Truth be told, I bought both TS2022 and TSW2, as I wanted to see what they were both about. Tried both, but didn't get past the tutorial for TS after playing TSW2 (will try TS2022 later again, at some point). On the other hand, I can't get enough of TSW2 - the first person view, pulling levers and pressing buttons in-cab, playing with breaker switches etc. I really liked how the tutorial mini-scenarios show you the ropes, and prepare you for the bigger scenarios. Perhaps counter-intuitively, I like it when I get stuck and really have to work hard at figuring it out. For example, I spent 30 mins trying to clear a PCS Open fault on a lead engine today. The usual procedure just wasn't working. And pressures were low all around. I messed around with the engine - stopping and starting. Played around in the fuse box. And eventually shut down the whole engine and all electrics - went dark/cold, and rebooted. That did it for me. Fast forward an hour or so later on Ice & Snow (or is it Snow & Ice?), and I'm losing power quickly on a 1.5% grade. I eventually come to a stop, and can't move. 3rd person view suggests no smoke coming from 3 of the 4 engines - it appears they stalled.... somehow. So I manually restart 3 of them.... I apply throttle - go nowhere with throttle 1 or 2, get a bit of traction on 3, and slippage on 4. Eventually go back to 2-3 and throw down some sand - that seems to work, and a couple of minutes later I'm zooming ahead. Awesome! Truth to be told, I don't know whether the simulation is this intricate, or whether I ran into a bug or two. BUT, I'd like to think it's the former and am therefore enjoying the challenge. The game forces thinking and problem-solving. Will certainly be buying some DLCs. Have been loving the US freight scenarios (Sand Patch Grade), and looking forward to some of the European trains/scenarios. Do think this game/simulation has lots of potential.
Welcome to the wonderful world of TSW. Be careful though. The hole you’re about to jump into is deep.
Glad you enjoyed yourself Katkon and welcome down the rabbit hole. You hit the nail on the head for the difference between TSW - you are the driver and TS - you are the train. On Snow & Ice you are probably only powering the lead locomotive, there is a trick that the older tutorials don't talk about. TSW has a fictional concept for the lead locomotives controlling trailing locomotives that are not directly connected called "Banking Comm". When locomotives are directly connected with no cars/wagons/whatever in between the lead will control them, but then there are cars between them this does not happen but the game has a way. Make sure your radio is turned on (there is often a breaker in the fuse box for it) and hover over the PTT button and you should see the words "Banking Comm" appear (if not PTT, try hovering over the other buttons - it does vary a bit from loco to loco). When you find the right one press it. The lead loco will then control the others and they will contribute power. Oh on the bug front, there some some sprinkled around the place so yes you will encounter some from time to time. Search here on the forums and if there is a work around you'll find it. Or ask one of us, we're all pretty friendly mostly. Paul
Thanks for the welcome, chaps. It may indeed be a deep hole that I'm about to jump into. The good news: I brought snacks and a torch/flashlight. On the Banking Comm side - I did manage to flick that switch before I started the journey (had read about it on various forums), so that wasn't the issue in this particular case (but I do appreciate the tip!). It was relatively sudden power loss that was "fixed" by restarting 3 of the engines which had appeared to stall given lack of smoke. Maybe I did something to stall them, or perhaps this was a glitch/bug. Either way - it made for a more exciting scenario. I've read a lot about bugs/glitches in the game, but other than snow not spawning in properly after restarting from a save, I've experienced none. Have read that some have had to restart scenarios given that nothing will get a train to move - at times. I frankly enjoy those moments and insist on figuring it out by reading forums, manuals etc. So far, it's worked out well. I hope that continues! If I experience issues I can't solve, I'll be back on here perusing old posts. In fact, I think I may have run across several of yours - Paul - in preparing for/problem-solving some of the scenarios.
Just a word of warning, avoid saving the game when you can. There's a high chance that upon loading that save, something will be broken somewhere, whether you notice it instantly or later on in the route. It's a core issue (meaning it's not connected to any DLC specifically but rather the core game) so there's not really a way to avoid it.
Yes. I've noticed (and made a bug report) that after loading a saved game, the banking comms link is (can be) broken and needs an off/on to reset it. I think this may account for some of the reports of people being unable to slow trains down, it would be difficult to stop a 10,000t train with only one loco operating.
