PC Mastery Feature Almost Unusable

Discussion in 'TSW General Discussion' started by d_stevanov, Mar 7, 2020.

  1. d_stevanov

    d_stevanov Active Member

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    I've been so frustrated trying to use this mastery feature. It feels like 4 out of 5 times when I start the game it just won't connect, so I have to restart the game, it fails to connect again, restart again, and so on. Sometimes it just doesn't connect at all, no matter how many times I restart the game. There are days when it works on the first try, but then sometimes it just completely refuses to connect. Right now it's impossible to connect...
     
  2. Anthony Pecoraro

    Anthony Pecoraro Well-Known Member

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    Are you logged into Dovetail Live in game?
     
  3. d_stevanov

    d_stevanov Active Member

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    It won't connect to dovetail live, this is the screen I get when the game loads. It just skips connecting to server.
    TS2Prototype-Win64-Shipping 2020-03-07 22-45-06.png
     
  4. Michael Newbury

    Michael Newbury Well-Known Member

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    What Anthony is referring to is when you start up TSW are you logging into Dovetail Live when it prompts. Could suggest that something to try next you are in TSW log out of Dovetail Live before exiting the game. Then next time you start up TSW you get the login box. I have had that error message as well.
     
  5. Factor41

    Factor41 Well-Known Member

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    I wouldn't worry about it - I'm always connected and half the trains never register anything for me anyway! They're supposed to be having a look at fixing it "after Christmas" so I'm ignoring it completely until something pops up in the patch notes to make me try again.
     
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  6. Tonto62

    Tonto62 Well-Known Member

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    I really do not understand "Mastery". What is it for? I enjoyed driving trains before they came up with it. Then they introduced "Mastery" and I'm supposed to jump through a series of hoops for what? Hot air balloons? In 1980s Yorkshire? Maybe if there was some worthwhile reward for completing it, like installing all the missing signal boxes or fixing the class 47 I might get involved but no thanks, I enjoy TSW already, I don't need a reason to carry on. I will remain unconnected to the internet whilst driving and if that means I miss out on having balloons appear well, I can live with that.
     
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  7. Anthony Pecoraro

    Anthony Pecoraro Well-Known Member

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    You don’t have to do it.
     
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  8. TinTin_57

    TinTin_57 Well-Known Member

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    Mastery IS unusable for me
     
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  9. Tonto62

    Tonto62 Well-Known Member

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    If you read my post you would see that I don't.
     
  10. Trenomarcus

    Trenomarcus Well-Known Member

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    One of the most unnecessary "features" they ever added, and it's pretty much broken (no surprise). Last but not least, you cannot ignore it as you have to skip that screen *every single time*.
     
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  11. Tonto62

    Tonto62 Well-Known Member

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    I don't know how I've done it but I no longer see that screen.;)
     
  12. Rob39

    Rob39 Well-Known Member

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    I dont really pay attention to mastery anymore. 1 route/scenario works or gets fixed, another breaks.
    Got tier 1 GWE, tier 2 virtually unattainable as nothing seems to count.
    All but the class 45 2/5 levels for tier 1 on NTP.
    Had a go at it this week. 9/10 runs to Leeds and back- no progress at all. Would be nice to add some scenery tiles for extra interest, but the system clearly dosent function, and I play the game to relax and unwind. Not to be wound up. Id be interested to see just how many users have actually managed tier 2, snd what their secret is.
     
    Last edited: Mar 8, 2020
  13. synthetic.angel

    synthetic.angel Well-Known Member

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    I never did. I have never ever used this feature. I have never given email details to my copy of TSW on PS4, or logged in to Dovetail Live, or whatever it is called. There never seemed to be any good reason to do this, that would benefit me. I don't use TSW with the internet on at all - so I can't access this feature.

    Anyway - if this feature was meant to be any sort of benefit to the user then they would have just built it into the UI, without building in a link to a DTG server that runs Mastery stats - which is something that, let's be completely honest here, isn't going to be very high up on the priority list for maintenance, let alone continued and guaranteed vigilance to ensure a high percentage of availability or up-time. It's a complete joke. It was totally obvious that this would be a Feature Failure. And they knew that this would happen, because it was also a Fishing Feature Failure before it was rolled out to TSW (just seach for "mastery" in the wider Forums).

    What's really needed is a simple stats page in the UI. Stats that are linked to progress with trophies/achievements - which would, as an aside, be extremely helpful in debugging the widespread problem with trophies/achievements. And if you really want "rewards" - then how about some free DLC - say some freight wagons on WSR. Or even just some livery variants. Or some more scripted scenarios.

    I can live without hot air balloons. At least, I have survived so far, without them.
     
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  14. Factor41

    Factor41 Well-Known Member

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    Some people like collecting Trophies/Achievements, but most of the time they don't really work properly on TSW. Rather than fixing the base programme so that it can actually count and award you the trophies you've earned, they made ANOTHER new system, which also can't count and also fails to award you with the prizes you've earned. Maybe they hoped that it would distract us from the original failure or just make us move to a different game where all of the trophies are achievable - such as EVERY OTHER PLAYSTATION GAME EVER.
     
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  15. Anthony Pecoraro

    Anthony Pecoraro Well-Known Member

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    Don’t be logged into DTL. You won’t see it then.
     
  16. Jeannot41

    Jeannot41 Well-Known Member

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    DTG should have put its resources elsewhere, instead of doing this useless and filthy thing.
     
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  17. fanta1682002

    fanta1682002 Well-Known Member

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  18. d_stevanov

    d_stevanov Active Member

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    I enjoy mastery, it makes me go back to the routes I'm not playing any more. Rewards don't really matter to me, because it's about the journey, not the destination. NTP done, and GWR almost done. LIRR is next.
     
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  19. Dave Mel

    Dave Mel Well-Known Member

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    mastery never works for me on PS4 just about everytime i play this game it makes me log in and im getting pissed off with this login thing and mastery. if could delete it i would but dont know how to get rid of this stupid mastery
     
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  20. Factor41

    Factor41 Well-Known Member

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    Can't you just cancel the login?
     
  21. Trenomarcus

    Trenomarcus Well-Known Member

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    DTL is good. It logs your statistics in a proper way without bothering you in any way. I want to stay logged in as always.
     
  22. Factor41

    Factor41 Well-Known Member

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    I think the issue here is that it doesn't - at least not for quite a lot of players, myself included. I get one loco from some routes tracking most of the time, but the others not at all, so it's inconsistent at best. If it stayed reliably logged in, and actually tracked all of the activities you complete, this thread wouldn't exist.

    Agreed. I mentioned this is a separate thread, but nobody responded so I assumed I was alone!
     
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  23. londonmidland

    londonmidland Well-Known Member

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    DTL not staying logged in isn’t an isolated issue, as it happens for everyone, however this issue is known with DTG.

    On the topic of mastery, I think it should have been pushed back and developed at a later point so it can work reliably. You often hear people saying their progress isn’t tracking or achievements are broken and buggy.

    Also the fact that you have a separate in game TSW account and an external, temperamental DTL account just over complicates things.

    Right now you have a player score and levels, which is completely useless and meaningless as it does not unlock or do anything. Whether you’re on level 0 or 100, score 100 or 110,000, it doesn’t make the slightest difference to things.

    DTG need to develop one system, which combines and tracks all your scores, which can be accessed internally in TSW, without having to go off the game, open your browser and login into your account. It’s just unnecessary and long winded.
     
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  24. synthetic.angel

    synthetic.angel Well-Known Member

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    Yep - and if they don't tend to the UI reasonably quickly, and get it sorted so that the routes properly plug-in (and made in a standardised way), then they never will, because it will be too much work to retro-fit a growing back-catalogue of DLCs. I fully expect that the next SFJ/PIC DLC (the new shunter/switcher) will have the following sorts of problems:

    - it won't count the scenarios properly in the UI;
    - the medals/AP will be faulty and/or meaningless;
    - it won't properly report progress to the UI's data tables or to the off-board mastery servers; and,
    - it won't transfer UI settings like cab-roll.... etc., etc, etc.....
     
  25. stujoy

    stujoy Well-Known Member

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    Mastery for DTG

    Tier 1
    Introduce new progress recording system 1/1
    Introduce new progress recording system that works 0/1
    Fix broken progress recording system within six months 0/1
    Repair 3 long-standing serious bugs from old routes 0/3

    Tier 2
    Locked
     
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  26. Rudolf

    Rudolf Well-Known Member

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    Somehow I lake mastery, but I agree, I also have problems with he connection sometimes. Overall I think there are too many different reward systems now. Making a proper choice would be helpful. We now have medals, action points, mastery, achievements and I probably forgot one or two. Not one of them is working as it should. I would be better to start with properly working action points, that reward you in a balanced way for what you do (at the moment it overrates stopping passenger services heavily). Then mastery might be a next step, because it does not just look at one aspect and gives real rewards (though not very valuable).
     
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  27. byeo

    byeo Well-Known Member

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    Medals, I kinda care about as it’s related to timing at stations etc.. Action Points are pointless as you can drive over the speed limit and you’ll still get points... why? Mastery is a total waste of time for those who it’s broken for, either fix it and expand it or drop it totally. It’s a nonsense addition to the game which adds very little and imo is not needed in a simulator. Achievements are nice to obtain but again, can be broken for some people, so fix them PLEASE.
     
    Last edited: Mar 9, 2020
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  28. Anthony Pecoraro

    Anthony Pecoraro Well-Known Member

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    You gain 30 points for staying within the speed limit. You gain 15 if the speed is yellow. If your speed goes red, you don’t gain any.
     
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  29. byeo

    byeo Well-Known Member

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    Thanks for confirming what I said, if you go over the speed limit you still gain points.
     
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  30. Anthony Pecoraro

    Anthony Pecoraro Well-Known Member

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    You gain less, and only if in the yellow zone.
     
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  31. byeo

    byeo Well-Known Member

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    You gain points, thanks again.
     

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