In 8 December roadmap stream Sam said that it would be boring to drive a long route between two stations running trough sand dunes. Yes, I agree that. If there is not forests, farmlands, rivers and lakes, it's very boring. But if we are talking about a high-speed route running trough farmlands and forests with a few stations, it would be not so boring. Driving 300km/h trough beautiful landscapes would be fun. The AI technology that DTG used to build Marseille-Avignon route would be a great way to build long high speed routes. Many high-speed routes in southern Europe are mainly running trough rural landscapes, so building a long high-speed route which is set in France, Spain or Italy, should not be so difficult to develop.
High speed with no stops is quite boring to me, I occasionally do ICE services and once a while it is nice for the 30 minutes it takes. Overall I miss the engaging gameplay in there, because once underway you could well just turn on cruise control and do something else in the meantime. Well yes, it simulates driving a high speed train, but it would be something different if you were to stop at a few more stations. Also the voltage switching on the tgv is a cool engaging feature.
As I've said in past threads, high speed routes can be an occasional diversion, but, for me, they're not true railroading, more "transportation". I too sometimes drive an ICE service for fun, but they don't take much mental effort. You're basically on autopilot. You never seem to hit yellow, let alone red.
To be honest, yes, it is boring, if it's the only thing you are doing. If there's a nice mix of stopping services and whatnot, it's much better, for the simple sake of variety. It also feels kind of unfulfilling, just driving the train from one major station to another one, with nothing really in between, it feels like you've only done a fragment of the journey. For me, to get the most out of high-speed trains, I'd want a longer route with multiple stops.
It all comes down to personal preference and opinion. I grew up in NYC, I live around the biggest Subway System in America and one of the biggest (if not THE biggest) in the world. I like Subway/Commuter services that make frequent stops. On the other side, you have High Speed Rail. Under 5 Stops, over 120 MPH, and some beautiful looking trains. On SKA, I found myself not using the ICE as much as I thought I would and used the BR 422 more. On GWR, I found myself using the HST more than anything else. It really depends on preference. High Speed can get boring because all you’re doing is staring at track for 30+ Mins without anything else happening (+safety systems). A High Speed route needs to have more than just high speed. That’s why HMA is so popular. You have High Speed, Regional, Commuter, and Freight services. Some people are fine without the variety though, and they like HS more than anything else. It seems like TSW will be focusing on those people for a little while longer.
I like high speed routes and I don't find them boring but the problem with the current ones is that they are too short for the speeds and I don't think Sam understands that. If you give us a high speed train like the ice3m in ska for example, it needs to be longer so we can use the train a lot longer. If it's just gonna be a 30 minute blast from A to B with the inability to do return journeys all the time then it starts to get boring. A player like me would want to go further but since you can't it starts to get boring using the train more and that's what leading people to ask for route extensions for the high speed routes. Heck there are already some people saying that the lgv route is too short for the speeds since you are doing 200mph and it can be done in around 30-35 minutes and are already asking for extensions to Lyon. The player time to use a high speed train should be at least more than a hour in my opinion or at least make the full line route. Also what European high speed train runs through a desert?
I'm curious to know what European high speed route runs through a desert because I don't think that exists at all.
I don't so either. I do remember someone talking about the scenery being off in one of the WIP pics though.
I did a google search on European High Speed Routes that run through a Desert and I didn't find any that do. I guess Sam did not know that.
There are a surprising amount of Deserts in Europe, there's a few in Eastern Europe, as well as Southern Europe, plus of course the former Soviet Union but those are less European so don't really count. No idea if any trains run through them though.
I didn't find any high speed trains that ran through deserts. It could be a freight train or a slower paced passenger train like here in the United States but no high speed european trains run through deserts from what I was searching
He meant that it would be boring to drive a long route which is running trough sand dunes without any stations or scenery. I mentioned southern Europe, because there is a plenty high-speed lines running trough beautiful rural landscapes, not desert.
I enjoy being able to drive HS services a lot, but I tend not to do them back to back or play them super often so I don't get tired of driving them. More stations and longer routes suit high speed, but DTG's development of routes does not.
If passanger high speed is boring, then driving supersportscars or flying jets is boring too. All have common that you feel the rush of the speed. And even if the LZB and the AFB make your work much more easy in the ICE 3 you have to be concentrated the whole time. And then the aurodynamic design of the highspeed trains impress me very much. And that's why high-speed trains for me are masterpieces of railway engineering.
If high speed's boring then so are all main line ops, there's not a massive difference between the LGV and Sand Patch in terms of the basics. While very different routes you're still dealing with the same challenges, you're going from point A to point B dealing with the hills, safety systems, and speed limits. Those aren't nothing, sure I can completely understand why people prefer switching or commuter activates, but that doesn't mean that A to B main line ops have zero appeal or challenge.
I actually do enjoy high speed routes. Every time I play TSW2 I feel the need to include at least one high speed service, I just find it so relaxing and enjoyable that I cannot resist the temptation. I agree that running through a desert could at some point get boring but with the scenery present in TSW2 I find myself quite entretained by the journey. Don't get me wrong, of course I love to do some passenger services stopping every 2 - 3 km, who doesn't? But high speed is also a big part of why I love this game so much and I think a healthy balance between both worlds is the best approach. That way everyone is happy.
That does seem to be thr case but with the new tech developed hopefully we can get high routes where we will be able to use the train for more than a hour or get a full line high speed route
For me, the thrill of high speed comes from many things. Its not just the adrenaline rush of watching scenery whizz past the window at incredible speeds. It's this odd sensation, knowing you've traveled from two cities in a short amount of time, something that would have otherwise taken much longer through conventional transportation. Theres something weird about traveling between the cities of Köln and Aachen...a distance of nearly 70km by rail, in just 30 minutes. And then of course there's these sleek, beautiful trains with modern technology. Even if you're letting the train drive itself, you still have things to do as a driver. Its the same idea with flying a plane on autopilot– its there to help alleviate workload. However you are still there to make sure things run smoothly and accordingly, and you can still take things back into control whenever you wish to do so. Plus, there's also the fun of tooting your horn at the lads traveling on the slower lines besides you All things considered, I definitely do think high speed routes are awesome and they're really nice to have mixed in between other sorts of routes.
To the OP, in general terms they can be and certainly within the TSW paradigm of short 40 mile or so routes definitely. Once the novelty of going fast has worn off, they are the routes that don't tend to get revisited. the London to Faversham Kent Coast in Railworks was a bit of fun for a while, but soon wore off particularly as much of the length was (is) in tunnel anyway.
Can't be as bad as sand patch. I like sand patch but it's too slow, id rather drive a long route at fast speed than slow. I manage the ICE and Peninsula fast services quite well
I wouldn't say it's boring. It's less challenging. I drive on the high speed line between Amsterdam - Rotterdam and Rotterdam - Breda on a almost daily basis, and as long as everything goes right, there isn't much to do besides looking out the window and enjoying the view. It becomes challenging when irregularities start to pop up on the train or the line. However, it would be impossible to recreate that in an consumer simulation game because you would need to have knowledge on all the procedures and regulations that apply. The upcoming LGV Méditerranée route will include some more handlings, which will make an great and realistic addition. But it's as far as you are gonna get i'm afraid.
I agree with you there, but I have that feeling with most of the routes that are currently available. For example if you do the introductory scenario for the Aachen - Köln route they say it links with Holland and Belgium. Why not extend the line to Belgium then for example? Maybe the licensing? Another example are two other German routes, the one starts in Hagen and another ends in Hagen. I wonder how much trouble it would take to connect those two. On the other hand it's just a fun game to play. I mean as a real life train driver I still think it is great fun and in some cases it almost meets the real thing. They did a pretty good job, got to give them that.
Can't vote because It depends. On SKA or HMA absolutely no: it's fun. On the newest TGV line that it will be released tomorrow definitely yes.
