Today we will look at 6 Creative Train games that allow you to create a map, add track, scenery, locos and then play with some trains (oops I mean create a authentic simulation with the map you just created). In the video we will look at each game one at a time first taking a quick look at a pre-made route and then we will make a very simple oval or end to end line whilst chatting about the games good and bad points. At the end we’ll take a look at a chart scoring the games on their good and bad points and I’ll explain why I’ve scored everything I have.
The video looks at the creative side of each game and not other aspects it may have.
Some questions we look at are:
How easy is it to lay track and add scenery?
How many free mods does it have?
Are the graphics any good?
Essentially all these games let you have a model railway/ railroad on your PC. But are they any good?
As the video is very long and you may only be interested in certain games I’ve divided it into chapters. Clicking the links below will take you to the relevant bit of the video.
00:00 – Intro
00:45 – Trainz Railroad Simulator 2019
10:18 – Train Simulator 2021
22:44 – EEP 16
35:02 – Loco
41:27 – Diesel Railcar Simulator
52:04 – Transport Fever 2
01:00:57 – Game Scores and Conclusion
At the end of the Diesel Railcar Simulator segment I show the in-built train editor and mention a video of a train being morphed into another. Here’s that video, it’s an interesting watch.
The prices in the video are correct at Jan 2021 and might be different when you watch the video. It should also be noted I received a free copy at launch of Transport Fever 2. This has not affected my views on the game.
I do hope you like the video and it is useful. If not why not say in the comments. Your views also maybe different to mine and if they are once again why not say in the comments, I will always try to respond.
I also have some written reviews on my website about these games.
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Jeffery Hubbard
17.10.2022Figerhorn4 Stop Scofdored Arpund
Benny Wood
09.10.2022Diesel Railcar SImulator is great. The map editor is really painful, i can't even place some rails without running out of patience!
InkMaster454 - Silver Steam Creations
05.09.2022Sorry Im super late, but nice! Also how is the gtx 1080? I have a 3050
Dave G
14.08.2022Thanks for the video. Are there any of these programs that allow you to control individual trains on the same track, setting individual speeds and such without stopping the train that is not being selected?
Jammie Dodger
01.08.2022Transport fever 2 is the only good game on this list
Kuchinski Dmitri
04.06.2022Train simulator 2021/2022/Classic
Sasha Mason
18.05.2022Something to note about EEP, you have a massive onlineshop with MANY, like, MANY more assets you can purchase.There is also a community created catalogue of all the free downloads that are available on various websites of different people who have made them.Significantly more content is available than just what you see on Steam.As for graphics, the problem is that even now, a lot of the stock assets are old, like, really, really old. Some of the people you placed were still from EEP 6 which is at least 10 years old at that point, possibly older. At some point, they did remove a lot of the old assets and added a few new ones in, but as you can see, there's still really old assets around and they haven't really made up for the lack of assets in other places. A lot needs to be compensated using paid assets, though as these are all also mostly user created from various different authors, the quality between them can still vary a lot.Or if you don't mind old assets, there is a free download to bring all the decade old assets back.
GretchenDawntreader
13.05.2022Transport Fever 2 is great for community free assets and mods and decorating and laying things out but you can only watch them run, or put your camera in the front of the train, but I'm not sure it's possible to compare it to other games where you can control the train directly. TF2 trains, you assign them to a route and off they go and you can order them to reverse or return to depot, but you aren't driving trains.
Sebastian Anderson
04.05.2022Love your videos bro
JMV24
04.05.2022Hello, Nice vidéo!
Can you give me more information about the game «Loco »
I don’t found It on the web…
Thx
SteamLance
04.05.2022Locos in TS can be good, like the ones made by Caledonia Works. Only problem I have is the speed of the chuffing never seems to match the wheel rotation except on freeware locos from UKTS
Sebastian Anderson
03.05.2022I can't wait for the next one
ParrotYee
03.05.2022Very cool video, may consider one of them if I consider spending surplus money.
Anyway, I'm working on the Twyford to Henley line in the latest version of T:ANE.
So far I've got:
• tracks placed.
• correct trains downloaded.
• 1/3 of the route painted.
• Google Earth images in the correct sections.
I halted work on the Abbey Flyer route due to lack of inspiration and consistency. I may redo it, I may scrap it as it was built before proper knowledge of the game.
Thanks for your content.
Decrepit Productions
03.05.2022Very enjoyable and information. Of listed titles I play, I'd rank Train Simulator higher than you do. But…that would be due largely to locomotive/railway car quality, and driving characteristics. As at least one other person points out, many of the game's best locos are to be had at third-party sites like Caledonia Works, Digital Traction and Steam Sounds Supreme. That aspect aside, my feelings toward TS2021 are much as yours. Oh yeah, third-party add-on 'RW Encancer Pro (and the cheaper non 'Pro' version) help improve the game's overall graphics quality. I think of it as an ENB for the game.
Though I stayed with TpF1, I agree with you on the franchise. Very fine graphics and route building, especially considering it is at heart an economics/empire building game with a railway-centric outer shell.
If you haven't, give Mashinky a look! Despite being based on 'toy' trains, which imposes a few limits on visual realism (parallel track spacing comes to mind) graphics are quite good, is some ways as good as anything on the list. Easy to route build. A small but dedicated modding community. There's even a recently added limited scope train driving capability. (I've not yet tested it.) It's only drawback, for someone primarily interested in the route building / train riding aspect but not the game's economic core, is that there is no 'sandbox' or 'freeplay' mode. At least there wasn't last time I played, months ago. At any rate, you might want to give it a look-see.
TheSpeegy
03.05.2022Interesting. I use Trainz19 and EEP16, and personally, find EEP much better. I have more trouble with the camera controls in Trains, but I guess it depends on which you're most used to. The best thing about EEP is the use of the Lua programming language. This lets me set up complete automatic control of pretty much everything using fairly simple subroutines. I have fully automated traffic junctions, pedestrian crossings, rote and block functionality of all trains (and often road vehicles and boats….even people and animals). It is this aspect that adds a complete new dimension to the game (but I love programming, so maybe that is why). I find the AI in Trains to be very hot and miss, with trains often trying to drive backwards to the next location for no apparent reason.
N00N01
03.05.2022Tip for the big build,if its in the 1950s build a powerstation basin with a MGR system 🙂
donrustyrails
03.05.2022Thanks for doing this. i have a love/hate relationship with Trainz (sinze the Trainz UTC days) due to FPS issues and the whole pay to faster download assets. Dont mind paying for DLC/payware but come on!
Your routes (the unknown and big build) are fantastic and detailed. i reinstalled trainz19 and will download both your routes since i enjoy UK routes and yes, i will have to buy a 7 day FCT 🙁 to get it faster.
Trainz is still better than the others in this video hence the love/hate. Please continue the Trainz series whenever you can as i know it a looooong process to create a good route.
Keyboard Warrior
03.05.2022RRT 3
JLY I ZAREFF
03.05.2022I think you should bump trainz 19 free content up to 5 because there are third party sites that you can get trainz content on like Trainz.de, https://site.lunman3d.es/, ETC, and they have new content. and when you drag what you've downloaded from these sites into your game it downloads much faster then the DLS with no first class ticket addon. I'm not gonna back down with this argument.
Brandon Van der Velde
03.05.2022Have you heard about the game "rolling line" i think you might like it.
Enes Samed Dereli
03.05.2022Great video thanks for sharing 👍🏻 The only game I played somewhat related with the trains are mini metro on android. I loved its simplicity and I enjoyed it a lot. I'm pretty noob to this train-gaming universe. What do you recommend me who has no experience? I'm looking for just fun and have a good time not want to get lost in extremely realistic simulation.
BB Productions
30.04.2022OMG IVE WAITED AGES TO FIND SUCH A HELPFUL VID LIKE THIS. THE LORD HAS ANSWERED MY PRAYERS!
Class43Harrison
30.04.2022For TS2021 Hold control of you want to join tracks or the snap to track button.
ightenhillsim
30.04.2022well you missed TSW (so thats your zero score) other than that pretty much agree — -Yep Trainz 19 is a fps guzzler but the setup of backward compatability and its gfx more than make up for it .. Its odd though that Trainz/Auren have always been masters of releasing routes/final products that dont make full use of the capabilities.. I dont think they even know how there own environment lighting works.
TheGamingGallimimus
30.04.2022Trainz is the best guys
take it from me
Jasmin
30.04.2022This video is exactly what I've been looking for 😂☺️ Thank you so much.
Sérgio Pinto
30.04.2022Trainz dont have the same standard quality as Train Simulator 21. But is a good game for creating content.
Creating content for train simulator can be pain when you start,
because of their complex system but will be worth it. I learn a lot about train because of that.
Bill Griffin
30.04.2022None of the above; Run8.
Mick McIntyre
30.04.2022Great video, used to have model trains as a kid but don't have time to setup my own system these days, finding software that can simulate that is great. Is TF2 my best option for virtually recapturing my youth regarding model trains?
Britishrailwayslocos
30.04.2022Just saying TS had thousands of free dlc on sites like Alanthomsonsim and UKTS
TheBlazinJedi
30.04.2022I own Train Simulator 2021 and I love it and I want to get Trainz Simulator 2019, but it’s so expensive which is really disappointing
E. Meg
29.04.2022After get used of it I really like it how the camera and other things works in EEP 16. Remember, this is German software and many Germans like it to work with much precision, what EEP 16 offers you. Regarding the camera movement are many options available with the mouse (in combination with the ctrl or shift key) and with the arrow keys too. And don't forget that you can use the mouse wheel not only to zoom in of out but also to tilt and turn the camera if you hold the cursor near the screen edges. Experiment to find all camera move possibilities and did you used the "set up camera" option in 2d view already to angle en zoom the camera very precise in the 3d view? While doing that don't forget to use the ctrl key to increase the default camera hight. EEP 16 is in fact for building model railroads on the PC, the application is not really for also building real railroads as in Trainz 2019 or Train Simulator 2021. For building model railroads EEP 16 offers mathematical precision, especially in 2d view, what can be both a layout planner and builder. Try to get used with it and find out all options there. Mention at 28:41 The hight of the road surface is by default set at 0.60 meters but you can change this value very precise in the 2d view. See there at the left working screen the hight settings at Abs H (absolute hight) and Rel H (relative hight) showing 0.60 meters. Change the start and/of end road spline point values there to the centimeter precise as you like (by example all absolute and relative hight values reset to 0.15 or 0.20) and see the different results in 3d view to find out how mathematical precise you can work in EEP16. Also mention the variable grid density in EEP 16, being far superior in relation to Trainz 2019. The default setting in EEP is 150 grid (node) points per km but you can change this value in the new layout setup screen to any grid setting you wish as you don't exceed a total grid number above the 1 million grid squares in your layout, this to keep the frame rate in EEP16 for average PC's acceptable. To many grids in a Trains 2019 layout is also there a reason that the application drops below acceptable frame rates. If you increase in a new EEP16 to create layout the default 150 grid density to 500 grid nodes per km your new layout have a grid size of 2 square meters and a maximum layout size of 1×4 km. Setting the default 150 grid density to 200 nodes per km you get the 5 square meters per grid size, being the same as the minimum grid size in Trainz 2019. With that grid size you can create in EEP16 a model layout with the maximum size of 1×25 km or 2×12.5 km or any other size you wish as long as the maximum of 1 million grids per layout is not exeeded. The i.m.o. real disadvantage in EEP 16 is that it is mainly focused on German, Austrian and Swiss layout worlds.
Ronald De Groote
29.04.2022Thanks for the effort mate. Well done.
CharlyTheDoggo1322
29.04.2022Where did u get the black 14xx from at 1:40
Patrick Pelletier
29.04.2022Is not the same type of game but where you put "Rolling Line" in your review ???
fingerhorn4
29.04.2022Transport Fever 2 is BY FAR the best quality, most stimulating, most useable and most visually appealing of all. Moreover, it is one fixed price including a large choice of locos, scenery, buildings and terrain tools – plus hundreds of high quality workshop addons that are entirely free. If the developers would only include the ability to properly and manually control trains and trams this sim would blow everything else out of the water.
Damian Show and games
29.04.2022Come see my channel. Damian show and games. Lots of trains , Trainz and Thomas and friends. Lots of steam trains.
Axell Benavidez
29.04.2022All of them
Swagboy Speedrunner_mario
29.04.2022Why is duck in the thumbnail?
Jakob Schopen
29.04.2022Do you have a list of your Transport Fever Mods? looking for 1930-1950s era stuff
Happy Dad 242
29.04.2022Excellent video, I watched this like three times and finally decided on Trainz Simulator 19. Excellent work. New Sub…
Steve Grumpka
28.04.2022Railroad Online 😉 Maybe, they will keep growing that game and it will take the number one spot 🙂
Hush
28.04.2022Out of all of them I would say Trainz is the best at combining ideas, it has great driver controls, scenarios, cool animated scenery, incredibly diverse industries system, route building aswell as a faithful modding community
And it’s rather easy to use aswell
There only a few problems like the very fiddly track layer, the FPS and that most assets span multiple iterations, but even just downgrading to T:ANE helps FPS so much plus it doesn’t look so bad for an older generation, and lower quality assets can be useful aswell, as background assets like cardboard trees or in collaboration with other assets to make a scene more lively
Of course Train Sim has a much better driver experience, EEP has a great track layer from what I see and Transport Fever has a fun campaign but Trainz is better if you want a lot to do and not get so easily bored
Stuart Thurstan
28.04.2022I too find Trainz' trackbuilding tools to be the most user friendly and intuitive, however I feel it needs to be said that it's hardly a fair comparison when you obviously have a good level of experience using Trainz but not the others.
netrino sparti
28.04.2022Nice review 👍
Mr_Tea_Rexx
28.04.2022surprised you down have trainz12 in the list
Rockport1911
28.04.202213.30 Coming from Trainz I kept fighting the track editor a few ours until I unistalled it for that reason. No idea why they made it so complicated…
SkyLight
28.04.2022i Thought this vide o was uploaded like 2015? but its 2021 lmao
Danyo13
28.04.2022Which ones are free?
TrainswithNick
28.04.2022I'm over a year late to the party, I'd say your thoughts pretty much echo my own with regards to the games I have played. One thing I am surprised about though is that I recently purchased Loco and it doesn't seem anything like what you show here. I cannot work out how to fuel the loco for a start, whereas you just seem to jump in and go, is it possible that there are 2 games with the same name or simply that they have changed so much in the past year?
My highest ranking video content is Transport fever/TpF2, even though it's been a long time since I played, anyone who loves trains, but discounts it because you cannot do the driving yourself, does themselves a disservice if they have any interest in the building side at all.