I’m interested in getting the Metropolitan Line from Just Trains but have a few possible issues that I wonder if anyone with experience of this route could clear up. Firstly, it seems that to run it at all you have to buy a train as well. From what I’ve read, it looks like to run any of the scenarios, you require S8 stock. However, the bundle offer is for the S7+1, which I understand to be an S7 with an extra carriage. So the first question is, will the scenarios run with the S7+1? And if not, do I need to buy the bundle with the S7+1 to run anything or will the S8 be OK on its own. Secondly, the reviews on Steam are mostly negative with tales of out of memory errors even on decent spec PCs. Presumably, due to the videos that are out there, some people have got it running. Is this a genuine problem which may or may not have been fixed, or maybe user error? Are there workarounds? I know I can buy it from Steam and request a refund if t doesn’t work but I would prefer to have some sort of confidence up front that it will work.
I've been playing the Met line since it was initially released on JT and it is honestly one of the most stable routes I own, so I'm genuinely amazed there are negative reviews for it. On the subject of the stock/scenarios whichever stock you go for (S7+1 or S8) you will get roughly the same amount of scenarios so you wont really be missing much by not owning the other one. The scenarios aren't very different depending on the stock and you will still have a good number of scenarios regardless of which you buy. And if in the future you then buy the other stock type you will have a LOT of scenarios!
No problem. One of the big problems with "out of memory" errors is they are so random, which isn't helped by the fact many of them don't even have anything to do with memory. Some people never get them, some people get them all the time, some people get them on certain routes and not others, some people get them on random routes or random stock, etc, etc....makes it very hard to diagnose. People with lower spec PCs might struggle with routes like the Met because it is a large well detailed route, but again that is no guarantee of a crash. For example I can happily run large super detailed modern routes on max settings (both payware and freeware) while older routes like Western Lines of Scotland crashes for me pretty much every time no matter how much I try to fix it. Train Sim does like to be random
You only have a small window between purchasing something on Steam- 2 hours? - to get a refund And playing a different route count against the refund time. https://forums.dovetailgames.com/th...idge-amersham-route-crashes-on-startup.25017/
I believe you have 48 hours but with a minimum of 2 hours playing time. If and when I buy it, it will be the first thing I attempt to drive. I managed to get a refund for the Cologne to Koblenz route which refused to run even though I had played more than 2 hours on the base game before purchase. This was on my old PC, which was seriously under spec, so I am hoping to have more luck with this route. As for the specs, I tend to agree with AlextheMole. I have a Ryzen 3 with Vega 8 integrated graphics, so not the most powerful, and some recent routes look great in high graphics mode. The Looe Branch (from Railways of Devon and Cornwall) looks spectacular and runs well and Glasgow NW Suburban is good also) but the Cornish main line from JT, although it runs smoothly, needs graphics turned down a smidgeon.
Alex "One of the big problems with "out of memory" errors is they are so random, which isn't helped by the fact many of them don't even have anything to do with memory." But they do - under certain circumstances the TS code, for some reason, cannot access a certain RAM (Memory) Address or there is a Mismatch between the VAS (a form of Windows virtual memory address space and the RAM - the physical memory addresses. True you do NOT run out of memory but memory is the cause, that stops TS in its tracks. The TS OOM is generic and covers, SBHH, Access Violation, 0xc0000005, Memory Mismatch and so on. In computing terms it is quite useless. Other issues can occur with sound files,as in some instances they can bypass the MMU ands access the RAM directly - again OOM if the RAM address is not available, does not exist, is restricted, already occupied, or is outside certain parameters. I agree that it is a stable route - I just cannot run all of the scenarios for whatever reason, and yet those same scenarios run fine on my second PC. Plus if I copy an offending scenario - in that copy - I delete the player consist - that then loads OK (obviously I cannot drive it) close it down - then open the scenario that I made the copy from, and that previously gave an OOM and it now runs fine. It defies logic!
I’ve bought the route and S7+1 bundle from Just Trains today as it is reduced. The good news is that so far, it works perfectly, even on max graphics and looks good. I tested out a Quick Drive from Chesham and loaded up a free roam scenario from Amersham (which spawned on the road outside for some reason). No OOM errors touch wood. All I need to do now is learn how to drive the train. I couldn’t get it started even in quick drive so ran a Scotrail class 158 on the Chesham branch! Edit: As a Brucie Bonus, as I had the other required DLC, I also downloaded the freeware District Line from Backdated Trainsim so a happy bunny all round.
I really enjoy the met line. I did struggle a lot with OOM dumps but the TS2021 update seems to fixed things. I would definitely recommend purchasing it via JT website rather then Steam. JT offered me a full refund even after I had the route for a few months due to the OOM dumps
