I've now driven the LGV route several times and noticed that, except for the 140 km/h marker at the end of the LGV, there are no speed signs that show an upcoming speed restriction on the ligne classique. Either they are placed somewhere that I haven't noticed them yet or they are missing. The singals also seem to not display any speed restrictions. They should be displaying the 30/60 km/h restrictions over the points in Marseille, but rather show voie libre (clear). This should be fixed, at the moment you can only survive the last part to Marseille, if you have the upcoming speed shown in the HUD. Without this KVB will slam the brakes on without a real chance to slow down enough. UPDATE: The missing 60 km/h speed indicators is placed correctly but is baldy visible due to a placement above the catenary and unfortunate lighting. The indicator for the 110 km/h speed restriction can be found 1,5km before but does not indicate said restriction. The 30 km/h restriction is indicated by the Avertissement (yellow light).
Ok, but what if there aren't any on the route IRL? You still want them to put it in the game even though it's not accurate to real life?
I also think there is something missing regarding speed restrictions or there is a wrong use of the signals. The speed restriction I saw coming towards Marseille are the 140kph inside the tunnel (before the voltage change) and the 60kph, later on, put on top of a gantry (basically impossible to notice, but probably realistic). I couldn't find any indication about the other restrictions and the signals are always basic green go head.
Cab ride on TGV. Start at about 1hr 34 min to get the approach to Marseille. I couldn't see any speed posts. At the 60 to 30KMH, there is a beep in the cab but no sign I could spot.
I think these sign for the 90kph limit restriction is not there in the DTG route. These are the sudden signs for the 60kph restriction, which are in the DTG route.
Yes, in Marseille (KVB / traditional line) area there are at least 2 missing signals at 90 km/h and at 60 km/h. The 30 km/h (I suppose) is a rule to entering/exit to the Marseille Station area, in real life and in tsw2 there is a particular "entrance" signal that end with "P 2" and probably there is not the 30 signal because if you are a train driver you have to know that the Marseille station entrance is at 30km/h, probably all the terminal(?) stations like also Munchen Hbf in Germany.
Slightly OT but I think they should have a HUD option for a speed sign to appear in the corner of the screen at the time that you'd see it on the track (say, 100 yards or so before you pass it). It would be easier to spot than some of the UK signs (which can be harder than the German ones I think) but still not as much of a helper as the default notification in the HUD of where the next speed change is.
You can all ready have the next speed and distance to that speed displayed on the HUD if you so desire, why add another indication. If the speed isn’t showing up in the HUD under this method, then it would doubtful if the “pop up” would get it right either. All such a feature would do is take away processing cycles that could best be used for other features,
Yeah maybe you're right LeadCatcher. My thinking was that it may be easier to see track signs in real life due to the resolution on PC screens (which is why some people zoom in on the track I think). All I'd imagined is for it to show a simplified speed sign in the corner of the screen for 15 seconds or so. Another alternative would be an option to replace the route speed signs with larger and more obvious ones, but this would again depend on the speed signs being defined correctly in the first place. Just an idea and I realise that DTG only can do so many things and that other things may be more important.
I understand what you are saying tbaac, and I have read and participated in many, many discussing on the TS20XX forums over the years as well as in the different versions of TSW. There are basically two camps, one who wants the HUD to display everything a driver needs to know including not only track speed but signal speed as well. The other side are the HUDless ones that feel you need to learn the route as real life drivers do, know where the speed changes are. I have beta tested many a scenario for TS20xx where you are alerted to speed restriction on the line as well as temporary speed restrictions based on engineering works so as you drive you must plan ahead with this knowledge on how to handle your train. I feel the current HUD provides a good compromise between these two camps. The HUD shows max track speed, but the driver must watch the signals for current allowed speed. Also learn route specific speeds for turnouts, slips etc which on many US roads are not marked but are part of required route knowledge. I also like the fact that in TSW2 - you can configure the amount of information displayed so if such pop ups are included, they could be disabled since I feel they would be an immersion killer for the way I like to use the sim. That way people have a choice.
i play TS from microsoft TS and i never play with HUD, i can't. i love to play with no indications on screen,so for me is important to see speed signals on the line where real has. it's just cause i enjoy playing like this.
LeadCatcher, I can see the point from both camps. I'd love to drive HUDless and I've enjoyed route learning videos in the past from the likes of PTGrail. However, I think that presumably unlike a real driver, I don't tend to spend long enough on the same route to make that practical. I do like the TSW HUD much more than the TS20xx HUD as I think that the latter gets in the way too much. I like to be able to see the gauges. However, if I was hoping to learn a route then I think that something in the HUD that made it easier to see the signs would be helpful (having said that, the existing TSW2 speed change notifications do that so maybe it wouldn't really help).
This was something that I noticed too. Indeed for now the only way is to use the HUD (or learn the route by heart). Different speedsigns along the route are missing. In the video posted, you can clearly see signals that tell you to reduce speed and signals where you should have reached that reduced speed. Dovetail missed out here.
LeadCatcher I was just watching a youtube video by Rad Rail on how they caught drivers the route for the changes to the London Bridge route. At 5:53 it looks similar to what I'd been imagining, although you're right that the HUD in TSW probably gives us the same information.
Although I find it utterly irresponsible from an infrastructure office to rely only on the drivers' memory and not to include the simplest and cheapest additional layer to the security of railway operation (in Germany or even Czechia and Slovakia, this is completely unthinkable), I could (barely) understand that the absence of said speed posts is the real-life-scenario. However, this should be included in the manual from DTG, otherwise the whole HUDless camp, including me, will go screaming around the forums here that the posts are actually only missing in the game. I would like the devs both not to forget to include ALL of the trackside signals (on German routes, most of the Ne6 Haltepunkttafeln are missing, and these are used in RL), and to include information about what's omitted intentionally (from what the player does expect to be there and not knowing that it shouldn't can then severely impact gameplay, just like here) in the manuals.
I know, sound strange but in Marseille area there are not too many speed tables along the line also in the real life. We talked about that in deep in a different thread here on PC section. https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/lgv-méditerranée.32828/
I believe it can be common, especially in certain US railroads. Mostly ones that originate from old interurban type railways, I think? Though I do agree that if a speed sign is there in real life, it should be in the game too. On Long Island Railroad, for example, there are many missing speed signs and whistle posts.
LIRR is like that IRL. The display in the cab will show you ATC Speed and Line Speed (In TSW it only shows Line Speed). For older units, like the M3 which may not have working Line Speed Displays, the operator must memorize where the speed change occurs. As for Whistle Posts. This is America, I ain't ever seen one in my life. LIRR blows two very short horn bursts before going through a crossing. They also sound the horn on special dates for essential workers, and when going through an area with Track Work.
Whistleboards are very common in the United States. The FRA suggests to each railroad to place whistleboards about a quarter of a mile away from each level crossing, though in reality it varies depending on the track speed and various other things. Cheers
I still have never seen one (outside of the UK). Thanks for that information though. All I really know is Metro-North Railroad and Long Island Rail Road and I've never noticed a Whistleboard before a crossing IRL.
It may be different on busy commuter corridors in the North East, but every freight-operated railway out here marks each crossing with a whistleboard to the tee, even silent crossings. Cheers
At least partly not DTG's fault then. Since on LGVM there are only a few of speed changes, it is quite possible to remember them, but I just don't get how something like e. g. the NTP speed marking can be real. No in-advance signals even with tens of mph downgrade, the actual main speed markers barely visible when going over about 40 mph, and no hectometer signs (well, the imperial equivalent, anyway...) at all? I mean IRL now, that's just insane. For a route like that, placing proper signalling would cost about 100.000 pounds. That's a penny compared to the cost of the route, and nothing compared to the loss of life and property caused by the driver's memory fail. And it WILL happen, because no driver is a perfect computer. PS. I know, it's 40y later now and the modern British routes seem to have proper speed signalling. Unlike the US and the spoken-about French ones. I find it hard to believe someone considers that normal in a wealthy-as-f*** western country. Hat off to Deutsche Bahn on that topic.
I believe that on French classic lines, line speed reduction is enforced by KVB while the driver is usually required to remember all the speed changes? At least the latter part is from what I heard from the others. Unsure about trains in the US.
