Athena Simulations: Ecml Diesel Railtours

Not saying I disagree but probably best to keep personalities out of it, otherwise this thread will get nuked by the admin and we lose the free flow of feedback about this add on.

 

Since TSW2020; Northern Transpennine.

 

Northern Transpennine is Manchester Victoria to Leeds

 

Since TSW1… Northern Transpennine

 

oh my bad, don't play the route it's so old.

 

Yeah definitely in need of a touch up now, or even a new version released by another dev.

 

NTP along with HFP hold up and play really well, even compared to some recently released dlc! Despite a few scenario issues on HFP
Although 24.99 maybe a little steep now as said it needs a revisit

Went searching for collectibles for the mastery yesterday and the modelling is actually very good lots of grime and dirt

 

Apart from everything else, missing suspension being a problem also pretty much confirms to me that the loco is most likely based on the old DTG version of the 47, and not the much improved Just Trains version. Which to me really is another argument against this pack: at best, they'll have duplicated Just Trains' work - at worst, they're asking money for a new 47 that's considerably worse than the 47s that their customers already own.

 

New Gameplay Video available

 

Hi everyone, quick few words from me.

First of all, I'd like to apologise for the issues currently in the PlayStation build. A late change had a knock-on effect, and unfortunately it was not possible to revert and fix before launch on Sony platforms (the certification process varies from platform to platform in terms of how easy it is to make changes in the lead up to launch). The issues are already fixed in the builds so won't be present by the time it goes live on other platforms, and will propegate into the Sony build in an hour or two via hotfix. I take pride in the work of myself and the team and we jumped to resolve the issues as soon they were made clear to us. We are committed to making this pack the best it can be, and support it as long as is possible.

There will be a preview with myself and Jane tonight at 8pm. There are a lot of comments in this thread since I last posted and I'll try and get to them all!

As for the suspension and exhaust both are implemented/fixed. The exhaust was already set up, but a last minute tweak had resulted in a variable being set to 0 last minute effectively switching off the VFX particles...

On the topic of us being full time, I believe what my colleague was responding to were the comments we've seen asking if we're a "real company". The answer is, yes, we are. Some of us have been working in the games industry full time, some in sims, all with varying degrees of experience. I personally have worked full time in the industry for ~12 years now at various studios, and have thoroughly enjoyed making a career out of my passion. This company, and working on content for TSW, is a new experience for some of our team, and not for others. Our team also has other projects in the works that aren't related to TSW but I won't discuss that here further.

I would also like to reiterate a comment from Vern just now, can we please keep the discourse in this thread on topic? That is to say, discussion around this gameplay pack in particular, and not commentary on my team (who do read this thread, and take the things that are said to heart). Thank you.

 

Thankyou for the detailed reply Alex

 

Northern Trans-pennine? Goes between Man.Victoria and Leeds.

 

Thank you for the detailed reply, but shouldn't this have been published before release not after?

 

How many optimistic day one purchases I wonder? Easy to stream once the cats already out of the bag. I dont suppose the lighting bug on the Class 40 has been addressed either.

 

I've just skimmed this thread. Concerning there were unexpected issues upon launch of a product again, but props to ATH if they actually have patched them all via a hot fix on the same day as release. Better than some other products which have just been left unfixed for months! I say 'actually have' because I don't have the product so can't confirm, but am going off the information in the thread.

 

Would like to add that the DSD is very much broken as it was in every 47 before

 

Exhaust effects- exist on all other 47s, along with the suspension physics. Do DTG have Athenas phone number?
Mk1s subbing in were always a pipe dream. Too much work, and the tsw spaghetti state its gotten into with layers. The extensive work to get the 47 to appear on other dlc is nothing more than a few tags added in the vehicle definition file. 30 seconds work.

 

I'm going to stick my neck out here...

I've bought the pack, and yes there are some issues, but overall Athena Simulations has been on the ball in terms of communication here and that means a lot (to me personally), I get the feeling this is a genuine slip up and the post on the thread explains that. For there first add on I think it's best to give them the benefit of the doubt on this. Overall I'm sure once the fix is out it'll look and perform as it was meant to be. It's not often other developers (not naming names) bother giving a proper reply within hours of a release to explain things. I think at the moment some are being possibly a touch overly harsh... Quite honestly I think I'm going to really enjoy this and look forward to the update later!

Look forward to the update and making use of the Mk1s too!

 

That was answered previously.

 

Isn't the next route literally Manchester Airport Commuter line?
Glossop is Manchester too.
NTP line goes from Leeds to Manchester doesn't it?

 

Why are we banging on about Leeds Manchester? We aren't trying to bury the thread are we?

 

Horse and stable door spring to mind.

 

Yes, bringing back on topic something still doesn't seem quite right here. So I'm definitely sitting on the fence for a day or two see how the initial feedback goes. See whether this was a genuine last minute slip or more faux pas emerge. It still doesn't speak very highly when a product deemed ready to go on sale looks as if it was being worked on right up to the last second.

 

If its a Deltic you have my vote for President of the US of A lol

 

I heard that voters prefer the 91 - sorry antony lol

 

You know you want a 70

 

Lol...

infact I will take a 91, Deltic, Class 56 Large logo ex Donnie Works and dirty as hell version, Class 70, Class 60 and a Br Blue original HST. Not all at once mind.

Hentis

 

If we can't have the adult Deltic, would we be happy with a baby Deltic, a nice class 23.....

 

Was going to be a day one purchase but after looking through this thread I'm now going to wait until I see the preview tonight and feedback from PC users.

 

Because someone further up asked why the announcement mentions driving the Athena 47 on Leeds and Manchester.
It's sorted now.

 

DJs - you know you want a 91!

 

Since I'm on PC I'll be picking this up later. Yes, I would have liked a Deltic, but the number of quite varied scenarios and the substitutions make this pack quite attractive. And the price is pretty reasonable.

 

damn, you rumbled me

 

Suppose the thread could be changed from feedback on a dlc release to irrelevant loco requests.

 

Beta Testers? Do me a favour! I reckon none of them knows what a trains is!
Quality Control or Assurance are not in DTG’s vocabulary either!
Absolute farce and very embarrassing all round!

 

When have DTG ever worried about a ‘good look?’

 

Alex, with all due respect your comment that DTG and its Partners ‘are focused on releasing the pack in the best state possible.‘ doesn't instil much confidence as this sort of thing happens all too frequently now!

 

“Best state possible” shouldn’t even be in the vocabulary. It’s either fit for purpose or it’s not. Reminds me of the famous quote from the movie The Rock, where Sean Connery’s character tells Nick Cage, “Losers whine about doing their best, winners get to go home and have a great time with the prom queen.” Well the second part was a bit more earthy in the movie, but you get the drift…

 

Pros
New 47
New airbraked mk1s
New scenarios
47 subs in for BR stock (naturally)

Cons
Mk1s only appear in scenarios
Or DTGs silver bullet, (free roam).
Already have many 47s and this one is currently bugged.

 

Wait the mk1s are only in the scenarios?

 

My experience is only positive so far, the scenarios are very comprehensive.

A few faults with the 47s internal workings, the DSD not being able to reset being the biggest one for me. Although this can be overcome by isolating it as a temporary measure until a patch is out. Overall though the model is meticulously well made in my opinion from the ground up I really recognise the effort that has gone into this locomotive. Absolutely hats off. With a few niggles ironed out this will be a very welcome edition to my collection.

In terms of the Mk1s I absolutely love them along with the sound mixture from AP. My only criticism at the moment is 7 coach formations are a little short for a railtours, I'd be expecting a 12 car formation on a rail tour for the most part. Secondly, Mk1 stock only be accessible in scenarios. To give them maximum potential it would be nice to randomly substitute them over the Mk2As on selected route (my suggestion would be, you randomly get allocated such a rake on applicable services). But very welcome editions and really lovely 3D modelling and sounds that really live upto expectations. I'd also like to say to those who are hesitant just on this basis that, Anthena have been very receptive to pre release feedback, please give them them time to take in post release feedback that they will most likely implement.

Yes some minor bugs but updates will iron these out, just give them bloody time!

Overall though fantastic little add on, and a very good 'foot in the door' starter for Athena Simulations.

 

Yes on that basis no purchase from me. Not really bothered about the celeb 47.

 

Full train substitutions aren’t possible in TSW but locos can be swapped in.

I’m just wondering if the loco will substitute into AI on the other routes as that will create the possibility of there being multiple instances of it or if it is just selectable to drive. Nobody wants to see two or three IKBs on a service but similarly never seeing it isn’t ideal either. It would make a big difference to its suitability in places like on NTP or WCML Shap.

 

You can swap out coaches as well, that's not the issue. That just needs to be set up in the formation files/route timetables, which, unlike simply adding the correct tags to the loco so it shows up on other routes, would require an actual "substantial amount of work".

 

Can you confirm if the TSO's are indeed with the more modern interior, plastic wall panels, smaller headrests on the seat, fluorescent lighting etc?

 

Theyed have to open up the various routes. Which is where my gripe with region tagging comes in. If stock was tagged by what it actually was by name. Without all the axles, power, speed and location. It could be listed as a possible substitution before it even gets conceived as a dlc. Ie NTP mk2a coaches would have substitution enabled but only to coaches in the list. In this case mk1….. or even a yet to be released mk2f… So until the mk1 or mk2f were released. The mk2a wouldnt sub.

 

We need Armstrong Powerhouse involved with the class 37. Being able to hear the audio loop on 100% throttle ruins the experience for me. The class 31 is awesome in comparison.

In regard to the Deltic, is there a licensing issue or something we are unaware of preventing this from being created?. It’s such a glaring omission, perhaps DTG can provide some insight as to why it has not been considered?.

 

Hey everyone - The Mk1 coaches aren't supposed to be restricted to the scenarios so Aaron and I are taking a look. We think it's down to a variable that determines "rarity" being set too low to permit them to spawn or sub in. Either way, we're looking into it and will report back soon with ETA on fix.