For the past few years, the team of simulator buffs at Dovetail Games have been hard at work on the next generation of Train Simulator - and in just a few days time, it'll finally be here. Far from just a yearly incremental upgrade, Train Sim World is a completely new simulator, designed from the ground up to take advantage of all new technologies - not least the brand spanking new graphics engine, which is powered by the cutting edge Unreal Engine 4.
On the 16th March, Train Sim World: CSX Heavy Haul will finally hit the virtual shelves, ushering in a new generation of train sim - and it's a very different kind of sim. As the folks at Dovetail explain, "Train Simulator [has always been] more of a model railway or hobby experience, whereas Train Sim World has the player represented as a virtual character that can interact with the world." Played from a first person perspective, you'll be able to walk around the yard, climb aboard the train, and move around freely in the cab, interacting with buttons, dials and doorways, which all react as they would in real life, with a comprehensive series of tutorials to help you find your footing. Needless to say, it's also pretty impressive in motion.
CSX Heavy Haul is just the first of many Train Sim World packs, and recreates the Sand Patch Grade, a 100 mile long route that snakes through the Allegheny Mountains in Pennsylvania and Maryland. With 60 miles of the route having been authentically recreated in Train Sim World, you'll be able to take one of three different types of train out for a spin, pulling a wide variety of rolling stock.
EMD SD40-2
EMD GP38-2
GEs AC4400CW
Along with three trains and plenty of rolling stock, the game will come with six challenging scenarios to play through, each of which will test your train driving skills, along with a brand new mode called Service Mode, which promises to introduce a real, 24 hour timetable, and the ability to take over any train you want during this schedule, "[allowing] players to experience a full day-in-the-life of Sand Patch Grade."
As this is a brand new era of Train Sim games, though, the system requirements are a pretty hefty step up from the games that have come before it. If you took part in the recent beta, you'll already know roughly how well your machine can handle it - but if not, we thought we'd list the minimum and recommended system requirements, so you can compare your PC:
MINIMUM:
- OS: 64-bit Windows 7 Service Pack 1, Windows 8 / 8.1 or Windows 10
- Processor: i5 4690: 3.2 GHz
- Graphics processing unit: Geforce GTX 750 Ti or equivalent
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: 2GB
- DirectX: Version 10
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
- Storage: 20 GB available space
- Sound Card: DirectX Compatible
RECOMMENDED
- OS: 64-bit Windows 7 Service Pack 1, Windows 8 / 8.1 or Windows 10
- Processor: i7 4790: 3.6GHz.
- Graphics processing unit: Geforce GTX 970 or equivalent
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: 4GB
- DirectX: Version 10
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
- Storage: 20 GB available space
- Sound Card: DirectX Compatible
Looks like we may need to upgrade our processor...
Still, with just under a week to go until the launch, there's still plenty of time to put down a pre-order on Steam, with a 10% discount off the game's £24.99 RRP available up until the day of release. If you already own any of the prior Dovetail Train Sim games, you'll be pleased to know you'll get a further 10% discount for being a loyal customer, letting you take a total of 20% off the RRP and nab the game for £19.99.
Train Sim World: CSX Heavy Haul will launch on the 16th March - so if you fancy that discount, be sure to put your pre-order down now!
