Cathcart Cirle Manual?

Discussion in 'TSW General Discussion' started by rich.cooke, Jun 12, 2021.

  1. rich.cooke

    rich.cooke New Member

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    Is there a manual for Cathcart Circle? Its not on he TSW2 manuals page and I couldn't see anything on the Steam store page either. I like to print out the route map.
    Thanks

    Rich Cooke
     
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  2. LastTrainToClarksville

    LastTrainToClarksville Well-Known Member

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    Most probable DTG reply: "Manual? What's a manual? Aren't you already playing manually?
     
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  3. rich.cooke

    rich.cooke New Member

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  4. Rob Jansen

    Rob Jansen Well-Known Member

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    DTG seems to have stopped with creating manuals indeed.
    There was no manual for Hamburg-Lübeck and Clinchfield Railroad either.

    DTG almost never published a manual for a Loco DLC, so we skip the BR 101, BR Class 465 and the Diesel Legends Pack.

    But DTG, please, manuals are an integral part of a product and could take up no more then just a few hours, maybe half a day as most parts can be written during the development so it just needs a polish and proof reading at the end.
    So you can easily create a manual for every DLC that is produced.
    There was talk about DTG Steve being the appointed person who creates the manuals, it was mentioned by Sam in earlier Road Map streams.

    Some earlier manuals were just copies of each other, with just some wording changed as some parts, like PZB, is the same but just some nuances for specific routes (hint, the Riesa-Dresden route features older signalling then described in a previous manual).
     
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  5. Clumsy Pacer

    Clumsy Pacer Well-Known Member

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    I'm currently cobbling together a quick user's guide for the route, should be out in the next few hours.

    The game's currently being a bit of a prick which is slowing down my progress on it.
     
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  6. synthetic.angel

    synthetic.angel Well-Known Member

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    I agree with all of this - a manual is critically important. It massively enhances the value of the product for the player.

    But it isn't always possible to write a manual, because nobody really fully knows what is in the DLC at release (or possibly at any point in the development), and things like DLC specifications (if they get written) are sometimes used to prop up the fridge (the one with the broken foot), so that the compressor whines a bit less. And nobody wants a fridge that whines.

    To write a manual also requires a certain amount of discipline and organisation. It's often just not feasible for all of these requirements to line up in a happy place at the same time, so that a manual could get written.

    All that said - maybe if you write to ScotRail, and ask them for a manual for their lovely new game, you might suddenly find one gets produced and published on Steam a few weeks later. Just a thought. ;-)
     
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  7. mailerdemon

    mailerdemon Member

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    *sigh* Another DLC without manual.

    This makes it hard and sometimes rather frustrating for the casual player who only plays every now and then and doesn't get to learn every route and train by heart.

    Come on, DTG, give us at least the essentials! Every DLC should come with a PDF that contains at least a schematic overview of the route, a signal chart, and crucially a step-by-step check list for getting the trains to move in the various difficulty modes, including cold start procedures and all those optional toggleable safety systems that usually (or never?) get covered in the training scenarios in the game.
     
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  8. mariussoare_84

    mariussoare_84 Well-Known Member

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    I bet that Epic games delivered Unreal Engine 4 and its updates to DTG without any manual too.
    Their approach is "Get the DLC done in a sufficient state->Go next".
    Manuals, similar to accurate rolling stock (Do-stos on HHL), don't bring income so no point in giving these any attention.

    I know that the UK is no longer in the EU but it still remained in the single market agreement. There are regulations and thus consequences for selling products, digital or physical, without proper manuals and instructions. I am sure that the rest of the world has similar requirements as well.

    So, it's more than "they are in the mood for creating manuals", it is mandatory according to the laws of the markets they operate in.
     
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  9. Clumsy Pacer

    Clumsy Pacer Well-Known Member

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  10. synthetic.angel

    synthetic.angel Well-Known Member

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  11. mldaureol2

    mldaureol2 Well-Known Member

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    An excellent manual.
    DTG should sign you up.:)
    Mike.
     
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  12. Cramnor

    Cramnor Well-Known Member

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    Since DTG started talking about improving manuals and put that on the roadmap, the trend seems to go in the complete opposite direction - no manuals at all. No maps, no help, nothing whatsoever. Maybe in a year we get a "tutorial" video. :( I really doubt we will ever get a manual for the routes that have been released without one so far, it's a shame
     
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  13. hyperlord

    hyperlord Well-Known Member

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    Guys, what do the digits when approaching or leaving Glasgow stand for?
     
  14. Olaf the Snowman

    Olaf the Snowman Well-Known Member

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    Approaching Glasgow, it is platform number.
    Leaving Glasgow, it is line number so you know where you are being routed to. Ideally, you need to put into line 7 for Cathcart services from the signal at the first gantry. But line 4 is also acceptable as long as you’re routed to line 7 on the signals at the 3rd gantry.
     
    Last edited: Jun 13, 2021
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  15. hyperlord

    hyperlord Well-Known Member

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