PC Steam Trains

Discussion in 'TSW General Discussion' started by grafspee12, Mar 1, 2020.

  1. grafspee12

    grafspee12 New Member

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    Can anyone answer? Steam trains in to TSW how is this looking now ??
     
  2. NAYDOG

    NAYDOG Guest

    2024
     
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  3. theorganist

    theorganist Well-Known Member

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    I haven't seen any news regarding them anywhere. DTG tend to play their cards close to their chest. They may not even have any in the pipeline, hopefully someone is working on one somewhere.

    I really want to see steam in the sim, I think a steam period route would be awesome.
     
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  4. Trenomarcus

    Trenomarcus Well-Known Member

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    TSW 2031 will support steam trains.
     
  5. fanta1682002

    fanta1682002 Well-Known Member

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  6. NSMotherSlug#881

    NSMotherSlug#881 Active Member

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    This is what I was told by friends that work for Tourist railroads like Steam Town USA located in Scranton PA getting steam locomotive License to use to build a model of a Classic Locomotive is harder than getting a License for a modern day Diesel Locomotive do to it's History that the Locomotive may have in it's State. Same reason why you don't see a lot of Steam Locomotives in any other Railroading game. 3rd party mods don't count.

    I honestly think its because a Steam Locomotive has a lot more going on than a Diesel Locomotive like all the different sounds it makes and there are a lot more moving animated parts which would make the game slow down in fps you could argue its possible on the PC but DTG doesn't just make for the PC alone given the Consoles the same as PC players have so that's why I truly think why No Steam Loccomotives
     
  7. tbaac

    tbaac Well-Known Member

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    I'm pretty sure that the TSW team at DTG would love to bring steam to TSW. As we haven't got any yet I assume that there's still some problems that they need to work out.

    I seem to remember seeing Matt P on a stream saying that a problem is how complicated to make the loco. Do they make it fully complicated and then have lots of people complain that it doesn't work because they didn't read the manual, or make a light version and disappoint some other people?

    I may have dreamt that though ;)
     
  8. NSMotherSlug#881

    NSMotherSlug#881 Active Member

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    It should be complicated its a SIMULATOR for crying out loud,making it simple doesn't make it a True Sim reasons why I stopped playing I only once In a while play on friends to see what DTG has done but other than that DTG is nothing but White Lies,if you don't know that give it time you'll see the truth of the Lies
     
  9. grafspee12

    grafspee12 New Member

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    Solution is quite obvious for me, Automatic fireman this guy takes care about boiler stuff, and driver this guy drive a train, that's it.
    It is always 2 guys on plate sometimes 3 if you need to shovel a lot of coal.
    So driver job remain almost the same,
    Fireman job is to report any signs from other side of loco because driver can see only his side also.
    So for me should be at least 3 drive mods Easy and realistic and hardcore where you are doing everything alone :)
     
    Last edited: Mar 11, 2020
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  10. tbaac

    tbaac Well-Known Member

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    Yeah, makes sense to me as well. Similarly, you can turn SIFA on or off, no reason why you couldn't turn an automatic fireman on or off.
    There may be other reasons why we don't have steam trains yet obviously.
     
  11. grafspee12

    grafspee12 New Member

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    If we talking about realism mode Fireman is automatic any way, if you drive loco than you don't care about boiler or coal.
     
  12. theorganist

    theorganist Well-Known Member

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    That sounds familiar to me too, I think he did say something along those lines.
     
  13. theorganist

    theorganist Well-Known Member

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    I think they try and cater for more than just hardcore fans, they cater for some who want to feel like they are driving a steam train but don't want it to be complicated, if they can cater for both which they have pretty much with steam on TS1 then I don't see where there is a problem with that! If they just concentrated on hardcore fans and not more casual users then their user base would shrink and the sim might not even been profitable.

    I don't quite know what you mean by "truth of the lies" I have been using TS1 and its previous incarnations and also TSW, so thirteen years, so I must be missing something!
     
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  14. Trim

    Trim Active Member

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    I can assure you that if you drive a steam locomotive you care very much about the boiler. It would be exceptionally unusual for a driver to actually handle a shovel, and a good, reliable fireman will need almost no instruction or prompting from the driver, but the driver may well still warn the fireman that he is about to shut off steam or do something else that the fireman might not expect or can't be sure when the driver will do it, but which the fireman needs to respond to.

    The driver will be watching the boiler pressure as much as the fireman, and it is the driver who is ultimately responsible for the water level. The driver might well not have an injector on his side of the locomotive, and putting water in the boiler might be entirely the fireman's job, but it is the driver who controls the rate at which steam is used, and it is the driver who will be blamed if he drops a fusible plug.

    I have no idea how steam locomotives are handled in a driving sim. Since almost all the variability has been taken out of diesel locomotives and the trains they haul, it is quite likely that the same will be done for steam locomotives and that a driver will be given a perfect fireman, who never lets the water level drop too low and always has an optimum fire. The driver may well still run out of steam by driving the engine harder than the quality of the coal and size of firebox allow, but at least he won't risk dropping a plug. Of course, "perfect" firing may not actually be the optimum choice, for the perfect fireman will always maintain the water level at the expense of steam pressure. However, I doubt the AI fireman will have the intelligence to know what water level is actually needed. If you are on an up and down route, then you need enough water in the boiler to cover the firebox on the down grades. However, if you are pounding up a bank and know you will stop before the top, there is no point in keeping the water level high enough to cover a down grade; if you are losing pressure, then it would be better to let the water level fall instead, to be made up again when you are stopped.
     
    Last edited: Mar 11, 2020
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  15. theorganist

    theorganist Well-Known Member

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    For TS1 I use the automatic fireman, partly as I have not really acquainted myself properly as how to fire a steam engine (which obviously a driver would know in real life so I guess I should really learn) but mainly in real life the driver wouldn't be filling the boiler and shovelling. However I don't think the AI fireman in TS1 is the most proficient.

    I suppose it would be good if you could be the fireman, or should I say fireperson and have an AI driver, that might be quite feasible in TSW.

    Still at the moment it is academic as there has been less said by DTG about steam as there has about the editor! I hope steam is in the near future plans for TSW. I have been driving steam a lot on TS1 lately, more time than I have been spending on TSW.
     
    Last edited: Mar 11, 2020
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  16. synthetic.angel

    synthetic.angel Well-Known Member

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    I am heading over to TS2020 to play with steam (and frankly... maybe everything else....). But I think the argument for TSW is fairly easy.... anything will do, for a start, at the right price... and I do mean anything....

    ....anything from
    Southern Belle (1980s game for ZX Spectrum 48k).... through to Derail Valley (slighty more modern VR game...).

    All DTG need to do is caveat their product in the marketing - make it clear what the limitations are, in a totally honest way. And then sell it. And it will sell. If they try the traditional extreme over-sell, and it isn't x10 better than the simulation/operation in Derail Valley, then disappointment will be assured.

    I suspect that the first mainline steam loco on TSW will be German... You'd think it would be easy enough to make a simple 0-4-0 or 0-6-0, because you have the 08s and 09 in TSW... and there are units with complex controls, like the 101.... but I think you'd need a new route, because WSR probably won't handle it well, even at a max of 25 mph.
     
  17. grafspee12

    grafspee12 New Member

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    I know that, i just didn't want to make a text wall.
    I am trying to say that Driver don't inspect firebox, or his job is not injecting water in to boiler etc, his job is to drive a train.
    Driver has to monitor steam usage so he wont starve engine, fuel economy, driver activate blower on stations if i remember correctly.
    I just didn't want to list every thing.
    So when you have Fireman you don't need to worry about everything,
     
  18. synthetic.angel

    synthetic.angel Well-Known Member

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    Just so that you know - if you take the time, thought and effort to write a coherent and informative post about something that I am interested in, then I will read it. I pretty much always read your posts when I see them, as you tend to have something worthwhile to say. So thank you.
     
  19. theorganist

    theorganist Well-Known Member

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    It could be physics and the generally more complex way a steam engine works that I would imagine may be holding steam up. I think I also read somewhere that they were concerned with getting the steam particle effects right, although I could be imagining that!

    I would have thought that the WSR would be the obvious starting point for a steam DLC as it is almost farcical having a heritage steam railway without any steam traction.

    I would quite like to see something like the Watlington branch, not a long route, but the sort of route you could really immerse yourself pottering about on in a Pannier tank, shunting the yard, taking the daily pick up goods up the line or rattling along with one or two ancient coaches through pretty countryside.
     
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  20. Tonto62

    Tonto62 Well-Known Member

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    A steam age branch line would be a wonderful place to spend some time. It would make a welcome change from the seemingly endless string of modern, drive from A to B and back again, routes. It might happen one day, if we all live long enough.
     
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  21. grafspee12

    grafspee12 New Member

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    The best rout for steam would be that one which have good length and lots of shunting. So someone could put steam engine in to nice speed.
     

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