Enough Is Enough!!!

Stuff like this was always a trademark of DTG and not to be found in other simulators.

This is the old SD75M pack for TSC. The instrument lights switch is located where the Engine Run switch should be. Gen Field is "Sen Fld". Control/Fuel pump is the wipers. And these errors are in a lot of US DLC.

That gives you an idea that the people that made parts of the DLC do not have a clue on what they are working on as a whole.

Though the model itself is decent (and so is the sounds), the decals and switch positions are not. But the only way to put out DLC in the frequency DTG needs is to distribute the workload to as many people as possible, which provides a high risk of inconsistencies and bugs.

And this is apparent throughout DTG's history. It was never their goal to make the perfect simulator, but the best selling one. TSC/TSW's attractiveness lies in the mass and variety of content available, whereas other sims are more specialised but better in what they are doing, generally speaking. (I've just been blown away by TSC's Berliner Ringbahn. Wow. That's some fantastic work and detail there. Even turning on the fluorescent tube cablight makes these realistic ignition sounds, followed by flashing intervals until they're fully lit. And of course, working automatic announcements and fantastic lighting. Made by a dedicated 3rd party team, VirtualTracks. Of course accompanied by a very detailed manual. That's what I don't regret spending €35 on.)

RSC\SD75Pack01 French labelling? Ok, EMD's were assembled at LaGrange

 

I really don't understand this thread. There are now thousands of posts, all with an overriding theme of hopelessness, despair and cynicism, from people who are convinced that nothing will ever improve and everything related to this simulator will always be disappointing and low quality.

What I really don't understand is, why are you even here?
If you thought that there were a lot of problems but reporting them would make things better, I could understand discussing in great detail what the problems are, but it seems like no expects that anything they report will ever be fixed, or that any lessons will ever be learned from past mistakes.

As far as I know there are no professional TSW twitch streamers, so no-one is forced to play the game.
If playing this game just makes you miserable and always will do, why don't you just turn off your computer and go outside for a walk?

Walking always lifts my spirits. As I write this it is a beautiful sunny day outside. Tomorrow there will be dew on the grass, a morning mist and the sound of birds singing. Just try it. I think you'll all be a lot happier.

 

I'm not unhappy. But many people are here and enjoy the game, so do I. It's like seeing your daughter doing bad at school just because she's stuck to TikTok all day long.

People want to push DTG to making a better game, because TSW has a lot of potential. Seeing that potential and what is made of it is what is annoying. Doesn't affect my life though It's a hobby. But a hobby that has a dedicated community.

 

I took a walk this morning too. It was gray and overcast, tomorrow there will be snow and ice storms and I haven't seen or heard a bird in weeks.

Seriously, though, there are more than a few instances where persistent whining and complaining in the forum have been directly linked with patches and bug fixes by DTG.

So, pointing out shortfalls and errors in the game is not a waste of time. DTG themselves have repeatedly encouraged players to criticize the game constructively. And don't imagine that the complainers are not enjoying the game. They are, just as much if not more than the apologists. They just want it to be the best it can be.

 

Precisely. And while the short Bernina Line is now doubtless a done deal and will no doubt be blindly defended on the stream by Rivet and DTG, "We wanted to focus on the interesting part", maybe, just maybe next time a developer whiteboards a project that cuts off a significant chunk of the route and ends at an odd location someoone will stop to think perhaps that's not a good idea.

 

First posting? You haven't been a DTG customer for 10 years? We aren't as naive as to think a walk will make DTG suddenly deliver better products? Perhaps a new pair of pink cat ear muffs will help, since it is -10 C and a 6 Bft cold eastern wind???

 

Because the people posting here do actually like and enjoy the game, when it works, and want it to be better. To be what it SHOULD be.
It's because people like the game that they are so upset at the declining level of quality. If they didn't like the game, they wouldn't be unhappy.

 

Who are the apologists?

 

We don't want call out anyone (some do, which inevitably leads to useless quarrels), but discuss bugs and business practice. It's about DTG not the forum members.

 

Those who see no bugs in TSW, don't want to hear about bugs in TSW and never talk about bugs in TSW, pretending they don't exist;
those who spend more time on this forum practicing the above than actually playing the game they pretend to love;
those who actually believe their purchase of every newest piece of DLC will turn DTG for the better.

Being a 10 year customer of DTG's products has made me both sadder and wiser as to the practices of certain game publishers and developers, and it has made me wary, so I never believe anything at face value, also I have learned to vote with my wallet to the point of letting other customers being the guinea pigs, avoiding this 'curiosity killed the cat' that had me end up with DLC I regret buying.
I'll wait until is shows up in a sale or washes up on the shore of some distant bay, whichever arrives first.
Ingoring 'I want it all and I want it now' I only part with my cash when I have convinced myself I really want this newest single train or one train truncated route when it complements something else or has proven to be the core of a new 'world' and has been supported by the community and serviced by the developer.

DTG's staff and management should have returned from NY leave by now, let's wait for their 2024 resolutions, their improved focus on QA, their improved market research and commercial decisions to release this and not the other proposal made in the Suggestions thread.

 

Because we all like trains, or simulations, or both, and, at least for console users, TSW is all there is, and most of us just see wasted potential.

As an aside, I've just seen Focus entertainments "welcome to 2024" video on youtube, not one screen of TSW....

 

I went for a 9-mile run in the freezing cold this morning, did some work, did some cornet (think mellow trumpet) practice, played Midland Main Line for 30 minutes or so to relax, and now I'm watching the Post Office drama. All is well.

 

Apart from Alex setting up the Bernina thread, everyone else is conspicuous by their absence including Matt and JD.

 

I’ve heard some took extended leave, (possibly a week or 2 more) though they’re could be personal circumstances for anyone.

 

Good time of year to visit the Canary Islands

 

personally got more of a preference for hot place in summer, cold in winter

 

From what I've seen with bernina, personally, the scenery has really stepped up from arosa, and...that's about it

A 23 mile route, a HALF route, being charged at full price is just...yeah..no, not good

If this route was £19.99 or £24.99, then that would probably be fair enough

 

You can wait for a sale then.

 

Probably what most people are gonna do tbh

 

Below are just a couple of videos I made back in June? of 2023 I ask you to watch these. please...
Not Fixed, bypassed... See the other videos that show how it was changed and the issue was bypassed.
--
Again not fixed, Bypassed see the Above video.
--
IMHO this did not need a change
--
This was patched and shortened Why? All that this needed as a fix...
And from what I was told not long after MML-EMT came out, the video I made was helpful and would be used to correct/fix/patch it, "and I hammered SHG and DTG in that video, AND never a fowl word or direct attack on any one person", but if it was or not I have no clue, but it did get some major patchwork. that is good.
What things may sound like to you, that is not it, I would not spend 1 minute of my ole Geezer days on any of this I did not care.
If I showed you the amount of $$$ I spent since the preorder of TSW3 in 2022, you may think I'm a crazy ole Coot, And I now own TSW2 and TSW1 aka 2020.

 

UGH rain and flooding with 50+ winds here

 

Well, I'll wait until I get TSW4 (or TSW5) first, to even start thinking about getting it.

I'm not even sure I'll be watching the previews & launch streams now or maybe only after getting the core supporting the DLC, unlike for example the recent preview for Brockenbahn for TSC, that quite interested me to watch live, because I have the core supporting it. On the other hand, I'll probably be watching previews of the updated WSR live, as I have the route and most of the DLCs that will be used as layers for the new timetable, although I'll get it updated only after switching to TSW4. That will also be the earliest I might start thinking about upgrading to TSW4.

 

We are dedicated fans who push DTG to do better. We love their content for the most part. They bring us together with trains when nobody recently is able to. But DTG has so much work to do. When they fix things, they break things. For example before the last update, all the camera angles worked. They did something in last update and now the camera view for the computer screens in locomotives doesnt work. Its the small things we hope that they learn to keep going and fixed.

 

Brockenbahn… I missed the announcement on that one. Now that will definitely be money well worth spending.

 

And, of course, if it's bad, people can always tweak its name: Brokenbahn.

 

I guess this kind of highlights this thread - I would so want such a route in TSW with proper steam physics, etc. I've been there multiple times and adore the whole HSB steam network (imagine the whole thing recreated as a large narrow gauge map), but I know that if they announced it for TSW, it would be the same old story with numerous bugs and problems, broken steam, sound issues, AI issues, dispatching issues, etc. As a huge fan of that route, I would probably pass on it...

 

From reading the last few posts, it's quite clever what DTG have managed to do.

Some people are now expecting all DLCs to be so poor, that when DTG releases something mediocre , it's a bonus!

Genius!

 

They actually have to produce something that manages to achieve the mediocre rating…

For myself I have passed on several recent releases - Edinburgh to Glasgow, Maintalbahn, the forthcoming 55% of the Bernina Line plus various packs that have come out. Goblin Line a pass at least until 60% off in a sale.

I bought West Rhine in the Christmas sale but that’s about all.

 

You might be onto something here, indeed.

The airline strategy: Tighten leg room between seats. Every month a few millimeters and within short time people start to believe this is how it is supposed to be. Then invent an additional fee for - who would've guessed that one - additional legroom for those who feel uncomfortable. We might come to a point when every passenger just remains standing and a seat will only be available for double the price.

Clevaaaaaaaa!

 

Why can't they go back to the quality level of DRA or BML ???

 

I thought BML was okay but the route didn't run when it was released. Crashed all over the place as well as numerous other issues.

Which was a shame because the timetable was marvellous

 

There are still unfinished gaps in the scenery on BML and missing track at Redhill. On my TSW3 PS5 version, I am now getting constant derailments when attempting a run. The redeeming feature of the route was always the exquisitely crafted timetable even if 99.99% of the services are Electrostars.

 

There has been an experiment with standing passengers on one of those ultra-cheap carriers.
You had to stand three, perhaps four abreast with your back against a fixed vertical rack to be able to strap yourself in the safety belt during takeoff, turbulence and landing.
Still, the aisle wasn't wide enough for socializing, dancing, jogging or exercising? And now food service was at a snack counter?
Perhaps the carrier could cramp 20-30% more passengers in?

 

Sounds like Ryanair, wanted to charge for the toilets as well.

 

DTG certainly is going to sell less for more - they just fit current greedy pattern. Shareholders (people) push other people to squeeze as much as possible from another people... Practically as a specie we are chocking (financially, morally and ethically) our self to death.

 

It's not a DTG route, it's by WaggonWerkstatt, and already available on virtualRailroads.de. They just decided to publish it on Steam for a broader audience.

https://virtual-railroads.de/gb/routes/331-ww-brockenbahn.html

Edit: I just got it. It's fantastic. All custom assets, very good distant scenery, a fine steam engine and historical passenger wagons. Flawless.

 

" Nickel and Diming" is a very common business practice these days. Airline seating is perhaps the most visible example. Some carriers want to charge couples extra for sitting next to each other, for instance.

But there are other examples: candy bars and other consumables shrink for unchanged prices, almost any furniture or appliance you buy requires at least some assembly and streaming services start including ads in their service or ask you to pay more to avoid them.

So, now we've all been persuaded to accept less for more with TSW, shorter routes, single locos which are simpler and so cheaper to make.

As I said, it's all part of the " nickel & dime " business plan.

 

This is what YouTube is doing with ads- ever more of them, ever more intrusive..... but hey! We'll sell you a premium membership for the price of a Netflix subscription.

 

There's adblockers around that still work

 

Also known as "shrinkflation"

 

Yup. But not on my (Google) TV.

 

Yes, but for how long?

 

I'm not worried. Every attempt made by YT has been successfully bypassed by good coders so far.

 

unless you can hack into the firmware of your Android TV, there is no way of getting an YT adblocker in.
perhaps some of those cheap Android TV boxes can still be hacked and with root access given an adblocker?
even on my laptop, PC and iMac which all run Adblock, there are occasional warnings by YT so hooking up a laptop by HDMI to your TV means you have to go without remote control?
YT downloaders and VLC still can play back streams without advertisements though but even these can lead to your ip getting restricted.

All these subscriptions to ad-free Netflix, Disney, Amazon, YT, ESPN, HBO, etc which all in essence offer the same kind of commercial entertainment easily add up to a hundred a month or more, and the catalog of movies and serials they offer aren't much different either and generally cater to the family entertainment market

Ultimately any movie or tv serial gets uploaded to illegal file sharing sites, often as ripped torrents and reduced in quality .mp4 files which copyright protection organizations hunt for vehemently, with you running the risk of getting a warrant or worse

 

If you're using Android systems belonging to Google, you're their slave.

Watching YT on a PC using Firefox and AdblockerUltimate, without a Google account, everything's fine. I don't even use a Microsoft account on my PC (first thing I skipped on installation) and have a second desktop running LinuxMint.

There's even big Youtubers with monetarized channels now saying "go use Adblockers", as it makes no difference because due to the sheer amount of ads people will turn away anyway.

For germans: watch Gronkh's statement

 

In my country, downloading these is not illegal, but sharing them via P2P transfer.
Imho, torrents are dead anyway as most of the traffic used russian servers and rutracker. Russia enforced piracy of western IP.

Sheesh, we're way off topic

 

I know -- been working cyber for the past 25 years -- as I tell my clients and students -- it is all 0s and 1s

 

To steer things back on topic a bit: personally I’m all for short routes, so long as they are detailed and created lovingly. Add a branch for extra points.

Ain't nobody got time to play for hours on end anyway, right