Train Sim World 2 - Roadmap Update 25/01/2022

It seems to me that the team is not trying the best in terms of preservation crew updates. Don't get me wrong I like the fact that they are coming out with new routes, and trainset, but the problem is that Still No Bugs fix to the core route, or the preservation update, which really hurt those who love driving the old route, but they can't because there are still bugs, drop of FPS and stuttering with sound being cut off and on; Whats is the point of coming up with new route if they're still bug and glitches and FPS problem, that still not resolved. Like another person, here said, there should be a preservation route update, whenever there is a new route released, that way, we know that the team isn't just only saying, and there is proof that they really did something.

Remember there is a saying in all thing "Action speak louder than words"

 

So am I right in thinking you’re not best pleased. (Only jesting)

Adam’s team working their backside off for us and then being parked for new dlc all the time is a bit of urine extraction to the work they do.

 

The holdup to releasing the Preserved Collection fixes is not entirely due to DTG's overloaded QA system, although that's certainly part of it. Another part of the problem is that Sony and Microsoft do not allow vendors to upload patches and updates whenever they want as often as they want. There are instead a finite number of "slots," and DTG have to fit all their content uploads into those reserved windows.

 

Precisely. I don't play LIRR (and I suspect many are like me) because it's currently a mess, and unless and until the ACS is fixed, I don't bother.

 

Initial congratulations to Rivet for giving us a train with a decent sized front window. Be interesting to see how this develops.

 

It's always third-party Sony and Microsoft that's holding up everything. Crazy

 

Absolutely this!

Routes i personally own but don't play specifically because i'm waiting for preservation updates:
Penn Corridor
GWE
Oakville
LIRR

I'm glad they're considering other metrics and delivery options.

I think i'd vote for regular update windows be it monthly/quarterly. Whatever's ready to go gets pushed out the window.

 

It was ironie or sarcasm.

 

+1 right here.

I want to play lirr but frankly why would I when the audio on the m7 is broken. People aren't gonna play with dlc that still have issues. It's like what happened with NASCAR 21 Ingition. The game had a butload of bugs that were so bad that very few people are playing it.

I think a solution could be that DTG release massive bug and preservation crew updates Quarterly or Monthly kinda how Asobo release updates for MSFS. That would reassure players that the updates that are tested and done will be released in a short period of time rather than 1 1/2 years. This would fit perfectly with the limited number of slots dtg have to release updates as well

 

They did say "DTGs overloaded QA system" and that's the start of the issue, but it has been said that the consoles are limited in update slots, whereas on Steam (not sure on Epic) you can update as much as you like, and in a granular fashion, so file by file if you wanted to

 

This is what I thought until Nat asked Adam will the community have to wait for 17 pieces of DLC to get all the pres updates out and he said no, it would be a lot quicker than that. So that goes against to what they were saying about slots being available they can hurry the process if they want.

Adam said the pres updates/fixes were done and dusted early December. Matt also said in Dec how DTG are going to get regular updates coming through in 2022. It is now just about two months later and a month into 2022 and not one single pres update has come forward. DTG seem more preoccupied how the forum page looks rather than getting these updates out.

Then they come up with this divisive idea on releasing updates per popularity, that insults everyone who bought a route in good faith thinking if there was a fix it would come. Then as a few posters here (including myself) have either stopped playing the pres stuff or TSW2 entirely as they are awaiting the updates (I have stopped playing entirely untill GWE receives its updates) so who is going to count these people DTG? And how many times have we been told that the forum is not the total community but taking a portion of posts on a forum that most players do not use is acceptable? Sounds like a strategy from a 5 year old. Obviously the fairest way is to release the updates in the order to when the pres route was released surely?

It just isn't unacceptable for customers having to wait all this time for updates to something they bought in good faith. Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Adam say that his team were going to help with the QA to get the fixes out sooner but then Adam says he will be helping third parties. Bloody hell DTG, can't you concentrate on one thing at a time? You might find the company moves forward quicker. Spend February getting all the pres updates out that would be my advice but that will never happen.

DTG like to say they learn from lessons but they really don't. Adam said they don't want another 313 situation but sorry Adam you have already got one with the pres updates/fixes. Not Adam's fault in any way of course but still. DTG will lose custom and potentially customers over this especially if new train sims coming out prove worthy. When I used to work and was taking my time I used to be told 'Get your finger out' good advice for you there DTG.

 

Shouldn't LIRR Update be on the top with the peninsula corridor since Adam says that it should be by region, which US Route is Pennisula Corridor, CSX- Sand Path Grade, and LIRR should be there as well BECAUSE IT WOULD MAKE SENSE since also Harlem Line is coming?

 

What he meant by that is that it's possible to bundle updates together if in aggregate they fit under Sony's and Microsoft's size cap. One big and one little, or three little, and so on. So it won't take 17 separate uploads to get 17 updates out.

 

If so that would mean some/most updates won't be touched this year no?

 

Say what?

 

Do the Maths. There are 17 preserve routes yeah? And then there will be what 3 route releases this year by DTG? so that would mean there would have to be 5 pres route upgrades released per DLC leaving two if they want to release everything this year no? And that is if they can release different region pres upgrades per DLC if not then that would slow it down further. No.

Unless of course they are going to be doing more releases or maybe release updates with third party DLC but I would wager that there will be outstanding Pres route updates/fixes at the end of year going into 2023.

 

I personally don't buy the release slots excuse. These are recent non-critical updates with no substantial fixes from the persevered crew:
18th Jan - Amtrak 50th Anniversary Livery with other tweaks to the game
11th Jan - Added working railroad crossings to Sand Patch Grade. As well a few fixes to Sand Patch trains
15 Dec - Arosa Line Update including Made minor improvements to audio including traction motor audio and windscreen wiper audio.
14 Dec - Fixed routes showing speed limits of ‘0' Could be argued that this was game breaking therefore had special dispensation for release however DTG were able to bundle in with that update to Chur Runaround fixing expected arrival time being hard to achieve.

This is not an exhaustive list. Any of these updates could have contained more substantial updates from Preserved Crew but none were forthcoming. We've been told about delays to Preservation Updates because of a testing blockage for over 8 months now.

The last major update from the preservation crew that I can remember was the LIRR and RT update on 11th May 2021 which added PIS to those routes.

 

I tend to agree. I think they're using the "slots" excuse to deflect attention from their broken QA pipeline.

I own a lot of games on Xbox, and some of them are updated at least weekly if not more frequently. Maybe things are different on the Playstation side, but i can't speak to that.

 

That's what I was thinking too. Why are they constantly chopping and changing the sizes of teams and their roles when they can't even roll out updates in a reasonable timeframe? First of all, sort out the major issues you currently have before assigning people to different roles. I can't help but think everyone at DTG is running around like headless chickens, not really knowing what is going to come out and when.

The update schedules are an absolute mess and have no consistency whatsoever in regards to what is included in them. Often we are waiting weeks, only for a relatively minor fix to finally be released. It's only a matter of time until players will have had enough.

This needs sorting. Now.

 

I meant Route DLC not Loco and tbh I only buy UK stuff (or used to) so that's why I probably went so low. You expect Loco DLC this year? I bet it is not UK stock, even if it is as high as 8 I can still see some pres routes missing out. I hope I'm wrong and we see all the updates in the next few months but I highly doubt it, we have lost two months with DTG still talking of what they are going to do as opposed of just get on and doing it.

As said above I don't buy their slots excuse all I can think of is that they want to stall the updates as they are not cost effective which if true is a mistake imo.

 

Natalie wanted a feedback: I’m glad to find the Rapid transit DB 442 PZB is fixed, although not out yet. And: Please, Adam, help Skyhook to produce an updated DB BR187 with a working AFB/PZB/LZB! Along with the proper sound.

 

Yeah, lets get Adam and his team helping all the third parties so they do not have to concentrate on preserved routes. If the team were bigger perhaps but as their team is allegedly helping the QA staff help test the Pres updates I think this should be their priority but as we all know of course they will be signed elsewhere.

 

That is true at least for xbox. The slot reason does sound a bit fishy unless the slots are for dlc updates but again I wouldn't be too sure

 

I think a large part of the release slots issue is them being able to create the release builds on all the platforms and getting them tested, packaged up and ready to go out rather than it being a limit imposed on them by the console manufacturers. It’s an internal process by a separate team that all needs scheduling and the work has to fit their capacity. We get updates prior to all releases and sometimes they are big and some times they are tiny with very little other than the core being made ready for the DLC coming a few days later. Those update releases need to be maximised to contain a lot more but that’s the bit they are struggling with, getting stuff ready and into the slots rather than the slots themselves being limited by external parties. I’ve pieced that together in my head from what I remember them saying in streams over a period of time so it might not be totally accurate but that’s how it appears to me.

 

Of course it's all lies and excuses ... It used to be that they didn't want the download sizes to be too big, now it's that there aren't enough slots. The people on these forums who swallow these excuses whole and keep buying new content on day one are absolute suckers.

 

Now that makes more sense. I never heard of Microsoft for example imposing restrictions to the amount of updates a game can get. If that was the case, Fortnite for example wouldn't have all the updates it gets

 

Suckers is probably a strong way to put it. But it is odd that their reasons as you point out keep changing. I wonder if dtg themselves just can't put a finger on the problem and are running around like clueless pigeons

People have spent money on these dlcs are understandably frustrated by the amount of time it is taking for preservation updates to get out the door. DTG have tested the patience of many players and understandably, some players patience are running out. Not everyone wants to get the next shiny dlc. If dtg doesn't sort this out, then some will just lose interest all together. That wouldn't be good for dtg.

I hope they sort this out soon because for people who spent money on these dlcs only to be met with a defective product, it just isn't accecptable that it's taking a year in some instances for updates to be released and DTG constantly changing their reasons as to why this is the case

 

I couldn't agree with you more on this, I myself cannot understand why DTG cannot release updates on more frequent schedule. I have invested a lot of money into this sim myself.

My biggest investment was the raildriver as it was promised to be made workable in TSW. To this day only a select few locos actually have been done. They say the rest are done and are just waiting for release. At this rate who knows when that will be exactly, things keep changing and we get a different reason each time.

At this point I think it would be best if they just do one big update and get it over with. Otherwise who knows how much longer we could potently end up waiting.

 

Does anyone know how many months it has been since they announce the Metro North- Harlem Line? i believe it is close to 3 months already, and still no News.

 

Actually more like two months because they announced it on November 30.

 

Chill. It takes 6 to 9 months to develop a route.

 

So we have to wait until June?

 

At the very least June

 

There have been plenty of minor patches over the last few months without any preservation updates thrown into those batches. Lack of QA does appear to the major culprit.

 

If one route takes at least 6 months, they should have enough time to put it in the interior of the grand central terminal.

 

Easier said than done. Whilst I do get what your saying, Grand Central is massive and it probably would've taken dtg a while to model the station along with the shortened version of the Harlem line itself which also takes time. If that was the case then perhaps the line should've gone to southeast which is where the electrified section ends (effectively the last stop for the M3A/M7A) instead of North White Plains.

 

What interests me, do we get the entire preservation update with the upcoming expansion pack? Or is it just pis?

By the way i noticed in winter, the tharandter rampe doesnt have the nice snowy platforms like dresden or west somerset. Is it left for the preservation crewe, or did dtg "just hadnt time" again?

 

Although that is true the outstanding issue here is they are not the patches that we have been eagerly waiting for.

 

I’m truly hoping that Sam and Matt don’t end up having to waste their time on another reflective apology stream and the updates in whatever order start filtering through. Likewise Nat and Adam shouldn’t need to think “oh it’s Tuesday , here we go again”. We know it’s unlikely none of the four above are roadblocks so internally a solution just needs the trigger pulling and a release date given, committed to

 

Things are looking like they're trending that way, but I am hoping that they do something about it sooner rather than later.

 

I got some hopes after Boston and Dresden received quick fixes and updates, and was hoping that the situation would finally get better, but that seemed to have been a weird exception because already for London Brighton there are major issues outstanding. Tharandter Rampe is quite fresh, but there are also major issues outstanding (like level crossings for example) that haven’t even been acknowledged but would require a quick fix rather than waiting 2 years maybe. So those hopes were crushed quickly and we are back to things not being released for months and years to come.

 

So does anyone think the new swiss route will be the same as arosa/chur with 1000m track because some where it was suggested it might be a standard 1435m gauge instead.

 

Not going to disagree that it's a stupid premise, but why people are buying a product isn't the product maker's concern really, so if people are "buying something because it may get fixed" is as silly as dating someone and thinking they'll change for you

I think you missed a word out... "Free". Fortnite makes millions so likely can afford to have a better "agreement" (see money exchange) than DTG. Basing transactions on the highest denominator hardly ever works.

 

It is the product maker's concern. If people are buying older products on the understanding the problems with it will be fixed eventually and this does not happen, people will pretty quickly get wise to this and not buy a substandard product from that maker again. And it will hurt the company's sales.

The Preserved Crew exists because the idea that older routes won't age badly compared to newer routes generates additional sales of the add-ons.

 

So the question is, what happens now? Are we going to have the same conversations and excuses every couple of weeks on streams? It’s obvious that DTG are well aware of the current issues, but the million dollar question is, when is action actually going to take place? It seems like we’re having the same conversations for several months now, but nothing is actually moving forward.

 

My only hope is that enough of a fuss is kicked up and Dovetail will see that is in their own interests to allocate more resources to QA testing to relieve the release bottleneck. I'm not confident though, I just watched an old roadmap stream at random from 6 April 2021 between Adam and Sam, and exactly the same issues with a lack of spaces for testing came up, in that case the Long Island Rail Road update was completed by Adam in February, but had yet to be tested. This update was eventually released on 11 May 2021

 

How about a voting system? Everytime a fix is ready to go further into the QA-->release pipeline it can be added to the list, everytime something is released it gets removed from the list. Let everyone just click the things they want released, and whenever there's an opportunity for a release slot, release those with most votes. Some popular items will likely to get votes in fast, the less popular items will stay on the list for longer (but also have more time to slowly accumulate votes, so should end up on top sometime eventually)

I have seen such a system somewhere for a game to deal with popular suggestions, but unfortunately I cannot remember which game it was.

 

I have been responding on the belief that you have fixes that have been tested and are waiting for release. Are we at the position that none of the preserved crew's work since before Rush Hour has even passed testing? Please to god let me be wrong...