Do you think that as we explore around the island or do a mission as our chosen engine, we'll see in real-time other engines and vehicles roaming around and undertaking their tasks as if it's like a living and breathing world?
That sounds like RPG territory, I doubt the game will be that advanced. Any interactions between characters will all be scripted in a form of scenario’s. This game has potential though, I hope to see more characters from the show added to the roaster eventually. Endless possibilities to create story driven content.
Yes it will be like those unrealistic scenarios on PFR or ECML where you had to speak to Emily whatshername or take operational railway instructions from the farmer trespassing on the railway with his cows!
I mean like scripted things happening when free roaming around. Like say if you picked Emily then Gordon will be automatically made to pull the express and stop at certain stations, and Diesel will be automatically made to randomly shunt trucks at Vicarstown etc. Great.
So in the timetable it'll probably be like any other TSW route. You'll have certain characters running on certain services and different movements throughout the day whether it be shunting, hauling freight or running a passenger service and that timetable is for a 24 hour period. There may be options to use substitution to give some dynamics but it'll be interesting to see how DTG do it and then as new characters are released they'd be added to that timetable
Will be interesting to see what they do with five engines at the start ,will it feel a bit empty as you can't have two ,three Thomas's running around to boost life on the rails Sure it's got to start somewhere and there's tonnes of potential with dlc for this title but I'm guessing it needs to start with a bang with plenty going on and plenty to do with regards to gameplay
At the risk of reading too much into it... they have said 5 PLAYABLE characters. Thus far I've seen nothing said of how many non-playable characters will be featured, including other rolling stock. A lot of the lesser-known "NPC" characters that won't sell well or are problematic could be used to be doing things off-tracks or to fill up the routes. (How much call would there be for the stationary crane for example, and they won't let you fly the helicopter I'm pretty sure as it's not a flight sim) Having said that, from the few episodes I've seen there isn't a TON of "busy traffic" on a small island like SODOR. It's usually just the characters involved or they say "hi" in passing once. It's a cartoon RURAL island, not a "real" urban railway so I don't expect a lot of traffic. That would kind of seem weird to be honest. I'm not expecting a "realistic" TSW experience.
I know I’m months late bringing this up, but I’ve been thinking about how much better Explore Mode would feel if AI or NPC engines were active in the background. Seeing engines travel along the main line and branch lines while we run our own trains would make the railway feel far more alive instead of empty and desolate. Right now, other engines only really appear in Timetable or Story Mode. In free roam, the world feels lifeless because no characters move besides the one you’re controlling. That’s disappointing because Sodor is supposed to feel like a busy, bustling railway full of activity. Even simple AI traffic would improve immersion tremendously. Seeing engines pass by, haul trains, or shunt in yards would make the island feel active and believable. I know this may be difficult to implement, but I still think it’s an idea worth considering because it would add so much life to the game.
I certainly hope this is changed/fixed/patched! Free Roam is probabbly where the longevity of this game will be strongest, so seeing other trains passing by, shunting or having to wait at a singnal for James or Emily to go through with their train will add to the immersion. For me, this is the biggest frustration. It's a little like driving around in a GTA game with no other cars on the road and for true sandbox/open world immersion we need to encounter other trains/characters up and down the lines. Plus of course, we also need more characters and more lines!
I can see how it could get awkward to work with, adding timetables to Explore Mode even if it will be customisable. Like imagine taking James up Gordon's Hill and we pass another James who is on the run down to Wellsworth? Funny, but awkward again if we take our James back to the sheds at night and...there's the AI James who has just finished their service for the night. Maybe be able to activate and deactivate who is doing what on the go so we don't end up with a double Thomas.
Exactly. I feel like Dovetail could take inspiration from Grand Theft Auto V when it comes to free roam. Players should be able to run their engine while seeing other engines moving up and down the railway doing their own thing. Even simple AI timetables and more active trains would make Sodor feel far more alive and immersive. Oh yeah, and more engines and locations would certainly make the gaming experience a lot more fun.
I think it would be nice for the customisable timetable to work like we're in the role of Hatt, choosing how we want our Island of Sodor to be. Do we have Diesel do Percy's mail run tonight, shall Henry take over the Express? Do you want a Sodor where Diesel was sent packing or a Sodor where Thomas never got his branchline? Maybe a service you want running, but don't like Billy...so you swap him out for Arthur to run it instead. Plenty of potential.
I couldn't agree more! The train simulator is an immersive way for players to really control the world around them. They are in charge of this game. The game is theirs to control, therefore making them the controller, and so controllers should be able to control how their railway is going to run. Players should be given the opportunity to reenact the life of Sir Topham Hatt. With that in mind, they should be able to make timetables for all the engines in which work they're supposed to do. So, the fact that we are only able to control 1 engine during timetable mode and explore mode, and the fact that we don't really have enough engines or routes to really call this a fully functioning Sodor railway, is kind of a disservice right now. Players expect the railway to be a fully functioning railway that haves the engines bustling up and down the line doing their work, so we should be able to see a full main line or a full branch line in full display. And while this is not related, I really wish camera work was easy so that we are able to watch the railway from a hillside or have a stationary camera where we can see the engines running up and down the line like at a station.
