When you compare the difference in number between the 170 services on the Rivet TT and the 158 and 170 services combined the difference is night and day
A bit off topic for this thread, so I'll be brief. We were approached to do the GWR version and I agree there is potential. However it was our view that it wasn't different enough compared to the ScotRail and East Midlands offerings for it to be a priority. Other versions of the 158 are felt to be more appealing currently
What makes "other versions" (Northern), but not GWR more appealing and different enough compared to the EMT and Scotrail
Considering currently there isn't really anywhere for it to go (aside from where the EMT 158 already pretends to be one for AI or short depot moves), not really. (Unless the tsw7 route (or dlc for) is an swt/swr route)
For a commercial release, you need driveable services. With the routes we have now that limits it to: GWR Northern Regional Railways TfW
To give a new driving experience for the 158, an idea would be to release it with Cambrian Coast, which has ERTMS. But I don't think a wholly new driving experience is necessary, anything that makes for more playable and AI services is fine by me.
The big problem though Adam is the almost complete lack of services in the evening. Doing my trans Britain journey as you might have read elsewhere, I arrived (virtually) at Edinburgh from Glasgow at around 2045 and there was nothing going towards Markinch until 2254. In reality there are frequent services all the way into the late evening. Appreciate difficulties with permissive platform working etc., but even a basic hourly service to Leven, Markinch and the Circle would be better than nothing. This route is so much more enjoyable with the 158.
I appreciate the information, but unfortunately the Sprinter timetable is almost unplayable after 6pm with how seldom you see a train. Even the Glenrothes' last service is around 6 or 7 pm. Choosing between the 158 and a fuller timetable (even if figures show one is bigger), I'll always pick the fuller timetable. It's a shame really as I really like the 158 and hope it can be added in some way or the substitution restriction can be altered somehow.
I definitely agree, the 158 is fun to drive but the lack of evening services is disheartening. I doubt I'll touch the 158 timetable much anymore even though its the only route its on (aside from a few services on E2G and AI in Cathcart)
It is a shame we increasingly have to pick and choose which trains we want to appear. The richness of the timetable is a big part of what makes a route enjoyable.
Just from reading the comments from Adam, I’m really at the point where I’m wondering what the point in buying third party stock packs is. This yet another pack that’s being essentially ignored by others for primary use & the original dev of the pack seem always have an issue in getting decent chunks of gameplay for it. DTG should have stepped in a long time ago to put a stop to all these separate timetables, the more we get of them, the worse value we get for our wider catalogues. Also a massive issue still seems to be the lack of development structure, I don’t get why so much content is being built so differently to each other, resulting in limitations.
And something like Salisbury to Exeter would be a crying shame if we got 159’s instead of Class 50’s.
It’s quite scenic in a southern England way, but in loco hauled days the service was roughly two hourly in each direction and increased to hourly in 159 days. There was the odd extra train that extended from Salisbury down to Yeovil (either a Thumper DEMU or Class 33 and Mark One set, or TC unit. At the western end you had a couple of extra DMU services to and from Axminster in the peaks. Certainly by the early 80’s there was nothing in the way of regular freight that ran the length of the route. However I would still Day One the purchase as it became a very popular route with “bashers” particularly in the twilight of loco haulage.
Biased admittedly as I grew up around there, but maybe a network at the western end of the route would be better. Exeter to Yeovil and Exmouth.