Since 2019, Altfuture's open VR simulator Derail Valley has been allowing virtual train conductors into an early access open world through its career mode.
 
The simulator features dynamic weather affecting 15 cities across more than 90 square miles.
 
Between stops, conductors get out of the car to engage the clutch, secure the brakes, or start shunting runs.
 
All of this is even more authentic with the recently released simulator update, which revamps both the interface and the adaptive hand interaction animations in VR.
 
VR Open World Train Sim
 
The game's biggest update in three years brings new train models including the DH4, DM3, and S282/DE2/DE6.
 
The update also introduces a free sandbox mode with adjustable difficulty parameters and a scenario editor.
 
The world and weather have also been thoroughly reworked, with details including 25 new road vehicles, dynamic reflections, fine smoke and dust, and light sources such as solar flashlights or lanterns.
 
Of course, it won't be quite as authentic as professional conductor training solutions.
 
However, Derail Valley offers a lot of playful depth, including spectacular derailments and explosions.
 
Beginners can change the degree of realism or operate every single button manually.
 
It is also possible to switch to a bird's eye view.
 
Steam will automatically download the free update if Derail Valley is in your library.
 
Experienced gamers can simply continue to play on saves, or start new files, to enjoy all of the updates from the beginning.
 
In the VR section of the update, Altfuture highlights that dynamic virtual hands now interact naturally with controls and objects via motion control.
 
Support for the Pico 4 VR headset and the S282 steam locomotive experience have also been added.
 
Derail Valley is available on Steam for US$39.99.
 
Jan Wöbbeking.