Roadmap Update - 13th July 2021

Oh , so not for consoles . Oh well . Matt did say that DTG would talk about weather ‘nearer the time’ of RH

 

It need to look like this on Unreal Engine
What it Looks now in TSW is the worst skybox and clouds in any game I played beside Bus Simulator.

 

TSW really does use the worse looking skybox out there for whatever reason. I reckon they could easily put in a much better skybox, but decide not to because of base consoles.

 

Personally, I think rush hour is delayed. Think of it. By this point last year we had TSW2 release date

 

Unlike TSW2 this isn't out the blue. They already knew when Development would be roughly finished, with the potential for a delay if needed.

Rush Hour is still in development.

Summer lasts until mid-September 1 so time is a plenty.

And, just a reminder:
This is not the TSW2 release. Completely different scenario.

 

Bad (not-normal) Tue to Fri schedule?
...anyone?
.......bueller?

The Heat is On for a Great 'Rush Hour'

 

A

Actually 2/3 are console users. Back on a stream when the survey came out Sam said it is pretty much 1/3 for each platform. So PC, Playstation, and Xbox each have 1/3 each.

Therefore consoles are the majority.

 

Real life skies



TSW2 skies



Of course, in real life there is an infinite variety of skies (clouds, shapes and colors).
But I would say that the new TSW2 sky (improved by londonmidland) is a big leap forward.

If possible (aka hardware permitting) I would focus on the lighting system and visual details
of the buildings near the railway (stations, etc). Obviously I'm only talking about the graphics side.

 

Stop showing a comparison between real life and a PC Mod.
The original Sky from DTG is ugly as Hell and need to be removed with good looking one.

 

I know, that's what I was saying, the minority is the PC players.

 

Was hoping that would be the case, much appreciated!

 

My Spectrum is better than your Commodore 64 (for those old enough to remember)

 

I am and you are so right! My friends Spectrum was way better than my 64. How I adore my 64! LOL

 

Spectrum hahaha. Colour console, well colour if you like green LOL. I had the 64 and loved it.

 

Yay! Natalie and Adam!

 

The 363 being added to Riesa-Dresden was talked about in the roadmap stream. Just to go over what the key points where:

• It was added as a response to people wanting shunting on this route
• Comes in the DB Blue livery with red wheels (Already known before the stream)
• Minor changes to the model with reduced guardrails
• Usable in service mode and features in one scenario
• Primarily based at the chemical plant at Nünchritz

Hopefully we will see what it looks like in TSW2 soon, but the point about it having one scenario does leave an interesting question about this route...

Just how many scenarios is this route going to have? I say this because with the fact that this route has 5 locos, more than any other TSW2 route out there to date (Despite that fact that many of them are either reused or have some minor differences) and with this route having quite a bit to offer with the branches as well, surely this route isn't just going to the have the usual 5/6 scenarios that DTG make for a route, right?

 

Sounds like they might have seen my Riesa - Dresden wishlist on the shunting and acces to chemical plants .

 

That’s fourteen roadmap streams in a row that Adam has listed the fixes he’s done for Bakerloo. He could release it as an audiobook now. It’s like a familiar bedtime story for train fans.

 

Speaking of weather, I managed to build a whole system in UE4.26, that's fully dynamic, uses the new volumetric cloud system introduced in 4.26, with little hit to performance, i even added 2D clouds for a performance option, and it still looks better than what DTG are using, however as I play on PC use LMs cloud mod and it looks fantastic.

 

And when it's finally released, it will still be filled with bugs that should have been caught in the first five minutes of testing.

 

You aren't simulating trains though.

 

If done right, it can have a negligible impact on performance.

My cloud mod, whilst not flawless, looks way better than the clouds DTG use, and it has no performance impact.

 

Maybe not, but unreal has the capacity for them to make a fantastic sky box, instead I think they use one from the epic launcher marketplace but don't hold me to that.

 

The current skybox looks like it’s been created with blue, white and grey in ms paint with a low resolution mouse for a school project. Harsh but this kills a beautiful game for me

 

You couldn't have worded it better. I mean, just look at this. It's an embarrassment. There's load of much better looking skyboxes out there, yet they choose to stay with this.

DTG:

My version:

 

I wish i can download this but alas i am a console player

 

Will DTG not pay you in order so that they can use your mod code?
....Or, was it just not enough £onga?

 

Wait and see…

 

Was there a roadmap stream last night? I can't see one on YouTube.

 

Here it is

 

Okay I think there's some exaggeration going on here, the current skybox isn't THAT bad. Calling it an embarrassment? Some low resolution MS Paint project? Eeeesh! For christ sakes, someone worked on that.
I'm not saying it's pretty, but having played flight simulators for well over a decade now, I can tell you it looks fine, especially when it's comparable to some skyboxes from something like Prepar3D.
And as much as I hate to say this, I don't think that the cloud mod does much to improve it. Why? Well, what bugs me when I look at it is that it very much feels like you're looking at the eye of a hurricane. I've studied meteorology for a little while, and something just feels slightly unnatural when it comes to the formation of the clouds in those pictures. The default skybox certainly isn't better, but that at least is what scattered clouds should look like. The coloring and depth definitely needs some tweaking, but the formation feels about right. When it comes to the mod, it feels as though there's a massive cold front on the way, bringing quite a lot of precipitation with it. It probably won't be a fun day later on. The coloring does feel pretty spot-on however, I would just try to tweak the formation and make it look less like the player is looking up at the eye of a hurricane.

Neither is perfect, but neither is terrible either. If there were ways to improve it, I'd start by adding some more variety to the skyboxes and tying it to a routes longitudinal and latitude coordinates. There should be more variety when it comes to coloring at dusk or dawn, more weather conditions like haze or smog. There especially should be more clouds types, not just flat cumulus clouds.
I would keep the way how clear and overcast conditions look however, they look fine enough as is.

 

pressures on for a big change log on that one

 

In terms of the Skybox, I guess I don’t hate it enough for it to be an issue. Though I do mostly drive without cloud on sunny days. The sky can look pretty nice in TSW 2, but I agree it can look pretty awful too. Any improvement would be welcome, but I’d rather they get sound, signalling, timetables, other bugs sorted first. The Class 47 Green still drives atrociously on WSR for example.

 

Is that a hint that they will use it?

 

At this point, it’s more if they want to use it. Nothing is set in stone as of yet.

 

I agree. This would help a lot. What we’re missing is different cloud types, as well as different colours to the clouds. I’d love to see dark storm clouds forming during summer, for example.

We also need to make sure clouds don’t form and change too quickly, such as in that scenario on the LGV route. I believe it went from a clear sky to full cloud coverage and heavy rain in a space of around 5-10 minutes? That’s pretty unrealistic as it usually takes a couple of hours to form convection from nothing.

 

Regarding the DB BR 363 services:
Yesterday on the stream they said that it's primarily going to be used at the Nünchritz chemical plant. That's good, but how about the steelworks at Riesa? They are right next to the Hauptbahnhof, so you'll have to model it anyway and you already have the appropriate freight wagons available (Shimms-TTU and Shimms-U), so why not make some services there too? It looks like a lovely yard to work on and filling it up with some wagons will only improve the route.
Also, there's a canal dock with container cranes in Riesa that would be nice to use, but I guess that won't even be modelled.

 

As container wagons will be included, I definetely think some dockyard shunting could be great!

At the very least some action at the steelworks should be possible. However, it is a passenger focussed route pack, so I'm already happy with the freight and shunting we're getting. Plus, all the branches make it a route I'm very excited for.

I really hope RH comes out in the first two weeks of August, as that would give me actual time to play the routes . I'm really excited for all routes, as NEC amd BML offer me something out of my normal focus that I'm still interested in and BRD is just about exactly what interests me most.

 

For some reason, when starting the session, it’ll start clear in the middle. It does cloud over, however.

 

In reality you’re much more likely to have a quick weather change blow in with the wind than develop above you. Or, because of the speed of trains, drive into an area of different weather. I guess that can’t be done though because the sky ‘moves along’ with the player. It’s really about the best compromises as it doesn’t have to be totally realistic just give a good impression that it’s real weather that’s changing, and not a magic trick.

 

I'm still not convinced by the argument that TSW doesn't have better skies/clouds "because of base consoles." Red Dead Redemption 2 has possibly the best sky/cloud/weather effects ever put into a game, yet it runs very happily on an OG XBox One or PS4. (And, yes, there is a LOT of number-crunching going on under the hood, as well as an insanely complex multichannel soundfield).

 

That's true. I forget you’re moving location whilst on a train. Though the above would be applicable if you’re standing in one location I would’ve thought.

 

I don’t think it’s a console problem either, nor is it because trains have to be simulated. I believe they could easily add a better looking skybox, but it depends if they want to spend the time and resources on doing so, seeing as they have a never ending list of things to do.

 

Yeh it has nothing to do with base consoles. I don't get why some would say that. DTG can add an improved skybox if they want too or have time too. Hopefully improvements will come. This game in my opinion has the worst looking skybox of any game that I have played in last gen and latest gen consoles

 

In the stream last night Nat did mention Skyboxes but did Adam give an answer? I seem to be missing that part from memory and do not want to watch the whole stream again, lol.