So, I'm sure that I've expressed my love for trains and such here before. Just one of those early childhood interests and hobbies that time and cynicism has, thankfully, been unable to lessen thus far. Which sucks when most train sims are just...terrible, god awful crap. All of them with graphics straight off of a PS2, and due to the more niche nature of the genre absolutely ridiculous pricing with tiny piece meal DLC that can total literal thousands of dollars. The genre is so stagnant that 20+ year old MS Train Simulator is still an actual contender for 'best train sim'.
So, go figure then when about four years ago I came across Derail Valley, which looked like everything I could want from a train sim; hands on control of locomotives with fuses to turn on and starter sequences, open world, first person movement allowing you to do more than just sit in the cab, a job system like the American/European truck sims and a physics system to let you crash the trains if you so wished (or messed up). The real kicker? VR only, which I did not, and still don't, own. Thankfully, not too long after finding it (and the immense disappointment in the VR requirement), they put out an update that gave the game a standard FPS control scheme for normal computers with the same style of 'grab the pull the buttons and levers of the locomotive' that made the game appealing in the first place. Three years ago they managed to release their big 'Overhauled' update, adding a new large diesel/electric loco and hazardous cargos that could explode as well as general improvements to the map at large. I even used some promotional material from the developers from this update for the header image of the 'Complain Train' thread. After a handful of smaller updates, they kind of fell of the face of the Earth as they worked on the next big update, and earlier this month they finally released it;
Completely rebuilt the entire simulation side of the locomotion in the game for both the diesel/electric and steam power types of locos already in the game (complete with new and varied points of failure, with the steam engines gaining the ability to have boiler explosions), as well as adding in two new types of motive power with a fully mechanical diesel and a diesel with a hydraulically driver powertrain (think the automatic transmission in your car). A day/night cycle with weather that impacts locomotive performance. New effects and so much more, it's literally a whole new game. Now, I know I called it 'Eurojank' in the title, but I mean that in a positive tone (then again, I kind of like the term 'Spaghetti Western', so my opinion is probably wrong, lol) along the lines of something like STALKER; a great, if slightly buggy, game made with love and care by a small studio. Even with this huge update, the game still sits firmly in 'beta' territory, passenger coaches that are fully modeled and implemented but don't spawn in and stations in some of the city locations for passengers but aren't used at present due to lack of AI/passengers. Next huge update promises to be another huge shakeup, with over a hundred new cargo types, a half dozen new rolling stock, and a huge update to the entire rail line to get it ready for AI trains (passing sidings and double tracks sections, updating the mainline with straighter/faster sections of better maintained track, sideline and industrial line with less maintained/used tracks, adding electrification to the mainline and signals and such).
But enough background and blathering as I've just noticed that I've barely talked about the game itself as it is currently. Like all simulators, there's no real story outside of a general setting. It's set in the 80's/90's in an unnamed Eastern European country on a slightly rundown a rail line, with locomotive designs based on a variety on European, and even American rolling stock. The diesel with the fully mechanical drivetrain is based on the British Class 03, the 0-6-0 steam switcher/shunter they released after the big update is based on a Yugoslavian JŽ class 62 (itself based upon the WWII US Army S100 tank locomotive that went literally everywhere), the diesel with the hydraulic transmission based upon a German design, and the big diesel electric based upon typical North American road switchers like the SD40. Rolling stock has North American style bogies with European style buffer and chain couplers. You don't have to purchase locomotives yourself, but you do have to purchase licenses to use anything other than the smallest shunting loco, as well pay for maintenance, repairs, and fuel. There are currently three different job types you can take; freight haul where you take goods/raw materials from one location or industry to another, logistical haul where you simply move empty freight cars between the various locations, or shunting where you either unload, take apart and store trains from the former and either storing or using the latter to load and put together trains for further freight hauls. The whole open map works on a sort of light transport tycoon model, with different locations and industries needing different materials or cargo to produce other things which are then moved through the network to other stops. For example, there are a couple of forest locations that produce logs, which then need transport to a sawmill. The sawmill turns the logs into boards and lumber, which are sent to one of the cities where the lumber is turned into furniture, which is then taken to the harbor to be shipped elsewhere.
The game is a lot like the big trucking sims, in that you can choose what you want to do and see, with the only challenge really being to get to the destination under time and in one piece (this isn't called Derail Valley for nothing). While you can hurry all over the place to try and get the bonus for coming in under the par time, there's no penalty for taking your time or assembling as big of a manifest as you can, hitting multiple locations and exchanging parts of it until you hit your end point. It's the perfect game for turning on a podcast or listening to music, either your own or ingame through preloaded cassettes (you can also load you own if you wish) or even to online radio stations such as TruckersFM, and with the enhanced visuals and day/night cycle of the newest update makes this game simply sublime for idle time wasting at the end of the day.
Holy shit that was a lot more than I expected to type up, lots or run on sentences and that title is a mess, woops lol
So, go figure then when about four years ago I came across Derail Valley, which looked like everything I could want from a train sim; hands on control of locomotives with fuses to turn on and starter sequences, open world, first person movement allowing you to do more than just sit in the cab, a job system like the American/European truck sims and a physics system to let you crash the trains if you so wished (or messed up). The real kicker? VR only, which I did not, and still don't, own. Thankfully, not too long after finding it (and the immense disappointment in the VR requirement), they put out an update that gave the game a standard FPS control scheme for normal computers with the same style of 'grab the pull the buttons and levers of the locomotive' that made the game appealing in the first place. Three years ago they managed to release their big 'Overhauled' update, adding a new large diesel/electric loco and hazardous cargos that could explode as well as general improvements to the map at large. I even used some promotional material from the developers from this update for the header image of the 'Complain Train' thread. After a handful of smaller updates, they kind of fell of the face of the Earth as they worked on the next big update, and earlier this month they finally released it;
Completely rebuilt the entire simulation side of the locomotion in the game for both the diesel/electric and steam power types of locos already in the game (complete with new and varied points of failure, with the steam engines gaining the ability to have boiler explosions), as well as adding in two new types of motive power with a fully mechanical diesel and a diesel with a hydraulically driver powertrain (think the automatic transmission in your car). A day/night cycle with weather that impacts locomotive performance. New effects and so much more, it's literally a whole new game. Now, I know I called it 'Eurojank' in the title, but I mean that in a positive tone (then again, I kind of like the term 'Spaghetti Western', so my opinion is probably wrong, lol) along the lines of something like STALKER; a great, if slightly buggy, game made with love and care by a small studio. Even with this huge update, the game still sits firmly in 'beta' territory, passenger coaches that are fully modeled and implemented but don't spawn in and stations in some of the city locations for passengers but aren't used at present due to lack of AI/passengers. Next huge update promises to be another huge shakeup, with over a hundred new cargo types, a half dozen new rolling stock, and a huge update to the entire rail line to get it ready for AI trains (passing sidings and double tracks sections, updating the mainline with straighter/faster sections of better maintained track, sideline and industrial line with less maintained/used tracks, adding electrification to the mainline and signals and such).
But enough background and blathering as I've just noticed that I've barely talked about the game itself as it is currently. Like all simulators, there's no real story outside of a general setting. It's set in the 80's/90's in an unnamed Eastern European country on a slightly rundown a rail line, with locomotive designs based on a variety on European, and even American rolling stock. The diesel with the fully mechanical drivetrain is based on the British Class 03, the 0-6-0 steam switcher/shunter they released after the big update is based on a Yugoslavian JŽ class 62 (itself based upon the WWII US Army S100 tank locomotive that went literally everywhere), the diesel with the hydraulic transmission based upon a German design, and the big diesel electric based upon typical North American road switchers like the SD40. Rolling stock has North American style bogies with European style buffer and chain couplers. You don't have to purchase locomotives yourself, but you do have to purchase licenses to use anything other than the smallest shunting loco, as well pay for maintenance, repairs, and fuel. There are currently three different job types you can take; freight haul where you take goods/raw materials from one location or industry to another, logistical haul where you simply move empty freight cars between the various locations, or shunting where you either unload, take apart and store trains from the former and either storing or using the latter to load and put together trains for further freight hauls. The whole open map works on a sort of light transport tycoon model, with different locations and industries needing different materials or cargo to produce other things which are then moved through the network to other stops. For example, there are a couple of forest locations that produce logs, which then need transport to a sawmill. The sawmill turns the logs into boards and lumber, which are sent to one of the cities where the lumber is turned into furniture, which is then taken to the harbor to be shipped elsewhere.
The game is a lot like the big trucking sims, in that you can choose what you want to do and see, with the only challenge really being to get to the destination under time and in one piece (this isn't called Derail Valley for nothing). While you can hurry all over the place to try and get the bonus for coming in under the par time, there's no penalty for taking your time or assembling as big of a manifest as you can, hitting multiple locations and exchanging parts of it until you hit your end point. It's the perfect game for turning on a podcast or listening to music, either your own or ingame through preloaded cassettes (you can also load you own if you wish) or even to online radio stations such as TruckersFM, and with the enhanced visuals and day/night cycle of the newest update makes this game simply sublime for idle time wasting at the end of the day.
Holy shit that was a lot more than I expected to type up, lots or run on sentences and that title is a mess, woops lol
