Multiple Variants Of The Same Loco

Discussion in 'TSW General Discussion' started by wxtr7, Sep 1, 2021.

  1. wxtr7

    wxtr7 Well-Known Member

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    Not sure if this has ever been discussed in detail, but with as much reused stock as TSW has why was the development decision taken early on to force a loco into a route and remake every time vs. make once & reuse everywhere (and update as needed), i.e., in its own pak file?
    Different feature sets that can make it confusing for bug reporting/tracking and provides an uneven experience in the game by driving two slightly different but the same thing. It's also inefficient on our side in the form of wasted hard drive space (even if locos are relatively small overall).

    What specifically ties a loco to it's "home route" and prevents it from being a standalone thing shared amongst the various routes? Are there any considerations (internally) for rectifying this in the future, or I guess the better way to ask is: is this something on the infinite list of things or is this not something worth addressing?
     
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  2. Jinoss17

    Jinoss17 Well-Known Member

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    Completely agree with you. The current file system could be efficient with a small number of DLCs. Now we have a big number of DLC.
     
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  3. Callum B.

    Callum B. Well-Known Member

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    It has a lot to do with testing older content to make sure it works properly. If you sandbox each locomotive to its own home route, if you ever make a change to that locomotive you only have to test it on its home route to make sure it works. This is important to ensure that the timetable actually functions correctly.

    Take, for example, when Adam's team redid the physics for the MSB DB BR 146.2: they modified the physics to update traction and other parameters, but found that the changes they made (while improved the physics of the locomotive to be more realistic) broke the existing timetable because the locomotive could no longer ascend the mountain so easily. This required almost a complete rewrite of the timetable which was apparently a headache to do.

    Now, consider a situation where DTG takes a different approach and uses the same locomotive on multiple different routes. Now, every time they make a change to that locomotive, they must test its functionality on all routes that it runs on to make sure that the changes they made do not break anything. This is an enormous undertaking and will only get worse as more routes release.

    Thus, DTG have opted instead for their current sandbox model. The alternative would be even longer wait times for patches & fixes and higher risk of one small change breaking everything, which I think most would object to.

    Cheers
     
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  4. Inkar

    Inkar Well-Known Member

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    There have been threads about this, but AFAIK DTG still thinks it is better to have a copy of each train in each route so if there is a problem with one of them it remains isolated.
     
  5. KoeleKoen

    KoeleKoen Well-Known Member

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    makes sense,however,2 questions about this,it would break the timetable,just by driving slower as a player? the AI doesn't use the simugraph physics and 2,are the physics that impacting that adding a second loco wouldn't fix this? They did this with the banking services,giving you now 3 instead of 2 locos to get up the hill.
     
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  6. Callum B.

    Callum B. Well-Known Member

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    It's true, AI use a simplified model of the physics but from what Adam stated there was still enough impact to AI services that the whole timetable just fell apart.
    In this instance, adding a second locomotive resolved the issue (at least partially, I'm not sure what other work they had to go in and do to make it all function properly). But adding locomotives is not a universal fix, as there are many different kinds of physics problems than just tractive effort.

    Cheers
     
  7. zefreak

    zefreak Active Member

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    They are adding flexibility (ability to make a fix to only a single route at a time) but increasing overall workload (in order to fix a locomotive, they have to apply the patch individually to each route - overall testing burden remains the same as each fix would still have to be fully tested on its route). I guess the trade-off makes sense, as they can justify incremental improvements as the cost is spread over time for each route. Still don't love it as the inconsistency between routes is confusing and annoying.
     
  8. Callum B.

    Callum B. Well-Known Member

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    I agree, and I think that it is an unsustainable business model, at least if DTG hopes to keep older content kept up to date with the latest features as time progresses. But that is their problem as a business to tackle, not mine.

    Cheers
     
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  9. bescot

    bescot Well-Known Member

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    It would, at least be helpful if the train thumbnail picture on the loco selection screen give a clue as to what route the train is attached to. For example the DoSto zf cars. If I go to RSN and click to drive the cab car it has 4 versions shown under repaint now. What's the difference?
     
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  10. Callum B.

    Callum B. Well-Known Member

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    It is confusing, I agree. If you're on PC, there is a mod that will give you the information you are looking for.

    Cheers
     
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  11. bescot

    bescot Well-Known Member

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    Brilliant, thanks so much.
     
  12. stujoy

    stujoy Well-Known Member

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    I think we are heading for our fifth Dosto cab car with Dresden coming out. All the same but all slightly different too. At least the different liveries identify some of them. It’s very clunky. There are three Class 101 DMUs now.
     
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