Been really enjoying the peninsula corridor lately, wondering if the loco add-ons are worth it? Forget about the service type and amount of stops, solely in terms of functionality, sounds, complexity, texturing, realism, driving mechanics, bugs, and immersion which cab's driving experience is better: Gallery Cab Car or Bi-Level Cab Car and MP36PH-3C or F40PH-2CAT Also is the MP15DC worth it even if you're not really into switching? Many thanks in advance!
If you like the f40ph then the mp36ph will be a good decision to buy. The mp36 is nice to drive, still requires some skill and is overall a better loco for driving. The sounds are excellent on it. Hope this bit of info helps somewhat
Personally I don't really like the cab cars on this route, but if I had to choose I'd take the Bi-level cab car. Regarding the locos, both the F40 and the MP36 are really cool in terms of feeling and drivign experience, but the MP36 is even better imo. The cockpit is like that of an airplane, the controls are a bit more new than of the F40 and thus a bit easier to play with, and the sound is cool. If you are not into shunting I doubt that you will have much fun with the MP15. There are runs where you are moving outside of the yard, but most are within and you are restricted to very low speeds. It has a very cool cab setup though.
I really like both, but agree if you're not into switching maybe wait for a big discount on the MP15. OTOH, the MP15 adds new services to the route, while MP36 just substitutes, so depends on your priorities.
I agree with what has been said so far. The MP36 is excellent and has self lapping brakes. It‘s a bit quiet, but that may be fixed or is prototypical, I don‘t know. The cab of the MP36 is just gorgeous. If you‘re not into switching, the MP15 doesn‘t do much for you, but: It has like 2 or 3 services in which you take ballast trains along the whole line using both MP15s as far as I remember. It adds a special train service once per day (one service per direction, obviously). It‘s twice as long as a normal one and uses 2x F40s. It‘s a nice diversion from the normal trains. Yes, the MP15 mainly adds switching services, but if any of those two points sound appealing to you, may be worth your money. Be that as it may, I can absolutely recommend the MP36.
I agree with what’s been said above. The cab cars do give different driving experiences. The gallery cab car is driven from way up high whereas the bilevel has a really low down cab, which makes it quite different. I like them both equally. Other than the self lapping brakes on the Baby Bullet units, the functionality is much the same across both sets. It’s worth remembering that the Baby Bullet DLC does not add any new services to the timetable as it just substitutes some of the existing services, which you can then no longer drive in the original train set. I also wouldn’t say it was better, just different, and the variety it adds is worth it. The switcher DLC is a good model but if you aren’t into switching it only adds a couple of freight runs. The DLC does allow you to make up the special train but that train and the switcher prevent you from completing a couple of existing services, as it introduces new dispatcher bugs and holds things up at red signals.
Thank you all for replying to my oddly specific and difficult to answer question. Really appreciate it! You've convinced me to pick up both add-ons, seems like they certainly add more variety and uniqueness to the route and driving experience. Just have to be very very patient and hope the next major tsw dlc Xbox sale isn't in the summer of 2021. Just wish this game had dlc bundles. :-(
Both dlc make the route more lively, it is cool to have a mix of F40 and MP36 encounters along the route, and both MP15 units usually are parked somewhere at the yard before San Jose for you to find when passing by!
