On steamdb is App 2259150 in rc preview- Forest Peak? Another App 2101381 this is MML.Coming out Peak Forest in two weeks?
Could be targeted for the Coronation of King Charles III which I believe has been piggybacked on the May Day Bank Holiday weekend. So... Tuesday 9th May, maybe?
I don’t see what the kings coronation has got to do with a train sim world dlc but let’s go with it. So yes, probably
They can release it tomorrow or in two years, if the steam physics/fireman and AI sounds are not fixed (including on SOS route) then I won't be spending a penny on it
I would rather they held it back a couple of months to give us more accurate stock for the era (some diesels) and make sure that it is polished as it can be. No matter when it comes out I won't be buying it until there are some diesels on the route, even if they do it in one of these loco bundles for a fiver.
I cannot believe they are even doing another steam route without first getting SOS right. And if Peak Forest gets it right, they'd better go back to SOS and give it the same care and attention.
I think the thing that sucks is just how much attention SOS got especially in the media and so much hype and we're still plagued by bugs. I really hope that Peak forest steps it up a notch and fixes some of the issues. I really want to enjoy SOS but with all of the issues with sound, physics, AI, SPADS, Safety valves it just takes so much of the charm away from the route and means we haven't seen so much as a Buffet car or new loco addon If Peak forest has the same issues and doesn't improve upon steam I worry it'll just end up being like SOS and left in a state. I love steam locomotives more than any other loco/unit and I desperately want them to get it right with Peak forest!
Right now it's total speculation. There's not been a preview stream, not even next week so it couldn't be able to come out in 2 weeks.
Well May Day/Coronation weekend is three weeks away, so more plausible. In any event I would assume they want to release it well ahead of the next Steam sale period which is probably late June/early July to avoid abstraction of interest.
It would also be nice to have some more modern traction alongside the steam, like a 45 and Derby Lightweight.
I still don’t understand why we are getting a new steam route when we don’t even have proper steam locomotives. We desperately need proper control over the fire and water so we can regulate the pressure. Keeping pressure is easy but regulating it so your safety valves aren’t blowing off constantly is the skill. Without this you might as well be driving a diesel with chuffing noises.
I don't know why we are getting a new one when the first one is unfinished and desperately needs some DLC!
That is what I don't understand. I must be in the minority, but make SOS decent, release some immersive DLC for it, then bring out another steam route and I will happily buy it. However, so far it is leave SOS to dwindle away with half a timetable ala NYT, bring out a new route which goes from nowhere to nowhere (apologies to any residents of Ambergate and Chinley), complete with a branch line without a passenger service, or at least something remotely realistic and then expect people to happily part with their cash for it, which I won't be doing as it stands. And at the same time don't convey any information or intentions re the first much trumpeted route despite the noise on the forums. If my company behaved like that I have to say I would be fearful of being down the job centre very quickly! I suppose us gamers always like the new shiny thing, I am as bad but I am trying to be more reserved.
We'll fix the bugs in time, Oh, but to get these fixed bugs, you'll have to buy our new shiny DLC, which may of course come with their own bugs, but don't worry, we'll have those fixed.... when we release our new shiny DLC..... rinse and repeat
So they published the 10 in 10 for MML and the whole way through the steam tour segment the safety valve was going off. They must realise it needs changing by now surely?
Steam is in an absolutely dreadful state compared to the rest of TSW at the moment. The development clearly wasn't finished before the team were told to release it on SoS (hence steam being released with far fewer features than TSC ever had), and since then we've seen very little improvement honestly. It's been the best part of a year and the summary of changes is: - Broke steam physics on the transition to TSW3 - Fixed the high-speed steam generation There's still no fix for: - low-speed drafting - the manual firing - the lamps constantly being in the wrong places - the blood & custard coaches never spawning in timetable mode - the dire timetable and so forth. Some of these are simple, noticeable issues that should have been picked up in the beta phase and fixed early - I can't imagine why they've been left broken. I'm a huge fan of what TSW is trying to do more generally (even if it may not come across in this post) but steam is a total omnishambles at the moment. It's hard to imagine quality third-party steam developers (of which there is a huge cottage industry of talented individuals out there) wanting to make the transition from TSC to TSW with things as they are, and that for me is a massive missed opportunity for both DTG and the player base. Worse, the community feedback from the initial preview of Peak Forest at the Festival of Rail was roundly rejected almost in entirety and I'm really concerned that we're going to be left with an unrealistic, crippled representation of what should be one of the finest routes in the country. As usual, I'd be delighted for the team to prove me wrong here (chuffed, you might say), but I don't see a lot of reason to be optimistic right now.
Couldn't agree more, I badly want them to succeed with steam as its such a massive thing for so many players. Hopefully they can prove us wrong somehow. Will be awaiting peak forest to see what happens then. Like you I am a fan of what they are trying to do I just hope they can find some way to sort steam out as apparently the whole team was very passionate making it
Like many others in this thread, I’m quite confused why a new steam route is close to being released while the first one still feels very unfinished and left behind. They also missed out on the opportunity to include some nice diesel action with Peak Forest, which would have been historically accurate and has been requested by many even since before SOS’s release. Expectations are certainly very high… fixed steam physics (including on SOS), great scenery and a good timetable (with realistic timings contrary to the abysmal ones on SOS) will all be an absolute requirement for many to even consider purchasing this after the lackluster post-launch support of Liverpool-Crewe (which seems to have caused a general indifference regarding steam in this community, the pre-Spirit of Steam excitement is just not there anymore).
Along with SOS, I'd be very happy if DTG could also have such approach for a lot of previously released routes too which are in need for more loco DLC and timetable/scenery updates - I'd much prefer this rather than the constant stream of newer, empty routes/timetables.
Doing some further reflection on the route choice… I actually think it’s really nice they went for something different than a flat mainline for the second route. Certainly brings some variety to the steam experience. But why go for an extremely niche and unknown route with no iconic towns or locations, and an unconventional start point at Ambergate? This will make it hard to convince casual gamers and non-Steam lovers to make the purchase. This would maybe have been appropriate after a few years of Steam, but a well-known line with more available research material and more mainstream appeal may have been the safer choice for the second steam route. It almost reminds me of West Somerset Railway, an unconventionally slow and extremely niche heritage railway that was made and released quite early in TSW’s lifecycle as a franchise and continues to have an extremely polarized love-hate reception within the community. I also find it really hard to understand why they didn’t do a route containing both steam and diesel. They’ve always talked about how they’d love to do more vintage UK diesel stuff, but it just doesn’t sell that well. By combining steam and diesel, they could essentially get two birds with one stone and increase the target audience of the DLC significantly. Additionally, the steam locos all feel relatively identical to drive, so some diesel action would bring welcome excitement and variety (the lack thereof is a big reason for why I don’t return to SOS frequently, along with the bugged steam physics which continue to make every journey quite cumbersome). TLDR: I’m mostly worried that the niche nature of the route will negatively impact its sales figures and popularity, regardless of the quality of the release. A well-known steam line and/or combination of late steam and early diesel may have been a more popular choice. That said, I’m mostly focused on Midland Mainline right now. It looks quite solid, still trying to figure out wether I’ll purchase it at launch or later. Will very likely not be buying the steam route because I just haven’t been returning to SOS (and thus steam in general) as often as I’d have liked for the reasons I mentioned above.
Agree Tim. Surely even now it is not too late to bump the release of Peak Forest, get the line down to Derby in place and add the green diesels, even if it means a green 101 on the Buxton shuttle rather than the more appropriate 104. That would be a much more rounded package, appeal to both steam and diesel aficionados alike, bring in a raft of sales.
Not really a fan of steam, and I didn’t even know peak forest was a thing until this route was announced, but like everyone here I agree they really do need to get the physics and sounds right as well as not maki my the same mistake with sos
I do wish some of the route builders and steam loco developers would get on board as there are some fantastic TSC steam creations out there which potentially would look fantastic in TSW. I would love to see secondary and branch lines modelled, I can imagine something like the Mortenhampstead and Exe Valley lines with a auto train and Pannier with a full service mode timetable including pick up freights, passenger train and specialist freights. The Stainmore line, cresting the summit with double headed J21's or an Ivatt 4mt or rattling along the Middleton in Teesdale branch in a leaky G5 with some pre grouping carriages. Will we ever get to experience any of this in TSW I wonder.
It's total speculation. The steam depot aren't a reliable guess of release, nor even are the console achievements.
Can't be too much longer then? Although what was excitement for a new steam route is 100% scepticism. I want dtg to change and to win me back but I can't help feeling like the new features will be a "Dazzle with something shiny and new so they cant hear the safety valve or see the physics"
This should be the route of the year release for me (although the JT one looks promising era wise) however I just have no excitement for it even though I have always wanted a up to date Derby to Manchester route in a sim. This is such an anti-climax on all fronts, of course there might be surprises in store or DLC down the line but as it stands it seems disappointing, although I am sure will be look great.
Must agree there, when I first heard that this line was coming I was beaming like a child in a sweet shop but now I couldn't give a monkeys that it's close to release. On the other hand though, JT's route is looking to be promising and I think will be the one to watch now.
https://www.trueachievements.com/game/Train-Sim-World-3/dlc/Peak-Forest-Ambergate-Chinley-Buxton Thank you CowBoyWolf. As the achievements have been listed, I think we are only a few weeks away from its release. Sometime on or before 11th May?
Looking at the debacle which seems to be MML, got to be concerned PF will go down exactly the same road. The no Derby or green diesels was already making me think twice about pre-ordering but I just think the bottom has fallen out of any quality control or pride in the product at Dovetail now so far as TSW goes. Think this and any future releases firmly relegated to 40% off or better sale and then only if reviews are favourable.
According to the April 2023 Roadmap article: Will Steam physics be improved? "The team are working hard to improve the physics of firing and general operation for this release for the LMS Fowler 4F." "We also plan to add these improvements to existing routes that use them in the TSW back-catalogue (Spirit of Steam, West Cornwall Local Steam Railtour). These might come after release though." So this would imply that upon Peak Forest route release, the 4F might come shipped with the updated physics improvements, whilst the 8F and Jubilee will still be stuck struggling with low speed drafting issues and consequent poor steaming for the time being?
If they don't patch it in time for the release, then yes. As Peak Forest looks like a route with a lot of gradients, prepare for a very disappointing experience with the Jubilee and the 8F. The services could even be impossible to complete.
