Dovetail Games March Roadmap Q&a Thread (answered)

What's the status of the new suspension system? What trains are getting it (have it now)?

And will we be able to drive German trains in England and vice versa with free roam in the future?

 

I'm not a DTG person, I know, but that's what Off the Rails in Scenario Planner is for. Very much doubt they'll add the same functionality to free roam.

 

broken passengers behaviour
empty trains
empty stations

 

Well that's the question I have. If they would implement off the rails to free roam you wouldn't be needing scenario planner to drive trains anywhere you want

 

And another one which will never get answered but needs asking…

How much influence are Focus Entertainment really having on the future direction of TSW? Is it they who are directing the pushing out of short routes at a relatively high price?

 

Can we get some insights at the results of the survey?

Would be interested to know how the interviewed decided on topics like which aspects they prefer the most on new routes and the question about new product categories (route extensions, modular routes, expert locos or remastered routes).

 

Great Western Express - broken lighting / textures

Any news on the reportedly broken Paddington station lighting and Reading platform textures? It seems like a baked lightmap is projected there accidentally. Many signs in Paddington station are affected too.

Has the cause been identified? Might note that it is MipMap/LOD related - so most effects vanish when next smaller MipMap is rendered at a distance.

 

General Design question - Glass Reflections

Would it be possible for future releases to get rid of train glass materials reflecting cloudscapes from the inside? This is very annoying, the 323s are good examples of displaying this low resolution cloudband on top which is very distractive and unrealistic. Those reflections should only be visible from the outside.

 

Why isn't the nightjet added to Semmeringbahn Wiener Neustadt Brücke an der Mur route because it runs there in real life. One of these is a 1216 456/457 to Berlin Central Station using KkStb Bahnstrecke Graz Wien Lundenburg Oderberg Prerau Oberschlesien Eisenbahn Kandzrin Kosel Gleiwitz Breslau Berlin Hbf. 1216/1116/1293 from Semmeringbahn becomes Nightjet 468/469 Brussels to Berlin and Vienna via Aachen Hbf. Which is actually mentioned for the timetable update SKA

 

1) The new British map in 3-6 months... Does it have anything to do with the new British locomotive or are they two separate DLCs?
2) We would also be curious to know more about the new American map in TBC.
3) Do you have plans to include new countries? If so, which?
4) Any plans to include the Railjet in the game?

 

Another one from me.

What's going on with announcements? At the moment, they have been included on two of Rivet's routes. Why haven't DTG done the same until a core system for announcements is developed?

 

Two questions from me:

1) Will the OBB 1116 from Semmeringbahn have layers included on release for Vorarlberg, given the latter is sorely in need of express passenger services?

2) Recent UK first-party routes have been deeply disappointing in terms of their scope. Glossop and Suffragette Line in particular are short routes with a single type of regular passenger service. Can we expect to see any UK routes in the foreseeable future that are similar to the recently released Rosenheim - Salzburg route which is vastly more interesting from a gameplay perspective than any first-party UK content since SEHS, with multiple locos from different operators and many playable service timetable layers?

(Not expecting any leaks but some examples of more varied potential UK routes: Hope Valley line, Airedale / Wharfdale lines, WCML South, Riviera 80s to name a few ideas off the top of my head)

 

A more general question that's been bubbling in my mind.
Are suggestions for DLC made in this forum collated and assessed for viability. I appreciate there are territorial and licencing issues with building modern routes but I see loads of interesting suggestions but I can't remember the last time a suggestion became a release. I'm happy to be corrected if I missed one.

And while I'm here. Slam door AC EMUs didn't feature in TSC which was a real shame, they'd be even more fun in TSW as they all had guards and were more challenging to drive than modern EMUs. There's a big Classes 302-312 gap there, along with there being no routes in the Home Counties north of the Thames and a lack of Network South East-era DLC. I'm happy to debase myself and beg for a route that ticks those three boxes.

 

2) they can't share any more info because of licensing issues. It was mentioned in the actual roadmap article. Until it receives licensor approval, dtg can't say anything

3) Dtg rarely go outside the big 3. Also they wouldn't just say they are doing another country because it requires licenses to begin with. Dtg can't say they are making a Spanish route if they don't have a license. Dtg also wouldn't create a Spanish route anyway because it is outside their area of expertise

4) They answered a question about the February QA thread about the railjet, but they said they hear the demand and to watch the roadmap for any future content.

I think the issue is that if dtg do announcements on the 710, players expect all trains and future trains to get it. It creates inconsistency. Players would be unhappy some trains have it and some don't. A core system would be easier for them to work with since they can just add it on like how other core things work. Of course easier said than actually done.

 

Dtg did answer a question in the february qa thread regarding the railjet and the response was they hear the demand and to watch the roadmaps. Could be a lack of license or just that they want to make money separately, etc

 

Any news on the UK loco coming up, perhaps give us some clues?

 

1. Could you please give an official comment regarding Steam simulation physics? It's a real hot topic at the moment and it feels like we're due an update on the promised fixes.

2. Some of us in the community already know what the mysterious US route is but my question is would a compromise have to be made to get the route out such as removing elements of it like a certain train to please license holders?

 

With all due respect, I asked the question to DTG, not you. f I wanted a self-appointed spokesperson to answer I would said so.

Also, Rivet haven't developed a core, and have announcements on two of their DLCs now. I'm sure me and others would be happy if DTG did the same until they developed a core system.

 

I have also got two questions regarding the 1116:
1. Will it get layers on Vorarlberg?
2. Will it substitute as a freight loco on other routes? Especially on the Austrian routes and the Rosenheim one almost every second freight train should use the 1116 if you look at videos from the routes at the given time (like 2013 for Rosenheim)

 

My question is whether there is any extra news about this UK loco add-on, even just whether it'll be a passenger train or a freight one if you're allowed to say?

 

Dtg said the same thing about announcements before, so I doubt they will say anything different. It's only been a month after all and I am sure they don't have anything more to say

 

When will the formation designer is coming to Xbox series s I hope very soon like this month

 

Why can I spawn the Creators club locomotive liverles but not the creators club freight car liveries on free rom mode and time table mode

 

But it's happened 3 times now. Sorry not sorry, their excuses are simply not good enough.

It's something they should have done from the start. Even after Rivet did it first, every DLC following that one should have these announcements.

 

Another one - have you ensured that Rivet's 170 and Skyhook's forthcoming SR 158 will be compatible? Particularly given the state of the Rivet 150 setup.

 

Would also like to second this. Seeing on the roadmap: What happened to the third german route? Is it unlikely to be released in TSW4 times?

 

Okay then but I was referring to the Nightjet the ÖBB sleeper service

 

As a commuter who uses modern trains, I've got to say I'm not going to miss constant announcements on the 710. They are essential for some passengers in real life but if I'm driving a sim it can get a bit much on stopper services.

 

There's a Berlin route in the works, it's mentioned in the full article.

 

We actually even got 2 community projects with Berlin going on in the PC Editor Forum. The Thale-Potsdam-Berlin and Berlin-Cottbus projects. But that's not what I meant.

I meant the first party german route mentioned in all of the last road maps since TSW4 release, not a third party release.

 

Are there any fixes for the class 170's audio and phycics?
Will the class 170 use real life working announcements?
Can we expect to see more teasers and Dev blogs for the route soon?

 

Some questions from me please:

• Any update on services from Glossop not working?
• Any update on the 801 issues (incl gangways, wrong pantograph, wiper wrong side etc.)
• Any update on services going northbound on the ECML crashing the ps4 console just before Doncaster?
• UK loco - class 91?

Thank you

 

When will you fix the missing fast moving external camera on consoles? It's missing since the release of TSW4.

 

Mostly because they don't have the time or the money from what I understand.

 

Layer toggling is needed - any plans?

Because the HBK MRCE ES64U2 cannot open passenger doors and layers on Vorarlberg hauling passenger trains for example, where it blocks the whole timetable. Current workaround is to rename HamburgLubeck.pak before playing Vorarlberg.

 

Any reason, why no 1st class coaches on Semmeringbahn?
Big loss

 

Will the station boards on Salzburg-Rosenheim be corrected?

On the route the kind of boards that shows the ÖBB logo is used LINK, but those were only introduced in 2022.
As route is set in pre 2013 (since Salzburg Liefering is not open yet), these would be the right boards LINK1/LINK2.
Even if it was set as the present day only Salzburg Hbf has the got the new boards. SB Mülln-AS, SB Aiglhof & SB Taxham-EP still have the old ones LINK.

 

Is there an update on the Blackpool Branches mastery reward bug? I completed the mastery reward a while back but the station didn’t spawn in, then the next day, my progress resets and changes itself?

 

Considering we're 6 months into TSW4 and the community is fully expecting TSW5 in sept/oct why do we still not have safety system training in the training modules despite the scoring system being changed to account for them? We shouldn't have to go hunting down and watching videos, safety systems should be included in training for each and every loco/unit in game so we know how to use them for everything we can drive

 

Any fix coming for the 395 training service once stopping at Stratford international you stop at the stop marker and nothing happens

 

Hi DTG Alex. Will the ScotRail Class 158 get this right modelled bumper? Or will it be the East Midlands Trains Class 158s bumper?

 

I like the progress of voice passenger information in the trains, like Scotrail Express, though development i needed, Blackpool branches and Bernina Line. Will there be more of this?

 

Excellent road map DTG Alex the suspension video was fantastic looks really well done.

 

Are you guys aware the Class 66 ECML and the Class 47 on Blackpool have safety system problems?

When you turn DSD and AWS/TPWS on it keeps asking you to turn them on to score extra points and the scoring system doesn’t recognise they are switched on.

 

I think they're changing the model so yes to the first question.

 

Will you be able to pre order suffragette line nearer the release on console

 

I think the business case is more nuanced than them simply not having time or money. Train Sims remain a niche market. If DTG can grow and diversify carefully then perhaps there will be a business case to increase the team, increase the regularity of releases and maybe spread into new markets. I work for a small insurance company, we have a similar turnover and number of employees as DTG, we can't afford to experiment with too many new products because of the economics of scale. Slow and steady growth is best for small businesses.

If you've spotted a country that DTG and other third party builders aren't touching, you've found a business opportunity.

I certainly wish I had the ability to make content for TSW, I'd be living in France modelling obscure rural French branch lines by now.

 

Basically the roadmap is volatile. Things move around quite a lot especially if looking 6+ months ahead. As usual, watch the roadmap

 

The real life announcements require licenses which none have been obtained for in previous trains. There are all fictional and like the real thing but not really