VIRTUAL RAILROAD 3
Just before Christmas the kind people at
KOCH Media asked us could we review Virtual Railroad 3 by software
publisher DEEP SILVER. Over the holiday break I found time to do
just that.
Review
Virtual Railroad 3, now
you may be thinking what's the point, when you've already got a layout
in the loft or spare room. But once you've put down your first
line of track and ran your first loco, you wont be putting this down in
a hurry. The game is vast, no doubt about it. On first impressions
when you install the game and you see the first screen, you may be
thinking what have I let myself in for. But with only 5 minutes spent
following the manual I was rewarded with following my first loco along
the track in a 3D world where I could view scene from wherever I wished.
Overview
Four
types of engines are available, steam, small steam, diesel and
electric. The rolling stock to go with these is then split
into passenger or freight. Clicking on the item shows it as a 3D
model in a separate window, you can then decide to place it in your
environment or choose another. There are also subway trains and
trams to choose from, trucks, cars, boats, and also machinery etc.
Track can be placed
easily and you can use allsorts of curves, turnouts, crossovers and
turntables. Its up to you how complex you want to make it.
To make the game even
more realistic you can add sounds around your landscape. For
example if you place a church near the track, you can add the sound
of church bells. If your up front driving your train the sound
then gets louder as you approach and fades out after you pass.
There are many to choose, from sheep to a building site.
There are various
types of landscape elements, grass, bushes and trees. Then onto the
Static structures like houses, factories, signs, and fences. The
list is enormous even down to small things. You can build a huge
railway goods yard if you like, with working cranes.
Overall the
design mode is very easy to use and with a little practice
impressive landscapes can be made. Huge towns and industries can
grow in a matter of seconds. It is up to you to then lay down the
railway infrastructure, and not forgetting the road network, to link
everything together and enjoy running it.
First Attempt
First of all I decided on
the size of the environment and you can either leave it as a flat plane
of land, as I did, or add a few mountains, hills and valleys. At this
point I decided it was easier to lay down some track first, so there was
nothing in my way which could affect my route, which consisted of a
straight line with a small curve at the end.
Laying of the track is
really easy. Just select the track button and then click on your
plan. You can rotate the section of track 360 degrees, either
leave it as a straight section, or you can put a curve into it by just
clicking and dragging on a certain point. If you want to continue
the section of track, click the duplicate button and your track starts
advancing. Any mistakes you make can be deleted, simply by
selecting the section you no longer require and press delete.
I decided on nothing too
adventurous to start off with, just like the original railways.
After this I added a few trees and bushes, dotted some houses along the
route and then selected my locomotive. I then selected the 3D mode with
a free roaming camera and powered up the locomotive sending it on its
way. Getting to grips with this game was really easy and after my
first attempt I'm now onto building bigger and more complex routes with
all of the turnouts and signals you can imagine, I've even managed to
put a turntable in.
Conclusion
"Is Virtual Railway 3 for me?" you ask. Well,
as with everything, it depends on your own taste. If you're a
train fan, and it's most likely if your viewing this site you
probably are, then you must consider buying this game. Even if your not and you
like games where you are acting like God, then this is still worth a
look.
SimplyTrains
Rating 9/10
Manufacturer's Description
With Virtual Railroad 3 you can plan,
build , operate & control highly complex model railway layouts without
clearing out your living room or building a hobby room in the loft.
Control faithfully reproduced locomotives & rolling stock through
realistic landscapes, with stations, tunnels, small villages, roads &
waterways. Virtual Railroad 3 is railway pleasure at its greatest & an
absolute must for railway enthusiasts & collectors!
New for version 3.0
Physics engine for realistic weather &
environmental conditions; 3D sound engine with doppler effects & ambient
background sounds; Freight transport with loading of moveable goods;
Updated construction module for even larger and more complex layouts;
Create your own AVI films.
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