[Train-a-Mania]

...Run 8 has grown in its first year, and in that time four add-ons were developed - the BNSF Needles Sub, the Amtrak Pack, the Autorack Pack, and the Piggyback Pack. How do these look and function in the sim? We'll find out in this review...at the Railyard!



Special thanks to the members of Diverging Approach Multiplayer Server (DAMS) for allowing me to record their sessions.

At The Railyard Website: http://attherailyard.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AtTheRailyard

Have your own opinions about these add-ons? Share them here:
http://www.attherail...dles-sub-run-8-

Needles Sub: http://run8studios.com/routes.shtml
Amtrak, Autoracks, and Piggybacks: http://run8studios.com/trainsets.shtml

[captain_bazza]

Run8 isn't my cup of coffee, but it looks well done and if it attracts more people to the hobby then it's a good addition to the stable of train simulators.

Cheers Bazza

[Fleegle411]

Great Review as always Nick.

Yeah, as I've said before... "Run 8 isn't a Train Simulator, It's a Railroad Simulator"

[pinpuller]

Run8 looks to be a 'diamond in the rough'. An awful lot of good things going for it and a lot that yet needs to be done to really make it 'shine'. I would like to see more emphasis on single player as I have no interest in the multi-player aspect of the sim. Nick has done another fine video showing the in's and out's. Thanks Nick! ;)

Regards,
Pinpuller

[mccainae]

Run 8 looks ok to me, but if you aren't interested in multiplayer operation (I'm not), it seems like a lot of cost for what looks very similar to TS2014. IMO.

Maybe I'm missing something here, and if so, let me know what makes it stand above the other sims.

[Mipman25]

What makes Run 8 stand above the other simulators is that it's not a train simulator; it's a railroad simulator. It contains some of the most realistic operations in any simulator.

[Fleegle411]

mccainae, on 19 March 2014 - 03:51 PM, said:

Run 8 looks ok to me, but if you aren't interested in multiplayer operation (I'm not), it seems like a lot of cost for what looks very similar to TS2014. IMO.

Maybe I'm missing something here, and if so, let me know what makes it stand above the other sims.

I have both TS2014 and Run8, Here's where they differ in my mind:

TS2014 (Railworks as I call it) is what I call a "Throttle-Jerk" sim, meaning you get your train, open it up wide, and away you go, with the only things you really watch out for are curves, signals, and the end or the track. Run 8 is a lot more in-depth than that. Once you've got your train and you've spawned in, you fire up the locomotives, MU them together, set up your DPUs if your train has any, attach your EOT, climb n the cab, flip some switches to bring the engine into its run mode, then you're ready to line the switches, knock the brakes off, and pull out. In Run8, slack action is simulated completely, to get a train moving without splitting knuckles, you get it moving slow and steady, put the loco in notch one or two and ease off the independent brakes and stretch the train gently, one you've got the train stretched you can open the throttle a bit more and start to build speed. Once out on the mainline if you apply the brakes while you train is stretched you hear the slack running in. Another thing I like about Run 8 (and it can be a real love-hate relationship with this feature) is the defect detectors. The defect detectors are fully functional, usually they'll give your train a clean bill of health, but sometimes your train will develop a hotbox or something will start hanging down off the bottom of your train creating a condition called "dragging equipment". If any such peculiarities devope on your train, the defect detectors will let you know, and you have to stop your train, go back, and fix it. All of this is in a game whose train handling properties are so accurate that a BNSF trainmaster who gave it a try declared it better than the software the company is using to train its own engineers. Also, Run 8 is the only Train Simulator I know of which is set up with a walk around style view, similar to minecraft.

Long story short, Run 8 is a lot more in-depth than other simulators on the details of railroad operations. I really enjoy it personally, and have made several end-to-end runs on the Mojave Sub route. Whether or not Run 8 is a good choice for you depends on what you're interested in with railroading. Personally I really like the operations end of things and Run 8 has not disappointed me.

Railworks is a good sim too, don't get me wrong. It doesn't have all the little features of Run 8, but it has a lot more freeware and payware content available, while Run 8 currently has only 3 locmotives (ES44, P42, and SD40) and 2 routes (Mojave & Needles Subs) available.

[pinpuller]

Thanks for the review. It is very tempting. You say, "Once you've got your train and you've spawned in", what is meant by 'spawned in'? Are trains assigned in advance?

Regards,
Pinpuller

[Train-a-Mania]

pinpuller, on 21 March 2014 - 06:43 AM, said:

Thanks for the review. It is very tempting. You say, "Once you've got your train and you've spawned in", what is meant by 'spawned in'? Are trains assigned in advance?

Unlike in other simulators, in Run 8 you control a person (character). You can take ownership of any train that is currently on the route, "spawn" in a train that has already been built, or build your own using the Train Maker-Upper (their term, not mine). Trains are not assigned to players.