Sep 6, 2023
Train Sim World® 4 - DTG Benjamin
Yep – it's coming! New locomotives, new routes, new operators, new features, new music, new options, and even a new country. It’s all new for Train Sim World 4 – coming September 26th!
Pre-Order now for Early Access and Discount!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2362300?utm_source=website&utm_campaign=train-sim-world-pre-order&utm_medium=web
If you’ve been keeping up to date with everything going on then you’re probably fresh out of the mammoth 2+ hour-long Dovetail Direct: Train Sim World Keynote where JD, Matt, Lukas and Jordan went through everything you could possibly want to know about our next big release. If you missed it, don’t worry! You can go back and view the whole thing (again, if you want to).
But if you want to take your time reading all about it, we’ve got you covered. Below we’ll outline each of the routes and locomotives, the shiny new gameplay features, the different options available including pre-order extras and Early Access. There’s also some handy FAQs that should answer plenty of burning questions on Train Sim World 4.
The Routes and Locomotives
Three brand-new routes are coming with Train Sim World 4, with a fourth fan favourite getting a new lease of life (more on that later...)
S-Bahn Vorarlberg: Lindau - Bludenz
Introducing: Austria! The seventh nation to be part of the Train Sim World.
The S-Bahn Vorarlberg Line winds through the Alps to the Austria-Germany border courtesy of national operator ÖBB, also new to Train Sim World. Big mountains and stunning scenery are the order of the day, as are a plethora of station stops on both the main line and the branch line that heads in the direction of the border with Switzerland.
Making the journey is ÖBB’s 4024 Talent (or the Talbot Leichter Nahverkehrs-Triebwagen) EMU. Variants of this unit are well accustomed to real-life service throughout Europe and even over the Atlantic in Canada but the 4024 is specific to Austria.
With new traction, a new operator and new signalling to learn, this addition to the Train Sim World map is the start of a journey through Austria. Who knows where it might take us further down the line...
The challenge of operating through the varied terrain of California continues!
On the other side of the Atlantic, the power of American diesel can be harnessed with Metrolink’s F125. Yep – you guessed it – this marks yet another new operator in-game, familiar to those in and around California taking passengers out from Los Angeles to the wider suburbs and counties.
The Antelope Valley Line runs out of Los Angeles Union Station, the largest railroad passenger terminal in the Western United States. After powering through urban LA, the line heads north to Lancaster, California and through areas that have seen dramatic changes since the late 1800s, including the impact of the 1994 Northridge earthquake.
Along the way players will recognise locations synonymous with Hollywood movies such as the LA River and even get involved in the action as part of one of the many in-game scenarios.
East Coast Main Line: Peterborough – Doncaster
The East Coast Main Line is one of Britain’s most important routes, guiding trains of all shapes and sizes out from London and up through to Edinburgh in Scotland. The stretch between Peterborough and Doncaster, famed for its record-breaking location at Stoke Bank, continues to provide thrilling high speeds for LNER’s Class 801 Azuma which brings a sleek, modern new train to Train Sim World 4.
Along the way lie three more big station stopping points at Grantham, Newark Northgate and Retford. Near Newark, trains will traverse the last remaining flat crossing in Britain at Newark Flat Crossing, where the Nottingham to Lincoln Line intersects with the East Coast Main Line.
LNER are another new operator to Train Sim World, with the Class 801 ‘Azuma’ being their flagship train. This overhead EMU, complete in-game with a small diesel engine for depot moves and emergencies, represents contemporary traction along the ECML and a train that British travellers, commuters and railfans will have long been waiting for.
LNER Class A3 ‘Flying Scotsman’
(Deluxe / Special Edition only)
In Train Sim World 4: Deluxe Edition, the historic importance of the East Coast Main Line is enhanced with the introduction of the world’s most famous locomotive: LNER A3 Class Flying Scotsman. This icon of the railways, built in 1923, today runs at up to 75 mph across Britain bringing joy not just to railfans and enthusiasts, but to anyone with an eye for incredible engineering and an appreciation for the past. On 30 November 1934, Flying Scotsman broke the 100 mph barrier, becoming the first steam locomotive officially to do so.
Flying Scotsman, owned by the National Railway Museum, celebrates its centenary in 2023, with a number of visits and rail tours taking place across Britain. There’s no better time to step into the cab in-game and take control of this world-renowned locomotive either back to where it was built, in Doncaster, or beyond using the raft of upgraded tools for Scenario Planner (more on this further down...)
LNER Class A3 Flying Scotsman is exclusive to Deluxe and Special Editions and cannot currently be purchased as a separate Add-on.
Railpool BR 193 Vectron
(Deluxe / Special Edition only)
In Deluxe Edition, players will also be able to learn and operate one of the most high-tech locomotives ever to come to Train Sim World: The BR 193 Vectron.
Represented by leasing company Railpool, the Vectron will be available to run on freight services (formed of new EANOS wagons) across the Dresden – Riesa route Add-on (more on that shortly) as well as S-Bahn Vorarlberg, providing a rare opportunity to use the same locomotive across two different countries in Train Sim World.
This thoroughly modern ‘computer on wheels’ will have a host of interactive screens to engage with making for an authentic experience both in the set up and running of the locomotive.
Nahverkehr Dresden – Riesa (Upgraded)
The home for the Vectron is an upgraded version of the hugely popular Nahverkehr Dresden – Riesa route Add-on, complete with a new timetable, volumetric skies, TOD4 lighting and the full set of Train Sim World 4 features.
This popular route hosts a variety of services to operate across a line with origins back in the 1830s but representative of the thriving modern stations throughout the Saxony region. Both fast and slow lines ensure a mix of traffic, from the busy commuter services of the DB BR 442 ‘Talent 2’ and the push-pull capability of the DB BR 146.2 passenger trains to the versatile DB BR 143 and the freight-hauling MRCE BR 185.5
The addition of Vectron has necessitated a rework of the timetable, giving a new lease of life to this popular German route Add-on!
Players that already own the previous version of Nahverkehr Dresden – Riesa can take advantage of the upgrades by purchasing any edition of Train Sim World 4. The BR 193 Vectron is exclusive to Deluxe and Special Editions and cannot currently be purchased as a separate Add-on.
New players can explore the upgraded route and Vectron by opting for either Deluxe or Special Edition.
New Creative Tools
In addition to the routes and locomotives, new features form a crucially important and exciting part of Train Sim World 4, bringing new ways to enjoy your railway hobby, embark on your adventures and play your way.
UPDATED - Scenario Planner 2.0
A key feature of Train Sim World’s Scenario Planner has been the ability to utilise a diverse range of owned content to operate any train on any track using your own created scenarios. For Scenario Planner 2.0, this tool adds a number of options to move closer towards detailed scenarios and movements, with Chained Paths now a feature for Train Sim World 4 routes. Chaining paths will allow you to plan a route from A to B, but then continue back to A, or even onto C and so forth.
The ability to set times, weather and add more detail to descriptions for sharing in Creators Club will also be implemented, giving the tool much more flexibility for creativity!
UPDATED - Livery Designer 2.0
Livery Designer also gets some upgrades. If you’ve ever made a mistake using this tool, then the addition of Undo / Redo options might just save your next masterpiece! Unlocking more creativity is the lifting of the layer limit to 1000 and text options now appear by inputting characters into the UI, rather than placing individual letters. Font selection will also be available, including the Johnston and Rail Alphabet fonts.
Once your livery has had its final touches and you’re ready to start using it on the rails, the options to Toggle On / Off the livery ensures that it appears when you’d like it to, without having to delete or recreate it when you want to enable it into your favourite route.
NEW FEATURE - Photo Mode
Screenshot depicts Photo Mode for Train Sim World Compatible: Linke Rheinstrecke – available as part of Train Sim World 4: Special Edition or separately as a route Add-on.
Screenshot Competitions just got a bit more serious. A dedicated Photo Mode now gives you the option to pause the live action, set up the angles, admire the scenery and enhance shots with filters, blur and exposures, giving more freedom to capture your journey at its best. Examples of the kinds of shots you’ll be able to take in Train Sim World 4 can be seen in this article and we’re very excited to see what you, the Train Sim World Community, can capture with this brand-new creative tool.
UPDATED - Creators Club Improvements
In line with the improvements and new creative features, Creators Club itself has had an upgrade which includes:
- Reworked, easier to use UI
- Search filter based on the content that you own
- Other improved search functionalities
- Improvements to Dovetail Live
New Gameplay Features and Graphical Improvements
UPDATED – Scoring
Scoring has long been a way for Train Sim World players to judge how well they’re driving a certain route. But the measure of Action Points has focussed primarily on timing and the accuracy of stopping at stations.
In its updated guise, scoring now reflects the challenge posed by enabling safety systems in the cab and having things set up in the correct configurations. Driving without wipers on in inclement weather, leaving the train in an unsafe manner, braking too harshly or coupling with too much force will also penalise you, making the final scoring much more representative of how professional your run really was!
UPDATED - Ease of Access
Ease of Access features are crucially important for those new to Train Sim World (welcome!) but also make the journey easier for existing players or those getting used to the new and exciting features that Train Sim World 4 offers. These include:
- Locomotive difficulty tiering
- Improved player assists to get you out of sticky situations
- Simpler HUD (plus new mini-HUD)
- Automatic coupling and yard routing
- Improved key mapping for accessibility
We’ve also added unliveried versions of the Class 323 EMU (from Birmingham Cross-City / Glossop Line) and the LMS 8F steam locomotive (from Spirit of Steam / Peak Forest) to the Training Center so that players can get to grips with some easier forms of traction.
Players will not need to own the associated routes (mentioned above) in order to access these locomotives in Train Sim World 4.
UPDATED – Graphical Weather & Lighting Improvements
More generally throughout these new routes (including the updated Dresden – Riesa) a number of graphical improvements around weather and lighting have been implemented to enhance the driving experience from inside the cab. These include:
- Volumetric Fog
- Improved rain on windscreen effects
- Controller Haptics (+ lightbar & audio functionality for PlayStation Controllers)
- ‘Moments' in Scenarios
NEW FEATURE - Free Roam
If you’ve ever wanted to be serendipitous or enjoy more of Train Sim World on the fly, then Free Roam’s new spawning and despawning tools will allow you to do just that. Whilst on foot, options within the UI will bring a whole new dynamic and an adaptive play style, so that you choose what train to operate, where and how.
Pathing options are also a thing! Once your train of choice is spawned in, you can set the path you want and head off to your final destination using the 2D map. If you don’t fancy operating this train yourself, get the AI to do it. The power to create your own virtual train set is in your hands!
NEW FEATURE - PC Editor (beta)
We’ll have much more to talk about on the PC Editor (beta) in a future article, but in essence we’re giving ambitious PC players the tools required to one day make your own gameplay features including routes and locomotives! This highly technical feature will test the skills of the Community and we can’t wait to see what amazing creations players will make with this feature.
This will give you the opportunity to create that unique scenario to share with your friends, build your own trains, or recreate in loving detail that route you always dreamed of.
You’ll be able to download the PC Editor (beta) over on the Epic Games Store on release but players on both Steam and Epic will be able to make use of this new feature.
Train Sim World 4 will release on Tuesday September 26th.
Standard Edition (£39.99/€44.99/$49.99)
Deluxe Edition (£52.99/€64.99/$69.99)
Special Edition (£89.99/€104.99/$109.99)
It can be pre-ordered with a discount of up to 25% on selected platforms, with Deluxe and Special Editions granting 5-day Early Access and bonus decals for Livery Editor. A downloadable Soundtrack is also available with pre-orders on Steam.
Steam players that have Train Sim World 3 will be entitled to a loyalty discount and a pre-order discount, totalling 25% off.
Players that already own the previous version of Nahverkehr Dresden – Riesa can take advantage of the upgrades by purchasing any edition of Train Sim World 4.
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