
- REAL TRAIN SIMULATOR DRIVERS
- REAL TRAIN SIMULATOR SOFTWARE
- REAL TRAIN SIMULATOR PROFESSIONAL
- REAL TRAIN SIMULATOR SERIES
REAL TRAIN SIMULATOR PROFESSIONAL
I think in the Netherlands and Denmark, there are still no professional simulators. In some other countries no simulators exist because no supplier has ever created the signalling systems and so on. “I think there will still be more need for simulators in the coming years, and that’s Germany only. “I see more and more companies that maybe would not have thought about simulators ten years ago, and now it’s interesting for them,” Hölscher says.
REAL TRAIN SIMULATOR DRIVERS
Many of my users, at least those who are writing in my programme, have a professional background, so maybe train drivers and engineers in the railway business.”
REAL TRAIN SIMULATOR SOFTWARE
So while I was developing the software components, they developed the routes and the trains, so at the beginning we already had a lot of locos and many kilometres of track. Some of them, about 15 or 20 people, helped during the development of the software.

“Most of these trains and routes are created by the community.

“I’m the developer of the software, and we have a strong community,” Hölscher says. The game incorporates driving physics that account for the train’s tilt, air and curve resistance, detailed simulations of in-cab Sifa safety systems, as well as accurate recreations of European and German signalling and train protection systems, including the European Train Control System (ETCS) and the older PZB/LZB systems that are used in Germany, Austria and other countries.Ĭreating this level of verisimilitude is a tall task for a single developer, but Hölscher is supported by an online community of rail enthusiasts who have made massive contributions. What sets it apart is the incredible detail that has been put into the game’s simulation of German railway systems. The point of differentiation for Zusi 3 among the competition is not its visuals, which Hölscher acknowledges are “not that good”. “Due to the fact that the product that Carsten developed is very strong in terms of professional background, we decided to contact him and do Zusi with him.” “A lot of people were asking us to do some more specialised train simulation, which is not that casual, and more accurate in terms of professionals using it,” says Aerosoft head of product management Dirk Ohler. Zusi 3 – Aerosoft Edition was released in June, repackaging Hölscher’s software along with the newly-added Cologne-Düsseldorf route.
REAL TRAIN SIMULATOR SERIES
While Hölscher has primarily marketed the Zusi series to the German market himself, for Zusi 3 he teamed up with German sim developer and publisher Aerosoft, which has logged more than 25 years in the world of simulation.

The game, developed by Carsten Hölscher, models more than 500km of driveable routes on the German rail network, including Cologne-Düsseldorf, the upper Ruhr valley railway, the marsh railway Heide-Westerland and the Intercity-Express (ICE) route Kassel-Göttingen. If you’re overshooting stations, watch for the alert for the next station and reduce the throttle so you’re ready to stop.Zusi 3 is an excellent example of the latter style of professional-level train sim games. In Cab Ride you can drive thousands of different train routes through rolling hills, winding tunnels and weaving between the tall buildings of cities.Ĭab Ride is a casual train simulation, not aiming for real-world accuracy, but like a real train, it takes a while to brake. Cab Ride, by Pawersaurus is a never ending train ride through a “dreamlike land”. If there had been a train driving simulator for the ZX Spectrum, this might have been it.
