So far I've given each of the new locos a go and so far it's great. SKA feels so much more alive than it used to and keeping to time on the S Bahn is a nice challenge. So far though I have only experienced one crash, which spoilt some of my excitement (whilst driving the ICE) The silver 72 Stock looks amazing and I'm looking forward to running the railtour services. The test run scenario is nice, just being able to wizz through each station and relax a bit more. I've only done a switching service with the SD40 but I'm impressed with the new horn. I spent a good few minutes just constantly blowing it, even on Xbox it sounds great. A few things I noticed is that the head light control to another loco doesn't work when coupled to the GP38-2 and also the number lights don't appear to work. Overall I'm enjoying this pack, I like how the new scenarios open with cinematic shots of the loco, and the trailer shows an exciting part of a new SPG scenario. I hope DTG do more packs (preferably loco packs) in the future as it means you don't have to buy a ton of DLC to add to a route (like TVL). I hope another pack similar to the BR heavy freight pack comes out as that is by far my favorite pack so far. I have to say I'm still a bit sceptical about gameplay packs especially if no new loco or rolling stock is included.
Worrying development this as if it proves popular you can see new routes being released with less content so that expansion packs can be added at a later date.
I mean, what if they added a new train with a new bunch of services with it and called it a loco add-on, that would be outrageous In all seriousness though I think expansion packs do have potential, they're a good way to add a little extra bonus to routes.
Not only is this already being done, it might actually be preferred by some players. Consider SEHS. Originally supposed to be released without the future 465 services included, players felt the route empty, so the services were included for the 375. Then, when the 465 was released, players were miffed that it didn't include any new services. LBN and NEC-BP also have "less content" in that the 700 and Acela are missing, respectively, which could presumably be added at a later date, as you say. In both cases, I feel that DTG got it right. SEHS probably didn't offer enough without those services, whereas LBN and NEC-BP feel busy enough even without the extra services. As far as the expansion pack, I am personally not interested, but I don't feel it's a bad value for the money. I find it a little frustrating, however, that such a project, that was not clearly being asked for by the community, could move from concept, to programming, testing, QA, and release, while we are still waiting on other, longstanding things like preservation updates or rush hour on LBN. That, however, may not be germaine to our discussion here.
