I think this is a fantastic discussion topic, what I want to talk about is the PRO soundpacks from armstrong powerhouse VS the current sounds the locomotives make. What is better? Would the devs say it's worth applying PRO sounds to the engines avalible in game? I think currently we're mostly after the Class 47 as the other engines are not present in TSW. Currently Armstrong Powehouse covered class 20, class 31, class 33, class 37, class 37/9 "Mirrlees", class 47, class 50 "Delic", class 52, class 57, class 60, class 67, class 86/87, class 92. So it's a pretty good job by Armstrong Powerhouse, the PRO series says that there is a 90% cover of the sounds or more unlike the standard sound packs. Since the class 47 is currently in game, let's have a look at the PRO sound pack for it. This is for TS2018 https://www.armstrongpowerhouse.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=27_72&product_id=112
Speaking of which... is there any explanation why it sounds the way it sounds? Why it starts rumbling when you change the throttle, but then abruptly stops only to pick up on it again? Things like that.
The default sounds offered by DTG have always been poor so it’s no surprise that third party developer creations sound a lot better. Hopefully, when the game is unlocked and has the editor, we will see a vast improvement in sounds.
Part of the issue is not poor DTG sounds in TSW, it's the poor sound engine in UR4. This has been mentioned countless times, the sound issues aren't necessarily the fault of DTG, but instead the game's engine itself.
A tweak in UE4s sound engine is not going to suddenly solve all problems. The sound engine update will largely concern things like reverb, muffling, occulusion, sound channels, and other high-up technical features like that. That will definitely make sounds behave more realistically, but that doesn’t necessarily make anything sound more like the real thing. Bad recording of sounds or bad implementation is down to the devs right now.
There are many games which have been or are being developed using Unreal Engine, and some of them are commercial successes with very few reviews criticizing the audio element of the game. Per this list (I'm sure you can find a more comprehensive list somewhere) [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Unreal_Engine_games], I see a few games which I have had the experience of playing where the sound was acceptable such as Gears of War 4. There are also a few simulator-esque games that probably will feature rich audio, such as Ace Combat 7, and the next installment of Assetto Corsa when they are released. I have a hard time believing that if the audio engine was as poor as you make it out to be, these mega-studios would be developing on a different engine by now, especially from a combat flight game, and a so - called racing simulator. It's up to Dovetail to provide us with good quality audio, and this is clearly something they have struggled with, as 3rd party sound enhancement packs sell. And other than your defense of Dovetail's sound-issues, can you provide us with concrete evidence that they have alluded to sound being an issue of Unreal Engine rather than their own incompetence?
^+1 This has nothing to do with the Unreal Engine, and a patch will not change the fact that these sound recordings were poorly recorded from day one. We cannot rely on Dovetail to give us accurate sounds and immersion as this is clearly evident in TS, where nearly all models produced by them have had to have a sound pack or enchacement pack made by third party developers, mainly by Armstrong Powerhouse. The success of these soundpacks is clearly shown from the reviews and popularity from people and rarely do you get complaints saying the sounds are off. I guarantee once the game has opened up, we will see an improvement in sounds. Off topic but the only reason TS has stayed successful is because of the access it gives to the community and third party developers. If it had stayed closed and only available for DTG to use, it would be very much dead today.
Some of these games might be using third party audio plugins, which are expensive, instead of the stock UE4 audio engine.