Really looking forward to cargo line packs and the Welsh route, class 104, class 86 and the class 20 Drs loco from skyhook which it surely seems to be alongside the ats route etc. Basically all British stuff.
Pfälzische Ludwigsbahn: Mannheim - Kaiserslautern at full price is an insult. I'll save the money better for Mittenwaldbahn: Innsbruck - Garmisch-Partenkirchen coming in February, this is the real rock star here.
new German route looks great, F59PHR I will get cos I have grown kinda fond of those big, loud and chonky locos, and Koln Aachen update looks awesome, lets hope the LZB/AFB thingies will behave in the added locos so those I will get for sure, will see about the rest, like the London one, Manchester... also the Dutch thing I will get for sure, for new trains, long route and new signalling/safety stuff to learn
Only really Mittenwaldbahn and Cardiff tantalising me at present. The London route is too short and just a variation on Goblin, as noted previously. Oh and the JT train pack but really hinges on some resolution to the sound squelching. Everything else just seems to be DistantFutureWare or Vapourware.
The German route looks good but I will watch the stream and decide. I understand what people are saying about no new stock but it might still be worth the money if well made and with plenty to do. It sounds like there is a good mixture of scenery. If you were a newcomer to TSW I don't think you could complain about the price. The TSG route is probably a no-brainer day one purchase and I am most excited for it. Unfortunately I don't think the Mildmay line is for me unless something really grabs me about it, however the screenshots of the route and the 378 look great. I will probably pick up the US loco and the class 86 is coming on well. I suspect over the next couple of months we will see more new DLC announced, they did warn us this roadmap wouldn't have much new stuff on it.
It's a shame, but I've become completely disheartened with the WCMLS, as it was mentioned after optimisation improvements that there will be no further timetable updates... I think DTG should reconsider this in the long run as it's an important line in the game that will not be revisited by other developers as it's already an existing route... To not implement the full 1:1 timetable is pretty poor. I think why people get so passionately frustrated with it is because it is an important route with SO MUCH potential. I just get the feelings it's going to become abandonware from any more input by DTG after the optimisation improvements are implemented. I'm sure not long ago it was said "we are definitely not done with WCMLS and we have some long term improvements"? Now it seems (unless I'm mistaken or misunderstood), that WCMLS will get some optimisation updates and essentially be left behind. Pretty poor going... Deflating is the word that comes to mind, and certainly knocks my confidence in DTGs future commitments or promises. I think the outsourcing of the work has caused them more issues then they anticipated...
That's really sad as they had mentioned previously they would look to add in rail tours after the route optimisation was sorted. I purchased the Flying Scotsman DLC due to this
I really hope this year, we'll see an official P32AC-DM, P40DC or P42DC locomotive. It's hard to believe TSW has been out for 8 years and no Genesis locomotive yet. Hopefully we see a Metro North or Amtrak route come out this year for TSW
Think at the moment the main aim is to get the route stable. As it is at the moment for alot of players including me bit isn't. Personally I should not have to think about not using cc liveries, dynamic weather , photo mode etc etc. I should be able to drive a service from A - B with out it crashing approaching Euston or Wembley. Currently at the moment I can barely drive Frankfurt Fulda as it crashes 95% of the time I do try to drive it. I prefer optimisation / stabilisation to adding extra stuff that could make it even more worse. Hentis
I know they're ruling out new services for the foreseeable future but there was also a plan to get the AI Pendolinos to run at EPS speeds (i.e. 125mph most of the way). I hope that doesn't get abandoned. I forgot to ask about that on the Q&A thread before it was closed!
I can answer that - it missed the last update, and they are hoping to include it in the next one. Think it was Liam that said this, but could be someone else.
Yes hopefully that comes as at least the core services on that route would finally all run the way they are supposed to IRL. I think Matt said it would require a core change in the game as it also affects other tilting trains with enhanced speeds like the ICE-T. The railtours or Marston Vale ECS stuff is just cherry on top nice to have in comparison.
Just a quote on the question regarding timetable updates for the WCML: 'No further work is happening on the WCML timetable at this point, our priority for the time being is ensuring performance is working at a level we're comfortable with, and then continuing to address key issues raised by the community to ensure what we have works to the best level it can. It's not a closed door, but to be transparent right now there are no plans for the timetable.'
Which means they're prioritising fixes and optimisation of the route. As they should be, since the route is near unplayable otherwise.
Yeah - do hope they look into putting back in the railtours and stuff after they've sorted the fixes and optimisation though - do agree they should come first
It's right of them to fix and optimise issues, for sure. What is wrong about the situation, is we were sold a vision of a vastly improved timetable overhauled route and many other features... This idea now seems to be that it will be practically abandoned, once the optimisation & minor updates are made. It's sad for a route like the WCMLS which has so much potential. It certainly damages my own faith in DTGs promises or statements going forward. If you read the original article about WCMLS, or the pre release articles about it, see if the route lives upto the hype we were sold within those articles... It seems to be nothing like we were sold. Also if you read the articles regarding the long term commitments to improve it... It seems that is all a complete load of old rubbish now that's been brushed under the carpet and back tracked on... Very disappointing to say the least. I think they've really let the community down on this one. The route was not of a good quality to start with, and was made just about playable and brought upto a minimal standard that it should of always been when originally released, and now it seems for the foreseeable future the route will be left in the condition it's currently in with just a few optimisations to make it just about playable. If this is the standard we can begin to expect from DTGs routes, and with their post release updates, they are very short of being relegated to Rivets league of quality... Even worse, I think it's frankly really poor on DTGs behalf to make large statements and commitments and then to completely backtrack on them. To sell us a route and list it's main features as complex, busy and realistic, and then to give us a product which is half of that is a shambles. WCMLS has been quite misleading in so many ways. I may be ridiculed for such statements by some in the community, but mark my words this just seems like the decline in standards we can expect over the next year. I don't know what it will take for DTG to revert to the standard I came to expect of them or restore my once strong faith in their abilities.
For me a big NO is the fact this route is not complete and not enclosed at all. My money goes definetly to tsg and JT with the 86. Beside that the pics of the mildmay line look indeed great, and for the full line i would even consider day1 purchais before seeing the stream. But again, of all possible route choices in the uk, if your team is small why pick a line where the budget just covers the half line? Big question mark ... and a total deal breaker of my side.
Still get the impression of radio silence though on core issues which apply across the whole game. Either they are in denial or for whatever reason don't want to publicly acknowledge them. Ditto on the save game - haven't watched the stream so don't know if it was mentioned but with no disrespect to Alex, summarising in the thread which was then promptly locked, just more platitudes and no real indication of progress on getting the game back to the reasonable state it was in prior to TSW5 then further borked by the latest patches.
The base game is honestly free already for TSW 5. (Hence the "free core module" that came out. You are just buying the bundle of routes that goes with it.
To be fair, Mitten is something we've basically seen before too.... is it not similar to the Semmeringbahn or Voralberg? I mean they're not exactly the same, but there are certain "types" of maps we seem to be getting over and over. But if that's what sells, that's what sells. It's a good time to be a German EMU fan.
I’m guessing the Cargo Line Vol.3 (Intermodal) won’t release until the WCMLS 2025 optimisations go live (and hopefully work) as nearly all the screenshots appear to be on the WCMLS anyway.
They really made a mess of WCMLS and it's sapped all the momentum from TSW5 imo. I'm spending most of my time on Derail Valley and Railroader these days. I'll check back in when Mittenwaldbahn comes out, but it's hard to go back to the DLC churn after enjoying a couple of passion projects like that. Never felt as disinterested in TSW.
Mittenwaldbahn is on my radar but again a bit of unease about spending what will probably be the “deluxe” price (£32.99?) for something that will run raggedey as hell on the poor state the core is in.
I'll wait until the core patches are released before buying. I refuse to turn off 4K and watch blurry textures.
The game would be free, but they're not offering it. They're only bundling it with routes. They will probably offer it again this year. Point is, they don't make money on the core game.
I mean it's not like any of them are supplied with the base game and thus for some users are the only routes they have...
Now continue that thought..... If they didn't like it what would they do? Play it... or not play it? If they're new to TSW they'd probably just stop playing TSW or buy another route if they didn't like it. And is it reasonable that it's ONLY new UK players with the UK regional pack are playing it? Because it'd have to be only those few who would meet your criteria. I know you want to keep believing how terrible it is, but maybe other people just don't share that experience or opinion? That's a bit more likely than improbable speculation. Not as pleasant to hear perhaps. No one wants to hear that other people are happier than they are.
I do get the feeling some have such entrenched views about WCMLs that they can't believe anyone is enjoying it. Some seem still bitter about its release and can't let it go. I do feel for those for whom it is crashing regularly though and hope DTG can fix those issues. For me it is much improved.
There are issues with TSW, always have been. It's often been very specific to systems and conditions however. Perhaps more focus on that would be more productive than ranting at DTG? I can't tell you how many times there's been a "game issue" that turned out to be a skin or driver setting or conflicting program on the user end that no amount of "fixing" by the developer could fix. In that case, it's counter-productive to blame the dev since the problem will never get fixed. If it's something like an incorrect headcode... that's the developer. If it's game crashing... that's at best 50/50 the dev. Often it's an interaction on the use end. Is there a "tech support" thread yet for the community to help people with issues like this? Maybe post some helpful "quick fixes" or suggestions for new people? I've seen that work very well on other game forums. We can't expect the devs to have every CPU or console type in house to test things out on. Sometimes we can take steps ourselves to help one another.
What a way to twist someone's words. Where did I say I say it's terrible? In fact, I think you might like to read my first impressions of the route: I think that, and the fact I later recommended a run in the awsome services thread perhaps indicates that I don't find it as terrible as I allegedly do.
I was replying on that to Disintegration who said "They really made a mess of WCMLS and it's sapped all the momentum from TSW5 imo. I'm spending most of my time on Derail Valley and Railroader these days." To you, I was simply refuting your contention that it's ONLY played by the few noobs who only have the UK regional pack. The WCMLS is just genuinely popular. The people having a hard time are the vocal exception.
You probably should quote their post or tag them then to make it clear who you're talking to - it looked like the entire post was directed at me. I didn't state that though (and I don't know where you got the regional pack bit from but anyway), I was pointing out that because it's in the base game, it'll be played more. That's always been the case when they've released these most played statistics IIRC. Those stats will also be skewed by the completionists who do every timetable run and every service. They shouldn't really be taken as gospel of what's good or bad.
Easy. You said that was the "only route they had" and there's only ONE pack that it is the "only route" on it... the UK regional pack. Which hardly anyone bought for that reason. If it was the Standard Edition (which most people bought) or the Deluxe (which is even bigger) then they'd have lots of other routes to choose from. So, your comment wouldn't make sense. Look.. it's simple. People like the WCMLS route. I don't personally. I don't care for any of the top 4 routes. But, obviously but plenty of people do. Not sure why that's hard to believe. There's lots of stuff people like that I don't, but I accept that THEY like it.
But that makes no sense if there's a number of other routes they could play. Why would they choose that ONE to play if they didn't like it and had other options? Your argument only works if that's the only route and they had no other options.
That's fine i was just speaking for me personally. Fwiw i don't even hate WCMLS all that much- the issues it's had are just indicative of larger problems with the franchise imo- especially with overall planning and management. I don't get the impression TSW really knows what it wants to be anymore and after spending significant time with sims that very much have a specific vision, it's a bit jarring to go back to the jack of all trades, so to speak. Again, that doesn't make TSW bad, i'm just a bit burnt out on it right now.
That's fair. I go between a lot of different games. They're all different. More sims coming out for console should help TSW find a "niche" better. Can't compete with everyone on everything, so will have to find something to focus on. That'll make some people happy and some people mad depending on what they choose to focus on... or not. It comes down to what are they better at than other games, and can do better in the future? The things they don't want to do or don't do as well.... they will probably drop or let third parties do.
I worked on the ATS route and let me just say this. I left because of many issues with ATS Management. I was forced into taking a massively undervalued settlement for my work on the route. I worked 7 days a week for 8+ hours a day for approx 5 months and they only offered me £1000 for all of my work. Eventually I got to £3.3k but that was after weeks of back and forth whilst being in the middle of trying to move house and being unwell. It was a lot of un-needed stress. I wanted my work bought out as ATS failed from a management perspective to ensure the route would hit certain internal deadlines which due to their own failures (which they blamed the devs for) meant it missed every key deadline. This led to me wanting to be done with it and to either get paid for my work/time or to have my work revoked. Eventually the settlement was done, sometime in december however a big part of this decision was the fact that other people involved hadn't been paid. On top of this, you can now see on the roadmap its been pushed back. I have seen several comments about it "being held up in QA" this is technically correct but when you go to QA with an unfinished project when people would vanish days and weeks at a time, it is no surprise the work was never finished. I must state that the overall dev team was fantastic and so are DTG. This route has purely been at the point of being pushed back because of the failures of ATS Management and no one else. I must be clear, not the TSW team management as that was seperate from the overall ATS Management. Honestly I have said it before, I want to see the route still come out, we all worked very hard on it and whilst people have mixed opinions on it, its not been shown off enough and that again is at the failures of ATS Management. Looking back at it now, I am really not surprised as ATS have never been keen on TSW and whilst to the community they express that they are more interested, trust me internally, they are not. Should the route get finished and released (I'm sure it will and I hope it does), I just hope everyone else doesnt have to go through what I went through in December. The final thing I'll say is I have been meaning to speak up sooner and also in more detail about this but honestly it has been something I have had to think about but after a facebook message I received from Alan yesterday about another post in the TSC side of the forums, I have decided to just come clean and tell it how it is. I won't speak on behalf of other developers but I will say that I am likely not the only person who has ended up with a lot of issues to do wtih ATS especially as a lot of us left at the same time leaving them with 1 or 2 people left working on the route. They may of found more people since then however.
