Thank you for the excellent review, skyMutt. I wish I read it before I purchased this DLC. I have ridden the MN Harlem Valley Line numerus times as a teen to my early adulthood when I lived in NYC. This is a route that hits home which is why I'm critical with DTG's current release. I am a bit disappointed this is not a full electric route that terminates where the Wassaic Shuttle begins. My main disappointment comes from the ahead AI trains gridlocking on more than several timetable sessions, signaling issues, and a meager representation of Park Ave. / Manhattan skyline. Grand Central Terminal is a barren, dark, and desolate place that fits a scene for a zombie apocalypse movie rather than a bustling, lively, and busy rail terminal. The sounds of the trains are good, but the ambient city sounds make Manhattan seem like a small town rather than a metropolis. Overall, I feel this dlc was rushed without thoroughly being tested prior to release. I hope DTG quickly releases an update that fixes the game play issues and add more features such as better ambient sounds, and maybe a few iconic landmark buildings for the Manhattan skyline.
There was a recent update that went live just yesterday, which contains several fixes and changes concerning the Harlem Line. You can find the full patch notes here. There's much to welcome here, as much of what was fixed does help to improve the experience a bit. Despite running some services with heavy traffic, I didn't find myself in the midst of any snarl ups or in a stuck situation (I did a run for Trains 2331 to Crestwood, and Train 670 to GCT). Both of which were pleasant runs, with tons of yellows and reds to deal with! I had noticed a few other minor changes as well, of which were not really stated in the patch notes... I think the trains might have had a subtle extra pass for weathering, more notably for the M7. I don't remember seeing seeing soo many prominent streaks along the upper half of the bodywork. I also believe there might have been an uptick to the passenger volume. Not only did a majority of stations have dense passenger numbers, but my train stayed relatively packed all the way to Grand Central too. Again, take these with a grain of salt, as these are not stated in the patch notes and it's just purely speculation on my part. However despite all these welcomed changes, there's still some things left to be fixed. The most notable of issues, at least in my opinion, is that the player and AI M7A trains do not have proper motor sounds throughout the length of the train. It seems to be localized to the two cars/married pair nearest to the player camera. The rest of the train typically doesn't play any motor sounds at all, just the sounds of its HVAC unit and track noises. Furthermore, Grand Central Terminal still lacks any proper station clutter, and the platforms are completely barren of anything. These are issues that have persisted since the launch of this DLC. So while I'll give credit to DTG for fixing some things, I still believe that the Harlem Line could benefit from another pass, especially to address the issues I've pointed out above.
Looking at older screenshots of mine, the M7As were just as weathered a few weeks ago as well, so no changes regarding that. But the rest of the (good) changes are a pleasure to hear.
I haven't found any changes yet, but I will keep an eye on it if I do see some changes, i will post it here.
