There’s a few good points above, I do think it’s silly that TSW has no actual base content, you always need to buy a bundle or route etc, which always ends up abandoned & then incompatible with something or other. As it stands for solving issues now though, we really should be seeing widely used layers included with the core. There’s really no need for so many 66’s/ACS-64/Dosto etc & I doubt they haven’t made their money back & then some from those models. It’s bad enough you go through the lists of various loco copies which may or may not be better or worse, but then we STILL have the ridiculous bug that duplicates the list. What annoys me (perhaps not as much as the above bug) is that when asked if they’d just use 1 master loco for these common layers, it’s the same answer of it would break previous layers. Other than the fact that the answer implies DTG assumes they’re immune, to the idea of they might have to do some work to make their product better, they could still be implementing that idea going forwards, but alas I see tens of class 66’s ahead of us still. For all the talk of optimisation Matt partakes in, this stock duplication is a massive black hole that proves they can’t go deep enough into TSW’s code to really fix the big gremlins. And just to reiterate, it’s so, so stupid that the UI duplicating loco selections is still a problem. I don’t get why DTG is obsessed with changing the menu every year (to an unnecessary extent) but miraculously avoid sorting out the problems with it.
For me personally, TSW, TSW2020 and TSW2 where in the same league. With TSW3 and the new lighting it looked like a different game and the old and new lighting are not really that compatible. I think the plan for cutting backwards compatibility after TSW2020 was not a good plan, but it depends on the way they wanted to go forward. If the plan was to port over the old trains to TSW2 but not being able to play the old routes on TSW2 anymore, it would be fine for me. But if they just wanted to start as barebone as the first TSW routes, it would have been a bad idea.
Good discussion here. Matt has said in the past that they’re considering moving some things into the core. I really hope they clean up the game and sort out the multiple versions of locos, etc. As for TSW 1, TSW 2020 content and all that old stuff still being on sale, I think it’s a joke. I don’t even play any of it anymore because it’s so outdated. I agree with everyone saying that something needs to be done with the older content. Either make it free or give it a serious update.
It seems that rather than keeping older content relevant with periodic updates, they want the big headline of a remaster. Similar to why we get a new TSW every year?
TSW does have kind of have core content with the training centre and the example locos/units there. I wonder how many copies would shift if they put it out as a standalone "TSW(insert number) light" or somesuch for £10-15 with the tutorials for the locos, some scenarios, a little timetable and some freight hauler content? Put a few more stations on each loop, spawn in some passengers, put some billboards, advertising hoardings, posters etc around the place promoting DLC routes. I know it might sound a bit cash-in like, but some people might pick it up just to have a look for a tenner. You can even use the livery designer to create your own unique look for the plain white locos there. Scenario Planner support. Might be a sizeable undertaking right now, but could reap some rewards in the longer term.
I mean I don't necessarily hate the remaster approach. That is accomplishing the goal of bringing some older content closer to modern standards. I also understand there are marketing reasons for the remasters as well as the annual releases. I just wish there was some more consistency to the whole process as to which routes are remastered when, and what standard the remasters will be brought up to. Someone mentioned MSB above, and that seems like it would be a real challenge to bring it up to TSW7 standards without charging a decent amount for the work, which brings its own criticism from some parts of the community. Then there are routes like Munich-Augsburg, that have never really worked right and probably would have to be completely rebuilt from scratch. Maybe some kind of triage system to assign remaster priority for pre-TSW3 DLC? Maybe weight content that frequently layers in newer DLC more heavily? It's a hard problem but I think it's something they really need to address.
Same, but I am not sure any other game could justify having the original on Unreal Engine 4.26 and the remaster on Unreal Engine 4.26 and call that a remaster with a straight face. Maybe they could save the remasters for when there is no horse left here.
Lol that's fair enough! For me, it's less about the graphics (at least for TSW3 and forward routes with the newer TOD), and more about the new features like suspension, announcements, and now live weather.
