N3V: What was the inspiration for Route 1 V2.0?
NJP: Route 1 V2.0 was started as a backup route for the original Route 1. During beta, we were warned that we should expect to throw away any work as things might break (which is pretty much what hapened with Route 1). As we worked on the route between the other projects in MPS, it began taking on a life of its own.
N3V: What was the difference in your 2nd attempt at the route?
NJP: I think we were a little more selective about how we built this route, and tried to give it a purpose as we built. A small group of us, including: RudeFX, Bigblue, LewisCC, NJP (route owner), and several others have been breathing new life into this route.
N3V: What are some of the highlights of the route?
NJP: Our biggest (literally) accomplishment is the huge mountain off in the western portion of the map. This thing reaches 1000+ meters from ground elevation and can be seen from miles away! Then there is the big swampy area that loosely resembles the Mississippi Delta area in the States. All of this along with generally expanding the route to the west and north are a couple of our current projects.
N3V: What are the future plans for the route?
NJP: Looking ahead, we plan on adding a winter resort area, a scenic coastal run (similar to the one in the original Rt 1),a seaport harbor/intermodal area, and possibly a desert area. Big ideas? Big plans? Probably! But ambitious ideas like this are what makes MPS so great. As an example, that huge mountain would have taken days, if not weeks if build in single player. But in MulitPlayer, we built most of it in just over three hours.
N3V: Anything else you'd like to say?
NJP: Big big props to the Trainz Team at N3V for making MPS a reality! I could go on, but I think you get the picture here. Collaborative route building is here, and it is amazing!
N3V: Thanks for taking the time to chat with us and thanks for your enormous efforts during the beta testing phase. We wou;dn't be here without the beta guys putting the tools through their paces!
