Thanks to the community - over 46,000 downloads

[longiron]

The Open Rails team thanks the community for its support. As of May 11, 2011, there have been over 46,000 downloads of the compiled version of our train simulation software and over 2,700 downloads of the source code.

If you've downloaded the source code and want to contribute in any small way, the Open Rails team is always interested in volunteers. Please use the form on this page to indicate your interest: http://www.openrails.org/coders.html

We're hard at work on the next update of Open Rails. See you soon.

[conductorchris]

Thank you and congratulations.
Given that this message appeared right next to the "after one too many" message, I can only say, "three cheers!"

[geekman]

That is fabulous! I had no idea there were that many train simmers still around. Kinda makes you wonder what Mr Gates & Friends were thinking about when they abandon MSTS II. Oh well, I predict that OR will blow the socks off anything MS had planned. Nothing spells success like customer involvement!

[OTTODAD]

I had no idea there were that many train simmers still around. Kinda makes you wonder what Mr Gates & Friends were thinking about when they abandoned MSTS II.

No prospect of making lots of money from it's sales !

The worsening economic situation in the world and comments on what we have seen of MSTS-2 so far must have convinced them that apart from using MS-FS-X World scenery and a better graphics engine no real improvements in railroad matters have been made. On the contrary:



MSTS has been quoted having sold over 1 million copies worldwide, continuing to be sold to this very day after MSTSBin has improved it significantly and other improvements have been made to be released at the end of May:

https://www.trainsim.com/vbts/showthread.php?300609-DBTracks-a-new-finescale-track-system

The only train simulator which so far can beat this is BVE, but is limited what one can do with it, not having a route or activities editor.

Will be fun testing these 4 routes and their new tracks with ORTS !

Having been a model railroader for years, spending a lot of money on static layouts which once created can not be changed, Train Simulators and their huge variety of free add-ons everything are a never ending source of fun running trains everywhere in the world, including my GOLD-SPIKE-X, the German Wupper-Express, PRR-East Region and Swiss Bernina routes.

www.otto-wipfel.co.uk/bernina

A new train simulator will have it's work cut out to improve on what we have already, Railworks having so far failed to provide it, said to be working on providing better looking distant mountains and custom created self-aligning with the terrain forests, generally increasing it's draw distance.

O t t o

[lindsayts]

That is fabulous! I had no idea there were that many train simmers still around. Kinda makes you wonder what Mr Gates & Friends were thinking about when they abandon MSTS II

Firstly, I have posted my response to this on UKtrainSim, anyway good work OR, but on the last sentence. A Railway system is one of the more complex systems to simulate. requireing a great range of knowledge not only on locomotives and signal and safe working systems, but on such things as an accurate world model amongst other things.There are two factors that agravate this the first is Railways are of course a tracked system this almost garuntees a serious accident if something goes wrong so a complex safe working system has grown up along with the railways. This system is also different between countries and even within countries (Victoria and NSW in Australia come to mind) and the simulator has to provide for this, The second point is a lot of people looking for a train sim have a great amount of knowledge of at least some parts of railway operation, these people do include current and past railway professionals. The above make building a train sim a TOUGH job as you providing for users that in a lot of cases KNOW how the system should work.

The above is the main reason I believe an open source train sim would do well, something I have said from my first knowledge of OR.
Lindsay

[OTTODAD]

Hi Lindsay !

Knowing how railways operate and how everything connected with them should work helps, but having to translate that into working program code is another matter.

To make World scenery and objects therein look realistic is the easy part, but showing all of it on screen in it's full glory with reasonable frame rates is what some train simulators seem to have problems with !

O t t o