PlayStation Add-ons Manager

Hello JD,

at TSW2 there is the BR 204 at MSB and the 155 at RSN only after the addons manager. Will it be similar when the addons manager will come out for TSW3?

 

We can always hope, although we’ve now had confirmation of it not happening

Very true, it’s also getting quite repetitive

Yes, I agree, it has become a trademark now ;-)

Yep, just making it all a bit harder

I agree with this, especially when you have to try and work around layers too!

Yep, I’m surprised at how few full blown memes there are - sad there should be the opportunity for memes though

All you can do is try your best, nothing is concrete which, in my opinion, is better as it doesn’t send hopes wildly high

They tried although it has now been confirmed that it isn’t releasing in line with the new DLC

I agree with you, disappointing if they don’t get it done by then though

Yep, the standard cycle, never deviates

Very true

You’d be surprised at how many users have PS5’s (me included) and are effected by this

We can hope that this is actually the case

I agree, given how it happened in TSW2 and 3, it might happen in a supposed TSW4.


Thank you all for letting this get attention, now time for an opinion that I just thought about.
The reason for the push-backs might be that as they release new content, they have to update add-ons manager to work with said new route - E.G. Scotrail Express - and the new feature(s) it comes with - E.G. Announcements

 

So annoying... If there are only XBox-issues left, why not releasing it for PS5? We are the ones, who need it most.

 

So the light at the end of the tunnel was really just DTG with a torch bringing us yet more pathetic excuses.

I think the only excuse left is the dog ate it.

 

Cuz of the potential that the issues Xbox users are facing also doesn't affect playstation players. That's the reason Matt gave previously

 

I wonder if the basic structure of TSW has made this problem of add-on sizes worse over time. Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the TSW core just include the menu and the basic game engine and each DLC comes packaged with its own assets? For example, if you see the same building repeated in multiple routes, it isn't referenced from a set of core assets in the main download, but is copied each time into each DLC effectively like each route is its own self contained game. Wouldn't putting most core assets that are repeatable into the core game make DLC routes smaller in size and also make the game run more efficiently (maybe)? The 64GB limit size would ha e eventually been hit, but not so soon.

Again, just my thought on the matter and I may be completely out to lunch on it.

 

Why am I not surprised. Seems that I won’t have to eat my words after all. In the end, the promised news turned out to be “it’s coming soon”. The very same news we’ve been hearing for a year now. Oh sure, there’s a shiny new badge of “beta feedback” attached to it now, but it’s also not the first time we’ve been told that. Utterly ridiculous.

Similar for me. I was looking forward to the Acela but I really don’t know if I can be bothered to play Tetris again.

 

I’ve not played it since before Xmas due to the Tetrising and the longer this farce goes on for the less I am missing it. False promises and priorities elsewhere. There are plenty of other decent PS5 titles that have taken TSW place and they utilise the console and controllers .
Just so bloody sick of all of this .
What annoys me most is the lies last year about not having any more DLCs until the existing problems were sorted and then when that lie came to pass , releasing TSW3 with the same problems and even more .

 

Same LOVE, different toilet. Coming up to 2 years now since the add ons manager was being worked on. 2 YEARS.

 

Flipping heck, has it truly been that long already? Unbelievable. I can totally see that they're working on it with the highest priority.

 

It’s always the same thing, they have something new to sell & all of a sudden it’s all talk about how much progress is made, then comes the “there’s an issue” and “it’ll be ready soon” - the new product releases and then we go back to the silence until the next content release.

 

If duplicated assets would be moved into the core game, then the core would grow too large for any one route.
For example, the core would have to contain common US assets, common UK assets, common DE assets. That would probably be more inefficient than duplicating stuff in each route.

This is similar to Apple iOS/MacOS applications: each app comes with all the required dependencies, and nothing is installed into a "common" area of the OS. Uninstalling an app is as simple as deleting its directory with all its contents, and no other app is impacted.
In contrast, when you install a Windows app, it has to bring required dependencies into the Windows directory, leading to a bloated OS. More often than not, uninstalling an app leaves behind a lot of stuff in the "common" areas.

 

Looks like the 64 gb limit itself was first discovered in October 2021, so 16 months for that. The idea for the add-ons manager came sometime after. So, got quite a while before we hit 2 years yet. Still, Oct. 2021 is when Windows 11 launched, for some context.

 

Why are you guys surprised ? You forget about TSW 2 release when they announced that BKL will be released with shorter timetable but soon after the release new full timetable will come And yeah it did but not for TSW 2 but with TSW 3 with word that soon they will release it for TSW 2 too So that SOON for BKL timetable took them 2 years and they create it for the wrong version of the game as TSW 2 suppose to get it . During that time they were all BS about how they still working on, etc... then excuses that dispatcher cant handle that and then finally they wrote after more than a year that its impossible to expand that timetable because its made completely wrong and they will have to create completely new one.

 

Reminds how old routes for Train Simulator (RailWorks) were done, with European Assets, US Assets, Foliage assets, UK LED Signals and probably a few more being a separate common DLCs shared among routes.

 

I’m not attacking either of those teams here, my gripe is that the community team only becomes responsive to the topic when you have stuff to sell.

Even in your reply there, “it’s been the engineering teams #1 priority since the save game improvements have come in”. We were told it was the #1 thing after Rush Hour, then again when TSW 3 was announced, now again with your big US content release.

Is it DTG’s issue? Mostly no, and I don’t expect a fast fix at all, I’d be surprised if you actually manage to pull it off, and I don’t mean that in an offensive way, kudos to your engineers for going at it. My problem is entirely the way you’re practically marketing the fix to sell new content.

 

What will come first add on manager or the Peninsula updates?

 

https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/ts19-réseau-renaissance.14205/

Hmmm…

This is just one of many examples of DTG’s…let downs.

Forgive my abrasiveness - I’ve just been a DTG customer for a number of years, it’s one of the unfortunate side effects of being a train enthusiast.

 

TSW 4

 

And the add-on manager for TSW4 will come 'soon' after launch

No, it really will

Honest...

 

JD your a nice bloke but I have to be honest it is just sell sell sell DTG you made Glasgow to Edinburgh seem like a must buy and to be honest the ps5 version is terrible
On to the add-on manager I've spent £100s on DLC and not to be able to have choice to pick any route I want to play without deleting something is totally unacceptable this should have the number 1 priority I can't ever play tsw 2 to it's full potential cause the route updates have never been released again totally unacceptable

 

Why not making 1 game, that includes all dlc's, that are available after buying. Okay it would be big with around 200 GB's. But other developers do so too. And there would no need for the addons manager.

 

Sorry, JD, but I have to agree with CK95 here. We were always told it was the top priority and now you confirm that it wasn’t always. Just how many other projects took priority and further delayed release? I’m not trying to attack anyone personally. There just seems to be a disconnect between the updates we’re given and what actually goes on. As these threads show, I don’t seem to be alone when I say that the frustration is slowly building to the boiling point.

I’ve only been able to enjoy TSW 3 haphazardly as no matter where I turn, there’s always something missing because of the limit. That’s not even mentioning the fact that I can only access a fraction of my collection at a time. There are many reasons why the tone in the discussion of the add-on manager has been becoming increasingly rough.

 

Best part about that is, you can literally hear Sam’s voice reading it.

 

Just had a not very enjoyable read. That’s rough, even by DTG standards. That’s the thing, isn’t it? When DTG say something is coming soon™, you never know whether it’s coming at all.

 

I've just been reading this and I don't even know what to say. Thats awful on dtgs part the amount of community managers on that thread over 3 years of just saying the same thing with nothing being done.

I applaud the users on the thread for keeping on with it, but there's no way they should have had to.

 

Sadly, thats correct

True

Nor have I, I don’t see it to be worth it given the danger of it forgetting purchases

Very true

Very true, people do forget

I agree with this point

They may mostly say the same, but at least they exist

At least he’s being honest.

 

That's reassuring to hear. I can only speak for myself, but getting that info on how many people work on what with explanations is way better than just hearing that there have been problems and it's coming soon. Of course, JD's comment just poured oil into the fire with the talks about priority. But don't let it come to radio silence. That'll just have everyone think it's forgotten and will never come.

The thing is that all of the circumstances just exacerbate the situation (in addition to the significant wait). With TSW 3, we saw a significant increase in route size meaning that whereas you could still have a good selection of routes on hand in TSW 2, it really comes down to a handful now. Then there's the increased focus on getting the most out of the timetables via layering. That's awesome but also extremely difficult to manage on PS5.

The hard work is appreciated and will pay off in the end, but until then, PS5 is becoming an increasingly unattractive platform for TSW.

 

Just more waffle with the same end result.

The issue was the limit on PlayStation and you needed to fix that. Instead during the development, because you say you saw some small benefits, you included all platforms which complicated things.

So more hurdles have now jumped up since the start of the month and these will be used in the next update.

We’re working as hard as we can to get things sorted has been the case for well over a year.

 

Hello Matt,

first of all thank you very much for your informations. For me it's not such a big thing, because I can play TSW2 too and that has the addons manager already. So the routes, that have most advantages because of Gen9 (HMA, SKA, BML, SMH, HSC and SOS) are playable there. The rest I play at TSW3 (PS5 or 4 version).

One question I have in that context. In TSW2 there is no substitution of the BR204, 187, 155, G6, 1442 and of some bristish locos especially for rail tours after release of the addons manager.

Will it be the same after the release of the addons manager for TSW3?

Thank you for your answer in advance.

 

Thank you for your answer Matt.

 

I appreciate everyone's efforts and that it's been a difficult and unique problem to solve however despite all the updates I'm essentially in no better position that the first day Dresden Risa came out and I tipped over the DLC limit. In truth, I'm a lot worse as I have a lot more DLC now.

I know this is partially my own issue to get over but I find it very difficult to engage with the game at the moment. Just seeing the half empty train or route selection screens leave me annoyed I can't access my whole collection at once as I love to route hop rather than stick to one. Additionally I can't use the Quick Play feature as it will never qive me a random selection from all my collection so I end up just not playing the game.

Imagine being a model train enthusiast and Hornby saying, sorry you can only have half your trains on the track at once? Yes, you can still use your whole collection, just not at the same time. You'd soon become frustrated just seeing the trains you couldn't use and end up thinking "I won't go down the shed, I'll just do something else instead". Perhaps somewhat irrationally, that's where I am with the game at the moment.

Of course I could abandon TSW3 and go back to TSW2 and gain back most of my routes. The issue here of course is I can't use my TSW3 routes or have access to any of the preservation crew updates, so still not my whole collection.

I realise that it will take as long as it takes and nothing we say will achieve much other than inflaming tensions but I'm just deflated by the whole situation and felt the need to share.

 

When I saw months ago that the add-on manager was available for TSW2 I thought that in a matter of days or at most weeks DTG could adapt that same solution for TSW3, because I honestly thought that under the surface the functioning was very similar between the two versions, beyond all the visual and playable improvements that we already know that TSW3 brought.

But if they're getting so bogged down, it's definitely because there are more differences than meets the eye. After the release, I myself commented on occasion that I didn't think the number change was justified, but now I realise that possibly a lot more work was done on the core of the game than it appeared from the outside to have been done.

 

I think the new UI in TSW3 probably causes problems.
TSW2 had you pick a route at the start whereas TSW3 keeps your options open throughout the selection process.

 

The addon manager for tsw2 also had issues where certain layers and subs weren't appearing even if you had the appropriate routes installed

 

Thanks much for the updates, Matt. I appreciate reactions can be frustrating, but silence is never a better option than communication.

 

Well, at this point you walk the talk or else there´s not much left to do, I´d guess.

 

Matt’s response to this thread is not encouraging at all. We have gone from it’s very close to it’s not done yet and he doesn’t know when it will be completed.

I simply do not accept that involving other platforms has not added time to solving and releasing the add on manager only required by PS5 players. XBox had nothing to do with this issue neither did the PC and yet here we are with issues being found on XBox.

Also makes you laugh when he says we can get back to happier times when it’s released what it actually means we can get back to all the unresolved long term bugs and issues.

 

Thank you Matt may not be the update we’re looking for but it brings Clarity

 

Simply annoying for PS5-users....

 

I agree, being a PS5 user myself

 

I ask again, why not releasing for PS5 now? Bugs can also be fixed afterwards and the PS5-users can finally use the whole owned content. This should be the most important thing now. This would also be good for DTG, because they would earn more money with new releases, because most of the PS5-users (me included) won't buy new content until the manager is out. Buying new content without being able to use it is futile.