I have played the Train Sim World series since the early years, and have enjoyed all the new routes and content. When I was a young child, I was a massive fan of Thomas and Friends. I have occasionally revisited the show since then. When Dovetail Games announced this game, I was notably skeptical. However, when it was released, I decided to give it a go. I enjoyed it a lot. It was great revisiting my childhood in a Train Sim World-based game. After I completed all the stories, and spending time with timetable services, I began to think of ideas for DLC content for this game. Personally I believe a mix of branch line expansions and engine add-ons would be the best approach for this game. This could introduce a variety of different characters and locations into the game. Here are my thoughts on how Dovetail should handle the DLC: Brendam Branch Expansion Pack (Includes Edward, Bill, Ben, Salty and Boco) I think this would be a good way to introduce several popular characters, especially Edward Henry Add-on I believe Henry would be a great addition, as a member of the main cast, he would naturally fit into the game Toby Add-on (along with Henrietta) Toby would be unique and bring a different style of locomotive Little Western Expansion Pack (Includes Duck, Oliver, Toad and the 4 RWS exclusive Autocoaches) This could recreate the existing Riviera Line in Train Sim World 6, and introduce some more popular characters Donald and Douglas Add-on Could make a good duo in their work Conclusion Thank you Dovetail for this game. I hope that it continues to receive updates and more content in the future. These are just my thoughts on how DLC should be handled, and I'm interested to hear other people's.
I think Brendam will definitely be first, but one thing I've had on my mind is if the track extensions (at least maybe some) will be free with at least one engine available whilst the rest are DLC. The Little Western has two (three if we count Toby's branch) that you might not be able to access without that track; Harwick and Arlesdale. Thinking about it more, we could still just access those by fast travel. There's also whether the future engines will need missing parts of the layout for their timetable, like if Daisy is going to be a blend of RWS travelling down Ffarquhar all the way up to Harwick which is TV series.
Speaking of timetables I'm surprised Thomas doesn't have timetable modes, where he's just pulling coaches for the big engines. That's one of his jobs. The "Thomas & Gordon" (AKA the first episode from the show) story explains that.
I think they are trying to keep it as RWS canon where he used to shunt for the bigger engines, but then upgraded to running a branch line. Percy is the most recent Knapford shunter available in the game, I think. If Philip is added, then I could see him taking over Percy's work.
Toby is one of my favorite characters, I hope they add him in! Henry is an obvious choice, but I thought it would also be cool if they added Edward, allowing us to explore his branch line.
My thoughts are a woderful idea, beautiful game... But too limited and too little variety. The timetables are a wonderful idea, but once we've gone through them all, then it's just a rinse and repeat. Timetables should be made random, with a lot more variety of tasks to ensure a healthy replay value rather than just once or twice through. Explore mode needs more passangers and other engines randomly passing by or waiting at a station or signal so it doesn't feel like a ghost town. I've said on another post that I think expore mode will be where the main strength of the game would be, but without anyother life to it it all feels rather soulless. It's a beautiful start, there are just issues to iron out and the sooner more characters and routes are released the better!
My overall thoughts on the game are positive. Dovetail did a great job bringing it to life—the foundation is strong, the engines look fantastic, and it's an enjoyable experience for both Thomas fans and train simulator fans alike. That said, the game does have its flaws. The limited roster of engines and routes, combined with the lack of AI traffic in Free Roam, can make the railway feel empty. I also find the signals and path-setting requirements in Free Roam too restrictive, which takes away from the freedom the mode is supposed to offer. Despite those issues, the game has a lot of potential. It's a fun experience and a solid foundation to build on, but there's still plenty of room for improvement. I just hope Dovetail continues to expand and refine it going forward.
Duck took over shunting duties from Percy and then he got his own branch line and Christopher Awdry said he was replaced by another pannier tank engine as Knapford station pilot
They should give Thomas the coach pulling/pushing thing for big engines, just for the sake of having more variety on his timetables. Even if he doesn't do that anymore lore wise.
I agree. Percy could definitely use some help with shunting, and Thomas would be a perfect fit. It would be a nice nod to his early Railway Series role as a shunting engine, while also adding more variety to his timetable. Having Thomas spend most of his time pulling Annie and Clarabel gets repetitive, so giving him some shunting duties would make him much more fun to play.
