West Coast Main Line: Trent Valley From All Aboard Studios

Freight is very thin on this barely anything not sure its like that irl tho.

 

I just found this screenshot on the discord, so it’s not me that took it, apologies.

 

A big disappointment is the exclusion of the Class 90. Yes you can spawn in, but it’s a shame ATS and AABS couldn’t find a way to make it work.

 

I'm obviously going to be frustrated when routes release that have blurry textures. Personally ,with the routes I have now, if blurry textures show up too much I just quit, it's not fun looking at a route that looks like mashed potatoes. Even though I haven't bought any AABS products, it doesn't take long to realise that they aren't very good at making products that work on consoles, I mean one look at any of their feedback threads shows that instantly. I'm happy for you that you don't experience blurry textures on console but for most people blurry textures are a big part of the game, and it gets frustrating when every new release has them (mainly AABS products).

 

Is it most people on consoles though? The majority of people who don't experience them aren't going to say so.

My last console experience was a PS2 but it seems odd that some experience problems but others don't. I thought all consoles were generally the same, within each model? Unlike PCs which often differ.

 

A friend of mine who has the PS5 pro, installed the route and is now suffering from repeated crashes. It's the first time he's experienced it

 

I'm not sure to be honest. I feel like there's some routes where others experience blurry textures but I generally don't and then some the other way around. For routes I don't own I just go off of the forums and the british ace (seems to be one of the only ambassadors who still shows off content on consoles) and from what I see there all of the AABS add-ons have serious issues on console.
I'm guessing the different people experiencing different problems comes from different layers and amount of content installed? Otherwise I've got no idea.

 

It does sound like a nightmare, especially trying to fix the problem.

Yes I suppose amount of add-ons and layers is going to affect things.

 

There’s a lot of factors I find, peak times of day or running a service at a time where a particular layer will show up & using the external camera are probably the two surefire ways to make the issue appear. At least that’s how it is for routes that are 50/50 on whether you’ll get the issue.

Others such as B2C with all layers though are just a straight up guaranteed blur fest.

The interesting ones I’ve seen on the forum are WCMLS & MAC. Now I have had the issue on MAC appear once, but that was it. WCMLS (default TT) I’ve never had it, but seen others report it.

Still though, if there are genuinely people out there (and they are according to this thread) who don’t have this issue, I’d love to see a full run of B2C with all layers enabled on a console, without any blurring.

 

for those interested in route hopping to drive a single service from crewe to london, it exists, problem is that a lot of the services don't actually stop at MK in real life, but the services have to start/end here in the game. so finding a service that actually has a scheduled stop at MK to enable you to drive the same service from london to crewe might be tricky

 

Isn’t the 70 already layered in ready when it releases?

 

Should be possible with the Class 350 runs, they all stop at Milton and Crewe and since 2024 (I think it is) have run direct from Stafford instead of going via Stoke.

 

Can I ask. Are you using a 4k TV? If so. Is it bigger than 40"?

If the answer to any of those is no, then you avoid things by playing on HD... (HD setting looks really awful on a big 4k screen as DTG don't use an upscaler)

 

I would imagine that the amount of routes installed/layers/Hard Drive space are all going to make a difference (all variables). Probably why we don’t all see the same even on the same console.

 

Yes so hoping that brings a lot more.

 

Same here, I own MAC and have never experienced blurry textures on the route but have seen others with it. To be fair I don't own the voyager so that probably plays a part. I've seen blurry textures once I think on WCMLS around Euston but then never again. It's certainly strange how people on the same console can have very different experiences on the same routes.

 

Hows the game running on series x before I buy
Be using all layers

 

a bit of lag coming into MK (thought i was going to crash, but it struggled on) but otherwise fine

 

Do you have the 805?

 

Any PC/Steam experiences to report yet? And I’m guessing the bottom line some of us are looking for here - is it actually worth £33?

 

I would if no layers then not worth 33 but the layers do help in some parts. As said before just ecml route a 2 b with a few stops in between. And the 807 is so quite . But 350 sounds OK.

 

Good experience so far but I've not even finished my first non-stop run from Crewe to MK.

 

As I feared about the Class 807. High time IMHO we had a player option to pipe in the traction sound from the powered vehicles on MU stock with trailer end cars. I suppose there is the Class 390 but then I expect Journey Mode doesn't include that - just the 350 and 807.

 

Just done my first run on PS5. Milton Keynes to Crewe in the 390. Did have a bit of blurred textures going on once I got into Crewe but it wasn’t that noticeable (that’s with nearly all layers).

Dropped to about 15fps leaving Stafford which was strange, picked up once clear of the station though. That was my only complaint.

[edit] second run south in the 807, full blur out before even getting to Stafford… it does sort it self out every so often.

 

haven't looked at the route too deeply so far but I could have sworn I heard there would be London to Blackpool services stopping only at Nuneaton playable on the route with the 807 but I can't find any in the timetable

 

Can anyone confirm if route hopping to WCMLS works? On discord it has been said that it doesn’t allow you to hop to the 805 timetable which could be why no one showed route hopping in previews! I honestly hope I’m proved wrong about this.

 

That’s really strange. It seems like it affects everyone randomly. I’m actually hoping I get a crash now so I’m not just a special case
Can I ask what routes you or your friend played? Maybe certain routes are less prone to crashing then others?

 

Yes i can confirm that! You always will hopping to the standard or original timetable thats delivered with the route.

 

Edit: All the Trent Valley dev blogs have disappeared from the AAS site, this was more difficult to find than it should have been.

 

Thanks, this is it! do we have any explanation on the apparently absent services between London and Blackpool with the 807?

 

The sounds on the 350/4 are very nice I have to say

 

Standing by what I said in my review, as per your previous post to the quote above, I think it’s worth considering at £32.99, only if you’re able to experience the full experience. Too expensive imo for only the reduced experience. Was very disappointed to find out that the journey mode uses the reduced timetable.

 

Meh seems like a ton of issues at launch for this one. Gonna wait for at least a patch and maybe until the Class 70 releases before buying.

I'll tell ya'll, the longer I go without buying anything for TSW, the easier it gets.

 

I’m sure I’ve read the timetable is November 2025, in which case it should follow the link below.

https://timetables.fabdigital.uk/nr..., Tamworth, Lichfield, Stafford and Crewe.pdf

 

I think they made a mistake mentioning Blackpool services because looking at the November 2025 Avanti timetable there were 2 trains a day from Euston to Blackpool and they both ran fast from Euston to Crewe.

 

Great route, worth the money to me on PC as it is my local route, only bad thing to say is that Wolverton has had no stopping services on Platforms 1 & 2 for at least 15 years now, both platforms are blocked off and not used for passengers.

 

What time are they showing services calling? If they’re very late or very early then they might be Fast Line diversions due to overnight engineering works.

 

Putting aside the blurry textures which are clearly here to stay, I can’t emphasise enough how nice is it to actually go somewhere in TSW. I cannot stand just doing small bits of services, going from nowhere to nowhere. But London - Crewe is a nice long run and it feels like you’ve accomplished something, even if the services do carry on a little further.

Really nice to see.

 

I’m new ish to PC (this calendar year) and even newer to god mode but wanted to ask if there there is something I’m missing as to why it isn’t working with this route? The last new route I bought was Medway Valley and I’m pretty sure it was the same for that too. Hopefully it’s something small that I’ve missed, or a thing with new routes and god mode. It’s no bid deal either way

I’ve done one run so far from MK to Crewe and it was excellent. Nothing out of the ordinary to report on my end currently thankfully. I’m about to head back, then on to Euston so fingers crossed it’s the same.

 

Just done a Crewe to MK then jumped to WCML:S to continue the same service to Euston. Very nice to get a really long full speed run in the Pendo. The services are very long though (1hr 45 for 350 full length), so we could really do with the save game feature being properly sorted out. With this and the upcoming JT route as well, the route hopping function could do with a bit of improvement, even if it is just from the menu screen you get sent to after completing a run, have a "route hop" or "continue journey" option, select the route, select the timetable, select the service.

 

https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/tsw-6-enhancement-lighting-graphic-ep-v6-1.84738/page-28 Look at the newest post there. The reason is God Mode needs updating for new routes and it has been in some "dead but not dead" state for almost a year now.

 

I agree that the route is interesting, the length enhances the experience, but the blurring on the full timetable, even if you don't have all the addons active, is quite tiring and annoying. After the celebratory stream that everything will be bathed in sunlight on consoles, I've lost all illusions. And since I predicted last week that it would be blurry, I'm not that surprised. As soon as I saw the reduced timetable and carefully talked around, it was almost clear that the reduced timetable would be the optimized route. But this only shows the state of affairs, that a large optimization or suppression of this phenomenon is probably not entirely realistic

But as I say, it's a nice route and certainly a more noticeable improvement compared to Birmingham - Crewe.

 

Could not agree more. And, speaking for myself (although I’m confident others will feel the same), taking the 390 out on a non stop run for over an hour felt incredible. Felt like a dream doing just that.

I’ve said before (whilst providing not so positive but justified feedback of Birmingham Crewe) that I love what All Aboard Studios are trying to do and desperately want them to succeed. What they are offering appeals to me so much and I really hope this one is a winner, and they follow it up with something equally ambitious. Early signs are good here.

EDIT:

For clarity I’m running the full timetable with a Radeon 6700xt 12GB with fps capped at 50

 

Further to this, continued my run this evening with no further blurry textures and all was going well… until an Out Of Memory and CTD as I arrived at Crewe. Sigh.

 

For those of us here that do not speak British but only English can someone translate this