Category Archives: News

Train Sim Update Released

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I am happy to announce that another update of Train Sim is now live.  This time I focused on replacing the R160 New York subway model as well improving the Mountain Trail Scene.  I also added additional Leaderboards to Train Sim that allow players to compare their total distance traveled as well as the number of crashes.

Train Sim Mountain Trail

One of my favourite things added in this release were Break Sparks to all Trains & improved the Break Animations on steam trains.  When breaks are initiated the wheels will lock in place rather then slowing down.

I also updated some minor details such as the vehicles on all the scenes to the improved models I previously used in the Desert scene.  There were also some bug fixes, such as the never-ending rain in one of the train cars.

Train Sim Leaderboards

Currently the update is live for Android but I am working on porting it to the other platforms.

Train Sim Update Live

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Train Sim update is now live across all platforms.  These include: Android, iOS, Amazon, Mac Store, Windows Store.  You can now play this newest version of Train Sim, any time on any device.  No Limits!

Train Sim Rain

This was a large update that took me almost 2 months to complete.  The work completed includes:

  • Complete rewrite of the Ports of Call Scene
  • Improved Rain Effect (rain drips down windows)
  • Working Windshield Wipers on all trains
  • Longer Trains
  • Higher Resolution Textures for several Trains
  • Many Bug Fixes

I would like to thank all of my Facebook and Twitter fans for all your great suggestions and encouragement while I was working on this release.  I hope that you all like it.

Happy Rails!

Train Sim Release Preview

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I have been working crazy hours on a new update to Train Sim.  At this point I have 2 in-progress videos I want to share with you.  The first shows of the improved Ports of Call scene, while the second videos shows off the new “wet glass” rain effect  along with working windshield wipers (a very requested feature).

 

I don’t yet have a release date for this new version of Train Sim.  I still need to add working windshield wipers to about 30 more trains and I was hoping that the new Train 3D model would be done in time for this release.  (not sure if this will happen)

I am however very excited about this upcoming release as I think it will address many user requests.

Train Sim – Another Awesome Update

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Train Sim New Farm Land Scene

I am happy to report that Train Sim has received another awesome update.  This time I focused on updating one of the existing older scenes.

I started by asking my twitter account, Which Scene I should focus on updating.  The Farm Land scene was a clear winner. (I think I will be doing more of that in the future)

Train Sim Twitter

Initially I focused on making a larger more interesting track layout. In the old scene the track was arranged in a circle, and I received allot of complaints about that from users.  As you will see from the top view of the track, the layout is much more interesting then before.

Train Sim New Scene Top View

I also wanted to add some new assets to the scene,  These included:

  • Improved Track Textures
  • Improved Horse Model
  • New Cow Models
  • New Large Grain Elevator/Silos
  • New Farm Textures
  • Improved Water Effects

However I wanted the scene to seem familiar as well, so allot of the old farm textures & small towns found in the old levels are still present in this new scene.

On top of the improved Farm Land scene I also added a new GE AC4400CW train with custom freight cars to go with it.  This brings the total number of trains available in Train Sim to 47!

This new awesome new update is already available on Android & Amazon.  And it is pending review in the Windows Store.  I am still working on updating Train Sim on iOS.

 

 

Working on an Aquarium Game

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Recently I started working on a new Aquarium Simulator game (at least while the next Train is being built by my 3D Artist for Train Sim).

Aquarium Sim

As usual the game is going to be free and have no in-app purchases.  It will feature both a freshwater aquarium as well as a marine (saltwater) one.

So far I have the Fish AI complete.  They swim within the bounds of their aquarium along with avoidance of their environment.  Currently you can also feed the fish, as well as tap the aquarium to watch them follow your finger.

Aquarium Sim

Currently I am working on a screen that will allow you to setup the fish in the aquarium and provide you some information about each of the fish.  This is actually a challenge to do, as my screen has too many buttons and is currently not intuitive.   Maybe I have to divide it into 2 screens instead.

Follow me on Twitter to receive more in-progres screenshots.

Train Sim New Trains and Menu

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Although I had the Acela Express model ready for a while, I did not get a chance to ad it to Train Sim in the last update .   Adding the Indian Scene was already a huge story and I wanted to make sure I limit the amount of changes in a single release.

So over the last 2 weeks I focused on adding the Acela Express & the Southern Pacific 4449. to Train Sim.   I think you will agree that the quality of these Trains is really awesome!

Acela Express & SP 4449

I also spend some time improving the Main Menu for Train Sim. The important change here is that the scenes are now represented by text and picture, making it far more kid friendly.  (This has been on my backlog for a long time.)

Train Sim New Menu

These changes are now live on Android & Amazon, and waiting for review on iOS.  I should have the Windows Store & Phone version live within the next week or two.

 

 

Tasks the Indie Way

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There are many frameworks for managing tasks for large teams, such as Kanban, Agile & Scrum and there are excellent tools managing these frameworks. However these tools can be overkill for developers like me, working alone.

In theory you don’t need allot, after all how much does a single developer need to remember.  For a while I simply used a word processor on a 1985 Macintosh Plus. (Because I wanted a reason to turn it on)

Macintosh Plus

This however had a disadvantage of not fitting in my pocket so I could not add things on the go.  I needed an app.

Since I am a developer I could make that app, one that fits my exact requirements based on standards that I learned during my work on large software development teams, but tailored to the needs of a single Indie Developer.

The finished product is Indie Tasks, an app for recording and managing tasks for 1 Indie Game or App developer.  Now available for iPhone & Android.  An app made by and Indie Developer for Indie Developers.  Tested & used daily by myself.

Indie Tasks Main Indie Tasks Graph Indie Tasks Backlog

In Indie tasks you will find standard familiar terms & processes from Scrum & Agile such as:

– Assigning Effort by using Points to Stories using a Fibonacci Sequence
– Calculated Velocity based on last 30 days of Done Tasks
– Statuses such as Doing, Done
– Ability to distinguish between Tasks, Ideas & Bugs
– Backlog Reports and Views
– Twitter Share

I Indie Tasks daily in my workflow and will continue improving it based on user feedback as well as my own experiences.

 


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