Just wanted to share with you a new level I am working on for Dinosaur Sim It is still very early in the development cycle but it should give you an idea of what the new level will likely look like.
Dinosaur Sim New Level
Tag Archives: Update
Train Sim New Subway Level Preview
Still working on a new Subway Level for Train Sim Here is another preview of how the level looks like so far. It nearly finished, I am just working out the bugs before I release the Beta version.
New Subway Level Progress
Working on a new Update to Train Sim, this time I am creating a brand new Subway Level, including all new route, stations, tunnels and rails. Here is a small preview of what a few of the new Subway Stations will look like.
Flight Sim Update Live
Dinosaur Sim Update Live
Train Sim Update Live
Train Sim Update for Android is now Live! This update features:
- Added New Alternative Paint Scheme for Pacific Surfliner
- Added Interior View for Pacific Surfliner passenger car
- Added Christmas Tree as a placable item in Custom Environment Level
- Added new Tarp Wrapped Car
- Fixed Stephenson Rocket Reverse Wheel Animation
- Bug Fixes
Happy Rails!
Pacific Surfliner Alternative Paint Scheme
Work on the new Train Sim upate continues. This time I added new alternative paint scheme for the Pacific Surfliner Train. Coming Soon to Train Sim!
Tarp Wrapped Car
Working on a new Freight Car with cargo that is wrapped in a blue tarp. Let me know how you like it. Coming soon to Train Sim
Train Sim Update Live
Train Sim Update is getting deployed to all supported ecosystems (iOS, Windows Store, Mac Store, Amazon, Android),
This process usually takes about a week or so. Its currently live on the Apple App Store & Windows Store, Mac OS & Android with Amazon coming soon!
What’s new in this update?
Completely redesigned rail system that allows me to produce fully 3 dimensional tracks as well as full 3D Electrical Wires. So far only the rails are rendered in full 3D, the sleepers or (crossties) are still just a 2D texture, mostly for performance reasons on mobile. However as mobile devices get faster, I will easily be able to extend this to full 3D sleepers (crossties) at very little effort.
In fact, I can now place any 3D object along or on the rail continuously or in spots. This opens many new possibilities in the future to allow Train Sim to grow well into the next decade.
Why did it take so long?
This was a complete redesign of a key system in Train Sim that affects every level. The rail system is so core to the game that updating it required rewriting other key systems such as track switching, track connections, train controller, wagon controller etc. Don’t even get me started on testing, every train wagon, track connection and level had to be tested. And then when a bug is found, it had to be fixed and re-tested again.
What’s next?
Once the 3D model is complete my next focus will be to add the Pacific Surliner to Tran Sim as fast as possible.
New 3D Rail System
Last week I started working on a new 3D Rail System for Train Sim. The current rails are actually a 2 dimensional texture that mimics the look of 3D. This was originally done to improve performance on mobile devices. While it looks OK on a tiny phone screen, it does not translate as well to larger high resolution tablets or PCs. Hence it has been on my list of fixes for a while now.
Unfortunately this will be allot of work as I will actually need to re-make all the rail paths in Train Sim across all of the levels. However I think I figured out most of the technical & performance unknowns and can now move to implementing this feature across all levels in Train Sim. At about days per level it should take a few weeks to finish.
So why invest so much time on new rails? I think as new mobile devices get more powerful it makes sense to update some of the core features in Train Sim to ensure it does not look dated compared to newer games. Although this is a large investment in time, I think it will be well worth it at the end