I think they are gone as a dedicated unit and Adam Lucas who headed it up is now at Skyhook. Whether there is some subdivision of work within the residual team to attend to the work the PC used to do, has never been made public. Other than good people like Liam doing enhancements in spare time. It's certainly needed more than ever now, probably several months work just putting TOD4 and bridge/tunnel reverb on the older routes (and the latter on some of the newer ones that seem to have missed it).
Basically long disappeared but a few are apart of different third parties I think. Seriously need those guys back or at least another team, they would have never let the game get to this beep state
TSW will remain as it is now, with one or two more iterations. Its cycle is over, or it's ending. Let's be honest. It will probably be supported for some time alongside the new project. That's what happened with TS and TSW. DTG is already working on the successor. The transition to a better graphics engine is underway or will happen for many more titles in (general) over the next two years. For example "Assetto Corsa Rally". Let's hope it goes well.
I talk for myself here, but with the way it feels with the way DTG have been letting TSW essentially degrade in quality over the last 2 years (and to repeat myself for what might be the dozen time, DTG have a habit of making all the right noises about fixing core issues but offering nothing of any real substance to fix the said issues. Essentially blowing smoke up the players behind so to speak) that I will soon have no confidence in any future product if this is the way the current game is heading. Because that shows what direction any future content will be treated in the long run. I also have to question, is DTG actually the one fixing issues now or is that also outsourced like the UK content with DTGs name? Maybe DTG are concentrating all their internal effort into the next title in UE5? Maybe the reason the current fixes are very much hit and miss is because they are outsourced? But as the saying goes, don't bite the hand that feeds you in regards to customers. TSC is nearly 20 years old (and the assets from Rail Simulator are probably 20 years old) so I understand the transition of letting it die off slowly... But I feel with TSW there isn't really any excuse to allow the game to die off or become the buggy mess it is. The preservation team was a really good use of resources and certainly improved existing content properly. Why it was ever disbanded is beyond me...
This year, the announcement about TSW 6 was made suddenly, without any suspense. Did you notice? It's clear something isn't right. You can see it even from the Leipzig route. German users are certainly first-rate customers for DTG, but this year they haven't been treated very well. The route is a hastily cobbled together, without even a new train. Furthermore, the addition of announcements and breakdowns generally seems like a minimal effort. And originally, breakdowns were also planned for older routes. Then the denial immediately followed. "There's no time, we're doing something else," DTG (or Focus) seems to say... Then came the announcement about Metro Rivals (recorded in the summer, before TSW 6 was released—did you notice that, too?). Maybe I'm relying too much on intuition, but...
I suspect they may be thinking that. We don’t know how well DLC is selling, but even DTG must be uncomfortably aware that their cash earner is now saturated with content, to the point that if nothing else was ever released the existing routes would keep most of us occupied for the next 10 years just doing the Journey mode. Actually it’s a similar situation to Snowrunner where Saber keep releasing new maps faster than most players can finish the existing ones. So I guess there comes a point at which they will decide to draw a line under a title with dwindling returns and go for something new and flashy, even if that doesn’t please existing customers.
Furthermore, in the Metro Rivals announcement video, if you noticed, DTG immediately stated that multiplayer will never be available on the current TSW. This is another clue that, in my opinion, confirms that TSW will be overshadowed from now on. After all, it's a poorly conceived program. TSW "Heavy Hault," then TSW 2020, TSW 2, TSW 3 with the addition of ToD4 (which degraded the quality of the previous routes). An incredible mess with the early "locomotive add-ons" added to the routes (and therefore inseparable from them), forcing users to overload their SSDs to get the "levels" on the newer routes. This stuff just feels old. And indeed it is.
Another thing that comes to mind is that time has passed, and third-party developers have been late to the game. So TSW is actually quite lacking in rolling stock (compared to TS, for example). However, some third-party developers have managed to produce high-quality products. This could mean that, even with a new program based on UE 5, they could immediately play a leading role. After all, we're still talking about the Unreal Engine.
DTG support for Train Sim World is clearly winding down, the Perservation Crew was culled a few years ago now, if you look back at previous annual releases you will see they were accompanied by massive patch notes fixing bugs on older routes, this year there haven't been any. It's always been clear there were 3 routes being built at a time by DTG, but the last UK route they built was the Goblin line, Rivet has built every UK route since. Presumably those devs are now working on Metro Rivals, which is the test bed for the replacement for TSW. Hopefully the new Train Sim game will learn from all the mistakes made in TSW and we'll get to play a great game, although if Metro Rivals turns out to be a breakout hit then expect the new Sim game to be canned, as DTG will always chase the money.
DTG are always trying to push new products and they seem to be focusing their current customers or hoping their current customers will transfer over, money money money!!! But the problem is not everybody wants to play metro train racing game, in fact it slaps TSW in the face because one is simulation and the other is arcade, you cant compare. If TSW content was kept up to a certain standard and bugs were addressed, DTG wouldn't need new train racing game products, they could print money, but as it stands I have stopped buy content. As for a next generation train sim game, from what we have been told, DTG are not up to the right standard of using UE5, so they can plan all they want, but until that changes I can't see a new Train sim turning up. Maybe that is why DTG are not fixing TSW, they are working on a replacement for TSW
The French guys at Focus Interactive are usually forward-thinking when it comes to niche titles with huge untapped potential. Their brief is to develop a simulator with UE5. This was clearly stated in the Metro Rivals presentation.
I guess we were never promised that DTG would bring all the old routes up to a certain standard, but by having a preservation team, it at least gave us hope that DTG were actually serious about look after us along with the endless promises that bugs would be fixed? YAWN!!!! I think wasn't there a point when the preservation was given the task to fix some bugs? NOW DTG are trying to pedal us a multiplayer subway racing game, why are we getting multiplayer, apparently we don't need it, but now we do? I am confused? TSW has been struggling with performance issues and a part of it us loading it with extra DLC that you have to pay more for and then DTG tell you to turn off your layers that you paid for if you can't stand the bad performance? Every roadmap we get the "we are working on a solution", so maybe its me, maybe I am a little *&*£#@ up here, I was thinking the whole team were working hard behind the scenes to fix the performance issues with their product they promised, only to find out that all this time DTG were making a subway racing game...ha ha ha NOPE!!! I don't buy DLC's or new content since Mildmay because of performance issues, I sure as ....... am not going to buy another title off them based and built around a game they wont fix!
I'd be a bit disappointed if TSW is already winding down... If we do get a new game hopefully all the old content will transfer to the new game.
There is nothing confirmed about any new game, DTG are going to milk TSW for a while yet, TSW 7 probably TSW 8. With regards to bringing over any old content to a so called new train game, DTG haven't kept the curent content up to a certain standard or nor have they fixed bugs that players have asked them to fix for years. So, does that answer your question on "will old content transfer to the new game?" TSW structure is old, if they build a new game then it is unlikely the old content will work without DTG having to upgrade the old content with old construction methods, to then put into a new game, doesnt make scense. They could rebuild, but DTG don't want to do that I am guessing, money money money?
If TSW was to be abandoned for a totally new title and made in UE5 then I'm out, not investing any more and having to endure new routes with only one set of stock/loco etc. If the transition was made then I'd hope they'd update all loco's to work in UE5, a massive task I know. I'm not too bothered about the routes, they can be made from scratch, but I'd want all the current loco's we have to run on brand new routes.
I probably only buy an ue5 version if it stays at that 1 game in the library not every year a new one but who knows there is no need to speculate about things that are not sure anyway one thing is for sure DTG need to change things or else the whole TSW franchise will implode on itself sooner or later
As I said earlier, the viability of TSW probably now hinges on how much longer they can keep selling DLC into a game that’s already flooded with it. After the initial concerns and pending some fixes, Birmingham to Crewe turned out to be okay but ultimately it’s another flattish UK A to B electric inter urban route, the likes of which we already have several in the game. Germany is even worse. The forthcoming Stuttgart route looks to be more of the same. They need to be far more innovative with what they come up with for future content, scenic railways, tram systems, narrow gauge, bring back steam if they really want to keep the numbers up.
I am not the into steam trains, but even I was delighted to see steam trains come to TSW. DTG pedalled steam trains as hard as they could, I bought all the steam trains DLCs and all was going well and then...no more steam trains, they got drop kicked? Poor Thomas got the elbow? I do not think EMUs are the problem, I think the lack of variety in a route is the problem, have EMUs, but have other trains as well.
Better not bring the old content into a new game, then you just import the mess and all the problems into the new game.
I still like the graphics of TSW in many situations. However the thing that really bothers me about the UE4 graphics engine is the areas where the sun doesn't shine. In the shade, the graphics become flat and monochromatic, almost on par with the TS graphics.
Everyone has their own preferences, though. Narrow gauge, trams, scenic railways, etc aren't of much interest to me. Steam i'd like to see more of if they ever get the physics fixed, but again i'd want to see them in their working years, not toodling along on a heritage railway at 25mph, which is a much harder ask in terms of available research materials, etc. Personally, i'd like to see them continuing to build off of existing routes so we can use more of our existing stock and do longer journeys via route hopping. I want things like MKC-Birmingham, Crewe-Manchester/Liverpool, Kings Cross-Peterborough, Reading-Bristol, Cardiff-Bristol, Stamford-New Haven, Trenton-Philly, Leipzig-Frankfurt (i know that would be more than one route), etc etc So, i do have sympathy for DTG trying to cater to everyone's tastes- it's kind of an impossible task in some ways.
As far as I remember, the Preservation Crew was a team set up for a specific purpose. Unlike today (Epic notwithstanding), when TSW2 came out, the TSW1 routes didn’t automatically run on the new version. The team was set up to do the work required to make them run on TSW2. When that was accomplished, the team was discontinued. Happy to be corrected if I am wrong.
Mostly correct, but once the TSW to TSW2 transfer was completed we were told the team would continue by picking up recent releases and do any bug fixes. When the team was disbanded the justification was probably that it was easier for the devs who built the routes to do their own bug fixes, but in reality they get moved onto the next route long before everything is fixed.
The partner program opened the doors to third party devs. Just Trains delivered. If you're a developer, 3D modeller, wanting to get into the industry this is perfect for your portfolio.
Flat EMU routes sell. There's a lot more that could be done. The TSW model could go on for years with the wow a new variant of existing EMU regurgitating for the 10th time market. Just think how many one handled routes and branches exist around London for example. Those of us wanting older stuff are resigned to the fact it isn't on many devs radars and only JT seem to want to bother. If they go present day thats it....
Some people at DTG still do things the preservation team was doing, e.g. the major upgrade WSR got, but in other cases it is more integrated into daily operations where people upgrade existing content, though not systematically. So, it not as dramatics as some people suggest into my opinion.
The Preservation Team was originally assembled to port over TSW 1/2020 routes to TSW 2 - hence the "preservation." For quite a while these were dubbed "preserved" routes rather than "TSW compatible." Once that was done, Matt (I assume it was he) saw there was a whole new round of across the board upgrades these older routes needed to bring them up to TSW 2 standard: PIS, crossing gates, platform climb-up. So the PC spent many months doing that. While they had a route on the operating table, they would usually take the opportunity to fix bugs, replace poor textures and generally clean up the route a bit. This became so normal that we got used to thinking of the PC as the "fixit team." But it really outlived its remit; the WSR makeover was its last hurrah, and really already well beyond its conceived scope.
What we really need now is a Bug Buster Team, a dedicated team to remove most, if not all, of the bugs. Never happen, I know
Your probably referring to JoeTheFish, a DTG Staff Member but all the work was done entirely in their own time, someone who knows well how the timetables work apart from the timetables they were specifically assigned to but they still went above and beyond on such as BML. A Legend to us TSW fans for doing that, I enjoy everyone one of how much their timetables added to a brilliant experience of the route, I think the most recent one not too long back now was Köln but I don’t quote me on that as my info could be a bit outdated .
