I know I don't play TSW as often as TS, but I kinda want to get into it. The routes that I personally don't enjoy block out the good ones, so I'd like some advice on what to try.
Ask 100 people, get 100 different opinions. It depends on the type of content you're looking for. My personal suggestions would be: USA - Peninsula Corridor and LIRR UK - Northern Trans-Penine and Tees Valley DE - Rhein-Ruhr Osten, Main-Spessart Bahn and Ruhr-Sieg Nord
Thanks for the suggestions. I already have LIRR but I'll look into Peninsula Corridor. I've heard mixed opinions about it so I'll probably just get it and see if I like it.
Switching in TSW is very different than in TS1 because of the first person element. You can get out to uncouple and walk over to the switches to flip them.
I picked it up in a sale and I've been playing it a fair bit, particularly with the Baby Bullet which gives a bit more variety and more service options. If you like passenger services, then it's got a long route with a good variety of scenery and plenty of stops so services take a decent amount of time. The CAT and its cab car are more complicated to drive than the Bullet and bi-levels, but more rewarding with it. Freight is fairly secondary, but there's a bit to do with the UP GP38.
It's quite a significant difference between the two titles though, so if you're looking to move to TSW it's worth being aware that the experience on those routes may be more involved than you're used to on TS.
I have most of the routes except the most recent German one (and the Canadian one releasing today.) For US stuff, Heavy Haul is still my fave. Peninsula Corridor is very nice, but the route (I mean the real thing, not how DTG recreated it) is fairly boring with a lot of straight line running. For UK/German routes I'm not very knowledgeable, but Northern Trans Pennine has been the most interesting to me, with a variety of stuff to do (especially with the Heavy Freight pack) and the era is interesting to me as an American.
The only one I would say that I have been really disappointed with is the NEC route, it needs more variety and seemed a bit quiet. I haven't got the Cab Car or the Switcher so they would possibly bring more life into it. The other I would say that disappoints me is the WSR, mainly as it is crying out for some steam but also it lacks the atmosphere of a preserved line, some more characters are really needed here, plus photographers along the lineside and people on the beach at Blue Anchor which would never be deserted on a hot summers afternoon! Also another gripe for me is the random numbering of the loco's in service mode, I wish it would give you the actual locomotives on the line, I have never seen the 47 as North Star in service mode. Favourites are NTP, GWE (although would really love to see more DLC for this one), TVL, MSB and LIRR.
That would be cool. I'm not very knowledgeable about the LIRR, what other types of locos usually run there?
I have both RSN and MSB, and while RSN has generally better scenery, MSB feels considerably more polished and optimised. On the other hand, RSN provides more challenging locomotives to drive in the form of the DB BR143 and 155 (DLC). Both of the aforementioned locomotives will substitute on MSB, so if you can afford to I would just get both routes, because they're both excellent. Driving with the HUD off and using PZB is very rewarding if you have the patience for it. I can't speak for RRO because I do not own it. Rapid Transit is meh; it's certainly more polished than it used to be, but lack of traffic (both trains and cars), completely flat, straight track, and non-functional destination boards leave a lot to be desired. I do enjoy NTP a lot. I don't have the freight DLC but I have only heard very positive reviews about that. Not much I can say other than it looks and runs great, the 45 can be difficult to master (at least for me), and the geared 101 is a very fun change of pace. I don't own TVL so I can't comment on it, but I have also heard that it is very good. If you like NTP, you will probably like TVL and vice-versa. GWE is fine. Apart from the missing destination displays I think it's decently well populated and there is a sense of life. The passenger equipment just isn't very fun/challening to drive, and the class 66 is given little spotlight. Nothing bad, just nothing outstanding. WSR is okay; it's arguably one of the most beautiful routes with tree canopies and blossoming flowers, but as said by another user here, it is desperately lacking steam traction and more non-railway activity like people on the beach and railfans on railway overpasses/crossings. And at 25MPH, it does get very boring, very quickly. That said, if you're the type of bloke who enjoys walking simulators, WSR might be right up your alley. I don't own ECW so I can't comment on it either, but it is high quality. CSX: HH is still my personal favourite NA route because of its mountainous scenery but Penisula Corridor is certainly no slouch. It is also very rewarding to drive a Caltrain service with the HUD off, following speed signal indications and trackside signposts. LIRR is okay. It's kind of in the same vein as Rapid Transit, personally. Granted, there's far more interesting scenery, but only one trainset and very little traffic. I personally find it rather boring with the combination of sparse traffic and extremely easy train handling, though I do enjoy the branchline services. NEC is just bad. No other comments. Overall, I would name the highlights for each region DE: RSN UK: TVL NA: PIC Each route picked above offers both passenger and freight, interesting and fun traction to drive, and quality DLC expansions. Hope that's helpful.
I'd say RRO adds to that; the way that virtually all the German trains sub in to every German route really adds to the gameplay. Yes, the RRO route is significantly shorter and flatter than MSB/RSN, but the S8 (DB BR 422) stops so frequently that en end-to-end run still takes a decent amount of time and effort. If you want the option of a faster game you can sub in the 146.2 to the RE4 service and do a regional run around the other side of the split, giving a quick blast and a fresh perspective (plus those RB48 services are <10 mins and the S9 is 2.5 mins so the 100 services trophy is a breeze!).
Firstly I don't own RSN or RRO or the new one so can't comment on them. Overall I think NTP and TVL are a must, especially with the heavy freight DLC and the Class 31 respectively. The class 101 in both of them is my favourite train to drive when I want a good challenge. PC and LIRR are my next favourites. With PC I don't like the freight aspect of it but the all stop Caltrain services are great to play and the new Baby Bullet DLC is lovely to drive.
TVL is really very good. I'd say that TVL is the route that comes closest to being a "simulation" - you actually have to do something to deal with the mass of the steel coils/beams, at a variety of speeds, radii and gradients - and empties feel very different. There's a good mix of freight with single/double headed trains, be they coke, steel or cement. Again, they all feel different. The 37 will slip at start with the heavy steel trains. You also get to use slow-speed control with the coke/coal wagons. The 101 is a bonus - and made even more challenging on this route. And it can be dragged by the Class 31 as unpowered coaching stock. And there's something about the 08 that works really well with the cab-roll, as it jolts about. The couplings look right, and react properly. The liveries and artwork are excellent. The detail on the 37 is frankly stunningly good. There is a decent amount of traffic knocking about (almost like MSB), and it all sounds great. A big downer is that the marker and headlights are all glow textures and are not light sources. And if I want to be picky...., I'd say that it is a shame that you can "fix" the broken flickering lamps along the route - the broken lamps are a feature (and I wish they'd give the scripts that control them a couple of random variables)....! So - I don't fix them.... (easy solution....). The rolling stock, industries and stations all look right, and when the stations are under cover, then they look really very good in all lighting conditions, and sometimes stunningly good. And authentic. Darlington is a delight (and in the 1980s, whenever I passed through here, it looked just as empty as it is depicted in the game). So, for me, I'd pick TVL (with the 31), MSB and LIRR - these routes all strike me as being well thought out... and...um... finished.
In the late 80s I used to travel from Liverpool Lime Street to Middlesbrough which took me up both the NTP ant TVL routes and the thing that stands out in my memory from those journeys was the sometimes very long wait on that platform at Darlington, usually in the freezing cold. The scenery over the pennines was stunning too, and not that you need to know, but I listened to The Smiths all the way on my Walkman to make the long journey go quicker. Now I get to drive the trains instead, if only on the PS4.
I love driving the 101 on TVL. The first time I drove it I hated it. The whole idea about gear shifting turned me off. A few months later, I found myself trying again and loving it. What a fantastic machine to operate. I really hope to see more 101s and 105s in the future.
If you like modern British electric multiple units, then ECW is the route for you. Although it really could do with another EMU or DMU, such as the Class 313 or Class 170. Seeing 377s all the time gets pretty repetitive.
