It would have been nice to get a truly free bird's-eye view. The camera is very easy to zoom and pan, though it's unfortunate that you can't position it anywhere you want-you have to rely on preset layout-specific positions or follow the train directly. You can watch the action from multiple camera views, including one inside the engine cab. Coupling and uncoupling cars is a simple point-and-click affair, but since the game doesn't offer any scenarios, you'll have to rely wholly on your imagination in planning your operations. Navigating the layouts is fairly trouble-free thanks to a track map and easily changed track switches. When you're ready to go, you can drive your trains using a model-railroad-style DCC controller with a knob to control direction and speed, or you can use realistic engine controls and physics, more like a simulator. All the layouts are interesting, but it would have been better if the game had included more. Then you choose starting positions for your trains from a number of preset locations on the game's three sample layouts set in North America, Britain, and Australia.
You can also decide whether or not trains can derail. You can also set the time of day and choose a time compression factor, if any. Then you choose the weather (cloudy, rainy, snowy, and so on) and how often it can change. First, you'll assemble your train by simply dragging and dropping engines and cars from a list to a little window at the bottom of the screen in the order you like.
When you're done admiring your collection, you can head out onto the rails in the Driver module. Sadly, you don't get any steam engines, which will surely disappoint the countless rail fans who love the "golden age of steam." There's a wide variety of authentic train types available. Engines include the F7 and SD40-2 diesels of North America, the Class 340 of Spain's Renfe line, and Sweden's Rc4 electric, among others. For rolling stock, you'll get boxcars, refrigerator cars, hoppers, a variety of passenger cars, and more. You can sort them by country of origin or railroad company, as well as view real-world background information on each engine or car. The My Collection module lets you view all your engines and rolling stock, and the game ships with dozens of them.
Regardless of what Auran might deliver in the future, the core Trainz package offers loads of features that will have any rail fan or model railroader really excited.
You can already download a number of free engines and structures created by either Auran or fans using 3D modeling programs, one of which is included with Trainz. Auran also plans to release various locomotive and rolling stock packs to add to your collection. Trainz developer Auran (the Australian developer responsible for the great 1997 real-time strategy game Dark Reign) plans to release expansion modules that will let you simulate complex switching and dispatching operations or handle the financial end of running your railroad. These modules let you examine your collected engines and rolling stock (railroad cars), create railroad layouts, and drive trains across them. Trainz is a modular system that ships with three components: My Collection, Surveyor, and Driver. It's fun and easy to build your own model railroad using Trainz. With Trainz, you can create the virtual model railroad of your dreams, easily expressing your creativity and indulging your imagination. Unlike creating model cars or planes, model railroading usually entails building big, minutely detailed, fully functioning models. As any model railroader will tell you, some of the biggest challenges of the hobby are finding the time, money, and space to build a big model railroad layout. As odd as that may sound at first, it really makes good sense.
Trainz actually models model railroading. Now with Trainz, we have a simulation of a simulation. Then there were model railroads that simulated them.