Did Dtg Give Up On Us Fright Routs Are They Not Profitable No More It Seems Like It's Just Been Pass

DTG’s stance on older USA content is very unfortunate. It’s the perfect mix of shorter freights (better for TSW’s engine) and more passenger trains running along the same routes.

I played so many hours on Pennsylvania RR’s horseshoe curve with both passenger and freight and spent hundreds of dollars on DLC for that route in the Train Sim Classic.

With that said, I didn’t pick up Clinchfield because Clinchfield is bit of a niche railroad and the issues it had.

I really wish more retro-routes were considered.. past era’s are when US Railroading was iconic. I’ve been very uninterested in the recent US content but if modern passenger is good for business, then it is what it is.

 

I was experimenting with SPG in the editor a while back and dropped in TOD4 to see how the lighting and sky dome changes looked. It was a very nice IMHO. I just played walking around the scenery and did not try making a test TT. It got me thinking about the same thing. How much work is the changeover in regard to TT, seasons, etc.?

 

TT wouldnt need to be changed at all for TOD4.
Only the lighting of the route/locos, as well as some materials.

 

Clinchfield is well worth it. Just don't drive night services.

 

I too enjoy Clinchfield - and with certain mods, night time runs are not impossible.

 

I somehow found myself on the Journey scenario where you need to arrange three locos off the shed via the turntable. Looks an interesting one as the game has left it up to you how you get the first loco to the front of its train. No blue markers drip feeding your progress. So first I need to work out if I actually need to turn the loco, then the best exit from the turntable to get it through the yard. Game could use more scenarios like this rather than A to B or predetermined pathing.

 

I have nearly always managed to get a fair amount of light for the night services by carefully selecting the date. The aim was to get as far away from sunset or sunrise as possible to have the old nighttime ambient light at its highest value and try and get the moon up for extra direct light. It was still dark but not as bad as it could be. I haven’t tried it for a while though I must admit.

 

That actually sounds pretty interesting. I do hope this lovely route still gets a bit of love in the future.

 

I would love to see some new life to Clinchfield Sand patch HSC like upgraded visuals..some freight car and new loco DLC retro and modern . For example CSX is the operator of the Clinchfield route some modern csx locos and coal hoppers could be added SD40 2 Ac44 etc csx also operates freight ethanol phosphate fertilzer trains grain so tank cars covered hoppers could be added

 

And banking comms.....?

 

A modern day locomotive in an old route wouldn't be realistic unless the ac44 existed back then which google says no. An older loco in a newer route might make more sense because they still do run as preserved units or being a reliable unit. The operations and scenery might be different. You also have to "remake" the timetable since the ac44 and f7 have very different physics.

 

Now with the TSW editor going mainstream you will see some development in payware and freeware products in the next 24 months I reckon.

 

They meant adding a modern day CSX timetable for Clinchfield, like how that one UK route has a backdated timetable for it.

 

This makes me very happy, there is a very rewarding route waiting to be unleashed in there somewhere!

 

I should note that Matt has been saying this for multiple years now...

 

Great to hear… best wishes for you getting time to work in it.

 

EOTD broken, DPU broken , SAFETY SYSTEMS broken, CC LIVERIES broken... SUBSTITUTION broken. Everything what makes US freight special is... broken. And they wander why people goes somewhere else to play freight trains (trainz, run8). Low quality product make low interest.

 

That would be fantastic

 

Having spent a couple of hours playing Railroader, definitely think this is something DTG should be looking into as an alternative to the current US route strategy. Not necessarily with steam traction or the campaign/economic simulation but in terms of gameplay serving industry and passengers on “your” railway, picking up cars from the interchange, dropping them off and returning when loaded/unloaded.

 

Yeah, with how Railroad runs freight and whatnot, Im starting to see TSW as only a screenshot simulator at this point.....

 

I am finding Railroader fascinating, but it's all on the operations side. The "drive a train" part is pretty basic and arcade-y.

 

I would respectfully disagree. I have been finding the steam physics are quite good, better than what DTG have done in TSW so far. As noted in another thread, the locos actually consume coal and water unlike TSW steamers. Braking is modelled very well even down to no partial release when working freight and using train brakes. Only thing missing is a % indicator on the HUD for the reverser position. But gradients make a difference as does train load, far less arcadey than Trainz DCC mode.

 

The fact you actually have to manage the airlines and anglec0ck positions already makes Railroader incredibly better than what you can do in TSW. You can actually realistically "kick cars" if you want to.

 

Yes I noticed you can bleed off the air and effectively isolate the brakes, same as Run 8. If you bash things about too much you can damage the equipment or even derail the vehicle. However unlike TSW where trying to couple at more than 4 MPH or 6 km/h gives you a game over, Railroader includes a function to rerail the vehicle.

 

I would like to point out that Clinchfield route has a lot of undone stuff in it. I see a lot of missing scenery in places, bald spots, that look horrible and some trackside signs that are way too close to the trains. The AI sd40 driven trains have no headlights on..lol I think if these issues were corrected and given new lighting and TSW4 up to date features this would kick it in the butt. I love the route, but shy away because of this. It seems not finished to do the route justice. I would play it every day if it got some serious attention. I think there is hope for it and someday get what WSR is getting... man I hope. Big Clinchfield fan and love railroads of the past.

 

Hope so! Love some American steam, no shortage of content to use.

 

I really hope so Matt! Big Clinchfield fan! It needs some serious love!

 

Clinchfield with new lighting, and the trees/materials swapped to realistic colours would be great.

 

I have to concur with the above previous statements Clinchfield has good bones - just a refresh os the scenery and correction to the lighting as mentioned would make this a cracker of a route for those of us who enjoy early US Diesel -- work in an American steam freight would be outstanding even it is as a railfan/heritage type unit

 

It needs a WSR make over. It would definitely kick butt.

 

You got something there..steam would be really fantastic!

 

Together with

• Banking comms
• Accurate signaling and routing (no, trains do NOT get routed through the siding unless there is an actual meeting!)
• Whistleposts
• NPCs
• Road traffic
• More coal-loading services beyond just the one at Berta

I suspect that whenever DTG finally do a US steam loco, it won't be as a DLC for a route that is sales-challenged.

 

I should mention that there was an outstanding mod called "Clinchfield Reimagined" that hugely improved the scenery. Sadly, TSW3 broke it forever.

 

You apparently missed my post, Princess.

 

How did they break it?

 

Obviously. Mods aren't officially supported. An update can break mods at any time. There's no guarantee it will be perfect

 

Is it me, or are you just parroting what people already know.

 

Yes. Thanks for the observation. But acting like dtg broke it on purpose is incorrect

 

No one said DTG broke it.

All that was said here was that the mod didn't work from TSW3 onwards.

 

For US Freight lovers last roadmap was a disappointment.

 

I don't think I implied that at all; i certainly didn't mean it. That's how mods are; if the code they make use of changes, they likely will break. I'm just saying it's a shame that particular one no longer works.

 

Agree, and unfortunately the future looks bland for us. If you love fast European passenger/freight then hats off.

 

Basically how TSW4 handles stuff now makes most older mods useless basically. They dont work.

 

The Clinchfield Reimagined mod has been broken quite a while ago, way before TSW4. It may have been broken even before TSW3.
If I remember correctly, the creator of the mod used a technique for texturing that does not work anymore in the game. It also broke some of their other mods, like the CSX shunter mod.

 

I enjoy all the TSW content and have been since it came out on PS4 with original TSW and now I play TSW4 on PS5. Currently Antelope and NEC New York to Trento are my favorites to play whit the limited playing time I have outside of work and other life things. I really loved that NJ Transit was added to TSW and I'd been hoping that would come out since the game first came out and knowing DTG had the license. One day I would really love to the see the Morris & Essex / Main Line aka Midtown Direct line in the game for NJT. It is electrified line from just before Dover NJ and then into either NY Penn or to Hoboken NJ (Original end of line for the former Delaware Lackawanna and Western RR). This line also is part of the planned and approved future Amtrak extension and restoration for the Lackawanna cut-off to go all the way to Scranton PA.

DTG Matt and all the rest of the DTG TSW team do a fantastic job and I'm so glad that they made this game available to console players! Looking forward to learning more about the next US Route when it's announced! Happy Holidays to all!

 

Aslong we will get no new american freight route I help myself with the Free Roam feature. So I bring a bit more variety with freight trains to passenger only services-routes . Especially with freight services at Boston Sprinter and New York-Trenton.

 

IIRC, it was TSW3 what done it, but it just might have been Rush Hour.

 

i do the same at least with TSW4 free roam can run freight on passenger routes and run passenger on freight routes ..I wish though DTG could fix some of the locomotive s that dont work in free roam like the SD40 2 GP38 2 MP15 etc ..i have had some fun also running freight on NYT and Boston Providence ..I hope DTG will give more US freight routes cars and locomotives ..id like to see DTG or a great 3rd party developer hit it out of the park like JT did with the Blackpool branches ..but US freight and passenger