My expectation - and hope - is that some new content is announced on Dovetail Live in a month. It is still only one route, with relatively few trains, so you will expect gameplay to plateau after a while. The more the game is added to, the less that will happen, not just in adding new services, but in making previous ones more interesting. I think a release every 2-3 months would be good for the game, and would probably work commercially. Most Thomas merchandise works the same way, it's about building up collections.
It's possible. I figure they weren't going to commit unless the first one sold, and it takes time to create a second DLC. Guess we'll see.
I for one am surprised by how few updates and releases there has been since this released. Perhaps something will be revealed at the DTG event in August but the lack of releases and updates doesn’t seem to instil huge confidence in the longevity of WOS. It appears to be stalling
I have faith they will announce something at the direct. Maybe a roadmap or a new engine pack or something.
Yeah, it had so much traction and has just completely stopped. It’s a shame because this could have been a phenomenal success had they capitalised and kept the momentum going. Perhaps it’s just too big of a project for DTG? I wonder how big the WOS team is? Is it mainly DTG Jamie and a few developers?
Ultimately it's a game that needs releases to maintain its momentum. It's more of a story game than sim, and any story game will tail off once everyone's played through it. It's almost more comparable to the Thomas series itself - if there had only been one series, of course it would have plateaued. Even the sim aspect of it really needs more trains to beef it up. I think it's probably been quite successful for DTG, it certainly got a lot of attention. I think DLCs will be too, Thomas stuff sells, that's been proven.
Or one book. Imagine if there had just been the first Thomas story. Until there were multiple stories, it wasn't a "series" it was a one-off. They need to release more quickly or it'll fizzle.
That’s the biggest problem with this game. Dovetail doesn’t seem to be putting enough time, energy, or effort into keeping people excited. Repeatedly promoting the same content isn’t going to boost sales—it eventually becomes annoying and pushes people away. Dovetail needs to step up and give fans something new to be excited about. They made the decision to release the game in this state, so now they have to deal with the consequences and actually support it.
Exactly. That’s why I think regular releases are so important for Wonders of Sodor. Once players finish the existing stories, there isn’t much left to keep them engaged. More engines, routes, and DLC would help both the story and simulation sides, and I agree that Thomas content clearly has an audience. If Dovetail capitalizes on that, there’s still plenty of potential here. Personally, I don't care much about the story aspect. I just want a game where I can freely spawn characters and trains, choose a location, and mess around—almost like Minecraft Creative Mode or GTA V. I want the freedom to explore Sodor and have fun however I want. With Dovetail's experience, you'd think that kind of flexibility would be achievable, but the Mattel licensing may have made things more restrictive. Still, I feel like Dovetail and Mattel should have had a clear plan before releasing the game. That's what makes the situation so frustrating for me. I don't really feel bad for either company because they should have understood what fans wanted. If there's one thing Dovetail underestimated, it's just how passionate the Thomas & Friends fandom really is.
What makes this even more frustrating is that Dovetail clearly has the resources to keep promoting and developing Train Sim World DLC, so I don't understand why they can't give us some kind of update about the future of Wonders of Sodor. I'm not asking them to rush anything—I just want some communication. I know I can be very outspoken about this, but I genuinely care about the game and believe it has so much potential. I will be burned at the stake here, I don't feel bad for Dovetail or Mattel because they made the decision to release the game when they did. If they weren't ready to support it, they could have waited. But now that it's out, they have to understand that fans are going to expect more. I think the biggest thing Dovetail underestimated was just how passionate Thomas & Friends fans are. When we see a game with such a strong foundation, we naturally want it to grow into something bigger. Give us new characters, locations, or even just a roadmap—something to look forward to. After paying $50, I don't think that's an unreasonable expectation.
Agree with this. Was a very bad sign when the game was reduced in price in PSN sales etc before we'd had any additional content.
I completely agree. I think a steady release schedule every 2–3 months would be ideal, especially while the game is still relatively small. New engines, routes, rolling stock, and services would not only give us more things to do, but could also make the existing content feel more alive and replayable. And like you said, the Thomas brand is already built around collecting characters and expanding your collection, so I could definitely see that model working well for the game commercially. Hopefully Dovetail Live gives us some good news in a month! I feel like Dovetail Live would finally be a chance for Dovetail to show that they’re actually starting to wake up and listen to us. I know that sounds a little aggressive, and maybe a bit out of line, but you can only be patient and understanding for so long before you start wondering what they’re actually thinking with this game. The constant repetitive social media posts and lack of communication are enough to make anyone question how serious Dovetail really is about the game compared to the fans.
DTG outsources quite a lot of the DLCs to 3rd parties Theyre probably waiting until the dovetail direct to make an announcement… I can’t see them making any beforehand now they’ll want to save the headlines for their event later this month
Honestly, that might be a more fitting title. A lot of the discussion right now isn’t just about the current state of Wonders of Sodor, but whether Dovetail is actually committed to continuing support or if the game is going to fade away. Hopefully Dovetail Direct finally clears things up and shows that the game still has a future. The Dovetail Direct is coming up later this month, so all I can hope for is that Dovetail hears our pleas because we have been pestering them about this for the past four months now and the silence and the weight that Dovetail is really putting upon us is starting to strain us at this point. I really do hope that we get a buttload of updates and content, because $50 is not a cheap price for a game like this. The fact that we only get not even 50% of what Sodor is all about is kind of disappointing, so I really hope that Dovetail knows what they're doing.
Maybe it's better to start with updates instead of buttloads of updates. And I think the first updates could also be the last. Because a lot interest has been lost the last weeks
Agree. I don't think that leaving it til Dovetail Direct was ever a good idea though. If I told you in February that the game is out in March and then you won't hear another peep about it until the end of August, I'm not sure there would be the appetite that there was for the game a few months back.
It would appear it's not dead after all! Surely it's got to be new characters now? Flesh the game out?
After all this time it should be something substantial, I don't see them doing more than a branch, but I hope they have more than two engines added in after all this time. I also hope this DLC isn't priced anywhere near the $40 DLC in TSW is, anyone not already adjusted to TSW pricing isn't gonna want to spend the price of the base game for a much smaller bit of content. I think they could get by with $20 though if they had Brendam and three or four engines included. (Henry, Edward, and Salty perhaps?)
I'm not familiar with TSW pricing but I'm a rich guy. I'll buy whatever DLC this game has no matter the price.
I won't mind if it's not Henry or Edward being added first, not expecting Toby yet as I feel like they might add Toby's branch linked up to the Little Western. It would still be a nice change if our first additions are engines like Mavis to help fill up the Mainline and Ffarquhar. Not many engines could run without certain branch lines for their usual services, so it's possible Brendam is going to be revealed. It would be great if classics who haven't been seen in a while like BoCo make it in. It's possible one of the reveals will be the physical release date too.
I feel like it'll probably be new engines rather than routes, and I think that makes sense - flesh out what we have now before expanding. I was thinking and in terms of what we have now, what makes most sense is: Henry - to add mainline freight (shared with James, and taking over some of his passenger services) Toby - to take over quarry duties, freeing up Diesel to shunt at Knapford, and Percy to do various other jobs Donald & Douglas - more mainline freight Arthur - work around Vicarstown
Be interesting to see what this reveal is so I'm excited for it. Mavis would be a good addition but I think Henry will be revealed. Something tells me Rosie has a chance could free up Percy to do other jobs but Rosie would be based at Vicarstown. Maybe Rosie could promote this new reboot.
Fingers crossed that Henry, Edward and Toby are included in the first reveal! Hopefully there’s more following that like Duck and Oliver too.
I'd expect a route DLC and an additional loco DLC for it, although I'm willing to be pleasantly surprised with more than that, I get the feeling the corporate ownership *Hasbro or Mattel or whoever) is very tight with content and licensing.
I don't think route DLCs will be a thing with this - not in the same way as TSW anyway - we'll possibly see extensions to the existing route as it's a closed system. An exception might be narrow gauge routes. Regarding licensing, this isn't like TSW where they're getting licenses every time. This is a licensed product - no different really to anything you'd see on the shelves. They're clearly working with Mattel on the product, but would be unlikely to be denied permission to make new stuff.
I'm not saying denied permission. I'm saying that since it's 100% Mattel/Hasbro's property they are 100% going to dictate what is made, released and when. There's no DTG call on it, there's no third parties. Being a VERY cautious corporation it'll be painfully slow. As for what will be released? No clue. Logically it's whatever will get the most popular characters into the game quicker to make money, so wherever Edward, Henry, Percy probably and Toby already has his track in the game. They may no squat about railroading, but as a corporation they're going to have polled what are the most popular, best selling characters.
Also it has to be said, the idea Mattel is this super quality oriented brand is just not true. The Thomas toys they produce for example are much worse quality than the ones made under Tomy. Very obvious with things like how iffy the lining are on them, or indeed the motor issues the new line has. And that's a internal division, I imagine third parties get away with worse since they wouldn't likely have the same level of oversight. It's more likely staff meant for Thomas had to be used on other projects, which resulted in a latter release than intended, and thus a later reveal.
I think honestly they just didn't want to bombard us all at once. I expect we'll see a steady trickle soon.
At once? Game's been out 5 months! They've put themselves in a difficult position, because now if DD reveals just one or two engines, there's gonna be a very "meh" response, whereas those engines say two months ago keep us a) ticking over til DD announcing further dlc, and b) relatively happy in the meantime. It feels like the game was rushed out to cash grab while the post-launch support was an afterthought. It is going to take a substantial injection of content to claw back that goodwill that existed before months of radio silence. Personally, I would like a line or two and a few engines, particularly from the Original series, plus the gaps filled in the existing timetables. But I am hoping, not expecting.
We might get a nice roadmap to keep us hyped and busy. Most likely we start off small with an engine or two and an update that adds something like the music or the absent "Scary Jack Frost!" cutscene, perhaps released on the day of the Direct. Any lines or future engines could be revealed for a later date, hyping us up for those releases. I just don't know how much they could have worked on up to now, line additions like the whole of Brendam would take a good long while with how much places and services might be planned to make it worthwhile. The Wellsworth Scrapyard is already there, but it will likely be polished up so it actually looks like Trevor's scrapyard.
I have a hunch they didn't have anything confirmed until sales figures came out, so they wouldn't start a project until they had a solid sales base to justify it. So a few months to finish another DLC makes sense. It won't be "just an engine." The roadmap is an interesting question because since they're doing it as a DTG Direct release with TSW, it begs the question if it'll be treated like TSW or its own separate thing. For now it makes sense piggybacking since it's only one DLC.... but they've said they want to market it separately so that'll be itneresting.
