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Rail Sim Routes UK - BVE Help and Information (Page 1)
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BVE Help and Information |
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BVE Help and Information |
Information and help for installing Mackoy's BVE Trainsim,
with instructions for installing routes from this site, and setting common options
within BVE.
 Revised
11th December 2007 (updated Cross-City South installation notes; BVE v4.2 installation
in Vista; enabling new higher resolutions)
[If you require assistance with using the older BVE v2.6.3,
please click here]
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Introduction
This page is designed to provide a brief introduction to BVE, allow new
visitors to Rail Sim Routes UK to download and install the BVE setup files and default
Uchibo route, and also help with the downloading and installation the routes and
trains available on this site. This guide is designed for less experienced computer
users, and the installation of my own routes is also explained. If you have a problem
using BVE and it's not covered by this guide, then please visit Steve Green's BVE Help page
for an alternative help guide.
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BVE Trainsim - What is it, and where do I get it?
BVE (or Boso View Express) Trainsim is an amazingly realistic
cab view only train simulator, developed by a sole Japanese developer Mackoy, and best of all it's
freeware! BVE features some of the most convincing
cab motion and rocking effects any commercial or freeware train sim has
to offer, and is extremely flexible where route and train building is concerned,
allowing very realistic representations of routes and trains to be created and driven.
BVE also boasts some superb sound effect capabilities
- if you enjoy listening to the sounds of wheels clattering over pointwork, flange
squeal when rounding sharp curves, or for example the unique sound of 3 phase AC
traction motors, then BVE is hard to beat!
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System Requirements
Important: BVE v4 requires the Microsoft .NET Framework, and if you use Windows 98, the Windows Installer as well.
BVE itself requires only a modest system to run, the recommended
minimum is a 266MHz processor, a functioning sound card which supports DirectX,
and as much RAM as your operating system needs to run effectively. BVE is more fussy
over graphics cards however, the best choice is a mainstream 3D accelerator designed
for gaming such as cards in the nVIDIA GeForce or ATi Radeon ranges which usually
work perfectly, although many other graphics hardware will work fine too - however
it's possible that either your graphics drivers or Windows display settings may
require some settings to be changed before BVE will work correctly, as is the case
with some SiS graphics chipsets for example. Not all laptop display adapters will
function correctly with BVE either when Direct3D acceleration is used, especially
those not designed for 3D gaming, but many can work successfully with at least more
basic routes, and detailed ones in some cases.
BVE performance is very dependant on the level of detail contained in the route
you are running, as well as the complexity and size of the route file being loaded.
While a simple, less graphically demanding route will run on the minimum specifications,
a highly detailed route with many textures, 3D objects and object placements will
require far more CPU power for BVE to render it at acceptable framerates. For running
the current generation of highly detailed routes without performance issues, especially
with Windows XP, personally I would recommend the kind of system you'd want for
running many of todays 3D game titles, e.g. a CPU running at 2GHz combined with
at least 512MB of RAM, and a 64MB AGP graphics card such as an nVIDIA GeForce or
ATi Radeon. |
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Special Note for Windows 98 Users
Users of Western versions of Windows 98 may encounter difficulties
using BVE v4, in which case you may need to install
Japanese Language Support if BVE v4 fails to run correctly. Japanese Language
Support can be obtained via Windows Update, or failing this, by opening Internet
Explorer, going to the 'View' > 'Encoding' > 'More' submenu and selecting
'Japanese (Auto-Select)' - Internet Explorer should prompt you to install Japanese
Language Support, and BVE v4 should then run after this is installed.
Don't forget that BVE v4 requires the Microsoft .NET Framework, and the Windows Installer as well. |
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Special Note for Windows Vista Users
BVE 4.2 can be successfully installed in Windows Vista (except
you can skip the Microsoft .NET installation), however BVE v4.2
doesn't run within Vista without some additional work; this is because BVE
4.2 uses DirectX 8, however Vista supports only DirectX 9 and 10.
Please read the additonal installation step at the bottom of this page for getting
BVE to run in Vista; it may not work for everyone, but it's worth trying. |
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Downloading BVE |
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Steps for Downloading BVE and other necessary files
Downloading BVE can be a simple procedure. Although the BVE homepage is Japanese,
you do not need to use an on-line translation service. In fact, using such a service
will prevent downloads from Mackoy's site from working! There is
sufficient English text on Mackoy's site to guide you through the downloading
of BVE.
Microsoft .NET Framework:
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The first step is to find out whether
you need to download the Microsoft .NET Framework, which BVE v4 requires to both
install and run. If you use Windows Vista, you
can skip this step. Some copies of Windows XP may come with the .NET Framework
already installed. One way to find out is to try installing BVE v4 - if you don't
have the .NET Framework the BVE v4 installer will tell you. You can also check if
you already have it by seeing if you have this folder in your Windows directory:
'<SystemDrive>:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework',
where <SystemDrive> is the drive where your copy of Windows is installed.
If you can't find this path in your Windows directory, then you probably need to
download the .NET Framework.
If you need the .NET Framework, you can download it directly from Microsoft: Microsoft .NET Framework Version 1.1 Redistributable Package
[~23MB]
The second step is to visit Mackoy's Official BVE Website, to download the BVE simulator.
Click this link to open Mackoy's site in a new tab (or window), so you can continue
reading these instructions while you navigate Mackoy's site.
On the homepage, you'll be presented with two BVE logos, to download BVE v4, click
the logo on the right, labelled 'version 4':
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On the BVE homepage, you will be presented with several links. You want to click
the "Get" image. |
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You will now be presented with a menu running down the left side of your browser
window. The Outline page is already loaded; click the
"Download" link. |
On the resulting Download Page, scroll down until you see the download links for
the BVE v4 setup file and also the Uchibo download, BVE's default route and train
pack. Click the bve4.2.xxxx.xxxxx.zip link,
to start downloading the BVE setup file, which is a standard Zip format archive,
and also download the uchibo10.zip file.
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When choosing a location to save these files, I would
strongly recommend creating a new temporary directory or folder, for example
named "C:\BVESetup\", in which to store your downloaded BVE installation
files. The remainder of this guide will assume you download the BVE files into a
folder named "C:\BVESetup". |
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Preparing BVE Setup |
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Preparing the BVE Downloads for installation
Now you have downloaded the main BVE file(s), you're ready to prepare the BVE installation
program. The following images depict the installation process in Windows
Vista, but they also apply to Windows XP (and Windows 98).
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You now want to run Windows Explorer, and navigate
your way to the folder in which your downloaded BVE setup files are stored. If you
followed the advice given above, you want to find the 'C:\BVESetup' folder you just
created, otherwise replace 'C:\BVESetup' with the pathname of the location where
you chose to save your downloaded file(s). |
If you have WinZip installed, and use any
Windows operating system:
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In your temporary folder is the BVE Setup file you downloaded.
Double click "bve4.2.xxxx.xxxxx(.zip)". |
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You are presented with a standard Winzip window. Either ensure that no individual
file in the archive is selected, or select all the files with the mouse, and then
simply click the "Extract" toolbar button
to bring up the 'Extract' dialog.
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You could just double click the .msi (Windows Installer Package) file within WinZip
now to run BVE Setup, but on some systems this may bring up a cautionary dialog
box and the .msi file may not be correctly run - if this is the case, extract the
file instead and complete the following steps. |
Note: This tutorial assumes that you use WinZip 'Classic' mode, if your WinZip window
looks different to the example shown on the left, then you may have the WinZip Wizard
enabled, if so then just click the 'WinZip Classic' button at the bottom left of
the Wizard dialog.
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The Winzip 'Extract' dialog appears; choose to extract the files to your temporary
folder, in this example 'C:\BVESetup\' - then click
"Extract".
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Now return to the temporary folder where you chose to store the BVE downloads, and
double click "uchibo10(.zip)" .
Simply extract ths contents of this archive by following the same procedure as you
did with 'bve4.2.xxxx.xxxxx.zip'. |
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Now return to the temporary folder where you chose to store the BVE downloads, and
double click "ReadMe-En(.txt)" to read
Mackoy's release notes, and then double click
"BveSetup(.msi)" to begin installation.
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Note: If the BVE Setup fails to run, or the *.msi file icons don't look like the
examples shown on the left, you may not have the Windows Installer application installed
on your system. Windows XP and Vista include the Windows Installer as standard;
if you use Windows 98 then you may need to download the component from Microsoft's
website here. |
You can now skip to the 'Running BVE Setup' section below. |
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If you don't have WinZip installed, but
use Windows XP or Vista:
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In your temporary folder is the BVE Setup file you downloaded.
Double click "bve4.2.xxxx.xxxxx(.zip)" |
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Windows XP and Vista treat Zip files like folders, and the folder view should show
three files. Simply double click "ReadMe-En(.txt)"
to read Mackoy's release notes, and then double click
"BveSetup(.msi)" to begin installation. |
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Installing BVE |
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Running BVE Setup
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When you run 'BveSetup.msi', the BVE Setup program appears.
Click the Next button.
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Note: If the BVE Setup fails to run, you may not have the Windows Installer application
installed on your system. Windows XP and Vista include the Windows Installer as
standard; if you use Windows 98 then you may need to download the component from
Microsoft's website here. |
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Now you can choose where you want to install BVE. I'd recommend
leaving the installation directory as "<SystemDrive>:\Program Files\mackoy\BVE4\"
(where <SystemDrive> may vary depending on where your Windows installation
is located, in this case, 'C:\'), especially if this is your first attempt at installing
BVE or it's add-ons. Once you've learned how BVE files are stored, you can change
this option in future without fear of BVE failing to work properly after installation.
Now click Next, and follow any on screen
instructions. Files should now be copied, and the installer will let you know when
BVE has been successfully installed.
Note: Vista's User Account Control dialog may appear while BVE
4 is installing; you need to click 'Allow'. |
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Installing the Uchibo Route and Train Pack
For users of WinZip, with any Windows operating
system:
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Now that BVE itself is installed, you can return to your temporary folder, and double click "Uchibo10(.zip)". The Uchibo pack
is extracted, and installed, in exactly the same way as BVE itself, as described
in the Using BVE Setup section above. Run the extracted
uchibo10(.msi) to install the Uchibo route
and train add-on. |
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For Windows Vista and XP users without WinZip:
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Now that BVE itself is installed, you can return to your temporary folder, and double click "Uchibo10(.zip)".
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Now simply double click "Uchibo10(.msi)"
to begin the installation of the Uchibo route and train pack. The Uchibo pack is
installed in exactly the same way as BVE itself, as described in the
Using BVE Setup section above. |
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Windows 98 and XP Users ONLY
- BVE is now installed - but there's more...
Before you attempt to run BVE, you need
to ensure that you have at least one route and
it's associated train installed. If you installed the Uchibo route and train
pack as described above, then you can load this to check that BVE v4 is running
correctly. Alternatively you can download and install my own Birmingham Cross-City
South route using the instructions on the next page,
as well as learn about BVE v4 keyboard and mouse commands.
Click here to go to the "Installing Routes and Using BVE"
page
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*** If you use Windows Vista, read on... *** |
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Installing BVE in Windows Vista |
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Final steps for enabling BVE 4.2 in Windows Vista
BVE 4.2 can be successfully installed
in Windows Vista as per the instructons above (except you can skip the Microsoft
.NET installation), however BVE v4.2 doesn't run within Vista without some additional
work; this is because BVE 4.2 uses DirectX 8, however Vista supports only
DirectX 9 and 10.
Please read
this thread on the RailUK forums for instructions on getting BVE 4.2 to run
under Vista. It can be done with a little effort, although there are no guarantees
that it will work in every case.
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If you attempt to run BVE 4 without following the steps in the above linked forum
thread,
this is what happens when you start it. |
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BVE 4.2 (after Birmingham Cross-City South is installed, see next page), running
in Windows Vista; read this thread on the RailUK forums for instructions on how to
do this.
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Note: BVE 4.2 is not natively supported
by Windows Vista, the linked-to instructions worked in my case, but may not work
for everyone. |
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BVE is now installed
Before you attempt to run BVE, you need
to ensure that you have at least one route and
it's associated train installed. If you installed the Uchibo route and train
pack as described above, then you can load this to check that BVE v4 is running
correctly. Alternatively you can download and install my own Birmingham Cross-City
South route using the instructions on the next page,
as well as learn about BVE v4 keyboard and mouse commands. |
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