Train Sim World 2: Roadmap Update - 14/12/2021

Not really if you look at the emphasis of DTG on releasing new content semi tested, but making sure that fixes are fully completely utterly tested until they release the next patch (with new content) only to need to test all the old stuff again

Snark aside, it's not odd at all if you stand back and look at how they handle their release schedule, whether it be principal software (core upgrades), DLC or patches. It's almost always "Yes we've learned our less.... oh dear, it's broken again, hasn't it?"

 

Touche

 

Absolutely agree, but if it's a workaround for the route to work then that is all that matters - until they hopefully fix the bugs!

I now only ever spawn on foot, as you say it adds to the immersion. I like seeing what trains I'm driving (the train number) and as I play without the hud, the extra couple of minutes allows me to memorise the station stop timings for the journey ahead so I don't have to turn the hud back on - please as mentioned earlier, the game seems to have less broken red signals this way.

 

I completely agree with you. If you look closely in the video DTG made on the Winter Sale, you can see the PIS is working on Rhein Ruhr Osten. Is it in game? NO! DTG are simply pushing away Adam's work. We were promised more frequent updates which would have less stuff in them but they would appear more frequently. In my eyes, this hasn't happened. Like come on...

 

Welcome to GWE, still hasn't got in on the 166 and it was the first Passenger route ever released for TSW

 

Ok hang on a minute. So you can do a timetable with 1200 playable services (without layers) on London Commuter but you can't do 400 or so services on Bakerloo line. Why???? I've been looking forward to the Bakerloo line service expansion for ages but still haven't got it. When Rush Hour was announced and released, particularly London Commuter, i honestly thought that Bakerloo line service expansion was going to be put back on the roadmap. What the hell is taking so long?!?!

 

Packing services into Bakerloo is actually much, much more difficult that on the Brighton Main Line, because there are very few places to divert traffic. It's not like you have loads of branches running in and out of portals, and certainly no dozen-platform stations. The only "expansion joints" on Bakerloo are the two depots.

 

The answer given was that Bakerloo is in essence a closed system, there's nowhere to "get rid of trains you don't want" and they're all either on the route, in a station or in the depot. This means that any issues you have along the way will tie up each and every train on the route (ie everything grinds to a halt)

The other issue is with the signalling and dispatcher. Originally on the Bakerloo lights would be red in stations when you came to a stop and would turn green only when you closed the doors. They changed this but the solution isn't perfect and it seems to be with the way the "trains call ahead to get the signals to change"
IRL this works the other way round with lights clearing as trains clear sections of track, but from several things Matt has said this isn't as workable in game as it is IRL because there are points where humans make decisions IRL which would still need automating in game

So basically, the signalling and dispatcher isn't yet at a point where it can seemlessly work 30 trains for 24 hours without something grinding to a halt, and because trains have nowhere off map to go, there's the issue.

 

But couldn't you park the unused trains at London Road, Queens Park, or Stonebridge Park depots. Lots of empty tracks for unused trains there during schedule services.

Just a thought seeing as they are empty during the day on services. And it is what they do in real life. You just need to add more services going into there and voila.

My thought is that they don't have enough units running on the route is which is why the timetable can't be improved. Count how many units are on the entire track when you play. As they said there are no portals so no units will be missing. So looks to me that they need to model some more units for the route

Sorry but I don't believe anything they say to us on the stream, I have found they like to make up technical excuses and don't tell us the full truth just theories on the issue. And nor do they have to, what goes on in the background is frankly none of our business.

 

I sort of understand what they are saying about the Bakerloo but what happens in real life. The actual Bakerloo has trains every few minutes using the same line so there must be a way of doing this. Can lessons be learnt from real life operations?

 

In real life, real humans take care of dispatching - that's the difference. There's a reason real railroads still use humans for dispatching and not a computer. DTG need to solve a problem (automatic smart dispatcher) which real railroads haven't solved.

 

It would be amazing if somehow DTG solving this issue leads to the same technology used in TSW also being used by real life railroads. Not that that's likely, but it would make an amazing story.

 

Yes, that's how it's supposed to work, and that is the goal: but until they can teach the dispatcher to handle dynamic platform/siding assignments, which is what is needed for that to happen, it can't happen.

Yet.

 

Well then, the 2 things I have lots of is patience and optimism. I know they will fix things, eventually, and I'm not going anywhere. I work for a developer as well so I understand that things do just take time to smooth out.

But I still love the game and play it for a nice relaxing couple of hours where possible. I used to be heavy into sports games but I find I play them less and less lately. I have a copy for free of the game I work on and I have yet to play one game on it. Just keep going back to trains.

 

You changed "trains you don't want" to unused... There's a difference
Trains you don't want are those which cause some sort of failure or issue with the timetable. Unused usually means out of service
On a "normal route" you can push the former through a portal. On Bakerloo those aren't there to be used

 

I see what you mean, but how does it work in real life? They obviously don't go into a portal. So I think solictr hit the nail on the head with the dispatcher not being able to assign empty sidings or platforms.

Then you would be able park the trains until required on the route. But I still don't think they have enough models on the track at once for an increased timetable. So they would have to add more of those too.

I'm going to count them up on the map tonight and see how many are physically on the route because all of them should be on the map since there are no portals.

A more dynamic dispatcher would do wonders for them. I wish I knew coding better and could come up with something to offer them.

I love doing up timetables and services in the Scenario planner. I can't wait to be able to share them with everyone when they get that system all up.

 

What about Routemap 2022? Usually we should have one now

 

See Nat‘s replies on this matter:

 

it's not that. It's the signalling and dispatcher systems not quite being up to the capacity needed, and not being able to get rid of troublemakers.
They've done some updates to the dispatcher on Bakerloo (it's route specific, again stated by matt previously), but not enough to handle the amount of traffic needed to have a fuller timetable without it all binding to a halt