I held back on both of these at release due to finances and wasn’t sure what else was coming out last month (secretly holding out in the hope of Tadami), however both seem to have fantastic feedback so it’s time to pull the trigger on one or the other. so which one has the x factor and gets put in my basket?
I think the Medway Valley is the winner of the two. The LSP has two new trains and imo an equally well crafted route but the MVL has more options in terms of length of services and types of traction. It also is the single best looking modern UK route in the game. There is an issue with the Class 375 and its audio on the Playstation 5 but i dont know them irl so i cant speak to it other than its quiet. And using the Class 465/9 in it's place was kinda always my intention anyways as who wouldnt want a 45 min networker run.
Class 375/3, 375/6 and 465/9 services from 10 to 75 mins Class 700 services at ~30 mins with a few ECS moves to Tonbridge Class 395 services at ~30 mins with a few longer runs from Maidstone Class 66 services all over the shop. long, heavy, FUN!! Class 33 & Class 47 railtours and of course the Lumbering Scotsman. I think Tina said something like... "Simply the best"
I would really hate to call it, both have a quite distinct appeal and were both Day One purchases. The Czech route gives you a very scenic railway with two unique new trains and almost impeccable presentation. Medway Valley raises the bar to an all new standard. A nice scenic, albeit not in the spectacular fashion of the Czech route, secondary UK route which includes to all intents and purposes a new much improved Class 375. If you have to make a decision then I would say the only factor is whether you have a preference for UK or European routes. Otherwise they are both start up developers who have done a most excellent job which frankly shames some of the other 3P’s and both worthy of support. Edit: And I certainly wouldn’t mortgage either against the possibility of Tadami coming out this side of TSW7 or even Christmas!
I would say: Medway Valley Line has more options in terms of services and trains, best looking modern UK route Liberec finally introduces another unelectrified European route, comes with two semi-expert level trains, several new wagons, and more interesting freight services Scenery is brilliant in each Personally if I could only choose one I would probably go with Liberec, I think the level of detail you get with the trains (including the first accessible engine room on a diesel loco) is amazing But I think they are both great and am fine with paying full price for both I think it would mainly depend on whether you prefer electric or diesel, and passenger or freight
Both are fantastic choices, however given your interest in the Tadami line, so more a rural railway line with diesel traction in beautiful scenery, the Czech route is closer to what Tadami offers. So I would suggest you get the Czech route.
Both brilliant, but I like Medway more as it has a wider variety in service lengths. A lot of services on the Czech Route are 90 minutes +, a full Medway stopper is about half that.
Or, counterpoint, if you're waiting for Tadami, maybe get Medway for something that offers a contrast to that route.
Depends on what you like. Medway is beautiful, so is Liberec. Liberec is more challenging to drive into my opinion. If you are biased a lot to the UK, choose so. Any advice here would be a bad advice. You also can wait say six months for a nice discount and buy them both
Both look really amazing imo. Purely personally I trend more towards the european stuff (I'm from germany), so it's def the Czech route for me. And I can't really warm up to those very tiny "mailslot" windows that so many uk trains have. XD
Liberec ! even though MVL is really good , in terms of scenery alone Vector simulations did a really good job on Liberec Stara Paka ; the fields are full of grass and lush vegetation and much higher vegetation density while in some places the vegetation and open fields in Medway valley is a bit bland and not up to mark . Liberec has proper diesel traction ! Nothing beats a diesel for me lol
Yes, annoying when there's so much scenery work done by the creator! I wish there were more cab view options so we can see more more of the scenery ahead (and get more of a sense of speed). You can use an outside view and position it out of the cab, but then the sounds are from outside (obv) and we don't hear the announcements.
Honestly, they are both obviously excellent. Like you I didn't want to spend a small fortune for both routes. I also didn't want to cross the $50 Rubicon for Liberec or Stamford, so for me Medway was an easy choice. Even though I'm not a fan of electrostars or other modern emus, Medway has great provenance with the modding guys we know. And it's very well-crafted with great tlc and lots of variety. And great night lighting ( just remember to turn down the fog ). When the Czech route and Stamford go on sale, I'll pick them up. But for now I'd go with Medway. Did you say waiting for Tadami or " Waiting for Godot " ?
It depends on what you want to see. If you like British EMUs... go Medway. If you like anything else.... go Liberec since it has different signalling and more variety (cargo, etc) They're both really good routes. It's not about which route is better, it's what YOU are looking for.
Cheers for all the input, I opted for Liberec after careful consideration. It edged it purely because it’s a new experience and for all Medway’s quality I felt similar to many other routes already in my collection. Have to say I am not disappointed. Both usually would have found their way into my collection on release but because DTG can’t stagger routes in a proper fashion and give zero meaningful indicative release dates in advance what with fuel costs etc my wallet isn’t bottomless. As it stands Medway now will likely wait for a sale. Maybe something for them to muse over next year and realise that their disorganised and seemingly desperate need to release as much as possible by end of March is costing them in the long term.
I got both three ... aka Liberec - Stara Paka, Medway Valley Line and also the NEC line, which I am not playing atm till they resolve the unrecoverable penalty brake bug on M8 (the one you sometimes get on ATC overspeed beeping)... the Czech route has awesome rolling stock with interesting gameplay (843 is awesome, havent yet done any 750), Medway has more routings, plus the 375 with expert features is very engaging if I was to get em one by one, I would get Czech route first (Czechoslovak bias lol), then Medway and wait on the NEC till they fix some more bugs there (as a route it is awesome cos it has that network quality and is damn busy as well)... and looking forward to Trent Valley Line
NEC was always going to be a sale for me, with the exception of LIRR the quality of USA DLC on release is always questionable at best, and I’ve learnt my lesson from Trenton never to be an early adopter and wait for it to be in a playable condition before purchase.
Morristown is quite an enjoyable DLC - yesterday I did a Hoboken - Summit run with Arrow III and then back from there with NJT cab car + ALP46 to Penn Station ... without penalty )
The US core routes are better and yes Morristown is enjoyable, but the US DLCs are generally shocking on release
