Is Cn Oakville Really That Bad?

Discussion in 'Off Topic' started by BLRy, Mar 29, 2020.

  1. BLRy

    BLRy Well-Known Member

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    I have been holding off purchasing this add-on route to see the reviews of it and have the initial bugs worked out. But I really like CN and I was thinking I'd get it for myself for my birthday end of this month. Problem is I keep reading bad things and bugs and less than satisfied reports of it overall.

    So, those of you who have experience with it... is it really as bad as I am reading? What are the real problems, are there too many problems, and are they workable or are they a deal breaker. Why the bad reviews and multiple complaints? Is DTG usually this bad with new add-ons?

    Essentially, in you opinions, should I continue to hold off, or make the purchase and "hope" they deal with the issues as quick as possible?
     
  2. railroader

    railroader New Member

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    I enjoy it and all the activities there is.
    i am into yard work and switching as there are plenty.
    the lightning storm during one of the sessions was a surprise and fun to work in such conditions.
    It all depends on your taste as far as freight operations go i am pleased.
     
  3. TinTin_57

    TinTin_57 Well-Known Member

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    I own everything apart from the Baby Bullet and the Switcher for Pen Corridor. I can say in my opinion this route isn’t worth the money when you compare it to HRR that has just been released as an example. Maybe depends what platform you’re on. For PS4 one of the scenarios is currently broken after the last patch, at least one trophy doesn’t work. The free roam scenario kicks you out if you go the wrong way because all the map you see is not open to you. I enjoyed it for about 2 weeks but have hardly been back to it since.
     
  4. JohnnyK98

    JohnnyK98 Well-Known Member

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    I've got mixed feelings. My first impressions were great because I only played the timetable mode. It ran smooth and fine. BUT!

    Last week I began playing the scenarios, and then I saw what everyone was complaining about. I've encountered 4 major bugs/glitches; one of which is gamebreaking, as I can't complete the final scenario.

    If DTG fixed the route, I'd recommend it. At least wait for a sale. ;)
     
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  5. BLRy

    BLRy Well-Known Member

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    Pen Corridor, is that the Amtrack SW1000?

    Do they do that? Have sales?
    That would be the best option IMO too as it stands right now...$40 CDN is too much for a "broken" & "uninteresting" route.
     
  6. TinTin_57

    TinTin_57 Well-Known Member

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    I have the Amtrak one (worst luck) just not the new Pen Corridor one
     
  7. Mr T

    Mr T Well-Known Member

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    As with all DLC there are positives and negatives. I bought it as I like switching and wanted a route that was less passenger oriented:

    Positives:
    - The loading of ethanol is a different experience to anything else in TSW and in my opinion is fun
    - There are yards open in Oakville and Hamilton and in between for hauling and switching

    Negatives:
    - A lot of the yards in Hamilton are blocked by an invisible wall. At release this was exacerbated by DTG's deception about how big the yards in Hamilton are.
    - Brakes on both the locos seem over powered, similar to what they used to be like on the CSX locos in Heavy Haul before the changes
    - Some people don't like the horns although they don't really bother me
    - Like all instructions in TSW, switching is step by step

    Overall, I like it and haven't experience any bugs yet (on PC). I do wish all the yards were open but DTG have not stated any intention of changing that at all. There's probably more I could have written but that's just a very brief summary.
     
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  8. deans.ma

    deans.ma Member

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    I would strongly advise against purchasing this route.

    Where do I start...

    1. Scenarios- Yes, most of the scenarios are broken, and considering (most) new players start off on a new route, they'll play through the scenarios first and when they realize those are broken they'll start reconsidering their purchase (I speak from experience)

    2. Timetable Mode- While some of the timetable services work as advertised, some will spawn you in random locations, bring you to a red signal that will never change, or give you trains that are simply too heavy to pull with the motive power provided

    3. Amps- Ok, it may sound like a minor inconvenience, but this is my biggest problem with Oakville, in the GP9RM, when in Notch 8, your amps will bottom out, the engine makes a weird noise and it takes a few seconds for the amps to rise again. This makes starting a heavy train near impossible and getting up to track speed a challenge.

    4. Oil Fueling- This was one of the biggest advertisement points for Oakville, and (IMO) it's really overrated. It's not that interesting. It's just time consuming. Also, no engineer would be in charge of filing up the tank cars they have to pick up, so -1 for the realism.

    5. GP38 Horn- Once again a small issue, but annoying. After a while, the GP38's horn will stop working, it'll only give a small toot- no long blasts. Similar to the Union Pacific GP38's horn, which, for the life of me cannot figure out why it hasn't been fixed by now... kmon DTG!

    6. Efficiency- I'm sure most people will think I'm just nit-picking now, but I find the some of the timetable services could be done wayyyy more efficiently if the game let you coordinate your own switch moves. E.G, in the scenario where you have to build a train from the Oakville Car manufacturing plant, the game makes you take 6 cars at a time from the auto plant to the yard, and makes you repeat that 4 times (I think its 4...), it would be a lot faster if you just built up the entire train at the plant, instead of running back and forth between the yard. Stuff like this can be seen in other scenarios.

    I could go on, but I'll leave it here for now. I hope after reading this you can make an informed decision with useful information, not just what DTG advertises.

    Personally, I'd wait till this hits the sale rack if you really want it.

    -Dean
     
    Last edited: Mar 29, 2020
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  9. BLRy

    BLRy Well-Known Member

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    @ MrT & deans.ma

    Thanks guys, to fill in the details. I am on xBox1, and yes realism, efficiency and even the horns are important also. After all, realism and accuracy of the simulation is the basis of the game, so to compromise realism or other aspects that play into that experience defeats its purpose IMO. Although I will disagree with the realism slip up re: filling the tankers, but not because it is not realistic railway work but rather because it provides more activity in the game. Though not Train worker related, it does add some "different" activity to enhance the game experience.

    I have been enjoying the CSX GP38-2 and all that encompasses that series of activities and was hoping that CN Oakville was at least close to that but I am getting that it is not (yet) and needs some additional development and attention to bugs and details. I have also been waiting for it to go on sale (as mentioned) due to these things, as I have a bit of a problem buying something at full retail that is not what it purports to be and requires all sorts of fixes. I hope that DTG gets on this quickly and seriously or they could very well alienate some players.

    The horns IMO are not being picky at all. Anyone who grew up around CN or CP or really any North American railway knows what the horns should sound like and if you want to include a single major disappointment, this would be one way to do it. If you are going to present a CN loco, it should sound like a CN loco. I agree fully with that point. Something that was not missed in CSX, they sound "right" as far as gaming goes.

    Efficient switching also is important as people can get frustrated and bored doing the same action over and over for no real reason when it could be done as a combined movement vs the separated ones it now entails. But we don't know the reasons behind this game procedure, maybe there was something about we are not aware of that it had to be this way? Though I would guess reality says different. Things like this would come down to how familiar with train operations that the developers are and whether or not they are trying to muddle things for sales to the mass market vs staying true to the concept.

    My reasons for buying TSW in the first place were my interest in trains since I was a child, my desire to once again experience their operations since working with them in the mid 80s, and to enjoy some relaxing "train time" that was a bit different from my model railways down in the basement. For the most part this game has provided that but, I am not interested in frustrating or broken actions that take the enjoyment away and turn it into a labour or love/hate relationship. This is supposed to be an enjoyable escape, not a repeat of daily life's BS. ;-)

    All in all I do enjoy the bulk of TSW so far and was hoping that CN Oakville could be a nice Canadian add-on of my favourite railway to enjoy at a leisurely pace. Yet at this moment in time it seems not to be that for many and with valid reasons. Maybe we are overthinking it all? Or maybe we are too picky? Who knows, but it does sound like DTG has some issues with this add-on that need addressing and hopefully they get to these sooner rather than later for their own sake of sales and customer service. The last thing you want to do as a niche market supplier is to disappoint or piss off your customers.

    @ Tin Tin: I too have the Amtrack SW1000, I have found it enjoyable but kind of dragged out in some switching operations. But the thing I dislike the most is that I keep getting caught by red signals and punted from the service. Usually this happens when I am better than half finished and things are going great at which point I forget to watch the signals as closely. I really really wish that DTG would put in automatic save points that spare you from having to do the entire service over again. After investing 45 min or more into a service and then loosing all that work and time is very annoying. I get the fact that it was a major fail, but seriously, who has a millennia of time to play these things over and over? I tend to play a couple hours at a time the last thing I want to have to do is replay an entire service because I made a mistake half way or better through it. I feel that auto save points would reduce the "FFS!" moments, and there could be other penalties for this happenstance ie: be set back to the last properly completed action, loose the bulk of your points, or be forced to take a signals rules class, or whatever. But back to the beginning for a miss that didn't cause an accident? Come on!
     
    Last edited: Mar 30, 2020
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  10. LastTrainToClarksville

    LastTrainToClarksville Well-Known Member

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    Lots more fiction (some possibly just malicious) than fact in this rant. I'll just start with the fact that the tanker loads are ethanol. not oil: an absurd error that leads to doubting everything else. As I've noted elsewhere, the loading activities allow for changing roles: sometimes being the engineer, but also, as in this case, the technician who loads the tankers. By the way, not all ethanol loading activities require actual loading: in some of them, the engineer waits while loading takes place.
    Then there's point 5: this activity requires 3 trips to the Plant plus picking up a rack already in the yard.
    Point 2 is just ridiculous: no service "spawns you in [at] random locations".
    Point 1 is even more absurd: I've completed all of the scenarios except the one that involves free switching and have not encountered anything that cannot be completed (if that's what "broken" is supposed to mean). By the way, that free switching scenario disproves point 6, which also includes another ridiculous generalization: "Stuff like this ..."
    Point 3: as I've noted in other threads, the engineer must turn on Banking Comm in any activity involving a train with more than one engine.

    So much for "useful information"!
     
    Last edited: Mar 30, 2020
  11. TinTin_57

    TinTin_57 Well-Known Member

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    It’s ethanol actually, which isn’t methane, so there you go. So now we can also doubt the rest of what you said. If we are following your rules on customer reviews that is
     
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  12. deans.ma

    deans.ma Member

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    I'm simply stating the problems that I have experienced within OSD. Fine, ethanol, not oil - sue me!

    -Dean
     
  13. TinTin_57

    TinTin_57 Well-Known Member

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    Hi my comment was in response to Clarksville Dean, not yours. No one dare comment against his beloved switching
     
  14. LastTrainToClarksville

    LastTrainToClarksville Well-Known Member

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    Sticks & stones, TT.
     

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