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▪ openBVE Help and Information
This section of the site is designed to help you get started with the realistic
openBVE train simulator in Windows (XP, Vista, 7) and Ubuntu 10.04, as well as guide
you through the installation and first use of the
Birmingham Cross-City South route to enable you to start driving. Some parts
of this guide are geared towards novice users.
▪ Please select your operating system
The openBVE Help and Information section is split into two sections, depending on
what operating system is covered. Please choose the appropriate option from the following list,
to be taken to the relevant help pages:
▪ About openBVE
openBVE is a
licence free, open source, internationally aware, cross-platform train simulator
project written in C#, with an
emphasis on in-cab driving,
realistic physics, braking system simulation, and security system modelling,
which was initiated in April 2008 after the development of BVE Trainsim seemed to
have ceased at the time, and an increasing number of compatibility problems were
being encountered between BVE Trainsim and then new generation graphics cards, along
with incompatibility between BVE Trainsim and Windows Vista. openBVE uses
OpenGL and
OpenAL for rendering
graphics and handling audio respectively, removing the dependency on Windows or
versions of DirectX which could be made obsolete in future. openBVE runs natively on
Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7, and Linux, while the possibility of running the program
natively on
Mac OS X is also presented.
openBVE is
dedicated to the public, with
no restrictions imposed on it's use or modification.
openBVE's architecture has been designed according to a long term plan designed
to provide various features via generalised capabilities, and the architecture provides
a
unified platform capable of loading content
from
both BVE Trainsim v2 and v4
with a high degree of compatibility offered, but with
extended functionality which developers can use to add
new openBVE specific features to their add-ons, such as
animated scenery and
exterior car objects.
Legacy BVE Trainsim add-on compatibility is also being carried forward to future
versions, preserving existing BVE content alongside new openBVE content, well into
the future.
openBVE also offers
comprehensive and detailed error checking
of add-ons as they're parsed and loaded, and
extensive
documentation also forms an important part of the openBVE project,
providing
well defined file format specifications,
and unambigous syntax descriptions, giving add-on developers every opportunity to
eliminate errors and thereby increase the standard and quality of content developed
for the program.
Developer tools are also provided,
in the form of Route Viewer, Object Viewer, Object Bender and Train Editor, each offering functionality
suited to the development of the different kinds of openBVE content.
To summarise, openBVE includes features which take it further beyond BVE Trainsim,
such as:
- Fully animated 3D cab environment with driver's body/head model and motion simulation,
and track inaccuracy suitable for continuous welded and jointed rails
- External camera views
- Exterior car objects for the player's train, and visible preceeding train (with
suitably equipped openBVE add-ons)
- 3D object animation and texture shifting, via mathematical functions (on suitably
equipped routes and trains)
- 3D positional surround sound
- Enhanced graphics quality, filtering, transparent texture handling, and customisable
settings
- The ability to set any arbitrary display resolution, windowed or fullscreen
- Three driving modes to provide differing levels of challenge and driving assistance
- Optional motion blur effects
- More helpful error reporting for add-on developers
- Superelevation with interpolated cant
- Derailments and toppling due to excessive speed through curves
- Simulation of certain atmospheric properties including air resistance and barometric
pressure
- Detailed braking system modelling
- Power, braking and forces simulated per car
- Coupler slack
- Train mass affected by boarding passengers
- Smoothened out turns
- Time acceleration
- An AI driver
- Black box recording and last game review
- The ability to choose any route or train combination before driving
- Multi-lingual interface
- Easy character encoding selection
- Route overview via generated map and gradient profile
- Version update checking via the main interface
- In-game debug output for developers and advanced users
- The ability to include text in other randomly selected separate files within a main
route file via the $Include directive
- Customisable in-game interface
- Development tools, including Route Viewer, Object Viewer, Object Bender, and Train Editor
- And more...
openBVE is an evolving project, and if we want it to continue evolving, we can participate
in it's ongoing development. Please visit the
» openBVE Homepage «
for more information.
Some example screenshots
Please hover over the images to read descriptions...
Please see my
Links page for various openBVE add-ons.
Also note that the Cross-City South v2.0 and Watford Junction to Rugby routes
shown above are still in development, and not released yet!
▪ Please select your operating system
The openBVE Help and Information section is split into two sections, depending on
what operating system you have installed on your computer. Please choose the appropriate
option from the following list, to be taken to the relevant help pages:
Content last updated: 14th August 2010
