Cloud-based Tsw?

Discussion in 'TSW General Discussion' started by VirginTrainsIsGreat, Oct 11, 2025 at 7:51 PM.

  1. VirginTrainsIsGreat

    VirginTrainsIsGreat Active Member

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    I was recently looking at the size TSW6 takes up on my disk: nearly 200GB! I haven't even got all
    the DLCs enabled...
    upload_2025-10-11_19-49-6.png
    And then I had a loom at MSFS 2024 - the best looking game on my PC - 8GB!
    upload_2025-10-11_19-50-10.png

    I know this is very, very far-fetched, but wouldn't it be amazing. Of course, cloud - based gaming has its setbacks, and TSW6 is now on GeForce Now (basically buying a game that you could loose access to as soon as Nvidia's servers crash), meaning you can play it cloud based. As-well as that, you'll need a good internet connection. Well, they all say it needs to be good, but my internet is pretty rubbish, around 45-60 mbps download, and MSFS runs fine.

    I am curious to see your thoughts on this
     
  2. Mark Moreton

    Mark Moreton Well-Known Member

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    Whilst usually I try and avoid any cloud based gaming, my install size is so monstrous that this would be very handy.
     
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  3. joffonon

    joffonon Well-Known Member

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    It's a no from me. A lot of people already seem to be sensitive to micro stutters, adding streaming latency to the mix isn't going to help.
     
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  4. OldVern

    OldVern Well-Known Member

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    No go here. Not going to sit and wait while the route and layers download each time.

    HD space is relatively cheap and while a SSD is ideal, a mechanical spinner will do quite nicely.
     
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  5. pedro#1852

    pedro#1852 Well-Known Member

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    from my side it's definitely a no
     
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  6. subwayg0at

    subwayg0at Well-Known Member

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    MSTS could cloud sync it because the player is usually nowhere near or interacting with the ground, and even without internet the offline data does not have a big problem, whereas you'll go mad when the ground is blurry in this game; Also plane tracking is possible on the server side which is not possible for this single player game.
     
  7. Doomotron

    Doomotron Well-Known Member

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    The downloads for Microsoft Flight Simulator's detailed terrain are huge, and the internet speed requirements are daunting as well.
     
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  8. eldomtom2

    eldomtom2 Well-Known Member

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    You do not buy games on GeForce Now. You buy a subscription to GeForce Now that allows you to play the games you already own on Steam/Epic/etc on Geforce Now.
     
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  9. VirginTrainsIsGreat

    VirginTrainsIsGreat Active Member

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    Of course, my mistake
     
  10. Midnight

    Midnight Well-Known Member

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    Nvidia Geforce Now used to be great, until they introduced the 100 hour per month limit for everybody.

    I tried TSW6 on XBOX Game Pass Essential (the lowest quality of XBOX Cloud for brokies like me) and had no crashes, which was actually quite good considering.

    Trouble is, Microsoft are introducing free cloud gaming with ads, capped at a 5 hour limit per month, so I ultimately think that cloud gaming is going to go the same way as YouTube.... Just another way for companies to force ads down your throat, while providing the bare minimum in actual gaming performance.
     
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  11. iriv#7314

    iriv#7314 Well-Known Member

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    I tried Google Stadia back a while.
    It did work wonderfully well, but you need at least the best internet available, and the little input lag could also be quite annoying, depending on the game.
    They stopped their services and paid everyone back (could keep the controller and chromecast though)
    I somehow expect the same with those new services
     
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  12. vodka#2734

    vodka#2734 Active Member

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    A budget 1TB SSD cost me about $62. Space isn't an issue at all. However, the lack of mods in GF Now completely offsets the gaming experience.
     
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  13. VirginTrainsIsGreat

    VirginTrainsIsGreat Active Member

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    I get 1TB SSDs sounds like a lot but nowadays, it really isn’t. I have two main games installed on my computer: TSC and TSW. Both of which take up around 250GB with mods. That leaves 500GB left, and I’ve filled it up with development software. I get if you’re all about TSW, don’t want to develop anything, and have all the DLCs, 1 TB is fine. But in reality, people use computers for other things and have other hobbies like Forza, for example, which takes up another 150GB. That’s why I made this thread to see people’s opinions.
     
  14. richtayls

    richtayls Well-Known Member

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    A much better solution to the space issue would be seperating off the rolling stock from their routes.

    For example, to get the East Midlands 158 layered into Riviera Line you need the 4GB Midland Main Line route installed, but the Scotrail 158 DLC is only 143MB in size so it would be technically possible to split the East Midlands 158 from the Midland Main Line and free up nearly 4GB. The freight wagons on Riviera need the 6.1GB SouthEastern HighSpeed and the 7.4GB Euston to Milton Keynes routes, whereas Cargo Line packs are typically 175MB, so maybe 350MB of rolling stock rather than 13.5GB of routes.

    From a route entitlement perspective it would just mean buying a route unlocks both a route DLC and a rolling stock DLC, buying the new Dresden also unlocks the old one so that part is completely doable. Actually splitting up all the old DLCs would take a bit more work.
     
    Last edited: Oct 12, 2025 at 3:52 PM
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  15. Thorgred

    Thorgred Well-Known Member

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    just save up more money ansave up mnre money and buy a 2tb or 4tb ssd :)

    something like a Sandisk SSD Plus (TLC) 2TB
    or an Sandisk Ultra 3D 2TB with cache ram
    prices are not too high
     
    Last edited: Oct 12, 2025 at 3:12 PM
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  16. vodka#2734

    vodka#2734 Active Member

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    I have a separate SSD for the TSW. If 1 TB isn't enough, I'll need to buy a 2 TB SSD. It's that simple.
     
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  17. Princess Entrapta

    Princess Entrapta Well-Known Member

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    These days I don't buy anything smaller than 4TB when it comes to SSDs.
     
  18. Thorgred

    Thorgred Well-Known Member

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    got about 5 of those 4 tb drives
     
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  19. vodka#2734

    vodka#2734 Active Member

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    I personally don’t see, for now, the need to have more than 2 TB of space on an SSD. I only have 2 M2 slots, so when the need arises, I'll just replace the system one with a 2TB or 4TB one, if they're on sale.
     
    Last edited: Oct 12, 2025 at 4:12 PM
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  20. Princess Entrapta

    Princess Entrapta Well-Known Member

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    My laptop has two, and currently has 1.5TB free.
     
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  21. Mark Moreton

    Mark Moreton Well-Known Member

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    Worth noting that if you’re on Xbox then you’re stuck having to use their hideously overpriced proprietary SSDs.
     
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  22. Princess Entrapta

    Princess Entrapta Well-Known Member

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    Those are curious because as a physical media format, they're a pretty neat innovation, they're just really not being made use of to their full potential. A card running on a cfexpress interface at PCIe4 speeds with an integrated heat sink in the slot sounds like the perfect thing for a handheld to get the most out of.
     
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  23. Midnight

    Midnight Well-Known Member

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    Physical media that needs online verification checks every time you switch on your console.

    When the servers get turned off, kiss your digital purchases goodbye forever.
     
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  24. AmityBlight

    AmityBlight Well-Known Member

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    Count me in firmly with the "no" fraction.

    That's just the thing. Not everything has to be cloud-based, just makes everyone even more dependant on external servers and external factors than they already are. And it probably would create ridiculous amounts of traffic, leading to even more issues with stuttering and blurry textures. And I won't even think about the loading times.
    No thanks, I'll rather invest in some neat SSD instead of handing the fate of my TSW over to some cloud, reliable servers and a halfway stable internet connection. Disk space isn't that expensive anymore :)
     
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  25. Disintegration7

    Disintegration7 Well-Known Member

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    If it was done well i'd be all for it as an option. Cloud gaming has improved leaps and bounds over the past 5-10 years and if it weren't for the monthly playtime cap i'd probably be playing via GFN rather than on my borderline-spec laptop. Those UE stutters are pretty darn minimal on a 5080 server.

    Additionally, the storage footprint for TSW if you have all DLC is atrocious imo.

    It could also possibly mitigate or even eliminate some of the ridiculous duplication of assets that are required to maintain the current spaghetti of code and entitlement tracking.

    I understand the "what if they turn off the servers" concerns but tbh that's already a concern for every version of the game (what if Steam, PS, or Xbox cease operations)?
     
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  26. redrev1917

    redrev1917 Well-Known Member

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    Personally I’d be up for a cloud based TSW even under a monthly subscription model. I get that’s an unpopular opinion amongst many but on average I’m dropping £30-40 a month on DLC so a sub in the £20-.£30 price bracket with access all content would be saving me money
     

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