Sherman Hill Stream

Discussion in 'TSW General Discussion' started by Challenger3985, Nov 18, 2021.

  1. Challenger3985

    Challenger3985 Well-Known Member

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    Not gonna sugarcoat this one, many of you know what this route is and what's included when released. Time to see what you think about it in action.
    Any thoughts, opinions, or feedback from the preview stream are welcomed here (Including PS & XB players).
    Preview Stream: Twitch/Youtube
     
    Last edited: Nov 19, 2021
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  2. Dinosbacsi

    Dinosbacsi Well-Known Member

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    I didn't watch the stream. Is it good?
     
  3. Challenger3985

    Challenger3985 Well-Known Member

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    So far from the preview stream today:
    Route: Great scenery for Wyoming's prairie grassland (even on a PS5)
    SD70ACe: Not bad, in terms of model and sounds (even if the engine was reused from the Class 66, not surprising honestly)
    SD40-2: A bit similar to the SD40-2 (instead of a mockup SD40N, luckily) from Sandpatch, but has a different horn. But the number range is way off for some reason (probably still using the CSX numbers instead of the actual UP's number range)
    Consist: A 100 car train is gonna be really challenging for sure (with proper DPU setup included, and improved brake physics). But, disappointed the Gen 8 consoles will only get half of that due to the CPU problems instead of memory.
    Substitution: Unfortunately, the AC44 is not gonna be subbed in since Skyhook is actually fixing it now (or improving it, we shall see).
    Track 3: Unfortunately, it is what it is due to their auto generator not working as they expected (plus time). The tracks and signals are placed, but it's gonna be a little while to see that part of the route to be finished with scenery for sure (or not at all).

    Overall: I would say, it might be the best US freight route done for TSW2. But I have a feeling it's gonna fall flat for those that are in the Gen 8s because of the limited specs the XB1 and PS4 have (and I don't have a Series X, so rip). Other than that, this is gonna be great to drive on.
     
    Last edited: Nov 22, 2021
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  4. Dinosbacsi

    Dinosbacsi Well-Known Member

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    Skyhook is fixing their Cane Creek locomotive? That's great news! Shame for the substitution, but maybe they'll add it later if it gets done?
    What does this mean? Are they hoping to finish it later, or they gave up on it?
     
  5. Challenger3985

    Challenger3985 Well-Known Member

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    Just to add further:
    Rolling Stocks: Really good-looking cars so far, especially the new boxes and the reefers (except for the plain covered hoppers). While the Bethgon hoppers aren't prototypical for Granet (but still looks great), but they didn't want to miss that opportunity to include them, so I'll give it a slide for now.
    Yards: Big as both Cheyenne and Laramie are, but looks pretty much empty (and no Steam Shop in the yard) like Cumberland on Sandpatch.

    And that's it, today's stream was fun (which I'm not gonna spoil how the service ends), and cannot wait until next week for this route.
     
    Last edited: Nov 22, 2021
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  6. Lamplight

    Lamplight Well-Known Member

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    The track and signaling is done while the scenery is not. According to Matt, they‘d like to go back and finish it at some point, but there are no plans to do so currently. In other words, it might come one day or it might not. Best to assume it‘s never coming for now.
     
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  7. delucadomenico2009

    delucadomenico2009 Active Member

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    (Ps5 player) At the first i want to say that i'm not a fan of NA route but i like play them sometimes. Honestly for me it's nothing special. This is one of the greater freight corridor in US and the yards (very big yards) seems really dead. 10-15 side tracks and just 2 or 3 of them are covered by wagons. Also doesn't seems there is a lot to do in them. Switchjng, formation or just a stop for a future departure. Also the route doesn't show a lot of action on the main line, and on the side tracks, and after cheyenne it is just "put the throttle on 8 for 20-25 miles and wait". Maybe on the north area of the route has more life. Also no layer, also just 1 subsitution at the moment and..... i don't know, i was in hype (not common for me expetially for US route) and i thinked that there were more. We will see. At the moment for me it's not a day1. Probably in future for sure with a discount. Very happy to see 2 new freight wagons, 100 cars trains and (finally) a new freight loco. The scenary seems good too, and the same with the tracks. And now i think that will be the same with horse shoe curve. 121 services not bad but with a real yard operations can be added minimum another 50-60service just for yards and probably some more freight on the line (Not everyone need to be a 100cars train). Ok it is just a preview but the mayor problem for me it is on gameplay variety. After 5 or 7 runs you close with this route. As i said, probably in the future, but it needs a lot more, and expetially because it is a current era setted, it need to be done. In short a sand patch 2.0 but with a lot more potential. Hope they will use it.
     
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  8. redrev1917

    redrev1917 Well-Known Member

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    Didn't see it due to working on a project. Is there any branches included or is it just a straight run?
     
  9. Monder

    Monder Well-Known Member

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    The route seems fine, overall I am definitely more on the "will buy" side. HUGE horn upgrade, a nice model for SD70Ace, long trains with the need for hefty setup time, etc. Really nice. There are, however, a couple of things here and there that should get upgraded:

    - 121 services wouldn't sound THAT bad on SPG let's say, that would be nearly double what it is now, but here we have TWO yards eating a lot of shunting and many services are split in half at Hermosa taking away from that number. Would definitely like to see more there.
    - Track 3 should seriously be considered (or let the community finish that part :D), which would add variety and possibly some extra services (heavy 200 car coal would be an amazing addition specifically for this track).
    - The yards are extremely empty on both sides, TS did way better here and TSW shouldn't once again act as a downgrade from that.
    - AC4400 after it gets fixed (and hopefully gets better sounds) should definitely sub in to break all those 4xSD headers. Especially since it has both clean and weathered variants.
    - Very distant rendering looking like the coast is really immersion-breaking for Wyoming. Making the fog grey rather than blue would help.
    - Many people have mentioned a completely incorrect bell on Ace (also with no animation) - that probably should've been researched, right?
    - Minor bugs here and there (road traffic, SD70AC/DC: Hells Bells)
    - Maybe on lighter trains throw one SD40 into the mainline train for extra variety?
    - Variety, variety, variety. GP-38 should sub on shunting. More varied rolling stock. The variety of assets available should be to DTG's advantage. Use all you have like you did on BRD. Why not even have a super low chance of CSX AC44s subbing (after they are deemed compatible with new locos). The same goes for rolling stock - CSX and CN cars here, UP there. NS as well when HSC hits the road. Make us want to see what we're hauling, none of the CSX 53' containers appeared among those 150+ on that long intermodal. Put some of those in (not too much).

    There's also been a talk about sounds for the SD70 engine. If anyone from DTG reads this - why not try a collab with some model manufacturers, they probably did recording sessions too and likely have the sound recordings. It might not be completely easy, but definitely a way worth exploring.

    Overall from what I've seen - 7/10 with a potential of going high if upgraded.

    Sidenote for future self: start watching on Twitch, the bitrate on YT makes the route look a lot worse.
     
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  10. Mich

    Mich Well-Known Member

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    I don't get why they couldn't have kept the red stripe as a alternative livery for the SD70ACE. The route's already a bit further back in time stock wise thanks to the SD40-2's, would've been a great to have so that trains have just a little more variety. With that said seems good on the whole, will say the horn sounds good though, it sounds a bit lower pitched than it should be based on other recordings, but it's certainly a lot better than Sand Patch, that's certain. Not a fan of the modified Class 66 engine sounds, but won't hold it against them seeing as they did actually try and plan a sound recording session.

    Route itself looks fine for the most part, the biggest problem is that everything's too bright and looks washed out when inside the cab. The vast majority of what's modeled though seems to capture the area very well I gotta say, and looks perfectly fine from outside. The one big disappointment I saw is that the UP Steam Shop seems to be completely missing in Cheyenne Yard. Considering that we have it not only in the original TS, but in American Truck Simulator of all things it's kind of ridiculous we don't have in TSW.

    Finally track 3, while not especially surprising, I'm still very disappointing that it's missing from the release version. The one great thing about Sherman Hill was that you had multiple routes up and down the line. It made what would otherwise be a normal A to B freight route quite a bit more interesting, and it lacking that takes that element away. On a brighter note though it seems that both lines between Laramie and Hermosa are still intact based on the map, so I'm they at least got one of the alternative routes in.

    On the whole the route's what I expected, in fact it even surpassed my expectations a bit. With that said the big deciding factor for me was always gonna be whether of not track 3 is gonna be included, and with the answer being no I'm skipping on it for now. Yes it's nice that there's at least some hope of it being added in later, but also considering DTG's track record I would not hold my breath on it happening. With that said it's not a complete write off for me, I'll certainly keep a eye out and see if anything more gets announced for it. If they actually do add in track 3 at some point, or if they added in some older motive power like the DDA40X I'd reconsider real quickly, just saying DTG!
     
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  11. dubsox

    dubsox Member

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    The blue fog horizon haze is a bit much, it makes it feel like you're on a desert island. Also, I noticed there was no ambient sounds when he was exploring Cheyenne Yard in free cam and it was dead silent.
     
  12. driverwoods#1787

    driverwoods#1787 Well-Known Member

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    Actually seen the video and the route length is 76 mi 121 km surpassing the original Plan for Riesa-Dresden being 65 mi 105 km current length 57.16mi 92 km. Sherman Hill Surpassed DDR Riesa-Dresden by 29 km 18 mi.
     
  13. Blacknred81

    Blacknred81 Well-Known Member

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    Watching the stream, and here are some notes I've taken from the stream.....

    + Positive
    = Neutral
    - Negative

    (=) No actual train symbols for services.
    (-) SD70ACe cab looks funny, not sure what it is, but it looks off, maybe its too clean?
    (+) Horns are good. In comparison with a recording I have of a UP ACe awhile ago....(2:22)


    (=) Sucks the case with track 3, but it is what it is......
    (+) Glad feedback about the yellow safety striping on the SD70ACe was taken into consideration.
    (=) No heritage units.
    (=) No PTC antennas on the SD70ACe (But PTC isn't modeled so that's fine)
    (-) Grain Hoppers are unbranded, not sure why, UP has their own fleet of grain hoppers....
    hopper.png

    (=) Boxcars looks like a typical 60' Hi-Cube Plate F Boxcar, everything looks right on it, though its height looks a bit short.....
    Boxcar.png

    (+) Reefers looks pretty spot on, including the correct ARMN reporting mark.
    reefer.png

    (-) The blue lighting at Hermosa
    (-) UP steam shops in Cheyenne are not modeled......
     
  14. Dinosbacsi

    Dinosbacsi Well-Known Member

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    From the short time I watched, to me it looked like the whole view is way too bright in the cab? While everything looked alright from the outside, when they jumped in cab view, everything was way too bright, with washed out colors, even the outside scenery through the windows.
     
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  15. Monder

    Monder Well-Known Member

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    Just a little sidenote for Matt or the sound team - if sourcing SD70Ace sounds doesn't go well, supposedly there are Stadler "Euro 4000" locos mostly in Spain and Portugal with a nearly identical engine to that of Aces (way closer than C66). It's not perfect, but it's probably more doable than going to the USA now.
    upload_2021-11-19_13-29-49.png
    The table also shows some of them being in France. Belgium, etc.
     
  16. Higgybaby90

    Higgybaby90 Active Member

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    Something I really miss for service mode is a more immersive naming of trains.
    Why can't we have more realistic system for it, I'm really tired of driving "Cheyenne Yard-Hermosa (Intermodal) or "Güterzug Dresden-Riesa". I know it is a small wish, but it adds a lot immersion if I could drive "MGRNY Green River, WY North Yard - Denver, CO" for example.
    We had this detail in CSX HH (or Sandpatch Grade), all trains had a proper symbol, origin and destination, and it felt so much better than just reading "train from east to west".
     
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  17. DTG Matt

    DTG Matt Executive Producer Staff Member

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    Totally agree with you, i've asked the Gameplay team to focus on that going forwards - even in the case of the German routes where i totally made up the train numbers (DB 89127 or whatever is not a real thing) it adds an element of authenticity to it as well as a much easier way to refer to and re-play it later if you enjoyed it.

    This was a miss this time, which was unfortunate.
     
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  18. Wieczorek

    Wieczorek Active Member

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  19. gogglesguy

    gogglesguy Well-Known Member

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    I noticed it as well. I suppose this has more to do with the viewing angle than being inside or outside.
     
  20. Callum B.

    Callum B. Well-Known Member

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    I believe it has to do with the Unreal Engine Eye Adaptation.

    Cheers
     
  21. Dinosbacsi

    Dinosbacsi Well-Known Member

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    But I never noticed it on any other route in TSW. I wonder how will it look if one opens the side windows? Is it the glass making everything look brighter?

    Any chance to change this in a future update maybe - even if not for release?
     
  22. Sharon E

    Sharon E Well-Known Member

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    Would think that using real train symbols should not be that hard since LBM came out and it uses the real train codes. With a relationship already established with UP DTG should be able to obtain a employee TT for this division of this period which would contain the train symbols.
     
  23. Blacknred81

    Blacknred81 Well-Known Member

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    Whats interesting to note, is that modders found out that Skyhooks Cane Creek route has correct UP train symbols, even for the AI mainline ones that spawn in the scenerios.
     
  24. redrev1917

    redrev1917 Well-Known Member

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    Managed to catch up on the stream and looks great, this might have been answered on the stream and I missed it, but do AI trains leave the portal on track 3 and re-enter at the next portal?
     
  25. ghawk2005

    ghawk2005 Well-Known Member

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    Sherman Hill - wasn’t that at Dobwalls ? Sure John Southern chose that route when he was building Dobwalls back in the 80s I think it was?
     
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  26. Quentin

    Quentin Well-Known Member

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    For those not overly familiar with Sherman Hill, Trains magazine have a recent article here, including a map.
    (I don't think it's paywalled)
     
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  27. ghawk2005

    ghawk2005 Well-Known Member

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    Pretty sure it was at Dobwalls wasn’t it ? Amazing place
     
  28. ghawk2005

    ghawk2005 Well-Known Member

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    KNEW I WASN’T IMAGINING IT.



    Terrible terrible eco lodge replaced this awesome place. Many happy childhood memories is all that I have after big wigs destroyed the park and turned it into an eco lodge site.
     
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  29. solicitr

    solicitr Well-Known Member

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    On the blue fog: this stream was on Playstation; apparently the PC version has longer draw disrances

    And of course on PC we have lots of ways to adjust the brightness
     
  30. Dinosbacsi

    Dinosbacsi Well-Known Member

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    Really looking forward to that. An open are like that should look good with big terrain draw distance.
     
  31. Challenger3985

    Challenger3985 Well-Known Member

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