Trainz series

Can you believe it's been 10 years since the first Trainz game was released?

N3V Games and its predecessor Auran first jumped on the scene in 1997 with its smash hit Dark Reign, a futuristic PC Real Time Strategy game. 13 years later the company would become widely known for developing the world's leading train simulation series...Trainz!

Trainz started out as a model railroading fantasy for train enthusiasts who wanted a more in-depth experience which they couldn't get from model railroads. "Too expensive" and "I don't have enough room" - We heard it many times and realised there was a huge gap in the market.

We first released Trainz in 2000 and 10 years on we still can't believe that we're the number 1 Train Simulator game on the market, with a group of fanatical supporters who give us awesome feedback, create assets for the game and play it religiously.

We'd like to take this opportunity to thank all of the players who have helped us take this game from a model railroading experience to the world-leading, fully-operational train simulator that it is today!

10 Years ago...

Train simulators were unheard of, but there was a dedicated and passionate group of model railroad enthusiasts. 3D graphics were the new rage and a lightbulb suddenly switched on -- The idea was to make a game that would allow model railroad enthusiasts to experience the thrill of creating fantastic tracks winding through beautiful environments as well as driving true-to-life trains.

We thought we were the first train out of the station but there was a much bigger company who released their own train simulation game within months of our release! In this David and Goliath battle, we had a massive uphill struggle to keep Trainz chugging along.

Because of our hard work and dedication to our growing fans, Trainz became recognised not just for the ability to jump in and drive Trains, but also for allowing the freedom to create beautifully detailed routes rolling through realistic environments. Our players could raise snow capped peaks, create shimmering lakes and plant acres of forest.

Our players could even texture their own terrain and could carefully place real world objects everywhere: junctions, rail, stations, locos and so much more. This was literally a DIY Train Simulator! This feature was called the "Surveyor" and it kick-started the Trainz community who even now still love sharing their creations and masterpieces with each other.

As Trainz steamed forward gathering speed we added more staff, more ideas and loads more requests pouring in from our great community of players.

In 2004 we released Trainz Railroad Simulator 2004. We worked closely with our community who asked for and GOT a Download Station, giving them the tools to upload their own content for the game. Trainz 2004 launched with over 100,000 items and assets, most of which were submitted by fans of the game!

Trainz Simulator 2006 burst onto the scene with new routes, locos, community submissions and engine overhauls. We were buzzing with ideas and virtually any idea that popped into our heads was seriously considered and usually implemented! During this time a tough decision was being made: whether to release Trainz 2006 as 1 DVD or 5 CDs. We decided to release both but DVD won hands down! A Limited Edition 2006 version sold out at pre-order before Trainz 2006 was even released!

As 2007 came around there were rumours of a Train Simulator competitor who stopped development of their game. Maybe they'd finally given up after years of trying to knock us off the number 1 pedestal! This had a massive impact on the creative juices for Trainz and feature creep started to set in which meant more staff, more features, more changes, more upgrades, more, more, more...The end result being our community got a much better game!

After an enormous engine update and a whole lot more, Trainz Simulator 2009: World Builder rolled out of the factory and onto the tracks. The advanced content that you could make was the best of any Train Simulator ever released. Photo realistic textures and higher poly counts had our players eyes popping out of their heads. You could nearly put your hand through the monitor and touch the train controls! It was widely regarded as the number one train simulation game ever released.

Today - Trainz Simulator 2010: Engineers Edition (TS 2010) brings new life to a much loved franchise with allowing players to get even closer to the action with jaw dropping realism and more trains and items to build your railroad. We're using custom technologies like Speedtree to push the realism of the game to unheard of heights. You can even buy a Train driver controller which plugs into your PC and lets you push and pull levers, flick switches and blow the horn - the ultimate Train driver experience!

With a growing community of over 350,000 registered Trainz users, a worldwide retail distribution network, easy accessibility on all major digital download websites, an ever growing team and strong community has seen Trainz become the biggest and best train simulator on the market.

2011 will be Trainz biggest year yet with Trainz Simulator for iPad JUST RELEASED, Trainz Multiplayer arriving at the platform, many more content add-ons and some top secret Trainz development. We will continue to innovate and improve, forever driven by our fantastic community of loyal players.

Thank you to all who have supported Trainz throughout the years and we hope you continue your journey with us for many years to come.

Kind regards,

N3V Games and the ever growing Trainz Team

www.trainzmobile.com

www.ts2010.com

www.n3vgames.com

About N3V Games PTY LTD

Australia's Biggest Independent Game Publisher and Most Experienced Development Team!

The golden sandy beaches and rolling surf of Australia's Gold Coast houses Australia's biggest independent video game publisher, N3V Games!

N3V Games has built Rock Solid partnerships with industry heavyweights like Nintendo and Sony as well as a myriad of top notch game developers and publishers including 1C Company, Akella, CDV, DTP, EA, Endgame Studios, Focus, Frogster, Frozenbyte, GFI, Half Brick, Hot Head, Idea, JoWooD, Just-A-Game, Koch, Kylotonn, Lexis Numerique, Lighthouse, Merscom, Monte Cristo, Nobilis, Noviy Disk, Paradox, Playlogic, PQube, Real, Stardock, Techland and Timetrip just to name a few.

For Indie Developers, working with publishers can sometimes leave you banging your head against a brick wall. You're too busy making games to be dealing with IP ownership, marketing, contracts and dealing with 10 different producers, marketing, QA, biz dev and accounting people. N3V Games guarantees you speedy feedback when evaluating your product and will handle all publishing aspects when signing your title so you can focus on doing what you do best, making knockout games! Website: www.n3vgames.com