Doug Johnson completes his P-scale steam locomotive cab simulator for MSTS and RailDriver

Doug Johnson completes his P-scale (aka Prototype scale) steam locomotive cab simulator for MSTS and RailDriver. This is an amazing project. Read about it at the VR Reading Room.

-- Al

The Never Ending Operation

John D'Angelo's latest article at Virtual Railroader, "The Never Ending Operation," describes how he modified his United Central route in Trainz for operation that spans multiple sessions. While he was at it, he updated the route for Train Simulator 2009 and made the route available at the VR Downloads page.

Cheers,
-- Al

OpenBVE has arrived

OpenBVE stable version 1.0.6.0 was released by Michelle, its creator, on 24 May 09. In my brief testing, I'm happy to say it works beautifully. I tested it with Steve Green's Northern Line route and 1995 stock, both updated from BVE4 for openBVE.

For those unfamiliar, openBVE is an open source, all-new program patterned after and largely compatible with BVE2 and BVE4. All are cab-view drive-it sims with a great sense of “being there,” though openBVE goes beyond and, in my opinion, is poised for greatness.

The big improvements for me include availability for use with Mac and Linux in addition to Windows. This is huge for Mac and Linux users, who have been largely left out of the train sim hobby.

Something more for my own needs as a Windows user is the ability to accommodate any dimensioned window or screen. I also like the interface, which combines the clean, uncluttered look of BVE4 with the very useful stopping position indicator of BVE2. The latter, along with all messages, is wonderfully unobtrusive.

Initial setup includes the ability to change any and all key assignments. The dialog box that lets you change assignments also lets you scroll through all the default assignments, so it doubles as a handy reference.

Animation Potential Simply Amazing

Other features of openBVE include support for animated objects and, of course, open source. To be fair, I haven't tested these yet. You can see some examples of the new animated object capabilities in this YouTube video. The wind and rain are truly astounding.

Getting Started

Complete instructions for downloading and installing are given at the openBVE site. You will still need to get a route and a train. I got these at Steve Green’s TransimCentral as previously mentioned. The file structure is not explained by anyone, and the downloaded route and train zip files expand to their own folders. The structure is the same as for BVE. Inside the Data folder, add a Train folder and a Railway folder. Inside the Railway folder add an Object folder and a Sound folder. Your new train folder (eg, LT1995_openbve) goes in the Train folder; your new route folder (eg, Northern Line OpenBVE) goes in the Railway folder; your new NorthernLine_Open folder goes in the Object folder; and your new NorthernLine_v3 folder goes in the Sounds folder. Now you’re in business. Oh yes, your openBVE folder can be anywhere.

More Information

The English speaking home base – in my mind – for BVE is still TransimCentral, hosted by Steve Green. This site includes a forum for all things BVE and openBVE as well as Steve’s superb creations modeling London Underground routes and trains. This site is also a great starting point for finding just about everything else out there that applies to BVE and openBVE. For a forum dedicated to openBVE, see the openBVE site.

You can see a number of videos of openBVE here.

Conclusion

I continue to be astounded by developments in the BVE world. Its practitioners continue to take this once unassuming sim, the brainchild of a 14-year-old, to new heights. There is a great worldwide following for BVE, particularly in the UK and Japan. It would be nice to see more North American routes and trains.

-- Al

Buffalo & Susquehanna for MSTS

Paul Raynes is at it again. He has just released his version of the Buffalo & Susquehanna, of which the Wellsville, Addison & Galeton (see the February 2009 blog listing) was only a remnant. The new route is a bit more than three and a half times the file size of the WAG. It's a hefty download and even takes awhile to install, but at first glance it appears very much along the lines of the WAG - which I really enjoy running.

You can get the B&S at Train-Sim.com

-- Al

Lionel Goes Virtual

Well ... at least it does at Virtual Railroader, where John D'Angelo has created a virtual Lionel layout for Trainz and written about it here:
"A Lionel Layout for Virtual Railroader." The layout is available free at the VR Downloads page.

Cheers and many happy returns (to an earlier age),

-- Al

VR Google Group is History

I deleted the VR Google Group a few days ago. The reason is that a spammer joined up and posted an obscene message. I was able to ban the spammer from any further comments, but Google does not provide me with a mechanism for removing unwanted posts. I find that unacceptable. So the group is history.

I may resurrect the group in Yahoo format. I may also set up a forum at my Virtual Railroader site. I have some reservations about the latter because I set up a forum for our community band website (Greenfield Military Band) and have been getting up to ten unwanted applications every day. At least I can control this, but it's unnecessary work for me. If anyone has some suggestions, I'm listening.

-- Al

OpenBVE 1.0 now available

OpenBVE version 1.0 is now available at the OpenBVE website. Note that this is a different URL than the one I've used in previous OpenBVE announcements. This one is the currently correct URL.

Version 1.0 is the first stable release of OpenBVE. The screenshots are super. I'm about to DL this new release, so I haven't checked the new features, which include out-of-train viewing and animated objects. Open BVE supports content created for all past and current versions of BVE and has a new user interface and options.

As the name implies, OpenBVE is open source, which opens the door to Mac and Linux users (the latter should be able to run this new release from the command line). Meanwhile, it is fully functional in Windows with OpenGL, OpenAL and .net.

The new website includes some extensive material describing the plans for future develoment of OpenBVE.

Cheers,
-- Al