Tsw3 - A Stuttering Mess? [dtg Alex - Resolved]

After tonight's stream I am deeply concerned over TSW3, specifically Cajon Pass performance. Earlier in the stream there was a shot of snow falling and the platforms remained clear. Matt specifically stated that we should assume everything we saw tonight would be in the final version.

Then we saw a clip of the Evo pulling away to demonstrate the horn and even before the train pulled away the cars in the back ground were stuttering and then the train pulling away was even worst. Given Matt's previous comments and how both Matt & JD both just ignored the stuttering and the comments in the chat, has made me feel this is likely to be the end product. So much so I'm considering refunding TSW3 and cancelling my order for a new laptop.

 

I wouldn't make any assumptions about performance from a recording of a dev build being livestreamed.

Cheers

 

i wouldn't expect anything but stuttering, it's kind of the trademark of the game now isn't it?

my laptop slightly exceeds the recommended specs for TSW3, so more than exceeded them for
TSW2, but it was still a stutter fest in places,

i wont be getting TSW3 for a long while tho, as none of the routes interest me (only interested in German S-Bahn style driving, so the thought of sitting at 250 kph for an hour... with half that time spent in tunnels would send me to sleep)

 

Had they acknowledged the stuttering and passed it off as a dev build and had Matt not specifically stated to expect what we saw as what will be then Id go along with that. But the silence was deafening.

I do have a mental disorder which means I take things literally and black and white so it could be partly due to this. But after tonight's showing my preorder is cancelled.

 

In case anyone else had trouble finding the stream from today:
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1559048512

At 1:20:34 The BNSF pumpkin loco clip stutters quite a bit to me.

 

I am surprised that you preordered; the supply of Steam licences is infinite. I will be patiently waiting for reviews.

Cheers

 

Yeah judging by the stream Tsw 3 is in a horrible state of performance...no pre order from me up to now...lets wait and see...

 

Oh wow, just went and watched that. It looks like the animation in season 1 of The Dragon Prince.

 

It didn’t look good. I should remind everyone that all new TSW games have been a stuttering mess on launch at least over on consoles. I don’t know how bad they have been on PC but this doesn’t fill me with confidence if it stutters like that on PC, presumably a nice high powered one too. Strange that they would even want to show a video in such bad shape. It’s the first bit of actual ‘gameplay’ we have seen and it was not good.

 

This is a well known quirk of playing in the editor, it stutters.
No need for yet another panic thread.

 

Right, no need to press the panic button. There are probably a half dozen streams between now and 9/6 so we'll see how it goes.
Telling though that neither JD nor MP commented. Maybe they thought we wouldn't notice. On this forum - not a chance.

I will say, though, I have a pretty high end PC and my experience is that routes that stutter on the dev build are usually nice and smooth on the launch build. Could it be something to do with the broadcast itself?

 

I wouldn't judge any game, ever, on the quality of a stream. It's like judging a film's cinematography on a VHS cassette.

 

As always wait for reviews if concerned.

The existing Unreal engine remains at the core of the game so I doubt if there will be major improvements, other than minor tweaks.

 

Is it though? I agree with you to an extent but there are plenty of streamers and game studios who are able to showcase their products and don’t have these issues. We have the hardware and connectivity these days that mean there are really no excuses, particularly from a game studio demonstrating a flagship product.

I’d be concerned that there wasn’t a single other stutter in the entire stream, only on that particular video, which suggests to me that the guilty culprit is actually the game and not the stream. If it was the original video capture that stuttered for a transitory reason then obviously you would just do it again right? It’s seconds of footage and would take no time at all.

I was a bit baffled by the German only branding on the wagons though. That’s an interesting choice.

 

I would. It is, in the end, how they choose to present their product. The first time it is shown, when it is obvious most eyes will be watching. Why should I, the paying customer, then expect something to be better in the final product? Especially considering DTGs record with (not)fixing issues post-release.

I actually don't get why it is so common for them to present dev builds... It doesn't inspire confidence. As in my experience, the only time you present a dev build is when important stuff is either still trickling into the code, or was recently commited, so you don't have time to go through the whole release pipeline...

 

Oh dear. Must say I've not watched the second stream, only the launch stream when JD sat down with Matt and the little they did show in that 40 minute stream showed many stutters so from what I'm hearing in this thread is not instilling confidence. I shall, however, await reviews on release and if it's still a stuttering mini slideshow then "for that reason, I'm out" (said with a poorly attempted Duncan Bannatyne Scottish accent) until the damned thing is fixed.

I see there is a Q&A stream lined up next week, fire all the stutter questions then and see if they get answered, if not, that will tell you all you need to know.

 

It was pretty bad, but then we’ve had more than a few previews where the route has released and the performance was better than shown.

 

Best case scenario for a pre-order is that is saves you a fiver and/or gives you 4 days early access, so if neither of those things are the most important thing for you, waiting for reviews from players or gameplay footage per the finished product on youtube saves the disappointment and more money if the game is not to your liking.

 

If you've been around a while you should know that DTG seem to operate a "just be glad your getting something" policy combined with "if you don't like it, don't buy it".

Which is all well and good when the market is flooded with products you "need" to get your fix of trains. However, that's not the case, especially in the console world. So if you have a "need" they know that many people will crumble and make do rather than go without.

This DLC model is pure profit really, one copy can be multiplied many times. Unlike days of old when boxed copies of games required discs, packaging, manuals. A far more expensive way of selling software, however they had to make sure it was right back then because if it wasn't then it stopped selling and there were no Day 1 fixes or patches.

 

Going to repeat what others have said and say it’s too early to panic. Wait until it’s in the hands of the players and see what they say about the game’s performance.

A stream over a Teams/Zoom call isn’t the best place to base an opinion, at least wait until the live gameplay streams for a better view of the game in action.

 

Completely disagree, a preview stream should be the place to see the route at its best.

If DTG cant get a simple short prerecorded clip of a loco blowing its horn and pulling away without stuttering, then there's little hope for the rest of us.

 

I don't think I have ever watched a preview stream which looked particularly high quality. I tend to find the actual finished product looks and performs better. I would personally wait until it is released and watch some other users streams on Youtube and see the reaction on here. Although I am sitting TSW3 out at the moment until something I am interested in releases.

 

A pre-purchase september 1st is as valid as a pre-purchase today. I will just wait and watch all the streams, and decide what to do after I watch the last stream.

 

Sounds like another reason not to pre order or even contemplate buying. If they want to convince us, include some over the shoulder footage of the monitor rather than video capture. God knows how LtoB or Dresden to Riesa will perform. Either that or Cajon has been horribly optimised, I mean going by Run 8 apart from the yard and “bowl” at Barstow and the city area at San Bernardino the route is essentially a long ride through basic scenery.

 

Yes, but last night wasn’t a preview stream. It was just Matt & JD having a chat, giving more details with a few recorded video clips that Matt hastily filmed from a dev build of the game. The actual preview streams start from next week.

 

I just have a feeling this is going the same way as SoS… They are rushing to release to an arbitrary date rather than taking the time to get it right and sort the problems, whether optimisation/performance or the save game debacle. Fairly apparent this is not going to be ready for prime time on 6th September. IMHO the release should be put back until all these problems are resolved. If it does release as a total disaster then this time Paul Jackson should look to roll some heads and bring in fresh blood to the franchise. Or admit TSW can never equal or better TSC and refocus on developing and taking the latter forward.

 

The purpose of the BNSF clip was to demonstrate the sound of the horn - nothing else. Start worrying if the specific stream of the route is a stutter-fest, but don’t panic yet.

 

my preorder TSW3

 

Thanks Alex, has put my mind at ease considerably.

 

That clip answers the question about shadow draw distance quite well. look at the line between the top and bottom crate on each of the wagons as they pass the camera and you can see the shadows being drawn in.

 

yeah, those shadows appearing at such a short distance look horrible.... just like TSW2