Nec: New York - Stamford

Pretty sure New York Penn station has been the same from the original NEC route, and has never been updated in any route it has been (Someone correct me if Im wrong)

 

NYP was eventually updated for LIRR Commuter to get rid of most of the platform collisions, and it is basically this version in use for Morristown. I think you are correct that the original version for NEC did not get changed much for either the original LIRR or NYT. Much of the original NEC from Newark to NYP was also ported to NYT, with lighting updates.

 

Having rode on the old Acela train to and from Penn station this weekend, during a clear day you can see some very nice views of Manhattan from the cars going over Hell Gate Bridge and the tracks going from there. And that bridge was so well built that it could last over 100 years without maintenance (but it is being maintained). Loco pic taken from Boston South Station included in this post.

 

I have a big request for the route development team.
Please support the new suspension feature for the older rolling stock that will be included as a layer on the route – the ACS-64, Amtrak Acela, Amfleet Cab Car, and CSX GP38-2.

I would be thrilled if this suspension feature was also supported for the older rolling stock on the Northeast Corridor and Boston.

 

Honestly all the older rolling stock needs updates pretty bad. The M7A and M3A needs suspension but the M7A needs its physics re-done. It’s way too overpowered compared to the LIRR M7. They also need to add on board passenger announcements.

 

I believe , it will be the SD40-2 from the sand patch grade (YN3B) . And i really hope this as it already has a sound mod which gives an authentic experience.

 

Chances for older US stock that aren't gonna be on Stamford updated is already slim enough as is. Even I would suspect that those that'll be included for the route, wouldn't be much of a big difference anyway if reused as usual.

Also to note, DTG doesn't do mods. More likely, the SD40 will be having the sounds and other visuals like the other SD40s.

 

I didn't mean DTG, i mean the sound mods that modders create. sorry that I wasn't clear

 

I hope for updated ACS-64 as a part of the route.

 

Always found the name of that bridge fascinating.

 

It's coming with the route, so it'll get all the newest features.

 

Great. I thought only M8 and SD40 would be included in this route.

 

I have a feeling there may be NJT AI services and maybe even playable LIRR services between NY-Penn to Woodside

 

Looking forward to another NY route, been enjoying the US since tsw6 and Morristown and while I know there are other great US railways Im appreciating the tie in all these DLC are having, making it feel like one big DLC without to many gaps.

Hopefully in coming snippets we see more of the dual mode locos like the P32AC or SC42DM included as well (one can only hope)



Please also consider meshing these DLC together for TT mode even if just for AI...Morristown + LIRR layer for Penn station along with an updated Harlem DLC TT to include the rolling stock from this new DLC as a Layer.

 

I really hope DTG surprises us with the P32AC-DM and Shoreliners or even the new SC42-DM with shoreliners.There are many opportunities for the P32AC-DM as there are now many heritage liveries available for it (approximately 8 now)

 

Would love to see the P32. I don’t think the SC42s would come to the game anytime soon because they’re still relatively new and I doubt Dovetail have sounds for them yet.

 

I would prefer P32 over SC42s anyway.. but I'll take either (or both together!) as long as they also layer in on the Harlem line to increase that TT

 

I also hope the M8 layers onto the Harlem line with perhaps playable services from GCT to Fordham, then the AI continues on the path towards Mt. Vernon East, or even game day specials to Yankees - East 153rd street, or it can run the same path as the M3A and M7A. There is definitely opportunity for the P32AC-DM running on the Harlem Line as an express, calling at Harlem-125th St, White Plains and North White Plains. This would also be a great opportunity to enhance the Harlem Line up to modern standards with ToD4 lighting officially, reworked ATC and signalling, as well as scenery upgrades.

 

Something to whet your appetite for the Line....



Would be nice to have this side of Christmas lol :P

 

it is NEC, nuff said

 

Good news/bad news. Saw this post by cactusjuice on youtube. For those who don't know, cactusjuice is responsible for the flawless signaling system on Morristown, Long Island Commuter and others. Good news is that NY-Stamford will have properly working signaling! Bad news, well... I hope he reconsiders and continues to work on future US routes. I very much appreciate his work especially on Morristown.

 

I read why he's no longer working on any future projects on the TSC discord, and I don't blame him for not wanting to work on more US routes for DTG.

 

Can someone speed me up on what he said? Sorry, I don’t have discord..

 

If it's not too much trouble, you can post it here for everyone who doesn't use Discord.

 

I understand Brandon perfectly well - for so many years to create signals for routes: here you will definitely burn out, he is just tired of the game)

 

oh man, what does this mean for the future of US passenger routes in TSW? I hope Cactusjuice eventually returns for the US passenger routes as his signalling and work on the simulator are a prototypical and accurate representation of what you'll encounter on the railroad vs real life. It looks like New York to Stamford is going to be a great route. I have a feeling Grand Central is going to be the most complex part as it features over over 70 tracks spanning 2 levels all together. I know DTG was planning to visit GCT recently or in the near future and I hope reference material was captured of the other Metro North rollingstock as well. I can't wait to see how Grand Central Terminal is going to look

 

This is really sad- the game will be much worse without him.

Always 1 step forward 2 steps back with US content

 

Right? I don’t use discord? What was said?
Don’t be scared. Hahah

 

Hope this clears things up. (Also hope Brandon doesn't mind me posting this)

 

Nobody can tell another person what to do. But I would also note than Brandon could have just as easily posted this here himself if he had desired. The situation is clearly not in the absolute best state right now. Perhaps better to reconsider?

In any case, what I will say is that, when you are emotionally invested in something that brings you joy, like trains for most of us, it can be difficult to deal with people who are just doing this because it's their job. This is true for other games, and outside of games as well. In some ways I was surprised that Brandon lasted this long. There were a LOT of frustrating things that have occurred in this game, especially in regards to US content, since he has been active. But we all know that we owe a debt of gratitude for his work and dedication.

As far as Stamford goes, it's obvious since we got working signals on Morristown then that is the standard that needs to be met, and they already announced the route. Which is likely why Brandon is/was involved. Going forwards, however, I don't anticipate any more signal-intensive routes, further reducing our already small pool of available routes for US DLC. Perhaps an issue for our new US community manager to consider.

 

I was watching his YT vid from tsw 4, lirr 2.0 release day gameplay and around an hour 40 in he mentioned some really good fixes including one to the core where trains actually obey signal speed limits. Now we are in TSW6 I assume nothing like this has been implemented or has it? AND would something like this assist in preventing the bottle necks we see on certain USA DLC (as a few were mentioned which have said bottle necks) and in turn allow more ai traffic to be included on said DLC or that is more a Dispatcher issue?

 

I hope DTG is learning from how Brandon modeled the systems cause they shouldn’t need to rely on him especially after 3 years but either way this is a blow to the Northeast region

 

I mean, it sucks for us, but frankly when likely most of his free time is being consumed by working on programming for this silly train game, should he really be accepting "part-time" pay for it? I can't imagine the guy has much extra free time between this, plus whatever other stuff he has in his life.

Honestly I have questioned at points if everyone on the third party side are valuing their own time properly, or if they're letting their love of trains blind them. I've heard that a lot with people in the arts, where they let their love for the hobby blind them and they undersell or overwork themselves in the process. I hope I'm wrong, but obviously without any hard data on what those sorts get the mind can't help but wander and wonder.

 

They have all my source blueprints. Whether they know how to properly implement them in a route is another story entirely.

 

You see what happens when a company's main focus is to rush out a product for release? Only focus on financial gain and profit without the quality control = lose good people that made it worthwhile in the process.

And while I think Morristown, for what it is, is quite a good route (much better than the other NJT New York-Trenton no less), there is a good reason why a lot aspects of the scenery on Morristown aren't great, as well as the route not extending out to Hackettstown.

I have hope that NEC: New York - Stamford will be at the bare-minimum good (obviously since Brandon will be working on the signals), but afterwards, I'm not sure how to feel about anything US related coming out, especially if that 50% of it will be High Iron Simulations slop that will be nothing but re-used and broken assets, or broken and buggy ports from Train Sim Classic (with the bugs and issues never being fixed since the good ol' railroad historian that leads HIS thinks that's how locomotives are in real life).

 

Kudos and thanks to Brandon for his work to date and shame on DTG for treating their external contractors so badly. Something really is rotten from the top down though I suspect this is not the first valued consultant they have lost. While NY to Stamford is not a route that particularly interests me, as noted it doesn't bode well for future US content going forward. Rather ironic, given "Candace" canvasing for views on future US content in another thread. God forbid, they will be asking HIS to do it in future.

 

And this is why I said over at the Metro Rivals Thread, https://forums.dovetailgames.com/th...railway-game-by-dtg.88940/page-4#post-1065929 that I am interested to see how it performs from a performance standpoint on both PC and Console with the new design methods used as mentioned in the latest Road map vid. This could be a test bed for future TSW as they are using data from open street maps which dynamically create the scenery/Buildings allowing for better variety rather then hand placed same asset look a like over and over again like they are in TSW, likewise with tunnels and how they are now being created vs what we get in TSW.

If it works and performance levels are as good as they say then its time to get TSW under the same methods for the way scenery + tunnels are created or we now move on to a new version of train sim and we scrap the hand placing of models as we know how tedious that can be, and resource intensive depending on poly counts and it shows in majority of the DLC!

Flightsim has done it many a times, despite the investment put into that hobby on those payware planes and scenery that weren't compatible with the next generation people still changed and bought majority again, I know I'm one of them!

 

Kind of missed the point regarding my post, since despite me mentioning it, it has nothing to do with scenery objects or graphical capabilities, but rather what DTG is currently prioritizing regarding TSW and what they are currently losing out of it along with what and how the quality of US content will be after NEC: New York - Stanford.

If DTG wants to create a TSW-like style game using the same engine and design methods that Metro-Rivals uses, then great! But at this point, with the poor business treatment that TSW has gotten throughout the years (and to add as a fellow US DLC player, with all of us US folk constantly getting burned time-after-time), it's all going to hinge on DTG's business practices and whether or not they decide they want to focus on a product, rather than a profit, and what they could potentially gain and add towards it to improve upon it functionality-wise, rather than degrading it profit-wise.

 

Here’s an idea I have for Dovetail.
Since freight is going to play a role in NY - Stamford, Dovetail could consider changing the horn on the GP38-2 to the same horn the HSP-46 has. The GP38 units could be altered to be Ex-Conrail since Conrail used the K5LA as replacements on some units, which would explain why they could have the same horn. Just a thought. The 38s are in need of dire sound upgrades too.

 

Given how old Sand Patch is at this point, gonna be a very slim chance to upgrade the GP38 or AC44 from DTG themself.

 

Not to mention the only freight locomotive included is a SD40-2, so there is no incentive for DTG to touch the GP38-2.

 

Also, missed opportunity to bring back the CSX GP40 locomotive as well given it hasn't been seen since TSW2020...

...unless they plan on re-releasing the DLC later on after Stamford get's released, but one can dream.

 

I'm trying to remember the last original US freight loco that DTG built for TSW.

 

I believe it was the ES44C4 that came with Cajon. Actually Cajon was the last U.S freight route DTG made I think.

 

Yeah, the C4 was the last new freight loco from DTG, not to mention the Bulkhead Flatcar and Maxi IVs were the last freight cars produced by them too.

 

Ah yes, long ago in '22, when dinosaurs still roamed the foothills of the San Bernardino mountains.

I wonder if we'll ever see a new US freight loco again.

 

And another question is if they even want to.. The state of US signalling was abysmal before you joined, and not even on the route specific stuff, but on those very basics, like having the conformity between signals and in-cab aspects...

Good luck, and thanks for all the hard work..DTG might not appreciate it, but we sure do.

 

Really not getting the services for the Hudson Line blurb... I noted this in the Season of Reveals thread, but they're either intentionally leaking a forthcoming Hudson route, or, what I think is the more likely case, referring to the short leg of the Hudson going up to Yankee Stadium on the pre-existing Harlem Line.

 

Yeah this also confused me. Hudson line would be a dream for me.