RRRiveRr M asteRApoRDsuld fsptCy · PDF fileSignal Box Simulator Gelsenkirchen ... Canada....

River Master Airport Dusseldorf

City Bus SimulatorThe new version: Munich

Mega Airport DusseldorfThe metropolitan airport

Train Simulator 2013Swiss SBB Route 1

River MasterInland Waterway Transport

The Magazine for Simulation-Games AEROSOFT Edition 1-2013

FREE !

SIMULATOR WORLD 1/2013

INHALTSVERZEICHNIS

Control devices for PC simulations .................................................................... 19

Swiss Route for Train Simulator 2013 ................................................................... 22

SBB Route 1

Simulation-Technology

P. 10

City Bus Simulator Munich

the Metropolitan Airport! ............................................................................. 14

City Bus Simulator MunichNothing for fare dodgers! .............................................................................. 10

P. 22

SBB Route 1

P. 29

River Master

P. 14

Mega Airport Dusseldorf


Signal Box Simulator Gelsenkirchen .................................................................... 26

Signal Box Simulator

Inland Waterway Transport .................................................................... 29

River Master

2

Index ......................................................................................................................... 02Editorial ............................................................................................................... 03Simulator News .................................................................................................... 04Simulator Communities ......................................................................................... 08Imprint / Preview .................................................................................................... 33


EDITORIAL

Dear readers!

The third edtion of Simulator WORLD comes with news, reviews and community contributions from all areas of PC-simulations.

Regardless of the area of simulation whether it be flight, train, ship or something else entirely and you would like to introduce and represent your community in Simulator WORLD - please write to us.

We will bring your community to the readers of Simulator WORLD!

With this edition we are starting a new series about simulation technology, we will test diffe-rent hardware and control devices with various PC Simulations.

Testing a specific device is not the priority, but operation and compatibilty with different simula-tions is in the focus.

On this we will give you tipps & tricks and examp-les of usage in each new issue.

I hope you enjoy our latest release of SimulatorWORLD!

Frank MoellenhofChief editor Simulator WORLD [email protected]

Simulator WORLD 3rd Edition...

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SIMULATOR-NEWS

Combat Pilot launch

Saitek is finally here. Combat Pilot (for FSX) is now ready for launch. Pre-orders are live and the Com-bat Pilot experience begins on December 18th.

The multiplayer servers are primed, the hassle-free turnkey solution is locked down, and NAS Fallon is prepped for the holiday intake of cadets.

Pre-ordering will get you an additional 30 days of server time (you also get 30 days included with the download anyway), plenty enough time to sample their on-line universe and get your new career as a military pilot off to a great start.

Don’t feel you need to join alone though, you can bring your entire squadron, retain all your exis-ting contacts and identities. The training is tough, maintaining the high standards you expect.

Best of all, it’s virtually risk free. Saitek has created a launch package that includes 3 very high quali-ty A2A-designed (CP-T-6B, CP-T-45C and CP-T-38C) aircraft and no less than 7 highly detailed military bases, all of which can also be used outside the Combat Pilot environment if you so desire.

Check out the complete offering and secure your seat today.

http://combatpilotseries.com

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http://combatpilotseries.com/?scid=web_aerosoft

Construction Simulator 2014

You can start constructing again – astragon and weltenbauer. are announcing the sequel to the popular construction-simulation for iOS®, PC and MAC.

With Construction Simulator 2014, the games pu-blisher astragon Software GmbH from Mönchen-gladbach and the Wiesbaden-based developer studio weltenbauer. (Construction Simulator 2012 as well as River Master 2012) are announcing the sequel to the popular Construction-Simulator-franchise.

The project that is already under development shall include proven and popular virtues among the community of the Construction Simulator se-ries. At the same time, developers are aiming for a much more intensive gaming experience for the player with more new gameplay elements.

The iOS® version of Construction Simulator 2014 for the first time allows users of mobile devices like the iPhone® or the iPad® to start constructing. The PC- and Mac-version not only convince simula-

tion enthusiasts with their exciting challenges on different kinds of construction sites, faithful and licensed construction machines and vehicles, but also with the new multiplayer functions.

The iOS® version of Construction Simulator 2014 is due to be released in the 2nd quarter of 2013. The PC- and Mac version are going to be released in the 2nd half of 2013. Information at:http://www.bausimulator.de/index_en.php

SIMULATOR-NEWS

www.simw.comE-Mail: [email protected] Phone: +32 (0)2 331.25.09

Europe‘s largest specialist of

simulation products.

ORDER

by phone

or online!


SIMULATOR-NEWS

TruScenery Helsinki-Malmi Airport

TruScenery Helsinki-Malmi airport for X-Plane 10 offers a superb quality with highly detailed airport buildings, ground textures with a resolution of 10cm/pixel! Furthermore, the airport comes with handcrafted taxi signs, custom airport lighting, custom made Finland trees and so much more. You can get more info atwww.truscenery.wordpress.com

Kamchatka – The Lost World

Kamchatka is a peninsula situated in the Russian Far East bordered by the Bering Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk. Although the peninsula is slightly big-ger than Germany, it is populated quite sparsely. Volcanoes are the main attractions of the Kam-chatka, but there’s much more to explore in this FSX/Prepar3D Lost world. There‘s more info at: www.aerosoft.com

Orbx Bella Coola Airport

Welcome to beautiful Bella Coola, British Colum-bia, Canada. It‘s a spectacular location in FTX Pa-cific Fjords. Bella Coola (CYBD) has handcrafted ground textures and the results are like nothing you‘ve seen before. A stunning 2cm/pixel reso-lution level of detail and Bella Coola includes all “Flow” technologies. You can get more details at: http://fullterrain.com

6


SIMULATOR-NEWS

Aerotrain for Trainz 2010/12

The GM-Aerotrain Add-on puts you back in the time of the streamliner when this elegant train made its rounds across the USA as the future of passenger transport. The Trainz version features a faithfully modelled driver’s cabin, all carriages with passenger view, adjustable headlights, adjus-table train- and carriage numbers, animated brake hoses, interior carriage lighting as well as anima-ted train staff. Information at: www.halycon.de

EEP - eisenbahn.exe - Layout Kassel

Welcome to Kassel – or, to be more specific, to the district Harleshausen. At its easternmost point you will find the installations of the railway work-shop and the huge marshalling yard of the Deut-sche Bahn. Data and details of the EEP-Layout:

• Installation width: 4.0 km• Installation length: 0.5 km• Track length: 142 km• Street length: 115 km• Amount of models: 7050• Amount of signals: 260• Trains in automatic mode: approx. 40• Time required for construction: 1.5 years• Period: IV/V of the DB AG

Information at: www.eep4u.de

7


Flight Simulation – close to reality

”I want to be a pilot!” Who did not have that dream as a kid? The years go by – the dream might fade away. For everyone who cannot live this dream there is still a way to take a realistic look behind the scenes of civil aviation. VATSIM has gi-ven you access to this fascinating world for the last twelve years.

VATSIM (Virtual Air Traffic SIMulation) is a net-work and offers the opportunity to get an idea of flying on your computer at home. Counting more than 210,000 members, the network offers a plat-form for flying online with like-minded people or playing the role of a flight controller or air traffic controller. The common slogan “as real as it gets” also reflects the goal to simulate civil aviation as realistic as possible while still being able to offer it for free.

Among other things, VATSIM relies on the experi-ence of real-life pilots and air traffic controllers of the Deutsche Flugsicherung (DFS). This knowledge contributes to training documents for pilots and a determined training concept for future virtual air traffic controllers. In addition to this training of-fer, members are provided with lots of free docu-mentation for self-study and for deepening their knowledge of the topic.

As this documentation follows real procedures and ATC phraseology, it is not much of a surprise that many VATSIM members end up applying for a job at Lufthansa or the DFS. And even those not aiming for a job at Lufthansa have made a huge step towards the BZF I/II radio certificate thanks to the phraseology training and the experience made with VATSIM.

A computer with an internet connection, a flight simulator like Microsoft Flight Simulator or X-Pla-ne and a program that connects the computer with the network is all you need to take part in the vir-tual air traffic. After a few minutes with the flight simulator you are right in the middle of the action

and you can undertake first flying attempts un-der ATC or broaden your horizon with a couple of ILS approaches under instrument meteorological conditions. The two aforementioned simulators in particular have reached a development level that has never been attained before – depending on your computer of course. This applies for the gra-phics as well as the flight characteristics.

Of course, prospective air traffic controllers do not necessarily need a flight simulator. Here, the network has designed programs that simulate the real radar screens in Europe or the USA. Our ama-teur air traffic controllers communicate according to the rules set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and are offering the virtual pilots a service one would also expect from the DFS.

Meanwhile, there are mentors that supervise the performance of our air traffic controllers and you can be trained to become anything from a ground controller to an en-route air traffic controller.

VATSIM was founded in 2001 and since then more than 12 million hours of flight time have been completed and 2 million hours of online ATC have been offered.

More Infos at: www.vatsim-germany.org

SIMULATOR-COMMUNITIES

8

City Bus SimulatorMunich

City Bus SimulatorMunich

City Bus Simulator MunichNothing for fare dodgers!

The new City Bus Simulator München is a highly complex simulator software featuring the bus line 100 which the MVG (Munich Transport Company) officially calls “Museum line”. Covering a distance of 15km, you will see about 22 museums or tou-rist destinations. The route should take you about one hour. The simulation includes the entire line from the central station to the east station, the extension to the Theresienwiese in the event of special events and the turning to the depot.

OCC – Mediator between simulation and options

Shortly after starting the program CBS 2.EXE and before the OCC (Operation Control Centre) of the City Bus Simulator is started for the first time, you see the symbol of a stylized model of the urban development that you need to click on.

The branched structure of the simulator is repre-sented in the complex structure of the OCC. It is the extensive tool for settings and at the same time platform for starting the simulation of the City Bus Simulator. While the simulation is running, you can open the entire OCC menu and change settings. In case e.g. the graphics settings do not suffice, you can immediately continue playing with the new, changed settings without having to restart the CBSM.

The menu “Weather” would be an example from the area of air conditioning. A real, complete an-nual calendar including time of day, weekdays, months is connected to weather data that is to be determined. In case you set the time in the simula-tor to the time of your operating system and often play in the evenings, you mostly have a cold bus with steamy windows in front of you that strugg-les with the snowy winter weather.

But this complexity also has its downsides. While you could make previous simulators forget cer-tain failed driving attempts, this is not possible anymore. The error log provides information on everything you did wrong during the simulation. Fortunately, the number of passengers you ran over does not appear in the log. In that case, you get a police warning and the simulation stops for a while

The bus type MAN Lion’s

Three different types are featured in the MVG blue: A two door version, a three door version and an articulated bus. The repaint function allows de-signing your MVG-bus fleet in various ways. For example, current promotional buses can be fea-tured.

In the OCC, you can add random malfunctions for several essential components of the bus. In case of an accident, the player needs search for the error.

City Bus Simulator

11


LANDWIRTSCHAFTS-SIMULATOR LANDWIRTSCHAFTS-SIMULATORCity Bus Simulator

If you do not like the basic equipment of the MAN Lion’s, you can tune the bus and insert a more po-werful engine.

As previously said, all buttons and toggle switches featured in the bus are fully functional. While the player is driving following an authentic MVG time-table, he is supported by an electronic co-pilot and announcements.

You receive instructions from the OCC via radio or from time to time you are informed about traffic jams and accidents.

Finally driving the MAN Lion’s

The driver can use a test track where no one can be harmed. Unfortunately, the online manual is missing an overview of all keyboard commands for printing purposes. One solution would be to print the current keyboard settings (“Select OCC by pressing “ESC” -> Options -> Keyboard”).

Furthermore, starting the engine is self-explanato-ry with all the help texts. First, you have to insert the driver card into the tachograph (“/” on the numeric keypad). Insert the card using the mouse. Now, enter the card code and the driver code. At the beginning it is 55555 for both of them.

If you now turn the ignition key, you will see a message stating that you have to accelerate at the

same time. That is how the program helps you for the time being. This extends through the entire simulation.

It is impossible for a beginner to just drive the line 100. First, the player needs to contact the OCC. He needs the co-pilot for that who can be reached using the key...I need to look that up myself, the key ”*” on the keypad.

The whole simulation needs to be learned from scratch and requires calmness, time and care. A game after work along the lines of “I’ll just take a little ride” could be difficult, especially at the be-ginning.

Visual realisation

Every sign, every road surface looks “used” and thus contributes to creating a vivid Munich. Ha-ving made the according settings in the OCC, you can determine the number of cars and pedestrians using a slide switch.

Afterwards, there is heavy traffic on the main roads like most of the time in Munich. The envi-ronment is crowded with AI-pedestrians. They mostly appear in groups and are divided equally as we know it from other cities. There are groups of people at traffic lights and bus stops that disap-pear as soon as the traffic lights switch to green.

12

13SIMULATOR WORLD 1/2013

The AI-pedestrians and their movements and phy-siognomies leave nothing to be criticized. Only the bus controlled by the player that finds itself on the sidewalk due to the player’s lack of driving experience confuses Munich’s AI-pedestrians. They do not know how to walk around this monstrous vehicle. After this shock, they are likely to have a wheat beer at the Theresienwiese.

Conclusion

The City Bus Simulator München presents itself as a tidy desktop computer. The icon that appears when you start the simulator, a hub cap combined with an urban development model, is deeply sym-bolic for the innovative City Bus Simulator Mün-chen.

Contemporary simulations of our time are evolving into highly complex applications. Isn’t that exactly what we always wanted? Haven’t we been upset or didn’t we want to operate some lever that had not been functional in previous simulations? The CBSM is just that kind of simulation.

The player is even expected to react appropriately in a new situation. On a cold December day, the help assistant repeatedly informs us that the inte-rior of the bus is too cold. Obviously this problem has to be solved before we let passengers get on the bus. The motto is “Learning by doing”.

Let’s put it like this: Simulators have grown up. This means we need to learn how to handle them. You do not expect to be able to play an error free violin solo from Mozart at the end of your very first day.

So: one step at a time. In the future, you may have a lot of fun with the CBSM and all its possibilities.

André Rogalla

City Bus Simulator

InfoboxP r o d u c t _ S p e c i f i c a t i o n s

• Windows Vista(SP3)/7/8/• CPU: Dual Core 2.8 GHz• RAM: 4 GB• Video: GeForce 9800 GT or simular

ATI• Soundcard• DirectX 9.0c

Price 29.95 € (Download-Version) available at: www.aerosoft.com

Aerosofts Dusseldorf International Airportthe Metropolitan Airport!

Dusseldorf International Airport or, if you wish, EDDL, is the largest airport in North Rhine-West-phalia, and the third largest airport in Germany.

The airport is accessible via an extensive ground transportation infrastructure, including their own motorways and two railway stations, one of which is for high-speed, long-distance trains.

The Dusseldorf Airport SkyTrain operates as an inter-terminal people transporter within the air-port. With 107 aircraft parking positions and also equipped to handle the Airbus A380 that, must be an interesting airport.

Being the third largest airport in Germany means many airliners come and go on a daily basis. You’ll find Aegean Airlines, Air Lingus, Aeroflot, Air Ber-lin, Air France, Air China, Condor, Germanwings, Scandinavian Airlines, Turkish Airlines, WOW Air and of course, Lufthansa and Lufthansa Regional and many more.

Developing an airport of this size, with so many terminals, so many other facilities that can be found inside and around the airport fences, gave Aerosoft and the German Airports team new chal-lenges to face.

The result ... Mega Airport Dusseldorf!

Because of the complexity of the airport, let‘s highlight some features:

• Highly detailed representation of the airport Dusseldorf

• Photo real textures on buildings, vehicles, etc• New aerial image• Seasonal ground textures• High resolution apron, taxiway and runway

textures• Detailed grass textures as well as 3D grass

There‘s much more, so let’s have a closer look.

What to expect? Aerosoft’s Mega Airport Dusseldorf has been pro-duced for FS2004, FSX and Prepar3D. The scenery package offers you the possibility to select static aircraft as well as the AESlite EDDL X traffic con-figurator. Furthermore, with Aerosoft’s seasonal tool you can change the textures to the correct season or to one you like. Once all these steps are accomplished, you’re ready to enjoy Dusseldorf.

As you might know, Aerosoft and their developers don‘t just offer you only the airport scenery itself and this Mega Airport is no exception. It comes with much more than the airport itself and stret-ches far beyond the airport fences. The fun starts when you park your car in one of the parking ga-rages and walk to the passenger terminal.


14 SIMULATOR WORLD 1/2013


The large glass passenger terminal indeed looks impressive, but there’s more to see. All buildings outside the airport fences, in the vicinity of the passenger terminal, are well modeled and make it complete. But hold on, there’s much more to see once you’ve checked in and are waiting for your aircraft.

It’s not only the apron that makes it complete, it’s much more than that. It’s a perfect balance bet-ween the ground texture quality, the weathered look of the concrete apron and all the markings, the jet ways with their orange Sixt advertisements, but it‘s also the gates and the huge passenger ter-minal.

However, this time you’re looking from the apron side. To increase the realism, you’ll find a lot of de-dicated ground equipment and trucks, fuel trucks, airport authority buses as well as from Air Berlin, Lufthansa and the Airport Police.

To keep everything under control, Dusseldorf In-ternational Airport offers two control towers. One keeps track and control of all aircraft ground mo-vements while the other control the takeoffs and landings as well as Dusseldorf Approach.

Besides the presence of these gates with jet ways, there’s much more on the apron. On the side you’ll find the Air Berlin hangars with a huge parking apron for aircraft in front of it. In this case, it’s

fully occupied by LTU and some Air Berlin models. But it’s not only an apron with some hangars.

You’ll also find light masts, ground markings, par-king signs, and, made exclusively for this airport, ground equipment such as movable passenger stairs.

While driving from one side to the other of the airport, I use the taxiways and one of the runways.

As in real life, these textures have a weathered look and ground markings are well made and that‘s also applicable for the taxi and runway signs along each crossing or before the entry of a run-way.

On the other side of the passenger terminal you’ll find another apron where aircraft can park, either when all the jet ways are occupied or if they will depart later in the day.

An airport without ground staff doesn’t function and therefore near this apron you’ll find an ent-rance gate for all ground staff.

Opposite this apron, Jet Aviation offers many ser-vices for General Aviation and small business jets. You can see this by the presence of the three Jet Aviation hangars.

With an airport this large, there‘s a need to help


15

LANDWIRTSCHAFTS-SIMULATOR LANDWIRTSCHAFTS-SIMULATOR

An overview of the Dus-seldorf cargo area. LTU has parked some of their aircraft‘s, making them ready for the next flight.

Gate C04 is cleaned up from the previous flight and ready to receive a new customer. Jet way in position and air bp truck waiting!

It’s quite busy at the sou-th side apron of the air-port. Air Malta is taxiing to the runway while Air France is serviced.



reduce electricity costs, so, opposite of the pas-senger terminal you’ll find a large area filled with solar panels. And while walking from one end to the other, you’re also faced with the high quality ground textures used for this airport scenery..

Evening time! Aerosoft’s Dusseldorf International Airport offers you yet another dimension during sunrise, sunset and during the night.

There’s no reason to be afraid that you might lose your way. The aprons are well illuminated as well as the taxiways and runways with all the signs. Let‘s not forget the radar and ILS ground equip-ment, the hangars, the buildings located inside and outside the airport fences. It gives this Mega Airport a special atmosphere during these hours.

To make it all complete, Mega Airport Dusseldorf is compatible with standard-AI traffic and AI-Traf-fic Add-ons and you can use it with full version of Airport Enhancement Services.

Overall Impression Aerosoft adds another important and interesting Mega Airport to the already long list of German airports.

Depending on the time of the day, you’re never

alone with all your AI friends. Especially within the airport fences! It offers many attractive features and high quality buildings, ground textures, gates, jet ways etc. Worthy to be your new home base!

I would welcome you to the Mega Airport world … Dusseldorf International Airport!

Angelique van Campen

InfoboxP r o d u c t _ S p e c i f i c a t i o n s

• Flight Simulator X or Prepar3D• Windows XP/Vista /7• CPU: 3 GHz (Dual or Quad Core Pro-

zessor recommended)• RAM: min. 2 GB • 3D-Vodeoboard min. 512 MB

Price: 24.95 € (Download-Version) available at: www.aerosoft.com


SIMULATOR WORLD 1/2013 17

Simmarket_Nov_2012_ad.indd 1 11/4/2012 6:40:07 PM


Control devices for PC simulationsWheel, joystick, gamepad, keyboard…

Euro Truck Sim 2Simulation-Technologie

We are now presenting you a brief overview of different control devices for the PC whose possi-bility and usability regarding certain simulations will be described in greater detail in the upcoming issues of Simulator WORLD.

Mad Catz Wireless Racing Wheel

A steering wheel is the device for driving simulati-ons. It features a wireless connection. The gear le-ver for right-hand or left-hand drivers is interchan-geable. The pedal set for the feet is slip-resistant. A headset can also be connected.

Mad Catz S.T.R.I.K.E. 7 Gaming Keyboard

The keyboard consists of separate hardware mo-dules and is designed for diverse gaming- and simulation-usage. The control module allows to program macros on an advanced graphic interface or to modify the background lighting for playing in darker rooms. The main keyboard is rather small so you have more space for the mouse. In total, 24 macro keys are at your disposal.

Mad Catz R.A.T. 5

The size and shape of the mouse can be adjusted to the hand of the user. The mouse features a solid aluminium frame. Custom programming, profiling of the buttons and the acceleration round off the characteristics.

Major League Gaming - Pro Circuit Controller

The Gaming Pro features interchangeable com-ponents. D-Pad and Analog Stick Modules can be swapped at will. A 3-Meter Pro Cable that can be screwed into the top of the controller rounds off the gamepad. Furthermore, a pair of weights pro-vides variance in how the controller feels in your hand.

Cyborg F.R.E.Q.5 Headset

The microphone is removable and features a mute button. Used for radio connection during a figh-ter pilot combat or for the secure communication with the tower.

Cyborg Fly 5 Joystick

The joystick features a tilting head mechanism for better positioning. Handle height, handle ang-le and hat switch position are adjustable to the player’s ergonomics. It features twin throttle con-trol for separate engines, 12 buttons for all the main flying and combat commands and a shift button that doubles up the number of assignable button.

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LANDWIRTSCHAFTS-SIMULATOR LANDWIRTSCHAFTS-SIMULATOR

Mad Catz Wireless Ra-cing Wheel complete with racing pedals, an in-terchangeable gear shift, full rubber grips, lap rest supports and desk clamp, all the intensity of a race comes to the comfort of your home and shifts your next-generation ra-cing into top gear.

Designed to adapt to the competitive gamer‘s indi-vidual preferences, From the slip-deterring rubbe-rized grips to the robust braided cable, everything about the MLG Pro Cir-cuit Controller radiates quality and craftsman-ship.

The Cyborg Fly 5 features Trigger, four buttons and scroll buttons in head of stick; Adjustable POV hat switch – can extend or contract into head of stick; 6 buttons on base of stick; Dual throttle le-ver for control of multi-engine aircraft; Twist axis for rudder.

Euro Truck Sim 2Simulation-Technologie

20

• Accurate 1:1 scaled Cessna yoke• Full 180 degree turn radius• Stainless steel shaft with precision bearings • Quadrant with throttle, flaps, mixture & prop. pitch control

CESSNA® YOKE SYSTEMYOKE FEATURE SET

• Authentic Cessna pedal design • Self-cantering pedals with adjustable damping• Independent left & right brake axes• Tension adjustment dial

CESSNA RUDDER PEDALS RUDDER PEDAL FEATURE SET

• Designed after the real Cessna Trim Wheel• 9 turns of revolution• Multi-point desktop mount

CESSNA TRIM WHEELTRIM WHEEL FEATURE SET

CLOSER TO REALITY™

madcatz.comCessna emblems, logos, and body designs are trademarks of Textron Innovations Inc. and are used under license by Mad Catz Interactive, Inc.

©2013 Mad Catz, Inc. Mad Catz, Saitek, and the Mad Catz and Saitek logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Mad Catz Interactive, Inc., its subsidiaries and affiliates. All rights reserved. Product features, appearance and specifications may be subject to change without notice.

Official Licensed Product

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SBB Route 1 Pfäffikon SZ-Landquart A Swiss route for Train Simulator 2012

After a seemingly endless time of waiting, sim-train.ch finally released the first ever commercial Swiss route for the Train Simulator 2012 created by Jérôme à Wengen. It is the almost 70 km long route between Pfäffikon in the canton Schwyz (which, by the way, is the home of simtrain.ch) and Landquart in the northern canton Graubün-den.

The example

The railway line portrayed in the add-on is located in the eastern part of Switzerland and belongs to the international railway corridor Basel – Zurich – Innsbruck – Salzburg – Vienna that was used for decades by the legendary Transalpine until the in-troduction of the ÖBB-railjets. The route is also of great value for the Swiss inland traffic as it is a part of the direct rail connection from Zurich to Chur.The section that has been exclusively recreated for Train Simulator 2012 starts at the railway cross Pfäffikon SZ (the “SZ” is short for the canton Schwyz) situated directly at the Lake Zurich. The line runs via the Glarus railway cross Ziegelbrücke, along the Walensee and via Sargans to Landquart which is the eastern end of the add-on, but also an interchange for trains of the Rhaetian Railway tra-velling towards Klosters, Davos and Scoul-Tarasp. If you travelled a little further down South, you would soon reach Chur, the terminus of SBB’s stan-dard gauge network.

The vehicles

The provided motive power unit is the RE 4/4 in the RE 420 series of the SBB in the (old) red edition and as a SBB Cargo locomotive in their current de-sign. The train drivers also call this ubiquitous all around locomotive from the Swiss standard gauge “Bo’Bo” which can be set in front of every type of train. With the exception of a few minor issu-es, this model is simulated superbly. Moreover, the shunting tractor of the SBB Cargo series Tm 232 is included which can be used for small shunting duties, but also for delivery services on the rou-te. Unfortunately, the Re-460, which is also called “Lok 2000” and has a top speed of 200 km/h, is only available as AI-model.

The vehicle fleet is completed by the standard carriages EW IV as 1st and 2nd class carriage in 2 different colour variations, the corresponding lug-gage carriage type D as well as the standard car-riages type EW I in the “NPZ-design” blue/ light grey and the standard carriage EW II in green with turquoise “comfort stripes” that indicate the pas-senger that the benches inside are better uphols-tered than in the “normal” carriages (today in the aforementioned NPZ-design). The interior deco-ration of the carriages seems slightly loveless and squared, the seats and luggage racks are not really faithful to their examples either. Furthermore, 6 freight carriages and a couple more AI-carriages are included. The double-decker carriages used for

SBB Route 1

22 SIMULATOR WORLD 1/2013

SIMULATOR WORLD 1/2013 23

long-distance traffic, that are very present on the real route, the double-decker shuttle trains opera-ted by the Zurich S-Bahn and the NPZ are missing as well as the dining cars for the InterCities.

The scenarios

Simtrain offers 10 tasks plus a tutorial called “dri-ving school” on the Bo’Bo’ in addition to the rou-te. An interesting mixture that will have trainsim enthusiasts all excited. All tasks are programmed lovingly, offer lots of AI-traffic and seem quite au-thentic although the passenger traffic tasks in par-ticular are rather fictitious as to the timetable and the train composition.

For exploration purposes, I chose the task “SBB1 Train 02 to Pfäffikon” which covers the entire rou-te. Loading goes by surprisingly fast and after a mere 96 seconds the game is ready to be played. I see the exterior view of my working device, the Re 4/4 number 11389, which awaits me on track 3 of Landquart station with an EW IV carriage and a luggage carriage type D.

First, I am heading northbound along the Rhine valley to Sargans with a stopover in the health resort Bad Ragaz. A little further down the road from Bad Ragaz I pass an airfield. Here, you can hear sounds of a sports aircraft and if you look closely (exterior view), you can even see it – one of the nice details included by the creator. A couple

of minutes later, I reach Sargans, the home-signal indicates “Clear”, the attached distant signal indi-cates “Caution”, i.e. it indicates stop. The warning at the signal has to be acknowledged which basi-cally corresponds to the original of the Swiss train protection system Signum.

This is followed by Mels station where, starting midway through the station, you cannot go any faster than 130 km/h or 140 km/h once you have passed the last point. On the right hand side, you see the Churfirsten mountain range on whose northern side the famous ski resorts of the Ober-toggenburg District are located.

The Churfirsten might not be recognizable as in-dividual characteristic peaks like in the real world, but the atmosphere with the steeply rising rock faces is accurate.

Next up, we reach Walenstadt, the valley is noti-ceably getting narrower and on the right hand side we have the Walensee. Right after the 453 m long Bommerstein-Tunnel follows the stop Mols. To your right you see the Walensee which we will now travel along to its southern shore – and which is crowded with surfers in spite of the lousy, rainy weather!

That is one of the lovely details and the next one follows immediately at Unterterzen station: the cable railway beginning right across the station

SBB Route 1


View at the railstation Pfäffikon SZ with a dou-ble heading RE4/4 Cargo of SBB.

Railstation Unterterzen, in the background the funicular railway to Flum-serberg shows up.

New lighting effects of Train Simulator 2012 make an atmospheric environment at the SSB Route 1.

SBB Route 1


SBB Route 1

building to Oberterzen and Flumserberg, a fa-mous ski and holiday resort, is represented in a fully functional way!

Getting out of Unterterzen, we are passing through a seemingly narrow caption. Following the Bühl-Tunnel (114 m) we have the stop Murg and a curve that may only be passed at 80 km/h max until the lane change depth angle and the single-lane section to Mühlehorn station.

There is no room for two tracks between the lake and the cliff. It is getting really tight, so the tracks are underground which is modelled amazingly. At the station itself, there is a crossing that is adequa-tely secured with barriers and flashlights and also stays true to its example in terms of the characte-ristic “bung bung bung” sound.

Now, we again have a two-lane route and what follows is the entrance into the long Kerenzer-berg-Tunnel (3955 m) which stretches all the way to Weesen and has been replacing the old section along the lake since 1960. Right at the tunnel exit our train crosses the impressing arch bridge across the Linth Escher Channel before we reach Weesen station where we switch to the right track.

Now, we have already passed the Walensee and we are travelling across fields passing through a rather agricultural area. Nonetheless, the impres-sive Alpine backdrop can still be admired on both

sides and off we go to the next stop Pfäffikon SZ where our ride finally ends.

Summary

The add-on SBB-Route 1 is an absolute must-have for all fans of standard gauge, Swiss railroads. The level of detail is spot on, but of course, building density has been reduced noticeably, so the route does not lag in spite of the lavish landscapes.

However, the typical feeling of the Swiss rail traf-fic is transported thanks to the fitting stations and stops with all their details. The trainsim enthusi-ast is provided with a diverse route including both curvy sections as well as “racetracks” and the tight schedule of tasks is challenging in any event.

Only minor errors like occasionally missing signal posts or overhead line masts can be criticized, but a possible update should be able to improve that..

Robert Bock

Article from Train Sim Magazin 5/2012

25


Signal Box-Simulator

Attention, train arriving! Signal Box Gelsenkirchen

Even though most simulators are modelled in 3D, the signal box simulators from Signalsoft are still in 2D. Maybe the panel and its companions seem a bit archaic. The operation is not disturbed by that, but the player has to know and be familiar with the facility. That’s essential.

Gelsenkirchen is an ideal signal box for beginners (published by Signalsoft with Bonn central station in Volume 3).

Not a fantasy signal box, like “Kleinstadt”, but re-ality from the year 1996 when there were interes-ting train types like the Interregio or the torpedo wagons manufactured in Duisburg’s blast furna-ces that enjoyed all preferences, so they would be processed as soon as possible to the Schalker Ver-ein steelworks.

In reality, the signal box was certainly occupied by more than one operator.

In return, the player, possibly a beginner, receives help that does not exist in real life.

A very special aid is the window that opens by cli-cking on “View -> Train Overview”. The so called train overview provides a lot of data that a dispat-cher would not have access to in such an immedi-ate way.

Acquire knowledge

First, the prospective dispatcher has to get to know his workplace, acquire local knowledge and virtu-ally know the timetable by heart.

1. 1. Working place

At first, the player should familiarise themselves with the panel. Routes are set by clicking on the signal icon. A magenta ring appears and indicates the starting clearance. Now, possible route con-nections are flashing.

The next moment, you have to click on the rou-te you need. The road is now being set, the train driver gets the clear signal. The route is indicated by white lights, but by red lights in case there is a train on the track

2. 2. Knowledge of locations

Before you get the authorisation to run a signal box, the prospective dispatcher has to be given an instruction about local particularities of Gelsenkir-chen.

In short: Trains from Wanne-Eickel central station arrive on the Eastern side of Gelsenkirchen cen-tral station (platforms 449/450) or are going the-re (platforms 439/429) which are passenger train platforms.

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The freight train platforms (420/430) are destined for all trains not ending at Wanne-Eickel central station and the “NOKIA-Bahn”.

In the west, it is important to know that the stati-on Ge-Rotthausen belongs to Gelsenkirchen. The platforms 783 and 784 cover the route from and to Kray-Nord, 99/100 from and to Altenessen.

The centre of the platform at Gelsenkirchen cen-tral station is usually operated the following way: Trains arriving from Kray-Nord stop at platform 7 whereas platform 4 is used for trains to Kray-Nord. Platforms 5 and 6 cover the route from and to Al-tenessen. It is better to have this in mind, so you can take the right measures

3. Remembering the timetable

In order to study the timetable, you mainly have to take a closer look at the graphic timetable which seems like a knitting pattern in a fashion magazine. Among other things, the player can get information on a train by opening the timetable window by pressing “F12”.When train number 6001 from Wanne-Eickel re-gisters around 4.45 a.m., the starting dispatcher knows that this is the “NOKIA-Bahn” which stops at platform 25 where it makes a U-turn to travel to back to Bochum every half hour during the day.Let’s assume the player starts the simulation at 4.38 a.m. According to the timetable, the first train is a

freight train (BR 150 with fads), presumably arri-ving at 4.40 a.m. This is one of the freight train passages at platform 420/430 from Wanne-Eickel central station.The train identification system ZNP801 from the signal box tries to catch your attention. By clicking on “Accept -> Confirm” the dispatcher accepts this train. He assigns a route on platform 26 to it. After several restarts of the simulation (correspond to se-veral days of work at the signal box) and learning the timetable, the player knows that shortly there-after the “NOKIA-Bahn” (train number 6001) will be arriving. It also uses the freight train platforms 420/430 and will arrive at platform 25. A couple of minutes later, train 3401 from Essen Kray-Nord and Ge-Rotthausen arrives at Gelsenkirchen cen-tral station, of course at platform 7. As the freight train with BR 150 will not have left Gelsenkirchen central station by then, train 3401 from Essen-Kray (west) will have to wait a little. It is not clear if that is how it is handled in reality, but in the simulation it is working that way.A seasoned and experienced dispatcher knows the timetable by heart and sets the platforms in his sleep. This is different in the event of delays or special trains which can even get tricky for an old hand.When switching the difficulty to “Expert” (delays, special trains, platform repairs etc.), the following sentence pops up: “Please operate the signal box correctly. Otherwise, disturbances may occur.”Unpredictable technical disturbances must also be



27


recognised, mastered using your previously acqui-red knowledge and finally fixed. A light on the panel that does not indicate properly e.g. might have burnt out. The simulation still has a lot of surprises up its sleeve that might catch you on the wrong foot.

Conclusion

You are not born a dispatcher. As initially menti-oned, the tools of the trade, the local knowledge and the timetable need to be memorized.

How you get there is for you to decide. One way would be to restart the simulation every couple of minutes and learn a little more every time.

The situation that has been impossible to master before should be mastered at some point. And what is strange is that the more seasoned you get as a player, the more you have the impression: I’m a dispatcher just for the fun of it.

André Rogalla

InfoboxP r o d u c t _ S p e c i f i c a t i o n s :

• Windows XP (inkl. SP3) or Vista (Win-

dows 7 - 32bit Version recommended)

• Pentium 4 / 1,2 GHz or simular (Core2Duo

2,0 Ghz recommended)

Price: 19.95 € (Download, Box)

available at: www.halycon.de

28

EEP Eisenbahn.exe 9.0

Infobox

www.aerosoft.com

The Bus Simulator seriesin original city sceneries and

extremely detailed simulated buses.

PC

The New Masterpiece by TML-Studios.


River Master

River Master Inland Waterway Transport

Captain, where is the ship heading? The new River Master provides a clear answer to that question. Topic is the inland navigation on the Rhine and Main. The route starts at Frankfurt/Main (Main tri-butary of the Rhine) or at Ginsheim-Gustavsburg (Rhine) via Bingen, Koblenz, Cologne to Duisburg and Wesel almost reaching the Dutch border.

You get a first impression of the entire route by looking at the large poster (DIN A2) that comes with the DVD and which shows a slightly detailed map including the main ports on one side and the available ships with the interior view of their res-pective wheelhouse plus the description of all mo-delled keys and levers on the other side.

Game organisation and structure

The River Master works according to the principle of the activation of offered vessels. Each one re-presents another type: a cargo ship, a container ship, a ferry, an excursion ship, a tanker and a push boat. In order to achieve activation, you need to collect points instead of money.

At a certain point, another ship is allowed to lea-ve the port. Meanwhile, you gain points for eve-ry completed mission. First, you have to load the player profile you created before you have access to the following menus:The “Logbook” indicates the score you’ve reached,

the number of points you need before the next ship is activated, currently available missions as well as the ship use.

The menu item “Map” allows the player to direct-ly skip to a port of his choice, mostly the one whe-re the mission begins or ends.

The third menu item “Missions” shows us the cur-rent mission that can be aborted at any time and a list of further missions that can be accepted at any time. You receive a contract penalty for missions you have not completed.

The item “My Fleet” shows all available ships in the game and allows access to all activated ships you can assign a mission to.

“Course” adds comments to a mission with a ship to learn its functions with the help of an accompa-nying tutorial.

Ships and ports

The first available ship is a cargo ship named “Anna Lisa” that can transport sand, coal or similar bulk goods. The “Meer Blue” is a blue container ship that is known for its good overview. This results in a massive rise of the wheelhouse. The ferry is responsible for private transport from one side (of the Rhine) to the other. You will see animated cars and trucks at the marina that are patiently wai-

30

ting for the ferry. Steering the latter strongly dif-fers from the others and requires lots of precision when berthing. Afterwards, lower the ramp, open the barrier for the vehicles and secure again using the barrier after the loading is completed.

An excursion ship executes missions that follow a circuit. You need to ship to destination points. The tanker ships liquid goods and the push boat is another form for bulk goods like sand, gravel and coal.

The ports and marinas can trans-ship one or two types of freight. Only one port can trans-ship four kinds of goods: Of course, it’s Europe’s biggest in-land port, the port of Duisburg.

There are several possibilities to influence the si-mulation depending on your taste. If you do not want to travel the whole distance from Frankfurt to Cologne in real time (which, in case of shift work, might take between 25 and 30 hours in real time), you can skip to the port of destination via the “Map”. That way, you focus on the docking procedure at the port.

If you’d like to skip the loading with the port ma-chines, just click on the clock symbol and the ship will be loaded or unloaded. If you do not like stee-ring at night because of the night blindness, you can switch the daytime to four different predeter-mined times.

The first steps on the water (Steering)

The prospective sea dog or boatman on inland wa-ters can watch one of the tutorials that unfortuna-tely turn out to be nothing more than a small spe-cial dictionary including a couple of explanations. Nevertheless, you’ll find some useful tips on levers in the captain’s cabin.

The difference between the time control lever and route control lever are explained using little pic-tograms. We learn that the route control lever is used in long curves whereas the time control lever is used for manoeuvres at short notice. Just double click on a lever so all used levers get into the neu-tral position quickly.

Now you have to jump in at the deep end. You are faced with the first steering test. Due to the crow-ded waters it is not easy in the narrow fairway to get out of the way of oncoming ships or overtake those in front of you without colliding with them.Steering from the point of view of the bridge con-fronts the player with a very realistic situation on real riverboats.

Constant surveillance of the fairway, of course, in-cluding a zoom function (mouse wheel) simulates the surveillance with binoculars, In case you see oncoming AI-ships, that by the way behave intel-ligently most of the time, you need to get out of their way promptly. Otherwise, near-accidents or

River Master

31

River Master

real accidents may occur. In case of a crash, the ships involved practically stick together. In order to separate them, several anchor manoeuvres and maybe even a restart of the game or the player profile will be necessary.

The world, the environment, the summary

The new River Master succeeds in managing the balancing act between a huge, navigable 3D world that has been designed after a known, real model. In places like the Rhine valley around the Lore-lei, the Cologne Cathedral or other famous town silhouettes like Dusseldorf or the Deutsches Eck (German Corner) in Koblenz you feel like you are really there. Thanks to the size of the simulation, the River Master offers a variety of game options. In addition to that, we have 7 accurately modelled ships that, especially in terms of the level of detail of the interior fittings of the wheelhouse, allow complete control of the ship without having to switch to the exterior view. The loading process that can be operated manu-ally using the cranes, excavators and lifting devices at the port offers another digression after a do-cking manoeuvre.The first mods available on the internet, e.g. at

http://games.weltenbauer-se.com/, expand your own fleet to an almost unlimited stock of vessels. In order to install a mod, please unzip the corres-ponding mod-file and copy it to \user\username\saved games\River Master 2012\mods. If the direc-tory “mods” does not exist yet, please create it.

The weather changes randomly and from time to time it stays the same for half a day. The game is only missing foggy periods that become more frequent under cooler weather conditions in the Rhine valley. Now, the radar, the visual exterior view and a later implemented possibility to con-tact other ships via radio would make sense.

At the moment you miss a damage model that forces the player to totally focus on advancing un-scathed.

Nonetheless, 600 km that want to be discovered await the captain.Find your answer to the initial question and com-plete your missions with success and fun.

André Rogalla

Discover the Newest ADD-oNs!

Aerosoft UsA, inc. www.aerosoft.com

Fly to Airport Amsterdam Schiphol! For the very first time this airport is available in a breathtaking quality with loads of features for X-Plane.

Look, see and be overwhelmed! Discover the whole world with theFlight Simulator X-Plane 10 Global. Be a pilot and control a glider, an airliner or even the Space Shuttle and enjoy this unique experience.

Get into the cockpit of the most common regional aircraft ATR 72-500. This aircraft comes with an outstandig 3D design and a highly functional cockpit.

Fly the most popular regional- jet today. A milestone in aircraft development for X-Plane 10!


Bridge Builder 2

ATR 72-500 fOR X-Plane 10

Farming-Simulator 2013

PREVIEW EDITION 2-2013Available in January

33

ImprintSIMULATOR WORLD

Specialist magazine for PC-Simulations

Homepage: www.simulatorworld.com

Publisher:

ALBO medien GmbHLindberghring 1233142 Bueren

Germany

Tel. +49 (0) 29 55 – 76 03 37Fax: +49 (0) 29 55 - 76 03 33

Company Registry: B 9728 Tax ID: 339 5801 0442 FA Paderborn

Management: Eva Loeffleremail: [email protected]

Address of editorial staff:

ALBO medien GmbHSimulator WORLD

Lindberghring 1233142 Bueren

Germanyemail: [email protected]

Chief editor:Frank Moellenhof (V.i.S.d.P.)email: [email protected]

Staff of this issue: André Rogalla, Angelique van Campen and James Woodcock

Copyright: © ALBO medien GmbH

All rights, in particular of the duplication, translation, microfilming as well as the feed and processing in elec-tronic systems, to the utilisation of parts of the technical periodical or on the whole remain reserved. All logos re-lated in the magazine and protective brands are a pro-perty of the respective legal owners.

IMPRINT/ PREVIEW

Discover the Newest ADD-oNs!

Aerosoft UsA, inc. www.aerosoft.com

Fly to Airport Amsterdam Schiphol! For the very first time this airport is available in a breathtaking quality with loads of features for X-Plane.

Look, see and be overwhelmed! Discover the whole world with theFlight Simulator X-Plane 10 Global. Be a pilot and control a glider, an airliner or even the Space Shuttle and enjoy this unique experience.

Get into the cockpit of the most common regional aircraft ATR 72-500. This aircraft comes with an outstandig 3D design and a highly functional cockpit.

Fly the most popular regional- jet today. A milestone in aircraft development for X-Plane 10!

RRRiveRr M asteRApoRDsuld fsptCy · PDF fileSignal Box Simulator Gelsenkirchen ... Canada....

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