Hello, as a noob to gaming and train sims, I've decided on TS over TSW but have a few quick questions. 1. It appears that buying TS2021 for £24.99 from Steam isn't my only option. If I prefer the routes on an earlier version, I can get, say, a download link to TS2017 from another store for £19.99. Is there any reason why I shouldn't get an earlier version and from what site do these versions get downloaded from? 2. What are the game activation keys you can buy for about £5? Can I really get TS that cheaply? 3. In your opinion are there any monumentally fantastic add-on routes I should look out for as a early add-on purchase? Grateful for your thoughts guys JC
If you get a Game activation Key make sure it is from a reputable source - second had keys don't work. If you buy any version of TS from 2012 to 2021 it will come with the route that came out that year. And once installed the Core Game Engine will be automatically updated to TS2021 You don't get any of this years routes but the bit that makes it work is the same for everyone. TS normally comes with one British, one European and one American route with locos and stock And just add more if you like it - Sales are the best time. Peter
Yes, you can genuinely get older versions of TS20xx for £5 or less. Many thousands of Steam keys were sold via Humble Bundle, especially of TS2016 and more recently TS2020. There are likely many unused keys of the latter kicking about at very cheap prices. I've purchased many annual versions of the game for extremely good value this way. Sometimes as low as £1.50. But as Peter rightly advises, if you go this route do pick a reputable 3rd party gaming store, ideally one that offers some insurance protection (just in case there's any unexected problem with the Steam code provided). Note, even if you couldn't (for whatever reason) find a suitable buy for an older release of the game - and wanted to buy TS2021. Just remember, it's no more than a couple of weeks wait untill the next big Steam sale (Halloween); so quite likely TS2021 will be significantly discounted if you're able to wait a little. This also applies to any extra DLC (further routes/locos) you might be interested in (so long as they're not the most recent releases which tend to stay full price in such sales - but all others will normally have some healthy discount). It pays to be patient!
That depends very much on what you're interested in. If all you want to do is drive ICE units on German main lines chances are The Corris Railway isn't going to appeal. Speaking personally I'll have a go at driving anything now and then, even steam engines, but can you offer some guidelines?
Sorry, yes I should have said UK routes, ideally with diesel traction. There are so many and I was wondering if I could zoom in on the ones that are universally considered to be excellent.
Ah I didn't know that the core game engine would be automatically updated thank you. Those activation keys that cost £5.99......they will give me the core game engine for that amount?
I wouldn't be able to list them here; it would be against the house rules. By all means DM me if you wish, for such info (the natural caveat being, that buying from such stores is your own free choice & you accept responsibility for any risk, albeit the risk using one's common sense is small). I'd strongly urge anyone buying games online to always use PayPal (or equivalent) if at all possible for payments.
There's a difference between "the game" and "a bundle which includes the game". TSx is basically free, but then it doesn't come with anything. All of the content and assets are in the DLC and that's what you're paying for, so the question here boils down to what content do you want, and how can you get that within a budget that suits you. If you like the routes bundled in the TS2017 bundle then find a key for that bundle, if you prefer TS2018 bundle, I think you get the idea No matter which bundle you get, the core game engine will be updated to TS2021, but you won't get any additional DLC without buying them, which you can do for full price or in a sale or from certain third parties. The steam sales are often pretty good with some routes (not normally the newer ones) up to 60% off...
Comrade! I shall surprise nobody by commending my favourite route The Weardale and Teesdale Network in the '60s to your attention. It's well made (started as a labour of love by Derek Siddle at DTG who is from Witton Park and developed over years), has scope for almost every type of operation except fast main line running, portrays the bleak beauty of western County Durham very well, includes a decent selection of rolling stock and has enough support in the Workshop to keep me at least entertained for hundreds of hours. Perhaps I should mention that I live in the area, am interested in railway history generally (and railways don't come more historic than the Stockton and Darlington), it was the first route I drove (at Locomotion- the railway museum in Shildon) and I was given it along with TS2016 so... I may be a little biased. The Welsh Marches is a nice drive- quite new (thus unlikely to be heavily discounted in sales for a while) and the included scenarios are a bit to and fro but I'm sure the Workshop scenarists will come up with interesting things to do in it. Settle-Carlisle is very linear and kind of peters out at the southern end but is lovely to look at- great if you just want to go for a drive and watch the scenery roll by. WCML North (Carlisle to Glasgow) is let down by the included scenarios but it's nicely varied and includes both the European/UK and US Loco's and Assets packs (much used by Workshop contributors) for considerably less than the cost of buying them on their own especially during sales. ECML North looks pretty crude by today's standards but has much to like. All of these are older routes that don't cost much and can be very cheap in sales. Thinking laterally The Riviera Line in the '50s and Western Lines of Scotland are both steam routes as they come but you can drive Diesels in them of course. There's a nice set of Diesel-hydraulics to go with the Riviera line. (You will enjoy driving steam if you give it a chance). If you're looking to get started in TS with an older edition you should consider either one that included Welsh routes as their British component. Both the North Wales Coast and South Wales Coast lines were withdrawn from individual sale due to licensing concerns. FWIW I think the South Wales line is better but there's a lot of TS footage on line so, if you're thinking about any route, ask for opinions of course but you can usually get a good impression of it from YouTube. It might be worth adding that, even when you already own TS, you can still buy an older edition (or any new edition as it is released) and, as long as it is distributed through Steam, the bundle of routes that it comes with will simply be added to your collection as if you had bought them separately.
Awesome mate thank you so much. I'd already clocked the Weardale and Teesdale route so that will be on my list. And I model South Wales steel so will definitely have a look at South Wales Coast lines. Good point about the steam routes that can be driven with diesels. I also like the look of the Wherry Lines with the short set as I used to travel to Lowestoft on the old DMUs back in the 80s so know the area well.
The Wherry Lines is very well put together, well recommended, especially with some AP stock or enhancements (37 & 68, Mk2 Coack Pack).
I'd like to mention West Coast Main Line Over Shap, represents the WCML between Preston and Carlisle, plus the Heysham branch and part of the Glasgow South Western between Carlisle & Dumfreis. There's a Steam Workshop version that adds the Windermere branch. I'm going to be controversial here and say East Coast Main Line (the original one) is alright, but a 3rd party site called DP Simulation have redone it set in the modern era (and included the Tees Valley line to Middlesbrough) (it's available on their website or a cut-down version is available on the workshop) and is actually pretty good, as is its successor North East England (which looks like it'll be really nice - I'm from the area so I'm slightly biased ), though it's still in heavy development. Weardale & Teesdale as mentioned previously is excellent. North London & GOBLIN has lots of potential for freight scenarios, plus is set just before electrification of the GOBLIN line, so you're running 2-car class 172s on it. WCML North includes some of the commuter lines in and around Glasgow.
I'd read that the AP Wherry version is better in terms of prototypes, but then the requirements for the AP Wherry version are quite a lot in terms of what you already need in terms of routes before it can be downloaded?
Mainly electric so I didn't mention it but I'll second this. I bought it just to run the APT but like it very much for its own merits. I noticed recently and with some amusement that the actual ECML North DLC is no longer a requirement for the NE route. From what I've seen on YouTube it does look very good. A modern day version of the Bishop Line (Bishop Auckland to Darlo') has been available for some years but there isn't much to it and it doesn't look a patch on this.
All good information here. Personally I built up a really nice collection of routes simply by purchasing every edition from TS2014 onwards, often for stupid cheap on 3rd party game key sites. Considering each edition comes with 3-4 routes usually, it's a very quick and affordable way to try lots of different things and get some variety. Generally you may be able to get 2 or 3 of the yearly editions with 3-4 routes each for the price of buying one single new route on steam.
Perhaps I misremember. Without all the dependencies it's been moot for me. Indeed- if you want an international collection of routes this is a great way to build one. I saw TS2016 going for less than a quid last year though personally I wouldn't know if that was a reputable site or some chancer in Uzbekistan. Can you recommend a good third party key seller?
Looking at the requirements for it, I'd like to show Liverpool-Manchester a little love. It's a nice route, albeit a bit linear, sadly.
True. It features in a lot of freeware requirements. Not its fault that the two cities it links are far more exciting than the super straight line between then.
