Train Sim World 2 - First Look Metro Norths Harlem Line

To me this is the biggest fault with TSW2, the stations are not bright enough. Go to a real station, town size and up, and they are lit up like a beacon but when seen in game it is like there is a blackout.

 

Can any locals chime in and let me know what the deal is with stop markers on the route? From the stream it didn't seem like there were any. Is that prototypical for the Harlem Line where they just let you stop at wherever?

 

Grand Central Terminal is supposed to be brighter that what is shown. The lighting in the terminal is not far off from what is shown in the simulator. I think the colors of the terminal lighting in TSW2 should be a bit warmer, closer to the lighting featured for Penn Station in the LIRR route

 

There are stop markers, they look like small blue boards that say 4,6,8, S, etc. it’s common for trains at certain stops to be longer than the platform. The conductor will go into the appropriate cab and only open a certain set of doors.

 

I'm interested to know why you chose to pay full price for the routes when they were offered at a discount via the season ticket.

I can understand not paying full price for the bundle when you only want 1 route from the pack.....but you chose to buy all 3 at full price ? This makes no sense to me...do you also see content you want during sales and go "Nah....I don't want this cheaper, I'll wait until its back to full price and then buy it" ?

 

Either the dude doesn't know how to save/budget money or doesn't care that he spends full price when he could've gotten all three at a lower price. Frankly spending full price on something you could've gotten cheaper makes no sense

 

Thats why i wrote this was my personal choice.

It doesnt need to make sense for you, but i see tsw as a big project growing and improving over time. So i take a look at each dlc individually.

You might laugh now, but yes there are good dlc´s, i never ever would buy on sale. And on top, there are also dlcs which i think they are sold way too cheap for what we got. Probably for you wanted to make a joke, but you pointed out a really good question, seriously. I recommend to study the thread about if TSW is a Game or a Simulation (I think this was around christmas).

As a passionate train enthusiast in real life, for me TSW is the sandbox where i can do the things which i cant do in my daily business around the trains. This "Game / Simulation" has a Customer base, where a casual gamer can have the same fun, as a hardcore simmer.

For me its everything about Quality, this means i dont want to give DTG an excuse to make shortcuts, cutbacks etc. We all know them from preview streams: "We just didnt have the time to do it..", "It would take way too long to make this feature..". And it was mostly about things on trains / Routes were present in previous addons. When the quality aspect is justified and i see a good dlc, this means also no Cutbacks from my paying side as a customer.

Another important thing, which doesnt make sense either, but probably due the lack of quality control became a fact:
Compare the Addons, BR 187, G6 Sunter, DB BR 101, 38 Tube Stock, BR Class 52, BR Heavy Freight Pack (Class 40 / 08)

The only thing they have in common is, you get them for 20 Euros each. But if you look close what you get, the bar goes from "Cash Grab" to "highly detaild locos". With the BR heavy freight pack you get even 2 locos. Beside the fact TSW is way more challenging in creating Content, the loco dlcs are in the same price category as the ts dlcs, and ts routes are either same or more expensive.

At the bottom of the line my vision for this game is to get quality dlcs also in the future. And i doubt this will be possible if the franchais becomes a "budged Range". Sales are there, if somebody cant afford the content or just doesnt want spend time thinking, its everybodies choice how to spend the money.

DTG has a challenging future anyway to keep this ship on course. Ironicly im not seeing me buying the harlem line neither as full price, nor as sale right now. This could change with a loco addon for this route, a possible extension to southeast, or an other route where i can use the m7a & m3a.

 

I can understand wanting to reward the developer when they make a good DLC, but when the developer chooses to reward the player base with sales...I am not going to take some moral high ground and refuse to pay less.

Do you honestly think you refusing to pay less for something in the long term makes TSW2 a better product? You are merely one user and the stance you are taking is quite strange indeed

You can still be all those things you mentioned and enjoy an odd sale or two. DTG are not going to frown upon you ol' chap

 

You have your opinion, i have mine.

My reason to mention it in the first place was more about the route choice of the harlem line. Similar to eastcoastway.

If dtg wants to create a short route for whatever reason, well i dont have a problem with that, since i also can enjoy the isle of wight.
Im sure the USA has a lot of possible routes around 25 miles, bringing the focused "1 hour gameplay", and would be enclosed where the actual termini point is at 25 miles.

But no, they choose to pick a really interesting north metro line and decided to produce a demo version out of it.
Usually everywhere tracks continue to another location, but in this particullar case the effort for the scenery seems to be an excuse.

 

If a player wants to pay full price for something instead of pay bundle prices and sale prices then that is their choice. Some players buy the DLC across multiple platforms and can afford to do so even at full price. Not everyone can and it would be daft for those people to spend more than they can actually afford to but it still remains a personal choice to pay whatever you like for the product.

If I could afford it, I would do this. I would buy every DLC at launch at the full asking price. If you are invested in something to a certain degree and can afford to support it at the highest level then you will do that. For some people, DTG are not making a product, they are making a way of life. Not an essential way of life of course but one that we all enter into through choice. And that extends to not buying anything if you don’t think it’s worth it.

 

I totally get this. As customers, we can vote with our wallets. As someone who enjoys this game/simulation and is invested in seeing future content get better, I feel that one of the more important ways I can vote with my wallet is to open it up and be willing to pay full price for routes and add-ons that are truly excellent.

With all the kilometers and hours I have enjoyed in the cab of the DB 101 or cruising up and down DRA, it would somehow be a shame if I had waited until a sale to purchase them. It would be like walking out of a great restaurant meal without leaving a tip. I don’t even know if they have ever been on sale; it doesn’t matter to me.

When both came out, there were howls of protest over this or that omission or shortcoming. Yet, they represent some of the best content the game has to offer and I want DTG to continue to move in that direction. One of the best ways I can encourage that is to buy at release.

 

Just had a quick look at the stream, first impressions .... scenery looks v nice, the track/ballast and surrounding blending textures look good to me. The UK routes need to catch up with this and the recent German routes in that aspect.
It seems that the signalling is accurate as well, going by the way Matt was describing it. Hopefully that means the next few UK routes will have the same treatment for signalling (not visuals, just functionality).

 

I don't see this as being especially profligate. I usually buy new routes and locos at launch when they are at full price. If I want a route, I don't like to wait several months for a sale. My usual practice is to put a small amount into my Steam wallet every couple of weeks, so when a dlc is released, I have the money available. We're not talking big bucks here, after all. Dlc's are not released that often. The two route releases in the next two weeks is unusual.

Of course, I will always take advantage of bundle pricing like Rush Hour and a launch discount like the ones with Harlem and Lucerne. I still have most of my marbles.

 

I don't make use of launch discounts, simply because I never, ever buy a DLC pre-release. I wait to find out what other users have to say about it and then decide "Buy now at full price," "Wait for the sale," "Wait for the superdiscounted clearance sale," or "Never not even if free."

 

I want it all and I want it now. So for love of TSW and the love driving all the trains on all the routes for variety I would most definitely buy every DLC at launch and both myself and DTG (plus the third parties) win, which would make me happy. It maybe isn’t the most extravagant thing to do with money, it’s hardly a fortune, but it also isn’t cheap either. My funds don’t stretch to being able to do it, so I have to be selective and buy in sales a lot of the time, and there are now several routes and locos I don’t yet have but would have bought when released if I had more money. I might have had fewer marbles to start with than most people but there are still some in my possession.

So to mix that in and get back on topic, Metro North will have to wait as I do prioritise the things I want the most and wait for sales but I do definitely want to get it. Like all DLC, there is something I will get out of it, how high it gets on the wish list is dictated by how much I think I will get out of it, and on current evidence it’s a sort of middling route for me.

 

Well, I've actually had something of a rethink. I'm not going to pre-order or buy Harlem this week. I only want to buy one route, so I'm going to take a look at Lucerne. Dollar for dollar, I've a sneaking feeling that the Swiss route might be a better value.

 

This is very concerning to hear then, especially since I tend to drive without those distracting imaginary station beacons. Routes like Brighton Mainline were easy to do because the stop markers were very visible. Even Peninsula Corridor and NEC had them, so it's kind of inexcusable not including them if they exist in real life.

 

According to Matt he did mention in the stream that the team are looking for a way to operate the door separate especially in short platform, at the moment so hopefully it will be implemented this year which I also do want to see as well

 

DTG did a great job on this line... The scenery looks beautiful. Being someone who commutes to GCT daily they definitly have to look at the lighting. Its not that dark its surprisingly adequately lit. I will take some pictures of the platform later today when I am leaving work but I hope they also look into the passenger displays hanging over the platforms which also seemed to be missing. I also noticed something small but just figured I would point it out which is the buffer stop. The Buffer stop is the device which prevents trains from going off the rails at the end of the track. They are actually a bit further back in the track. They were really far up on steam. Otherwise can't wait for this addon!

 

I also try to point us as well that they are missing lots of stuff at grand central terminal such as the PIS, the track Circle Mark in the center of the column near the ramp before leading down to the platform, the clean crystal panel that lead to a staircase which leads to another platform, the buffer siding at the end of the platform, just like how it is at London Victoria Terminal Station, the posters and ads near the ramp, , the ceiling fans on the top corner of each track, the blue recycle bin, the stainless cage where newspaper are being thrown in, I think.

 

Yes I know exactly what you are talking about. My train at the end of the day is track 34. I believe they have most of the things are you talking about. I will snap some pictures of all that. I hope they are able to add these small things for realism sake. I don't blame them for not modeling the passenger corridor but it would be awesome if they could add these small details!

 

I look forward to seeing it later

 

These are the displays and trash cans that are missing from the platforms.

 

I knew it that there was PIS at grand central terminal. We got to let Matt know when he come to stream on Wednesday

 

Were you able to take picture of?
1. the track Circle Mark in the center of the column near the ramp before leading down to the platform,

2. the clean crystal panel that lead to a staircase which leads to another platform,

3. the buffer siding at the end of the platform, just like how it is at London Victoria Terminal Station,

4. the posters and ads near the ramp

5. the ceiling fans on the top corner of each track,

6. A close up of the recycle Bin’s,

7. The stainless cage where newspaper are being thrown in

 

Im sure he already knows of that since he reads the threads

 

I was waiting for the routes to be fixed before I was going to buy the season ticket but low and behold they only gave a weeks notice that it was going off sale and it was before the end of the New Year like it was made to sound like it would be for months of streams.

So I didn't buy it. But they had the deluxe edition of Rush Hour on sale for $13.99CAD just over a month ago on XBox so I bought it. The season ticket was $36.99CAD when it came out. Yes I already had the 3 TSW 2 routes but I think in the end I did the right thing and got a hell of a deal.

 

What do people think about the sneak peek of Harlem's nighttime view on their Facebook and Twitter page?
https://twitter.com/i/status/1503415772378505218

 

I

If they used their technic right, this route could be really immersive in the night, probably more than during day. Immagine the skyline full of the downtown lights.

 

I really do hope so as well. We will see on this thursday

 

That gif looks really promising. Though it's a bit more like sunset than night, hopefully full night hours will be a tiny bit darker. But looks great so far, hopefully it will look good along the route.

 

Oooooooh that looks pretty!
What really sells the scene to me is are the buildings in the background being properly lit up. All the colors look nearly spot-on to me. If that is how it looks in game and is consistent...then I'd say I'm happy with how the night lighting looks

 

Imagine that the 2 days to go sign is there just to replace the led sign at Harlem 125th street at the street level in reality.

 

The little peak of the night lighting looks promising. Hopefully it is actually good

 

Got a picture of the PIS that is used on the Hudson line. Can’t imagine there being major differences to harlem.

 

why there is no trailer of the new route on the steam page ?

 

It’s available now and for the moment I’m enjoying it, I didn’t encountered any big issues

 

Glad to hear that! What about the passengers?

 

The passengers ? What’s that ? I’ve seen more trains than passengers and it’s supposed to be a heavy line… I mean inside the train it’s ok there’s enough of them but in the platform they’re nearly non existent

 

Damn. Not glad to hear that. Then I think I will wait with buying until they are fixed.

 

So no rush hour passengers then?

 

I can’t say personally it’s rush hour no

 

Then I will hold off buying this route until at least this feature is added. There's no excuse for this omission. Very sad, I was really looking forward to Harlem.

 

Yeah I can understand you. Maybe they’ll update the route in a couple of month by adding a decent amount of passengers

 

I don't know what your problem is. I have enough passengers at the station

 

I'm pretty sure Matt mentioned in the preview stream that it's supposed to be making use of the Rush Hour passengers system, but as always with DTG, it's not until the final product is in players hands that we get the full truth.

 

No Achievements on Xbox on

 

Very unlikely, we're still waiting for Rush Hour passengers on BLM, which was released > 6 months ago.

 

I was being optimistic but let’s not get our hopes up it will end up like BLM in the hands of the preserved collection team to be updated with rush hour passengers