Greetings, I am playing tsw on xbox series x and PC through the windows store and was wondering if tsw 5 will bring some upgrades to (for example) draw distance, performance, stutters, graphics in general and stuff like that on these two platforms. Unfortunately I don't have the time to watch all of the streams and reveals. That's why I'm asking here.
The only thing is track shadows, and that is only for select routes. Aside from the usual, regular, incremental and silent memory improvements, there is nothing notable.
Hi watching the bernardino preview stream today i decided not to buy tsw5, sadly they fix shadows but put another problem , now the apear in front of the player, they change 1 for another.
It's pretty much the same thing every year. They just break a few more things and stick a higher number on the title. But we have working lifts, so who cares if everything else is completely broken?
At least you don't have to pay for it this time (for what it's worth I don't care about elevators either, but that's for another time).
There is nothing at all different between TSW4 & TSW5 except for the supposedly improved track shadows and a couple of pointless (in my opinion) gimmicks like route hopping. We’ve seen from the preview streams that the track shadows a) don’t work over points / junctions etc which defeats the object somewhat and b) when they do work they don’t work at all consistently. It’s a welcome development obviously but typically the implementation leaves a lot to be desired. In the meantime another iteration of the game will come and go yet TSW still runs on DX11, still doesn’t use FSR, DLSS, Ray Tracing or Frame Generation, still has the same issues with lighting and pop-in of virtually everything, passengers are still all but useless, stations and trains are still empty, GSM-R basically doesn’t work properly, there is still one key command for the vigilance and warning systems, there is still just the one save slot, saves still don’t work reliably, dynamic weather doesn’t really work properly and on, and on, and on we go. The list of problems that need addressing is endless but absolutely none of it has been touched in the latest and greatest and I for one find that a bit disappointing. Instead though you can now add fake motion blur to screenshots which is all everyone has ever wanted, surely? As someone said above, TSW5 is a way for DTG to re-market the game and increase it’s visibility which is absolutely fair enough. Everyone owning TSW4 will get the ‘core’ for free which is a good thing. However, if you’re expecting any sort of bigger step forward than that you’ll be sorely disappointed I think.
Which means we get (again) a new feature sold which isn't finishd at the time of release and we don't know know if this will be fixed or can ever be fixed by DTG. It is also possible that the approach they made with the track shadows simply does not work at all. We can only be sure (as for now) that it seems to not work as it was intended. But they are still leaving it in.
Afaik the difference for XBOX is that all the sounds (also for old tracks) were converted to another format to fix the sounds issues present on xbox platform.
As I remarked in another thread, it’s actually the lack of meaningful core updates that cooled my enthusiasm for TSW5 rather than the erratic quality of the new content. Are their programmers really that incapable they cannot look at the graphics mod and work out how to hard code that in the game? Is it so hard to give us sliders for brightness, contrast and gamma? Why is it so difficult to offer more than one save slot and why is no one from DTG even prepared to comment on the matter other than, “no plans”? Plus various other issues that never get addressed.
Well, to tell the truth, nothing new except the shadows of the rails which ... do not work. In short, this game is a disaster, a kind of thing where they test the skills of their pseudo programmers who have just left computer science school for 5 - 6 years. UE4 ... the game works on UE4 and no FSR, raytracing, DLSS, disgusting lighting, no gamma or contrast adjustment in the options and what about the rotten sound. I have a home theater and the sound is so crappy that I still wonder why I turn on my speakers. Always and again the same problems or other new problems accumulated over the years and never fixed. Tree popping (all the vegetation) 3 meters in front of you, rotten anti aliasing. Lag and other jerks, yes it's due to UE4, but why the hell did you take this game engine? But why the hell persist with this game engine again and again? Make a new TSW on another game engine I'm sure the community will be more than happy to have a stable and beautiful game rather than an infamous non-stable turd!!!! Oh yes still save problems of course. In short yes, nothing to change on TSW5 for this year. Sorry DTG to "slap" you with the truth but it must be said from time to time just to remind you how much nothing changes over the years. So in summary, this year my money will stay in my wallet
If TSW moved to a new game engine people would complain as everything would need to be rebuilt from scratch and nothing would be ported over.
Of course that's what "a new game" is. A new game is a new game. When you buy a new WRC or a new fifa every year it's a new game and no one whines. When TSW came out it was a new game and those like me who had TSC (railwork) accepted the fact of having a new game! When GTA6 comes out do you seriously think that those who have GTA5 will cry? Please stop talking nonsense. We're not taking anything away from you, you keep tsw5 and all the dlc, the game simply stops being updated and no more dlc is sold for this version. Moreover for tsw 1-2-3-4 no more "new" dlc is compatible!!! so you buy something new every year and I don't see where the problem is.
They should just turn track shadows off. And 3d ballast! Looks terrible. Or give us the option to disable it atleast.
Comparing games such as GTA and Fifa to TSW is talking nonsense. They aren't based on a model of selling DLC, TSW is. Hypothetical for you: ECML on TSW4 requires the 323, 700 and 158 for layers, which makes Doncaster and Peterborough busier. So, if TSW4 moved to a new engine, you'd lose access to them. The end result being a route with no variety whatsoever as the only train to appear would be the Azuma. How many who own MML, SEHS, or Glossop would complain that the trains they've just bought cannot be used anywhere else, when they can be seen at Doncaster and Peterborough on the ECML in real life? How many would complain about the lack of variety? Here's the answer to both: anyone who owns those three TSW3 routes. They would all complain their existing content will not be used anywhere else.
No need, but as DTG have explained multiple times, by releasing a new game they get more publicity, for example I've noticed TSW5 on the main page of the PlayStation Store, older games don't get that level of promotion. Each new release sees new people joining the franchise for the first time, yes it's inconvenient to existing customers, but a larger player base is to the benefit of all of us.
When TSW2 was announced, DTG said that TSW2020 content would not be ported over. People were upset, and so the release of TSW2 was delayed to bring in the Preserved Collection (now Compatible Content). While not everything was able to be ported over, the fact that most of it was did calm people down. I wasn't there for that - this is only what I have heard from others. While many people may be happy with abandoning Compatible Content, history has taught DTG that even more people are not.
Changes in the core that would allow realistic features like Ebula and PTC (which to my knowledge aren’t possible yet) would’ve been welcome, unfortunately besides guard mode a lot of the features/selling points we’ve gotten since TSW 2 have just been updates to the existing features like Livery & scenario designer. This is also a good opportunity to bring up once of my concerns for the future. I think there’s only so much you can add to a train simulator before you start to push the limits on whether you should consider it a sim, sim game or just game. I keep saying this but I think we need to be pushing for more realism and realistic features to be added, bring whatever it is as an option for those of us who want to be a realistic as possible instead of leaving it out completely because lots of people either don’t care or don’t know how to use it, I say at least let them learn.
As much as I would love to see more advanced features, people are extremely intimidated by complexity. Many want to just get in and go. In fact, I had a friend try out Train Sim World 3 once, and he struggled to maintain a speed because he would always be accelerating or braking. He never coasted. He also never really let go of either the A or D keys, so would always be in full power or emergency braking. He claimed it was fun, but I'm not sure I believe him...
I think this is where expert dlc’s would come in but the problem with that is I fear they would be used as an excuse not to put in what I’d argue are basic features into trains and routes.
I disagree that the issue is Unreal Engine 4. Yes, it has quirks and niggles, especially if you rely on blueprints. But the point is you don't rely on them at a professional games studio (its hand-holding tools are to help inexperienced, indie type developers, but you should progress beyond them). So I think the issue is the coding skillset (yes, Matt says they have reprogrammed much of UE 4, but it doesn't mean they are particularly good at it, or lacking in certain skills that lend themselves to optimisation, for example), because I know for a fact there are far more experienced industry people who have no issue resolving, for example, the stutter inherent in the engine or avoiding world loading freezes (I don't buy the suggestion that the train sim is fast compared to other games and that's why it can't keep up with world/tile loading), etc., etc.
No none. besides we buy the same roads on tsw4 as on TSC less well seen that they are shorter. No? then I say, yes a new game with new roads (not the one we already have of course) does not pose any problem.
What you mentioned is a game design problem. On TSC you can drive with whatever you want and have as many trains on the road as you want. Moreover, DTG itself puts all the trains it can in quick drive and scenario mode. On TSW it's their game design that is poorly done. In fact they messed up from the beginning and they are trying to compensate but ... but it's screwed up and they know it. Each road is a "game" in its own right, they keep saying it, hence the duplicates at the train level. Personally I am not a railway worker or a train driver in real life, I am an average player, I like to drive on a beautiful road regardless of whether it is 100% or 50% real. I ask like all of us here for a fluid game with "clean" graphics, scenarios that work, signals that work, a backup that works, DLC at a fair price (30 euros max is a good price given what we are given in return) in short a rather pretty and functional game without falling into excess. I add that I am not a fan of 200 mile roads, I have a life outside the game and since the backup does not work well it is difficult to finish a journey in case of backup ... in short, length is not everything, I prefer a very full road with lots of things to do. Besides, one of the game's problems (consumption) could be greatly reduced with less detailed AI trains, both externally and internally. It's still crazy to see something that is not very beautiful eat up so many resources. Yes simugraf consumes, but obviously it does not simulate that much, we do not even have the shock absorbers on the trains or the fact that the brakes heat up for example see the weight of the train (a US freight train with 60 wagons brakes like a commuter with 6 crates) ... I really think that a new start must be considered to start again on a good basis. They made every possible and imaginable mistake with tsw, I think that if they made a new game it would be more than good today. I am ready to pay for a new game provided that it is better than tsw5 and especially fluid !! the fluidity and the sounds really break this game it is a cancer for a sim. Now I also understand that some people want to keep a poorly made game, not fluid, with graphics not worthy of 2020 (popping, lighting and shadows) made because they put money and time into it, it's your choice. 8 years after the first opus I don't know why another "TSW" couldn't come out. Do you want to wait 12 years like for railwork for another "good" game to come out? We've waited long enough I think. PS: I only need 2 routes to have all the DLCs in the game and yes I say it again I don't mind buying a new game, it's time to move on.
There's really nothing new of substance in the core game with TSW5. That is of course why it's being offered free of charge. So it's down to the new content. WCML is apparently riddled with issues, including a deficient timetable ( NYT anyone ? ). San Bernardino is just OK, despite having scenic issues which, given the amount of time it's had in development, shouldn't be there. The German route will probably be the best of the litter given its provenance. But, let's face it, it's not for everyone. After 7+ years of development, the game has not progressed as it should have. In fact, when you take into account the abandonment of steam traction and the absence of new freight content, it's actually regressed. I'll wait to see the new content from Just Trains and Joe and Brandon's MBTA route but I really wish either DTG could acquire new management with a more forward looking outlook or someone would develop a better mousetrap. Maybe they already have. I'm not so old that I wouldn't be willing to start over. After all, I've done it at least twice before, MSTS to Railworks and TSC to TSW.
I think exactly like you. I also went from trainz to railwork to train sim world heavy haul to tsw1-2-3-4 see tsw5 I have not yet decided for the moment and it would not bother me to have a brand new 2025 train. For the moment I continue to drive on TSC, it's crazy to think that I have almost all of tsw and still continue to play on tsc!!! so there is indeed a problem with tsw.
Hi Ans micro stutters still persist, amateur user fixed this in tsw 2 and 3 on pc, dont know about 4 and dtg doesnt intregated this to fix the stutters officialy on consoles and pc.
Problem there is there's not much point in going down the all-new game on a different engine route for TSW. I can't comment on the jump from MSTS to Railworks, but having played a bunch of TSC lately (not cos I like it over TSW, there was an AP sale recently. To be frank, both are deeply flawed to the point of a debate as to which is the best being pointless for me), I noticed that game's flaws. For a start, in TS Classic, routes and trains can vanish into thin air (see the 373, the newer Pendolino as well as the GEML extension to Norwich and about half of Armstrong Powerhouse's products over the years), the game didn't run in 64-bit mode until I think 2018 and furthermore, trains don't actually stop in TS Classic, they just very slowly crawl. Then there's signals clearing in the opposite direction behind you and so on. Such a jump can't really happen from TSW cos, as much as the absence of BR Blue makes it seem, you'd start encountering diminishing returns. A new free core TSW each year acting as a easy way for people to enter the hobby (much like the TS Classic subscription, except everyone proved capable of reading it this time) is what we have, and a jump upwards from it would have to be astronomical to actually be worth it for all involved.
It's a "sore" point, but for myself, I still don't see the point of annual releases. Of the innovations in them only the change of the serial number.
It brings the game to the forefront again, particularly on gaming storefronts. I suspect there’s also an element of combatting piracy involved too as everyone has to redownload their content, which itself has to be ‘compatible’ with the new version. When the ‘core’ as it is is a free upgrade I have absolutely no issue with it. Last year though, and putting continued use of the game behind a paywall is a different matter.
Which is why sports games can do it and get away with it. Even though not much changes, usually every 4-5 years they upgrade the engine. But even still on console the 9th Gen versions have really been just suped up 8th gen with fancier graphics. Curious what NHL 25 will bring as its the first EA sports game to come to 9th gen only. Lets see if there really is a difference now that 8th gen will be dropped. I doubt it.
Yes, but it still creates some inconveniences. I only played TSW 4 (and a little bit in TSW 3), I don't know how things are with the transfer of saves, but trophies are not transferred and activated with some conventions (when you travel on a certain route or train again). And looking at many other projects on Steam that have been supported for decades without the release of new numbered parts, or are filled with DLC, it makes me a little sad.
I remember when FIFA first came to PS5, it was still also on PS4 back then (I believe FC 25 is the first to drop Gen 8) and it came with new features that were Gen 9 exclusive, to the extent they didn't even put them in the PC version that year because, according to EA, the vast majority of PC players didn't have the spec to match the PS5. That, unsurprisingly, didn't go down well with owners of high end PCs, but at least it shows they can, and do, take advantage of the generational leaps. Turning back to TSW, it is noticable that each new route that comes out now has layers missing for Gen 8. While that's not so good for Gen 8 players, at least it means the game isn't being held back by the older tech. It's also good to see the layer filters in the new game, as the minimum PC spec is similar to Gen 8, so PC players who start to struggle with the newer routes can dial it back a bit to make it run. Hopefully this new functionality will also avoid a repeat of the New York Trenton timetable where they had to drop freight to get it working.
Obviously this is just my opinion, but who gives a monkeys about trophies? It’s a simulation game. Points, trophies and to some extent collectibles are largely irrelevant to me.
I'm not criticizing, it's just my opinion, too. Of course, it's good that the "core" is provided for free, but I still bought the Deluxe because I'm interested in new routes and trains.
Because at time of prototyping TSW: Heavy Haul, UE was basically the only 3rd party engine that could handle (with tweaking) large game worlds without artifical load points, like tunnels or narrow corridors, where one portion of the world is unloaded and another is loaded. That might have changed in the mean time, but honestly, switching to a new engine atm makes absolutely no sense. All that stuff that took years to develop from the barebones product, that was heavy haul, to what we have now, would need to be redeveloped again, for the new engine. Every stupid little thing, like level crossings.... Yes, some systems, like passengers are in heavy need of overhaul, but that will be always cheaper in engine developers are already familar with. And you can see the familiarity with the engine when you compare Great Western Express original with the remaster. And we finally have a platform mature enough that it is of interest to 3rd party developers like Just Trains, or Union Workshop. Why should DTG throw that away for another 3rd party engine, basically trading one set of issues for another, and start from scratch? And most of the issues TSW has are not engine based. Why 3rd patry? Because gone are the days where few guys in a garage could develop a game engine. Building an engine that utilizes modern GPUs and has all the bells and whistles people expect from modern game engine, while still having the performance, and flexibility, is easily an 100+ million investment for a company. Bigger companies (like CD Project RED) are ditching their in-house engines for 3rd parties, not only because it is cheaper. But also because (which is not often discussed), finding experienced people is easier. Game engines today are very complex, and reaching proficiency in one takes years of work experience. Having your own unique engine means that everybody that joins your company is a novice, and you need to train them on how to use your engine, that takes time and money. Having a well establish 3rd party engine (like UE) means that you can find people on the market that already have experience, shortening the ramp-up time by a lot.
Eh... it's fine to me. I can see it improving over time overall, even if some people are focused on the specific things they don't like. I see the thing as a whole... is it playable? Yes. Is it fun? Yes. Looks fine. It has fewer bugs and glitches than MANY other AAA games so if your standard is other games that exist it's not bad. If your standard is a level of perfection that no one else has accomplished.... well then you'll always be disappointed. They haven't cured cancer yet, but I intend on enjoying life still, despite that issue not being fixed =-)
Other simulators with yearly changes in there number don't carry along bugs over years. There is a lot of difference between TSW and "your normal glitched AAA game".
Many do actually. Still think you're missing the forest for the trees. You're free to see only the flaws if you want. Just saying I personally don't find that the most fun way to enjoy the game. Glass 99% full, vs glass 1% empty.
Nowhere is this more apparent than Run 8. Great though it is, the graphics are from 1999, route scenery barely extends beyond the trackside (certainly on the Florida sections) yet even capped at 30 FPS stutters and jitters even in areas without much scenery. On the same PC, TSC runs very smoothly as does TSW aside from the known rubber banding now and again.
