Train Sim World 2 has a much-requested new feature in Creators Club, which utilises two existing tools. These are the Livery Editor which allows you to paint locomotives and rolling stock as you wish (most much better than our own Gamecell effort, above), and the Scenario Planner which allows you to design a journey with the train, route and number of stops as you choose–there are a few exceptions but almost any train in TSW2 can be painted or run on pretty much any track. Creators Club Beta allows you to share your designs and download other creator's designs and scenarios.
The Livery Editor tools allow you to use up to 300 layers, which might seem like plenty for the average creator doing a basic paintjob, but when you get into a lot of detail like stripes, lettering, weathering etc. it's not really enough. The designer tool is rather limited and a tad clunky to use with a game controller, but it does work and you can get used to its quirks, and learn a few tricks to speed things up. The fact that you can't save your individual assets (designs, logos, lettering etc.) to use on different trains and share with others is a real shame though. As you can see from some of the screenshots we've included, there are some seriously talented and enthusiastic TSW2 players out there, producing both authentic current, historical and fantasy liveries every day, complete with detailed logos, weathering, rust and dirt effects.
The Scenario Planner is again a tad limited, at first it seems you can only add one train to a route and set the number of stops, but further investigation proves that you can add a number of AI trains, which are labelled 'Passenger Service' in the Planner for some reason. These can be set to run at different times and obviously add immeasurably to the immersiveness of your custom scenarios–there are definitely hidden depths to this feature and there are a number of good tutorials on YouTube to get you started–just don't get too carried away when adding trains or you'll inevitably end up with a route full of red lights and gridlock.
The most-used part of the Scenario Planner would appear to be the "Off The Rails'' feature which allows you to run just about any train on any route, which obviously supplies the potential for some very interesting scenarios! Want to run a London tube train on a US route, or a huge US locomotive on the Bakerloo line and share your lunatic scenario online? Not a problem...
It is worth bearing in mind that this is just a Beta and it’s certainly had its fair share of teething troubles (players being unable to download designs and accidental deletion of many user creations for instance!), but it is certain to improve and the core tools along with it. Given the quality of some of the creations we’re already able to enjoy, the future of Creators Club looks set to be an interesting and exciting prospect.