Humble Bundle Routes

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Rage607, Feb 12, 2021.

  1. Rage607

    Rage607 Member

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    Hello,
    I'm playing tsw2 on Xbox but wanted to start ts on PC.
    Now there is a ts humble bundle, but the dlcs are only locos.
    Do I need other route add ons for those?
    Which bundle do you recommend?

    I'd like to play steam locos and I like the old British lines (Somerset, ntp...)
    But I'm also interested in the Asian routes (are there "old" ones?).
     
  2. 749006

    749006 Well-Known Member

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    Just go for the Cheap option as that gets you the base game TS2021 for less than a pound.
    See if you like TS2021 as it is different to TSW2 but you can do more.

    All the different add-ons in the Bundle require routes but if you buy a route it comes with trains.
    Something to get in the Steam Luna Sale would be Riviera Line in the 50's
    https://store.steampowered.com/app/...in_the_Fifties_Exeter__Kingswear_Route_AddOn/
    It gives you a selection of Steam locos and stock with a nice route.

    Peter
     
  3. JJTimothy

    JJTimothy Well-Known Member

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    Second The Riviera in the '50s as a sound choice for British steam- several GWR kettles to drive from pannier tanks to King Class. Western Lines of Scotland is another good pick as long as you like Stanier 5MTs. Settle-Carlisle has a modern setting but includes a couple of steamers and there's the S&C Specials pack of preserved loco's for it- older models but fun to drive (apart from the gutless King) and you can get both for less than a tenner at the moment. (S&C is part of the Great British Railway Journeys pack BTW- five routes for a tenner in the sale but, apart from those in the S&C, no steam and I'd expect it to be that price again so maybe find your feet first and keep it in mind for the next sale.)

    The original Woodhead line, set in the '50s, and The Weardale and Teesdale Network in the '60s both emphasise (then) modern traction but Woodhead includes a couple of Stanier kettles and there are several available separately that suit both. W&T in particular is a lovely route with much to explore and opportunities to drive almost any type of service.
     
  4. mattdsoares

    mattdsoares Well-Known Member

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    Others have suggested good historical UK routes.

    You also said you were interested in historical Asia routes. Most routes in Asia in TS are modern, but one major exception is The Story of Forest Rail. It's set on the now defunct Sekihoku line on Hokkaido in Japan. You drive a Kiha 750 which were produced between the 1930s and 1950s. It's also on sale as part of Steam's Lunar new year sale for $9.99 USD as opposed to the normal price of $24.99 USD. Well worth it at that price.
     
  5. Rage607

    Rage607 Member

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    very nice suggestions. Thank you guys.
    the great British railway journeys pack is the pack that has the stand-alone game and the routes for free?
    is west Somerset for ts any good?

    Do you have any other tips and are there any graphics mods, so it gets closer to tsw graphics?

    EDIT:

    just saw the post about the Japanese route. It looks fantastic. Are there loco add ons or something for that route?

    And also: with all the routes you guys recommend and west Somerset, should I still just but the cheapest humble bundle?

    again, thank you for your help
     
    Last edited: Feb 12, 2021
  6. mattdsoares

    mattdsoares Well-Known Member

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    I'll leave the route question to someone who knows better, but I can cover the visuals. TSW2 is always going to have more modern visual flourishes and techniques than TS, no matter what you do. It just comes down to the tech being used. There are some steps you can take to make TS get a bit closer though. One advantage TS so far has over most TSW routes is detail. While close up detail is better in TSW due to higher res textures and often more polygons in models, TS wins often pretty easily in distance scenery detail due to its longer draw distance and DTGs inability to figure out how to make good scenery in TSW run well on old consoles, which limits the rest of us.

    I'd follow this thread, even if you're not running at 4K: https://forums.dovetailgames.com/th...-max-performance-and-visual-quality-4k.18396/

    TLDR: There are some payware mods and tools that can improve lighting, the skies (Armstrong Powerhouse Weather Enhancement), shadows, and a few more things (RWEnhancer). There is also a freeware mod, Reshade, that can make a big difference by adding SSAO and adjusting color balance to give a much more natural look.

    TS is never going to look as "modern" as TSW, but it doesn't have to look bad if you're willing to take just a bit of time to download a few things and set them up.
     
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  7. JJTimothy

    JJTimothy Well-Known Member

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    It's basically an edition of TS with five British routes rather than the usual British, US and German troika. I implied this above but to be clear you don't have to choose between it or another edition of TS. If you already have TS you can still buy the current edition or GBRJ or any old edition you can find a Steam key for to add that edition's routes to your collection. You might fancy TS2016 for instance including Riviera in the '50s and Sherman Hill which would give the Challenger in the Humble Bundle somewhere to stretch her legs.

    Edit: Misremembered- the Challenger is in the tier two bundle.

    Honestly the Humble Bundle is a bit odd. For fifteen bob you get TS2021 so that seems like a no-brainer but then there's a motley grab-bag of MUs and loco's most of which would be out of place on those routes and some won't even run (unusually for TS none of the routes is electrified so the electric units and loco's have no power source). The more expensive bundles just add more and more rolling stock of which the same may be said. For anyone who already has TS and wants even half of the stock it's a good buy but to a newcomer I'd suggest just getting the basic. Those three routes will keep you busy for hours and give you a good idea of whether you wish to expand upon it.
     
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  8. TimeSlicedDanny

    TimeSlicedDanny Active Member

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    Rage607, there are no other add-ons that are intended to match the Story of Forest Rail, but other Japanese routes have stock that could in real life run on it and they certainly will in the simulator. South African and New Zealand stock would also run on it, as they have the same track gauge. TS2021 doesn't check gauge, so you can run anything on anything (except electrics), but it might look odd if the gauges don't match.
     
  9. JJTimothy

    JJTimothy Well-Known Member

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    For, no doubt, excellent reasons this was excised from my last comment when I added the edit about the Challenger. Rather than make things really messy by adding another edit and because I've only just noticed so it might already have been read and go overlooked...

    The West Somerset is a bit of a special case. Look it up in the Store and you'll see a note that it doesn't require TS! It's effectively a single route edition so with this and nothing else you would have all you need to get started in TS. I don't have WSR so I'm not recommending either way but FYI. There are a few routes like this- from memory London-Faversham High Speed and the novelty routes Game of Gnomes, Holiday Express and Count of Monster Disco. I may have overlooked others. As with other editions already owning TS doesn't stop you from buying these.
     
  10. Blacknred81

    Blacknred81 Well-Known Member

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    No, all Japanese content are routes only, there have been no locomotive DLC for any of them. In total there are 4 Japanese routes, all from Union Workshop.


    But they all come with their own unique rolling stock.
     
    Last edited: Feb 12, 2021
  11. Cyclone

    Cyclone Well-Known Member

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    The Challenger is also in Battle for Sherman Hill. Which also gives you the Big Boy. The older one, anyway.
     
  12. ntypeman

    ntypeman Well-Known Member

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    When I had my "6 years out" (due to not having a decent computer) I still kept an eye out for what I wanted... When it came up at a sensible (or ridiculously low price) I snapped it up even though I couldn't actively play TS, I knew come the day when I could finally play again, I'd have a stack of stuff waiting for me...

    Sometimes even though it might not make sense & you don't want a particular piece of DLC, if you literally get it for pennies / buttons what does it matter... It might come in use one day...

    Eric
     
  13. JJTimothy

    JJTimothy Well-Known Member

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    Well, after checking (you'd think I'd've done that first but no...), it turns out it's not in the tier one Humble Bundle anyway so I was talking through my hat. The price for BoSH comes down if you already have some of the contents- it would be much less than half the sale price to me because I already have Sherman Hill. I think for anyone interested in buying it the smart move would be to buy TS2016 first even if you don't want the other routes (I've seen it for less than a pound but around seven is fairly typical) for the discount on BoSH. Whether it's worth buying the tier two Humble Bundle just for the Challenger getting a further discount I don't know.

    Indeed- or, as I suggested in the Steam forums, one might pick the stock you are interested in then come to an agreement with another user to exchange the unwanted codes for a route suitable for the items you're keeping.
     
  14. Cyclone

    Cyclone Well-Known Member

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    The 444 for instance gets a lot of Workshop use. I know I've seen the Challenger as well. The Arrow III is useful for two scenario packs. The HHP-8 I think is an American favourite outside of BNSF. the Thompson Class B1 is a useless and silly inclusion, however, because Netherfield includes it as its separate DLC with three other locos, one no longer available individually. Oh, and the 4CIG is also a heavy Workshop item. I think the Acela also helps scenario packs.

    I can review my Word doc if interested for more details on the DLCs.
     
    Last edited: Feb 13, 2021
  15. JJTimothy

    JJTimothy Well-Known Member

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    With regard to Battle of Sherman Hill either the prices have changed, the discounts apply differently during sales or I just remembered wrongly (which I'll admit is the most likely).
     
  16. Doomotron

    Doomotron Well-Known Member

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    Last year's Humble Bundle was so much better. As for the OP, West Coast Main Line North is an old route but has aged surpirsingly well (opinion) and at its normal price is very good value for money, as it is over 100 miles long (excluding the suburban Glasgow lines!). There are also loads of other DLCs that are available for it, making it possibly one of the most scalable routes in TS. You are interested in steam, so I suggest another older route, this time the Isle Of Wight. It comes with one little steam engine that can be driven only on a short section of track, but the novelty of the entire line (a short island branch line set in the 90s using old London Underground trains) makes the small price for it worth it. Again, IoW is an old route (it was either the first or second route ever released for TS).

    There are a few Chinese routes, most of them made by JustTrains, including some high speed trains which I am tempted to buy myself. There is also DTG's Shanghai Maglev, which is very short and not that interesting, but being a maglev is quite novel.
     

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