Product Description

Microsoft Train Simulator brings the excitement of some of the world′s most famous trains to your home. Harness the engines′ power as an engineer, using the fully functional gauges and working controls. Sit back and enjoy the ride as a passenger, taking in the scenery as you rumble through the realistic settings. Or take on the responsibility of a railroad designer, using Train Simulator′s open architecture and tools to customize and extend the game.

Written with the full support of the game′s developer, Microsoft Train Simulator: Sybex Official Strategies & Secrets gives you everything you′ll need to stay on track.

Inside you′ll find:
∗ Expert advice on operating everything from the Orient Express to The Flying Scotsman
∗ Essential strategies for handling the game′s challenging operating strategies
∗ Hands–on tutorials covering Train Simulator′s extensive track and activity building tools

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #116948 in Books
• Published on: 2001-06-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

From the Back Cover
Microsoft Train Simulator brings the excitement of some of the world’s most famous trains to your home. Harness the engines’ power as an engineer, using the fully functional gauges and working controls. Sit back and enjoy the ride as a passenger, taking in the scenery as you rumble through the realistic settings. Or take on the responsibility of a railroad designer, using Train Simulator’s open architecture and tools to customize and extend the game.

Written with the full support of the game’s developer, Microsoft Train Simulator: Sybex Official Strategies & Secrets gives you everything you’ll need to stay on track.

Inside you’ll find:

• Expert advice on operating everything from the Orient Express to The Flying Scotsman
• Essential strategies for handling the game’s challenging operating strategies
• Hands–on tutorials covering Train Simulator’s extensive track and activity building tools

About the Author
David Chong has authored and contributed to numerous strategy guides across a wide variety of genres and platforms, including Crimson Skies: Sybex Official Strategies & Secrets. His first time behind the controls of a locomotive was aboard an F–40 at the age of 8, and he′s had the bug ever since.

Rick Selby works for Microsoft as a Program Manager in Training and Certification. His lifelong interest in railroads led him to offer his services as a subject matter consultant for Train Simulator. Rick has written how–to books, as well as magazine articles and a monthly column for Model Railroader Magazine. He has numerous hours “in the cab” of diesel locomotives from various railroads.

Richard Wayne Smith was the lead designer for the original SEGA Genesis Triple Play Baseball at Electronic Arts Canada. Rick left EAC when his friend, Chris Taylor, formed Cavedog Entertainment. At Cavedog Rick was an assistant designer for Total Annihilation and later designed TA: Battle Tactics. Currently Rick is teaching C++ programming at the Center for Digital Imaging and Sound.

Customer Reviews

The manual MSTS should have had in the box
This book is great for getting you started with the simulator. It walks you though all the activities with detailed instructions on how to finish them (if in a way that would get you the sack in real life)

The best part is a basic overview of the game editors. They can be hard to use and the book helps a lot.

On the down side, 2 weeks after buying the book everything I want to know is "beyond the scope of this book"

Worth getting
Well worth getting this book for its useful tips and background information on the routes. I haven't dared to try the Game Tools yet, so I don't know how good the book is on this subject.

However, just like TrainSim itself, I'm afraid the book does contain some errors, which can cause confusion, especially on the Marias Pass chapter. It mixed up east and west at one point, and also refers to the wrong goods yard elsewhere, for example. Station stops in the simulator do not always match those in the descriptions.

However, all in all, the book is useful and interesing, even if it is written in American!

An invaluable guide
I found this book invaluable when playing the American release, and David Chong really does help you. With the tips he provides, and the easy to understand graphics and guides, this book really does add something extra to the game!