All Aboard Studios Route- Crewe To Birmingham New Street.

Hear, hear. Whether it's here or Discord (could be either or both), some people need to grow the heck up and stop taking this game so flipping seriously.

 

That’s awful, I hope those cases are being reported to DTG so those people can be banned from the forums.

Anyone hurling abuse at someone over a video game DLC need to have a serious look in the mirror and get a life. Would you say such things to people in real life? No? Then don’t be a tough guy behind the keyboard.

FWIW, I’m loving the DLC and having no major issues and my PC. I look forward to what!s next from the team.

 

?! Should have been the center square.

 

I’m fully against pm personal attacks.

but about taking this seriously makes sense because we are paying customers that should be get at least stranded Quality stuff that has been tested not used as beta testers and forced to wait for it to be fixed and sometimes not even getting a refund

 

Ha, ha. Unlikely as I had already spent an hour trying to finish a run on Bernina after purchasing and installing, first.

Need to spend more time with the route, so far some good, some bad will be posting in the Feedback thread. The tl:dr of it is, as suspected the route builder and 3D modelling can’t be faulted, it’s the bringing it altogether into a smooth driving experience that has let things down a bit.

 

I don't disagree with you, I'm referring to those who take things too far.

 

Calling for DTG to ban abusers won't work if it's not being done on this platform. This isn't the only way of communicating with developers.

 

Anybody doling out personal abuse about a train game needs to take a long hard look at themselves.

 

Sad to read that developers have received personal abuse. No matter how much you feel agrieved with TSW and those connected with it, abusing people is just childish and shows a lack of self awareness and self control. Just walk away, why let a game/simulator get into your heads so much? Even these open forums can get close to getting personal just because some can't control themselves.

It amazes me why so many come here and rage, surely life is too short unless you get a kick out of it. Some of them seem to still have the latest DLC despite apparently "hating" TSW. There are some who seem to just want to gloat when something goes wrong almost as if they are enjoying it.

Criticism should never be more than constructive in my view.

Whatever mess this route might have been/still be on some platforms it is clear a lot of attention and enthusiasm has gone into this route.

 

First of all, what a shame some of the personal abuse the team at AABS have received.

Even worse is the reaction of some of the members on here that are now falling over themselves to condemn this, and that’s only because they’ve been called out on it by Kerr. Not saying it applies to everyone and people will rush to say it’s just constructive criticism, but some of the comments I’ve seen really have cut close to the bone.

Anyway, I only purchased this route last night as I was away all week, otherwise it would have been a Day 1 purchase.

I can genuinely say no performance issues on my PC, with the exception of the known stuttering. Basford Hall / Crewe definitely the most intensive but I maintained a constant 60FPS (with the stuttering exception) on the service I ran (1F39).

The other service I’ve ran (1G18) from Wolves to Birmingham, my FPS dropped to around 45-55 at New Street but nothing majorly of concern.

The trackside clutter and attention to detail is outstanding, even placements like the bridge numbers, it’s something that you don’t notice isn’t there in other DLC’s but are now very noticeable because they are there - that makes sense right?!

I absolutely love the slab track on Platform 4C and puddles in the 4ft at Birmingham New Street, a lovely addition.

It’s such an iconic route and AABS have recreated so well, I hope some of the things are just a learning curve with it being their first DLC.

Signal delays, playing 1G18 from Wolves to Birmingham New Street, I was brought down to a red approaching Soho which after a while cleared to a green, that’s definitely a signal delay in my book! Brilliant.

Now the timetable, the timetable is jam packed driving between Wolverhampton and Birmingham New Street is an experience we’ve not really seen since London Commuter. Very, very impressive!

My negatives about the timetable are the arrival times, and the double load passengers instruction although regarding the second one I think I know what’s happened, it’s to prevent close doors on red, something I’ve seen a lot of in Riviera Line.

Playing 1F39 I had arrival times but 1G18 did not especially at New Street which was frustrating, but I know it’s being addressed. I did enjoy going Fast Line Stafford to Crewe, as I thought I’d be routed via Searchlight Lane Junction.

I did notice some of the 350/3 numbering is inaccurate too.

Overall, nothing like flying through the Midlands on the WCML or weaving between the iconic canals and viaducts on the route. An incredible attempt by AABS, nothing at all game breaking although I’ve only played two services. They’ve set the bar high with some very intensive areas, that DTG and other developers may have shyed away from. With some polish and further patches, this will hopefully be one of the best TSW DLC’s (although nothing will beat Riviera Line, sorry!)

It’s a 7.5/10 at the moment let’s see what the future patches bring.

 

Yes, I've also been seeing lots of signal delays on the Wolves to Brum direction runs (2A43, 2A49), but nothing on any other runs in B2C or Riviera. Looks like that direction works with this delay feature for some reason? Still waiting to hear from DTG how this is all implemented really.

 

Sorry to hear that Kezz someone has attacked someone of the Team. It’s now ruined it for everyone else as those who communicated with you and the team are basically getting punished for something 1 person did.
But we have to respect your wishes regardless.

 

If Lufthansa overbooks a flight, do you blame Airbus for not building a bigger plane?

 

Again you’re assuming I’ve placed the blame on one party, for one thing & rather than replying to the last time I rebuffed that, you’ve just essentially said the same thing again but this time with a laughable analogy about airline booking systems.

 

Yeah. Some people on the forum are fond of using analogies, many of them are outlandish, but this one is way out in left field, actually not even in the ballpark!

 

Yes I should clarify that laughable wasn’t meant insultingly, it did genuinely get a chuckle.

Definitely one of the most bizarre ones I’ve seen.

 

Would you like another? AAS is trying to get a quart into a pint pot, but some think it's the pot-maker's fault.
Simply put, AAS (like ATS recently) has built a DLC which weaker machines can't handle. This is not DTG's fault. No waving of a Magic Optimization Wand can make routes this detailed run well on consoles or weaker PCs.

 

Understand what you are saying there im On xbox series x it's dont expect excellent performance. I Just want a little less blurr and no more AI trains SPAD.

 

They could probably reduce the vegetation slightly, might help a bit with performance. Seems a bit overkill in places.

However as I just posted in the feedback thread, I am totally zenned out after a very nice run from Birmingham to Crewe on the 390. Looking forward to dropping back in later on this evening for another little drive.

 

Yeah, we've been told for years that the 'high' quality settings for vegetation etc. are a match for the spec of a PS5. We absolutely should be getting more detailed routes for higher end equipment, but if you select 'high' it should still be able to perform on spec matching a PS5.

Detail that a PS5 can't cope with should only appear when selecting 'ultra', the minimun PC spec hasn't changed in all these years, so selecting 'low' should still deliver a stable performance for those players, and at the other end of the scale, PCs have moved forwards a lot in the last 8 years so there should probably be another tier above ultra for the new high-end players to enjoy.

TSW was created to target console players, and still supports low-end PCs, it is entirely possible to add extra detail for high-end PC users without causing the game to fall apart for everyone else.

 

To put it politely I think the argument that the Gen9 Consoles like the PS5 (Which I am on) 'can not handle' detailed routes is a load of old cobblers... It is a perfectly capable bit of kit which much larger developers than DTG are planning far more complex releases on. If the game was put together with more consideration it would run absolutely fine.

The problem is the ongoing core issues acting like an unstoppable snowball with every new edition of the game adding further issues and DTG quite frankly not keeping up...

It's only got as messy as it is because we get 'plaster fixes', not substantial ones that take time to remedy.

 

Yes, yes and yes again!

 

I would kinda agree but then I realise Xbox and PlayStation have stuff like GTA 5, red dead redemption 2, watchdogs 2, and more high detailed and can still run without these problems like low memory crashes and blurry textures

 

There have been a couple of routes that have been released with what DTG calls " standard " content as an option ( we would call it " reduced " ). I can recall NYT and Frankfort S- Bahn as examples. Clearly this was not a popular move and is unlikely to be repeated.

But it was an admission that some routes were simply too asset heavy for the current core game.

Was the S-Bahn route ever " fixed " for gen9 consoles as promised?

 

Think you'll find there have only been aspirations, not promises, to be able to run the full timetable on Gen 9 routes without the game crashing.

 

Quick one on performance, I have identified some areas of concern which are now in the midst of being rectified, not the foliage but in fact to do with some custom assets such as stations. Team is working hard to get my recommendations put in place to provide a better experience across all platforms. Re: texture blurring, theres only going to be so much we can do as theres still a potential core game element at play however we will see how much things improve via different techniques etc that I have looked into, we have already seem some improvement on console testing with this but eliminating crashes was the first point of call which we have had no crashes on beta console builds so hopefully that stays like that.

I seen a few times about a worry for timetable reduction, we are aiming to not reduce the timetable on any platform unless we have exhausted every other option. I have found a few culprits in the static layers drawing more memory than they should and have made adjustments to see if this improves memory availability on consoles too but none of the current active services have been widthdrawn on any platform.

Now I know someone will likely say "well why wasnt this done before or tested on console before by the dev team" Simple answer is, we could only test on pcs during the process of development, its only when certification has passed that we can then have the option to test on console. We are working with DTG to improve console testing process for anything we may do in the future to avoid this problem. I am not going to point fingers at the end of the day, we know there are issues, we have identified several root causes and have fixes either done and being tested or are in the progress of being worked on as we speak to then pass to our internal QA team and DTGs QA/Beta Teams to test and ensure that we are seeing improvements across a wider range of systems and not just say my PC which is of course high spec to work with UE.

I know I said we wouldnt talk outside of official channels but I did think this was worth mentioning. I would love to go into more detail but will wait till official comms can be co-ordinated before we provide a full list of things being sorted

 

Really appreciate the communication. Good to hear adjustments are making a difference, I'm a PS5 player so look forward to the changes.

 

I’m slightly curious about why your team was the only ones without console testing because going off the looks of things every other third party had access to it

but I must say I respect the fact you came out and told us this, giving me some confidence in the future of your team, basically I look forward to seeing new developments

 

I said I wouldn't get it till it was on sale... but I bought it anyways.

Was actually rather surprised, I enjoyed driving the 350 HUDless. Only thing that tests my patience is waiting at Wolverhampton for 8-10 minutes. XD

Saying that I kinda wish DTG would implement a way to have the throttle and brake notification appear even if you have HUD off. It's nice and easy with the 350 where you have a power and brake gauge, but if it's something like the 220 it's harder to know unless you really listen out for the notches.

Looks great though. I've only really encountered a problematic service once, and that was at the start of a service (an AI 390 didn't pull into New Street fully). Restarted and it fixed itself.

 

[EDIT - Jan - Inappropriate] I will not hear other opinions.

Sure there are niggles that need sorting as detailed here, but those will be sorted I strongly expect.

 

Thank you Kezz for the updates. I think hopefully you will have a good console testing process in place for the Class 805 release which we know comes with a heavy new timetable for WCMLS. That is a route with its own performance issues still (albeit a lot improved from it's initial release) so seeing the impact of all the layers on console will be critical to the success of that release.

 

As a Series X player on WCML with quite a few layers already enabled, I think we will be struggling to be honest.

The performance on that route is the worst of any I own.

 

I am currently crawling along at 60 MPH between Penkridge and Wolverhampton North so as to mitigate the wait at Wolverhampton. It’s hard to see how AAB could have worked around this, the dwell time is obviously there to provide recovery so late running trains from the north can still slot into the clockface timetable on the southern WCML. Splitting the services would have been unrealistic and changing the times to immediate departure from Wolves would also have destroyed the timetable integrity.

So it’s either read a book time or Alt-Tab to the forums for a few minutes!

Of course, this is a prime example why TSW needs a 2x or 4x speed up time function, at least when the player train is stationary.

 

Yes, a feature similar to ASyncKeys on TSC would be appreciated.

 

Godmode is your friend, well for us PC users, but yes, DTG need to include this feature in game for all, preferably with a 8x and 16x speed

 

Well, I downloaded this yesterday after reading most of the hype on here.

Have to say, I'm impressed (maybe comments set the bar low).
The route itself, being local to me, is a fantastic recreation of what you get between Brum and Wolves.
Only missing about three of the DLCs for the whole route, so it feels nice and busy, especially around new street.

Only done three runs so far, but it's up toward the top of the pile for me and a route i can see me coming back to.

Not to say its not without it's issues.
I'm running it on X Box Series S, which does not help, but for the main, the issues I see are not route specific, so core based.
So hats of to AAS on a fantastic first route.

 

That much is true. As I said in the run up to release, IRL it’s a fairly bland section through generally flat North Midlands plains so it hasn’t got the scenic appeal of the West Highland or Kyle line. But apart from maybe the slight over use of foliage the route builder(s) and 3D modellers have done a good job of capturing that IRL look. It’s a workaday section of key UK railway network, which is what we got.

 

Just another 'thank you Kezz' post for the update.
XSX here. I've been playing loads since it released and I haven't had a single 'in gameplay' crash. Frame rate is pretty consistent throughout. I have blurring of course, but felt it important to state crashing hasn't been an issue.
I'm glad to hear there are no plans for timetable reduction. I've tried turning off almost all the layers; static and active; and I still get blurring no matter how much I reduce it, and it happens in all the same places. I'm not convinced a lighter timetable helps. It's either the scenery detailing being too demanding for the console, or as suggested, its more TSW6 itself causing the issues somewhere / somehow.
I hope you know that the vast majority of the community are behind you. I'll keep playing and keep sharing what I'm finding in the hope I can help in any small way. Good luck and fingers crossed for the planned patches for you, your team and the route.

 

It is certainly a nice change that we receive some ongoing information via Kezz, I am personally happy for it. It is mentioned that in relation to the blurry textures (which is at least the main problem on PS5 Pro, I do not record game crashes) the static layer is partly to blame ...... Let's hope that it helps, although I don't know for sure, because the static layers are I think some freight cars at Crewe and then static Class 86/87 and some Mk3 cars ....... unfortunately, for me it is blurry even though I do not have these above-mentioned elements active, but I do not even have them installed in TSW .... so I have to ask myself whether this can solve the problem? ...... the first patch will hopefully be the answer....

 

Really enjoying this route so far, have not seen any AI Spads yet? Have only played the 350 and 323 services so far though. Having really immersive runs with the 350 and the real weather mod, recommend folks to try that out if they haven't yet. Even getting those rare signal delays as well! Was running late from Crewe and delays ensued at Wolverhampton, but AI eventually sorted itself out. That coupled with todays weather subtly changing with the real weather mod was superb. It's just a great idea for a route with all that AI and essentially 2 different types of route (slowish commuter, then high speed). Not seen any AI freight though yet, pretty sure I have all relevant layers for that? Only missing the Class 86.

 

I'd really love to hear directly from DTG about the console certification/testing process more generally.

The way it's described here sounds totally crazy to me- you can't test until it passes certification?

So do most of us misunderstand what certifcation actually is?

I assumed it meant the title more or less matches what is says it is (like you can't call it Train Sim World and then it turns out to actually be a sudoku game), that it functions correctly (i.e. doesn't cause hard locks or constant CTDs) on the respective hardware, and doesn't contain any malicious or harmful code. Is there more to it?

Because if not, none of that would seem to preclude testing before console cert is complete.

Or is it that they literally don't have any PS/Xbox dev kits so they have to wait for a retail build to test it? That can't be right, can it?

Or is it a time crunch issue whereby DTG says release date is October 21st, so it has to be submitted for cert by October 10th (or whatever the timeframe is) whether it's done or not?

In any case i'd be interested to know more about the process, and where it's breaking down.

 

On PC, this is solved with a god mod. Why expect this from DTG if the second coming of Christ will happen sooner? The modding community is solving these problems perfectly, while also offering interesting solutions like time skip or the same realistic weather.

 

This feels like a basic quality-of-life feature that I hope will be considered for the next release. There's a point where too much realism equals zero fun (as they already discovered when players objected to waiting quite a while for the brake lines to charge up on the 100-car Sherman Hill trains before they could actually start their run).

In the game Deadly Premonition, we could fast forward time by having the protagonist smoke a cigarette. That seems like it would be true-to-life to real engineers, though possibly frowned upon in an all-ages game.

Though I wonder if the need to perfectly forward everything happening in the route at that time--trains, signals, et al, including any layers--would be a major impediment to implementing this.

 

I use the 4x time acceleration regularly and have no problems with it. Time jumps can cause glitches, but to be honest, I haven't noticed any issues with that either. This is all done using the game's standard tools, albeit through unofficial means.

 

Zusi 3 has both fast forward and time skip and has equally if not more complex AI routines (dynamic routing) than TSW. Don’t forget, it’s all an illusion. All those non player trains are not really moving on a virtual replica of the real thing, it’s just a bunch of 0’s and 1’s calculating beyond what is actually displayed on screen and what is upcoming to be displayed.

 

Any word on the update that was expected today?

 

It was said today or tomorrow if I remember correctly and given the scale and strength of the problem I don't expect it much today... my personal opinion

 

To be fair the article says monday/tuesday, and it's only 11.30 am monday, so...

 

I would rather they “see it, sort it” ( and test) rather than rushing out a bungled patch that makes things worse.

 

I've had a response from DTG Jan over on the discord channel.