I would not be surprised if they put a slight premium on it, maybe £27.99 which of course means if you get the usual 10% off pre order price would be going for £25.19 or thereabouts to make it look on a par with existing content. Rest assured though by Christmas, it will probably be in the < £15 bargain bin during the Steam sale especially if it does a Sherman and fails to sell in the expected numbers.
No just my speculation. However have read quite a few anti-steam or just not interested in it sentiments in various threads over the last few weeks. Barring unforeseen circumstances it will be a Day 1 purchase for me and naturally I hope it isn't a flop as TSW has to get away from the current carousel of largely modern routes and trains.
Most of the code and mechanics is likely to already be done and at least one route is probably almost completed already and we know outside contractors are used to collaborate with train models and assets, so it’s not beyond their capabilities to have three steam routes out this year. A lot of the making of steam routes is the same as making any other route once the tools are there and each will share the core technology for steam to work. They have been working on it for a long time already too. I don’t share other people’s certainty that they aren’t doing it, and although I never claimed they would have it all done this summer I wouldn’t be totally surprised if they did.
Spirit of Steam could live on as a banner for sure, however that's not what I'm arguing against, and most others are the same way based on what I've seen. What I'm arguing against specifically is the idea of Spirit of Steam being a Rush Hour style pack. Meaning that it's three routes being made at the same time and being released within days or weeks of each other.
Well once they release the 1st steam route I'm sure the next 2 routes will be steam as well so I'm thinking for modern passenger route fans it will be awhile until we get another DLC. Juat like highspeed lines Koln in TSW 2 then Munich, then TGV, the SEHS.
Steam will rattle out a German and American route within 6-9 months, remember, routes are planned a year or two in advance and keys will be tapping long long before we get a sniff. I’d envisage Liverpool is over 80% complete and the next two 30-50%. The recent steam streams to tantalise us will be for a couple of reasons. Puts people off the preservation crew updates with a distraction Feeds those that want more than electrostars Shows something really new is coming Enables them to use old dev footage and screenshots from probably 6-12months ago. What we have seen of steam at this point is 2020-21s work I’m confident. This weeks stream I think you’ll see something 50-60% along the road and then within 4-6 weeks a preview stream
That would be nice. A release at this half of the year would certainly leave room for more content down the line at the end of the year.
I am pretty sure Matt has mentioned somewhere that Sherman did pretty well. I too was surprised by the discount that followed, but a lot of people got the route already prior to that. By no means does it seem rare like for example Clinchfield (which is a shame, because Clinchfield is actually pretty cool).
To be fair (and I'm not saying Steam is "the big Summer release") DTG released Peninsula Corridor alongside their Summer Release which was TSW 2020. I just think the big Summer release will be kept under wraps (given what happened last year) until the need to give us the info.
Well, given the problems they had last year, with the delayed Rush Hour releases stretching into October, it's not surprising that DTG are reluctant to call SOS the " Summer Update " or some similar appellation. But if they're going to make a big splash over SOS with banner headlines, it has to be more than one 32 mile route. The fact that SOS was officially announced in January suggests to me that the initial routes will come within the same time frame as Rush Hour (August - October ).
The Spirit of Steam update itself is bigger than Rush Hour, it's adding a completely new type of traction to Simugraph. From what Matt has said on streams, a ton of work has gone into this release. The title likely just refers to this being the first release involving steam locomotives. Just because it's a titled release doesn't mean it has to be a pack of three routes. German and US steam locomotives will certainly follow the UK route at some point but I don't think as part of the Spirit of Steam project. To me, the Spirit of Steam title is just a DLC name for Crewe - Liverpool. Like Boston Sprinter and London Commuter.
At this point, I'm not even sure why many of you would think Spirit of Steam, which is just one route, is gonna be part of the bundle for this year, when Matt specifically said that this route is not even gonna be a Summer release at all. As much I would like for a US steam route to be made for sure, but given how much time it took implementing steam into the Simugraph (plus the smoke effects), not to mention on how long making this particular route in the right era. So, it'll be some time before more Steam routes can be made, even for other countries, whether you like it or not. And also gonna say this, there haven't been anything to announce on what's gonna be the Summer release anyways (and pretty sure they're not making the same mistakes like last time), if any at all. So it's best to stop speculating with SoS right now, before you're gonna get disappointed too soon for sure.
True. Like I said, since there's no announcement for what the next bundle is gonna be this year, so this is what I see on some of the threads lately (including this one).
I can see your point of view I just don't share your confidence in DTG. DTG made a number of mistakes last year, what with Rush Hour and the core update and with both of them so close to one another I sense DTG will want to be cautious this time and get everything right. I think they have been struggling with the code mechanics for steam although at the same time making progress. This has been shown with the smoke and wheel motion. Remember they are setting this up in a specific era so details have to be sourced and implemented and stations modelled as they were back then. imo even though the route is not that long DTG have plenty to do and I think 3 routes would be just too much at once, of course I hope I'm wrong and there are 3 routes but that will increase the opportunity for bugs. I personally love steam but I prefer the early stuff so it isn't a day one purchase for me if at all but I hope it goes well for those that want it.
I don’t have so much confidence that DTG will deliver it all working well first time round and exactly as they wish but I do know that they can do a lot without necessarily talking about it. You may well be right that they would want to see how the first steam route goes before committing to others. The way they announced Spirit of Steam was around the same time they announced Rush Hour, with almost identical banners, and it looked very much to the casual observer that a bundle or at least a selection of routes was planned in the same way as Rush Hour. Maybe that was the plan and they have decided against it or maybe they just gave the wrong impression right at the start and it has only ever been one route. As I quite like to play devil’s advocate on the forum and the only thing I have true confidence in is that a lot of people’s certainty is only based off what we’ve all seen (and that does include my own impressions of what may come), I have taken that first impression and ran with it against what most people are predicting. Like the majority of people, I have no idea what DTG are planning, and the only thing we all know for certain is that one steam route is in development, so only DTG can tell us if more are planned soon after Liverpool - Crewe or if they haven’t even thought that far ahead yet. I don’t want three steam routes in quick succession, as I’m not that interested in it, but it is still a possibility. And as for a big summer release bundle, I’m not even expecting one (of any kind) this year after how well last year’s went and the previous one with the change to TSW2, and we know that’s unconnected to the steam release(s) anyway.
That's the reason why I don't know how people can be so sure about this being just one. And like I said previously in another topic; it doesn't have to release this year, maybe the american and german route will be for next year, one steam release every 12 months or so. I'm sure they want to be the first one to etablish a new era, just so they have the control over all the assets and sales that come with providing the first german or american steam locos and routes.
It is worth remembering that Rush Hour was announced as late as 11. April last year (same time as SOS), at which point we only knew of the name and nothing else, and we only learned the routes on 4. May. Given that DTG previously expected SOS to release before Harlem, I do not think it entirely unreasonable to see steam release within the next couple months. Cheers
If that were the case then why bring on Bossman for Spirit of Steam? I imagine they at the very least are getting a sizeable cut of the profits for that route. If DTG have third parties on already I don't see why they wouldn't try and do the same with US & German content.
i hope that TSW2 comes to an end, and a state of the art product will appear, regardless if its DTG or somebody else. I have followed this now for almost one year and dominant topics are broken DLC´s. The sound is almost always an issue. There is no improvement at all. It is obviously not possible to fix things, e.g. the M7 sound, or it is simply ignored and just packed into another DLC. I do not claim the perfect sound, but silence or missing parts of the sound enviroment is not an option. If it s good and reasonable i would not care to copy it to similar loco systems. In other games i was even able to edit the sounds according to my taste. Night lighting is simply bad. Missing lightcones, wrong or no illumination, shine through...Just have a look into other Games. It happend now multiple times that a fix, crashed a previously working system. i am afraid to loose my favorite locos because of an update. Once lost, you might never get it back to previous state. The scenery looks like early 2000 and an improved version of MS Train Simulator. So, not looking forward to the next DLC which will be again more of the same. I ll skip the dead horse comparison. People love trains and deserve a state of the art game, simulator, whatever...
I'm ready to hear about some new routes or loco DLC. Spirit of Steam is the only DTG project in development that we officially know about- come on, give us a little news lol! Since roadmap is being scaled back, maybe a devblog or something? SCS do this for ATS/ETS2 and I think it's a nice way to build anticipation without setting unrealistic expectations. The projects need to be clearly scoped out for it to work well in practice...
I certainly don't want to see it end, but it absolutely needs to evolve beyond what it is - i.e. a collection of short one off routes, released on a largely fire and forget basis. DTG also need to start bringing people in who can understand and get the most out of the UE tech - no more pitch black ground on an otherwise sunny day, or slight overcast looking like the nuclear winter has arrived, plus a decent sound guy.
I've always said a career mode would add massively to TSW2 and give the game an added level of immersion for those that wanted it. Obviously it would have to be region based but it could have you driving a route at a certain time around the country depending on what route you have and could have you travelling to a certain route as a passenger to get to your route that you will be driving on, that sort of thing. The scoring could be involved too if the scoring if fixed properly. You could be even liable for the sack if you drive like a prat and the like, so much could be done to make a good game exceptional imo. But most likely we will get yet another barren rout, hardly any AI with a chopped up timetable lasting about 30 mins.
I am with you there. The game has to much potential to just be killed off, especially for the playerbase that, like me, is here for the trains, and not the full on, 100% immersion and simulation, that doesn't play the other train sims for exactly that reason. And as long as we exist, and continue to buy the DLC, TSW will keep to exist.
I love TSW 2 don't get me wrong. I think this game has huge potential and lots of value. But I feel like it has been put into the wrong hands so to speak. Incentives to score good points like achievements that provide that incentive to achieve high AP points. Multiplayer as a possibility, or at least have the structure to make one happen. Pricing DLC content according to how much it should ideally cost. Putting in enough effort to justify the costs and to eliminate mass bugs and core issues. I love the game, but it seems like it has been frozen in time for years with little or no major game changing improvements. Sure the graphical enhancements look great, it's just eye candy. Various bugs like the looping sound effect have been bought up and yet still, it persists almost 2 years after the game was released. Resource management should be distributed equally so that one side does not favor the other ideally. But as much as I have the heart for trains, TSW 2 is currently really the only really good functioning trains simulator we have on the market. But I feel like if another company makes a new game that is even better (innovating and changing the style and adding on to TSW's weaknesses) and is more or less biased, this might be great. Competition is good, no competition is not good. It's built into our system here in America. But I feel like one day, another company will arise giving way to another IP that may end up being better than TSW and replace it, hopefully for better improvements.
Currently as I've said the only real competition comes from DTG's own sister product. None of the other sims big or small really has the clout in the marketplace or the all round experience the DTG products offer. Open Rails is essentially the "Country For Old Men" reliving the glory days of MSTS. Trainz to all intents and purposes still cannot throw off its model railway origin limitations. Run 8 has its good points and I've been playing it a bit but the graphics suck big time(2D trees in 2022, really). For all the vaunted multiplayer experience, when I tried it very unfulfilling. Then you have the niche stuff like Derail Valley or Diesel Railcar Simulator which are very limited in scope.
Exactly, that's what I mean. We need better competition or a new IP that can directly compete with TSW and TS classic. TSW and TS classic currently fill their own niche in the market. But as technology improves it's only a matter of time until someone else develops a new IP that could have the real possibility of directly competing with TSW and DTG products as a whole. Sure it's been going on for over a decade now with little to no competition. But who's to say that within the next 5 or 10 years we might see another IP that can compete. As I said above. DTG does not really have any major competition. That's not good because they can get away with lots of things rather easily. Like you said above, they can only compete with their own IP's. But we need others to make their mark in the market. Like all those games to stated above. Many fit their specific role, but none fill's the general everyone and everything role that TSW does. I credit TSW for that aspect.
Problem is, train simming is even more of a niche than flight simming. I had kind of hoped MS/Asobo might follow up on MSFS (20) with another stab at train simming but, let’s face it, nearly two years in it’s still MS Update sim most times you load it up. Their save game mechanism doesn’t work properly and they had to “adopt” a freeware A320 to get a semblance of real world physics and performance in there. The one consolation is, we are still in a far better place than pre 2001 when all the trains sims consisted of was text based apps with no sound!
i think the best one on that list is "wait and see" to be honest as we have absolutely no idea what comes after Horsehoe curve and Spirit of Steam. Im hedging my bets with June for SOS. but between then and now not sure. Hentis
Just please let the next (presumably German) DLC be interesting Be it by Introducing new rolling stock Introducing a new era (i.e. steam, the '70s, '90s, etc.) Introducing a new big city or rura area (i.e. Frankfurt, Berlin, Stuttgart, rural parts of Baden-Württemberg or Bavaria, etc.) A full diesel line A new operator Some combination of the above I really don't care, but please no more 4th gen red dosto's and talent 2 only route.
Judging from the last two german routes, I trust DTG with that decision. Dresden Riesa and Dresden Chemnitz were both excellent choices. After we got two routes from eastern germany, I guess the next one will be in the south or west. Probably reusing at least one main station that's already in game (either Cologne or Munich). The better question would be rather: What's the next loco?
Fair, these route choices are a promising sign that the community is being listened to, and I hope the next route will be just as refreshing, though I do hope for some older west-German rolling stock and perhaps even (it's unlikely, I know) a '90s route.
The 218 is still on plan. And already got some work in terms of gathering information and such things. The 3d Artist, that is actually on the BR232 yet, will then start with the BR218 already this year. What definitely not means that the BR218 will come this year. It takes a lot of time to make these things as a 3rd party. DTG granted me the possibility to do the 218 for TSW a while ago and so i basically have to do it or i will lose the opportunity to do it.
The only real competition I see coming is Simrail which is supposed to come out in Q2 this year assuming that it doesn't get delayed again. That game will also be releasing on consoles. That game has alot of potential and graphically is on par with tsw2 but again graphics don't make a great game. Considering the devs are taking their time with Simrail, I think it has the potential to be a great game and a competitor that tsw2 desperately needs
Well they mostly pull IC coaches, so maybe the cab car, but most of these services have the cab car inactive and 218s still run around it at terminus stations, so I guess rolling stock is sort of sorted. It will be a long wait, but trust me when I say I am super excited these famous diesels (232s and 218s) are in your hands. Worth the wait
Agreed. The G6 (as TSG’s first 3rd party work) has proven that the quality is well worth the wait. The 232 and 218 couldn’t be in better hands.
Well, to conclude all this, the next announced german route won't be a route with a BR 218. Which , from a certain point of view, is a pity, as with the BR 612, you could find a couple of scenic mountainous diesel routes in Germany, where BR 612 and BR 218 could be seen alongside each other (which would again be in DTG's policies of a new loco, a reused one, and by the way, more routes with the BR 612 won't be the worst choice, I think). And , by missing the opportunity to announce something new in the March Madness streams, well, the focus for people not really interested in steam would be more and more the BR 420. As after the release of Harlem and Luzern (and Horseshoe Curve at some point in the future), it will be the only DLC in production that is not steam related. Actually, after todays stream, which only recapitulates all the things already said, and the announcement of an article that re-recapitulates the things said in streams before, my personal interest in steam falls below the freezing point. So, no competitor for the BR 420 that could distract me. Which is some kind of two-edged sword, as TSG seems to me, to work best in silence with no pressure.
Some UIC stock would be nice to go with the 218 (the German equivalent of BR Mark Ones though not as comfortable!).
Nah they have plenty of non Steam stuff in production but are not yet willing to discuss it. I suspect that Rivett are also on another route already, the same as DTG but they are not yet willing to share the information with us until its about 85% complete. We may get info on new content in this months road map of new stuff coming. Hentis
I hope we’ll see a locomotive Dlc for the Boston sprinter route like the Hsp46 locomotive with the bilevel coach’s.
