Bml (london Commuter) Enhancement W.i.p

Discussion in 'TSW General Discussion' started by SprattyHeath, Oct 11, 2021.

  1. SprattyHeath

    SprattyHeath Well-Known Member

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    Hi all, I have been working in collaboration on a new Enhancement pack for the recently released "London Commuter" route and I'd thought I share with you some of the various changes that I have made to improve the gameplay/immersion of this route.
    [​IMG]
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    upload_2021-10-11_0-5-12.png
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    The list of changes is fairly large so I have compiled them into different tiers to get an idea of how much has been changed to BML so far.

    These include the following:

    Class 387:
    Updated TCMS background screen
    Amplified Door Chime audios
    Added text to GSM-R

    Class 377:
    Updated TCMS background screen
    Amplified Door Chime audios
    Added text to GSM-R
    Added dirt effect to windows (Courtesy of LondonMidland)
    Changed external Southern logo to the Revised GTR logo
    Dimmed headlight textures (Courtesy of LondonMidland)

    Route:
    Replaced Aircraft Fly-By audio (Flyover audio courtesy of Jalio)
    Replaced textures for Collectibles such as Newspaper Stands, Posters & Maps
    Replaced ballast texture for a more light-grey shade.
    Brightened up Clayton Tunnel brick texture
    Replaced textures on Billboards & Posters including the Clapham Junction colossus billboard and Vending Machines
    Replaced "DTG Plane" model with a new EasyJet B737 model (Courtesy of TheShottle)
    Added branding to a small selection of static vehicles
    Replaced station audio with realistic Anne Generic Announcements (Courtesy of LondonMidland)


    This list may change over time as I am currently still working on this enhancement pack.

    Two big thank yous go to LondonMidland for some of the textures/audio files that he has very kindly sent, as well as TheShottle's fantastic Boeing 737 model which has been modified especially for this mod, can't thank them enough!

    I will post more updates about this mod very soon, so stay tuned :)
     
    Last edited: Oct 11, 2021
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  2. ItsYa165

    ItsYa165 Well-Known Member

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    The ballast is where its at
     
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  3. w2sjw

    w2sjw Active Member

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    Please tell me (kind sir) that you are bringing your fabulous sound mods to this route for the 2 Electrostars... :cool:
     
  4. chieflongshin

    chieflongshin Well-Known Member

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    Following this one with interest. I love the posters. Can anything be done with the generic shop fronts in terms of branding or replacing the low res faked view inside or the ever static diggers?
     
    Last edited: Oct 11, 2021
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  5. Monder

    Monder Well-Known Member

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    Those planes are great! Looking forward to this mod.
     
  6. chieflongshin

    chieflongshin Well-Known Member

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    Curious also whether you have enough access to create new dioramas?
     
  7. davidh0501

    davidh0501 Well-Known Member

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    Can't come soon enough.
     
  8. JBViper

    JBViper Well-Known Member

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    Top thank
     
  9. SprattyHeath

    SprattyHeath Well-Known Member

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    Stuff like the shop fronts can definitely be changed, although I feel it's not really needed as most of the time you cannot see them.

    As for the static vehicles such as the diggers, I might plan on adding JCB/Cat branding but I have not gotten to that yet.
     
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  10. SprattyHeath

    SprattyHeath Well-Known Member

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    Dioramas are not something I tend to bother with, nor is it something I have any expertise in unfortunately.
     
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  11. fakenham

    fakenham Well-Known Member

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    Are there any on BML? Not seen any yet myself.
     
  12. SprattyHeath

    SprattyHeath Well-Known Member

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    I'm not sure, Dioramas don't seem to be something that DTG are very consistent with
     
  13. Quentin

    Quentin Well-Known Member

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    Great stuff! I've pointed out several times before how ridiculous the aircraft models are in TSW, with their engines hung near the wing tips. It would be great to have some realistic ones - though I perfectly understand why DTG wouldn't use easyJet livery, and even though eJ don't operate any Boeings (it's a trainsim not an flightsim!)
     
    Last edited: Oct 11, 2021
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  14. Coastway trainspotter

    Coastway trainspotter Well-Known Member

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    Why does this route need sound mods ?
     
  15. BR125

    BR125 Well-Known Member

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    The default audio is fine, but the volume mixing is hot trash.
     
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  16. Sharon E

    Sharon E Well-Known Member

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    If you are willing to play around with the sounds you can go into Documents/My Games/TrainSimWorld2/Saved/Config/WindowsNoEditor/GameUserSettings and tweak these
    AmbienceSoundVolume=2.500000
    DialogueSoundVolume=1.500000
    ExternalAlertVolume=1.500000

    These are what I have come up with and am happy with what I hear.

    If the whole thing is not loud enough then do these also:
    MasterSoundVolume=1.000000
    SFXSoundVolume=3.000000
     
  17. DR98929

    DR98929 New Member

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    Amazing work!!

    If you need any photos for the route or any info please let me know and I'll do my utmost to provide them, I'm on the real-life route 10 hours a day and would be happy to support the mod in any way I can.
     
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  18. SprattyHeath

    SprattyHeath Well-Known Member

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    Thank you!
     
  19. chieflongshin

    chieflongshin Well-Known Member

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    DR98929 just out of curiousity, is there anything blindingly different from dlc to reali life, I’ve never seen line in person
     
  20. MisterV

    MisterV Member

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    This is all looking great, BML is already my favorite route and this will make it even better.

    Though my inner plane nerd feels compelled to mention Easyjet haven't flown 737's since 2011.. But ill take it over the default model any day. :D
     
  21. DR98929

    DR98929 New Member

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    The route itself it’s pretty accurate!

    Obviously, we have some missing key features in the current build such as the flashing aspects on approach to Stokes Nest Junction (14m & 20Ch) where you're going from the Up/Down Quarry lines to the Up/Down Redhill at 70mph. along with other areas.

    We're also lacking station details, such as DOO CCTC/MIRRORS on platform ends.

    The route is also WAY too sterile, IRL the route is quite run down in area's (graffiti, general grime, rubbish along the track such as old rails/sleepers, Rolling stock far too clean also, I understand all of this is no doubt due to licensing agreements however accurate it is not, although compared to other regions the Southern network tend to keep rolling stock fairly clean.

    I must admit I have only driven London Commuter 2 times as of yet so I'll be on the lookout for more.

    Not the best but I've attached some photos of South Croydon, using the same weather, time of year, and time of day from the real-life photos.

    But from a cab point of view, it's a fairly accurate representation, just could have been done with more attention to detail.
    20211008_121904.jpg 20211011212653_1.jpg 20211008_122246.jpg 20211011212731_1.jpg
     
    Last edited: Oct 11, 2021
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  22. chieflongshin

    chieflongshin Well-Known Member

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    Thank you, that’s interesting. I might be wrong but I think Bakerloo has those mirrors but they’re faked as I think it was cheaper on performance than a reflection
     
  23. DR98929

    DR98929 New Member

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    Once I do some more driving on the route I’ll be able to go more in-depth, but from a brief overview the track layout side of things are pretty much spot on, it’s just the detail that’s lacking,
    But I’m guessing that’s for optimise reasons in regards to last generation consoles.

    I may write a list of my findings, but really excited to see what our modding community can achieve with this one.
     
  24. Mattty May

    Mattty May Guest

    Oh wow. I’m so jealous of these mods. I love that Emirates A380 advertisement.
     
  25. JayTG123

    JayTG123 Active Member

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    Great work SprattyHeath and londonmidland !! Really looking forward to this one. I think I know the answer but will the horrendous vending machines on all the platforms be getting any mod treatment, I can’t bear how dull the default ones look.
     
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  26. SprattyHeath

    SprattyHeath Well-Known Member

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    You'll be pleased to know I have given the vending machines a bit of treatment, but it's only inclusion of ads on either side.
     
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  27. JayTG123

    JayTG123 Active Member

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    Excellent! That’s fine by me lol, at the moment like on all routes they are just grey boxes with no detail at all. Keep up the good work.
     
  28. SprattyHeath

    SprattyHeath Well-Known Member

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    Hello all, I'd just like to give you all an update on the BML EP.

    I've been sent the final version of TheShottle's B737 model with some slight changes to the visual appearance as well as a much more realistic landing pitch angle.

    I have also just applied the final few texture changes to some of the station clutter as well as some miscellaneous bits and bobs.

    I aim to have this uploaded hopefully by the end of tonight, or by the latest of tomorrow, for now I shall leave you with a couple of screenshots of some of the latest changes to the route!
    upload_2021-10-12_19-16-10.png
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    upload_2021-10-12_20-29-44.png
    upload_2021-10-12_20-41-54.png
    upload_2021-10-12_20-44-16.png
     
    Last edited: Oct 12, 2021
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  29. DR98929

    DR98929 New Member

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    Can't wait! Will be keeping my eyes peeled for a drop this evening! got the night off so I'm just launching the route now :D

    Amazing work all involved will transform the route!
     
  30. JayTG123

    JayTG123 Active Member

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  31. MisterV

    MisterV Member

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    Looks great, can't wait to try it out.

    One question, Would it be possible to reduce or randomise the frequency of the aircraft landing at Gatwick. The constant stream of aircraft is a bit unrealistic.
     
  32. SprattyHeath

    SprattyHeath Well-Known Member

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    I believe it would require some sort of hex edit, but I have no expertise in that
     
  33. JayTG123

    JayTG123 Active Member

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    I'm no expert but during the day there's an arrival into Gatwick every 3-8mins, so whilst it could be toned down ever so slightly, its not as unrealistic as you may think.
     
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  34. MisterV

    MisterV Member

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    Oh I know Gatwick can (Or used to) Get very busy, But I think the current frequency is about 60 seconds.

    Again it's not a huge issue I was just curious if it was even something that could be changed.
     
  35. JayTG123

    JayTG123 Active Member

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    Yeah I get where your coming from completely :)
     
  36. chieflongshin

    chieflongshin Well-Known Member

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    Top work - cannot wait to try. Thank you :)
     
  37. SprattyHeath

    SprattyHeath Well-Known Member

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    Last edited: Oct 13, 2021
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  38. pdxmark77

    pdxmark77 Active Member

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    Excellent work! I look forward to trying this out
     
  39. davidh0501

    davidh0501 Well-Known Member

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    Well done guys.
    Congrats all round.
     
  40. JBViper

    JBViper Well-Known Member

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    Excellent mod, thanks
     
  41. bescot

    bescot Well-Known Member

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    Lovely stuff guys. I kind of followed the discord on the process of this pack, and can see how much work went into it. TYSM
     
  42. fakenham

    fakenham Well-Known Member

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    Fantastic work, thank you very much, it adds so much more immersion to the already excellent route!

    I'm just wondering, would it be possible to upload the mod without the ballast change? I actually quite like what DTG have done this time with the ballast, it seems to blend nicely into the surroundings.
    I totally understand if it's not possible, as we could end up with lots of little uploads which would be annoying, so no probs at all.
     
  43. SprattyHeath

    SprattyHeath Well-Known Member

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    Hiya, thanks for the feedback.

    Whilst I could release a version without the ballast change, it would be a bit of a faff to remove all the .uasset ballast files. I may consider uploading one onto discord or Google Drive later
     
    Last edited: Oct 13, 2021
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  44. fakenham

    fakenham Well-Known Member

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    No probs at all, thanks again!
     
  45. WaveyDavey

    WaveyDavey Well-Known Member

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    Great work on this it is a great mod.

    I also just wanted to say that I’d also be interested in a version without the ballast changes if at all possible.
     
  46. pdxmark77

    pdxmark77 Active Member

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    ^ Same with me, I would love a version without the ballast change. Good work, btw!
     
  47. SprattyHeath

    SprattyHeath Well-Known Member

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    Clearly there seems to be a lot of interest regarding a mod without the ballast change. If you don't mind me asking, what's wrong with the new ballast?

    I find that the default one is washed out and inaccurate for the BML since it's nowhere near a dark grey shade IRL.
     
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  48. fakenham

    fakenham Well-Known Member

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    For me, the new ballast colour is nice but on my system it doesn't seem to blend in well with the surrounding ballast, if that makes sense - it's as if there's a distinct line between the track ballast and the surrounds, something which is less obvious with the default ballast in this route.
    However, I think I'm a bit obsessed with this sort of stuff, as in TS classic I spent a few years trying to sort out that problem!
     
    Last edited: Oct 13, 2021
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  49. SprattyHeath

    SprattyHeath Well-Known Member

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    Interesting point, and I get what you mean. It seems that the way DTG built the lighting makes the textures look a lot brighter than they actually are.


    upload_2021-10-13_14-23-9.png
    upload_2021-10-13_14-27-43.png

    Top image is the actual brightness of the texture in umodel, bottom one shows how ridiculously bright it gets at certain times of day/seasons.

    Of course this is also dependant on the .ini settings that people use, as not all of them are the same and will change the look of the whole route etc
     
    Last edited: Oct 13, 2021
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  50. WaveyDavey

    WaveyDavey Well-Known Member

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    For me it's just too light to be seen for the full route and as someone else has said it just doesn't blend in with surrounding areas too well.

    Having watched quite a few cab ride videos of the route they all seem to show the vast majority of the line to have darker ballast with only a few areas with newer cleaner ballast. (Something I think has only managed to have been mimicked on the Dresden route).

    2021-10-13.jpg 2021-10-13 (1).jpg 2021-10-13 (2).jpg
     

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