Route Wcml: Crewe - Preston - Feedback Thread

PC Steam
Class 20s key binding for the AWS button is mapped to the DSD keybind. (when i press Q nothing happens, when i press ENTER the AWS button in cab depresses)

 

The route itself is incredible and everything I hoped for but this is the blurriest route I’ve ever seen on Series X and like everyone else I had a CTD on the way into Crewe. Quite simply it should not have been released on Xbox like this, it’s not possible to complete an end to end run. This will be the first time I’ve ever requested a digital refund on anything.

 

Now freight isn’t my thing at all in train simulations (model railways are a different story ) so you might think well why on earth buy it?!

So I bought it purely for the passenger work, but what a delight to see my part of the WCML come to life (well I live in Liverpool, so it’s as close as I’ll get to this). Many happy memories of Warrington Bank Quay for me, and the whole area just feels so busy and comes to life.

Dutton Viaduct and the Acton Grange area are the highlights. Outstanding.






Performance, no major issues on my PC in terms of FPS (RTX5080/i9-12900KF) although the Warrington Bank Quay area with Arpley is very very intensive and using Nvidia smooth motion helps. However, others have noted the asset streaming / loading is some of the worst I’ve seen in a long time in TSW, it’s horrific as well as the sound squelching which OldVern often refers to. I’m with him on this one. Like others have said it might settle down after a few more runs

Also, the lack of arrival times at destinations, is a strange one. I thought we were passed these oddities by now with the recent timetabling standards set in recent DLC’s.

Overall I’d say it’s a 7/10, I think I’ll continue more with WCML Trent Valley at the moment.

 

I'm not a big fan of freight, but I make exceptions for the JT routes.
Struggling with a pair of class 20s earlier was great fun!

 

That just turns it from a few textures being blurry to the entire screen is blurry. Sub 720p on a 50" 4k display isn't an option.

 

PS5 Pro
I tried the 1Z71 service (I hope I remember it correctly), unfortunately it started to blur slightly at the beginning in Crewe, so I removed and removed it until I had only the map installed and the result was practically the same .......

 

Blurry textures kick in on the Deep Coal scenario just as you come out of the Miley Tunnel (Series X).

 

I've found the whole 'turning off layers' suggestion pointless as it'll blur anyway. You may as well see other trains

 

Playing on PC, just started my first timetabled service

1S53 Crewe - Preston driving a class 86/4

Train derailed 1 mile outside of Crewe (driving within speed limit)

 

PS5

Getting a lot of blurry textures the same as others. Not a specific route or anything, just quite common.

7T75 Bickershaw Colliery to Fiddler’s Ferry P.S Part 2 crashes repeatedly

 

Will post this here as it *is* related to all the feedback. Can we expect to see a statement or response from JT/DTG on the issues raised so far and an action plan to put them right?

First and foremost optimisation. It’s no good claiming the route has been built in the same way as others and using stock assets, when it is having far more problems than any other. The PS5 should be the benchmark, if it can’t run acceptably on that then it shouldn’t be released without further optimisation. As a starter you either need to reduce the amount of 3D grass by 10 or 15% and look at replacing the more distant areas with a lower poly or 2D version.

Timetable missing arrival times. Again, the route should not have released with such a major and surely obvious omission. Someone should be getting tea and biscuits for that one.

DTG need to be forthright about what’s being done to address the broken core and, if they can’t or won’t do this, then they need to stop releasing content 3P or in house that just chokes up the game on the PS5 benchmark.

The route could be a corker but this morning I am seriously thinking whether the state it’s in deserves a £30 payday.

 

So in regards to optimisation culling grass wouldn't change much as the grass isn't 3d, each set is a 2d plane and then they're layered on top of each other with the values we've always used. Also grass and vegetation make up a very small part of the texture pool and culling some wouldn't change how often blurred textures would appear on consoles which seems to be the primary issue rather than performance on PS5 and hadn't been reported in QA testing.

The bigger hitters will always be urban areas and as this route is a lot more urban than Preston - Carlisle along with Warrington and Crewe requiring scenery in multiple directions it adds to the load. Whilst we were happy with the performance we got in these areas (Crewe is handy as the station culls quite a bit of the scenery due to the size of it) we understand that some users are not and we will be looking into these areas and making optimisations.

In regards to the timetable the arrival times I can easily add them back in but instead to the stop objective rather than the load objective.
They were removed as they were causing weird issues with the announcement system and many testers were fine with this workaround but if it's an issue with players then we can resolve.

 

ps5 pro. some things i've seen besides blurry textures are that the temporary speed limit signs are floating freely in the air. on class 20 the horn on the short end is too loud when sitting in the cab. sounds more like an external view. on the long nose side it sounds as it should

 

JT Benedict

I've never had an issue at Preston on the other two JT routes, but Preston is very choppy, has maybe a rogue asset or group with high textures been added to this tile for this new route? The only other thing I can think of it the Class 20 rework and new textures hogging some additional resources?

 

Well the grass looks pretty good in that case…

As to the timetable, I’m not sure why your play testers would be happy with no final destination arrival time. It’s bad enough that a non stop run gives no intermediate passing times per the working timetable, but knowing what time you should arrive at is a key part of passenger operations. (Freight for that matter too, as even VSTP moves must run to a validated path). So, yes please, add me to the “ayes” to add back in ASAP.

 

Adding the arrival times to the stop objective would be a good solution. I think, and it seems some others would agree, that when driving a passenger service you do need some sense of when the the train is supposed to get where it's going. As far as the announcements go, that's an interesting case because for myself and others, we were clearly approaching the lack of arrival times as a bug. Perhaps if we had known, as the testers presumably did, that arrival times were removed to make announcements better, that could have been a different discussion. Although I would still want arrival times over announcements, and in any case, as you have probably noticed from feedback, some of the announcements are barely audible in the first place.

As for blurriness, it is an issue on XSX but, with all the static stock already gone, I'm not sure that I would want to lose even more, such as AI services. It would really depend on what is lost vs. what improvements are evident. I think communication is going to be key in this regard. Even with these problems, I am enjoying this route and it has many positives, which I do appreciate.

 

Even when I tried the TSW settings on the PS5 Pro at 4K or HD, and even when I set the console output to 2160 or 1080p, the result was always the same in terms of texture blurring.

 

PC all layers activated. Extremely blurred textures on locos and stock including track and platforms.
Resolved by adjusting quality to ultra from high, full screen windowed to full screen. Returned the settings to previous and all is well, not sure if I will have to repeat actions.
I can concur that reverb audio is virtually non existent compared to previous glorious releases.

I can report that the above it is a rinse and repeat action. I also had a CTD approaching Warrington MCS on the Merry go round scenario. Report sent.

 

Good so far, only gripe that the Class 20 (like the others) doesn't care what you bind the aws cancel to, it'll use the DSD binding

 

For some reason the signals can be seen through the loco

 

XBox series X

Class 20 service 6T75 repeatedly crashes to desktop within a few minutes of starting the service and just approaching the first red signal.

I'm playing with default layers and haven't enabled any extra layers. It might be a coincidence but the crash seems to happen shortly after you see some new scenery assets being loaded in the background when you try running it in external camera.

 

Took me 3 attempts to do that one I was 3rd time lucky.

 

Services 6F84, 0F84, 0F10 do not exist! On the Class 47/3 locomotive you’re just thrown into a location with no train, and it doesn’t even appear anywhere on the map! Map shows nothing where it should be. Did anyone even test this? I’ve already found three non-existent ones in 20 minutes.

 

I'll try it again next! Currently doing 7T75 and so far so good

 

It seems like all the schedules where you’re supposed to move a light locomotive (Class 47/3) aren’t working. It just spawns you on an empty location. I’ve already tried five of them and none of them worked.

 

The route actually got a ton of QA testing in regards to the timetable but things can easily slip through.

Main question for you though, do you have Preston - Carlisle installed?

 

Yes, it is installed, purchased back when it was released. I have all DLCs for the route except TVL and Peak Forest Railway. I was checking the layers list in the Steam news. Also, this locomotive is included with the route, it doesn’t come from another DLC.

 

On PC having repeated crashes at Crewe, tried the introduction module 5 times now and not got fully out of the station yet. Either out of memory crash or non-responsive state. Tried reducing settings and layers but still going on. Walking around Crewe in free roam to see if that helps build shader caching, it even crashed spawning in a light loco.

Only other thing I'm running is interface for TCS-X, without which I don't want to run game. Got nearly all layers excepting Peak Forest.

When I get a no response state task manager shows around 90% memory use along with full use of graphic memory.

Ryzen 5600 with Radeon graphics
16 GB RAM
Radeon RX 9060 graphic card

Have managed a few runs away from Crewe and want to love the route. Really happy with the 47/3.

 

The light locomotives form other stuff in the layer they're in though.

The requirements of that layer are the TEA from Blackpool, PCA from the 31 Pack, Seacow from West Cornwall, PGA from the Class 31 and BBA from Preston - Carlisle.

If you don't have the requirements you shouldn't be seeing the services though so I'm very confused as to what's happening here.

 

I decided to see if I got the same. So on 6F84, all ok for me, but I think the HEA wagons in the consist are from Tees Valley, aren't they?

 

The news says that TVL is only for the loco, like NTP.

 

Yeah, we've made versions of all the wagons which were in TVL hence no wagon requirements.

What platform are you on, I'm guessing steam?

 

A big thumbs up to JT for listening to requests.
Just went to check out Scenario planner and blown away by the selection of paths they offer. Can actually write scenarios now that make Crewe, Preston etc look busy!

 

Hi all, was really keen to do the Deepdale CCD runs seen on some of the livestreams. I think the code was 6P81 on TinTin_57's stream. However, the service doesn't appear on my list. Is this because I'm missing some content?

I purchased the Class 31 which has the PCA-V wagon (because it was on sale) which I think is the other wagon the Class 20 is pulling on those runs. Unfortunately, it won't install, I assume because I don't have Tees Valley. I should have bought it when it was on sale the other week...

Before I pick up Tess Valley (currently £20 on PS Store) am I missing something or do I need Tees Valley get these services to work. Does the game not sub in other wagons or do I need more content to do the Deepdale services? Frustrating that a whole section of track can't be driven on TT mode because I don't have other content.

Thanks!

 

Yes pc/steam. I installed TVL and everything worked correctly. Without it, many trains and wagons simply don’t appear. It seems to me there may be a mistake somewhere, because without TVL a lot of services don’t actually function. You can still select and load them, but nothing happens in the end.

 

As the trip is intertwined with other workings it does require a few pieces of content.

These are:
TEA from Blackpool,
PCA from the 31 Pack,
Seacow from West Cornwall,
PGA from the Class 20
BBA from Preston - Carlisle.
TVL to ensure the 31 and 20 packs load correctly.

 

Thanks for the confirmation that it's TVL causing the issues, hence it wasn't found in testing as most testers would have had TVL installed if they had the 31 and 20 packs installed.

 

Its like driving blind at night on this route headlights are dim you cant see nothing not even the neutral boards.

 

We're looking into reports from players that some variants of the locos aren't emitting any light from the headlights.

 

I just thought these locomotives were independent of the route, like others in TSW 6. But unfortunately, it turns out they aren’t =(

 

That makes sense im driving a 86 and cant see anything.

 

I reloaded the merry go round scenario from a save but without "route annotations" started and there was no crash to desktop so I suspect it was that that crashed the game previously?

 

I don't think that mod has been updated since the route released.

 

Think it's a remnant of when they released and how packs worked back then.

 

PC, Steam
There is a bug in the 'Merry Go Round' Scenario, where the last coal wagon doesn't get fully empty at Fiddler's Ferry. Certainly not unplayable but worth noting.

 

Thanks - so in order to do anything on Deepdale I need to own ALL of that or just TVL, 31 & 20 packs?

I purchased this Day 1 expecting to be able to at least run a timetabled service on all the track in the add-on I paid for. Seems odd that in order to do that I need to own £50+ of content, some of which is just for one wagon model.

I think therefore currently you can only drive on the DD Branch in the scenario on the base add on?

 

The railtour that is included within the route and requires no additional stock also goes down the branch, 1Z47 I think it is.

 

Yes, thank you. Just wanted to do some freight down there.

Can you confirm if it can be done with just TVL, 31 & 20 please? Really appreciate you taking the time.