Thames Valley Branches Discussion

If anyone is sceptical about the interest, give this video a watch which goes through the operation in detail


Marlow branch is definitely the star of the show here, definitely the branch I'd head to first

 

Im still really looking forward to it as I live within 1 of the branch lines and the others ive been on oftern. Would.be good if there's a Henley regatta scenario.
Also, you could of done the slough - reading section as the trains used on the branch lines come from reading depot I believe

 

The Token collection could be very fun for Guard Mode if it's implemented. Might finally make it worth playing!

 

No. It's actually 3 full routes.

 

So was a bit surprised to see the Thames Valley route to be honest and then even more surprised to see people wanting the Greenford branch. But Greenford last time I looked in the Thames Valley. Anyhoo, I approach this with a bit of intrepidation much the same as I have done to the Cardiff City Network. SoI have a couple of questions to ask.

So here goes.

Will there be lines either side of Twyford, Maidenhead and Slough that will enable AI only trains to run along them, so the routes are not empty (both passenger and freight), if not whats the reasoning for this?

I take it there will be Route hops available on all three of these stations? As well as on the Great Western Express Remastered?

Overall I have mixed feelings about this, exactley the same way as I did as Cardiff City Network. But yeah we will see.




PS no relation to Henley on Thames either (lol)

 

There are actually good reasons for not merging routes. First of all, Johannes would be depended of other developers for making this route. Also how are you gonna do it when people need 2 or 3 DLC's for a certain experience, if you not own GWE then you're not able to buy the branch lines DLC, or if you own GWE but not branches, there has to be something to stop some services at a certain point but continue if you own the branches. With the technical issues of the game like blurry textures, it's also not that smart to merge routes and make the problem even worse.

So I'm perfectly fine with the way this will be done. As others already mentioned, route hopping could be improved so you get exactly the same train, same service, same weather and so on. But this is only working when the routes are set in the same era and the timetables do match. For example, Frankfurt S-bahn and Linke Rheinstrecke do have route hopping, but are not in the same era and do not have the same trains and services.

 

Very much enjoyed watching this, interesting line and the managing director is a boss (pun intended). It's very clear he like his job and is proud of the line and the history. Thanks for sharing!

 

From the man himself:

 

Whilst I would have preferred it to be an extension of GWE it's not a deal-breaker for me.

I like all different types of railway operation and shuttling up and down a branch line is as much part of railway life as racing along in a Hitachi 8xx is.

I would have preferred it set in 1990 with a network south east class 121 but a proper class 165 is welcome.

 

I think this is a great idea and I´m happy about this announcement. Allthough, as others have said, I would like to see the Greenford branch to complete this DLC. About the Depot moves: are they included in the GWE remaster timetable and if not, could they be added? Then one could "route hop" to do them.

 

Whilst I initially wasn't too hyped for this, livery designer functionality for the 165 has made me a bit more interested.

 

This type of operation is really interesting. Looking forward to doing that myself!

 

This route is growing on me NGL.

Think an angel touched me in the night…

 

The depot moves are in the GWER timetable

 

I hope with the reversal that you can get to the other end before AI driver takes over, like on Glossop.

That is a new cliche.
The old one involves eating

 

Well, then I´m happy with this idea. I assume there is zero freight on the branches. Then it´s only "missing" the Greenford branch and it would be a perfect little DLC. I really like the idea. There are other routes, that could do with a "branch add-on". But I guess this would be problematic, as most other branchlines have through services to some big station on the mainline. At least in Germany that´s mostly the case.

 

By and large it's the case here too.
Cornwall and the GWML seem to stand out a bit in terms of having self-contained branchlines.

 

Having said that the depot moves are included, on the Henley branch for example, the bay platform can’t be accessed directly from the mainline, so the first train of the day runs from platform 4 (up relief) so the services will have to align for that run to be possible on route hopping (and of course the reverse for the last train) I’m sure Johannes will be all over this though.

 

Top marks to Johannes for bringing these lines to the game.

Many of us have requested them including myself and as the Marlow Branch is my local line. I will be interested to see how it looks.

Thank you Johannes for adding the Thames Valley Branch lines to the game.

 

All I will say for people on the fence or the usual “day one” moan and refund brigade. Johannes has been crystal clear about what is and what isn’t included with this DLC.

Slough to Windsor has a 6 minute journey time

Maidenhead to Marlow has a 23 minute journey time, which both turn into split shuttles at Bourne End during the peak.

Twyford to Henley on Thames has a 12 minute journey time.

Hopefully with all that info and info Johannes has provided, it allows people to make an informed decision, so when we hit Day One, there’s no “oh this isn’t long enough” “it’s a cash grab for a such a small route” or “where is the rest of GWE”.

 

In fairness until we know the price point it’s very hard to make an informed decision on if this route will be value for money. You can say he’s being open and upfront and I get that he may not be in a position to confirm the price but we aren’t in a position to make an informed decision. For example personally where my head is at currently is if this is £20 and assuming a similar quality to Mildmay I’m buying but if he’s asking £25+ then sorry it will be waiting for sale.

My position may change as more info comes out and if the 165 is at expert level details and function all of a sudden I wouldn’t mind dropping £30 for it.

 

Some don't seem to be able to make informed choices in any circumstances judging by the amount of apparently "broken" or "unplayable" content which exists, despite numerous streams and threads.

Some will inevitably buy this route then complain, it happens every time.

Personally I'll be getting it unless there is something glaringly wrong with It, it's been stated it won't be full price, which would have been too much in my opinion.

 

That is the right approach but with the way DTG test and roll out content someone else has to pay for the DLC and take the hit. Console users in particular seem to be at risk. How could the Class 90 have gone through a proper console QA / beta and the lack of AWS acknowledgement not be spotted. I cannot be the only controller user on PC and that was missed as well. My understanding is that is that Birmingham to Crew on release was awful on Xbox in particular and I only saw that feedback at first from users on this forum who it seems had paid good money to QA the product. Ambassadors may or may not spot issues but if they are not given console access until the day of release its too late. When beta testers were being asked for Xbox was mentioned as one of the systems that would be in scope. Not sure if Dovetail have an issue with PlayStation beta program.

 

The price will of course be known before the release date, so you can still make that informed decision

 

Looking forward to this route!

Been wanting this for a while...

Always a fan of the quick drive routes, ans GWE is great so this seems perfect. I wonder if this style of DLC will work!