What Happened To Simtrack Studios?

in past roadmaps there was the peak forest railway expansion pack along with the class 104 and there was also a "DE Loco" all of this have suddenly disappeared from the roadmap and was never seen again... any theory/speculation why? or what happened with these projects and also with simtrack studios?

 

I believe they've been assisting other developers. Other developers have mentioned simtrack helped with scenarios, although I forget who said that.

 

I’ve been wondering this myself we have had no updates on the progress on the class 104 for a long time and I thought we would have one on today’s roadmap.

 

I believe Simtrack Studios have created the scenarios for the upcoming Class 805 'Evero' pack from All Aboard Studios. That’s all that has been mentioned of them as of late .

 

A very good question.

If the Class 104 and PFR timetable makeover are truly dead I just wish DTG would come out and say so. Or Simtrack themselves.

 

IIRC they’ve been helping with the 805 timetable, the 104 was put on hold because of other personal commitments but it would be nice to see them continue with it as peak forest could do with a refresh

 

Really wish they would stop helping other routes and just get this thing out already

 

It's a shame as additional 1st gen DMUs would be most welcome. The class 104 in BR blue guise would be quite useful on the JT routes as they could be found around the North West into the 90s.

 

Even Matt at one point during his recent charity stream said "Assume the 104 pack is cancelled"

I think it's like the 420 where it's currently not being worked on but could reappear in the future. I have heard from someone at Simtrack that the loco artist is very busy with real life at the moment.

 

This might be a controversial take, but the way they’ve handled comms has left a bad taste in my mouth.

First off they announce & show off parts of the 104 pack, then it goes quiet & they eventually add the German loco to upcoming.

Then they don’t elaborate at all on the progress of either pack.

Then we have to get told from other studios that they’ve been working on small scale content for them instead.

Obviously we don’t know what rules DTG have in place for communication etc, but given the comms from other 3P’s, it can’t be that restrictive.

Ultimately the whole situation leaves me with little confidence in any product they may or may not release. So far they’ve only managed to release a small skin pack a couple of years ago, then just make initial announcements for 2 projects. Since then they’ve only worked on scenarios for other studios. Whilst I’m certainly not owed content from them, they aren’t giving me the impression that they can release their own content & support it as needed afterward.

 

All of which leads back to the fact that DTG execs should not be running round like excited children announcing these projects to the public domain until they at least have proof of alpha in their possession. I still have doubts about more than one of the items in the current roadmap. A little caution would not go amiss.

 

Yes it seems wildly inconsistent as to what DTG will announce to us.

You’ve got on one hand projects which don’t seem to exist in any meaningful way, the other things which are in the hands of beta players on pre-release builds.

An example of this being the Simtrack German loco for the former, then the Class 220 for the latter. The Voyager was completely denied & outright stated from the EP as something which didn’t exist, only for the near completed product shown to us just weeks later.

 

I think they bit off more than they could chew with the 104 sadly.

 

which ones? ima very curious

 

Simtrack are most active on the train sim community Discord server however they don't really communicate much tbh and I agree they could be a lot more transparent. The loco artist for the 104 used to be on the server but he left a while ago, unfortunately.

 

I have a feeling (maybe a 'hope') that they are abandoning the original idea of a vintage era HVL and instead focus on the route as a Manchester - Sheffield route via the Hope Valley. Sheffield seems to be an obvious missing city from the franchise so far.

There would already be good assets, as part of the line is already in the Glossop route.

It also seems that modern routes sell very well indeed.

Having a modern route means it could have a lot of layers and make it very busy, which i dont think would be possible on a vintage era due to lack of era specific rolling stock.

A modern era could use all the current DMUS such as the 150s. It could also use the Class 20 from Hope Valley Cement Work and the modern freight thats already available in TSW.

I just think a modern version would work out much better.

And, it could still have vintage railtours too if we want to run older stock like the 104.

In real life its one of my favourite routes and i think I would just die if they release a modern busy version.
A boy can dream, right?

 

Tadami (obviously).

But I also have the "Doubting Thomas" hat on with regard to the Portuguese and a lesser extent Czech route. How much have DTG seen to encourage these are more than just proof of concept? I am however more than happy to be proved wrong as the Czech route probably No.1 on my wishlist right now.

 

Speaking about the Tadami line really disappointed it’s been pushed till Spring 2026, but who knows it might not even come out in TSW 6 and might come out in 7.

 

It wouldn't surprise me if Tadami slipped to TSW7. At least we can hope that it will be Gen 9 and PC only.

 

Where did they say that? Matt seemed to be suggesting that they were in the testing and polishing stage!

 

with a lot of luck maybe the tadami line will come out with tsw9

edit: tadami line even surpassed DB BR 420 which is about to arrive

 

It was said here on a video Spursrail96 did Here.

 

Okay fair enough, I am surprised they were that specific about it.

It seems it isn't too far away and I am sure will be worth the wait.

 

Maybe Simtrack should just stick to scenarios to be honest? They have just left a bad taste in my mouth tbh.

Because I seem to remember they came onto the forums a while ago and seemed quite eager to point out they were taking their time with the 104, IIRC they also seemed a little upset by the notion of people saying it was Vapourware at the time and look how that aged.

 

True but it’s better that it’s not rushed as this is definitely one of the most hyped routes.

 

Exactly, those moaning about the length of time it is taking, would be the first to jump in feet first if it gets released rushed with faults. Damned if you do and damned if you don't.

 

Yep, and when a route is rushed it releases with bugs and then there has to be a few patches to fix the route so give them the benefit of the doubt it’s there first route so I would think they would want to make a good first impression.

 

Well I hope it isn't vapourware as we are unlikely to get any more first generation DMU's, unless a group like Just Trains surpises us. It also means I will never touch PFR again, which then becomes a waste of money.

If they said it is still happening but won't be released in the near or even medium distant future then at least we would know.

I don't understand the cloak and dagger stuff! Either it is cancelled or it isn't.

 

I'm not sure how long ago their visit to the forums was but it was ages ago.

I think DTG really need to get out in front of this and just put it to bed. They will know if it is or isn't happening.

 

No, it was said in this news article. Youtube channels that don't link their sources disgust me.

 

Yep, I couldn’t find the link to the article so I thought to link the video instead and thanks for linking the article.

 

Devs gotta eat. Contract work pays money now, development work is all done on spec

 

Slightly OT but a great parallel to Farm Sim 25. It’s actually far more lucrative to do contract work on NPC fields using hired equipment rather than work your own fields incurring huge maintenance and fuel costs on owned equipment!

 

I darent buy Farm Sim.

My autistic a$$ would be just utterly addicted. Like I already am with Transport Fever 2 and TSW while obsessively watching any update or roadmap for the HVL.

 

I mean Union Workshop are at least an established developer (even if they are taking their sweet time with it), arguably the fact its taking as long as it is means they should have 0 excuses if there are any bugs with it.

 

I approach the Roadmap, especially the items on the " sometime in the future " section with a " believe it when I see it " attitude.

I'd love to see the Czech, Portuguese and Japanese routes in the game, but I won't be putting funds aside just yet.

This business with the PFR and 104 has really given me a skeptical outlook on this stuff.

I'm a little more confident about the Santa Fe pack than I was a few weeks ago, but I take nothing for granted.

 

I think they should put the "DE Loco" back on the roadmap just for the meme. No one knows what it is and it's always in the "furthest in the future" section.
j/k

But I really hope these 3rd party routes (Czech, Portugese, Japanese) will see the light of day because I find them very interesting.

 

That route surely must be lose making by now. Time = Money etc

 

That all depends on whether that time is charged out to somebody or if it is like hobby time, free.

 

if i'm not mistaken, union workshop is two chinese guys, right? it seems to me to be like just trains, just a hobby of two enthusiasts (which results in a final product that takes longer to develop but is much more complete and polished)

 

I think Just Trains is more than " a hobby of two enthusiasts ".

 

That's what ended manorial feudalism, at least in England. More dependable revenue for landlords to lease the land to peasant farmers rather then run the fields themselves with their labor.

 

in fact, that's exactly what it is, however, in the case of just trains, as they have been producing content for tsw for much longer, they are already much more experienced
tadami line is the first project for union workshop guys hence all this development delay

 

JT are at least 5 people. Search for posts by JT Thomas and you'll find out.

 

Polishing that route will at least still require adding some new character models and making sure many more of them will spawn on that route than the regular ones. One of Tadami screenshots from the last roadmap has shown one person on a platform that looked like a regular guy you can see on UK, German or US routes (maybe that's why there was only one person on the platform and trains were completely empty, as 99% of the rest of people are still non-existing).

 

What's "HVL" out of interest?

 

Hi there.

Its Hope Valley Line

 

Not for the Tadami Line!

 

So you say we'll need to accept seeing 1 Caucasian guy standing on a platform in Aizu-Wakamatsu instead of 10 Asians and 0.1 Caucasians?

 

I was confused by what your point was.