After long time waiting the day will finally come Took me a while to figure out all needed stuff and this is gonna be first test version. Im not gonna distribute merged route like an .pak, non of the files will be distributed (only the ones which i created) but you will be still able to enjoy it... are you asking how ? Well i worked many hours to figure out how to distribute merged route and i finally found a solution... I made a installer which will do all hard work for you (that work which takes me ages Everything will be happening on your drive (basically like steam patching) and in the end it will make new .pak with standalone route so you will still be able to play standalone Trenton and LIRREX routes. Merged route is not distributed with merged timetable !! If there will be timetable then it will be just test one to drive the whole route, not a traffic around. But nothing will stop you to create your own timetables or create some scenarios in scenario planer. And just remember, this is like proof of work concept to see if that will really work... and if that will be successful then Morristown will be added next
Looking forward to see where this will lead to. Hopefully this can be applied to other routes in the future. Quite an impressive start. Mike.
Indeed. And kind of debunks DTG who have always seemed to put route merges in the too difficult if not altogether impossible basket.
Would the installer be easily working under Proton (possibly with use of Steam Tinker Launch), without extensive native library overrides or installing things that don't want to cooperate with Wine/Proton?
Exactly. Trainsimcz has proved on occasions that what DTG said can't be done, actually.... can be done!
This is genuinely fantastic -- thank you so much for taking the time and effort to do this. I'll be downloading this on day 1 for sure. If this ends up a success, I can't wait to see the Morristown line added (and the Stamford services when those release, if you're so inclined). I'm in awe.
To be fair to DTG - I don't think its the merging of the maps that have made that statement be given. I think its always been on the merging of the timetables (or eras) - neither of which is being done here. That said - this is a great piece of work - and I'm interested to see where it goes.
This is some good news for PC players. Going to be a pain to create new timetables for stuff like this, but glad to see it´s possible.
It's good news that it's feasible. Indeed, the problem will be creating new, huge timetables. And we'll have to see how it works regarding performances as well... In the medium term, it's good to have merges like that, as we had in TS. But in the very long term, when we will have dozens of adjacent routes, I think we would need to find something other than merges as a solution to truly build a network...
DTG said the same thing about working CCTV on trains too and then a third party comes along and does it for us. Gives me hope that another third party team will soon join TSW and focus on more underground routes because we know DTG don’t really want to touch that neither…
Yes, it's indeed a good sign that even 3rd party developpers can bring new features to the game, and not just DTG.
Simply put DTG clearly don’t have the skill set to achieve what ‘modders’ can….first the blurry textures issue courtesy of Firefly and now this.
You can't say that, only they can modify the core of the game. But whether they want to do it in relation to what it costs and what it brings in, that's another question...
If the average machine can handle the load, this will be great. But, unless a realistic functioning timetable becomes available (can't imagine the man-hours needed), I suspect it will remain a proof of concept.
Well if they were to merge two routes they wouldn’t merge the timetable rather build a new one which would not be that hard, otherwise trains would just stop at the limits of the original routes. They’d have to be told it was now one big route.
Trouble is most of the London Underground routes are all Automatic now so not worth there while. Only manual lines left are Bakerloo we already have Piccadilly line Waterloo and city line. everything is fully or partial automatic.
No reason to make new one if you can just remove portal node from timetable and continue that service where it suppose to go
If the answer is no, then we would need to do something other than a merge to achieve the same result... We could place markers on the tracks at the end points that would teleport us directly to the next route (a kind of automatic portal). We would have a loading screen, but there would be no impact on performance. Route hopping 2.0...
Wow, so you were serious about this? Haha. I saw the messages on Discord yesterday. This is awesome!!! If New York - Stamford could be merged with this, it would make this route an all time fan favorite!
With the release of MKC to Crewe, a merge into WCMLS for Euston to Crewe. Or JT merge their forthcoming Crewe to Preston into Preston - Carlisle. Yes the timetable size and compilation could be an issue, but we need a “can do” from DTG and the 3P’s on this who are reluctant or unwilling to go where the modders prove it is quite possible.
What will also be of interest will be how to then merge timetables; and then to see how this will all affect our device's ability to operate the routes and still get good fps (memory required).
I guess that will vary depending on which route is ‘merged’ - so the WCMLS (805 TT) and Trent Valley would essentially overlap seamlessly and there would just be a larger recast of both timetables into one. In fact, several routes could be seamlessly merged on an ‘era’ basis. JT’s big NW collection.. the Overground lines.. the Southern routes… SEHS and Medway.. Despite the dismissal of ‘merging’ from DTG, there’s a huge amount of potential in what exists already to make it a worthwhile and beneficial feature!
BML + East Coastway... maaaan ... wont be trying this cos my PC would explode but I will keep my fingers crossed cos this kind of work might pave way for wondrous things in TSW - and herald times when if we look at diverging tracks (when driving other way) and be able to drive there some other time
A merge involves reworking two maps (at least). That was in TS. Now, in TSW, you also have to rework two timetables... What I would like to emphasize here is that the merge was a makeshift solution, a workaround to do something that wasn't originally planned in the game : building a network from isolated segments. (Note that Simrail planned a different approach from the outset.) You all noticed that the first problem raised by the principle of merging concerns performance. But that's not all. There are limits. For example, we had London to Edinburgh in one go. But it couldn't go any further, would have been too much (the ECML merge was already very unstable). We thus got a multitude of juxtaposed merges, overlapping each others : BML + South London Network, BML + NLL, etc, etc. So yes, I think a merge can be a solution for two or three routes joined together, minus the caveats aformentionned. Euston to Crewe, Crewe to Carlisle, etc. But since DTG continues to work on the core of the game, unlike TSC, I think it might be possible to consider a more efficient solution for the future... And this solution already exists, it's route hopping ! It's simply a matter of using an existing mechanism and modifying it slightly. You're playing in free roam ? You arrive at a marker and proceed to the next route (no limit, you can cross the entire UK this way). You're playing a timetable service ? So your service has a headcode, simply load the service from the next timetable that has the same headcode. Minimal effort for maximum efficiency, and forget about performance issues.
if that also involved transferring an already set-up train, that would be even better... like continuing the same service across adjoining routes
Yes, I think Route Hopping is a good feature in itself. There really isn't a need to merge routes from DTG's POV.| This mod is absolutely fantastic and shows what truly can be achieved with TSW, but honestly I'm quite happy with the majority of route lengths in-game. I think most routes have a good balance of length and time spent on services. I don't think I'd be able to play London Euston to Crewe in one go if they were merged lol. I'd also feel a lot of pity for whoever has to create the timetable for the merged routes XD
I think this the main Issue in TSW... I sort of recall Matt talking about this on a stream at some point. You can´t just "merge" two timetables. I think one would always have to make a new one fitted for the merge.
This is an interesting route merge. It's cool to see that it can be done. This merge really wouldn't require a timetable merge as there aren't any services that run between these two maps. Trenton and Morristown merge would be cool.
There are no routes that go from Trenton to Hicksville. The ultimate test of this will be when NEC to Stamford releases so we can have Amtrak trains from Trenton to Stanford through NYP. So this is a very nice start, but isn’t anything to show the power of linking a full route.
Yes, that would be the ultimate test. The merge of the WCML routes would be awesome to see in TSW. It's pretty much done in TSC.
I’ll also say that I’m not trying to knock this effort since I think it’s really cool, but there are only a few routes I’d like to see this with. As I mentioned NEC from Trenton to Stanford for Amtrak specifically would be really cool. Any of the other ones are getting close to over 1:15-1:30 and I personally don’t have the time or patience to run anything more than that.
I'm only going to speak for myself, and I must say that most of the time, I do short services. But sometimes, rarely, I might stay for hours (it is true that I'm not 100% sober on these occasions...) Anyway, knowing that you can do something, even if you rarely do it, is something else than knowing that it is simply impossible. For example I often play LU services between Queen's Park and Harrow & Wealdstone, and I hate to see those Pendolinos rushing by, knowing I can't drive them for more than a mere 80km...
And for those not familiar with the Waterloo & City (aka 'The Drain') it's a mile and a half long (4 minutes) with two stations and entirely underground. A project for a first time developer?
Then can you not just set the era before ATO? Like the Sub Surface Lines for example could be set before the first ATO converted section between Hammersmith and Latimer Road in 2019
