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The popularity of Microsoft's Train Simulator has spawned similar spinoffs, like this model train sim.
Auran's upcoming Trainz is designed for those who have never grown up...or, more specifically, for those who have never outgrown a childhood fascination with trains that survived mothballing that model railroad set. The Australian developer, best known for creating the original Dark Reign in 1997, is teaming up with publisher Strategy First for the February release of a software toy of sorts best described as a model train simulator.
A recent beta build shows that this focus should make Trainz very different from other railroading games. For example, although Auran will be competing with Microsoft Train Simulator for the same locomotive-happy audience, the two titles have little in common. Where Train Simulator re-creates the operation of authentic trains in real-world situations involving shipping cargo and transporting passengers, Trainz makes you an omniscient figure with complete control over both the trains and their environment. Instead of pushing your engine to the limit so that commuters can reach Osaka in time for work, you'll gather cars and construct terrain layouts. Anything you could build in your basement--albeit with plenty of room, a knack for carpentry, and a king's ransom's worth of Lionel model railroading equipment--can be accomplished here.
Your creativity will be indulged in three separate components that Auran is calling modules. The first, My Collection, is a place where devotees can look over their engines and cars. Each is represented by an intricate 3D model that can be rotated and inspected at close range. It's not quite the same as being able to actually handle neat little plastic locomotives and boxcars, but it comes with some added benefits. Cars can be organized by name, country of origin, and corporation, and technical information on each can be called up at any time. Railroad historians should appreciate the amount of data gathered here. Rolling stock varieties on display in the beta include refrigeration cars, passenger cars, and even flatbeds bearing loads of huge redwood trees for the lumberyard.
Users will eventually be able to put together a collection representing the world's principal railroading nations. The beta showcases just a few locomotive types from Canada, France, and the United States, although the final is expected to host nearly 40 different models. Each of these engines is expected to be from the modern era, so those of you interested in the golden age of steam locomotion will have to make do, for at least a little while. Auran is promising that Trainz will receive a lot of aftermarket support in the way of official expansion packs and downloadable goodies, meaning that this oversight will probably be corrected in short order. As with traditional model railroading, special engines and cars will be available for individual purchase. It probably won't be too long before you'll be able to steam your way through the English countryside of the middle 19th century.
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