Midland Mainline - Skyhook Feedback

That is part of what I have just asked. I am hoping early this week, but honestly not my call. I just got back to my desk and texted the people responsible to find out info. I will share anything I find out.

 

What are the headcodes of the Ivanhoe services?

 

I'd like to know this as well

 

Great to see Pride Park, Derby County’s ground has been beautifully added and is very impressive.

Jane perhaps you can please encourage Rivet to improve WCL in the same way!!

 

Same for me, it was like this pre patch also.

 

Hi, don't know if anyone else has reported this but game just crashed on service 1C09 Derby - St Pancras, just about to enter East Midlands Parkway. Looks like it was having trouble loading the cooling towers of the power station. Xbox S.

 

Does anyone know if there are any 4 car 158 services in timetable mode

 

This might be relevent. I just tried the same service again without using a creators club livery on the HST I was driving and completed it fine.

 

hey Sharon, sorry it is out of hours at work, but have left a note for the guys to get you that info first thing in the morning.

all the best
Jane

 

I am really glad you like it. That is all down to Jon and his art team. They are talented! They are also not done yet!

 

thank you this may help with tracking! Really appreciate the info Robert.

 

I'm driving the 158 now I just love this train you've done a brilliant job with it

 

thank you Mark, that is down to Will and a bunch of very talented individuals, advisors and testers. I love it too.

 

Maybe SHG could add in Yankee Stadium to this route since DTG chose to leave it out of Harlem.

 

Please thank them for us

 

I am pleased to hear they are not done yet. This route is going to be very impressive I feel. Thank you Jane to you and your team for all you are doing.

 

I have avoided playing this route, waiting for the big batch of fixes. I am very disappointed to find one scenario cannot be completed, which means one of the three achievements for the route cannot be unlocked.
I will never understand how people choose what to care about. In my book, a functional problem would trump anything visual. Yet, a ton of visual issues were addressed in this patch.

I see a lot of congratulations being sent for the 158. Does that mean the doors opening and closing are working as intended? One opens first, then the others together. When they close, the bunch goes first, and then one door closes on its own. Because of this, opening and closing the doors at a station take twice as long as they should.

 

Devs work on different things because they have different specialities. A graphics dev might be able to change a lot more assets because they may not interact with much or change much (or be difficult to change). That dev may not know how to dev other assets

I believe this is intended on emulating guard door opening and closing routines, so IRL this is how it works. Completely blows the timetable though

 

Long Eaton has bad lag coming into the area, near the station and also there are no stop markers at the station..

No speed limit sign coming off from Long Eaton on to the main towards Nottingham. Are these things getting fixed?

No stop markers on either platform at Attenborough either.

When I left Derby, the tail lights in the rear can were instead 'Day Headlights', normally Tail lights are set automatically ready for when we take control? This all has happened with the HST.

Also, have the trunking cable following the lineside been noted for application in a later update?

 

this is correct, the art team operates independently of the programming tech team, who operate independently of the signals team etc. So its not a case of fix visuals or tech. Totally different teams.

I should also point out it is an entirely different job. 3D artists who make the visuals have no training in programming and vice versa. So we cannot swap around. I lead the programming teams, but don't ask me to make any art. I haven't a clue. We have to ask professionally trained artists. On the other side, artists have to ask us for tech support as they have no understanding of programming. Different worlds.

 

It could very well be the case that "more important" issues were already started before any aesthetic improvements, but I think it's logical to say they will take longer to complete, test, debug, so why not patch in what is already completed right now?

 

exactly this.

 

Good evening Jane,
I were tripped at Mountsorrel again at 89mph this time on 1D11 on my way to Nottingham. I have something which will hopefully be more valuable to you than words as well: screenshots showing where the TPWS slammed me brakes on. Again on the xbox series s.

The location is just south of Mountsorrel sidings and this shows me looking north towards Loughborough.


This image is the same place but looking south towards Leicester.


This is just a side on view with the right hand side of the image being northbound and left had side southbound.


I also noticed whilst being on the outside that the doors hadn't shut on the HST on the rear coaches. When I moved closer they shut.

Sorry if any of the above has been mentioned but I haven't really read through the previous two pages but I hope that this may help in some way so if you need more description of the screenshots I'll be happy to help there. If you'd like any other screenshots I'll be happy to provide them but it may be a couple of days before I get a chance to get them as I've got work in the day tomorrow and I have been given a whole list of instructions by the mrs for when I get home, along with taking her shopping.
Also, holy moly, that engine on the HST sounds gorgeous from the outside!

 

If anyone is interested in the process on a general level I am happy to share. Basically, however,

There are art and tech teams, who work separately. Those teams are further subdivided.

Both teams are coordinated by a producer who keeps all groups in sync so nobody is waiting on anyone else. The line producer reports to a senior producer who does all the scheduling and budgeting. The senior producer reports to head of production, who has final say on the entire production process.

The QA team are also in the mix, reporting to the producer.

We also have a content team, led by the incredibly knowledgeable Adam Lucas, who many of you will know, creating content design for the routes etc.

Parallel to the head of production is the CTO, who has final technical authority on the project and guides the teams on technical algorithms and techniques and drives all the technical processes, leads the tech teams etc. There is also an art director who supervises the art.

Most artists are specialist. So for example, a modeller will create the Derby Roundhouse, a texture artist will texture that model. There are also animators, lighting artists etc etc.

Same in code with different specialisations.

So all those teams operate with their own pipelines, those pipelines meeting at the producer. The whole thing is then overseen jointly by head of art, head of production and head of tech (CTO)

In short, lots of groups in a tree structure, each with their own tasks and in the case of a patch, each team with their own fixes and additions. The poor producer then has to juggle all the teams on what goes where and when.

Then the triumvirate of head of art, head of production and CTO jointly lead those teams and have a joint final say on the release.

This is the theory in most games studios/sim teams. With the bigger studios you get associate producers, producer grades 1 to 4, etc etc.

Hope that helps a bit for people who are interested. The upshot is we can do visual fixes whilst long code fixes are underway as its different people in a different department, all being synced by the producer.

Jane

 

Matt, this was super useful thank you. I will pass it on in the morning. Thank you so much for your time and effort. It genuinely helps us a lot. I will give you a shout privately if the teams ask for more info. Really, appreciated, thank you!

 

Can you take a look at mine further up aswell please? Appreciate your cooperation, especially reaching out after hours.

 

My few minutes is nothing compared to what you have put into the route so I am more than happy to help you and your team out. Like I say I don't know what time I'll have tomorrow as I've got a whole A5 piece of paper full of jobs and a trip into Stamford, but I will happily have an extended tea break if I need to and once I finish work I am free all of Wednesday evening so I am completely open to a shout for more screenshots! Much more interesting than housework!
Thanks.

 

As much as people hate on it, The Rivet system has worked flawlessly (Other than missing out the off map callouts).

I think that's a common problem, I've seen it on other routes too.
(although sliding doors are less noticable than hinged ones)

 

Possibly but I always drive from the cab view and this was the first time I've driven from an external view so it was new to me. Thanks for informing me though.

 

hey Alex, not a problem at all. I am glad to help. I have logged everything to pass on to the teams first thing in the morning. I am grateful for your diligence in pointing things out. Can I ask please whether these issues are on a PC or console?

many thanks
Jane

 

connected to the core engine. We are talking to DTG teams about this.

 

Hi jane-skyhook

Thanks for getting back to me, I suppose that would help, I am on an Xbox Series S.

I have added further up on my post about the signal trunking that goes lineside with the concrete slabs on top. Just wondering if these have plans for a future implementation in a later patch as it looks quite bare?

The PIS systems showing arrival and departure of the same service is not prototypical, so I thought I would request this to be fixed please.

As the 158 has received GSMR Functionality, can this be implemented to the HST as I would be under the impression, it is more than possible?

Finally there seems to be lineside fencing missing just outside of Barrow upon Soar, near to the canal/river so on the fast line side and then when passing Mountsorrel, heading towards Leicester.. Well, you've guessed it.. Emergency brake applied

Again, I speak on behalf of the forum... Thank you for being so cooperative and helpful. It is fully refreshing, we don't see this done much at all.

 

That's intentional: just like they do in real life.

 

Since new feature suggestions have been invited I'd like to add a +1 to the extension to Sheffield from Derby. It seems like the most obvious choice when it comes to a route expansion. If possible (I'm not sure how this looks in real life so I'm not sure how advantageous this would be) you could also add Nottingham-Sheffield, completing the diamond. Freight services to/from the power plant would also be very much welcomed.
And, since this is being laid out by DTG's gameplay team, working with them on implementing a timetable conductor/guard mode seems like a good step, too, as the 158 is ideal for it.

As far as outstanding issues go I've been reluctant to report anything since the update files got borked and we're still waiting for the fixes on that but the most frustrating issue I've come across is the out of nowhere penalty brake. One in the 158 just before Nottingham and one southbound in the HST ~5-6 miles north of Leicester.

 

Hi jane-skyhook. Is it planned to replace the anomalous gas holder South of Barrow on Soar, East of track, with the British Gypsum Dome ? I am presuming so, but just checking. Thanks for all you are all doing. It is so much appreciated.

 

Scenario, cant make your mind up?

This can't be finished, i stopped at the stop marker at spondon and didnt acknowledge it to tell me to open the doors.

Am on series x. I bought this dlc yesterday.

Also the last 2 carriages aren't even on the platform :-(

 

I confirm that stuttering around Long Eaton is pretty bad. I'm on Xbox Series X and, according to YouTube videos, this lag is noticeable on PC and PS5 too, but less severe. You can reproduce it easily on any service starting at Derby, at 1.3 miles from Long Eaton station. Thank you!

 

I have submitted this to the team

 

Same here on series x stuttering around long Eaton. The chimneys pop in to view with stutter to go with it

 

morning Steven and Gary, yes we are on this as I type to you. Appreciate the submission and support from you both.

 

Welcome. Just noticed this also jane.

3J88 service rhtt train.

Says the service will take 21 hours and 16 minutes. Wow thats a long service.

Series x am on.

 

I love it, the longest scenario in TSW Thanks for spotting, passing it on now.

 

Hi Jane can you confirm this is being looked in to. Many thanks for your hard work.

 

Oh also. The 158 wheels were spinning yesterday when i was stopped at stations.

 

After playing the route post-patch for a few hours, just a few things of feedback jane-skyhook I'd like to see addressed for future updates if able:
- As others have said, some major stuttering on Xbox Series X around Long Eaton.
- I'd like to see Nottingham and Derby much more busier with playable and AI traffic as currently they still feel too unrealistically empty which ruins the immersion. As such, at Nottingham for example, would like to see EMT 158 (4-car) Liverpool Lime Street services as well as services to Grimsby Town (which start at Leicester?) and Crewe (which goes via Nottingham and Derby) plus AI-only EMT services to places like Skegness and Worksop etc.
- Would like to see yards more busy too.

 

That's almost Penzance-Inverness and back.

 

The final 2 points, I thought had been (or will be soon) fixed? Maybe?

 

The Leicester-Grimsby service is just an extension of the Leicester-Lincoln service, it runs every two hours

 

Any chance the sounds of a HST passing at speed can be prolonged for another 4-5 seconds? Seems to go awfully quiet and usually the tracks make a sound prior to a train passing, can this be implemented?

 

hey Alex, being brutally honest, I don't know but I know who to ask Will ask them after lunch.