Product Description

Trainz Railroad Simulator 2006 sets new standards of realism and immersion in operating a virtual railroad. Run long haul freight services, high-speed passenger runs or challenging yard operations as you service a huge variety of interactive stations and industries. You'll manage every aspect of a train line and discover the joys of riding the rails. In-game tutorial shows players how to be a real railroad engineer - Drive diesel and steam trains, assign commodities to wagons, transfer drivers between trains, issue orders to drivers, couple and decouple wagons and much more New rules for session makers, for tighter control over player interactions Support for TrackIR Pro 3 - move your head and your view responds independently of the mouse Give your trains schedules with set tasks -- realistic operations like coupling and de-coupling

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19126 in Video Games
• Brand: 2K Games
• Released on: 2006-03-06
• ESRB Rating: Everyone
• Platform: Windows XP
• Format: CD-ROM

Features

• Sit in the engineer's seat and become a virtual conductor with this fun game
• Drive 150+ types of locomotives over 100s of miles of stunning 3-D terrain
• Create dynamic environments easily with intuitive 3-D editing tools
• Accurate physics, tested and verified by professional train engineers
• Over 50,000 assets are available for free at the Download Station

From the Manufacturer
The latest installment in the Trainz franchise, Trainz Railroad Simulator 2006 brings the world of trains to the computer desktop and puts players in the engineer's seat. Virtual conductors can design rail systems using over 7,500 scenery objects and drive more than 150 types of locomotives over hundreds of miles of stunning 3-D terrain.

One of the most anticipated features of Trainz Railroad Simulator 2006 is Content Manager Plus, a new asset management utility that lets players easily access and organize files, download new content from the Download Station (which has over 50,000 assets), and even edit existing components. The Trainz tools and rules systems have been greatly improved to give players more flexibility than ever before in creating a personalized railroad adventure, and enhancements to the physics engine have significantly enhanced the driving experience. Embark on long-haul freight services, high-speed passenger runs, and challenging yard operations, all while servicing a huge variety of interactive stations and industries.

Features:

• More than 150 authentic, real-world locomotives
• Realistic controls for steam, diesel, and electric locomotives
• Accurate physics, tested and verified by professional train engineers
• Railroads with diversified commodities including coal, general goods, forest products, woodchips, containers, logs, and more
• Tell your drivers where to be at what time and run as many schedules as you like
• Create dynamic environments quickly and easily with intuitive 3-D editing tools
• Over 50,000 assets are available for free at the Download Station

Customer Reviews

Most fun for the buck
Reading some of the other reviews, I can see that we have a very mixed opinion on TRS2006.
I have owned the original Trainz, then TRS2004, and finally TRS2006.
I have never had the 'issues' that some people are complaining about. The S/N may be in one of several places, including the box or the manual.

All that aside, this is simply the most enjoyable, mesmerizing game I have ever played. I have spent most of my time in Surveyor, creating the terrain for my 'dream' layout. I don't know if I will ever be finished with it.

While the locomotive controls and physics may not be as realistic as those in MS Train Simulator, it is creating my layout that gives me the most enjoyment from Trainz. I find it very relaxing 'playing God' in creating my world.
I have to admit that there are some aspects of the game that could use improvement. For example, you cannot zoom out far enough in Surveyor to get a good picture of what you are working on. The Mini Map helps, but it is not enough.
I would also like a better paint feature. It is difficult to get realistic looking landscaping with some of the textures.

Considering that all computer games have some flaws, I still rate TRS2006 five stars because it has provided so much entertainment for a program that cost me only about $50 (for the special edition DVD)

I would advise to download and install Service Pack 1 for TRS2006. It fixes some of the bugs, mainly with the Content Manager.

Buyer Beware!
I bought this game after having amazing fun with Microsoft Train Simulator. I was hoping this would be as fun, but it's not. I have a computer that far exceeds the recommended minimums to run this game, and find the graphic lag to be way too much to handle, preventing one to enjoy this game. Most of the runs offered in this game are demos, and to get the full versions of some of the runs you have to go to different websites and pay more money for the full blown versions. I went to the Auran website, downloaded and installed service pack 1 for this game hoping it would improve the game play, but it didn't. I do not recommend this game, and would suggest those who enjoy train sims as much as I do wait until something better comes along.

If you are a Railroading fan, this game is worth your time.
After having tried the Ultimate Trainz Collection, I decided to see what was new with TRS2006. This simulation is exactly as advertised,...and more! But, after reading some of the reviews here, I would like to offer a realistic view.

First, this is a very detailed simulation pertaining to the operation of Locomotives from all over the world (some are historical) in all types of situations (passenger, long haul freight, railyard consist building, etc.), in terrain and layouts from all over the world.

Much of the new content in TRS2006 has been created by the Trainz community members in their spare time and has been kindly donated, PLUS!, there are over 40,000 additional items available for download from the official Trainz Download Station,...for free!

The layouts included in TRS2006 are from the US, Canada, Australia, the UK, and Europe, including some nicely detailed Narrow Gage routes and even a futuristic Monorail layout. Can you imagine 300+mph?

For the doof who thought this was way too complicated, all I can say is,"duh!, Baby E videos are in the next aisle."

But seriously, straight out of the box, TRS2006 has considerably more to offer in realism and detail than MSTS. In order to achieve what TRS2006 has out of the box, you have to purchase many of the MSTS add-on packages.

Also, here are some notes on the Physics in TRS2006:
1)Some of the engines may not perform to prototypical expectations, BUT!, the Engine config file for each loco can be tweaked to adjust performance to a more prototypical operation. And,
2)When in DCC mode, trains operate in a semi-prototypical manner. It is possible to change the config parameters to make your trains accelerate and decelerate much faster(or slower) by changing max accel and max decel settings.

Game lag? I've experienced no lag what-so-ever, and my PC is only mediocre by today's standards.

Keep in mind, TRS2006 is a graphics intensive program and requires at least a 64MB graphics card to operate correctly. For best results make sure;

Your system meets or exceeds the required specifications.
You have the latest drivers for your video card.
You have the latest main board chipset drivers.
You have DirectX 9 or above from Microsoft.

As for Merscom serial numbers, there were no problems with mine. Besides, any problems with TRS2006 are handled by Auran's Helpdesk, and they are only too happy to help.

If you are a Railroading fan, this game is worth your time.(and it's much less expensive than an HO layout!, plus, you can drive these trains)