some of the MS blogs that MS TRAINS-2 will be able to use both, DX-9 and 10, as will FS-X ?

O t t o

[OwainGlyndwr]

Luddites gentlemen, you are all luddites. :7

Mike.

[wakeboarder82]

>This is terrific news. Looks like we will be getting a train
>simulator created with DirectX 10 in mind from the ground up.
>
>
>Out with the old, in with the new!
>

At least someone has a positive outlook here. I see this as a much needed step forward.

Daniel, I'm no expert but isn't direct x 10 more than just a visual enhancement? Doesn't it have a whole new structure to it to improve the speed things are computed at? If this is the case then I find it funny how so many people complain about "visual improvements without performance boosts". When one comes along, they find a way to complain about the very thing they begged for.

I think people will find that this sim will be different in many ways to what we already have. I think we will see much more of an FS style to it. I for one am excited by the possibility of getting rid of the clunky piece of software that is MSTS. Please save the " but we have bin comments". That's like putting shiny rims on a corolla. It's still a POS.

[djt]

“isn't direct x 10 more than just a visual enhancement?”

Yes, I mentioned this back in the beginning of the year. DirectX 10 promises to finally be able to put a lot more work load on the GPU (video card) and increase performance not just eye candy. These $600.00 video cards are pretty much under utilized with DirectX 9.

I think this new simulator is going to appeal to a new audience. It could finally bring on a new group of forum visitors more in line with what you see with the flight sim community.

[mttcrlsn]

MSTS2 can't hit fast enough. Hopefully it will allow for better ground control as doing a river level route now is impossible to even get close not being able to do diagonal banks and causeways.

Been running Vista here for over a year now with a nice 8800GTS to match.

(Now back to the corn fields of Iowa. Gotta keep busy till then.)

[OTTODAD]

Hi Matt !

Hope your harvest is going to be a better one than the one ruined by floods here in the UK and elsewhere in the world and in Greece destroyed by fires ! :-(

Take care, O t t o.

[v1perfan]

Ah just wait for someone to release a patch that will allow it to run on XP. I bought a copy of Shadowrun, but had to downgrade my Vista back to XP while I waited for some drivers (which meant I couldn't run SW anymore). In the meantime, someone released a patch for SW to run under XP. I had it running in no time.

Since then I'm back to Vista and it works (without the XP patch).

EDIT - I'm not condoning piracy, but if a company releases a program made for a specific OS and locks everyone else out, I will use the patch made by someone else to get it running on my O/S - I paid for the software, so why should I be limited on which O/S it runs? I understand dropping W95/W98/WM support, but XP? Give me a break..

/b;

[FLT_Blue]

> but if a company releases a
>program made for a specific OS and locks everyone else out, I
>will use the patch made by someone else to get it running on
>my O/S - I paid for the software, so why should I be limited
>on which O/S it runs? I understand dropping W95/W98/WM
>support, but XP? Give me a break..
>
>/b;

Locks everyone else out ? LoL .. Give me that break

Everyone is free to purchase and install Vista on their hardware . MS are going to produce software that will ensure continued enjoyment for several more years to come on current and next gen hardware and OS's ... and people complain ... lmfao.

Thanks MS , for thinking future instead of past.

[wakeboarder82]

Thanks for the reply Daniel. I know you are one of the more informed hardware gurus on this forum.

>These $600.00 video cards are pretty much under
>utilized with DirectX 9.

They may be 600 bucks now but I'm sure there will be very affordable hardware by release time. We all know the typical cycle for computer hardware. DX10 hasn't hit mainstream yet. A year from now that will be different.

>I think this new simulator is going to appeal to a new
>audience. It could finally bring on a new group of forum
>visitors more in line with what you see with the flight sim
>community.

I couldn't agree more. I have been a long time flight simmer. To me there is an obvious difference in the type of users in train sims and flight sims. Train simmers seem to be railfans first, computer people second. I see flight simmers as more versed in computers in addition to their love of planes. Granted the flight sim community has a vocal group of nay sayers as well, I think that flight simmers tend to crave the progressive nature of each release. I wish the attitude of wanting to advance the sim was more prevalent here. For me it's simple, if a new sim is made to take advantage of new technology, I am given two choices. I can run the old sim if I like that, or I can buy the new sim. If the new sim is simply a remake of the old sim, I have only one real choice. I can only keep running the old sim. In the first scenario, everybody wins. In the second scenario, only one group wins. I will not spend money for a piece of software that only gets me a working turntable. I applaud ACES for ignoring the anti-change people and working to bring me more than a front coupler.

[mttcrlsn]

That should be MSTS virtual corn fields of Iowa :) . As for floods, yeah we got that too. On August 18 we got 16 inches, 12 of that in 8 hours. I made out better than others and only have a basement level to rebuild. Others have lost their entire home. CP lost a major bridge, DM&E lost 4 bridges, BNSF lost a mile of track with the causeway it was on 3 miles south of my home... fun times.

http://forums.flightsim.com/ts/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=25&topic_id=31956&mesg_id=31956&page=2

[djt]

“They may be 600 bucks now but I'm sure there will be very affordable hardware by release time.”

The only thing is by the time MSTS2 is released my 8800GTX KO and 8800Ultra “Superclocked” will be very old news. I doubt that the phenomenal performance that I’m getting right now in DirectX 9 applications will be the same with the new DirectX 10 applications released late next year.

Then again, I will most likely will have gone through 2-3 major hardware upgrades by that time.

[tcain1]

Please note, just because TS2 will be Vista only, does not necessarily mean it will be DX10 only. Both Halo 2 and Shadow Run which are Vista only support DX9! Also the link Phil Taylor posted stating the technical requirements for Games for Windows branding state if the game uses Direct3D the minimum version supported must be Direct3D 9. These are the requirements today, but in a years time I'm sure this may change!