bought the DLC during the sale recently. Been playing a couple of services on the SEH line. Found out that the services are grossly off schedule. like 1-2 mins off. Even if i had been driving it hard (notch 3) after leaving the stations and i'll still be late. Compared the timing to the real timetable, its also off by 1-2mins. Hope that DTG would update their timetable. Any thoughts?
With regards to the high speed services, they're timed as if the whole thing is on the 25Kv section so the timings are a bit off. You can still get gold aware without driving like a nutter though, so suggest ignore the timings if trying to get to the second, and you'll be fine The issue is with how to the timings are initially worked out more than anything else
How I understand is that on DC the train accelarates more slowly then on AC which is correctly modelled on Simugraph. However the AI train physics have no such difference and the train accelarates at the AC rate throughout. The timetable was then worked out based on AI driving which is impossible for us to keep up with, thus we are always late. Hopefully it will be addressed at some point, but as ARuscoe points out it is still possible to achieve Gold and your lateness doesnt cause the timetable to become stuck so its not the end of the world although still immersion breaking for some (me included).
I think it's unlikely that we will see timetable overhauls on any older routes ("older" meaning pre-Brighton- everything before that used AI simulation to build the timetable). Not unless a particular route desperately needs a layer/traffic upgrade, like RT.
What made them use AI simulated times for the timetables in the first place? A lot of the trains in AI mode accelerate like a scolded cat. For me it is frustrating as whilst I am not bothered about being late, it would be nice to think the times set are the ones they work to in real life. You can set the speed of AI trains in TS1 scenarios, I assume no such function exists in TSW.
Unless the route is accurately modelled to the last metre you couldn't use the real life timetables, even if the traction was also accurately modelled. Frankly one to two minutes off is probably better than reality. Personally I find braking is the key to timekeeping rather than acceleration. YMMV.
To be imprecise by one or two minutes, at an average speed of 60, you'd have to be off by one or two miles. No matter how imprecise your data for the route creation is, you will not have an error of that magnitude. Using real life timetables is of course highly possible.
Which it usually is (or should be) given the fact that routes are built on a Google Earth overlay Which isn't a huge requirement given the fact that generally trains in TSW are faster accelerating and braking than their real life counterparts. Obviously, but this is not F1 where you want to brake as late and hard as possible. Remember you shouldn't use step 3 in UK trains, and probabily anything beyond 70% braking in german trains (as a general rule), also braking should be smooth. Also the main point of driving a train correctly is efficiency, take this paragraph, which describes how to drive a train efficiently, in the DB EBuLa wikipedia page (it's translated from german): Coasting down with traction switched off: Tough starting, driving at top speed, switching off [power] early and stopping for a long time result in minimal energy consumption when driving on tight schedules Reducing the maximum speed: tight start-up, driving at reduced maximum speed and short run-down [coasting] and Reducing traction/speed step: A tight start, driving at a reduced speed level and a short run-out [coasting] save energy if the time buffer is used to the maximum. So one of the main points is to coast as long as possible. In Brighton main line (which has a realistic timetable) this means that, for example, the way I drive the GX services on the run up to Gatwick from London (where there is a big "hill" so ascent and descent), is coasting when I reach 90mph, Crest the top of the hill at ~70mph and I don't even need to brake for the 80mph restriction on the downhill section. BML allows you to do that because the timetable is realistic. An AI train constantly going at speed limit will result in something like the run up to Lewes coming from Brighton, where if you want to stay on time you will probabily need to switch constantly between coasting and brake 1 to stay as close as possible to the speed limit at all times. Train driving should not be a race against time. Unless you are driving something in a high density environment such as an S-bahn train or a subway, or for some reasons you are late and have to make up time.
Whereas AI trains run right to the line limit (on some routes, ignoring Vmax and temporary (e.g. PZB) restrictions- and then wait to the last moments to stomp on the brakes, following the maximum braking curve. RL drivers don't, and TSW players can't, drive like that.
