Interesting when I added TSW3 to my wishlist last night (which is as far as it's going pending the save game being restored), up popped a message that one of my Steam "friends" (no name, no packdrill) had been playing the game for over an hour. So it has rather intrigued me. Is there some weird alternate universe where TSW3 is already released or have DTG/Steam bungled by showing external beta test hours "live" to the game?
Game testing GOOD but will any issues get fixed before release,I wouldn't get your hopes up.Heck there's still zillions of unresolved issues with tsw2 and that dosen't include tsw2020 or tsw original either.
Well the one thing this does tell us, and maybe DTG didn't actually want us to know this, but things are quite far along that the thing is now in external beta/play testing. So how long has TSW3 actually been in development for?! However that doesn't leave very long to fix any glaring gamestopper bugs which might emerge.
even with the beta testers, you can bet that within an hour of official launch, there will be pages and pages on the forums of all the issues people have found, If i were DTG, i'd be thinking of something like giving a 2 hour free preview of the game / upcoming DLC's to anyone who signs up for it, valid for a couple of weeks maybe (i mean the 2 hour free play can be taken advantage of once, but over enough time to allow people who have busy social and work lives to find time to play) At the end of the free session they fill in a feedback form / questionnaire, This would be done with enough time before release to fix the worst issues that crop up, and you can then give a warning that there are issues known that will be fixed shortly after the release (you'll still get hundreds of posts about these issues of course) That short 'taster session' could also be enough to bring in a load of new players too.
Core work started last year. Testing has been ongoing for the past couple of months (although testing happens throughout development, so it's not that simple to give an exact date).
I was quite happy with TSW untill the Steam Loco's came out, now I am quite happy with TSW2. I am not interested in fiddling with the weather and flying round as if it I was a Helicopter, I like driving trains. Plus I am not going to fund half complete versions any more just to get them updated and charged for again. What we want / need is one complete working with no bugs game.
If you ever find such a train sim be sure to let us who are still stuck with whatever tsw? game is currently being played and still needing fixed from 3 games ago.
Mind it does make me chuckle, when we can see people playing TSW3 among our Steam “Friends” makes the NDA they sign kind of moot, especially the part where you can’t even mention you sign it or involved with the beta test!
Given that two YouTubers that I watch have openly said they have played it and one openly admits to being on the beta team. I’m guessing they have permission.
I've said in the past that these forums contain a lot of knowledgable railfan's, which DTG should utilise for beta testing. Members have always discovered problems which have slipped through the existing channels.
I have been creating routes for Train Sims now for over 15 years, when I look at the scenery in TSWorlds I wish I could get into them and put the frankly terrible scenery to right. . ' .
I fired up TSC the other day out of nostalgic curiosity and realised that despite the amazing creativity of countless folks over the years, I just couldn’t go back to: 1. The graphics 2. The lack of timetable mode That said the lack of public access to the editor in TSW means a lot less variety. I do hope therefore that DTG continue with the occasional UK heritage route or loco DLC to flesh out the choice of rolling stock.
Yep both the German & US routes are ones which I know I'll enjoy and would have brought on day 1( or even preorder) separately had they been release on TSW2 so from my perspective it's a no brainer to order the standard pack at £40.00.
Must admit... I bought with great enthusiasm over the last couple of months, Welsh Marches, Berlin S25 and Konstanz to Hausach. They are all great routes but I find I've only done a couple of scenarios on each. Found myself just drawn back into TSW2, warts and all. That said, I pushed the button earlier and now have Sailwind to try this evening but it is a strange world that even though we think we prefer a particular game over another, reality is quite different. Of course that still doesn't mean to say I'm parting with £30 or £40 for TSW3 until the save game is back...
I'm not wasting my money on it, until DTG release something I want I will stick with train sim classic.
Just to confirm that beta testers had been playing in "offline" mode prior to the announce, but once we announced we let them know that it was ok if they wishes to go back "online" for convenience sakes (going offline all the time to play it was a pain, frankly) and knowing full well that this would mean their friends lists would likely see them playing TSW3. Nothing untoward here, and all part of the beta programme in general - they've been part of the process from quite early on and we've taken on as much feedback as possible and indeed continue to do so. I'll take this opportunity to also put a big shout out and thank you to the beta team Matt.
Given the usual strongly negative reaction to almost everything, why not keep the "player base" in the dark?
IIRC, there is a Steam privacy option that allows you to stay online but hide if you are playing or not and what game you are playing. You might want to use that instead next time.