Train Sim World 2 - Roadmap Update 30/11/2021

It’s cool to have new route in New York, I guess. Happy for all the American passenger route fans! But it’s not very long and it doesn’t seem like there’s going to be lots of variety. Also, 100% reused stock again. Is there any potential for branch lines or something like that, I’m not really familiar with the area to be honest. Anyways, this is probably a relatively easy way for DTG to release a new American passenger route since there’s no new stock and the short route probably has lots of readily available reference material.
Regarding the Arosa DLC, I really hope it’s free. This would be the perfect Christmas gift for all Arosa players. But if it turns out to be a paid DLC, it’ll make them even more angry & disappointed.

 

If a PC32 had been included no one would be complaining, given that this train could easily have been laid into further DLC as a Amtrak PC42 it would have made sense surely.

 

Contrary to the popular opinion, I'm a bit disappointed with this roadmap for a couple of reasons.

First, I'm not a fan of the new US route. I was hoping for a steam route (after the UK one) and instead we'll get something similar to LIRR, with the same units and in the same city. Not terribly exciting if you ask me, but I'll admit that LIRR is such a mess that maybe this is a good substitute. I'm only hoping that steam won't be UK exclusive...

But even more disappointing is that they are once again announcing new routes while there is still no word of new loco dlcs. Since the very first roadmap there have been 0! new DTG locos announced and currently there are none on it at all. Hopefully they didn't decide to just abandon them as that would be a huge shame. I guess I'll have to be even more careful buying new routes in the future, knowing they will always feel incomplete with DTG's sparse rolling stock.

Also, as long as Arosa in such poor condition I sadly couldn't care less about any new dlcs for it.

 

There must be a term for "setting one's self up for disappointment through unrealistic expectations."

Why on earth would you think a steam route could be released in the near future? Steam is NOT COMING ANY TIME SOON. If a steam route is released before August 2022, I'll buy Arosa Linie. But then you say you are "disappointed" because DTG has not aligned itself with your imagination?

Excuse me? There have been, at the least, the BR 101, the Class 465 and the Class 313 announced and released since the Roadmaps began ~ a year ago.

 

The big selling point for the Harlem line will surely be Grand Central Station, the main station hall is absolutely stunning in real life so hopefully DTG nails that.

 

What arosa/chur really needs are a 2nd loco and some additional freight wagons.

 

Yeah, MNR ran a pretty busy timetable (especially around Harlem - 125 St) before the pandemic, so it would be nice to see that reflected here in the game. I would also like to see those sounds changed, and the trains are not just a carbon copy of the M3/M7 from LIRR. They have some noticeable differences on the interior, the exterior, and with the sounds.

 

Well, Dresden saw reworked versions of the older German trains, and even BML uses a subtly upgraded version of the 377, so....

 

Yeah, I expect to see the appropriate changes with the new units. It seems like DTG has gotten a bit better with reusing trains, by actually updating them, and giving them new features.

 

Arosa timetable fix will be free

 

I have a strange feeling that DTG is just gonna model the MNR Platforms and that's it. A cool thing to note about this station though, is that with the MTA's new East Side Access project, this route could be linked to LIRR.

 

These are good news about new American commuter route and a lot of improvements to preserved collection but I'm very disappointed that DTG didn't include to roadmap adding of third main track to Sherman Hill (( I believe it's temporarily. This survey (https://forums.dovetailgames.com/th...-to-tsws-version-of-sherman-hill-route.48894/) got 40 votes. I suppose that it's sufficient number to implement it

 

It only got some of the features preservation crew do, so other things will be in the works for it. The other preservation crew stuff.

 

They are not the same trains used on the LIRR route

 

If a steam route is not released before August 2022, I'll buy the Arosa livery pack. There is no way we are waiting 9 months for the next British route which the first Steam route will blatantly be. March/April is my guess.

To refresh your memory, those were all on the very first roadmap on 18th August 2020, 15 months ago: https://live.dovetailgames.com/live/train-sim-world/articles/article/tsw2-roadmap-18-august

 

THIS is very important for that route. DTG is about to sell us a 38 km route with two reskinned trains many of us have. Grand Central is probably their only chance to save this.

 

Just because people vote for it doesn't mean they have to do it, frankly.

Plus, they don't and won't put stuff on the roadmap unless it's being worked on. Not the other way around.
Also, I wouldn't get too used to these "additions" - Dresden to Riesa was an exception, thanks to Ed and Lukas.

 

A poll effectively titled "Would you like DTG to add new content to Sherman Hill for free?" is a very useless one indeed. There are always tradeoffs with limit budget and time.

Cheers

 

Oh, really? That sure, are you? I venture that the next UK route will be modern, and electric (and released much sooner than 9 months from now).

Spirit of Steam will be DTG's big summer marketing splash next year, I predict, and then and only then will we see steam routes (three of them, just like Rush Hour).

 

That, and the fact it was almost finished at the time of release, having only been cut out at the last minute.

 

Maybe the west Coastway

 

Have a look at the Rivet forum. It's a set of liveries and a panorama car. The timetable update should come before this one (this is not shown in this way at the roadmap).

 

You might be right, but if there will be another UK route before steam then why have DTG just skipped over the UK in their normal US/DE/UK cycle and gone US/DE/US?

 

According to Jasper from Rivet the roadmap is wrong here.

https://forums.rivet-games.com/foru...livery-collection-for-our-arosa-line#post5925

 

For the Harlem Line it should be set up as this M7A 10-12 car trains to North White Plains because North White Plains to Brewster cannot handle M7A 10-12 car trains due to substation issues while M3A 10-12 car trains can go all the way to Brewster 1983 electrification project. M7A 8 car trains to Brewster. Metro-North third rail is different from Long Island Railroad because it's 750v DC Third rail Bottom Contact since the 1970s. LIRR is 750v DC Third rail Top Contact. DLC For Metro-North Harlem Line is M9A complete with Velinda Mitchell announcements making her the American equivalent to Ingo Ruff which is used by Doppelstockwagen 780 767.2 766.2 on RRO HRR HMA & Schnellfahrstrecke Köln-Aachen if Main Spessart Bahn or Riesa-Dresden was used.

 

I think you're mixing things up a bit- route builders and physics surely are not the same persons hence looking at the number of new routes incoming and comparing this to the number of new trains incoming I guess the route building team is significantly bigger

My comment wasn't targeting the new route as I'm not familiar at all with it. I prefer not to comment when I don't know much about a topic. Might be a bit out of the time here...

Oh and by the way. The day when I will pay 75 quid for any software entertainment product is the day after I bought my 2nd Ferrari. So most likely not gonna happen. Although I like Ferrari. Bollocks.

 

Without P32 the new US passanger route is just a reused money maker.. If they had energy for a new route, they should have had for new rolling stock like a Genesis which is already was in hope by a lot for Boston line... Fully reused stock with brand new route. Just why?.. Its so ridiculous.
Just because they don't have enough workforce then repair the screwed up things. When they can make new rolling stock start building the corresponding route as well..

 

The optimist in me is hoping it's because it's a big one that they need more time to work on before they're ready to reveal it. One to top BML.

 

Excited about the Harlem line. I hope the sounds on the M7A are decent quality and maybe used on the M7.

 

There would be one very positive reason for a lack of Loco DLC, and that would be if they are holding off on these while they try and separate loco packs from routes. This could mean that in the future locos could be bought without a specific route being required in order for them to subsitute or add layers to other routes. This would mean less DLC for DLC and enhance loco pack sales. Someone above said they aren't buying RRO just to get the G6, well I am sure similar comments would be made about HRR and the 101 or MSB for the 204 etc, these trains do appear in plenty of routes, but not if you don't already own the base route.

 

Yes, the loco artists and loco modelers and route builders are all different people, they aren't fungible. But all of them have to get paid, and all of them have to fit within the project budget. More man-hours building route scenery is money not available to be spent on new trains, and vice-versa.

While I have said many times that rolling stock sells routes, and have criticized DTG for releasing routes with nothing but recycled rolling stock, they are dealing with business realities; it's no longer financially feasible to put out routes with three new locos like SPG and GWE did.

 

I agree with you here. Although I believe on the long term this business model will not be very successful but it's seen throughout all industries these days. 100 €/£/$ today > 1000 €/£/$ someday in the future. Usually not good for the customer but that's how it is...

 

The Harlem Line is OK, I guess. I would have preferred something around Chicago, or another major American city. I hope this love affair with the East Coast isn't forever.

 

This is the most exciting thing since sliced BREAD!

 

The train making people at DTG have been busy making lots and lots of lovely steam locomotives and old rolling stock ready for era appropriate steam to be introduced. That’s my educated guess. They have therefore not been able to make as many loco DLC for existing routes. Reused locos in routes have been getting upgraded or altered as and when. We can’t have everything all at the same time and DTG only have x number of pairs of hands.

 

A steam route is on the roadmap, which means it should release in about the standard time it takes to build a route. Since this is steam, it might take a bit longer, but I seriously doubt that it will take the 9 it needs to be a Summer release. If that were the case, I don't think they would have started working on the route itself just yet.
The first steam route is clearly set to be UK and a future UK route is missing from the cycle, so it is not too far-fetched to assume that the next UK route could be the steam one. And since pretty much everyone assumed (foolishly perhaps, I admit) that each of the 3 major coutries would get a steam route, it was definitely not ridiculous to hope that the next US route could also be one.
I may be wrong in the end, but I wouldn't call any of those "unrealistic expectations".

All of those loco dlcs were listed on the 1st roadmap and since then DTG haven't announced any at all.

I'm not disappointed because they haven't aligned with my imagination, but because of content decisions they make.

 

Another factor, although it's a reason which we are all tired of hearing by now, is the impact of COVID on research. To do a loco/MU well, DTG have to arrange with a TOC to have their people climb all over an original, go on cab rides, take photos and videos and sound recordings.... and arranging these visits has become very difficult over the last year and a half. As Matt mentioned, they had a sound survey for an SD70ACe lined up, but it was canceled; AIUI Deutsche Bahn is simply not allowing outsiders into its facilities at all for any reason.

 

I agree with you and it's actually easy to operate because R1 Xbox RB to brake R2 Xbox RT to Accelerate provided you are used to the Long Island Railroad version the yellow paint. Most of my TSW2020 time was on the M7 LIRR.

 

The metro north m7 is different than the m7, they are similar but there are definitely differences.

 

You can tell them apart by looking at the Rooftop HVAC Vent M7A LIRR Doesn't have the HVAC Vent. M3s Metro-North has the M7A seats even though those were ordered for the Brewster electrification project in 1983. M3 LIRR retains the 1987 seats because the electrification project finished on December 28th 1987.

 

They are not the same EMUs used on LIRR

 

What the Roadmap actually says is, under In Production,

• [Core] Steam Update

And under In Planning,

• [Spirit of Steam] First release

Which I read as meaning that they have not started work yet on any steam route; that the current work on steam is just getting the basic simulation systems implemented.

 

Apart from the Preservation crew working on NTP and GWE, the latest roadmap is all very "meh" for me again.

I do hope both of the above routes get more services added in timetable mode as they are too quiet.

 

I mean, they can only make what they have licenses for, right?

Chicago would be awesome but Metra license is impossible to get, and, fun fact, the band Chicago was originally called Chicago Transit Authority until the actual CTA sued them and they had to change the name. Anyway, don't hold your breath there. Philly and SEPTA is a similar situation. DC Metro is unbranded in the TS20XX NEC route, IIRC, and they've said they don't want to do unbranded stuff in TSW. Not sure what other American cities run heavy rail service, and not sure what the market for a light rail route would be like?

We also have Boston and San Francisco passenger routes, so it's not like we're totally without variety.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to the Harlem line, especially if they can deliver on the scenery, and can make the timetable actually busy using AI services. Does any CSX run on the line? I know diesel can't go into Grand Central, but are there any layer possibilities further up the line?

Since LIRR seems to be dead, i'm hoping that this route could be a basis for future NYC content. I've missed NEC:NY in TSW2 more than I expected.

I still don't get the complaints about route length- 23 miles on a commuter line will easily take an hour to run one-way. Personal preference though tbf.

 

There's the Oak Point Link near the line (near Harlem River bridge), but I wouldn't get your hopes up for any freight on this line at all.

 

The train simulator version was 60 miles long

 

Yeah it's probably wishful thinking...

 

Exactly, and it’s not the end to end length that really limits what DTG can make, it’s also the number of stations, complexity or density of scenery and underground sections, all of which this route has plenty of. It wasn’t that long ago that 23 miles was around the end to end length of every route that came out.

 

As it should.