Rail Simulator 2: RailWorks Interview

Apr 03

Following from the announcement of Rail Simulator 2: RailWorks last week, Tim Gatland answers some of the questions you have raised in the following interview and includes some of the first screenshots!

What are the key reasons for releasing Rail Simulator 2:RailWorks?
The key reasons for releasing RailWorks now include:

  • Providing a single common platform for users across the globe
  • To better control the distribution of the product
  • To provide a more powerful system for upgrades, maintenance and additional features in the future.

Which routes and trains will be offered in RailWorks?
The existing five routes: Bath–Templecombe, Oxford –Paddington, York-Newcastle, Hagen-Siegen and Barstow-San Bernardino. The Hagen-Siegen route has been significantly revised and you’ll find noticeable improvements in the other routes.

New routes are based in Europe, UK and North America. We’ve taken a different approach with these routes and really focused on creating environments that provide fun operations to demonstrate what is possible within Rail Simulator. We think you’re really going to like them.

Rolling stock will include:

  • ES44AC
  • SD40-2
  • Black 5 4-6-0
  • SDJR 7F 2-8-0
  • IC125 High Speed Train
  • Class 166 DMU
  • Class 47
  • Class 55 Deltic
  • DB BR101
  • DB BR294
  • NEW Class 37
  • NEW European locomotive
  • NEW North American locomotive

There will also be a host of new scenarios for all included routes.

Will add-ons for Rail Simulator be compatible with Rail Simulator 2: RailWorks?
Given how many assets RSDL have built for Rail Simulator, we’d be crazy not to have compatibility at the top of our agenda. So, while it is always hard to guarantee that there will be no compatibility issues, we have worked very hard to reduce any potential problems.

I can’t find Rail Simulator in the shops, will I be able to get RailWorks?
We understand these frustrations and this has been one of our major motivators in changing the distribution strategy for RailWorks. We have already announced our intention to distribute digitally via Steam and we will soon be announcing our physical media distribution partners.

Will EA still be the publisher?
We are in the final stages of selecting publishing partners. It is possible that they may distribute in some specific territories, but unlikely that they will distribute worldwide in the way that they did for the existing version of Rail Simulator.

I can’t afford 3D Studio Max. Will this be fixed in RailWorks?
We recognize that the tools we use at RSDL, such as 3D Studio Max, are very expensive and complex for non-professional users.

We are working closely with other parties to improve support for integration with other tool sets which are more accessible and also less expensive; more in depth information on this will be available soon. We have also commissioned additional work to improve the interaction with 3DSM and this will deliver better visual effects in RailWorks

However, the increased graphical realism available in Rail Simulator does mean that greater expertise is required to create content, so we continue to look for ways of making this process easier through tutorials and documentation.

Will I have to spend £30.00 buying a new copy of RailWorks?
Although we are still finalizing the pricing structure for RailWorks, we will offer existing users of Rail Simulator the opportunity to upgrade for a very modest price.

Will RSDL continue to provide patches and upgrades to Rail Simulator after RailWorks has been released?
We are confident that the committed users of Rail Simulator will migrate to RailWorks and therefore avoid the need for further patches to the old product. We do not want to divide our effort between supporting RailWorks and Rail Simulator.

I don’t want to use Steam. Is this mandatory with RailWorks?
Steam is becoming widely used and accepted by a huge number of PC users. However, if you do not want to use Steam, it will be possible to use the product without this facility. It will be harder for us to make corrections available and so you will probably lag in receiving fixes and upgrades, but we will provide an alternate way of doing this if demand necessitates.

What are RSDL doing after RailWorks?
We see the release of RailWorks as providing a springboard for further development of the Rail Simulator product range. Obviously we want more and better content for regions not yet covered, also we want to take advantage of some of the technical features now available in PCs and networks to provide new gameplay and collaboration features. We have a whole host of new ideas for the product – RailWorks gives us the environment to achieve these goals in an incremental way.