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News from S I A M - Autumn 1999 |
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News from S I A M - Autumn 1999 |
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NEWS
The main news is that we have a big new steam era simulation set at March on the GN/GE joint line. March 1952 is Platinum, and includes the station, large shed (2 screens) and Whitemoor yards, with both weekday and Saturday schedules.
A second steam era simulation gives you the chance to carry out the Control task for the entire Somerset and Dorset Joint Line between Bath and Poole, including the Highbridge branch. This is a Line Control simulation, but with several new features compared with previous ones in this series, and is the first by Bob Fairbrother, whom we welcome to the ranks of developers.
There is also a new overseas simulation, Swedish Ore Line, covering a day's operations on the line between Kiruna and Bjornfjell in northern Sweden, continuing to the Norwegian port of Narvik. This is in the style of our American simulations, but with rather more passing loops than usual, to accommodate the heavy traffic.
We had hoped to have another two Drivers ready, but unfortunately neither has quite made it through testing in time. As soon as they are available they will be announced here and in our regular advertisement in the earliest possible issue of Rail; we hope this will be in time for Christmas.
Watch our regular ads in Rail for further announcements. There may well be more new simulations before our next newsletter.
Tim Bourne.
NEW since our last Newsletter!
The following new simulations are available now for the PC. The Swedish Ore Line (only) will also be available from Monday 22nd November for the Amiga.
NEW Traffic Control programs
NEW! Platinum Series - March 1952 -
Covering the usual 6 am to 10 pm period, this
is set in 1952 before the arrival of any BR standard locos or diesels in
the area. Both weekday and Saturday schedules are provided; effectively
this gives you two very different simulations. All services are
steam-hauled, and they include a number of excursions and reliefs at
higher difficulty levels. Freights serve the yards, including the large
Whitemoor Up and Down hump yards, where many trains terminate or
originate. As in other recent simulation, more detailed freight shunting
is included where appropriate, and your area includes the wayside stations
of Wimblington, Manea and Stonea on the St Ives and Ely lines. Bonus
points are available for allocation of locos from the correct depot and of
the correct type, and for correct placement of incoming freight.
(Difficulty #####) Price �45
NOTE: THIS SIMULATION WILL NOT BE
AVAILABLE FOR THE AMIGA
NEW! Silver Series Traffic Control - Swedish Ore Line - A dispatcher type of simulation covering a busy line in the north of Sweden carrying both heavy iron ore traffic and a mixture of other passenger and freight services. You control the main line from Kiruna to beyond Vassijaure, close to the border with Norway. There are two track screens, plus an overview screen. This is harder than it looks! (Difficulty ###) Price �27.
NEW!
Line Control - Somerset & Dorset Joint Line, 1957 - A line control
simulation covering this busy line between Bath and Poole, with a mixture
of passenger and freight services; both weekday and Saturday schedules are
provided. The Highbridge branch is included, and this and parts of the
main line are single track. This simulation gives you a chance to see how
hard this line was to operate to schedule, particularly on a summer
Saturday. Some trains shunt off the main line, or terminate, at various
points along the line. No details of motive power are given, as this is
control at a broader level. There are two track screens. Our testers say
this too is harder than it looks! (Difficulty ###) Price
�18
NOTE: THIS SIMULATION WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE FOR
THE AMIGA.
Other news
SPECIAL OFFER!
Order any four games for delivery at the same time on the same disk(s) and pay only for the more expensive three. E.g. for four games priced at �18 each, you pay only �54; for two games priced at �18 and two at �12, you pay only �48. To avoid confusion, please quote the reference 99MS11. As an experiment, this time the offer will apply to all orders placed until the end of April 2000; we'll review the position before mailing the next Newsletter. To avoid embarrassment, please do not ask for this special offer to be applied retrospectively, or in combination with any other special offer, or when asking for separate disks.
Order delays
Though our target is to despatch orders within two working days of receipt, we cannot guarantee this. Please do not phone or fax to ask about the progress of an order until at least a week has elapsed from the time we should have received it. Please order in good time for birthdays or other special occasions.
In the next six months absence abroad may cause delays between 18 January and 4 February; the backlog should be cleared by 7 February. There may also be some shorter delays around Easter. We aim to have the next newsletter out in the first half of April 2000.
Help with future projects
We would be interested to hear from any customers with programming experience, particularly in Pascal or Delphi, who would be interested in helping with future projects, as Phill and Brian (and now Bob) have been doing. We can not afford to pay at normal programming rates for this, but we do provide help in getting started, guidance on design and testing, and a royalty on sales which can at least help to pay for your hobbies.
Amiga support
Amiga orders continue to decrease. By special request the Swedish Ore Line will be available for the Amiga, but the others will not, and conversions in future will depend on the response to this. All our existing Amiga simulations will continue to be available until further notice.
