Is Riesa - Dresden Really A Rush Hour Route?

Discussion in 'TSW General Discussion' started by Cash, Jun 26, 2022.

  1. Cash

    Cash Well-Known Member

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    Nahverker Dresden (Riesa - Dresden) is a very good german route DLC, purely because of the amount of trains you get to drive, plus how aesthetically pleasing the route looks! However, one thing has always really put me off with this route.. and that's the emptiness of it. This route is said to be a busy, hectic, rush hour route, but I personally don't see it. upload_2022-6-26_12-27-37.png
    This is Dresden HBF at 8:30am, which can be considered pure rush hour time, however there's just one train.. It could be argued that this is realistic, and even if it is, it just doesn't feel right to me. Dresden HBF is always empty, and I just don't know why.

    In the Dresden - Chemnitz route, which isn't a rush hour route, Dresden HBF is always packed with trains, no matter the time. upload_2022-6-26_12-31-18.png
    This is 8:30am (rush hour time) on the Dresden - Chemnitz route. Look at the difference!

    Even around the map, there are so little trains at times, and busy stations like Dresden Neustadt aren't busy at all. I don't know whether it's because there is a lack of AI trains around Dresden, or if it has something to do with the timetable and the way it's been done, but I truely don't think that Nahverker Dresden is a Rush Hour route. Don't get me wrong, the scenery and night lighting is amazing, and this route is visually astounding, but the timetable has really disappointed me since the release of this route.

    I'm interested in hearing what you all have to think about this! Do you think that Riesa - Dresden deserves to be called a Rush Hour route?
     
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  2. colinL

    colinL Well-Known Member

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    I think the difference in Dresden in the Risa and Chemnitz routes is that in the Chemnitz route they put more effort into making AI trains that aren't driveable. See the Eurocity with the MRCE182 and IC coaches. And you could do stuff like this on many more routes, definitely. But I think earlier on DTG had the premise of only wanting to implement trains in a route that are driveable and that non-driveable trains are a no-go. I think they might've changed their minds slowly with the release of DCZ.
     
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  3. FD1003

    FD1003 Well-Known Member

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    The only true Rush Hour route in the game is BML.

    DRA is awesome, and much better than others, but still not anywhere near BML, that's because the lines get separated very early on, so there is only a small portion of the route that can get busy, and there is little AI traffic.

    Let's not talk about NEC... the only Rush Hour part is Boston station, just because of the number of depot and off the map services. Dresden in DCZ is a lot more rush hour than NEC.

    Rush Hour was just a marketing gimmick anyway, and it all depends on how much care was put into the timetable. Thanks to Joe SKA has become a lot more Rush Hour than NEC, and I suspect the same will happen to HHL.
     
    Last edited: Jun 26, 2022
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  4. Mattty May

    Mattty May Guest

    In many ways, Rush Hour was a failure. Primarily because the routes seemed ‘rushed’. The signalling system on Boston is still broken despite promises of a fix and we are fast approaching a year. The scenarios on Boston are also appalling curated and timed. The route was quickly deleted to make room for better routes on my PS5.
     
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  5. tallboy7648

    tallboy7648 Well-Known Member

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    Rush Hour really was just a marketing gimmick to be honest and pretty much a failure. BRD doesn't have the additional AI services that DCZ seems to have. All of the routes seemed rushed. The ATC on the ACS64 was and is still a mess. Two out of the three routes didn't really have a hustle and bustle feeling and the Rush Hour Passenger system is severely flawed. All of the traffic in Boston Sprinter is just in Boston South Station. That shouldn't even be referred to as a rush hour route either to be honest due to how empty it is as well in the route as a whole. Heck, London Commuter still doesn't even have rush hour passengers despite being a busy route. Seems like it's the peak of the covid pandemic on BML to be honest with empty stations. Not to mention BML's stability issues which makes the route practically unplayable to this day around London Victoria for many players.
     
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  6. LimitedEdiition

    LimitedEdiition Well-Known Member

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    Riesa Dresden also suffered from all sorts of issues with the route development. We had two of its original branches (the Airport Line and one of the S Bahn Lines) axed before development, and it was only a few months later we got the latter as a result of continued work. Clearly something went very wrong during its development, likely due to time constraints and over promising what could be delivered.
     
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  7. Mattty May

    Mattty May Guest

    I think it’s interesting that no big summer release has been announced yet. Hopefully we won’t get one so the promised downtime can have the maximum impact.
     
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  8. meridian#2659

    meridian#2659 Well-Known Member

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    Right now i hope we get at least something. Deadly silence from DTG.
     
  9. tallboy7648

    tallboy7648 Well-Known Member

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    We could get something in October since that's when summer ends according to DTG's logic. Frankly I think it's better to fix up the game instead so the downtime can have full effect
     
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  10. Richard CZE

    Richard CZE Well-Known Member

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    I think that the number of trains depends on the capabilities of traffic control. So far, the dispatcher cannot arrange the overtaking of a slow train on his own and use the parking tracks. Therefore, the number of trains is limited.
     
  11. driverwoods#1787

    driverwoods#1787 Well-Known Member

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    To me it is a Rush hour route try running it from a branch line onto the main line. The last service on the freight journey 10:00 DB BR363 Service you are basically stopped there for 20 minutes after 20 minutes go to Riesa Bahnhof from the Chemical Plant. Another of instance where this happens is 08:05 & 08:15 S1 Meißen to Schöna/Bad Schandau. On those services you have to deal with the main line traffic then go same thing to RB31 15:00-16:00 Großenhein to Coswig. You are basically stuck on the branch line then Go so are the 07:00 07:05 Röderau Dresden freight That's what the Rush Hour setting for Riesa-Dresden is its Main Line Is main line traffic having higher priority than Branch line services. On some porch of the route I do have a feeling it's rushed the Airport Branch.
     
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  12. cloudyskies21

    cloudyskies21 Well-Known Member

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    I must say, I politely disagree. While I'm all for bug fixes and major improvements to the game, TSW 2 needs a balance of new content too, thus keeping it fresh - whether that's new routes, rolling stock, or both.
     
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  13. Mattty May

    Mattty May Guest

    We get plenty of new content each year. Too much I think. This is why issues are mounting up. Too much needs to be done and there isn’t enough time or resource to do it.
     
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  14. Mich

    Mich Well-Known Member

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    DTG doesn't need to release content every other week though, most games go for major but infrequent yearly/biannually updates. Less releases can in fact actually increase sales, as it means each route gets more time in the spotlight, thus attracting more sales for longer. And often even if these project are more expensive to make the increase of sales from each product offsets that. There's a reason Hollywood and game companies like Rockstar have over the years taken a preference toward making a handful of extremely expensive but extremely profitable films/games a year over tons of smaller middle and low budget movies. Less is more, or at least it can be when it comes to profits.

    Microsoft Flight Simulator's probably the only game I can think of which arguably has major content coming out for it more regularly. But they have one of the biggest companies in the world backing them, plus literally hundreds of third party companies developing content for it. And even then quality has a lot more up and downs than it probably should. I know Microsoft are planning to slow down how much content they do to try and up the quality. If Microsoft are capable of pushing themselves thin despite their resources how's DTG supposed to pull the same strategy with its much smaller team and much smaller group of third parties?
     
  15. cloudyskies21

    cloudyskies21 Well-Known Member

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    While I can understand your view, and I do actually agree in principle. But, if say, we get a long period of fixes this year, then what about next year, and the year after? Will any DLC then ever be released if fixes are trying to keep sorting the plethora of bugs etc with existing content? This is where a balance needs to be struck.

    I don't a think a couple 50-mile TSW 2 routes quite compares to the likes of GTA etc. At the end of the day, this is a video game - bug fixes are important, yes, but I still think extended periods of not many releases is not right. You say this gives that new route more time in the spotlight, but what about those who are never interested in such routes in the first place? For me, I like modern routes, steam, BR Blue does not interest me at all, so why the wait? With more routes, it gives players more options to choose their preferences. The lack of frequent releases could potentially lead to boredom by some, so where is the sense in that?

    While I'm not expecting DLC every week, I was relatively happy long before SOS when we had routes releasing regularly, complemented by rolling stock DLC and those from third-party ones too.

    I mean, unless every TSW 2 route fielded as large and varied timetable as London Commuter - which keeps me occupied still to this day. But, for me, apart from this, most routes need some freshness, just look at ECW, the addition of the 313 gave it a completely new lease of life, while adding lots of AI services to Brighton on London Commuter.
     
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  16. Mr JMB

    Mr JMB Well-Known Member

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    I would like to see fewer releases, but each release being of larger scope. As opposed to the small localised routes or branches with limited gameplay that come out really often and push bug fixes down the pecking order in the QA queue. A few big ticket items with more spread out release dates leaving room for bug fixes and preservation crew items and then lots more gameplay in each release, with care taken to provide content that layers up nicely and integrates with other routes and rolling stock.
     
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  17. FD1003

    FD1003 Well-Known Member

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    Agree - but wouldn't that mean an increase in cost? They seem to be happy with the "sweet" spot they found in terms of length/price/QA? I don't think they will deviate from those standards anytime soon.

    The only way I can see them having larger scopes would be to allow for even more automation, decide to lower margins (meaning things like Adam's team wouldn't exist and even less support for old routes), or somehow manage to include less trains or worsen QA further
     

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