I never really used anything other than UK content in TSC. When I started getting into TSW I found I really enjoyed a lot of the non-UK content, especially the German routes. I am wondering are there any German equivalent of AP or similar, loco's and units with better sounds than the DTG variants or enhancements for DTG variants. Virtual Railroads and RSSO look like they might be good. Some of the German routes in particular, on steam look very interesting, both DTG and non-DTG. I think from reading the forums there is some very good US third party content. Many thanks in advance.
There is no European equivalent of AP as a lot of simmers make content for Free. Have a look at https://rail-sim.de/forum/filebase/index.php?filebase/1224-train-simulator/
Updating routes and rolling stock happens on a freeware basis over at Railsim and some other german websites. If your not very familiar with the language and german content, you will find yourself having a hard time. Germany has a lot of privat companies for trains, just like the UK. So you will find freeware repaints for all kinds of rolling stock in different colours on the usual websites like Railsim. This entails downloading every repaint at one time and moving Geopx files. Only some repaints come in big packs and use batch files. The easist thing on the german side are soundupdates. Just download them, push them to your railworks and overwrite. There are tons of them on Railsim and most of them massivly improve the sound of German rolling stock. Freeware routes and updated DTG routes are the most tricky thing to get involved with. You will need all payware requirements and will have hunt down a boatload of freeware assets from different places. As someone, who has been in the German community for over ten years, my entire German collection is heavily modified. On the british side of things it´s more expensive, but easier. A route update will completely transform a German route in most cases (like Gemma from ATS). It´s all freeware and available for almost every german release. Some stand out examples are the Mittenwaldbahn (Karwendelbahn), Allgäubahn reloaded and Hagen-Siegen Version 4. By far the biggest rabbit hole to go down is german freight waggons... don´t even ask me about that.
Thanks for that comprehensive post. It looks like I'll be starting with baby steps. I'll pick up some routes in the sale.
Could you list the German content that you own and what you are planing to buy in the sale? I could point you towards some freeware stuff, if I have that information.
Virtual Railroads produce high quality DLC. 3DZug also produce high quality DLC, mostly rolling stock. I consider their texturing and sounds to be slightly better than VR. Railworks Austria's payware stuff is good, but tends to be fragmented across various marketplaces, including Steam. RSSLO has prodigious output, makes long routes and is affordable, but isn't comparable with AP for quality. Despite this I find it has a certain charm and I own a lot of it.
Hi most of what I own came with each new version of TSC. Off the top of my head (I am out at the moment) I have Koln to Koblenz, the original Ruhr Seig, Hamburg to Hanover, Mittenwaldbahn, Munich to Augsburg, the diesel route beginning with P whose name I forget. Frankfurt to Koblenz is one route I've seen in the sale I'm interested in. The routes going through Karlruche too and the Koblenz to Trier. There are plenty of others I'm interested in too.
If you prefer to buy off Steam then note that the Steam Virtual Railroad locos are slightly simplified versions of what they sell on their own website, but much cheaper in the current sale. If you want to get just one non-DTG German route then go for Konstanz-Villingen Route. As with everything it's not perfect, but in general the quality of its scenery modelling will make your jaw drop. It's just £9.99 currently. Even if you don't enjoy German railroading you should get it just to see what a quality route looks like! The same could be said for the Im Köblitzer Bergland route, but as that's imaginary it won't suit everyone.
Fully agree. Konstanz-Villingen is by Maik Gotz (TSG) I believe. It is also one of the few routes with more or less accurate catenary and signaling, some of the best implemented within the limitations of the game. I just wish it got extended through the Black Forest, Villingen-Offenbach, which is one of the key MSTS routes by the same developer and his then partners.
Konstanz-Villingen (including Hausach Extension for the really nice part!) and Köblitzer Bergland are total must have´s ... they are generaly required for any German route update or freeware route.
Noted re the Virtual Railroads locos I'm happy to buy them direct from them. I do have the Konstanz to Villenger route on my wishlist so will probably get it. Thanks I'll check those out.
