So with the TGV route coming out today, what are people's expectations? And as people start getting the route, what are your thoughts? I've seen Matt's stream but playing is a whole lot different than watching. I'm personally on the fence about it. On the one hand, this route will bring us gameplay we've never seen in TSW before with the TVM system and other new signalling and safety systems. It will also be the fastest and longest route we've had and the first with a scenario with dynamic-ish weather. On the other hand though, it doesn't look like a very engaging route besides the power changeover. There's one intermediate station and only two service possibilities each way (you either stop at Aix-en-Provence or you don't). Don't get me wrong, the route brings a lot to the table, but I'm debating whether to sit this one out until a sale, and I want to see other people's thoughts.
The train is super interesting. I have watched both streams and I really like the functionality of the train and the power switches. My big gripe is the lack of variety, which should make the experience with this route quite dull for me fast. It will be nice to do a nice spin with the TGV in between other services, but I just don't see me buying this at full price. It does not feel right concerning you get 2 locos/trains with other routes and have the option for different kinds of services for the same price.
LGV is essentially HMA if HMA only had the ICE services--no S-bahn, no Regio bahn, and no freight. The new features are cool, but once you get used to them, the route will have little to offer.
I may or may not get it at some point. The lack of variety of other types of trains/services is turning me away from this route.
I see it just released with a 10% sale. The didn't do a release sale for HMA and I don't think for the C40 either, so if the trend is continued from IOW, it looks like DTG may be expecting some reservations about this route and perhaps even poor initial reviews. Maybe 10% is more significant in some places, but geez $3 doesn't even cover sales tax where I live. I don't think this will change my decision. It looks like we've got about a week to decide whether 3 bucks is worth it.
Probably released with a sale because of the “Possible Safety System issues on XBOX”. Yes I know it’s not the same system, but when people say bad things about a route (on any platform), people on other platforms will start to get skeptical about buying it.
As always with DTG I will wait 40% save so will play this dlc on preserved collection for tsw5 in 2030
Looks good but a little put off by the lack of variety, as I was for the IoW, perhaps it should have been at the same price point...? Will wait for sale (at least 30% off). A non high-speed French route with passenger/freight services would have been much more appealing.
The "anything but Germany/UK/USA" crowd have already hijacked the reviews. Out of the few reviews in English, (some aren't tagged as such but were still in English), none of them are remotely substantial. One said he wasn't going to talk about gameplay but was giving it a positive review because he wanted to thank DTG for coming to a new country and another admitted he hadn't even finished downloading but gave it a positive review anyway. Things don't live up to expectations because the community for this game have zero standards.
Is there any documentation shipped with this DLC or do I seriously have to research the french signalling on my own and hope DTG implemented it accordingly? Edited by DTG Natster - Watch your language
The manual is in the Steam store page. I haven't even bought the DLC and I can access it. https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steam/apps/1418842/manuals/Train_Sim_World_2_LGV_Méditerranée_Driver_s_Manual_EN.pdf?t=1608213584 At least they got that right this time.
I bought it, completed the first two introduction tutorial + one full service from Marseille to Avignon, so far it is more or less what I expected.. The route is nice... It is a solid route, not the best or most detailed DTG had produced, but still looks nice. Departing Marseille feels like you're leaving major urban area, while the part beyond Aix en provence have a nice arid touch to it. It isn't that lush germany some people were comparing it to the other thread. That said, some people might prefer it to be even little more arid. But you can definitely tell DTG tried to go with different feel. This was also the first route DTG tried to use some automatic scenery generation, and TBH, you can tell. Some places feel just bland, with very little clutter. Just a flat ground, with a texture and some foliage... I don't mind it that much, as I understand that these tools also need time to improve and mature. And if we want bigger routes, some compromises have to be made. Also, this thing is a freaking rollercoaster, like you go from -3% to + 3% gradient.... The train is imho great. I own the legacy TS version of the train/ route + extension, but this feel like a totally different train. It also doesn't feel like an ICE with a different model. It is more sluggish, especially on the brakes. You rely much more on the air brakes here, and as you ride the double-stack, it takes some times for the brakes to fully apply along the train. So it takes a little bit of planning, especially when approaching stations at 170Kph. It's not hard, but it isn't ICE level of responsivness. Also the different start procedure, necessity of changing power modes is a nice change of pace. The modelling is great, the interior sounds sound nice. Replayability might be a issue with this one, but tbh, there is not much DTG can do with it. Modern fast trains are pretty bland also IRL, and when the whole route is used for scheduled traffic, there is nothing, even IRL, to cause speed restriction. But I can imagine driving this in the blizzard might be quite fun. Overall, I feel it is a nice addition to the library, hopefully not the last time we've come to visit france. But tbh, if I was just starting my TSW 2 collection and contemplating on what to buy, this wouldn't be very up the list. Not because of the quality, but because it is a single trick pony.
You have to laugh. Sam 2 nights ago on stream go fed up with answering how much it will cost. Reply was always... same as all routes cost in your locale. And what happens today..... Not the same as all routes cost!
#1 I’m trying to figure out why you quoted my post. I may just be tired but I see no correlation between what I said and what you said. #2 Jeez, good reviews just cuz it’s a whole new country? Unbelievable. Look for the real reviews or watch gameplay and decide yourself. #3 My expectations are getting lower every time a new Route releases (except HMA, it actually got higher). I’m not a big fan of High Speed, but with the tech they used for this route, I got excited for the future of TSW. Going off what you said about “the community has zero standards”. A lot of the community expects a certain level out of this simulator. When we don’t see that, the community splits, and there’s two sides. The side that will try to find a counter argument to everything you say, and the side who wants to see change with the game.
I totally forgot about that. I wonder how he feels knowing (if he does), that it released with a 10% sale.
To be fair to Sam, he was probably referring to the recommended retail price (RRP) of the route...which he is correct in saying is the same as every other route at release.
I’m on PS4 Pro and have seen no stuttering whatsoever. The route runs very well. It’s just a shame about one of the trophies not working and getting emergency braked for no reason (that I’m aware of) using TVM-430 safety systems on the Bad Things scenario.
So far I have all the DLC for TSW 2, including the preserve collection, and the latest the TGV, I have not tried it yet, but this weekend I will give it a go for sure
Launch sales have been fairly regular for many routes, looking back at TSW most of the routes I checked had discounts. One I can remember in particular was Peninsula Corridor, as I got that at launch and it had a 10 percent discount as well like with LGV, if anything HMA's the abnormality here, not LGV. As for locos on they don't tend to have them, they usually launch at full price, so the C40's hardly abnormal.
But it is, if you don't apply the discount which will be short lived. Also, it is common for there to be a discount on release. I cast my vote as medium, will probably buy in a sale as I don't think I would use it as much as other routes due to the lack of variety of services, which is obviously due to the type of route it is. I think it looks good though. I do take issue with the use of the word sceptical, I am not sceptical about buying it.
I don't think just because it's a French, it should get all that praise because it's on a different country
I have to be honest and normally I'm extremely positive about DTG and their DLC. But I'm slightly underwhelmed on my first drive from Marseille to Avignon. Performance is the worst I've ever had, I'm getting mostly 60FPS all the time but there are stutters and drops at least every 10-20 seconds, which is disappointing, considering my PC runs every other route with settings on Ultra 60 FPS 2560X1440 and runs like a dream. But the stuttering (of course present in most routes but for me unnoticeable) and tile loading(?) is extremely noticeable and for me, I'll be honest, it is game breaking this time. I lowered the settings and locked the FPS to 30 and it was still there, just to test. I couldn't wait for the run to Avignon to be over (not that I made it!) Then this is something I was disappointed at, now my settings are all at maxed out so it was sad to see this, the scenery just "ends" this is quite surprising as I always think scenery detail is very good by DTG. Finally TVM430 was slowing for Avignon (on 12:07 from Marseille service to Bruxelles) TVM lowering my speed, to 170km/h - TVM flashing 170 km/h and I was doing below around 130 at the time as I knew I was slowing for the station then was suddenly presented with a red signal unable to stop in time and could see a service in front. Now maybe it was my error, but that just didn't seem right. Overall, it's not a bad route, I enjoy the high speed, the TGV Duplex and the stations are beautifully modelled, Marseille area is fantastic, and there some particularly nice bits of scenery over long bridges and going over sections of water, I did feel like it was in the South of France, but some of the scenery is just repetitive and dull in areas and texture quality is lacking. These first impressions and just from my first drive so I will have another go!
Now in the interests of balance, I’ve just had another go of driving Marseille to Avignon. This time service TGV 5516 to Nancy Ville. It was like a different game performance with no noticeable stuttering at all, and I hadn’t touched settings, everything on Ultra, 2560x1440 60 FPS. Bizarre! So why?! On the original service I played - 1207 from Marseille you are following the 1202 from Marseille all the way to Avignon! So 2 services close to each other running at 320km/h, is this eating up all the resources, reducing performance? DTG can you confirm. Because the service I just played there were no major stuttering or performance issues whatsoever! So the question is, Why and How is this possible?!
I would say there is definitely some caching going on. I had exactly the same thing, first drive in either direction was awful but after that a vast improvement with far less stuttering (virtually none to be honest). My view on it FWIW...despite initial positive first impressions I’m a little underwhelmed by it too. This is offered with no mention of the over-riding issues with shadows, lighting and draw distance. They are they ‘Sword of Damocles’ in my eyes. THE GOOD - The TGV itself is nice, and barring some shocking texturing in the corridor behind the cab, and the cab entry door itself, it’s a nice model. - The functionality of the cab is good. - The stations are nicely modelled (although Avignon is definitely not up to the same standard as the other 2) - The scenery around Marseille is good - Sounds seem good - Tutorials aren’t bad and hallelujah, a blinkin manual! - Scenery doesn’t look quite as Northern European as was first feared THE BAD - You still cannot save a game. Try it under TVM and when you reload TVM has disappeared and cannot be brought back. How is this still not working? - Often an emergency brake application causes an immediate derailment. This seems to be a core issue with sim-stuff-sometimes (sim-u-graph as it’s otherwise known) - The PIS boards are very very low resolution - The safety systems don’t seem to work entirely as they should (aforementioned emergency braking out of nowhere) - It simply isn’t long enough for these kinds of speeds. You get to Avignon just getting into the swing of it and that’s you finished - Comparing it to other TSW DLC and nothing else, I think it’s a bit overpriced to be honest. Perhaps £22.50 full price and £20 pre-release would be more like it. THE DOWNRIGHT UGLY - Auto-Gen scenery needs a hell of a lot of work. Beyond Aix-en-Provence the scenery is often bland, repetitive and frankly, not good enough. A big step backwards after Munich. Ground textures very visibly repeat and large areas are completely bare. There is a marked difference between Marseille to Aix-En-Provence and the latter to Avignon. - As Shaun123 has demonstrated, there are 3 or 4 different places where the distant scenery just stops mid-air. Not good. - In a nod to the original Train Simulator, DTG are still incapable of consistently building tunnels with proper occlusion. It’s just sloppiness - if 80% of a tunnel is dark, with dark cabs and dark passing trains, why on Earth is 20% of it lit like broad daylight? - In another nod to TS1, in a number of places the ground bleeds through the track ballast and visa versa. Again, why? This is such an old problem, surely there has to be a better way of attaching track to the ground than the current method - The ballast itself, and the ground textures surrounding it are very shoddy It’s good, but unquestionably a step backwards from Munich. As with many DTG products it feels like it was released two or three weeks too early before the polish could be applied. If I’d mark the Munich route at 8.5 or 9 / 10, this is a 6, maybe 6.5 at a push. A bit of polish and it could be a 7.5, perhaps even 8.
I think that's a fair assessment by hightower, though I haven't noticed any particularly bad stuttering. I'm going to submit a ticket for the inability to save without losing TVM, especially poor as (unlike PZB/LZB) you can't really drive without it. I also noticed that travelling as a passenger, when you enter a tunnel, other passengers (not that there are very many of them) turn completely black, even though the carriage lights are on. I took a picture and uploaded it, but I haven't worked out how to link it to a post on here. TBF it's longer than HMA but, as the speeds are higher, an end to end run is just 30 minutes, and (of course) unlike München, there are no freight or local services that can take a lot longer.
I refunded. I decided to give it a go after seeing our uproar about the Schnellfahrstrucke scenery were unfounded. I cannot look past how down right ugly this route it. repeat textures everywhere - that ballast/cess texture is beyond disgusting, shiny metallic ground textures and truly low res texturing have ruined the route for me. It just screamed shoddy craftmanship. As HT noted above, auto-gen needs ALOT of work. Aside from that, the TGV looked and sounded nice. One of the best horns in the game - up there with the class 20.
I wonder why dtg can't make tunnels with proper occulsion. They have been using the same engine for years.
Honestly, im rewatching a recording I made of the route. I have lost all hype for South Eastern High Speed. How can they even claim to be proud of this route building and texturing? GWE looks years ahead of this.
GWE probably had way more development time alloted to it. It seems there will always be a trade-off in amount of scenery detail between shorter and longer routes - former being much more detailed than latter. I'm just 'rediscovering' West Somerset Railway in this regard...despite being a relatively short route, it is beautifully detailed, especially in the vicinity of tracks. I especially like patches of grass overgrowing track sleepers on some stations...It really shows they had more time to delve in detailing which is what some of us are missing on some other routes I suppose.
After reading the above complaints about the scenery, I guess longer routes with a bit of auto-gen will never compare to hand-built. Personally I am enjoying the route, the detail of the TGV itself, the implementation of the safety systems. While I enjoy looking at the scenery, it isn’t as important to me as the driving experience.
Probably due to the fact that gwe had more dev time put into it than the lgv but I could be wrong. It says a lot though when Great Western Express, which is the first high speed route in the game, the first passenger route and the second route ever made for tsw looks better then the newest high speed route in the game.
I have to say despite my initial criticisms, some of which are still there of course! I’ve just had a lovely run from Marseille to Avignon - TGV5376 1535 Le Havre. Weather settings, Autumn Cloudy, and added a touch more cloud. The colours were absolutely beautiful! Try it! I’m slightly happier as I was feeling a little underwhelmed and disappointed by the route at first.
For me the scenery is a huge part of the driving experience. It’s 2021 next week, I think we (as gamers) have got past the point where we should have to be choosing between one or the other, have we not? I have faith that we’ll see some significant leaps with Auto-Gen going forward as they refine and improve the process. This was purportedly their first go after all. In this case though I fear it’s just the same old problem, in that I suspect they needed more time to polish and tidy its output than they were given. Either way though, the obviously repeating ground textures are a big issue. I played Munich - Augsberg again the other night and noticed the same thing, although far less obvious as there’s more track side clutter. That needs addressing ASAP for me.
Must confess the graphics put me off. I watched all the streams before launch but was put off by the repeating ground textures and ballast. Especially noticeable after leaving the initial change over tunnel. Might buy it later in a sale as I’ve read the driving experience is interesting. Hope they can improve the auto-gen quickly as I’m not that impressed so far.
Right have had a run on a colleagues machine. Those dreadful zebra stripes on exiting the tunnel were downright ugly to say nothing of the blotchy ballast. If that's the result of auto generation I fear it needs to be looked at again. Shudder to think what it looks like on an older consol.
