''Rail Simulator'' is a

train simulation 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 ...

published by

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the d ...

(EA). It was produced by

Kuju Entertainment Kuju Entertainment Ltd. is a British video game developer. The original company was Simis, formed in 1989 and purchased by Eidos Interactive in 1995. Kuju was formed in 1998 in Shalford, Surrey, England, after a management buyout of Simis from Ei ...

. After release of the EU version, EA's support and further development of the title was taken over by Rail Simulator Developments Ltd, who continued to provide updates, fixes, official

expansion pack An expansion pack, expansion set, supplement, or simply expansion is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game, video game or collectible card game. These add-ons usually add new game areas, weapons, objects, characters, or an ...

s and new content to players. RSDL has also released a sequel to the first game called ''

RailWorks ''Train Simulator Classic'' (originally ''RailWorks'' and ''Train Simulator'') is a train simulation game developed by Dovetail Games. It is the successor to ''Rail Simulator'', and was released online on 12 June 2009 and in stores on 3 July ...

''.

Features

Steam, diesel and electric traction trains, keyboard or mouse control of throttles, brakes and switches with three control modes for varying player skills. A variety of scenarios are available as well as an exploratory style ''free roam'' mode. Cargos and passengers are animated, and weather changes dynamically with time. The game has been criticized by reviewers for not providing enough help for newcomers to train simulation, and lack of complete instructions in the guides.

Editing tools

A complete tool suite is also available to customise content, allowing terrain modeling either by hand using provided tools or via the import of DEM data from

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

; track construction based on a system of straights and arcs, allowing infinitely possible junction configurations, and scenery placement. A ''scenario'' editor allows the creation of tasks such as picking up passengers, hauling cargo and shunting wagons around yards. These tools also allow players to build unlimited sizes of layouts, create their own scenery and rolling stock and modify the provided content by adding features or re-skins.

Reception

Since release, ''Kuju Rail Simulator'' received generally positive reviews from reviewers. IGN awarded 7.0 out of 10, praising the title's attention to its source material. Some jagged graphics were criticized (with foliage going through the cab instead of bouncing off the windshield, for example) and the fact that only true rail fanatics could ever get any fun out of ''KRS''. The lack of any in-game tutorials was mentioned, with "members of the community ... making video walk-throughs, while lamenting the lack of a thick, fully printed manual."

Rail Simulator Developments Ltd (later RailSimulator.com Ltd)

With the release of ''Rail Simulator'' in October 2007, Kuju Entertainment finished development and disbanded the RailSim team turning its attention to the next project. Knowing the potential of the RailSim engine, and with backing from Fund4Games who owned the rights to the simulator, a new company was set up from some of the core members of the initial development team with the specific aim of fulfilling continued development of the brand and supporting users and third-party developers with add-on projects. RSDL produced two patches to the core simulator (Upgrade Mk1 and Mk2), developed and released add-ons, helped the release of third-party products, and visited exhibitions to promote the simulation and provide support for users via several community websites. In April 2009, a take over of RSDL was announced, with the development switching to a new version of the software called ''

'' which would be released on

Steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...

. This change heralded a break from EA being the publisher in Europe and rights over the source code for ''Rail Simulator'' being transferred to single ownership by RailSimulator.com Ltd.

Successor

''RailWorks'' (since renamed to ''Train Simulator Classic'') is the official successor to ''Rail Simulator'', announced by Tim Gatland on 26 March 2009 on the official ''Rail Simulator'' website. The game was released on Steam on 12 June 2009 and in stores on 3 July 2009 in DVD-ROM format. ''RailWorks'' is an upgrade to ''Rail Simulator'', containing new rolling stock, tools that had to be separately downloaded, significant graphical advancements such as modification of the existing content, bug fixes, backwards compatibility and the ability to trade elements from the virtual world with other users online. ''RailWorks'' is a universal platform containing all content from the original European release and North American release. ''RailWorks'' also makes use of Valve's Steam platform to simplify the processes of support and upgrading the product.

References

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External links

Official website
2007 video games Electronic Arts games Games for Windows certified games Lua (programming language)-scripted video games Train simulation video games Video game remakes Video games developed in the United Kingdom Video games with expansion packs Windows games Windows-only games