I've been around TSW and TSC long enough to guess the answer, but going to ask anyway... DTG have said that no more route DLC remasters are planned, and that is fair enough, but will we at least get ToD4 across all routes to at least make it standard? Old ToD2 and ToD3 locos and rolling stock look bad on ToD4 routes, and ToD4 stock looks really bad when used on older routes. At least update old DLC loco packs if nothing else.
I would hope so, but I guess all we can do is hope. I've said before in other threads but I cant stand driving on those routes with the older lighting, it just looks weird and honestly a whole lot worse than it used to in the earlier games. Either way I cant see a world where it happens, but I am not DTG and only they can confirm it.
The chances are really low to none. Even tod4 is a huge amount of work. The more light sources and materials a dlc has, the more work it's going to be. If there's tunnels, the shadow and light baking has to be redone. I think some of the routes took up to a month to implement it. So while nice to have, is probably not going to happen
At the very least they should be updating route features (or even just ToD4) when they release DLC for said route. They’re trying to justify not doing it as it’s old content, but in my eyes if you’re trying to sell packs for a route, that route should be considered current content & updated as such.
In a perfect world, DTG would have everything updated to a single standard, but that's obviously not the case. Even with someone like SCS, its a very time consuming process to update older stuff to newer standards, as they still have rebuild projects for the maps with ATS and ETS2, and not all the trucks are up to date.
Yep, it's basically worse with SCS, in ETS2 especially much of the map is older than 10 years now, it's such a huge difference in map quality. However they have been actively making efforts to update old map and DLC for free. Even just yesterday they teased a UK rework for the first time.
Let’s not undersell what SCS do with reworks either, they basically rip an entire country out & completely rebuild it. Leagues more work than updating lighting (again not saying updating lighting is an easy task, just that it’s not the same as redesigning the whole route).
Yep, it's usually a multi-year project just for one country. I mean I get SCS is a bigger developer than DTG and can do these things much easier, but still they are making the effort for the players and for basically nothing in return (They aren't selling a DLC with it or anything). There will be returns in how much different the game will feel but only after like 10 years when they finish updating the whole map. I believe if DTG really wanted to they could sell a gameplay pack of sorts with older routes and make that pay for the work on a TOD4 lighting upgrade. But I guess, why do that when you could just sell the gameplay pack and not update the route anyway...
at least the Great Western Express will be updated so that is something i will not buy gameplaypacks for old tod3 routes unless a tod4 patch/enhancement is in the works
I would like to see all old routes updated. Some seem worse than others. I drove on Tharanter-rampe for the first time in ages and I thought I looked awful, shame as its a scenic route, yet I find ECW not too bad. However I think it is unlikely and suspect even with the potential new class 171 we won't see the route updated, would love to be wrong though. I would like to see older DLC have suspension updates. Driving the 710 the other day after the 150, I really noticed the lack of suspension.
I get the feeling they are running with skeleton actual route building staff these days. Those that are retained in house are probably fully occupied with new releases. So no resources to do anything with old content unless good people like Liam, probably already putting in 12 hour days under the DTG yokemaster, are then prepared to do even more in their spare time to address the older stuff. The old routes not only need TOD4 but also bridge and tunnel reverb, particularly the likes of NTP or SEHS. However as I commented in the new German route feedback thread not only couldn’t they be bothered to add reverb to the existing Dresden to Riesa section, they didn’t even bother putting it in on the extension to Leipzig. I hate to use the “L” word but in this case I think it might be justified… With the money they are making off us, no excuse really for not bringing back a smaller version of the Preservation Crew who could address these issues. If need be, subsidise the effort with new loco DLC’s - a Class 25 for NTP, a 56 for TVL etc. etc.
Honestly if they did a Cathcart circle again that could work like selling a new loco or new freight rolling stock (heavy freight pack) with the upgrade I just hope they do NTP, TVL and WCL before I die
There’s far too many TSW legacy routes that need a new coat of paint, but it’s DTG or Focus’s executives that deem it non profitable. Only passion projects are exempt to TOD4 upgrades. I agree Redbus, a return of a preservation crew is desperately needed. At least when this team was present we had regular route updates & bug fixes. We wasn’t waiting for months, sometimes years in the case of TSW5 bug list.
The PresCrew would have been ideal for the little snagging tasks, like adding in bridge reverb or moving/deleting trees and bushes that are fouling trains. As it stands, I bet we are waiting months (if ever) before the latter is dealt with on South Devon or the former on Leipzig.
