BVE Trainsim (originally Boso View Express) is a Japanese three-dimensional computer-based

train simulator A train simulator (also railroad simulator or railway simulator) is a computer based simulation of rail transport operations. They are generally large complicated software packages modeling a 3D virtual reality world implemented both as comme ...

. It is notable for focusing on providing an accurate driving experience as viewed from inside the cab, rather than creating a network of other trains —other trains passed along the route are only displayed as stationary objects. BVE Trainsim was designed and developed by Takashi "Mackoy" Kojima starting in 1996 with the original program name coming from the Japanese

255 series The , branded , is a DC electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Japan. It was introduced into commercial service on 2 July 1993, and was specifically designed to be used limited express servi ...

multiple unit trains found in routes in Japan. Although the internal working of the BVE Trainsim program itself cannot be modified, additional routes and train cab views can be added via a number of text-based configuration files. Route builders have produced over 300 additional routes for the program, along with matching cab environments. Routes built by independent developers simulate rail activity in Africa, Asia, North America, South America, and Europe.

BVE Trainsim 1

BVE Trainsim 1 was released in 1996 as an

Alpha version A software release life cycle is the sum of the stages of development and maturity for a piece of computer software ranging from its initial development to its eventual release, and including updated versions of the released version to help impro ...

under the name Boso View Express and 1999 as a

Beta Version A software release life cycle is the sum of the stages of development and maturity for a piece of computer software ranging from its initial development to its eventual release, and including updated versions of the released version to help impro ...

. This version, the first version of BVE to be produced, had an interface that was similar to BVE Trainsim 2, but did not have a logo. Instead, the official symbol of BVE up until the release of BVE 2 in 2001 featured the words: 暴走 VIEW EXPRESS.

BVE Trainsim 2

The first stable version released in 2001. BVE Trainsim 2 featured

ATS ATS or Ats may refer to: Businesses * ATS Wheels, or ''Auto Technisches Spezialzubehör'', a German wheel manufacturer and sponsor of a Formula One racing team * ATS Automation Tooling Systems, an Ontario, Canada-based factory automation company ...

and ATC. The latest version of BVE 2 is ver. 2.6.3 which was released on 27 March 2004.

BVE Trainsim 3

Unreleased and later cancelled, BVE Trainsim 3 was originally started in 2003 as an improvement over BVE Trainsim 2, but was eventually stopped due to problems encountered with development of the aforementioned program.

BVE Trainsim 4

BVE Trainsim 4, released in 2005, added support for plugins to simulate train safety systems other than ATS and ATC. Because of the cancellation of version three, this was the first follow-on stable version since version two. It also has better graphics than BVE 2 with the latter being a major update. The latest version of BVE 4 is ver. 4.2.1947.25355 which was released on 1 May 2005. The

London Transport Museum The London Transport Museum (often abbreviated as the LTM) is a transport museum based in Covent Garden, London. The museum predominantly hosts exhibits relating to the heritage of London's transport, as well as conserving and explaining the h ...

used BVE Trainsim 4 to provide a simulation platform, within a mock underground rolling stock of the

London Underground 1996 Stock The London Underground 1996 Stock is a type of rolling stock used on the Jubilee line of the London Underground. The trains were built by Alstom, GEC Alsthom-Metro-Cammell and entered service in 1997. They are similar to the London Underground ...

, before later porting to

openBVE BVE Trainsim (originally Boso View Express) is a Japanese three-dimensional computer-based train simulator. It is notable for focusing on providing an accurate driving experience as viewed from inside the cab, rather than creating a network of oth ...

in 2010.

BVE Trainsim 5

BVE Trainsim 5 was officially released on 5 September 2011 as the successor to BVE 4. In July 2008, the developer stated that he was rewriting BVE Trainsim from scratch because the previously released versions (BVE 2 and BVE 4) do not work with

DirectX 9 Microsoft DirectX is a collection of application programming interfaces (APIs) for handling tasks related to multimedia, especially game programming and video, on Microsoft platforms. Originally, the names of these APIs all began with "Direct" ...

, and that the new version would support

Windows Vista Windows Vista is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was the direct successor to Windows XP, which was released five years before, at the time being the longest time span between successive releases of ...

and

Windows 7 Windows 7 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009, and became generally available on October 22, 2009. It is the successor to Windows Vista, released nearly ...

. The first BVE 5 version (ver. 5.0.4265.3690) features a new format for storing train routes and route dependencies and a redesigned interface including a distance to next station indicator and a passenger comfort indicator. The latest version of BVE 5 is ver. 5.7.6224.40815 which was released on 17 March 2017. The BVE 5 download page also includes a route converter which can convert BVE 4 routes into a format recognised by BVE 5.

BVE Trainsim 6

BVE Trainsim 6 Release Candidate was announced and made available to the public as the successor to BVE 5 on June 21, 2020. Full release of BVE Trainsim 6 was made available on September 23, 2020. BVE 6 is released as a 64-bit application, allowing for scenarios with larger data sizes and support for

Windows 10 Windows 10 is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. It is the direct successor to Windows 8.1, which was released nearly two years earlier. It was released to manufacturing on July 15, 2015, and later to retail on J ...

and

Windows 8.1 Windows 8.1 is a release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was released to manufacturing on August 27, 2013, and broadly released for retail sale on October 17, 2013, about a year after the retail release of its pre ...

. BVE 6 also features support for 64-bit plugins, a new format for vehicle files and support for non-vertical cab gauges. Included in the new release is the Uchibo Line Scenario, demonstrating the new features available in BVE 6.

openBVE

openBVE is an independently developed

open-source Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open-source model is a decentralized sof ...

train simulator. Although the name and logo were originally based on BVE Trainsim, openBVE is

free and open-source software Free and open-source software (FOSS) is a term used to refer to groups of software consisting of both free software and open-source software where anyone is freely licensed to use, copy, study, and change the software in any way, and the source ...

developed and written from scratch. It features support for train exteriors, animated 3D cab environments and animated scenery. Internally, openBVE makes use of

OpenGL OpenGL (Open Graphics Library) is a cross-language, cross-platform application programming interface (API) for rendering 2D and 3D vector graphics. The API is typically used to interact with a graphics processing unit (GPU), to achieve hardwa ...

for rendering, as well as

OpenAL OpenAL (Open Audio Library) is a cross-platform audio application programming interface (API). It is designed for efficient rendering of multichannel three-dimensional positional audio. Its API style and conventions deliberately resemble those ...

for three-dimensional positional audio. The program is noted for its cab ambiance and realism. It is currently distributed in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...

, along with full C# and C

source code In computing, source code, or simply code, is any collection of code, with or without comments, written using a human-readable programming language, usually as plain text. The source code of a program is specially designed to facilitate the wo ...

History

openBVE was originally conceived in 2009, as a

free and open-source Free and open-source software (FOSS) is a term used to refer to groups of software consisting of both free software and open-source software where anyone is freely licensed to use, copy, study, and change the software in any way, and the source ...

simulator, capable of running routes from BVE Trainsim, but with the eventual aim of loading content from other simulations, and the development of a separate route format. Initial development was done over four years from 2009 to 2013, by a team of four developers, led by Michelle Boucquemont (michelle) and odakyufan. In 2007 most active development has ended, as the main developer Michelle Boucquemont ended her active work. Despite the lacking developer support, around 2009 openBVE was capable of running most BVE Trainsim routes correctly and also supported additional features, including an exterior view, animated 3D cabs, and animated objects. To end the stalled development in October 2015 a

continuation In computer science, a continuation is an abstract representation of the control state of a computer program. A continuation implements ( reifies) the program control state, i.e. the continuation is a data structure that represents the computati ...

of OpenBVE was announced on ''BVEWorldwide'' by another group of developers. The group transferred the development and codebase to a new repository on

GitHub GitHub, Inc. () is an Internet hosting service for software development and version control using Git. It provides the distributed version control of Git plus access control, bug tracking, software feature requests, task management, continuous ...

. To date (May 2017), numerous additions were made by the project: new parameters for animated objects and the plugin API, several unfixed errata from the previous openBVE 1.4.3 errata fixed,

Dynamic lighting Computer graphics lighting is the collection of techniques used to simulate light in computer graphics scenes. While lighting techniques offer flexibility in the level of detail and functionality available, they also operate at different levels of ...

and backgrounds added, and a basic

package format A package format is a type of archive containing computer programs and additional metadata needed by package managers. While the archive file format itself may be unchanged, package formats bear additional metadata, such as a manifest file or certa ...

has been added to make the installation of addons easier. ''OpenBVE'' was selected in September 2013 as "HotPick" by

Linux Format ''Linux Format'' is the UK's first Linux-specific magazine, and as of 2013 was the best-selling Linux title in the UK. It is also exported to many countries worldwide. It is published by Future plc (which produces a number of other computer magazi ...

.Linux Format 174 September 2013
page 60

References

External links

BVE Trainsim website

openBVE Project website
1996 video games Beta software Train simulation video games Windows-only freeware games Windows games