Just wanna say "thank you" to Brandon. I am not going to judge your decision in any way, because it is yours and only yours. Wanna say that you motivated me to buy the TSW6. I was hesitant about buying the new version of the game, but after watching you on stream, I finally made the decision. I regretted having Dresden-Leipzig in my collection. I'm a little dissatisfied with Riviera. But I was completely immersed in Morristown Line. Thank you! Whatever you do next, good luck with it! Link for those who didn't understand anything
It's a shame Brandon is leaving. He has done a fantastic job with the signaling on the U.S routes. But after reading his post, I can understand why he has had enough. I wish him nothing but the best
a huge loss for US content fans (like me) I don't even want to think about what future US content will be like (after the santa fe pack, I'm even afraid of what might come next)
DTG is to completely to blame for this. Brandon leaving is the final nail in the coffin for American content unfortunately and Dovetail basically killed it. Worst part about it is that, American routes are the Only routes in TSW that do not suffer from the blurry textures issue on Consoles(even on LIRR 2 and that's an extremely busy timetable)
Such a shame honestly. Brandon leaving is the nail in the coffin for me. After New York - Stamford, I’m done with TSW. The U.S content is the stuff I come back to often. Shame on Dovetail.
Appreciate everything you have done for the game and also the community! You were exactly what US content needed in both TSW and TSC! With that said, I'm extremely worried about the state of US content following this departure. I'm sure DTG will be referencing past signal scripting, but one thing I'm confident they will never be able to do without you is replicate its near perfection!
Thank you Brandon, for all the passion, hard work, dedication that elevated the US content on the level it deserves. Routes you worked on are amongs my most played routes, mainly becasue of the working singaling. Also watching streams and videos you participated in, realy helped me, an european, to understand the concepts behind US signalling. That said, I fully understand why you're leaving, and good luck in your future projects
This is deflating news for US TSW Passenger Content. Thank you to Brandon for doing all he did to give us the great experiences we have in game.
I am definitely thankful for the work and efforts Cactusjuice has had on TSC and TSW over the years. Definitely a loss for the US community, especially Northeast US TSW players and TSC players. DTG definitely made a big mistake in what they did, as you are very knowledgable with signalling, track rules for US content and passionate with your work. Definitely wish you the best of luck on your next endeavors I enjoy all the routes that Cactusjuice had helped out with, from NEC: Baltimore to Washington for TSC, and for TSW with Boston Sprinter, to LIRR commuter, MBTA Commuter, New York to Morristown. I definitely know New York to Stamford will be amazing but after that, I am not sure how to feel about future US routes.
Also thanks to Brandon and shame on the people running the TSW project who have allowed this situation to come about.
Really sorry to hear this , the signalling on New York LIRR is amazing , and I just wish they would have let him fix New York Trenton , no doubt it would have been amazing if he was able to redo all that signalling . Makes me want to buy the new Stamford route even more knowing he had a hand in it . Many thanks Brandon
Thank you. Unless DTG invests in someone else to fix New York - Trenton, those signals are forever broken. I'm currently working on Stamford's signals and things are going fine so far.
I've not stepped into any US content but its always a shame to lose someone who's been so good for the game. Brandon's passion and the work he's put in has been amazing to see and I know he'll be missed by the community. These people don't come along often and they should be treated like gold when they do! It's a real disappointment to see DTG letting these situations come about. Thankyou and Goodluck with the future Brandon! I hope it's a really bright one and you're able to find something even better for you!
As a player based in the northeast, I have to say I truly appreciate the work Brandon's done to make my home routes feel more like home. His departure only adds to my disillusionment with DTG as of late, and only further supports my decision to stop buying DLC until some noticeable change occurs. Good luck Brandon, you've got a lot of talent and I hope your future endeavors are successful!
Too bad you’re quitting, but may I make a point that it’s disgusting to stir up the community and write these kinds of messages about an internal matter? I find it very disrespectful apart from what you’re experiencing, we only have one side of the story here, and I don’t think the community is being helped by this. What’s more, the attitude of many on social media is already quite aggressive at times, so I don’t know if your posts are really contributing anything. I find this vile and childish, and I hope DTG takes action on it. Aside from your work, I think this is a bizarre move that simply isn’t acceptable. Sorry, but I find this idiotic and completely lacking in respect
It's true that only my side of things has been said, but I'm not stirring anything up. I never initiated any posts here due to the fact that I'm not trying to create drama here. If you've taken umbridge with anything I have said here, I am deeply sorry as it wasn't intended.
If the message is honest then I don't understand the problem with it. It's not like there were any personal things said. Besides that, the original message in question was not even posted on any official DTG channels. It was the choice of others, to bring the issue into this forum. Also, what is wrong with thanking people for their support? It would also be strange if nothing was said in response. As far as one side of the story, there has been plenty of opportunity for DTG to correct the record, if that had been necessary. You will note that they have not done so. Your post could be interpreted as aggressive as well, and it is not immediately clear that it contributes anything either. Certainly you have not contributed to TSW to the level that the person you are impugning has. But this again relates to the fact of the difficult position of being involved with the development of TSW without being an employee of DTG.
He answered a question on discord and the community are the ones that have brought it up here on the official forums. The community are the ones that are frustrated, especially those playing American content, because the guy responsible for making the signalling system work on American content is leaving. The amount of work he's put in to this game to make it work the least we can all do is say thankyou and give some recognition.
Brandon thank you for everything you worked on so passionately. LIRR commuter owes its success solely down to you and I enjoy that route immensely. You will be sorely missed in the TSW world and we are all poorer now you have parted ways.
Massive shame, the US content needs people like Brandon the most, it’s definitely where TSW is at it’s weakest. We’ve all seen what happens to routes where Brandon wasn’t involved & the state the signalling has been in prior to his input. Hopefully we’ll one day see a third party come along for NA content & that this won’t be the last we see of Brandon.
With Brandon leaving, and HIS being HIS, I just don't see US content being very good in the future, and its a shame, cause there were times where some people within DTG can do good things when things go right..... Also on a side note for those not on the TSC discord, Brandon's posts on here are now being monitored, so his reply's will now be slowed because his posts have to be approved by a moderator now.... Good job DTG.......
If I was DTG right now I’d be thinking of offering Brandon a big pay incentive to stay , when you see how much the community appreciates his work . Of course it may not be all about money , and it may not keep him . But who knows. I remember in MS flight simulator there was / still is a voluntary group called ‘ working title’ they did mods for flight simulator . Their mods were hugely popular because they were passionate about accurate simulation . In the end the producers at flight simulator recognised their talent and offered everyone at ‘working title’ full time jobs at MSFS , and this was just fantastic for the realism and the success of the sim . In the same way its people like Brandon that TSW really needs to keep I think .
Well done dovetail. I hope you’re proud of yourselves. Sad thing is, this won’t be the last time something like this happens
I suspect DTG just aren’t bothered about how much genuine authenticity goes into the simulation aspect of TSW, at least with first party stuff. I mean look at their latest German announcement, they’re trying to sell it as a year 2000 route, but it’s just full of modernised thematics throughout. They’re likely banking on people just buying the content anyway & for stuff like signalling, I get the impression they’re fine with it simply being green, yellow & red. Worst case scenario is they peddle so much poor US content going forward, the sales stop & then it just gets abandoned altogether.
On the one hand, I respect DTG for not posting anything related to Brandon and don't promote their version at every topic. The ability to remain silent is highly valued. But on the other hand, using pre-moderation is vileness.
Don't be sorry if that's how you really feel. Just as we're not sorry in expressing our heartfelt gratitude to Brandon for his contribution to the game and our good wishes for whatever he does next. Similar messages were expressed to Sam when he left DTG. It's all quite normal, it's what people do, no-one is being " stirred up " as you put it. And it's quite normal for Brandon to express his thanks for the good wishes from the forum. Lighten up, why don't you.
Thankyou for your efforts on all the US routes you worked on Brandon. I always appreciated your presence in the pre-release streams with the vast amount of knowledge you have on the signalling systems. You will be missed
It’s all so sad. I know Brandon is just a developer for a game I play but I am gutted he’s not going to be involved any more. His huge contributions just worked and I like stuff that works. I also liked hearing him speak on live streams about his work and the results of it with as much passion and enthusiasm as he has obviously put into the work he has done in TSW. I am genuinely sad. Thanks for everything you’ve done Brandon. I hope one day you can contribute again but no pressure from me, do what’s right for yourself.
My hopes for a properly signaled remaster of Trenton, which were sky-high after the Morristown preview stream, have plummeted. This sucks.
Love it...prioritizing moderation towards their own developers instead of: 1. Fixing the damn game 2. NOT rushing out content for profit (i.e. Morristown, a good route mainly thanks to Brandon, but one that also feels like it was rushed in so many places just to prioritize releasing TSW6) And especially considering said developer (Brandon) was one who made so many of the DLC's more functional and playable no-less is so unappreciative on DTG's end, as well as much more angering to us players. I won't be surprised if so many decide to drop off TSW as a whole because of this. Hate to say it since everyone loves to say the same things over and over again about DTG, but this is definitely a new low for them, really don't think it could get any lower than this.
Sorry to ask, but what about Morristown seems rushed? I don’t know the area enough to know the rights and wrongs so I’m pretty much blind to accurate information.
Thank you for all your work, Brandon. You've undoubtedly made TSW a better game; it's a shame DTG lets great talents like you slip away. I find the decisions they've been making lately shameful, and I completely understand your position. It's really difficult for someone with passion and talent to be part of an ecosystem where mediocrity seems to be rewarded more than genius. Best of luck with all the projects you get involved in and set out to bring to fruition.
Ok, I'm going to put an alternative point of view on this which, I admit, is playing devil's advocate somewhat. Like most/any of you who have commented, I don't actually know the full story, I've just heard Brandon's side of things and, to be clear, I don't doubt that what he's saying, at least from his point of view, is true. But there are egos involved here. Who knows what's happened over time in terms of the relationship between Brandon, other developers and the company? No one should be bigger than the team and it could be argued that what Brandon has done, by speaking out in the way that he has, is unprofessional, especially when no one else is probably able to put their side of things because, barring whistleblowing (which this is not), contracts of employment generally forbid this kind of discourse. Just a thought.
That’s a fair point but I think most of us are intelligent enough to read between the lines of everything else going on at DTG with TSW. Rushed content, whether 3P or in house, barely tested if at all. The big question as to whether DTG have any in house coal face talent left or is it all just management and PR with production largely outsourced? The insane focus on Metro Rivals which does seem to be abstracting attention from sorting all the issues (particularly on but not limited to consoles).
if they think Metro Rivals will be a success they might end up disappointed i think everyone who is disappointed with on how TSW is going atm will for sure not buy any new game soon or ever they should polish up TSW (fix bugs etc) to gain more trust from consumers first
I fully understand what you're trying to say, and I fully agree that we only have one side of the story, and we have really no way of knowing what actually went down. But there is a reason why people are instantly siding with Brandon, and that is that this didn't happened in a vaccum. This happened while we have several indication, from several sides, that DTGs management of TSW is... less than optimal. We have 3rd party studios openly stating that they cannot test on consoles until certification, that they are waiting several months to get a testing/release slot, that DTG internal tooling cannot detect the most common issues curretnly experienced by players (AI red light)... etc. This is atop of the core issues we, as players, experience daily in TSW... stale underveloped features, lack of extended bugfixing. It is realy not hard to see why people are siding with an individual, who looks to had enough of experiencing all of the above, but from the inside, as a part-time developer, while being passionate, and trying to push the level of stuff he was working on. Him having his posts preemptively moved under moderation approve also doesn't help the view on DTG in this case. DTG made their bed, and I'm not sad for them, that now they have to lie in it.
I refunded TSW 6 deluxe edition because of the issues with the train malfunctions and with the exception of the 86 pack for 25% off haven’t purchased anything else since about June. Despite owning every bit of content up to around this date. I’m still enjoying the routes and content I have but I’m not in any rush to purchase anything else since new content at this time and will wait for sizeable discounts for anything I do want. The idea of my investing in a new game from DTG is laughable to be honest
Appreciate all your input cActUsjUiCe, your work on signalling was outstanding and Boston Providence is one of my favourite routes in the entire game. Thank you for the effort you put into help make the game better, best of luck with future endeavours.
Thank you for this honest answer, but why make this public at all? You know you’re putting DTG against the wall, and other users don’t even understand the story. Since it’s only one side of the story, isn’t it purely to create a negative attitude towards DTG?! You must realize that users online will obviously take your side because they simply don’t know the other story. I don’t think that’s okay, and honestly, I find it rather low. Just keep your conflict within the walls of DTG and don’t share such things online. But anyway, I’ve said enough from my side. I wish you the best of luck with the rest of what you’re going to do.
Due to Cactusjuice being put on moderated posting, his responses in this thread and others are now out of time synch with what has been posted since.
