As the end of 2023 rapidly approaches the following should definitely be on DTG's list for 2024... 1. Sort out the Save game including more than one slot and follow on runs losing the objective data. 2. Sort out the steam traction physics. 3. Stop putting out half finished/poor quality junk like Maintalbahn. 4. Get away from your comfort zone cartel of UK/Germany/US prototypes. 5. Improve the quality of the audio department output. Feel free to add, in a constructive manner of course.
I'd be happy with: 1. Higher Quality Standards, Maintalbahn should not have been released in the state it is in. If more time is needed, delay the product. There is no reason why every route DTG make shouldn't be to the standard of JTs Blackpool Branches route. 2. Ensure routes start and end at logical points. ECML should have stopped at York, a logical stopping point, not Doncaster.
I don't really agree with that. Starting from scratch in a new country means starting from zero. Even in countries where they have a lot of experience some releases are still not the best (e. g. Maintalbahn). Other than France, i wouldn't want DTG to actually fill the gap of new countries. Imo this should more be something for 3rd parties. So I want to add to that list: Stay in contact with established 3rd party devs from TSC who can bring their expertise to TSW (looking at you, ChrisTrains to finally give us something dutch). Give more support to the modding community. People asked for more tutorial videos. People asked for the cooking fixes. People asked for the addons manager chaos to be fixed, so mods finally work again. And these people - the modding community - has the potential to become a new 3rd party. Look at Folys Köln-Düsseldorf project. Or fceschmidts Husum-route. These ones should be sold, so both the modds can earn something and the console people can enjoy these routes as well. That's my point - focus on the editor, focus on variety, focus on 3rd party devs and talk to them actively. (Instead of "DTG should do something outside the big three")
Yeah, I think DTG should focus on the big three to be honest. Consolidate the rolling stock, rather than spreading themselves out over more countries.
Not to release a whole new game when it is completely unwarranted. There is absolutely no reason why TSW 4 should exist. The new features could have easily been added to TSW 3. Also, really what was the point of adding a Platinum medal tier? DTG made a big thing of this, yet it’s as easy to get Platinum medals as it ever was to get Gold ones. A good idea, but completely, pointlessly ruined by terribly bad implementation. Much more focus needs to be on making a quality route - that works, rather than pointless gimmicks that don’t even work.
My wishes would be... ... sorting out the most annoying issues such as the broken substitution and CC liveries system, xbox audio and flickering... ... releasing routes with more than 1 loco (Hello Salzburg- Rosenheim without an ÖBB Taurus, hello TSW4 starter routes) ... on that occasion getting rid of that stupid multiple loco instance- system ... no TSW5 as it will be long enough until TSW4s selling features are actually available Although I heavily doubt a single point of the above will become reality. Unfortunately.
When we complained about how the track monitor stays on the screen after a service, they put in a fix for it, and it now doesn’t stay on the screen but the time and instruction box at the opposite side of the screen stays there instead, which is actually worse. If it would be appropriate to give DTG hints on what their resolutions should be then top of the list would be to pay proper attention to what they are doing. This also goes for the overlapping numbers on the debrief screen, where nobody raised the questions of “What happens when the numbers get bigger?” and “Is that box big enough now?” and we are subsequently left with something that is not fit for purpose. Attention to detail? Just a little bit more thought? Proper supervision and control? Something like that would help. And that’s before we even get to the trains!
Hire a person (people) from the community who have vision, open minds, and understanding of the big picture and who can help sort the issues that have obviously got out of hand - maybe that is not even possible at this point, but is a thought. Oh - and don't give us the silent treatment for a month and a half in the summer.
I agree with all of your points. However, now I dont ever defend DTG but they only make routes for the 'big 3' countries because thats where the demand is. Most of the TSW community wouldn't have their eyes on a Australian route, South African or Russian.
Unfortunately, I don't think anything will change under the current management team. I think they have become complacent, lack progressive thinking and have fallen into a rut of poor quality releases which threatens to continue with the latest release and the already- announced routes for early 2024. The only way that TSW can progress as a game and begin to fulfill the promise of the early years is for a new management regime to take over, one with the imagination and fresh approach that is committed to developing quality content at the level of BPO and Niddertalbahn, and fixing what's currently broken.
No more one train routes (unless it makes sense). Different eras rather than always modern. More UK freight locos than the Class 66. Consolidate different types of the same train into one, ie no more 1000 Class 66s.
Also, just a thought: remake an older TSW route based on community feedback (ie do a poll maybe once every 3 months), to bring it to the newest standards.
I would add: - extend the Free Roam concept so that any train can be put onto an existing schedule in Timetable Mode, replacing the train normally on that schedule (it’s great that we can do free roam in Timetable Mode, so that we’re not running on an empty route, but it would be better still if we could drive the train to a schedule). - introduce some variation in Timetable Mode by adding TSR/ESRs and randomised variation in station dwell times for both the player’s train and AI trains (traditionally the reason for not doing this has been doubt as to whether the signalling system can handle trains running outside of their booked path, but Free Roam in Timetable Mode has now demonstrated that it can. I know this one is always controversial, as some people like the journey to be the same every time, but it could be added as a selectable option. - release the Consist Editor.
I disagree about the random events in timetable mode. They'd be poorly implemented and not so random which would make the game boring.
I suppose the risk of a new feature being implemented poorly could be a reason not to introduce anything new at all, but if that approach is taken the game will stagnate. I recognise a degree of randomisation in Timetable Mode would not be for everyone, though, which is why I suggest it as a feature which can be toggled on or off via the options menu. I think for a lot of people it would increase the replayability of the game.
Some good stuff but just to nudge in the right direction please think resolution rather than wishlist!
Let's be honest here... The next US Route is probably gonna be Quarter Baked again. I'm sorry I'm keeping my expectations very low after the whole New York to Trenton Situation
The question is whether or not that lack of demand is created by DTG not producing anything for them.
But then you have some US people who like UK stuff, and vice versa, so that's not really that good of an argument.
I really wish there would be more rolling stock variety in the game. A lot of routes feel empty and bare because of the lack of stock or repetitive since the same trains get used all the time. I don't like the trend of routes only including one train and having limited or no layers. I think DTG should try to create routes which can utilize already existing stock and release more loco DLCs to better populate the routes.
Not too bad in cases such as the upcoming Goblin Line as that has only one train in real life. But it is bad when a route which has more than one train in real life only has one in TSW.
I agree, but there are also some routes that only use one train in the game, but have one major station which then feels empty and ruins the immersion. For example the Cathcart and Glossop routes. I don't mind that these routes only have one included train, but I think DTG should then create other routes from that station or routes with trains that can be put back as AI where it is realistic.
Hearing this, it kind of scares me for the U.S route coming out soon. After seeing the state of the most recent U.S content, I’m really loosing interest in this game and its U.S side of content. Im not really a German or UK person as I’ve tried them over and over and don’t find the joy out of them.
…and to be honest, if a route only has one train running on it, is it a great choice of route in the first place? Taking Vern’s point about resolutions rather than wish lists, that would be one for me - choose routes which have several of the trains which already exist in TSW running on them. Avoid routes which have one train and one stopping pattern - they get boring, fast.
Routes like Birmingham and Glossop I can't understand the one train thing. Cathcart with its one train at least has some variety. But if they have one train then that should be used as a base that can be expanded upon, I agree. At least they are actually like that in real life.
This is a big one, for sure. Besides the two kettles shipping with MSTS back in the day, TSW was my first contact with driving steam locos and it’s joyous and frustrating in equal measures. Joyous because they’re beautiful machines and the driving is much more involved compared to electric and diesel traction. Frustrating because it just doesn’t seem right in TSW and the future direction seems very shaky. The last two kettles (4F and Scotsman) actually seem worse than the first two, manual firing is still missing, and DTG seem to have cut any and all public communication on the matter. Can’t recall the last time steam traction has been addressed on stream. As as others have said already, I also don’t really agree with this. This is where DTG has experience and - perhaps even more importantly - industry contacts. Also, I would quite like DTG to keep releasing routes for the big three without cutting them down to make place for other countries that 3rd parties could fill better regardless. With DTGs’ recent foray into vintage German stock (Br 110, 103, the coming 111), it feels like they’ve barely scratched the surface of what they could do with German content.
Here's my take on it and what I'd like to see for 2024 for TSW 4: - Routes: - Put more care and attention put into routes. See JT's Blackpool route for a good example of a well put-together route. Don't rush routes out for pre-planned deadlines. You're in charge. Delay releases if this allows more time spent on the route visuals and bug fixing. - I'd also like to see less recycling of generic looking assets. Unique assets are what make routes. I really don't want to see the same office blocks recycled over and over again, in place of a unique and/or iconic looking building. - Less short 'nowhere/irrelevant' A - B routes. These routes get boring and repetitive, fast. These also often use recycled trains we already have. I'd rather development time is spent on a longer, more well known routes, even if it takes longer to develop. Have a look at some of the top requested routes by the community. - Keep on top of your game when it comes to route features when building routes. There's a lot of inconsistencies across routes when it comes to utilising the latest features. Audio occlusion for bridges and cuttings, wet platform visuals, guard buzzer etc. There needs to be a checklist of which all new routes to utilise these features by standard. - Audio: - If audio cannot be sourced from the real life train or by a third party, then I don't think the train should be developed, personally. There's nothing worse than driving a poorly sounding train which barely represents the real life thing. - I'd also like to see some improvements in audio mixing. The actual source of the audio can sound good but this can be ruined by the audio not being set up properly. The Azuma, for example, I find it sounds very flat and tinny sounding, despite the audio being sourced from Armstrong Powerhouse. This sounds a lot better in TSC, I find. It's missing the 'depth' and spatial/surround sound feel to it in TSW, ruining the experience. - Station and train announcements should also be the new standard. Even if the real life recordings are unable to be obtained, developer made announcements would be better than nothing. These could either be manually triggered or automatically triggered, depending on the era and stock. - Visuals: - Find a way to increase that god awful looking track shadow rendering. To have it draw and/or pop up right in front of you is very immersion breaking. - Make sure there are no 'Telly-tubby', bare looking hills, anywhere. Also, make sure the ground terrain, foliage and tree placement is adequate. There should be no areas of plain green terrain which can be seen from the players' camera limits. - Make sure all new routes have AO applied to trees and foliage, to reduce the bright and flat 2D cardboard-looking look when viewed from all angles and distances. - Improve night lighting and ambient lighting on routes. On most routes, night lighting is still very poor looking away from stations. Most towns, cities and settlements look like they have a power cut. Additionally, add light pollution effects to large settlements, which will greatly improve immersion when approaching from the countryside at night time. It gives the effect that you're approaching civilisation, which most routes have the opposite effect of at night. - Finally, improve the signalling visuals and rendering distances. By default, it is extremely poor. From questionable colours used for signal aspects, extremely dim looking aspects, making it hard to see what is being displayed, as well as poor rendering distances, which means the light source is only rendered from very close ahead. Not good for seeing signals from a distance. I've fixed all this here I really hope 2024 breathes a new life into TSW but most of all, I'd like to wish you all a Happy New Year. Here's to 2024 for TSW 4 to shine
100% agree here. New management is sorely needed if the product is to move beyond what it looks like today (an early access tech demo built out of a college dorm room) to a professional product that has gone through proper quality control, testing and polish. Then again their marketing lately looks to be directed towards a target audience of 5 year olds so maybe it's just easier to cash in on unsuspecting youngsters.
One more I would include - accurate signalling. This seems to be an area in which DTG routes are getting worse rather than better, and it’s really poor. Green signals all the way to the buffer stops, slow speed junctions with no approach release or flashing aspects, inability to simulate application of Rule 39a - it really lets the game down, making it impossible to drive realistically. This would be a big one for me to address.
New Year’s resolution? Make consistency and excellence the cornerstone of everything we do in 2024. Mediocre is no longer good enough Probably a good place to start.
1. Complete restructuring of the dev management seems like a good idea. That includes slaughtering some holy cows. Right now you move on quicksand and have lost control over your piece of software. 2. Send your PR management to the place where the sun never shines. They had their chances. They transmit (to me at least) the message of marketeers: No passion, except for the money to grab. 3. Stop being economical with the truth. 4. Stand to your promises. 5. Refresh your selective memory. This forum has it all recorded. And the internet never forgets. And lastly: We are not toddlers. We are not idiots. This hobby is for train passionates. Happy New Year! EDITed for typos
Finally someone who understands my pain. Everytime I say BML is boring people jump down my throat talking about the amount of services. But all the services have the same stopping patterns
First things first, since its 10 steps back currently with tsw4 and i completly reinstalled tsw3: 1: sort out the substitution problem (i dont care about ps4 dlc limits, so please just remove the addon manager) 2: Sort out the mod problem which is caused by the addon manager. (i dont care about ps4 dlc limits, so please just remove the addon manager) DTG really shot the bird by introducing a problem happening on 1 platform, forcing the entire tsw community to move 10 steps back. Again, they managed to loose me as a customer and i simply wont spend any further money on their business. Constantly getting annoyed by untested changes, breaking older content or even just poor quality rather often than sometimes.
Yep the Addon Manager is actively making the game worse for us on PC, because of sony's console limitations. It takes the game longer to startup as well.
Yes they do, All SN services to Brighton stop the same, all Caterham & Tattenham Corner services stop the same, all Reigate trains stop the same. Its not DTGs fault but its still boring
For me its really just unbelievable by now that they "accidently" caused all those restrictions for the pc platform. Wont change my mind : IM DONE WITH SUPPORTING DTG, not because tsw is bad at all, just because i wont support dumb business decisions of their management which results in waste of my time.
Actually I quite like BML for its variety of different services. I was thinking more of something like the Glossop line or (coming up) the Goblin, where every service you can drive is virtually the same.
I'm one of those - a UK route is usually my first choice, with the way our US ones have been implemented.
The sheer number of services (over 1000, even without layers) is precisely why its not boring. Anyway, you'd find most routes have the same stopping patterns. That's just the nature of train driving.
Most of the services are duplicates of eachother with a different destination. Most of the services fast services call at CJ, EC, GA, TB. Just because one is to Portsmouth and Bognor and one is to Southampton and Bognor doesnt mean its more interesting when they do the exact same thing. The slows are either 10 minute jaunts from Balham to Victoria or 30 minute ones from Selhurst / East Croydon to Victoria. Theres 1000 services which are mostly duplicates.
Im talking base route and what train did you mean instead of 385? The 375 isnt driveable so it cant be that...
