Two tram sim tasters have appeared on Steam during the past week. Both The Tram and Elektronka: Bratislava centre trundlers produced by Czech firm ČKD Tatra. If you’ve ever visited a city in Eastern Europe there’s a good chance you’ve seen or ridden a Tatra product.
Elektronka: Bratislava stars the angular T6A5 and, surprise surprise, Slovakia’s Danube-adjacent capital. Because the demo confines you to a small depot it doesn’t reveal much about the full game’s scenery, ambience, or performance. What it does show is that Šimon Baran and Marek Župa know how to craft a pretty convincing tramvaj.
Although panel buttons don’t seem to be clickable, and windows and sun blinds are currently fixed in place, once in motion the mount produces some pleasing sound effects and persuasive carriage oscillations.
Seemingly the work of a Russian concern, The Tram recreates the older, curvier T3 and refuses to commit to a specific East European city.
Powered by Unity and a little rough in places (If you’re struggling to fully open the front doors try left clicking the internal cab door hotspot then the driver’s seat to teleport straight to the driving position) the playtest build’s most impressive trait has to be its respect for wheel-track interaction. As TGR Group explain:
“Most games use splines to simulate the movement of rail vehicles. The model is rigidly attached to a smooth line and moves along it. At best, you may see a simulation of the tram car and the driver swaying inside the cab.
The Tram offers a completely different experience. Every movement, jolt, and sway of the tram car is determined by the track itself. The tram’s wheels run along two actual rails, transferring every irregularity to the body and then to the player’s camera.”
The playtest line includes sections of worn and warped track, and you don’t need to stop, disembark, and closely examine rails to work out where these are.
The Tram’s T3s and Elektronka: Bratislava’s T6A5s aren’t the only Tatra people movers that have been shining sim rails of late. In late June City Transport Sim gained £21 KT4Ds.