Testing the water? More like testing peoples patience... I'll probably still buy the 380 though because I quite like them and LIRR V2 will get a purchase because I quite enjoyed the original route.
a pro 'like for real' BR 101 is a disaster to happen once a punk playing TSW thinks he can hijack a parked loco and drive off with it. That LIRR got scared after several of these incidents and demanded the removal of some 'ultimate in realism' features is telling. LOL, As if those with ill intentions study a UK rendition of the said train instead of covertly exploring it for real during some late night run?
I tend to agree,could have been put in the vault for TSW5 which we know is coming at some point,then it could have been the US route in the bundle ,would have been a better deal in my humble opinion ,and then could have done a WSR makeover for the current route ,making it still relevant otherwise after the new release its a little pointless
Yeah, the LIRR issue is interesting. Bad kids and teens keep breaking into NYC subway trains at night (sometimes day time), and operating them in yards and layup tunnels. Amongst other general crimes. Have seen several WILD videos over the past year. Nonetheless, I’m excited.
I'm not sure this would work to be fair. Would you sit something in the vault that would generate thousands of pounds or would.you release it and focus on additional projects....
If security of railway (or any other) system relies on hope that nobody knows how to control it, it is horribly wrong security.
I can't but feel sort of upset by these announcements, especially because they're mostly things that have been omitted now being sold for crazy prices again. LIRR had broken signals and dead timetable, something they spoke multiple times about addressing. Now they did that, added a little branch, another not-so-different EMU and BAM, another 40 bucks. Cab car missing from BR 101 DLC? You can get it now in ANOTHER, more expensive BR 101 DLC (and trust me, Expert 101 would sell a LOT less if the Cab car wasn't there). It also seems a bit weird as the Expert line can now become a scapegoat for leaving out train functionalities - "not all displays in a modern train work? no worries, buy the expert version in three years" Can't really say much about the 380, there were definitely better options, but whatever
Yeah the 380 to me is kind of meh. I welcome an addition to the CCL but another EMU that looks like a ringer for the 385 which we already have just doesn't get me excited at all. I'll probably pick it up on sale one day.
Railway security in germany is franky better than in the US. I'm happy that DB is a very cooperative company. Seems like they give DTG all the freedom they want
y know, there is a big part of train fans community that enjoy modern rolling stock, that want to drive what is driven today or in recent times, what they see at train stations or drive as passengers IRL technology goes leaps forward and trains are no exceptions... it all aims towards safety, simplicity etc and yes I understand where your sentiments come from... I am also a bit of car enthusiast (not a driver, I just like to watch content about cars as well), and a similar "dispute" still exists among sports cars ppl - some would prefer if all cars were at least as driver-centric and analog as possible (like Carrera GT, McLaren F1 etc) and some like such cars that you dont have to have a racer's training for to enjoy its power (like modern fancy McLaren cars or Ferrari LaFerrari with lots of driver assists) and I am a fan of modern rolling stock, not gonna lie... but I also enjoy some BR 111 or 101 or 155 stuff sometimes... to each their own, no need to resort to bashing other ppl's preferences personally, the upcoming DLCs are sth I am expecting, am thrilled to see - Semmeringbahn is a great track (and it will have Wiener Neustadt, which is not Vienna, but close ), it has Taurus <3... LIRR I loved and looking forward to the new iteration (ATC+ACSES+new signalling)... BR218 + BR101 omg cant wait I understand you are frustrated you are not getting content you prefer, but give it time I would say it will come as TSW is getting more open and more 3rd parties are starting to develop stuff that DTG maybe doesnt venture much into
plus, unlike, cars or so, if a train is getting hijacked, all you have to do is let dispatchers know and they can divert it, give it a red, or further away install a derailer quickly on track... and I am sure there are even less damaging measures they can take to stop a potential loon
it’s much easier in Germany with just the one company to deal with, glad they’ve been so cooperative, same goes for TFL and ScotRail. But having said that the same liveries can get a bit old pretty quick.
I wish DTG would make more use of the TFL license, especially seeing as they decide which routes to make using the 'LAMP' process. Only two of these routes over a four year period is a bit disappointing for me, which is emphasised as both of these routes (Bakerloo & Goblin) have been absolute gems.
Did everyone hear Matt? It's time to fill their inboxes with Peninsula Corridor. I believe in you people!
And when and if they do, "people" will be screaming that it isn't updated to the 2024 electrified route (with a new Stadler EMU), and isn't extended to Gilroy.
That's the plan. Seriously I'm ready to spend some money to buy an upgrade for modern graphics standards for this route.Even without EMU and Gilroy extension. Cause this route is really good by gameplay, but very bad looking for modern visual standards.
Oh I already want to do Penn Cor Electric, and Penn Cor Diesel Remaster, don't worry, one of my favourite US routes and always has been. Don't ask me when we'll be able to do them but I try to sneak them onto a plan occasionally Matt.
There are many private operators in Germany, as well. But DTG only ever decided to go the easy way and deal with Deutsche Bahn. I hope that they could cooperate with more private operators in the future, to get some routes in the game, which aren't maintained and operated by DB.
Even when the trains are run by a private TOC, the trackage and most importantly the stations are owned by DB Netz
That's not really true at all. We already have locos from MRCE, Dispolok, Railpool and Pressnitztalbahn, and they have been coming basically since the beginning.
Don't forget all the other operators that operate franchises such as the two (cant remember the names!) on Dresden. Might not be a big flashy colour train with a big logo - still needed just as much time with the legal people to make that logo happen We have been talking with other German operators as well. Nothing to announce. Just to let you know that we're not sitting on our hands here folks. Matt.
and every little manufacturer's logo on a switch panel, in a brake pressure manometer, on a bearing cap, on an employee's uniform, everything needs to be properly agreed on and licensed otherwise everything is left blank or not 'ultimate in realism'?
The first part of your statement is absolutely right, every logo you see in the game no matter how trivial, has been licensed. The second part of your statement? That's up to you. Matt.
What a lot of private operators seem to be doing recently (on old machines bought from DB) is bringing back various retro liveries from 1960s and just replacing the old Bundesbahn logo with their own lettering. I think that would be a great opportunity to bring these old colors to the game even with routes set to contemporary era. At least for me it is more interesting use of private operator licenses than "modern" leasing locos with current designs.
To the second part, modders have no reservations, nor respect for the presence or absence of licenses and will hopefully decorate the rolling stock as it supposed to look, or DTG can always issue a 'branding pack' to step over these small licenses?
Can just go with that. LIRR is a bigger upgrade. But signal system? That's not an upgrade, that's a bugfix. New M9. Ok, worth to pay for. Extension branch. Ok. Worth to pay for. At a look at the prices... Let's say about 20€ for both of it. The rest I think most players own anyway and are forced to pay again for it. 101 - right. I, for myself, don't want or need a pro loco. I'm happy with the old 101 which is already a good loco. 10€ for the cab car and I'm fine with it. It's more than the repaint of the class 323, but not a coplete loco, so I think that would be okay for an extension of the 101 DLC. But not as an extra expensive loco DLC. 380 - So I can say I like Cathcart except the empty Glasgow station. A DLC is nice for it. But yeah, a shiny new loco on the old, till now not upgraded route maybe a little curious.
Ripping out the signal system and starting over is hardly a "bugfix," any more than swapping engines in a car is a "tuneup."
Not sure what you mean, there is no way to "step over" licensing - you either do it with permission or you do not do it. This myth that as long as it's free it doesnt count has to be be stopped, it's simply not true. These "branding packs" simply slip the contraband under the radar, because a brand is probably looking at store pages and product shots and happy its not there, and not noticing the download link. That doesn't make it right... Just want to correct this too - cab cars are basically as much work as a loco. It might not be the *same* work, but it amounts to similar. Matt.
Yet you're quite happy to do business with companies that engage in such practice. Why has every new cab car come with a loco then? Except of course for steam, where DTG refuse to even provide promised features such as manual firing.
This brings up something I had wondered about: the Vectron is (IIRC) the first and only loco in TSW to carry manufacturer as well as operator branding. Is this because that distinctive grille is a Siemens trademark and so you had to get a license from them anyway?
We were able to get extra agreements on the Vectron with Siemens yes. We've worked a bit with Siemens in the past on various projects, so we have a good relationship with them. Matt.
I suppose if that relationship ever soured Seamans would be a good alternative "It might sound the same but it doesn't look the same"
y know them cliches among folk... I am not an officially employed journalist, yet I consider myself as being one, since I willingly try to follow the standards of serious/fact-based media... and I know there is a ton of myths and untrue cliches flying around about what media allegedly ALWAYS do or even as a shopping assistant at a bookstore, those myths daaamn... like ppl saying it should be a dream job cos we can read books all day
what ? Cab cars don’t drive themselves, either you cheat the physics in the game world by making it drive by itself (can be done, don’t do it, it breaks realism completely) or you bring in the realism with its appropriate loco
Well, You talk about loco DLCs. I talked about routes only operated by private operators. And Preßnitztalbahn is not a TSW DLC. I just searched up and the "Westfrankenbahn" of Maintalbahn is a subdivision of Deutsche Bahn as well. You clearly can see this in the reflection of the shiny red DB-branded livery. But Germany is more than the ever-red DB locos and there are many smaller routes operated by private companies which provide more variety with their liveries. One example is the route I'm building in the Editor, maintained by private operators not being a subdivision/subsidiary of DB since 2004. Take a look at this. That is Germany as well. Germany does not consist only of routes by the Deutsche Bahn. And I see those routes very poorly represented in TSW, because well yes it's easier to stick with routes whose maintaining operator you already have licences and agreements with. And this is Germany as well: Even if this is true for the whole territory of Germany, I'm not sure how this circumstance does actually impact on licenses for TSW, though. Isn't the use of the name and the logo of the operator the most critical point in obtaining licenses? Me neither. Got in contact with Hessische Landesbahn, and the first response was why wouldn't you as the first party game developer contact them, instead of me. I pulled the argument that you already own DB licenses and indeed had an impact, but I think now the conversation stucks. It's also a bit complicated to make a deal since I have no official papers from you. What should I do now, Matt?
MRCE, Siemens Dispolok, and Railpool are not train operators, they are rolling stock leasing companies. The only German TSW train from a non-DB operator is the PRESS 155. Mitteldeutsche Regiobahn towards Chemnitz and Trilex towards Bischofswerda. Plus on freight there's Captrain/ITL, Metrans, Budamar West... The thing is while there are a lot of brands, quite a few of these end up being owned by the same companies. MRB is a Transdev Brand while Trilex is a subsidiary of Die Länderbahn. Getting one of those big fish would get you a lot of options - Die Länderbahn would unlock ALEX, Trilex, Vogtlandbahn, Oberpfalzbahn, Waldbahn, VLEXX, and Die Länderbahn CZ - but of course it also means there are really big chunks of stuff you can't get if one says no.
yeh, all they currently do is bang out dlc that is (mostly) 80% finished then forget about it…. a. Punters want high quality full length routes..not excuses. b. Shouldn’t all loco’s be ‘expert level’ in the first place as well?
Well, it's all a bit opaque...who is the right person to contact? ´In autumn 2004, the Free State of Bavaria sold its majority shares in Vogtlandbahn GmbH to the British Arriva group of companies. After Arriva was bought by Deutsche Bahn in 2010, the German business had to be sold on for competition law reasons. The new owner is the Italian Ferrovie dello Stato together with the Luxembourg infrastructure fund Cube. The German umbrella company has been called Netinera since March 2011. Vogtlandbahn GmbH was renamed “Die Länderbahn GmbH” in 2015 - Die Länderbahn was already a brand of the owner Regentalbahn. In the current timetable year, many lines are served by the Länderbahn (with the brands vogtlandbahn, alex, waldbahn, oberpfalzbahn and trilex): The Vlexx network also belongs to the Länderbahn.´ Netinera Deutschland GmbH (proper spelling: NETINERA, until March 2011 Arriva Deutschland) is a railway company in Germany. It is a subsidiary of Trenitalia, the passenger transport division of the Italian state railway Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane.
As I said, we've spoken to a number of regional operators. General response has been negative thus far. I am sure Die Landerbahn was amongst that, VRR were (hence no Green trains on HRR), and RRX also. We continue to try however. Please don't contact operators about licensing on our behalf that's just going to create immense confusion and might actually make it more difficult for us later. We don't contact an operator unless we have active plans in consideration to use them in a particular project. Matt.
The point is that DTG has the choice of not including the cab car or picking rolling stock that doesn't use cab cars.
The mention of VVRR and its green livery brought to mind another idea- have you contacted the Nahverkehrsgesellschaft Baden-Württemberg? This isn't an operatior, it's the state (Land) railway administration; the key thing from our point of view is that it imposes a uniform black-and-yellow livery on all trains under its purview, regardless of operator. So in game terms, you could do e.g. services run IRL by Abellio, just leave off their logo but keep the livery, which I think most players would be fine with.
The only reservation about ‘expert locos’ being made, is the chance that our usual dlcs with trains wont have any additional functions going forward. Will there be gaps in the feature set deliberately left for convenience and the option to sell a better version.
I think that's how it will work, like in TSC. You get standard basic stock with blank displays and only minimum of needed functionality (probably due to risen development cost) and go for ExpertLine / AP if you want the real thing. I can understand this from a business point of view (though of course initially when TSW was released in 2017 I thought it would be the "ultimate" thing, which it is not. Want extra - pay extra.)
Oh yes - starting up the cold and dark SD40-2 was a brilliant experience back then. (But soon the completely off traction / brake simulation brought me back down to earth....and to Run 8, which is still the unrivalled #1 US freight sim) That great video by a gamer and RL railroader (and friend of Smokebox) shows the initial issues (and actually made me buy Run8 after watching his tutorials ) And VRC managed to give us the same in-depth startup procedure in their Dash-7/8s for TSC. (Though I had to mod the too strongly tinted windows away, otherwise one of the best TSC DLC. You even had to enter the EOTD ID in the HOTD display to set up the communication.)
