Hello everyone, I was going to post this under content suggestions but I feel like it is more of a broader topic than just a suggestion. With every roadmap and US release I'm left wondering, why does it seem that only the East coast and California get routes made in the game? I'm not saying anything bad about these routes, but for me personally it gets old driving sections of the northeast corridor, or similar Metrolink services over and over. I would really like to see something new for the TSW 7 US route this year. There are so many other locations in the country with passenger rail. Personally, I live near Chicago and would love to see something from this area featured in the game. Chicago is the rail capital of the country, so it seems odd to me that it's never been featured in six years of TSW and only once in TSC. We have many Metra commuter lines, with the most notable being the BNSF racetrack with over 150 trains per day. There is also the South Shore line, the last interurban railway remaining in the country which just opened a new branch. There are numerous freight operations in the region as well, with steel and oil industry along the lakefront in Northwest Indiana. This could be a great place for a freight route with more variety than just driving down a straight track. Outside of the Chicago area, there are many other areas we have yet to explore in TSW. Florida, Seattle, Denver, Etc. I am not personally too knowledgeable about these but just by a quick search there seems to be many areas suitable for TSW routes. I understand that licensing may be an issue, but I would happily play an unbranded version similar to the Metra or Tri Rail content in TSC. I don't feel that licensing should hold us back from exploring major parts of the country. So my questions for those who are reading this: -Do you feel the current US routes are repetitive? -What areas of the US do you think should be explored? -Would you be okay with unbranded content, if it means getting to see new areas of the country? And to dovetail if you see this, do you have any insight on why the game hasn't branched out more? Is it simply licensing, or a lack of demand from customers? Thank you all for reading this and providing your insight!
I’d love to see other big US cities in TSW too. Chicago, Florida, San Francisco etc. Honestly anywhere new would be nice. I’m not a big fan of the California routes we have… I find them very boring and slow however id really be keen to see San Fran get a route if they decide to go back to California the next time. As for New York. NYC is really good Especially Harlem and Stamford. I’m all for more NYC and would love to see Hudson line and a New Haven extension happen in the future. The NYC Subway would be really amazing but that’s not going to happen anytime soon. As for Unbranded content. Yeah I personally wouldn’t mind that too much as long as the route is good. Oh and definitely more US Freight. That’s a biggie at this point.
Do you feel the current US routes are repetitive? Yes Would you be okay with unbranded content, if it means getting to see new areas of the country? Yes What areas of the US do you think should be explored? Personally the area I would like to see most would be the Pacific Northwest, such as: - Sounder - Amtrak Cascades - BNSF Scenic Subdivision Any historical route would also be good, wherever it was set
Personally I think DTG is closer to ditching NA content than they are broadening it. The NEC NY sections would be much more interesting to me if A) they would just put the work into making NYC look like NYC & B) if there was some hope of stitching the routes together. The rolling stock is also all very samey & once you’re bored of the geography, there’s not much variety to be found in traction. I always found the non NY routes such as Boston & SanFran to be more enticing, but it seems they’re more focused on getting as much use as they can out of the NEC NY assets. Hopefully Stamford is the last we see of NY for a while now.
Got a feeling the future of US content now lies with 3P's, of which we know of only one - HIS - who have a mixed reputation from their work on TSC. They lost their main signalling guru, most suggestions (when DTG did response) seem to be met with no license/no access/no interest from the operator etc. Even if they have an in house US route building team, there also seems little interest in maybe going retro to avoid some of those issues - the Milwaukee Road and its unique electrics have been cited more than once, or what about one of the logging networks in Oregon or Washington State? But I didn't bother with the latest US release, simply because I couldn't take another NY route that isn't something different like the illusive Subway. That plus safety systems always on, killed it too.
Certainly true for anything other than more NEC or Metrolink. In addition to HIS, there is Adamovic Productions, who are apparently working on a BNSF " Snoot nose " SD 40-2 loco. Didn't get much of a mention in the Roadmap. But that's it currently. As I say, not expecting anything from DTG except more commuter, either on NEC, Metrolink or, perhaps, NJT. To me though the repetitive sectioning of the NEC is no more tedious than that of the WCML, with the same kind of traction and little scenic variation. But UK fans seem to be eager for more of it, as do US fans for the NEC. I look for something different, like the Whitehaven route in the UK, and that's why I look forward to the Hayden Branch from HIS.
Only thing I want out of the US currently is an proper Amtrak Diesel Unit, because that would allow for so much usage outside of the route it comes with. Else than that, I genuinely havent had much hope from first party US content. Seems like we'll either get more NEC variations, or something in California. Would be nice to have something from Marc, Septa or Metra but that seems very much like a very distant dream.
Yes, I completely agree. I would happily pay $20 for a pack with the P42 or Charger and some scenarios on the various US routes.
Hate to say it, but dont expect anything out of the norm, maybe a new operator will open their doors, like Metrolink who wernt licensed in TSC but are now in TSW, will open up, but i dont expect anything outside of the norm from DTG unless a new license opens up.
The US operators are harder to get licenses for. Tbh, the WCML south wouldn't have been made if DTG didn't have the license at the start of development and it was lost at the end. Unbranded routes sell less.
I think it depends. WCMLS isn’t so bad since Avanti has pretty flashy branding, even with how detractive the lack of LNR branding is. ECML though, would be a different story without LNER branding since there isn’t anything else to overshadow that. Ultimately it depends on how key certain branding is. B2C for example has little to no complaint regarding lack of licensing, because there’s enough variation of actual ToC’s & the unbranded LNR sets aren’t plastered in horrid made up liveries.
Its pretty straight forward. The real life US rail network is pretty lame. So they don't have a ton of routes to work with that are short/dense enough to fit into the game and be interesting. Then out of the few that would work in the game, many won't provide licensing support.
Licensing is a minefield, and maybe US operators are more strict with how close unbranded liveries get? (The fake LNWR one on the WCML isn't close to reality lol). I'd be ok with unbranded American stuff as I don't know who operates where anyway. Local customers may feel less inclined as it'd break immersion for them
Most American passenger trains (that I'm familiar with) don't have a huge amount of branding or elaborate color schemes like UK trains do. I'm attaching pictures below of the Metra and South Shore lines that I mentioned in my original post. For the passenger cars, there is barely any branding, so I would be fine with just leaving them as silver metal with no logos. The Metra loco could be plain blue. Even with rolling stock from brands we already have in the game (NJT, MBTA, Amtrak), most of them just have plain metal cars with a bit of branding added. If you think about these routes if the logos weren't there it would break immersion for me. This is basically what happened with the Metra route in TSC, or Caltrain content recently in TSW.
There is at least three other US devs Travel By Train who does US locos, Adamovic productions who is doing the BNSF snoot nose SD40-2 and has done stuff for Trainz under RRmods and a dev who is doing an Amtrak P42
I'm wondering why they chose the snoot nose. Will the doors and the interior be functional ( dare I mention the rest room ). Can't think of any other reason.
Could just be a way to test the waters using his own backlog of models without doing anything too egregious for a 1st loco DLC. Only disappointing thing is he isnt also adding a patched ATSF skin for the loco.
I don't have a big problem with the NY or LA routes, but more so with the lack of other areas being explored. It would have been nice to get a freight route with some improvements to the freight simulations by now. Unfortunately that doesn't seem very likely to come from DTG anytime soon. Branding is one thing, but the bigger problem is probably getting access so they are able to produce something accurate. Even then, surely there has to be a railroad of some sort which would give DTG access to develop something different? If that really isn't the case, then I think it is unfortunate, but fair that they don't try to create more content. There are a lot of options though, and maybe creating something based on what we already have could be an option to get something out after such a long time.
I know it might mean doing steam or older diesels, even narrow gauge, but there must be scope to approach one or more of the US heritage railroads.
