As the new Monthly Mastery requires completing 15 Conductor services, I have finally tried this mode for the first time, not counting that one Glossop scenario, or that one LIRR2 scenario. And I'm not impressed at all. Attempt 1: I tried a short Koploper service. There were no tickets to collect, and the service showed a "maximim score possible = 0" line at the end. Attempt 2. I tried a longer Koploper service. Again, no tickets to check. I aborted the service after half an hour. Attempt 3. I thought, "Hey. TSG always put out quality stuff, let's try Mittenwaldbahn." Nope. 4 stops in, zero tickets to check (and no passengers were on the train at all for the first couple of stops). The only prompts, as with all the previous attmpts, were "Wait for next stop." Attempt 4. A Class 350 service on the WCML South. The "Make sure all the doors are closed" prompt refused to go away for a few minutes, whilst I went up and down the train looking for opened doors (there weren't any). Turned out, the AI driver's door was open for some stupid reason. At that point, I closed the game and went to play something that actually works. What a shameful display, honestly. If anyone has any recommendations for Conductor Mode runs that actually work and aren't boring AF, I'd appreciate the info.
That was my experience when I tried conductor mode a few weeks ago. All of the trips I was simply told to wait for the next station. One train had no passengers at all for the entire journey and the other, despite being full, never generated a ticket check etc. routine.
I've had a couple of runs on it where at one station down the line, after closing the doors and signalling the driver, the train never left, so I was permanently stuck on the objective to check all the tickets before the next stop on a stationary train. Guessing it's the classic signalling issues rearing their head again.
May 2025 mastery has FIFTEEN ( 15 ) conductor mode timetable tasks with no alternative. I have NO interest in Conductor mode ... only less would be my interest in Thomas the Tank Engine. Who do i thank for this condescending coercion ? Do you not already do enough to vex your paying customers ? Not those Freebee Enthusiasts, but us, who pay, or like me, who pay for Xbox, PC and PS5 ... and sometimes Epic AND Steam because Epic loads FAST ! Stop this vexing customer mismanagement !,
I tried a couple more and finally found luck with the West Somerset Railway's new timetable. Tickets generate, the ones with the destination in the other direction are correctly labelled as invalid, the scenery is scenic enough if you don't look closely at the buildings' texturing, and the consists are short so you don't have to walk up and down the train for ages. I think that's what I will use to get the Monthly Mastery.
Think I might have let slip in earlier discussions it might be worth trying as something different! But not 15 of the things...
Its not mandatory though, you don't have to do it. Unless you want the reward at the end, which is just a decal anyway.
