Firstly, it keeps the game on the storefront. More people will see it, more people will play it, more people will become part of this hobby. If it stays as TSW5 with no major updates it will disappear into the void and attract next-to-no new players. Many games have suffered this fate. Secondly, it’s FREE. Yes I understand reinstalling your content every year is annoying for some, but it’s 2025, 99% of people have got good internet and can manage it fine. And if you have got slower internet it might take a few days to get it all installed… a few days vs the 365 days of a year… surely that’s an ok sacrifice if you’re always playing the game? Also, we begged for free upgrades and they gave it to us. They could still easily be forcing £30-40 out of us every year but they aren’t. Let’s appreciate that for once. Thirdly, is it not clear yet that this will happen every year? We have been used to this in TSC for 15+ years now, and yet people were still somehow shocked at the announcement, as if this wasn’t foreseeable. Would the game miraculously be loads better and amazing if they didn’t do these yearly updates? No. It makes absolutely no difference. There is no net negative to TSW6 existing.
TSC is completely different. In TSC the game stays as the same exact thing but it just renumbers and nothing else, you don't have to reinstall everything, none of the reviews get wiped on the stores, no mods break. Just... No. I wish it could work the way it does for TSC, but apparently that cant happen. Anyway, not sure why you felt the need to make a whole thread defending it, people can make their own minds up about it because we all see it for what it is.
If it is more of the same content then personally I am not interested in it. I will get the free upgrade but there is nothing in TSW getting me interested now. Maybe there will be a route I might be interested in with the new iteration, but TSW whilst looking great and having some very good features, content wise does little for me. The routes either seem to short, incomplete or much of the same modern content. I haven't even bought the JT class 86 which would have surprised me six months ago and don't even have TSW installed. The lack of steam content and the excitement over a short modern commuter route was the final nail in the coffin for me, the sim for me does not feel complete when such an important part of railway history has been glossed over as it if never happened, save for one under developed and abandoned route. I am sticking to TSC for now until if or when TSW offers a more varied experience, not dominated by modern EMU's. I used to be so positive about it but that seems like a different world now.
I don't know that anyone was " begging " for a free upgrade to TSW6. Frankly after last year, I don't know that DTG had a choice. I think the only real reason that there is a free upgrade is the same reason as last year. Just like TSW4, TSW5 is unfinished. The problems that have emerged from TSW5, especially on console, have not been fixed. And some content, like the GWE overhaul and the Santa Fe pack were expected in TSW5 but didn't arrive. It would be disingenuous to charge money for upgrading to "6 " when the promised patches and content, which should already be in players' hands, just aren't. And no-one in his/her right mind would pay £30-40 for an upgrade without any new content. In any case the free starter pack's purpose is to persuade people to purchase routes and locos that will be playable only if you have TSW6. So it's really a matter of money. You're entitled to post any opinion you wish, but I don't think you've thought this one through.
Your first point is kinda wrong since multiple games will appear on the store front even if it’s a update, pretty sure overwatch 1 was just updated then became overwatch 2 and was on the store front for a week or more for just a update instead of having to re-download it same with a few other games in the end it’s just flat out pointless giving us tsw 6 when we know most of the problems won’t be fixed since there’s still bugs from tsw 2
You are assuming that DTG can attract new players into an already niche hobby, especially if its on the front of console storefronts, which honestly, will just be glazed over by the average gamer in general.
Couldn’t the OP just have dropped their thoughts into one of the many existing TSW6 threads, rather than start a new one.
What about the added issues which come with each new edition? Every time they've re-released the game at least one platform has lost access to at least part of their collection for a few weeks/month on top of the bugs. If they just focused on getting the game right then maybe it'd be smoother but every release so far has been a bit of a car crash. Look at what happened last year with WCMLS etc. If they could get it right and make it smooth it wouldn't be so bad imo.
And not forget rebranding the game each year, conveniently removes any negative reviews of both TSW itself and all the content. How many people bother copying their reviews across from previous versions.
I see. I have to go thru this same b every year downloading everything again so dtg don't have to spend a penny on advertising. Dtg assumes that everyone has hi speed internet, like my doctors assume I have nothing better to do, so I can sit on hold for 2 hours to get an appointment but can't walk into the surgery and book one.
There is nothing wrong with it, but there is nothing special about it either. It has become routine and boring and does not arouse any expectation or hype. I still remember when TSW 3 was unveiled with that countdown, and the whole community speculating on the images that were appearing. You could tell they were trying to be clever. Now, they reveal it in the July roadmap with a sad video, where not even the people in it show any joy or enthusiasm for what they're saying xd
and also remembering that whoever bought the caltrain dlcs will probably have to keep tsw5 installed (and stopped in time as updates will no longer be provided for it) because of tsw6
It’s a new release at the end of every summer, which l have no objection to. Same as TSC but there you don’t have to download all your existing content into the new game. This concerns me about TSW, as it takes me 20 minutes to download 1gb of content. I would be much happier if the new game was installed into the old game. I also cannot see the point of releasing a new game full of bugs until they make the old game bug free. If you can do without the new game, for the time being, it will have 80% off next summer!!!
"There is nothing wrong with TSW6" said the OP. However, 30 minutes earlier, he also said this about TSW5. Hopefully he really can see into the future.
The main issue with releasing a game every year, is that there is now no game without issues. Older bugs are fixed in some of the newer games, but not in de older ones. Existing bugs and issues are transfered over to the latest version of the game and new bugs will be introduced. So in fact none of the excisting games is finished. Lately I played TSW2 and noticed multiple bugs and issues solved in one of the later version of the game. I don't know in what version it's fixed exactly, but it's solved in TSW5. Keeping the same game and only release DLC's also has downsides. When a game is in active development, it's very likely new bugs will be introduced with updates. I think it can gain some trust when bugs are fixed before going to new version and not leave the old version behind with still existing and reported bugs.
I just think there must be other ways of keeping TSW relevant to new players than having to create a whole new version from scratch and forcing everyone to download gigabytes upon gigabytes of existing content all over again.
On my local games news website, I saw a news article about the upcoming TSW6. I never see any news post about an upcoming DLC or update for TSW. So from a marketing point of view, I maybe can understand it a little bit. However, the comments under the article where not that possitive, again another game, DTG practices, that kind of stuff.
1. Simply update the game with any new core features or bug fixes on an ongoing basis, free to existing players. 2. Only reissue the base game when the engine version changes, if that's necessary. 3. Drop the version numbering process. Call it TSW and scrap the annual nonsense. 4. Make the free starter pack a permanent offer for new players. Maybe include one existing route to get them started. Make money from dlc. 5. Advertise in gaming magazines and see if it attracts new players. 6. Offer new route bundles at discounted prices each holiday season. 7. Release dlc regularly and always offer pre-order discounts and special offers to existing players, as with MAC.
Games like world of warships or whatever that war game is called seem to manage okay. Every time I look at the Xbox store there's yet another bundle listed under new releases you can buy and doesn't seem like you have to re-download 100s of gigabytes every week they release a new bundle.
1-3 aren't relevant to "other ways of keeping TSW relevant to new player" For 4, time will tell if they keep it free for the duration of TSW6+ life 5, gaming magazines while I love them personally, are a relic of the past and aren't anything like a substantial advertising revenue stream 6 is done anyway with the annual release, though its not quite "holiday season" World of Warships has a concurrent player peak of 400k+ on Steam alone and an average of around 10-15k a month players so they're obviously doing well enough financially to advertise the game and make these new bundles, not to mention its a live service game with microtransactions. Do you want that for TSW?
Gotta disagree. For relevant think attractive. Keeping the game fresh, bug free and up-to-date is definitely relevant. And scrapping the annual download? If I bought the game today ( July 23 ) and then found out I had to download it all over again in 2 months, I might be so pissed off I would abandon the game.
Its important for sure, but not relevant to a new player (assuming new player = just bought/claimed TSW for the first time) As much as a chunk of people on the forums dislike downloading stuff on an annual basis, we are in no way representative of the masses. Gaming in general is and has been for some time in the era of the multi GB download on a very regular basis; it is now the norm and not the exception. I have no idea what the demographics are for TSW, but estimates by SteamDB are around the 120k mark, then add in consoles. There's what, 100 active people on the forums (I'm not counting), most of which are train nerds (including me) to varying degrees, and I would say many are 40+ yrs old and, if gaming for years, were brought up and lived through physical media for most of their youth and early adulthood. Kids and young adults now will not bat an eyelid at downloading a patch or new version of something they bought/claimed in the last month. Evidence: Fortnite, Genshin Impact, Zenless Zone Zero, any other live service game, all have 10/20/30GB updates on a bi/trimonthly basis and have tens of millions of players
Much prefer only having to download 30 to 89 gbs max instead of tsw 390+ gbs, also the other games actually try to take down the size of the game like I will download a Genshin update which is 50+ gbs and it will only add a few gbs to the actual size of the game at the end also to add the other games actually add new stuff that doesn’t normally cost the player money like Genshin adding a new part of the map or a new event
Is there really a difference between 100+ addons and normal Microtransactions? and this game already kinda acts like a live service game with the current Caltrain problem, like most people won’t have two versions of the game installed for 3 addons and the rest of their collection. also to add there’s truly nothing stopping them from doing a tsw 2/ farming simulator way of having two years between versions Or even better transport fever 2 having 5+ years between its next version look most people in general are looking for a game that runs well and is well maintained aka not having bugs from years ago, General people are also not a fan of having to buy stuff constantly, so maybe a few freeware addons could bring new people into this game
As far as I'm concerned, there is nothing WRONG, nor is there anything RIGHT about TSW6 because we simply do not know anything about it to make any form judgement about it...
People, why are you defending/hating something that you haven't personally seen and don't even know what it will be like? Let's at least wait for the full announcement, not the announcement of the announcement, and then we'll split into two camps and start a fight according to the good old tradition.
Maybe it’s fact it’s happened 3 times now and only one was actually being worth the new version, which was tsw 3 with the new lighting, the other two were a waste of time and could have just been updates and going off this pattern its pretty safe to say this new version will be the same
"There Is Nothing Wrong With Tsw6" Because it hasn't been released yet. Guarantee when it's out there will be something wrong with it, past history proves that!
They couldn"t, wouldn't and won't. Previously, with the repulsive yearly paid update sales model, I walked away from the franchise for years and proudly stuck two fingers up at DTG. I am grateful for the free starter pack as it now morally allows me to remain part of the game. I appreciate that they have done the right thing but it is a two way transaction. DTG should (and IMHO now do) appreciate me as a valued customer who hands over my money to them and expects a working and fully supported product without having to pay EXTRA every year just for the latest updates to something I have already bought. The yearly DLC downloads is an irritating grind but is not a deal breaker. Having to pay for yearly updates for a game I have already bought 3 times most definitely is. The current situation, whilst not perfect, is a very satisfactory compromise and I will happily download the free starter pack for TSW6 as soon as it is released.
The problem isn't TSW6. Why does it have to be a new game every year? It's not like sports games where they actually get updated squads and new features. Train Simulator worked fine for years getting an in game upgrade rather than an entirely separate game. Especially now that TSW upgrades are free there's literally no reason for a new release every year, just update the game and keep it the same game just updated.
By the way, DTG aren't going to be sending you any free DLC as a thank you for being on their side. Remember: companies are never your friend.
So youre saying DTG wont be paying people who are trying to have a brighter perspective on Tsw 6 rather than just looking at possible downsides? Well then i will change my opinion if i wont get Tsw 6 for free.
So by trying to go against the narrative and shine some light in this otherwise miserable forum, it’s assumed I’m after free content? That’s awesome.
Totally Agree with what,s been said a newer version of the game will have to be made to keep the franchise Alive otherwise it could be the demise of TSW
This forum is miserable because there aren't that many things to be happy about. The reaction to TSW6 was generally much better than to TSW5 and 4. DTG were correct that notifying us that the new game is coming early would be better for the community. A thread like this wasn't really needed to begin with. However, your post did manage to misinterpret the very real criticisms of TSW6. Purely hypothetical. Looking at player counts on SteamDB, the number of people playing any TSW game only starts to go down after the next game releases. While the internet is a cause for concern, the main issue is the act of transferring save data and mods. Even if downloads were instantaneous, this would still be an issue. And on that note, Train Simulator has received free updates since 2009. However, every version has used the same core game. They're all 24010 - a key for RailWorks can activate the current version of TS, just with different DLC included. The situation we have in TSW has left us with six interchangeable cores that don't need to exist. They're almost identical. DTG could, if they wanted to, release the yearly route bundle as a DLC for one core. This is how it has been in TS since they moved away from the Kuju routes in 2012. This is the way TSW should be.
