Dtg Train Simulator Corrupted Update For 2026.

DTG Jamie we are getting close to 2 months into this fiasco.

 

Am I just being lucky or do I have a good solution?
I had no issues at all after this update and only found out that people have issues when I belatedly read this thread.
In my case nothing broke and, in fact, one route was fixed! That being Keighley & Worth Valley which had been crashing for months when loading scenarios due to problems with signals which were broken by a previous DTG update! (I believe the same issue occurs with the Stainmore route). As soon as the update was installed, the K&WV route worked again without fault. Of course that's not a DTG route but someting in the update fixed... something.

When I launch TSC I do it using a batch (.bat) file as instructed in a thead on this forum. I use these commands...

@ECHO OFF
IF EXIST "verify_cache_key" DEL "verify_cache_key"
Start "" "RailWorks64.exe"

As I understand it, by making sure the file called "very_cache_key" is not present in the game's root folder, Steam will not touch any asset or route files during an update (or at any other time). I have a full backup of the game and all content and after the update I did a full like-for-like file comparison. The core files were updated but no content was touched at all. I'm assuming this is why I haven't had issues. Can anyone confirm this or am I just being lucky?

I realise that this approach is of no use if a player actually WANTS content to be fixed or updated.

 

Or just execute the "RailWorks64.exe" from your pc toolbar (outside of Steam)

 

I don't understand what you mean by that. When I do that it just connects to Steam or tells me I have to run Steam first even if I've created a custom icon pointing straight to the .exe. Same thing if I start TSC straight from Elgato Stream Deck (button box). How do you run TSC completely independently of Steam? I'd still have to connect to Steam eventually wouldn't I, for updates and purchases?

 

Some people have a separate version of their game which Steam does not see or alter.

I have v72.3 on a different drive and if I wish to add things I purchased I just copy them across from the main installation..
Steam will never touch this other version and nothing will get overwritten unless I do it.

 

OK, you need to spell this out for me Peter.
I have (and always have had) a full backup (file by file) of TSC. It's a copy of the current TSC version installed by Steam on my PC, all routes, all assets and lots of third party stuff as well. This is on a external USB HD and I usually update the backup every month (if I remember)!

When I double-click the Railworks64.exe on the backup drive I immediately get a pop saying "Please Login to Steam". The same happens if I create a shortcut icon to the backup .exe. How do I get around this to avoid Steam? Or, are you saying that if I allow Steam to run, it will only ever touch the "main" installation? I've always assumed that if I run TSC from the backup, Steam would then "see" that version and update it.

 

You cannot play the game without logging in to Steam.

Steam sees the main version on your PC and because your backup has every file in the main drive Steam sees that too.
When you install another version on a different drive certain files are not installed so Steam does not update it.
https://forums.dovetailgames.com/th...ly-install-old-ts-versions-next-to-tsc.71041/

"This guide will create a second (or more if you wish) TSC/TS20xx installation, which is completely independent from your main installation, so it's not dangerous at all. And it will never be affected by Steam updates or file verifications."

 

Ah yes. I remeber reading the guide when it first appeared. Back then I decided it was "too much bother" unless I wanted an old version installed (which is what the guide is specifically for). But deleting verify_cache_key and having a full not-bang-up-to-date backup is doing the job for me at the moment.

 

I don't think updates are ever carried out on anything other than the default installation.

You can go "Offline" in steam to avoid updates. But your system works for you, so I would stick with it.

If you get updated, you can copy across the missing files from a backup. They won't be interfered with by updates.

John

 

How many uk routes payware and freeware are affected? My tsc is solely setup for the uk, picked up JT complete midland package during the resent JT sales and haven’t had a single issue, same with a number of ats merged routes, western mainline electricfied mods a couple of decent routes from the workshop and so far so good…(so will go check these others out)

Mind you I did do a complete uninstall reinstall of tsc including all my dlc along with all the AP enhancements and so far so good loading from steam..

im more nervous with the recent sales and with a couple of dlc I have ear marked to grab when back home, as for some reason whenever I’ve bought new DLC as of late it feels the need to reinstall/verify all my steam dlcs files rather then just install the purchased DLC which then breaks a lot of my AP and ATS stuff requiring reinstall of those again!

 

It only affects the Steam versions of certain third party DLCs, as well as the DTG Class 142 and LIRR. Anything that wasn’t bought on Steam will not be affected in any way.

 

No worries, I don’t use the 142 nor anything from the usa..I still have quite a number of dlc from steam but yes mainly are just to ensure I have the assets for updated 3rd party lines/enhancements

 

The JT Common Library and Im Koblitzer Bergland are the ones that are the most annoying for me, although luckily I have a backup of IKB and I haven’t noticed any issues with the JT assets I’m using on the route I’m building.

 

This! People always say: "just do a backup". My TSC install is so large, I can´t just copy it somewhere and back it up. I don´t even bother with reinstall anymore at this point. If I notice something has been reset, I do it on the fly. Only AP Weather, Signals etc. are done right away. Thankfully all the AP trains stay the same after these stupid file verifications.

 

I have two Railworks folders on my F & G drives.
The G drive is the one that has been there for years and get affected by the file verifications that Steam does.

My F drive TSC is not affected by Steam - nothing gets updated unless I copy files from the G Drive.
In the Sale I purchased a couple of things that got copied from G to F and work perfectly.

If you were to do something like that you would not have to bother with any more file verifications

 

I am afraid I am one of "those" that says exactly that. Having spent over 20 years self-employed in the IT world, I couldn't think of not having backups of everything. A suggestion based on my experience:

Many years ago I purchased an external USB device that you could insert old HDDs into, it wasn't expensive. I used this for a computer upgrade to replace a client's dead one. I now use several HDDs extracted from old PCs to back up my PC, which has a lot more than just TS on it. I have enough from discarded PCs in my own household to hold two backups of everything - as is said in the trade, have a backup for your backups! And just to show what a luddite I am, I keep them off-site too.

You may feel that's a bit over the top, but maybe you can pick some ideas out of my way of work.

Here's a link to a range of devices on Amazon, but one doesn't have to buy there of course:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/usb-hdd-adapter/s?k=usb+to+hdd+adapter

John

 

To add to that, I have backups of every 3rd party installation file, freeware and payware for the past 7 years that I have added to TSC.

 

This is getting like a "my backups are better than your backups" game!!! But, I also have a backup on HDDs of every drive/volume on my system. Some stuff gets backed up several times a week, other stuff once a month and other stuff only if it significantly changes - and that includes TSC. But, I am so paranoid I also have another HDD that has backups of the backups of my most important items (like my million and one personal photo collection). I keep that drive locked in a cupboard well away from my PC room in the hope that if the PC got damaged or (somehow) stolen, the backup of the backup would still be safe. Someone said that i should use cloud backup in case the house burned down (!) but, I kind of think my PC might not be my biggest concern at that point.

 

Everyone who has backups to the backups to the backups to the cloud backups should remember that most of the stuff is still available from the various libraries that offer the items not the least being Steam as well as many other public libraries.

 

I'm reasonably confident that Steam will be around in some form for a long time, as it’s now a critical part of the world's gaming infrastructure, but I'm less confident about smaller commercial operators and freeware sites.

It's now impossible for me to re-download my purchases from Iron Horse House. Other niche developers are now looking shakey. Some of us will have received begging news letters asking to keep them in business. I'm not opposed to doing that, but I think I'll check I've downloaded and backed up the current versions of everything I've bought from them.

In my case I use OneDrive to backup.

 

Going on 3 months and still no solution?

 

You are beginning to sound like a cracked record.

 

Still trying to get access to 5 of my DLC that DTG broke. Pointing out the lack of concern that they have regarding some of their customers. I am so happy for you that you are not affected. Heaven forbid it happens to you. It is my right to bring to the forefront some of the shortcomings of DTG and their lack of timely repairs to DLC that they have broken. Their last official statement was in essence that they don't know how to fix it. How do you justify that?

 

You don't, but they're never going to fix it. Better off just using the Steam console to download the correct versions.

 

Which 5 DLC?

 

Some people prefer to moan than use the quick fix I keep suggesting. It is obviously more important to keep repeating themselves publicly than playing the game. I guess it makes them feel good in some way.

There is nothing anywhere to suggest Dovetail will not fix it. They have said something along the lines of having discovered additional complications (I can't be bothered to look up the exact wording). I for one would prefer they took a little longer to get everything perfect.

I also think Dovetail's staff are as entitled to a decent break at this time of the year as the rest of us would like.

John

 

I can, but I should not be required to fix this. The responsibility rests solely on DTG's shoulders. By not holding people accountable for their actions they keep on repeating their bad behavior. By the statement that it is more complicated than they thought to fix tells me that they don't have the talent, manpower, or the will to correct this in a timely manner. The lack of timely updates infers that they do not wish to have any discussions on this matter or create a litany of negative responses. I have seen this happen before in the past. Most of us are aware of other DLC breakage that still remains unfixed. I have been a DTG supporter for many years, but since they were purchased by Focus Entertainment they have become worse. This is a thread that I started and therefor am entitled to post my thoughts on the matter and there are quite a few who agree with me.

 

Instead of just ranting on could you answer my question? #75

 

Why should he, what use does it serve? Do you have knowledge of some special fix that will correct them? If you do, DTG would like to know.

OldAlaskaGuy is right to criticise DTG's competence/behaviour in this matter.

 

I am aware of the following DLC that have issues:
GNTX / Stevens Pass
Smokebox / UP FEF-3 Northern
VNHRR / Springfield Line
CNLiu / CRH1E
GordonMack / LNERTeakCorr
JustTrains / CommonLibrary
8 SHG / OBB1144Pack01
SHG / OBB1144Pack02
VirtualRailRoads / vR Hbis TT
VNHRR / HiLine
DTG / Class142Pack01
SAD / Im Köblitzer Bergland
NZTSWS / MidlandNZ
Smokebox / UP4000
JustTrains / JT_AddonPJ
DTG / LIRR
Smokebox / UP3900
JTG / ScenarioTools
RSSLO / KlagenfurtSpittal
plus the ongoing headlight issue also caused by the October update

 

Just out of curiosity, I'd be interested in seeing Dovetail Support's responses on your tickets about these apparent breakages.

John

 

I can't see much point in raising new tickets about it as DTG have already said a lot publicly about the problem.

https://forums.dovetailgames.com/th...assic-2025-status-update-14th-november.95292/

It's worth reading this again to see the extent of the problem, the commitments made and not delivered. It's not surprising that users are annoyed and vocally expressing it.

 

I can't really understand the negativity without any effort being made to contact Dovetail. Yes, it is "worth reading again". That thread asks users:
"If you're experiencing issues, please let our team know on our TSC Discord channels, or via the TSC Forums"
.. but many of those here don't seem to want to do that and prefer to be vocal about being hard done by. Seems a strange attitude if something is broken - almost as if some prefer it to not be fixed so that they can grumble. Surely we are here to enjoy playing the game and if problems arise, to assist their being fixed. And, as I have said before, it is easily fixed on a temporary basis.

Whatever . . .

John

 

My experience with DTG support is that they acknowledged the problem on the Leeds Huddersfied QD Crash issues and said they would let us know when an update would be in place.

3 years and waiting.... and still broken.

Unfortunately, unless its effecting their abiltity to generate £££, the DTG Support dont have a great track record at fixing things - certainly thats my experience anyway!

 

The ONLY person who is affected by NOT applying a FIX on YOUR Computer is YOU.

You could fix some of the faults yourself and I understand that DTG should fix them
But it does not affect DTG if you don't fix a problem that could be fixed.

 

Just tried the OBB 1144 and did a run on KlagenfurtSpittal - I did not spot any problems with the loco or route
but then I did not cover all of it

 

To those who are trying obfuscate the underlying issue, it is DTG's responsibility to fix these issues in a timely manner and they are either unable or unwilling to do so. This has been DTG's solution for years. Ignore it and it will go away, somebody else will find a solution.
You will also note that there are no responses from DTG on this thread about this issue, why are they letting other people speak for them instead of speaking for themselves?

 

Because TSC no longer is a priority as it doesn't make enough money for them to care.

 

All game developers are like that, and I have played many games and been on numerous game forums, so DTG doesn't have this on its own.

 

DTG seem to have pretty much given up on the forums. The CM’s pop up occasionally in the TSW forum area but most of that is simply stating the party line. Matt P has once again vanished and by all accounts doesn’t even look at the forums to gauge feedback on the two Trains Division products. They also seem to be quite fixated by Metro Rivals which I sincerely hope doesn’t become their kryptonite as apparently Project Motor Racing has done for Giants, leading to large scale layoffs and even impacting the future of Farming Simulator.

 

Are these problem caused by third party programs or it is an update by DTG?
I only use original DLC and routes and have not noticed any problem when I play but it also that I do not play too much anymore.

 

One solution is to sell it off to a developer who can inject some new life into the game and at least has enough interest to correct current issues. At least it won't be an impediment to developing DTG's other interests any more. Even SteamDB shows declining popularity as well as admissions from some players that they don't play TSC as much as they used to. There are fewer DLC being produced by fewer developers. If it goes as it has in the past year, it will certainly become abandon-ware in the foreseable future. I agree that continued development of an old game core may not be feasible but at least keeping it clean and relatively bug free is not.

 

Well, a huge team of people have just released three new German trains in very high quality as freeware over on Railsim. Away from these forums and Stream, there is sill alot going on.

https://rail-sim.de/forum/filebase/entry/10719-gsp-lint-paket-baureihe-620-622-623/

 

There are a lot of independents cranking out good content and updating/modernizing older content. Railsim and Train Sim Community are two of many. Railworks America has a portfolio of freeware and donationware routes and other DLC available. I don't mind donating to help defray the costs of servers and web pages. It is a labor of love that keeps this type of content coming.

 

Most of the current issues being discussed here stem from the botched update from October of 2024. In actuality there are very few DLC affected however, the issue is that DTG have not corrected in a timely manner. My personal issue is that some of my favorite routes are affected. There is a work around submitted by a forum member, however, that does not abrogate DTG's responsibility. DTG's last excuse was that "it's complicated".

 

It is complicated - they could fix the problem and break something else in the process
Would you prefer that they do that?

Maybe a Poll should be created by DTG asking if the last update broke any DLC and which ones.
It is a possibly that not everyone is affected by the last update and DLC that you are having a problem with others are not

 

As I stated only 20 DLC are affected. Unfortunately, several are ones that I have. This is certainly not an issue for most, but it is an issue for myself. Any poll would show a majority not affected. I still maintain that over 2 months to fix this is absurd and that is the crux of my issue. DTG is aware of the issues. The one glaring issue that persists for everyone is the headlight issue. You can't see the headlights at a distance as you once did.

 

If DTG don't know what they broke then the situation is even worse - they can't be that incompetent surely?

 

They do know what they broke. They loaded incorrect files by accident.

 

There are two different problems you present, and they're very different in nature.

The first, DTG inadvertently making Steam push out obsolete versions of DLC is just incompetence. While about 20 specific DLC are affected, one is the JT common library which then affects all of their routes, so to my mind it's the most serious. The loss of headlight flare at more than 100m away (or whatever it is) isn't a bug, it's a deliberate change. It was part of DTG Steve's work on improving framerates, which was halted by Focus before completion.