The story of Hmmsim

Hello there, everyone!

I know I haven't made new posts nowadays since I left the world of Facebook (I switched my main social platform to Instagram), but as you could see, I'm still actively around and try to help all BVErs with my comments and ideas as much as possible.

Anyway, let's get to the main point why I post now.

I think we all have already heard of/even tried out Hmmsim, which has been the closest alternative for openBVE on Android/iOS smartphones and tablets, being compatible with simpler BVE routes/trains. Its latest version is currently 1.2.8, which was released about 2 years ago, fixing compatibility issues with newer Android/iOS versions.

But since then, what happened to the world of Hmmsim? Has its development got dead or not?

Well, let's answer the question: it is not dead at all! Instead, it is under an entire re-development and a PC/console version is being made with extra features compared to the legacy mobile version of Hmmsim.

If you looked up the background story of the simulator on YouTube earlier, you could have seen that there was already a PC version project named Hmmsim Alpha+, which already had many graphical improvements compared either to Hmmsim or openBVE as well. It can be seen on the videos attached below. Take a look at the graphics options list on it to get an idea about how it can look so nice.



Unfortunately, it only got to this closed early beta (0.4.2) phase and its development got completely halted. So, what's next?

After this came out the first, free version release of Hmmsim (with pre-release time name of HmmBVE) for mobiles with Seoul Subway Line 2, then the BVE Trainsim 2.6/4.2 compatible addon support with the BVE to Hmmsim converter for PC, and lastly came the payware Hmmsim 2 (also known as Hmmsim 1.2), which has got the Seoul Subway Line 7 with implemented AI trains, external camera views with animated trains, AI-based driving and openBVE support as well, meaning supporting the load of animated objects [though rendering them as if they were static ones], "OPENBVE" format Train.dat files (Hmmsim 1 only supported BVE1220000 and BVE2000000 format ones, it simply crashed if tried to load "OPENBVE" ones), bigger than 255 index numbered free objects, doppler sounds, etcetera.



Since then there were compatibility patches released only, but no new features at all.

Now comes everyone's question: OK, it's all good, but is that all?

So finally, let's get to the recent times and the present. Jemin Hwang - Korean head of Jeminie Interactive - started a new simulator project - firstly simply called as Project alpha2 - which is meant to be the successor of the officially cancelled and never publicly released Hmmsim Alpha+. It has already got two Tech Demos as well (1 & 2). This is where we got today: the Hmmsim Metro!

Hmmsim Metro is a going to be a brand new train simulator game for PCs and modern consoles, and it is going to have its own graphics engine as well with for example, automatic exposure effects. This is going to allow the game to have way nicer looking graphics of the legacy contents than ever before, and opens the possibility of dedicated nighttime lighting with continuous day/night cycles.

Jemin himself silently posts sometimes on his Naver blog about the development. His blog is mostly in (Korean) programmer language, with many programming scripts and parts appearing in his posts about how he makes the new simulator and the new engine. (Leezer, won't you get some ideas about how he makes for example, the automatic exposure and tone mapping? How about implementing something like that to openBVE as well? )

I don't yet know more about how the development continues, when can we expect release, what's still missing from being done or anything like these questions - the best way to follow the development of Hmmsim Metro is regularly checking the blog of Jemin. His latest posts - written in September 2020 - are all showing us programming methods, so simple ordinary players can find them unable to understand, but especially for C++ programmers they can seem like a treasure island.

So, off we go now? Let's wish Jemin a successful further development and wait patiently for the first version of Hmmsim Metro getting released to the public. Regarding all the render images and animated tech demos, it's going to worth the wait and we are going to have a really professional successor to Hmmsim.

After all, I wanna get an official release date of Hmmsim support coming to openBVE thank you for taking your time to read!

Hi all.

According to Jemin's blog, the first initial release of Hmmsim Metro is already very close, it is about to get released in this month.

On April 28, 2021 there was a livestream on Jemin's YT-channel which presented the new simulator in action. I post it here.

It is recommended to turn on the automatic English translation of the CC subtitles on the video, because the entire video is in Korean language.

Now, the stream above contains a Q&A part as well. Thanks to Lazo Young, he made us available its English translation. I quote it in here, it's going to give answers to most of user questions.

10:48 Q. What has motivated you to start development of Hmmsim Metro?

A. I was among the ones who make BVE addons and one day I realized there's not a single simulator featuring the homeland of this country, south korea. So I came up with the idea of making it on my own.

16:55 Q. What kinds of locomotives will be featured in Hmmsim Metro?

A. We'll preview the game later in today's video. What we're going to ride on today is the KORAIL Series 311000 EMU. (2 variants: 동글이, 납작이) Also there is an extra locomotive (other than electric driven) hidden in the simulator. You'll be able to find one when it gets released.

18:24 Q. Are you going to bring the new lines to the simulator other than the originally planned, Seoul metro line no.1?

A. No, I haven't planned to support extra metro lines at the moment. The reason is that the other lines are kind of dull and boring to play. Actually I'd been working on no.2 line for a while but I decided to discard the project. The double track was keep going underground for hours and hours. On the other hand, I think line no. 1 has vibrant landscape and the rail goes up and down over the river under the ground which makes it enjoyable for everyone. So it's my ultimate goal to cover the entire line in the game, hopefully in future updates. (* Seoul metro no. 1 track is ~200km long)

20:10 Q. How about passenger announcement, track signal, indicator of distance to correct stop position? Are they going to be implemented as well?

A. Yes they will be added in this game but they're still in progress. So unfortunately you won't see them in today's preview.

21:20 Q. How many languages are supported in Hmmsim Metro?

A. Languages other than native korean language is going to be supported. English is in top priority. I'm considering Japanese language as well.

30:00 ※ Game preview starts ※

1:09:00 Q. Is weather condition depicted in this simulator?

A. Yes, but it's still work in progress. By the way, different time depiction and foggy weather is already there available in the early access.

1:12:40 Q. Is early access available for everyone?

A. Of course. You can find the link in the description below which directs to the Steam page. (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1591420/Hmmsim_Metro/) Even though you do have to pay for the game, it's currently in discount sales until the official release is out. The price will likely go up gradually while the newer updates coming out in the future.

1:13:00 ※ Preview of Evening-time ※

1:20:10 Q. When is it going to be released?

A. It was planned to be released in April but it's delayed a little bit. Early access will be out around early to mid in May 2021.

The initial price is ₩22,000 (~$20)

The game has also got a [url=https://namu.wiki/w/Hmmsim Metro]Wiki-site[/url] as well - it's also in Korean but it can be translated easily by Google Translate and everything will be understandable.

Finally, the game now has its official Steam Store page as well - I can only recommend you to add it to your wishlist and if you have any questions or feedback regarding the game, please write them on its Steam Discussion page.

Having said them, let's get the hype started! The release time is already really close.

Will I still be able to play the old version of hmmsim 2 on my old tablet.