Midland Mainline - Skyhook Feedback

I totally agree,we was told the updates ready just adding extra bits but seems like it’s been an age pushing it through.
I’m sorry but how does anyone expect people to buy more routes if things need fixing…well I’m not going to it’s becoming a bit of a mess.
Take this as a school report score:needs to improve

 

I've wondered about this kind of thing too, where some patches are waiting while others cut ahead in line. But I'd guess that Jane was only covering the tip of the iceberg in that couple of paragraphs of explanation the other day, and that they have other things to do than devote a whole day writing out the nuances.

It does seem like the waiting patches tend to be the big ones, while the small fixes get out quicker. So could size/bandwidth also be a factor?

 

our patch went to publishing some time ago. Unfortunately, as JD said, the patch was delayed by Dovetail until after the release of Glossop today. A couple of pages ago, JD kindly explained this and what was going on. Out of the hands of Skyhook unfortunately,

 

I have mostly lost interest because of all the delays. Just Trains MML (TS Classic) is more fun because it has lots of extensions, works well, has lots of relevant services and looks great. The moral of this story is, I think, as others have suggested, to pick up new routes at least 6 months post release in sales when the price is much lower and all the bugs have been fixed (at least those that are going to be fixed!) The current release/ test/ fix/ break/ fix again approach is a pretty good incentive to wait! That way you have all the latest releases, just 6 months later plus you spend less, pay what it is actually worth and experience less frustration!

 

Basically they are holding off so they don't have to make so many different builds prior to the big End of Summer Release.

To save them time. Just like the silence with updates before Rush Hour and TSW 3.

 

With all due respect DTG JD. Dtg have been very silent from the start. Its not just about the patches. Its about communication. There is a distinct lack of communication. Lack of progress etc. It really feels like bugger all is being done by Dtg. I know this isn't the case, but it feels that way. Dtg needs to change its approach to customer communications, and fast.

 

Ever since they cut their streaming down by 90% there has been such a lack of info on progress.

With the leisurely lets play streams Sam and Matt used to keep us up to date even if it wasn't what we wanted to hear.

We went from 2-3 streams a week to maybe 1 or 2 every 2-3 weeks.

The DTG release day streams used to very good as you would acknowledge the bugs on camera that came up and we actually knew what DTG were aware of. Now you don't do any.

Post on the forums and let us know, but the threads are always so full of toxic replies and bickering that it becomes depressing trying to weed through the garbage to what has actually been acknowledged. Information we used to get on the release day and lets play streams.

Also i thought the intention was to replace the lost streams with more feequent and in depth articles, what happened there. 1 Roadmap, and 1 release date announcement article and 1 day of release article is not what I was expecting. Pretty half baked in my opinion.

So gone are the days of TSW 2020 and TSW2's "look we are more engaged than ever with the community here at DTG, unlike we used to be". To back to the old hold everything close to the chest, keep everthing secret ways of the old DTG.

And yes Jan, Alex, JD, and Matt do engage on the forums, Matt maybe not as much as he used but with his executive position I'm sure he has less time to be able to. An that I understand.

But before Matt, Nat, Jamie, Sam and Adam were way more responsive on the forums than we see today.

Shyhook Jane is like what DTG uses to be in terms of activity and engagement.

And that is what I miss.

 

Yep I'm in total agreement. Jane has kept us all up-to-date pretty much every day and has taken our feedback on board. DTG are silent for weeks and only seem to respond with "This is why it's not our fault" posts.

 

But here the thing, it looks like DTG are trying to (intentionally or not) sabotage the hard work the Skyhook team have done to improve MML with the latest patch just sitting there.

 

It's unsurprising, really. The more open and frequent communication was mainly on account of Sam. With him gone - first from the role of community manager and now from DTG entirely - they're falling back into old habits, I reckon.

 

DTG JD So the company you represent screwed up a bug fix patch for SEHS (released last week), then reissue a patch (yesterday) to fix the bugs you had created. Surely this would have needed 'tine', like you had suggested above? Now you're telling us that these things need time to test etc? Something doesn't tie up.. Maybe you are being used as the scapegoat to feed us the typical BS because you have no intention of trying to talk to your consumers in an understanding way, you simply sound like an Oxford Graduate acting like you read from a script.

Give us news, let us know how testing is going. Stop being so reserved as I'm sick and tired of all of your behaviours at DTG.

 

Might I cheekily suggest that SEHS be more played because as yet we haven’t actually received MML proper. It’s opinion of course, but mine is that up until the first patch MML was completely unplayable. I don’t expect to pay £30 for something to be told to entirely disable a major feature to be able to get from one end to another, or be limited to playing in clear weather because someone forgot to enable raindrops on a windscreen. I buy this game because I like sim games, and if the sim side of it simply doesn’t work then in my eyes it’s unplayable. After patch 1 it is now at least playable, but still a long way from right. For example, I still have to disable safety systems entirely at two points on the route to avoid incorrect emergency stops. Is that right or fair months after release for a £30 product? I would say not. I made a decision not to play the route until the patch came out, then it came out but not correctly, now the fix for the fix is sitting in a queue. A bit frustrating to say the least.

I also still have to question this concept of ‘testing’. If this testing is done, how did the MML patch release with half its content missing (as time goes on I’m not sure I buy this line anymore, it just seems so implausible) and how did the update to SEHS get pushed when it breaks the route? Those are just the first two examples that come to mind but there are many more. What exactly is it the ‘testers’ are testing?

Genuine question, does anyone actually just play the game like a player would before it releases, on a none dev build / machine? So many times content comes out and it’s immediately apparent to the ‘players’ that things are not as intended, yet it always seems to be an earth-shattering surprise to DTG that this is the case. “We can’t replicate it on the dev build” - well, it goes without saying that we, your customers, don’t play on dev builds. Surely that demonstrates an opportunity to revisit and improve the release process, does it not?

 

Exactly l this!
The issues some of us have with Creator Club , that have been mentioned for months , the lack of passengers, which is something that is vital to the game , the promises to fix Peninsula that were promised three Prime Ministers ago, broken trophies that Manfonse is doing a Stirling job of researching on the Tech forum, to name but a few . None of these have been addressed or even acknowledged for some time or even at all. I’m the past Nat or Sam would at least acknowledge the existence of these issues . Its fire and forget and get the next DLC out . Reminds me of Rawhide.
Move 'em on, head 'em up, head 'em up, move 'em on

 

Hi,

I got an emergency braking for unknown reasons which had me coming to a halt right before the LR484 signal, while driving to Leicester. I was going at around 100 MPH (speed limit around 115 MPH). All signals were clear. Is this another TPWS issue ?

 

Yes its one of the fixes that was missed out of the main patch. Its currently in QA ( not for how long) with the rest of the fixes that were supposed to be in Patch 1 but left out by the Ai. I hate Ai.... They are as bad as humans

Hentis

 

I was driving a Leicester to Nottingham service and the game crashed just before Nottingham for some reason.

 

Just got another one at the same place traveling north !

 

Ok thanks ! I hope this is going to get fixed soon.

 

I haven't had time to watch through all of your video but I since I did the Simugraph (physics) for the Class 158 I thought I'd touch on some of the points you brought up in the video.

1. The delayed door closing/opening is the guard simulation that Daisy implemented. Basically what is happening is that the guard opens their local doors to check the platform and then opens the remaining doors. Same thing (but in reverse) when closing the doors.

2. The poor brake performance in snow/rain is as intended. If you check the brake cylinder gauge you'll see that the pressure is swinging up and down as the wheel slide protection is trying to keep the wheels from sliding. Each train is also varying slightly in brake performance and finally the adhesion is randomly varying across the route (usually in dry weather the adhesion is so good that you won't really notice a difference, but in poor weather it can be noticeable). Be mindful of the weather conditions and brake early when it is snowing or raining.

3. The spinning wheels on the second bogie of the rear car (that stops when you go into neutral) is not a physics bug but some kind of animation bug. My guess is that the wheels aren't actually acting as wheels but instead are connected to the engine. This issue has been known about for a while but as far as I know, unfortunately a fix didn't make it for the patch.

4. When the train started moving when you released the brakes without applying power (when it was snowing). That is however a real physics bug. Basically if you make the wheels slide very close to a stand still, the wheels on the second bogie (the "problem bogie") will start spinning (yes spinning, not sliding, strangely enough) uncontrollably and you basically have to wait for the wheels to "spool down" before they will stop again. It's a really nasty bug, but unfortunately it is a core physics bug and nothing I can do anything about. DTG are aware of this bug but I can't say when it will be fixed. Fortunately it doesn't occur very often (and I've only been able to reproduce it in snow, and by basically going into full service or emergency below 10 mph), but it certainly looks ugly.

 

I do appreciate the in-depth information and thank you for taking the time to do this, it would seem I missed the memo on the door operation, ya know what they say "Whoever they are" the mind is the first to go, now that I watched that first video with the snow I thought that I did try to feather the breaks with the snow, It would appear that I did not. And will fer sure be more mindful in doing so, again I thank you and appreciate the time and effort you put in and getting back to me, when a dev team takes time to address concerns and or reported issues and take time to reply, this does show there is more than just "make it, sell it, ship it, forget it" I have not seen this a long time. have a great day cheers.

:UPDATE:
In the event that you cwf.green have seen or not seen my reply, I did want to add that part of the second video is to show that the two different routes share the same or some of the same issues. And that includes (the "problem bogie").

 

I just want to say it has been 70 DAYS since this thread was created

 

And the route is still broken.
All the communication in the world isn't worth much if the end result is still the same.

 

As most of you know now, I am taking time out from Skyhook to look after my seriously ill wife Claire. Claire also has her 50th birthday this Friday.

In honour of her birthday the talented marcsharp2 has created a community Class 40 railtour which will be uploaded soon. Yes, it is a fantasy Class 40 livery, bearing the nameplate Claire.

Claire and I are really grateful to you Marc and I look forward to driving this railtour on MML!

 

The patch has been delayed by DTG.

 

Thank you so much

 

So sorry to hear that Jane I hope all will be OK with your wife happy birthday to her Friday that livery is brilliant great job Marc

 

Roadmaps mean nothing when you randomly update. Yet again, its more excuses for abysmal communication.

 

That is a lovely gesture.

I hope all will be okay for your wife and that she manages to enjoy her birtday.

 

Exactly. I’m currently waiting for multiple routes to get significant discounts and/or fixes, including MML and Left Rhine. Have only bought Niddertalbahn at launch, which arrived with basically zero big issues, and will also probably be getting Glossop today as the community reaction to that release has been very good.

Edit: Also want to wish Jane and Claire all the best! Hope everything will be ok

 

All the best and that all is well and will be.

 

Very sorry your wife is so ill, especially over a milestone birthday. Best wishes to you both.

Pity there's no character designer so you could have an NPC of your wife in the second seat while you drive.

 

These issues have been mentioned in numerous threads and while DTG have addresses other things said on the threads , these ones are just looked over , surely proof that they don’t care about their customers. I’m sure that if I and others had posted a query about a forthcoming DLC it would get answered promptly

 

That is one thing that really frustrates me is the lack of passengers on alot of routes the stations are empty Birmingham New Street is one example its one of the busiest stations in the country and there's hardly any passengers it's baffling

 

One of the main issues is the passenger spawn points. They only spawn when you are nearby and it can take them a whole minute or so to reach the platform. Then several more minutes to build up the numbers.

By this time the player train is long gone so you never get to see it or you have to leave a station watching all the passengers hurry towards the train just in time to miss it.

Where it is possible, spawn points should be set inside buildings on the station themselves so the walking time is kept to a minimum. Ideally you'd want them to spawn much earlier too but I'm not sure what the performance impact would be.

 

Stratford international is a good example of that. The passengers spawn on the concourse then have to walk down the stairs to the train and often either leave them behind or get delayed while waiting

 

Thanks again, Marc for another lovely scenario and so pleased about its dedication. A lovely gesture. As it was a special occasion I managed to reach 99 miles per hour. Couldn't quite make the ton.

Funnily enough I decorated a 47 with my Wife's name and lots of sheep all over it about a week ago.

 

Thank you so much.

 

Over 2 months since release and we don't have patch 1 fully released yet and still have a broken DLC. I paid £30 for something that doesn't always work (never had issues with any other DLC crashing).

I've had numerous hard crashes on PS5 and no longer play the route (and haven't since the first week). Briefly played after the 1st (broken) patch but still had issues so shelved it again.

Things like nuclear lighting out of carriage windows is basic stuff that shouldn't have made it past Q&A.

Communication has been great (and thank you) but I'm yet to see promises come to fruition.

Hopefully one day this route will be playable and extended.

 

Am the same. Am back on brighton mainline, its just the best route still. Sehs was really good but since latest update, nope. Lol. I want to play mml but just seems so quiet still and the issues are still the same. So a no for now

 

I suspect the Patch to add to the 1st patch is going through Q&A. Just have to wait i'm afraid. There's also a patch for SEHS that was released a few days ago to address the problems of random spawning. So SEHS is good to go.

Hentis

 

Do you work there then?

No one has confirmed it is in QA and besides that, it's not like the 'QA team' are exactly proving their quality currently.

 

As far as I can see, all we really know from Jane is that it has left SHGs and is in DTGs hands going through their process and according to JD was held up by the SEHS fix and will get out once they are done and have it scheduled.

 

Clearly there is a sizeable backlog of content in front of the QA team and, because the team is not very large, this content has to be heavily triaged.
It seems that the MML patch is not at the head of the line so it will have to wait while more urgent content is examined and scheduled.
This happens in any business.

Frankly I think there are more important fixes in the pipeline than a patch that just refines some things for a route that's already perfectly playable. I can think of a lot of things I'd want to see first.

 

NO I dont work there!

If you think you can do a better job, then fill your boots.

I have edited the post so you are not offended by it.

 

I don’t think “perfectly” fits into the description of Midland Mainline at all. I agree there are more important things to do with core issues etc but for those who purchased MML back some months ago it’s been a long wait for the first full fix. I’m still playing it and loving the 158 but it does still have some problems that should have been addressed prior to release. Just my opinion obviously.

 

...While there are 500 passengers on the platform in Minehead

 

Is that a joke? I've never had a route crash more than this one. I've given up playing it because every time I try a service it's 50/50 whether I can actually complete it. What could possibly more important to fix than that?