[Kevin WS]

Well spotted Dave. The graphics quality is towards the high side, but I have turned shadows off for the moment. My settings are below. I added the lightning in the shot above - the rest is an untouched screenshot!

My machine is not high spec'ed but is running this well. I had Train Sim but my machine was falling over and it was full of constant bugs. Every time they upgraded Train Sim more fell over. I want to relax with a sim like this, not turn into a charity programmer to try and fix something they could not write properly!

Run8 has been slick. No issues despite the huge amount of rolling stock that gets loaded in some of the yards.

Does not require steam - DRM free. Which is nice as it starts up in a few seconds.

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Specs recommended are:

CPU: 2.80 GHz Duel-Core CPU
RAM: 3 Gb RAM
64-bit Windows 7 or newer
(64-bit is a MUST)

GPU: Intel HD4400 graphics chip, or GeForce x40 card with no less than 1 gig of Video Ram. Must support DirectX 11.

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In terms of using it, it is probably the best train simulator I have come across. Very realistic.

Basically, you can put together trains and then drive them, shunt wagons etc. There is a clever AI system that facilitates the allocation of waggons to industries, the filling of empty wagons etc.

That's all for the single player. There are then a few servers, and you can then go and run trains on these as well along with a whole lot of other folks. You can dispatch instead of running a train on the servers if you so wish.

The realism is the real drawn card - you snap couplers if you don't drive properly, stall on hills etc. The realism also means that there is a steep learning curve, especially if you are not really clued up on how locos operate.

Nothing that cannot be overcome though. It has kept me engrossed for hours so far and I have only started.

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You can ride as a passenger (though I haven't tried it yet as I have not got any passenger stock yet). Can't jump on the boxcars though!

Pictures below - two screens of options related to graphics, and then some interior shots of an SD40 and 70. Everything mostly works - from panel lights to the radio channels, display screen settings, etc.