Wouldn't you be able to move one installation of TSW to another folder? I have two working installs of Train Simulator on my computer and have had more in the past.
Steam supports different folders to install into. But the beta is not a separate game in Steam. It uses the beta feature of Steam which replaces the downloaded version of the game. If you have disk space to spare, you might try to close Steam, copy over the contents to another place, then start Steam and enter the beta code. It will then download the new files and replace your files in the installation location. If at some point you want to switch back, then you maybe can succeed by closing Steam, moving the beta content elsewhere, moving your old content back, cutting internet for Steam, start Steam and leave beta, verify files and restore internet. But this is incredibly hacky and will likely not work. Another option: you keep TSW 5 installed to game your old content and use the TSW 6 then for beta testing. Obviously, you wouldn't be able to play all the new stuff/experience the new features for your play sessions but if you just want to play a bit, that might be the easiest solution.
Backups and restoring the "stable" version will work. I'm not sure if Steam allows backing up of beta versions of games as I am not in any beta programs. What I have done with modded games is having two installations and naming the folders. Example, two directories "Red Dead Redemption 2-modded" and "Red Dead Redemption 2". When I wan't to play normal version I name it as it should be. When I want to play modded, I exit Steam and add "-stable" to the RDR2 folder and remove "-modded" from the other directory. Relaunch Steam and it will launch as per normal. This might work with TSW.
Hi everyone, thanks for the replies. When I talked of making a backup I was indeed referring to just moving / renaming installation folders as I used to do with TSC, and then letting Steam verify for good measure. I have a 1Tb main hard disk so wouldn't be an issue. A dual-boot system would also work (or even a VM, but that might lead to performance disparities vs. the host system), but that means dedicating a partition or 100Gb+ of disk space to an entire Windows OS just for the occasional beta testing session, so I don't think I'd be going that far. Need to order my new PC first anyway! Cheers, JB
Interesting. I remember there was a way to have an older version of TS installed with it's own DLC folder, a small shame that can't be done with TSW but it's not a problem.
I've used the public beta option on another game before and when you switch in and out it treats it like a game update rather than a full reinstall job, so for the case of TSW with all the DLCs I presume it will only change what is required.
Problem is, you can have all the testers in the world pointing out missing timetable data, AI SPAD’s and blurry textures but it still needs the 3rd party and DTG to actually sit up and hoist a red flag. Without bringing the sad saga of Birmingham to Crewe into this thread too, it is quite apparent the whole process at DTG needs an overhaul. They should not be afraid to put their hand up and say, “No, not fit for publication. Go back and fix while we sort a fresh release date.” Sadly as I posted in one of the other threads, they keep pushing out poor quality content such as some of the Rivet stuff or the Athena Railtour pack. Until their management processes and quality control improves, no amount of beta testing is likely to prevent the rush to publish and the mess we saw yesterday. tl:dr their management needs to grow up, stop acting like an excited kindergarten and get some professional oversight in place.
What [EDIT - Jan - Language] you get for your £29.99 promo video looks mint then you get this im fumming [EDIT - Jan - Threatening] West Coast Main Line: Birmingham - Crewe Route by djblitz#4512 posted Oct 22, 2025 at 11:45 AM West Coast Main Line: Birmingham - Crewe Route by djblitz#4512 posted Oct 22, 2025 at 11:45 AM West Coast Main Line: Birmingham - Crewe Route by djblitz#4512 posted Oct 22, 2025 at 11:45 AM
The reason nothing is working is because in order for them to test economically they just have dev kits set up on pcs. They dont actually test on actual consoles, because if they did they would see the plethora of issues that bug the routes. If they DO test on actual consoles then they are guilty of ignoring the issues anyway. For years, the MSFS 2020 xbox store had notorious issues releasing third party content on XBOX S/X with third party content not being up to scratch and crashing the system. it took two years for them to admit that they did no actual testing on an actual xbox from the third party side, all the testing was done by the MSFS team on xbox dev kits on pc. And that's why these issues were never picked up.
I’d like to withdraw my application please Matt. Personally, I do not feel that DTG are serious in a. resolving issues currently in game or b. moving the game to the next level. My time is too valuable to waste.
I’d also like to withdraw my application and do not want any affiliation with the incompetence that is DTG and bug ridden TSW.
