Where To Begin ?

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by olsbyn, Jul 26, 2020.

  1. olsbyn

    olsbyn Active Member

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    A little bad timing considering the launch to TSW2 is within reach, but I just purchased TS2020 after trying out other sims than TSW with great frustration..so here I am :D
    I could use some advise on where to begin building a collection of good content, both payware and freeware, but keep in mind I'm not a millionaire, I like all kind of trains, but I prefer steam and diesel, I have no preferences to where in the world, but keep it on planet earth..
     
  2. Cat

    Cat Well-Known Member

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    Some good steam/early diesel era UK routes are;
    Western Lines of Scotland
    Weir Valley Railway, NE England
    Riviera in the 50s, Western Region
     
  3. Doomotron

    Doomotron Well-Known Member

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    Welcome to Train Simulator. I'd say to start at the beginning - older content is a lot cheaper (and runs better!) than newer content, and some of it has aged really well. The WCML North is a brilliant route, although it is old. WCML Over Shap is more expensive but is also an exceptional route. London To Brighton, ECML London-Peterborough, London to Faversham are all very good older routes, although some can be a bit expensive.

    You said you liked steam and diesel, so Riviera Lines in the Fifties with the Western Hydraulics expansion is a great place to start. You get a large selection of trains and rolling stock on a beautiful route. The Highland Line is a good diesel route I'm told. DPSimulation has a number of freeware routes like Barnstaple to Exeter (and its fictional version) that are all quite nice, but you'll need some DLC before you can use them.

    Also, a word of warning: don't buy the European or US Loco And Asset Packs, as they are included for a lower price in other routes. There's a thread somewhere on here I think that says what they're included in.
     
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  4. Cyclone

    Cyclone Well-Known Member

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    Another note: don't buy Sherman Hill by itself. Battle for Sherman Hill includes the route and multiple additional locos for very little more than retail on the route itself. The jury is out on whether sale prices for everything are better, but the scenario pack is exclusive to the bundle. Either way, you will want to get Soldier Summit/Salt Lake, Cajon (find a 2012 or earlier key if Cajon is not available to you), and Donner Pass to play the scenarios included with some of the locos in the bundle, but the bundle scenario pack is all Sherman Hill and utilizes those locos. It's a great bundle that gives you a LOT of scenarios to play with.

    Also, some things work in 32-bit only, especially older content. So be careful to try both 32-bit and 64-bit before thinking something doesn't work.
    .
     
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  5. olsbyn

    olsbyn Active Member

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    Thanks guys, I found a japanese route that contained to european assets, I haven't been able to find an interesting route that contains the U.S assets yet, I have all the options open in SteamDB so I can see which DLC's to consider :)
     
  6. JJTimothy

    JJTimothy Well-Known Member

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    Firstly you might want to wait for sales. The only DLC I've paid more than 50% of the usual price for is the Welsh Marches route just before it was withdrawn from sale. Of course just because I'm a skinflint doesn't mean you have to be though it would give you time to get experience on the routes you have and perhaps more ideas about what to look for.

    I'll second all of Cat's suggestions especially my favourite the Weardale and Teesdale which is Diesel only as it comes but it should pass for pretty much any period from Nationalization to the start of the BR Corporate Blue era and there are plenty of NE Region and BR Standard kettles that fit it well. The Riviera and Western Lines of Scotland are both steam only as they come but there are Diesels you can get to improve them (yeah- I said it).

    WCML North mentioned above is a fine older route typically a fiver or less in sales and well worth that on its own merits but it happens to include both Euro/UK and (for some reason) US Asset packs.

    You can get Steam keys for older editions of TS from other websites and that's a good way of adding to your collection presuming the bundle of routes (typically three- one British, one US and one German though there have been exceptions) does interest you. Activate such a key and the routes will drop in to your install just as if you had bought them separately.
     
  7. jetgriff

    jetgriff Well-Known Member

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  8. theorganist

    theorganist Well-Known Member

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    Have been driving the BMG Jubilee over your Settle Carlisle route, a great combination of train and route. It is a very good looking and nicely detailed route, certainly recommend it. Thank you.
     
  9. theorganist

    theorganist Well-Known Member

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    I would echo the sentiments regards Western Lines of Scotland, Riviera in the 50's and Weardale and the West Coast routes. There are also the two Creative Rail ECML routes from Peterborough to York, one set in the BR blue period and the other post electrification. The Wherry lines are very good too, and don't look out of place with the Regional Railways liveried class 101. The recently released Stainmore route is excellent too and has a good variety of stock so it works well "out of the box".

    Also based on the Liverpool Manchester is the freeware South Lancashire and Cheshire route with is BR blue heaven it needs couple more items of payware. Also the Jetgriff freeware routes are excellent too.l I would also recommend the freeware Wycombe route which covers a large area of Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and parts of Warwickshire in the steam period on the Steam Sounds Supreme website.

    For Weardale the Victory Works J21 and Caledonia Works G5 & A5 are both very useful, plus the Q6, K1 and J50.
     
  10. olsbyn

    olsbyn Active Member

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    Yep, I've been there to, though I don't hate it, I think it's a pretty good game, but to be honest I think this is better, especially if you have the RW Enhancer and AP weather improvements the graphic turns out pretty good to, and it's unbeatable when it comes to content. I haven't been trying out the editor yet, I'm at the point where I'm looking for great already made routes, consists and sound improvements for different locos.
    Right now I am playing on NS coal division and N-line trying to remember the different controls :p

    jetgriff Nice, I'll have a look at your creations :)
     
  11. Doyden

    Doyden Active Member

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    I hope the OP won't mind me hijacking their thread but I too have just bought TS having played TSW for the last year and a half.

    I have really enjoyed TSW but I was becoming quite envious of the much longer routes I was seeing on various YouTube videos as well as the wide array of content, mods and Steam Workshop content and so I thought I'd give it a go.

    I have an ageing gaming PC so it's not running particularly well but will be upgrading shortly. I bought TS 2019 because I quite fancied the Portsmouth Direct line. As I understand it, I can buy other keys to add other content from earlier (or the latest) versions.

    I'm particularly interested in 70s/early 80s BR which is when I used to visit various ECML stations in the Midlands as well as Nottingham, Derby and Birmingham and rare trips to Doncaster and York. Until recently I used to spend a few months a year in Cornwall so really like the look of the south west route I've seen in some videos. Does it cover the whole route from Paddington to Penzance or is that a few DLCs joined together? Anywaya if anyone has any suggestions for DLC to cover the 70s/80s I'd appreciate it.

    Also, what are the must have add-ons? I've heard of RWenhancer which I'll look at when I'm using my new machine. What else do others use as a matter of course?

    Many thanks in advance and apologies again to the OP for butting in.
     
  12. theorganist

    theorganist Well-Known Member

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    There is the large and expanding freeware South Lancashire and Cheshire route on the Backdated Trainsim site also on wotawollys site. It is set 1975 to 1985. it does require a couple of payware items for it to work.

    WCML over Shap comes with BR blue stock and is a bit of a hybrid route, having Pendolino speed limit signs for example.

    The Western Rails collection from Just Trains goes from Paddington to Penzance via Bristol not Newbury and comes in parts, it is set in the recent day.

    There are the two Creative Rail Peterborough to York routes set in BR blue days and post electrification

    Some modern routes can be ran with older stock on although you might have to squint a bit when you see a station nameboard with a post privatisation livery on it but I don't tend to notice once you start populating the route with period stock.
     
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  13. olsbyn

    olsbyn Active Member

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    Yes, this one definetly, it also features presets much in the same way as Re-shade, but better, you should also get the weather enhancement pack from Armstrong Powerhouse, and there's a thread here somewhere with recommended settings for Nvidia GPU, if that's what you have.
    The rest I'll leave to the experts, I'm still a newbie to TS :)
     
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  14. mattanatior97

    mattanatior97 Member

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    Amtrak stuff you should get is f40ph obviously dash 8 just a good train for now work p42 again obviously and e8 I don't know much about the e 8 as I don't got them yet
     
  15. Blacknred81

    Blacknred81 Well-Known Member

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    One could skip buying the standalone F40PH California Zephyr DLC as it comes with Soldier Summit as Default (I dont think theres a difference in the 2)
     
  16. mattanatior97

    mattanatior97 Member

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    U36b is another good one just don't open the window I should probably report that bug
     
  17. JJTimothy

    JJTimothy Well-Known Member

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    You can indeed- the routes get added to your installation as if you had bought them separately. It's a good way of expanding your collection if you have cosmopolitan tastes- personally I'm mostly interested in British railways but I did get TS2019. Getting started in TS with an older edition is no bad thing either. It's likely to be cheaper even during a Steam sale and one might have routes that interest you more than the current edition while the core program will be updated to the latest version as a matter of course.
     
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  18. olsbyn

    olsbyn Active Member

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    Doyden There are some good deals at g2a right now, I bought TS2017 there so I could get the Wales route, this route was pulled from the store, but you can get it by buying TS2017.

    JJTimothy I'm hijacking my own thread xD I absolutely agree, I like a bit variation, but British Railways has a special place in my heart to, all the beautiful arcitecture cut into an already beautiful country.. I think I have to move there :)
     
    Last edited: Jul 29, 2020
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