I did ponder that but seems a bit technical and obscure compared to their usual output. Though making it more interactive like SimRail would increase the appeal.
Again, I did wonder but this has the air of something we haven't seen yet about it. Though with memories of Xmas 24 still fresh in my mind and the big announcement being Thomas, best not to expect too much.
Ok than my bet is on Train Sim Manager. You get to build your own train network and get either filthy rich or go bankrupt in the process.
Same here. A faithfully recreated, geographically correct Sodor would be worth a punt. Plenty of DLC scope as they fill out the network with the various sub routes, narrow gauge, tram etc. With an option for realistic controls too, a nice money spinner for all concerned.
My first thought was Heroes in flames but it would be odd to announce something not train related during a festival of rail. A standalone Thomas game to coincide with the new Thomas reboot makes sense and is better to have Thomas separate from TSW imo
I would suggest something with freight trains. But more a management game then a simulator. Further i have no clue.
If I had any money to put on anything, I'd got for a Thomas standalone game. Maybe UE5 as well so they can get more used to that engine (along with Metro Rivals).
Trying to diversify my singular opinion on this, and have casted my mind back to the Winter Survey again. There were questions about model versions of locomotives - something along the lines of a Model Railway collection of your locos.. I wonder if the two competing markets have collaborated, a Model Railway Builder akin to the legacy of Hornby Virtual Railway?
It would be quite interesting to have a sandbox model railway builder, especially if it can include all aspects of running a layout such as train speeds, signaling and has a camera that can give 3d views but also driver, signal operator and passenger views too. I'd want a bit more than a round circuit on a board though. Longer builds and outdoor layouts would make it far more interesting.
Yes some of the more complex Peco plans from the 70's though they would have to be eased somewhat as when I have tried building some in Trainz it was pretty much impossible without increasing the size. Cyril Freezer (R.I.P.) had some great ideas but the theory was at odds with practical application. For the States of course there are numerous examples of massive layouts where space is not an issue or club classics like the Sierra Pacific. How about a driveable Allegheny Midland or Virginian & Ohio!
I seriously hope this brand new game isn't a new train sim in ue5. (Potentially) ditching tsw without ever fixing all it's serious issues doesn't sit well with me. Plus who's to say that in a few years time the new train sim won't end up with a massive pile up of problems also? Plus I don't want to leave stuff behind. Say Newcastle to York is a new route, with it an Azuma (it would be wierd not being included) and a Nova 1. If it's a tsw route you'll get the Voyager layer if you own it. In a new game you won't unless it gets made separately for the new game.
Complete curve ball… DTG have bought the rights to Fallout and or Skyrim next versions. Ah, a Rivet designed vault or cave. What could go wrong?! Deathclaw Training Centre… “Running away is important.”
Oh, Jesus that's a frightening prospect, i mean the models they use for drivers and passengers are already scary, now you're saying they could be using Bethesda facial models (shudders) that's nightmare fuel right there
Yeah that would be a bad choice I reckon… Is it even necessary ?. Everyone buzzes on about how TSW should upgrade to UE5. It would be nice but the major thing that holds it back is that every single DLC made for TSW will have to be made from scratch all over again which then means re buying everything all over again if they remade old DLC for the new engine. It’s a shame there isn’t a way to transfer content over. I don’t think it’s even possible.
so if it non tsw game maybe they bought the right to simcity off EA and bring that game back with bigger map size and stuff lol
The problem is that they should have woken up earlier, for example in 2024. Now it's a mess and the announcement could be made at any moment, and I'm no longer so convinced to buy every DLC that will be offered from now on. Many game developers have already switched to UE5 (e.g., Hmmsim), which is a solid engine with features for the coming years. DTG is always late or makes decisions that only it understands. Of course, UE5 won't be the magic bullet that solves all problems, but insisting on an outdated engine is ultimately detrimental.
Is there any chance that Dovetails time as publisher of the City Transport Simulator: Tram game and all the new Bus games, that it could be a DTG take on a Bus or Tram simulator? - Tram might be interesting with some nice UK ones they could use as a first "map"
Rail Replacement Service World. You wanted Rugby to Birmingham. We'll you've got it. But which service to choose from? The express coaches stopping only at Coventry and the airport. Or the stopper service calling everywhere, refusing to let off passengers at convenient points and taking 2 wrong turns, one of which needed passengers' help to reverse the double-deck bus out of the entrance to a farm. All the fun of running a train service but without trains, timetables or any onboard services the passengers have already paid for. Coming soon, possibly too soon if we lose another section of track in these floods.
I think its gonna be a thomas game sice they asked if we wanted that. And there's a thomas reboot comming out so i feel like its gonna be that. Also you can watch the anouncement on yt kids and when watching the premier i get thomas video's in my reccomended. But im a thomas fan so i think my reccomended nearly always shows that haha!
Two things occur to me as possible non-TSW train games. One is a Thomas & Friends standalone game in UE4, representing the whole of Sodor. Or a subway game in UE5 (using knowledge gained so far from developing Metro Rivals), based on a real network such as the London Underground. If it's the latter, shut up and take my money.
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They are going to expand on the Thomas idea and make a fully fledged sodor island ,just a wild guess from me
I sincerely hope it's not Office Manager World, with the first DLC being based in an insurance company.
I get that people who like TSW are obsessed with TSW, but they have to remember that DTG isn't JUST TSW. It's a gaming company. TSW isn't the huge money maker people seem to think so it makes sense to reach out to more profitable genres (more players, more reach) If I had to guess it'd be a mobile game because those are pretty cheap to make and sell a lot more, generating more profit than traditional games. As for them "abandoning" TSW... companies don't abandon brands that are actively making money. They just expand to add new teams and let the existing teams keep making what they make. It's not a finite pot of money if a company is expanding. It's only when a department stops generating revenue does its staff get cut. However, that happens if you have 1 team or 50. I don't think you have to worry about TSW or TSC. While there might be some guidance on other projects, you don't usually significantly take from your team that pays the bills to gamble on a "maybe." You usually spin up a new team for various reasons.
I am leaning towards something Thomas related as well. Why go to the bother of getting a license etc for Thomas the tank engine. I feel the dlc they released was that to test the water to see how it would sell before making something bigger. Not long to wait now though until we all find out.
That's why I threw Office Manager World in to the mix. Given that one person's simulation is another person's job, I think it's about time people who've not spent time in the corporate world get to suffer what I've been through. On a serious note though, every gaming company seeks a reputation in certain areas so while it's sensible to grow their portfolio, I will be surprised if it isn't another transport or fishing-adjacent simulator. However, I'm not sure they'd be unveiling a fishing game at a rail event.
It would be such a funny move to kickstart the "festival of rail" with something completely removed from rail.
Lot of people who grew up with the show still like it, heck, I read the books again last year, and I still think they're excellent. I'd also note in terms of merch Bachmann models cost $100+ a pop, well out of the price range for any average child, heck, their N Scale items are explicitly meant for 12+. Those very clearly are aimed at adult collectors more so than children, they do exist for Thomas. Also, simple fact is Thomas for so much of the railway world is important, model railroading and real railroading rely so much on Thomas being a big thing. It honestly isn't a leap thinking the same could happen with virtual railroading the more I think about it. I just think the combination of Thomas being buried among a million other add-ons plus the limited scale of what we have right now hold it back a ton. Though just to be clear, I'm only 50/50 on it being it.
Oh god. Can you imagine if it is thomas the tank engine. The amount of consumers who will be sucking at the corporate teat until its dry. I will weep.
