Definitely the best video game of 2026... By the way if it is not TSW then it should be moved to "Off Topic"...
I actually popped an entry in Suggestions the other week, that Metro Rivals needs its own forum sub. But it was vetoed by the admin/mods.
Keeping it in the general discussion section keeps it front and center and on everyone's radar. I'll still largely ignore it. I mean it looks like it's aimed at the console market anyway where you have a controller to make quick movements.
Maybe there is a big old market out there for this game, but I just don't see it. Plus given their history and the fact this is a first foray into a new game engine, give me one reason to think this will not be ridden with bugs and other issues at launch, that take multiple patches to even begin to address. Not sure that will fly with the less casual player who has so much choice for games. The massive advantage they have had with TSW, is that they are mostly selling to train enthusiasts, who are prepared to put up with a lot of pap to get to play with the machines they love in real life. I think DTG overlook this massively sometimes. Many of us keep paying and playing not because of the game, but despite the game!! On the other hand of course, maybe they will absolutely nail a sleeper hit and turn a very tidy profit, some of which can be re-invested back into TSW!! I will leave you to decide which is most likely.
I mean, my expectation is that they figured a way to recoup some of the investment into a foray into mucking about with a new engine by giving the tech demo they worked on just enough of a basic UI to slap it out as a fun little short term distraction with vibes of "Burnout but with trains". I don't think even DTG expect it to be a big seller, but they might as well recycle the work they can't use in their next proper train sim into something on the side that might at least make back a little of what they spent in the process.
LOL, all I can think about is how the UI for this game is really overdesigned and intrusive. I know that's not what you mean, but man that UI is really a bloated mess.
That's how i see it too, a UE5 tech demo and learning space for their devs away from the higher expectations of their flagship franchise - whatever sales they make on it are a bonus. I'd be VERY surprised if this isn't day-one on Gamepass/PSPlus
Keeping the Metro Rivals discussion in the main TSW forum seems like a silly move in my opinion. Sure, there will be TSW players interested in it, probably. But for those of us who have already decided that we have absolutely no interest in a Train-based "game" (as opposed to a "simulation" of real life), it's just going to get annoying having thread after thread about it. I've no interest in the utter snore-fest that, for me, is real life fishing let alone simulated fishing but thanks to it having its own forum, I don't have to read about it.
I did the new rod fishing in the FS25 Kinlaig DLC for about 20 minutes, then went back to more standard fare of ploughing fields, cutting down trees and saving funds to buy out the industry.
not impressed with the game, if we want a train racing game, i know a better one but you need to know some sort of kanji or japanese to play it lol.
Mind, even Densha de Go of old, never descended to racing style gameplay, in fact in the earlier versions the arcade marking was very stringent and you could fail the run for being more than a few seconds, under or overshooting the stop mark by even a metre. But they were good fun, even if you had to hack up the front of the PS1 or PS2 to get the regional coding gizmo in.
the game i was talking about is not densha de go. the name is very close. and you can actually drift trains in it...
I was at the NEC over the last couple of days and so I got to play Metro Rivals for myself. If anyone has questions i'd be happy to answer what I can. (I didn't need to sign an NDA so it's all good)
Yes. However it's perhaps not the best implementation of UE5, the clouds looked very basic the lighting felt very overexposed especially on the overground section and it reminded me of the lighting in Subway Sim 2. It definitely does not look like TSW. Its hard to get a complete grasp since it's a racing game where you're speeding through scenery and there's all sorts of visual effects masking it however.
I mean, fair. I listen to a lot of the WTYP podcast, so any time the phrase "Multi-track drifting" is dropped, it's usually a sign the body count for this episode is going to be significant. Eschede comes to mind.
That's disappointing to hear, especially since daylight overexposure is already a big problem in TSW. As you say though, with the huge sense of speed and lots of post-processing effects, it just might not have been a concern in this title. Still early days yet though and time for refinement for when they start using it for the flagship franchise. If you're open to answer a few more ?'s How big is the map/maps? Does it cover a large section of fictionalized NYC? How is asset streaming/loading compared to TSW? Have they smoothed out the stuttering at all? Not sure if this applies, but i always get a second of controller lag every time TSW transitions from one timetable instruction to the next, it's super annoying- has this been resolved at all? Last but i guess most importantly- is it fun???
How big is the map/maps? Does it cover a large section of fictionalized NYC? Only 1 map. I must admit i'm not that familiar with the real life NYC Subway but I did three missions (one of them was a boss fight against one of the rivals) and I didn't get to drive the entire map, nor do I know how big the map actually is and if you can drive the entire thing in one mission. How is asset streaming/loading compared to TSW? Have they smoothed out the stuttering at all? I didn't notice any obvious pop-in, there was definitely still some stuttering and a couple of performance hitches though. Keep in mind I played on a pretty powerful PC with max settings. Not sure if this applies, but i always get a second of controller lag every time TSW transitions from one timetable instruction to the next, it's super annoying- has this been resolved at all? Its not TSW so doesn't really have the same system but you still go from station to station and open and close doors and I didn't notice any hitches there. Last but i guess most importantly- is it fun???[/QUOTE] Ehhhhhh not really. It's not my cup of tea at all. I'm not gonna speak for everyone but I just found it really bland with not that much to do. You drive, slow down for corners and then stop with occasional quick time events. I only got to play the single player mode as the multiplayer is still being worked on but I was told you can't drive into other players like in Xtreme Express. I don't think I would play it for very long in it's current state.
Ehhhhhh not really. It's not my cup of tea at all. I'm not gonna speak for everyone but I just found it really bland with not that much to do. You drive, slow down for corners and then stop with occasional quick time events. I only got to play the single player mode as the multiplayer is still being worked on but I was told you can't drive into other players like in Xtreme Express. I don't think I would play it for very long in it's current state.[/QUOTE] Thanks- appreciate the detailed reply!
Re lighting, etc., if a game is developed by a team who don't know how to get the best out of, or implement properly, the features of one version of a games engine, I wouldn't expect them to suddenly get the best out of a new version of an engine.
This exactly. You can give a bad workman the finest set of tools known to man, but they will not suddenly become a good workman.
i just cant understand why DTG would even bother with this has anyone asked for this ??? not that i have seen anywhere.
Has anyone ever asked for all the other thousands of entertainment games which feature on the steam store and other places? This forum isn't the be all and end all of train games/sims, there is a world outside of this particular echo chamber! How do you know that DTG/Focus haven't been canvassing opinion elsewhere? Personally I am not interested in it and doubt I would buy it in a sale but for TSW's sake I hope it does well and teaches them about UE5. I also realise that many, many people have totally different views of to me of what they like to do in their spare time.
It really hurts me to see how much hate this game is getting, but that's a me problem (everyone is free to express their opinion after all). I'm still quite excited for the game - it looks fun. I doubt I'll buy it but that's not because of the game.
I think it might have been better received if it wasn’t another train based game, particularly set around the NYC Subway which has repeatedly been ruled out by the EP over the access and security concerns of MTA. Not hate so much as frustration and a little incredulity they could put this together but not jump through the hoops to bring the Subway to TSW. Likewise, would have got a better reception if they had announced it as a TTTE spin off from TSW with a real Isle Of Sodor but in UE5. But as they also seem to have abandoned Thomas despite all the pink headphones and fireside chat presentations, those looking for that can also be disappointed.
No I think you're wrong here Vern. TTTE is being developed further and appears to be included in the Rivals spin-off. You can see a sneaky peek of the artwork below. (At least 3 minutes went in to 'developing' this). Blood on the Tracks??? I think I'd buy it
I'm actually more excited for the release of metro rivals than I am for any future releases on tsw. Apart from the upcoming JT route. I haven't played tsw for a while now. Been to busy farming. Thanks vern.
I have almost less than 0 interest in the concept of this game. It sounds pretty ridiculous. But what does interest me is DTG using UE5 and making a multiplayer game. Which might mean something for future TSW games.
I mean, how do you now the have? Also, even if they have, who's to say the people evening doing that analysis are even correct? I've seen bigger companies make more baffling screw ups despite having free choice to pick the best in the industry. Frankly the fact DTG has such a graveyard of other titles kind of suggests one of those two is more likely.
While I have zero interest in this game, I am interested to see how it performs from a performance standpoint on both PC and Console with the design methods used. This could be a test bed for future TSW as they are using data from open street maps which dynamically create the scenery/Buildings allowing for better variety rather then hand place like they are in TSW, likewise with tunnels (as shown in the recent roadmap). If it works and performance levels are as good as they say then its time to get TSW under the same methods for the way scenery + tunnels are created and we scrap the hand placing of models as we know how tedious that can be and it shows in majority of the DLC!
I have a sneaky feeling it will be like that Assetto Rally which I was all set to buy, until reading the crazy minimum spec… I7 10700, RTX2080 with 8Gb of VRAM and SSD. And that’s just to run at 1080p on low settings.
I wouldn't consider those crazy minimum specs....how bad is your PC? Unfortunately just like the old std def TVs we all had to upgrade to HD at some point! and if the methods in Metro works and performance is Great/fantastic then its time to move from TSW to TS evolution! .
I7 4770 and a GTX 1650 at 4Gb VRAM. So absolutely it’s a huge potato although ironically it still runs most stuff okay. The Windows 10 ESD bought it a several months stay of execution but yes it’s up for renewal at some point in the next few months. Covid followed by the crypto farming stoking up hardware prices means I’m probably not the only one in a certain amount of technical “debt” where hardware is concerned. Then you have to factor in the sceptical wife who views the PC in the same way as the vacuum cleaner or fridge freezer - why change if it still works? Unfortunately, as others of my age probably know it’s not always possible to have an entirely rational conversation with the wife about such things, without being given a timeout in the garage!
I understand, and I'll have to make use of my 5 year old PC for a few more years to come before my minister of finance approves an upgrade fortunately she's still quite powerful despite her age but unfortunately like the world things change, especially in technology and its inevitable that minimum specs will move with that and so should games/sims
