Out Now Manchester Airport Commuter - Out Now!

Tbh I’m not sure I’ll look at area today abd get back to you

 

It's well made, haven't encountered any bugs yet, will update if I do.

The one thing I will say is, it's disappointing how short it is. People may complain at my complaint but it really should have gone to Crewe.

I would much rather wait a bit longer and pay a little higher price for a longer route.

 

In terms of looks, I'm impressed a lot. I had a wander round East Didsbury (my local real life station) and they even got the murals under the bridge bang on. Stockport Viaduct does look tiny, almost comically so. That might be just the limitations of the graphics engine, though?

Lack of trophies a bit of a shame, especially as Thomas the Tank got two sets.

 

Anything without achievements immediately lands in my "pick up at -80% only" pile. Why would I pick up something that doesn't add to meta? If the devs can't be bothered, why should I?

Also - the fact that the developers are not "sure" this will work on Gen8 so they "discourage" purchase - come one, this is laughable. You can control which consoles this sells on, so it fhis is Gen9 only then make it so in the store. The fact that you could potentially buy that, and then find out it doesn't really work, and all you have is words like "yeah, we don't recommend buying" on some forum is just inexcusable.

That last thing also speaks volumes of two things: one - very weird standards of TSW in general, and the console certification process nowadays, which is focused on whether microtransactions work and you can't call people names online, than in things that made console games products of high quality compared to non-console titles in days of yore.

 

I will even say more - this is the 2nd add-on, which has not been translated into Russian! But this is a trifle - it is even more convenient for me to read the names of stations in English

 

Watching a bit more of the stream while sweating (!) on the exercise bike this morning, there was a fairly extensive dissertation from the bearded one about why they ended up not going to Crewe. Fair do’s but the sceptic (cynic) in me still wonders how much of that was due to both the ambition and capabilities not being balanced on the white board at the conceptual stage and how much is fallout from the internal disputes that rumbled on around the development.

The one thing I will say is that after watching the stream, I am almost tempted to give it a try but will wait a few more days and balance the feedback a bit more. Obviously having refunded CCN I’m not going to get the TfW layers and but I was quite impressed with the, albeit short, decent thrash of the 153 from Wilmslow into Piccadilly. Maybe just grab both at a decent discount in the Xmas sale.

 

The cynic (or conspiracy theorist!) in me says that the new studio made up of some of the devs who left ATS under less than perfect conditions are making a Crewe route with a full blown Crewe station is ... no coincidence.

 

In a earlier preview I seem to remember talk of the skyway being accessable, yet my kid informs me there's a invisible wall blocking access?

 

I do like the idea of having somwhere to give the TFW stock a better run, but then I find it abit off putting that a route set in Manchester offers further reach than Wales, for Welsh trains. Especially when said Manchester route should have a lot of Northern ops but is lacking in those.

One big thing I’ve noticed though & something I’ve been particularly critical of in TSW, is the sterile nature of routes. ATS has noticeably made an effort to reduce that & there’s a fair bit of wear & tear across various assets. I think it really helps to make the route feel more real.

Once the route gets better rolling stock options, I’ll probably take a punt, but while this route does improve on the issue that Cardiff has, that issue is still very much there. It takes you to the cusp of an enjoyable journey but then throws you out.

 

It is accessible, but only a short section before the invisible wall.

 

Also the 150 and 153 would be relatively rare at Manchester, more likely a 175 or these days 197.

 

After a second playthrough I'm even more impressed. Looks even better than what I saw in the streams. Best route for me so far, and I have all the UK routes. Shows what can be done with TSW. If you're on the fence, take I punt I would say, you most likely won't regret it. If you like your realistic modern UK routes, with ultra detail, you're in for a treat. The only thing is, all upcoming UK routes have a tough task to equal this with all the trackside clutter/details. Also equally impressed with the foliage work, best I've seen so far considering the rather limited tree assets available at the moment. Looks very natural, the guys at ATS have clearly taken the time to create a very immersive scene from the cab.

 

The route looks well modelled possibly they used google maps, but disappointingly the Edgeley Park Stadium which backs onto the Edgeley sidings is missing. The other thing l found was the bee collectable in the reception area by the pillar in Piccadilly Station concourse as shown on Neal TV8 route task video is missing. Perhaps these minor mishaps will be sorted with a later patch.

 

One thing I wanted to ask is this have ATS given us a bonus Easter egg or is it me because I know they Alan stated in the dtg preview stream the 323 pretty much as us but was doing the hour long scenario and happened to noticed a recessed area near the light clusters on the class 323 near drivers cab doors and discovered that there’s a working external cab door close button in this area is this a something new ? Can’t say I’ve noticed it on the other 323’s in tsw

 

That’s a collision waiting to happen where those two tracks are far too close to each other. It’s not like that in real life.

 

Thanks - A better job than Just Trains

 

In 2022 TfW 150/2 and 153 were still covering for absent classes on Cardiff - Manchester services
150.284 leads 153.312 out of Stockport towards Manchester - 06 Sept 2022




Peter

 

Sounds like not much has changed since my days working as a Controller for Wales & West et al. Always on your knees for sets, stepping up at Cardiff, turning round at Newport and in a few cases pinching the Valleys C396 and C397 for a run up the N&W in lieu of a 155 or latterly 158!

 

But in the point about Stockport viaduct at least it has the handy turn back functionality simulated

 

In theory you should be able to turn around from the North by reversing in P1 or P3a.
From the South you can only arrive in P3 or P4 so you have to shunt and reverse on the Down Fast on the Viaduct.

 

Like it a lot so far despite a few bugs that should have been squashed before release.

Very impressive overall for a new dev- looking forward to more from ATS!

 

Quite an impressive route. Liking it at lot so far. It’s nice that you can explore the entire concourse at Manchester Piccadilly Station.

 

Well it's disappointing to read that Edgeley Park Football stadium is not modelled. It's a major landmark that has been there since the 1890's and it's not as if you really need to look hard for it because if you look to your left approaching the station heading from Crewe it's right in front of you, not exactly in the distance where you have to look hard for it.

Anyways, won't put me off buying it as it does look all round a top route, just bugs me when major landmarks are missing from routes

 

Can I just check, is this not advised for Xbox Series S? Does it crash all the time like other routes seem to?

 

At Heaton Chapel I have some strange ballast. This is on PC.


Is this a known issue?

 

Played for 4 hours found 12/10 newspapers. Some statios dont have any collectibles at all. Checked the main menu for collectible types and quantities like for every other route but theres nothing there. Fps Ardwick to Longsight is average 7-20 fps. Theres OLE on the track in both Depots. Stockport Depot is only accesesible by train or by foot via the tracks as theres a fence at the top of the stairs near the station exit. Lifts which work have their buttons closed on the outside where lifts that dont have their buttons open. MAN concourse lifts to Taxi rank have the luttom mirrored on all three floors. Platform 12 lift is half a brick wall. Lifts at Stockport take you up but not down. Various escalators have invisible walls. Longite depot is too empty theres a pendo a starship and a gronk in there. Station signage font is all incorrect even though said font is in the public domain. Station signs in the style line have a backwards Double arrows logo on the reverse
Platform 11/12s concourse doors are sealed. Platform 14 escalators not there in real life has an invisible wall top and bottom. Platform 13 PIS shows seemingly everything but 13 departures. The pis in the satelite lounge (top of the travelators) display platform 10 and 13, should be 14/14 only. And this might just be a me problem but TPWs in Picadilly seems too sensetive as ive been stopped a couple times whilst significantly below the speed limit. There is more but this feels more like paying to be a beta tester than playing a finished game. This is playing on Xbox series X with all addons apart from scotrail 158

 

Ive only had a few crashes and they knly seem to occur once ive put some traffic into Longsite to make it feel a bit more realistic playing on Series X

 

You can get as far as the end of the first travelators less than expected

 

Not on Xbox but you can't climb back onto the platforms on Xbox though

 

At least its got the pyramid. No plaza though

 

That's not a small addition though is it?
Isn't the distance to Crewe much longer than the actual route itself?
So more than doubling it the size?
It would then become a different route entirely.
Crewe to Manchester is enough to make a mid-sized TSW route itself. Isn't it 30 or 40 miles?

 

Well, and I guess if you add Crewe, you need to add in all the depots and yards etc too, which is a massive undertaking

 

Finding this a good route for driving short runs when all I have is 30 minutes or less. Don't have the TfW overlay since I don't have Cardiff, and don't plan to get it. Don't find this an issue though. ATS has done a good job in creating the 'world' for the route, as I tend to be in the sim to drive trains, I stay in the driver's seat 99% of the time, Allen said in the stream that his folks focused on how the route looked from that seat and wanted those of us who were primarily drivers to have a good experience.

 

I have this issue too on PC. Have logged an error report

 

I thought I was the only one. Can you let the forum know the outcome as there must be others with this issue.

 

Same for me as well. It's been acknowledged over on the ATS Facebook group. Apparently it's already fixed and will be in the next patch. Though they didn't say when that would be.

 

I know Cardiff has a bad reputation, but the 153 is really well made and the layers add a lot to this route both driving and as AI, IMO.

I'd absolutely recommend it on a discount- not sure if it's part of the current Steam summer sale, but if you can get it for the price of a loco DLC you get an okay route as a bonus lol. I honestly think it's better than its rep- it's fun for quick drives and has a lot of service pattern variety.v

 

Yeh and I think a lot of people would prefer that. Hell I really don't see why they can't do extensions in this way:
1. Release this short route as a stand alone dlc (say DLC1)
2. Carry on working on it to make it longer or whatever
3. Release the extended route as a new DLC (say DLC2) at a discounted price for those that bought the original shorter route

That way it would work as sort of like an expansion pack for those that bought the shorter route or a more expensive long route for those that didn't. You would of course keep the shorter route (dlc 1) available for those that don't want to pay as much or just want a short route.

This would also mean you could expand the route without needing the absolutely immersion destroying route hopping feature.

 

I think the problem IvyJoanTurner is that they don't know there's a market for that extension. It'd cost as much or more than the original MAC, and is there a customer demand for the Crewe to Manchester bit?
Honest question.
I don't know the answer.
Not familiar at all with the commuter traffic in that stretch or if people would want to drive it.
There's nothing stopping them from making that bit in the future if a lot of people request it.

 

Thank you for the feedback.. Strange that so little people have spoken out, I wonder if it's on PC only.

 

Well they closed it but I think that is because it has been sent to the developers as a bug. So I wont get a specific update on it but looks like a fix will be coming soon. Be pleased to see that as otherwise this is a superb route. Short but I am OK with that personally.

 

Missing OLE gantrys outside Airport and a floating NS sign

 

My first post on the issue but had it since launch, at least for me it's a funny but not really game breaking bug so I don't see any real urgency in making a big deal over it.

Edit to add I use PlayStation and not PC

 

No route maps, which is disappointing. Hope they add them in the future.

 

Love placing a route map, me. Part of the TSW furniture, so to speak.

 

Patch downloaded just now and issue fixed. Pleased.