Open Rails – Microsoft Train Simulator – Railroad Simulation – Tech Commentary
ZDSimulator Version 5 Is Here…
I’ll replace this post with more details once I’ve had some time with this newest version. In general, it appears many of the refinements the developers have been working on were finalized and put into this update.
And, a hint of things to come — version 1.6.1 of the route editor is downloadable from the ZDSimulator website. The main interface is now in English, but the documentation is yet to be translated.
The most recent update to ZDSimulator fixes some bugs, adds some updates all around, and brings some overall smoothness to the simulator.
Fixed are the visual issues with how the train follows the track path; alignment of the wheels to the rail objects is much more consistent now. (Prior versions tended to allow the train and bogies to jerk on and off of the rails.) Over the course of several prior updates, a visual bug had caused the train, and particularly the first unit following the lead locomotive, to oscillate forward and back rapidly. This is now fixed, so the train appears to move fluidly in exterior view and in the rear-view mirrors.
There has been more work on improving the cab view and locomotive graphics overall. Another electric locomotive has been added, complementing a diesel unit added in a prior update. Station names show on the track profile, which is a welcome addition.
Download the 4.9.8 update from the ZDSimulator site; as always, the activation code will have to be updated as in prior updates.
I mentioned some time ago that I planned a review of ZDSimulator. I’ve run it for some time, gone through a couple of updates, experienced the quick and helpful support first-hand, and along the way gotten back to re-learning and brushing up my very, very rudimentary Russian language skills… 🙂
Anyhow, as promised, the review is available in the “Opinion” section…
I’ve been trying out the demo of ZDSimulator lately, as mentioned in the prior post. The list of faults and emergency conditions that can be triggered is included with the demo, but there’s no translation. I’ve made an approximate translation to get folks started. This isn’t an official translation by any stretch of the imagination, just a heavily-edited machine translation that I used several systems on and then adjusted as best as I could based on what I know of traction systems and railroad procedures. (This is looking like a great excuse for me to learn Russian, like I wanted to years ago…)
Anyhow, I’ve duplicated the original Microsoft Word document format and here’s the file for download:
ZDSimulator Emergency and Faults List – Unofficial English Translation
(Microsoft Word .DOC format)
Also, now a PDF version for convenience. Note that if the .DOC version is updated. the PDF version could be behind for a short while, as the PDF is generated from the .DOC version.
PDF Version – ZDSimulator Emergency and Faults List – Unofficial English Translation
(Non-editable PDF format)
In the past year, there have been several interesting developments in the train sim hobby. The team from 3DTrainStuff brought out Run 8 Train Simulator, which focuses on realistic operation and a multiplayer environment. Open Rails rolled out a new version also including multiplayer capability, and an ongoing series of “experimental” releases which make the current builds of the ongoing beta publically available. RailWorks also revamped their simulator as Train Simulator 2013. But to me, the most intriguing entry has to be a newly created simulator designed for professional use that is being ported into a standalone hobbyist simulator – ZDSimulator.