All Aboard Studios Route- Crewe To Birmingham New Street.

I really wish there was more consistency within TSW, some routes are feature rich and really keep you immersed on your travels, others omit key features that should have been included.

Tunnel reverb is another that springs to mind, some devs include it, others don't. There really should be an official tick list of features that are expected to be included, with support provided to third parties on how to implement them.

 

There should be one at Bourne End, about half way between Hemel Hempstead and Berkhamstead, it doesn't appear to be there. I've just driven the 350/1 in TSW 6 on the down slow between those stations and saw no lineside signage, no APC magnets trackside and the line light stayed lit throughout. Perhaps someone could point us to a specific location where there is a neutral section implemented?

 

I've definitely seen those black and then white signs, similar to Preston-Carlisle, and there are definitely a few of them, but I just thought it was just "illustrative" and I didn't notice anything related to it..... but maybe I just don't notice it and it does something.

EDIT: Just to clarify, I'm still talking about the WCML South route.

 

I've just checked for the neutral section just south of Leighton Buzzard and on the Up Slow at least it's partially implemented. There's a black sign followed by a white one and just after passing the white sign the MCB opened on the 87 and the line light went out but came back on straight away rather than after a short interval equivalent to the time taken to pass between the 'Off' and 'On' magnets. There are no APC magnets placed at that location though.

 

Yes, you get red throttle lockout when you go into them.

 

It is exactly where you say.

Try driving a 350/1 from HH to Berk (or vice versa) and you will get red lockout box on entry.

Doesn't do anything though.

 

They were going to create a checklist for internal staff at one point as key features were getting missed off routes and rolling stock, but I don't know what became of that. Not even sure if there any internal staff building routes now as it all seems to be subcontracted out.

 

You're right it is there, I missed it the last time, but I still didn't see any signs travelling in the down direction. I used the 87 because I know it responds to neutral sections and the invisible Bourne End neutral section did trip the MCB but as at Leighton Buzzard the line light came back on immediately. Better than nothing I suppose but no match for the fully modelled neutral sections on Preston - Carlsle.

 

Plenty of ambassador content live this morning. Just watching Tin Tin’s gameplay only video and looks great so far - no signs that the fog on the preview stream was hiding anything untoward.

 

Not long ️

 

What's with the Ambassadors being restricted to only showing gameplay from the PC version of the route?... The British Ace (on YouTube) said PlayStation 5 gameplay being published before release was 'banned'.

 

Watched part of Dad Rail's preview stream. He's very sold on the route and I agree the modeling is exceptional.

Tempting in a way, but it is yet another emu driven commuter route and I wonder how much I would replay it. These trains are so darn quiet it really increases the tedium. So little track noise with the pendolino and no motor sounds, at least on this occasion. Quite a bit of hitching and stuttering too.

The other thing is, with DTG's inconsistent and unpredictable release schedule, you don't know what's coming up next and how soon.

So I'll save my money for the time being, though I might get this when it goes on sale just for the excellent and detailed modeling.

 

Where would the freight start and finish on this route. Thanks

 

Dilemma here as well. Persuaded my missus to let me put £20 in the petty cash pot in return for paying same as a top up onto Steam in readiness. Although I've not watched any of the streams your report from the DadRail one does raise a few issues. Why on earth would they neglect to set up decent sound properties for the track and why would the 350 and Pendolino sounds from WCMLS (which were quite reasonable, especially the Pendie) be nerfed for this. Have AABS fudged something up or was it just the stream? Likewise the hitching, has DadRail run the route previously in which case the shaders be in place or was this his maiden voyage? We also don't know anything about Dadrail's hardware, whether he pushes 4K, uses Lossless Scaling etc. and I don't think he frequents these forums to ask.

Oh well I guess we have the console players' buffer zone to 1800 for some guidance and then the two hour refund window should be enough time to get from Birmingham to Crewe and make an assessment.

 

He did mention that he was running on all ultra settings and that might account for the stuttering.

He did not comment on the Pendolino sounds which, to me were very muted both inside and out.
Platform announcements were present, though I don't recall any on-board.

Overall, I was impressed with the route building. All Aboard might be one of the best of the UK 3Ps. Question is whether it's the kind of route in the era I want more of. Probably not.

And of course the trains are ones we've seen before elsewhere. Nothing new there. I still think $40 is too much for this.

There are things I want like the JT, HIS and Stamford routes which might all come soon and my Steam wallet isn't bottomless.

 

We haven't made any changes to sounds on the 390 and 350 so im unsure what you mean by this? We changed the track roughness per different section of the route to be accurate to real life, this also creates a more realistic suspension experience of the trains. I'd need some examples of what you mean to try and reproduce it my end

 

Yeah agreed. It's a brilliant route visually but with the traction involved I doubt I'd play the route for more than a few hours. Would definitely get on a nice sale though.

 

I watched a bit of that stream and the Pendolino sounds seemed normal to me compared to WCMLS. I think he might have just had his game volume turned down a bit so you could hear his commentary.

 

Just say you two won’t get the route at all.

Kezz they will constantly do anything to downgrade this route.

 

I really enjoyed British Ace doing the 390 of the videos I've seen. He likes to stop to take pictures; and he made a point of stopping to see some of the extra details, like the bridge markers and the entry access signage. Only 30 minutes if you've got the time because it was just direct from Wolves to New St (behind traffic)

 

Actually I've been quite complimentary about the quality of the route.

In your posts you've shown a total unwillingness to allow any criticism. Are you connected to the developer in some way perhaps?

 

Ah yes, you could be right about that. I did a brief comparison with the pendolino sounds on the DTG stream and they also seemed quiet, particularly track and joint sounds. Either that or the pendolino cab has very effective noise canceling .

My first move when driving any train is to crack open the windows. Not sure if you can do that on that train.

Being able to hear and feel track and joint/switch sounds is essential for me. And they are very noticeable on, say, the trains on Morristown, which is what I'm mostly driving at the moment.

 

That is true, I agree myself have shown a total of unwillingness to show any criticism at all. Due to the fact this is a local line for me, I live in Shrewsbury and do this Line quiet a lot to New Street so being able to drive a line along a line I see a lot makes me very happy. Also the fact we will have a fully busy New street, Wolverhampton and Crewe as well is amazing. Also long 390 runs as well is something I have wanted. Also I love to support Third Parties. I like to save any criticism till I play the game then I can fully say my opinions. I can't give an opinion on something that I haven't played.

 

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Yes you can do open the 390 windows.

 

I'm glad to see the ambassadors were highly complementary of Crewe to Birmingham, I think it's probably one of the most positive receptions and reviews I've ever seen for TSW DLC.

I will be getting this as soon as it is released tomorrow morning, and I can see the level of playability and quality it has in store. If this is AAS entry into TSW, then we have a lot to look forward too! A modern era 'JT'.

 

Ambassadors are always going to be complementary even if the route or dlc is utter guff

 

The only one I watch regularly is British Ace, but he's always been good at showing problems, e.g. if a route has blurry textures on PS5 he will highlight it the moment it happens.

At the end of the day they are train fans and fans of the game, of course they come across as positive, they are talking about subjects they enjoy.

 

I've seen quite the opposite in fact. I remember Fife Circle as one example getting some quite critical feedback from the ambassadors.

The ambassadors aren't there to completely promote a route they are there to also hand out fair criticism too. The British Ace is a good example of that if you've ever watching his content.

 

Fixed that for you.

Personally id also be incredibly positive if the game & all of its content was free.

 

He said that he'd run the full length of the route prior to the streamed run and that the hitching wasn't down to the streaming but what we saw was what he was seeing.

 

Thanks Andy, that's useful to know.

 

Pretty odd how even the usual console streamers have been showing the DLC on PC. Guessing texture issues are a ‘feature’ for consoles again.

 

There's no early access possible for PS5, so if they are streaming ahead of release date it has to be on PC (or maybe Xbox possibly but I am not sure about their rules).

 

There has always been previews of console builds the day before release.

 

Not true at all, The British Ace did Early Access streams on his PS5 a day before release. I believe something fishy is going on, but who knows.

 

Crosstie OldVern
Don’t worry if I do find any bugs and whatever I will post them here and on the feedback page as well.

 

Appreciate that. I was just having a quick wibble through the various streams. The RichyRail one is quite concise and I couldn’t see anything there to raise a particular concern. The only layer I haven’t got for this is the Rivet XC Class 170 pack but all that’s going to miss out on is a bit of AI at Neu Strasse.

 

This forum is fuelled on conspiracy theories. Wait and see. If it turns out to be a disaster, then you can feel smug. But, whatever happens, it's important to reflect on the fact that continued 'fortune telling' is a classic sign of a mental health problem.

 

I do not consent to being touched

 

Hahahahah Smug, ahahah you have got me dying with laughter

 

Happy to of brought smiles to peoples day

 

It did and worked well on release but was broken after the first patch so that often but not always the full brakes are applied as you hit the neutral section.

Rivet have never gone back to fix this amongst other long standing issues.

But yes as a pretty standard UK Rail piece if infrastructure NS should definitely be simulated as standard by now imo.

 

Time to start lurking on the feedback thread for the console user reports.

The first one confirms the timetable is rather borked, weren’t they supposed to be trying to get that sorted for the release version?

 

The Class 220 is not showing up in the timetable list I'm on PS5 and I own the 220?

 

It’s showing for me , check layers

 

When I first loaded in on PS5 it was just a load of blurry textures. Very low fps around Birmingham. Much smoother now out in the country past Wolverhampton (also low fps).

 

It's showing now I had reinstall the Voyager.

 

I find a long relaxing strung out wibble works wonders for relieving stress

 

Have to say already regretitng buying this route on PS5

Only been playing for less thsn 5minutes

Save your money if buying on console

 

Does seem to need an awful lot of optimisation. Without teaching granny etc., this is a lesson those of us who cut our teeth in the MSTS and TSC route editors learned very quickly. You cannot keep stuffing a route with high detail and high polygon items and expect it to run decently, if at all. The catenary alone on this route probably uses up a substantial chunk of the poly budget. You need to compromise.

Well at least this is giving pointers for those of us on PC later on. A potato PC is likely to have the same issues as the consoles running this so at this point I will sit back on the fence and wait and see.

Also AABS need to be having urgent talks with DTG as to what they can strip out or replace with lower poly assets to get the performance where it needs to be.