Train Sim World 5 finds the love and excitement in the details

Train Sim World 5 taught me that locomotives don’t have keys, they have reversers—and it made me fall in love with piloting them.

The reverser tells the train whether to go forwards, backwards, or stay in neutral. It’s a metal rod you have to bring to the train and insert into the corresponding slot before the train will move. If a train has an engine at the front facing one way and one at the rear facing the other (so it’s easier to turn around in the station), you have to remove the reverser from one engine and walk it down to the other.

Simulations bring players joy by mirroring these real-world details. As a newly hooked player of Train Sim World 5, I recently caught up with Dovetail Games' Executive Producer Matt Peddlesden to learn more about how the team decides what aspects of the train engineer life make it into the final experience—and why some true-to-life details may even be initially seen as bugs.

If you think you like train travel, you have nothing on the folks who have to deliver realistic experiences from that world to other enthusiasts (and new players). Let’s dive in!
 

I can see my house from here!

“I think the biggest reason someone picks the game up when they aren’t naturally curious about simulations in general is that a new release has the train or their home route that they’re familiar with, and they’re curious to see their home area in a video game,” Peddlesden explained.

If you found out your hometown was in a video game, wouldn’t you want to see it too? The team sees that curiosity as the best first step to hooking new players. New routes help bring in fans who may not typically play simulations, while the simulation fans are drawn in by the prospect of a new challenge.

“Even if the appeal of driving a train down the track isn’t immediately apparent (what, no steering?!), once you get in the cab and see just how much is going on, what train drivers actually have to do, you realise that there’s some fun to be had and some things to learn,” said Peddlesden.

Once they have someone sitting in one of these virtual recreations, the team at Dovetail Games know they need to deliver a lot of detail to get them hooked. People who don’t know trains may think each engine is the same, but once you dive into Train Sim World 5 you quickly get a sense of what you like or don’t like out of a train's controls and handling—or even just how it feels to sit inside each one.

Some engines provide better views than others. Some feel like they have to be babysat, while others seem like they want to control themselves. Getting those details right is what makes Train Sim World pop for so many players. For some games, the devil is in the details. For Train Sim World, the personality is in the details.

“Sounds, visuals, how the train reacts to controls or what kinds of controls they have—these all contribute to the personality,” Peddlesden explained. “Whether it’s a sleek modern Class 395 with a single power controller and bullet train styling, or a class BR 103 German high-speed train with its distinctive visuals.”

In fact, you can’t really learn to love trains if these details aren’t right. It’s the way everything fits together that’s so inspiring to people who live and breathe these trains and the way they're modeled.

“The evocative nature of these feats of engineering mastery is what brings the joy of rail enthusiasm, and replicating that in our train simulation is exactly what we try to aim for,” said Peddlesden.

Knowing that Train Sim World 5 is also made for folks who live near or work with these trains in the real world also means that the team sometimes has to model things that don’t matter to most players, but will absolutely matter to the small contingent of people who know every detail of these routes.

“On our Southeastern High Speed route there is a hut somewhere along the line that is mostly buried in the ground,” Peddlesden explained. “Our QA team raised it as a bug. Players raised concerns about this bug being left in the game.” But the reason it’s there? “If you look along the line in reality, you’ll see this sunken hut is indeed completely accurate,” Peddlesden said.

Dovetail Games even pays attention to the small changes in each route that very few people know about, much less notice. “We model all the signals as accurately as possible, and I’ve seen railway staff who know a particular line very well surprised that we have variations of the same type of signal, which are entirely unnecessary from a technical standpoint but are representations of those signals in those locations on the route,” Peddlesden said.

That even extends to how in-game information is provided to the player. “On our US routes, such as the Northeast Corridor: Boston - Providence add-on, we simulate something called ‘pulse codes’ on the track at various frequencies, which are used to provide the data for the cab signals,” Peddlesden said. This means information is provided to the player in exactly the same manner and at exactly the same time as it would be if they were in control of the real equipment on the real route.

“It’s not faked via magical messages sent internally between components. We put a signal on the track, and this is then picked up by the on-train systems and interpreted the way it would be in reality,” Peddlesden confirmed.

Modeling these details doesn’t matter to the game mechanically. They don’t necessarily change how you play Train Sim World 5. But at the same time, these are the details that make the game what it is. What’s the point of a simulation of real life if the strange, hyper-local details don’t also make it in?

“My usual go-to is the Southeastern High Speed route, which is local to me but also offers a tremendous variety of local, express, commuter, and freight trains ranging from the slow runs to the fastest domestic journeys in the UK,” Peddlesden said. “If I want to up the stress a bit and test my mettle, it’s over to Germany for a run on a busy line like Frankfurt - Fulda Kinzigtalbahn or Nahverkehr Dresden - Riesa with all the safety systems enabled at rush hour.  Intense, but incredibly fun and engaging!”
 

They get it right by getting it all right

And it’s all these little details and working systems that helped me fall in love with Train Sim World 5. I understood little about trains when I first started, but quickly discovered that learning how trains run is a study in momentum, and getting a feel for keeping the train running at a good speed as safely as possible is surprisingly satisfying.

When I began to get a sense for when and how to brake in order to stop at the right time, in the right location, I felt a strong sense of accomplishment. It’s not easy, but nothing beats the feeling of learning how to safely deliver your cargo or passengers on time, safely, and without incident. Peddlesden even gave me an idea of how to test that skill during conversation.

“There can be no greater test of train driving skill than managing 14,000 tons of US freight down the steep grades of Cajon Pass into San Bernardino. One slip of concentration and you’re in big trouble!” he said, sharing some of his favorite challenges.

That's another thing that makes the Train Sim World series such a good time: There is no wrong way to play, despite what others may say online. All these details are accurate and included in the sandbox, but what you do in that sandbox is ultimately up to you. If you’re having fun, the team is glad you’re here.

“The final point on this one is really to just not let anyone else tell you what’s right or wrong. Online communities are a wonderful source of advice and help, but opinions run hot and sharp, and train communities are no different,” Peddlesden concluded. “The bottom line is, if you’re enjoying it, you’re doing it right.”

All aboard! Hop in Train Sim World 5 on the Epic Games Store today.