I'm sure many people have seen these slots and wondered about their purpose; I'm no exception. Initially, I thought these slots indicated that six more characters would be released by Dovetail in the future, which gave me hope. However, others have suggested this isn't the case and that the slots are simply for different side posters of the same characters performing various jobs. I find this confusing and hope the latter isn't true. I'm just speculating in this forum, as I haven't heard anyone else ask this question before.
I think there are only 6 currently in game, one for each engine advertising either a location or the service at a location. Likely a scroll function will come once there's more than 12 engines in game, each being a poster boy for something. My predictions are ones like: Henry - The Flying Kipper Skarloey - Skarloey Railway Duck - Little Western Salty - Brendam Docks Edward - Brendam Branch Line
Adding to this, I may be wrong. I'm finding the same suggestions, if not all then some could be secondary posters for other services or locations the current 6 are tied to. The same is possible for future engines, whatever location or service that fits them.
Those ideas are awesome. Skarloey in the game would at least get the narrow-gauge railway running again, as it's probably been out of commission for almost three months. It would be great to see at least one narrow-gauge engine on the line. It would also be so good if we saw Salty and Edward back on the Brendam branch; I really miss them. Additionally, I'd love to see Toby return to complete the branch line trio.
While that possibility could be true, I find the idea of secondary posters to be, to say the least, a bit foolish. It feels like a slap in the face to those who assume these slots are for the six additional engines that will be in this game. Dovetail knows we've wanted more characters, probably since before the game was released, so I think it would be a bit of a cop-out if they just added secondary posters to the current roster. I understand why they do it—these engines aren't exclusively tied to the jobs depicted in the posters we currently have unlocked—but it's disappointing to see the same characters again to complete all 12 posters.
There was speculation not long after launch that they were secondary posters of the original 6 engines in game but on discord after people had tried multiple methods of unlocking them (completing all timetables, driving a certain distance, etc) DTG confirmed that they currently weren’t unlockable, whether it means they will be new characters or not is up for debate but that probably makes the most sense
Hmm, so Dovetail states that these posters are for existing engines, yet they are currently unlockable? Interesting. This fuels the theory that these poster slots are indeed for future engines coming soon. Alternatively, if the game receives an update and these posters are still for the engines that currently exist, it could be that. Either way, something tells me these posters will be unlocked after a major game update.
Really? That's what I got. Either way, I'm leaning more onto the side of there being 6 more engines for the slots.
I wouldn't mind some engines getting a second poster, it still adds some variety to the randomised advertisements. Not every engine will likely get one, but would love to see some get at least one. Just puffing along to Wellsworth and we see a Murdoch poster for Mainland Goods, or terminating at Vicarstown to find a 'The Limited' poster for Bear.
I'm not entirely against that idea. It would be cool to see the engines advertised in various operations to showcase their versatility. Personally, though, I would much prefer those six slots be used for six additional engines. Regardless, an update, whether through secondary posters or new engines, is what this game truly needs, so I'd be happy with either. Bear and Murdoch are certainly interesting choices, and I would personally love to see them. I feel they deserve screen time; if BoCo generates such hype, these two should as well. Besides, long diesels and long steam engines definitely deserve recognition, especially when the latter is the last steam engine produced before the advent of diesels.
