Annual Tsw Release Must Stop

Yeah it won’t be DTG who decide to stop the TSW 7,8,9 etc. At some point the store fronts are going to turn around & say “no you can’t re-release have a terabyte of DLC every year”.

I get there’s value in having the marketing circus, but it’s not like the 4 storefronts don’t have systems in place to promote DLC’s & title updates.

Every year something major goes wrong, this year it’s Epic users getting the shaft & the ‘curated content’ is a slap in the face, layers are a massive thing & never mind the fact that the most recent releases won’t be ported over. Personally if I was an Epic user I’d be out.

Like you I don’t need to worry about download times, but there’s still issues with PS5, last year a few DLC’s never got the TSW5 icon, instead showing they were TSW4 packs, so you basically had to download multiple versions & then delete them after you identified which were which.

It’s not entirely surprising they’re persistent with this system though, it aligns with their general philosophy of not dealing with issues until they completely breakdown.

In all honesty though, we should all be concerned about what happens when the potential value of new customers, overtakes the value of the existing.

 

Well, the majority of gamedevs in the market manage to be profitable without having to engage the "new game" algorithms in the store fronts with the same game each year. I don't think, this is a valid argument anymore, especially considering what a major nuisance the whole process is for everyone else. And the "new features" are nice, but their novelty-level is kind of comparable to regular content patches in other games and don't justify a complete new release imo. Maybe the time invested every year in facilitating the re-release would be better used on improving the game itself, which can also motivate more ppl to buy in (or keep staying).

 

The one thing I’ve noticed to be fair is we’re seeing more well known & widely used trains & ToCs as headliner routes. Go back to TSW2020 for example with Caltrain, BR 45’s & DB IR on the games main image. Now it’s been things like LNER, AWC, GWR, ICE’s etc. The latter are likely way more relatable to non train sim customers & are more likely to at least look into the game in comparison to the more ‘unique’ offerings such as SD40’s & BR stock from older titles.

Still, there’s a way for them to get that publicity out there without making their current users suffer this migration which has a 50/50 chance of breaking something significant for at least one of the 4 user bases.

 

Also don’t forget the cynical view that a new version of the game with “updated” DLC, nukes all previous reviews of the content on Steam at least - good or bad. And very few people will go back through the previous editions of the game to search for archive reviews, if still available once the core game comes out of the listings.

 

Your view seems correct as according to the TSW6 Steam Store page, all previous DLC has been re-labeled as TSW6 DLC.

Re-cooked perhaps?
No doubt with all bugs, previously unfulfilled promises and marketing hoax included.

The complete TSW6 collection of base game with all 128 current DLC will cost you about € 3000.

 

One hundred percent. It definitely got me back into the game and resulted in me spending money on a fair bit of DLC in the end, whereas I didn't bother with TSW3 and 4 as it had that financial barrier which made me turn to TSC during those years lol.

 

I tried this method once and was very surprised when it didn't work. DTGs essentially store a bunch of duplicated data with minimal technical changes. How many more times do they need to reissue TSW so they have to rent a data center to store DLC?

 

DTG has said that they have to recook all the DLC for the new releases. I'm sure that the hassle of doing that and then testing, etc. is much greater than us having to simply download them, and that they'd like an easier solution if one offered itself.

 

Correct and after all is said and done they have to run it like a business,it's not excusing them for some of their practices but at the end of the day it's a fact

 

for many years what today is known as TSC did go through annual updates. The core update was free but if you wanted the new routes that took advantage of the new core features you had to purchase the bundle for a decent discount or the individual routes at standard price. It was only when they stopped doing core updates and renamed it to Train Simulator Classic did the annual updates cease.

Of course, you didn’t have to redownload your DLC, but many times the updates dud break older content. .

 

This exact business practice is likely why Epic is saying enough is enough. I don't have inside information, but it seems logical. DTG puts tons of pressure on these content distributors (Steam, Epic, etc.). It was only a matter of time for one of them to crack.

 

I have no problem with the annual release. I like the free option, and I like the idea of the special editions with some content (but they seem to be very expensive this year).

 

This yearly Release is stupid, it brake so many Things or make Mods inkompatibel as well.

Stay with one version like TSC and make a core Update plus a Bundle only