Category:Getting Started

Welcome
Howdy, and welcome to Train Frontier Express (TFE), the finest (albeit the only) railroading game available on Xbox 360. Whether you're a seasoned enginieer or a trolley pusher, whether you've just purchased the full game or just testing the waters with the trial, you're in for some great fun here in TFE! But you're gonna need to know a few basics first in order to get you moving along.

Starting Out
On your first time running TFE, you'll notice that you have a few options at your disposal at the Main Menu. For now, just select "New Game". You'll then be whisked away into the world of TFE. You'll see mountains, trees, greenery and blue skies all around! What you won't see, however, is train track. TFE doesn't come with any pack-in maps, so it's up to you to create one before you can ride! Don't worry though, creating maps is half the fun of TFE!

However if you have the full game and do not wish to create a map, you can try your luck and join someone else's game session to ride on their creation. Simply press the Back button to bring up the Game Menu, and then RB to switch over to the Multiplayer tab. There you can select "Join Public" to see a list of public game sessions being hosted by others in the community. Highlight one and press the A button to download and be transported to their Map for some fun multiplayer railroading! Jump ahead to the "Driving your Train" section of this article for help on operating your train. Otherwise read on to learn how create a simple train map.

Map Creation Basics
If you want to try your hand at creating a quick Map (or if you only have the trial version of TFE), this section will help you with the basics of Map creation.

There are two primary game modes in TFE: Builder and Conductor. Each is selectable by bringing up the Game Menu by pressing the Back button. Under the Game Mode tab you can choose between the two game modes. Select "Builder" (you should already be in this mode).

The first thing you're probably wanting to do is lay down some track. You can't drive a train without it. In Builder mode, you should already have the Track Builder tool selected by default. If not, press Left or Right on the D-Pad until "Tracks" is highlighted at the bottom of your screen. You'll know it's selected when your cursor changes to a bright green arrow that looks like a small railroad track. This is your track placer icon.

Place track down onto your Map by pressing the A button. Each press of the A button places down a Track Node. You can also hold the A button down for continual placement. You can guide the direction of the track placement with the Right Thumbstick. As a general tip, try to keep your track lines and curves smooth and not too sharp so that you can travel faster without derailing. Be sure to close your track loop when you're done for a continual non-stop ride.

Now that you have some track down, you may ride on it with your train. While you CAN ride around on your track, you might want to hold off for a bit until you further develop your map. But if you simply can't wait to drive, you can skip ahead to the "Driving your Train" section of this article. Otherwise read on for some more mapmaking tips and techniques.

You might want to make your track more interesting by giving it some elevation changes. You can do that by simply routing the track into the bordering mountains. When your track meets a mountain or other elevated terrain, it will become an incline. You can create mountain passes that twist up into those rocky ridges simply by laying your track along the range. If you lay your track outward away from elevated terrain, your track will aim downward for your descent. Spend some time experimenting with elevation changes.

You may also wish to make your own hills and valleys. This can be done with the Terrain tool. You can select it in Builder mode by pressing Right or Left on the D-Pad until "Terrain" is highlighted on the bottom of the screen. You'll know it's selected if you can see your cursor turn into a little blue horizontal circle with a yellow arrow protruding from the top of it and a green arrow protruding from the bottom. This tool lets you raise and lower your terrain, as well as paint it one of four different terrain textures.

With the tool selected, press or hold the Y button to create small hills or giant mountains. Press or hold the A button to lower hills and mountains or to create valleys. If you hold it long enough, you can lower the terrain down to water level to create rivers and lakes. Finally you can press or hold the X button when the cursor is at a certain altitude to flatten a section of terrain to that exact height. Use this to create flatlands or mountain mesas or just to smooth out some rough terrain.

You can also paint the terrain using the Right Trigger. There are currently four terrain types that can be painted: Grass, Sand, Rock, and Snow. You can cycle through each one using LB or RB. The color wheel on the left side of the screen will spin and highlight your terrain paint selection. Terrain painting adds visual flair to your scenic areas. You can also mix the textures for a more authentic organic feel.

Finally there are Props available for you to place down into your world. You can select the Props tool by pressing right or left on the D-Pad until "Props" is highlighted on the bottom of your screen. Once selected, the first of the available props will appear on your screen as your cursor. You can cycle through the many props at your disposal by using the LB and RB buttons. There are lots available so use them judiciously to create cities, farms, industrial and residential areas, or national scenic preserves!

Props and track aren't unlimited, so keep an eye on the Fill Bar gage for each tool. It is the long narrow rectangle just above the tool selection name area. As you place props or lay track. The rectangle will fill up with a red bar. When it is full, you can no longer place props or lay track. The Fill Bar is separate for props and track so if you're full on props, you can still lay track until its respective fill bar fills up as well. There is no Fill Bar for terrain, so terrain until your heart's content!

Final note of Map Creation. Make your world visually pleasing for a more relaxing train ride! This can't be overstated. The more you put into a map, the more you get out of it!

Driving Your Train
Now we get to the good stuff! Who hasn't ever wanted to drive a train? In TFE it's very easy to learn, yet there are steps to mastering it! All trains handle and drive the same in the current buld of TFE so don't worry about learning different methods for different trains. To drive your train switch to Conductor Mode. You can do this by pressing the Back button to bring up the Game Menu. In the Game Mode tab, select Conductor. Now you can drive.

Depending on circumstances your train may either already be on the rail or waiting for you to place it onto the rail. If it's already on the rail, you should automatically be teleported to your train as soon as you enter Conductor mode. If not, then either you're in Free Cam or your train isn't on the track. Fly over to where some track is and face it. If you see a green outline of your locomotive appear on the track that you're facing, then you can place your train down onto the track at that very spot by pressing the A button.. If you don't see the green outline, then your train is already on the track somewhere on your line. You can jump to it simply by switching views. This can be done by pressing the D-pad right or left.

Here is a list of your train's controls:

Left Thumbstick Up/Down or Right/Left: Throttle/Dynamic Brake

Left Thumbstick Click: Used with Right Tumbstick Up/Down to Zoom In and Out.

Right Thumbstick Up/Down and Left/Right: Look Around

Right Thumbstick Click: Quick Zoom/Avatar Jump

Left Trigger: Reverser

Right Trigger: Air Brake

LB: Throw Switch Left

RB: Throw Switch Right

A Button: Horn/Whistle

B Button: Pick Up Train/Show Avatar

X Button: Shrink/Hide HUD

Y Button: Show/Grow HUD

D-Pad Left/Right: Change Views

D-Pad Up/Down: In Free Cam: Walk/Fly - In All Other Cams: Change Perspective

To drive, first make sure you're going the proper direction. Use the Reverser (Left Trigger) to set the train to FWD (indicated on screen at the top of the left control stack) if it isn't there already. Next, make sure you're not engaging the Air Brake (release Right Trigger). Then smoothly bring the Throttle lever on the left side of the screen down (Down or Right on the Left Thumbstick) into the green section of the throttle body to start your train moving. The further down you bring the lever, the faster the train will go. The relative speed is indicated on the guage on the lower right side of your screen.

To slow your train down, raise the throttle lever up (Up or Left on the Left Thumbstick) into the red section of the throttle body to engage the Dynamic Brake. The further up you bring the lever, the more you will slow down. Braking can also be assisted with the Air Brake (Right Trigger) if you need more braking power or if you need to come to a stop.

Keep in mind your train is big and very heavy. Climbing steep mountain grades or traveling at high speed requires maximum throttle power. Descending steep mountain grades or coming to a stop requires maximum braking power. A train requires lots of distance to get to full speed or come to a full stop. Learning how to judge how much throttle or braking power for different needs or coming to perfect stops will take a little time to master.

You now have what it takes to get out there and create a peaceful beautiful world, and then to thunder your train through it! Have fun in Train Frontier Express!