Trainz a New Era TANE Release Date MAY 15th

Here's a link to a couple of videos released by NV3 the developers of Trainz A New Era. I highly recommend buying the boxed version and waiting for it the snail mail vs the digital download.






Minimum Specification
OS: Windows 7 64-Bit
Memory: 4GB
Graphics: 1GB VRam with DirectX 11 Support
Processor: Intel I/AMD K10 Series 2GHz 64Bit Processor
Hard Drive: 30GB Free Space

 

With past versions there have been a few small issues. I can't quite remember the details. Updates will follow over the lifecycle of any version and they can still be downloaded and installed with the boxed version.

 

Glad to hear! I haven't ordered mine yet but I will soon. My first order of business will be converting my Frisco Highline route to TANE. Don't hesitate to use the forums. They are a great place for support.

http://forums.auran.com/trainz/forum.php

I might not be much help until I get my new TANE version installed.

 

Finding something on the TRAINZ forum is not as easy as it is on Frisco.org. Searches yield thousands of hits and not all are helpful.

 

True. It can be a bit more challenging to find something specific but posting a detailed question in the appropriate place usually produces several answers rather quickly. Overall the community is very helpful.

 

Well, I have gone and done it.

Though I did not go with T:ANE for now, instead a long-time TOC acquaintance that's heavily into Trainz advised me to start with TS2010 (my video card is a bit weak to handle T:ANE, according to said acquaintance). TS2010 was cheap enough at $20 for the download version of the "Engineers Edition" at Simulator Central. So, this is what I've accomplished over the past 24 hours or so:

* I have been able to download all the data packs.

* The Setup.exe ran flawlessly and TS2010 has been successfully installed on my machine.

* I have opened the "Manual" and did a quick browsing of it: It appears that pdf is in good order.

* I have been able to open a route.

Obviously, this is very different than MSTS. I didn't readily see a way to select a train and go for a spin. (Oh dread, I must RTFM!) However, unlike MSTS, apparently you can enter the route without being in a train! That I did, looking over a portion of one of the supplied routes (The Port Ogden & Northern) before exiting.

While looking at the "Routes" menu, and reading the description of a highlighted route, I noticed that some of the routes included with the install had a note at the bottom of the description stating it needed "Such and such assets from this location". So, am I to assume I need to download more stuff in order to run those routes?

Also, when I first started the program after its initial installation, a pop-up window appeared informing me that the program was "Updating the database". It took a LOONG time for this to be accomplished. Will it do this each and every time I open the program? (In contrast, I am used to clicking one of my MSTS mini-installs and be looking at the opening menu screen within a few seconds.)

Wow... apparently I have MUCH to learn before I can even hop in a train and go sight-seeing.

For those of you considering "Trainz: A New Era" (TANE or T:ANE), be advised that is going to require some serious computer horsepower in order to run the routes smoothly with enhanced features. By comparison, my current machine can run the most detailed of MSTS routes up toward 60 FPS (note: that is exceptional), however I am advised I need to upgrade my video card in order to handle T:ANE.

Anyway, I'm hoping to see what Trainz is about via TS2010 before I make a decision as to whether to upgrade my system for T:ANE or not.

 

That's great and welcome to Trainz. I'm using TS2010 myself and will be skipping TS2012 going straight to TANE. TS2010 is what I've built my Frisco Highline route in.

One thing you might be experiencing with the long database repair is a utility called TADDaemon is still running unnoticed in the background as you shut down your machine. If this is the case the EDR or extended database repair will run each time Trainz launches. TADDaemon needs to close before you shut down Windows. Use the Windows task manager to make sure it is not running before shutting down your machine.

There are are a ton of threads on the Trainz forum about this topic. This forum will become your friend for technical advice. Word is TANE does not have this issue.

 

Dricketts advised, "Use the Windows task manager to make sure it is not running before shutting down your machine. " It will be found under "Processes" in the Windows Task Manager.

Generally, it takes about 2 minutes of inactivity for TADDaemon to shut down. Shut down TRAINZ, then check for "New Posts" in frisco.org before shutting down Windows. That will give plenty of time for TADDaemon to shut down in the background.

Applying that kind of discipline generally removes the need for database repair for many months. Obviously, the more assets you accumulate, the longer that repair will take.

 

Thanks for the input Derrick and Windsor.

Have learned how to enter an engine and take control.

Yup, this is VERY different from MSTS. Gonna' take some getting used to.

I do hope that the steam locomotives have a "head out" view, with panning ability, as in MSTS. I very much miss that feature. (The supplied diesels I've run don't have the "Head Out" feature.) So far, I'm using the DCC mode to just explore around and learn to throw switches, operate turntables, and all that jazz.

What I plan to do is get familiar with navigating within the sim, learning the new keyboard functions, and so forth. It will also be important for me to eventually activate "In Cab" control and sample the physics. Once I'm comfortable with navigating about and operating within a route, I then hope to find "Rollins Pass", download some steam engines, and really get down to evaluating whether Trainz is going to be able to take a long term place alongside MSTS/Open Rails on my hard drive.

Oh, and I still need to RTFM!!!

All in good time!

 

A couple steam locomotives have a "head-out" feature. The one that immediately springs to mind is the "Blue Comet" CNJ P-47 Pacific offered as "downloadable content" for an additional cost. It is, of course, way, way past Coonskin's era. I do believe some of "Prowler's" 3-foot gauge D&RG locomotives allow this, but some may have some issues running in TS10 as they were for TRAINZ 2006 (I think). Some of bdaneal's steam may offer "head-out," as well, but I need to confirm this.

G.

 

Can "Head Out" be edited into the engine's data file as it can MSTS? In MSTS all it requires is to open the eng file and type the following: HeadOut (followed by the height/off-center/length position in meters). Save the edited eng file as Unicode and that's that. You can now hit the key to hang your head out the window, sweep with the arrow keys, as well as pan with mouse up/down/side to side, etc. Just like leaning your elbow on the window sill, hanging your head out the window on the real deal. Only thing missing is the wind in the face!

 

Yes you can add views to the loco via the config file. I've never done it but if you review a locos config file it will list different views. Most all locos I've seen have several view points. Try "]" to cycle through the the different cab views and the "<" to look around. Also hold down the right mouse button and move your mouse in cab view for the same effect.

 

Here's a nice video that shows the new lighting in TANE after adjusting the post processing effects in game. The route is by a Russian creator so it's not in TANE. Looks pretty good not to have a lot of details in the route.

 

Unrelated to my experiment with Trainz, but instead concerning T:ANE...

The initial reports from the trenches is that it is fraught with issues and takes a very, VERY powerful computer to run it acceptably smoothly. There is also a LOT of concern being voiced about the need for it to ping the N3V server in order to function, basically meaning that if N3V (the company that now produces Trainz) shuts down (or has server issues), then you can't play T:ANE. There are very many former Trainz enthusiasts that are pretty disgusted with N3V at this point.

I'm moving into a holding pattern on T:ANE. Besides, I still have much to learn/decide about with my installation of TS2010.

 

If I understand correctly the boxed version only needs to ping NV3 servers during installation.

The hardware requirements are pretty standard for new gaming software. I bought my laptop over a year ago with TANE in mind for about $1200. It exceeds the recommended hardware requirements so I don't anticipate any issues.

Reality is there are always some people complaining about new software. People resist change. Some complain about every new Windows OS too. I'm using Windows 8. I just set up to look and navigate like Windows 7. Not a big deal but some thought it would be the end of Microsoft.

I remember when TS2012 first came out some of these same people were saying it was rubbage. Now those same people love it.

If wouldn't be too concerned unless a majority of people are still complaining 6 months from now after a couple of new patches.