Train Sim World 2 - Spirit Of Steam Arriving Soon!

Usually around 10am BST as per recent releases, then give it several more hours for the achievements to finally propagate...

 

I agree but it shouldn't be underestimated the amount of people not bothered or even not interested in Steam. If they had included a Gronk I probably would of got it but now I'm not really bothered unless of course it proves to be fantastic, not to difficult, compatible with the RD then I might look again.

 

Oh well, it doesn't have a gronk... Still has 2 fantastic Steam Engines.

 

There is a auto fireman for people like it "not too difficult". So you can focus on driving. This would be realistic, but im sure its fun and busy to do both jobs.

I prefere an ultimate challenge by doing all. So i hope all the controls and valves are functional.

 

Speaking of diesels will the LMS 10000 and 10001 be added as a DLC for this route or will this route just be a steam route?

 

This would be called jumping the gun significantly expecting dlc confirmation on an unreleased route. You’ve more chance of knowing/guessing correctly what I’m having for dinner on the 22nd May next year.

 

I think this is the main reason & this bundle appears to say hello to those people.

 

Fish and chips!

 

Which means for those not interested in driving steam it has nothing...

 

If you like making your own scenarios you could always add a few diesels. There are plenty of BR green repaints on creators club.

The 101 doing local services in green might look nice even if it is a bit inaccurate.

A timetable pack similar to diesel legends featuring BR green re-skins of the 101, 31, 40 and 20 slotting in amongst the steam engines would no doubt be popular.

I am slightly confused as to how the local services will be represented by the two engines. I’m surprised they didn’t go for a mixed traffic engine which could be used for everything.
A green or black 08 would be needed as a station pilot too surely?

 

Not quite true, some might just be interested in seeing the route, I'm not a huge Steam fan but I'll get it as I live quite close to the Acton bridge/Hartford area & I would love to see the sights along the route.

 

We had a discussion in the main thread a while back about this. Basically there are not that many diesel classes about in 1958 which would have been seen at Lime Street. More than likely pilot working and local trains would have been worked by tank engines or maybe smaller tender locos. I suspect we may see the 8F in use on ECS workings but neither that nor the Jubilee would have been in regular use on local trains. According to Railcar UK, Allerton Depot did not get a DMU allocation until 1960, with 108's for local services and 115's (later the Marylebone units) for Manchester services.

Crewe North had 104's briefly in the first half of1958 but the site does not mention where these worked to and from.

 

To those moaning that a steam period route only has steam engines and nothing else, how about the fact there are some of us who have been waiting for steam since the sims inception and that we might just be fed up with the many releases of modern trains with a lever you just push or pull! The last pure pre-privitisation period route was back in 2019, I am discounting the WCL which seems to not know which period it is supposed to be set in!

I am sure in the next 18 months there will be a few modern period routes released and those now moaning will suddenly have forgotten their angst!

 

Although Crewe did have 08s by 1958, they would of course have been green (or black), not blue, and in many respects differed from the modernized 08 from TVL (for example, dual braking systems). So the existing one can't be layered in

 

Didn't stop them layering in a class 40 on WCL when they never ever ran in the area, save for the odd railtour and running them with brakeless rakes of carriages. So I wouldn't rule anything out.

 

Well at least they can’t put a Class 377 on the locals…

 

I love steam myself but not this era, I'm more into the beginning of steam but all I was thinking was if they had included a Gronk, which wouldn't be difficult, surely that alone would make SOS more appealing to more people and get dtg more sales no?

Having the first release steam only will for the large part just attract the steam lovers which there is nowt wrong with that but including an 08 would attract some Diesel fans and who knows maybe would get into this era of steam? I thought it would be a win, win.

 

Matt's answering a few questions on tonights SEHS stream -

Nothing planned for steam layer/s on WSR, but something they want to do, as it's obvious.
SoS - no layers at launch, dunno about the future. No diesel layers because in 1958 there were no diesels on it. [Which is wrong according to the shed lists - the LMS diesel shunters for starters, and 04, 08, 20. The only question being, were they being delivered from Crewe works like the 40s, or in service, like some of the shunters.]
Cat's been having fun with livery designer on the 5 plank waggons. Poss. stream.

 

Are diesel fans really going to get excited about pottering about in a class 08, especially when they can already do so in NTP and TVL?

 

Perhaps i'm coming at this personally but for me if there was a Gronk on offer in the DLC I would have purchased this as I'm not sure steam is for me and if I couldn't get into it there was the Gronk to fall back on. As it is I think I will pass.

 

In the future WCML Liverpool Crewe can get layers from SR Region steam a 4MT Belle Eastern Region 9F Murdoch. DLC 2-6-2 Arthur LMS Ivatt Black Five Henry. 1950s UK Diesel route Class 101 Daisy Green not the TVL NTP GWML Blue Class 08 Diesel Paxton Green/Black no AIr/Vacuum brakes

 

OK then, for those not interested the steam or with a vested local interest... still nothing

 

The class 101 wouldn't have been seen in the Liverpool area at that time. Allerton the local depot had class 108 Derby Lightweight DMU's and I think steam may have given way to electric on the route anyway. Also, "Daisy" is fictional, Metro-Cammell never built a single car DMU. I am not entirely sure the BR standard 4mt would have been that common, a Fowler/Fairburn/Stanier 4mt I suspect would be more suitable.

Still who knows what DTG will deem as realistic as they certainly don't seem to be of the opinion that passengers ate meals on trains!

 

Well this is the first thing which I have been really interested in since TVL, save for WCL but that soon turned into a definate non purchase! I did get the London to Brighton route simply because it was complete and very busy but that soon gets wearing when pretty much all you see are Electrostars.

 

This is Spirit of Steam. It’s for steam trains. Everything DTG make does not have to appeal to everyone. Just like there are players who only play routes from their own country or don’t like modern EMU routes, there will be players who don’t like steam. They can sit this one out if they don’t want it in the steam only form that it is rightly presented, and DTG have no obligation to shoehorn a Gronk or anything else in just to appease people who have an aversion to steam trains but are eager for something to play with. This is Spirit of Steam.

 

I'll be the same on this route, everything you'll see is steam trains. For some "Yay!" for me, yawn
I'll wait until they do Manchester or Cardiff in the 90s...

 

That's ok, some of us have been yawning at TSW's lecs and dizzels for 4 years

 

Exactly... maybe worth a whole different game.

 

Oh.. perhaps use another DLC if that's the case?

 

It was me that asked the question about steam on the WSR. I thought it would be a no brainer type decision to release a gameplay pack with a steam timetable.

 

Yes it would be good to see the steamers layered in there.

Hopefully in the future we will get a GWR/WR add-on to use on the route. I remember when it came out, I think many assumed (me included) steam would be close behind it, didn't expect it to be four years.

 

The WSR's steam engines are all GWR/WR types

 

In fairness preserved railways often have visiting locomotives so it's not too unrealistic to have locomotives not necessarily based at the WSR

 

I really do hope that DTG haven't dumbed down the controls and that we get the same level of complexity that TS classic has. Managing the steam levels and the fire is a large part of the attraction of steam for me.

Is there physically space on the PS and Xbox controllers for the various extra controls needed for the firebox and injectors?

 

From what I have gathered from what has been said (or not said) during streams is that the fireman is automatic (ie I haven't heard there is an option to toggle it to manual mode)

I'd also love for there to be a manual fireman mode for the purists as well, but it may have been simplified to accommodate the console controllers

I'm sure this question will be answered next week in the gameplay stream

 

A solution could be including a couple of scenarios for WSR with the visiting locos, instead of putting them in an all day timetable, which would need to be reworked once again when GWR locos are made. However, before or along with this I'd see water towers updated and some coal added to the route, so their use could be included, too (some scenario could also use the turntable and the triangular section in Norton Fitzwarren to turn around the locos, since they can't be used currently in scenario planner).

 

Well, it seems they kept a low price as possible instead according to the preview stream.

 

The stream looked very promising, and overall I can't wait to play it.

I think the exhaust looks somewhat underwhelming, but I don't think the technology exists to accurately reproduce it to be fair. I don't think the Jubilee quite sounds powerful enough either, but Matt and the others were annoyingly talking over it most the time and he didn't really push the loco very severely so I'll reserve full judgement for now.

My main niggle is the whistle. I've heard lots of Stanier Hoots and that ain't it. Heck I saw not one but two Jubilees last month and neither of them sounded like they had that weird whine to them. I'm assuming there was something wrong with the whistle they recorded it on. If they change just one thing before release then I'd want it to be that.

 

Was only half watching as am an Evertonian and there was something more important going on, but very happy now and will have to watch back the stream again with a clear head

I loved the huge layouts of tracks, was a bit worrying that only say 140 services and yet already problems on old gen consoles. Hopefully it will layer up nicely and given the routes will be period so will be stand alone, they might as well just pile layers on here and then make a second route they can all run on as well.

 

From the stream I thought the route looked awesome.

The locomotives looked perfect, stations were beautiful and the overall experience looks to be pleasant.

The steam deflecting off the overhead structures and the engine and tender shaking was so nice to see. If you’ve ever been on a steam engine footplate you’ll know even at slow speeds they shake and lurch around like crazy.

The scenery was a little barren maybe in some places but there has been so much work put in elsewhere which makes up for a few missing shrubs.

The timetable is a little underwhelming but it’s understandable with only two trains. A reskinned BR Green 40, 20 or 31 would be nice to see but we can always do that in scenario planner.

The only thing that will annoy me is the safety valve. Since you cannot control the fireman, everytime you coast downhill or are stationary you are going to be subjected to the safety valves blowing off as the fireman seems to constantly ‘fire’.

Overall looking like a very solid route and great value.

 

Great first stream tonight, looking forward to release and the next stream to get closer look into the 8F

with regards to the jubilee consist;

-Sounds are real nice, didn’t notice anything major on the Xbox version that would become irritating

-train looked visually stunning (can see a lot of use of external camera )

-the train names

-liked the options for interactive within the cab

-particularly liked the new headlight system implemented, would be nice for preservation to do similar with the class 08/09 and alike

-looks fun to learn how to operate

- The passenger coaches look like they’ve had a real good amount of detail put into them, always something to be appreciated

-did notice Ai seemed a bit bare but understandable given loco stock available

-hope to see steam come to preserved collection in the future

-would be nice to know some information on the follow up of the wheel blur issue with regards to release

only hiccup with the steam itself is it seemed to send some kind of light transmission beam down the coaches, apart from that it seems like nice work has been done to it

with regards to route;

-quite impressive scenery, it did seem to be a bit low in some parts but another understandable given the focus needed for other parts of this release

-the shot of the cows the steam loco and then distant scenery during the stream was one good stunning shot

-always had a liking for senophores

-yards seems nicely filled and great to hear about use of refuel type activities

-nice station modelling, Crewe gives the impression it’s quite a regular station then when you see the assets on it it looked like a city

gameplay impressions;

-great job on vintage vehicles and clothing

-I like the fireman idea implemented

-scernarios all seem like a good bunch to try out, looking forward to each one of them for sure

final thoughts;

looking forward to 31st for purchase and would be nice for dlc in future to help busy up the traffic.

 

I had a few nitpicks (that Jubilee cab was way too clean!) but nothing that would stop me buying day one... however I totally agree with a.paice, the fireman still seemingly stoking the loco to maximum pressure when the service is slowing to a halt at a known stop is really going to drive us crazy with the safeties going off all the time.
Imagine a terminus FULL of locos waiting for their timetabled slot... ALL blowing off like crazy!
If they can't get the fireman to "know" the route ahead (which as they are strictly timetabled seems possible) then I'd almost rather they went down the TSC auto-fireman route and just magically capped the boiler pressure below the first safety so it never blows, rather than have a fireman who would have been kicked back to cleaner after 1 day for their lack of route knowledge.
I would hate to see all of that effort they've put into the audio going to waste if it's constantly drowned out by the safety valves.. not to mention the headache for us drivers

But overall my compliments to the team, the love and effort is clear and it looks like a masterpiece and I'm excited to try it out

 

Agree fully about the over use of the safety valve, I would rather the max pressure be set below the limit and never have the safety valve, than it be blowing all the time unless you are accelerating

 

My only complaint from the stream was the safety valve sound. I’d much rather have it appear quieter than have all the other sounds ducked to allow it to appear louder. The effect just doesn’t work the way it has been implemented. I was expecting a little ducking of the sound as it had already been described in a prior stream but not such a huge sudden drop in level. It goes too far and just sounds like the other sounds have cut out. It makes it sound like a bug and not a deliberate effect and it indeed does not have the desired effect it is intended to have. Nice try but it is just going to be seriously annoying. It would be better to just have a quieter safety valve and don’t try too hard to have it at a realistic volume because the game just doesn’t have the dynamic range and this isn’t the answer.

 

Only 40 USD (with tax

 

For me $38.07Cdn with tax

 

I watched the stream last night and I thought it looked very good. I will probably pre-order (my first ever pre-order of software ever), to support the steam concept in the sim.

Like others have mentioned, I would have liked to see the 08 included (in black) or perhaps a Jinty DLC in the future for yard or ECS workings.

I have an interest in carriage & wagon and this is where my main quibble is. The wagons look very nicely done as do the coaches, however the types of coaches chosen annoys. The SO (approx 1500), BSO (approx 300) & FK (also roughly 300) are not the most common of Mk1 coaches. The SK totals over 2000, BSK (+1500) and CK (+1500) would have been better. No buffet car either and finally - no steam heating on the coaches.

In the future I would love them to modernise the route to early electrification (AL5/class 85 & AM4/class 304) in nice early liveries and maybe complete that bridge in Runcorn.

Steve

 

I just hope the items people are picking up on are not evidence that things have been rushed at the last minute to meet a deadline. A decent (ish) AI fireman has been a staple of train sims since at least MSTS in 2001. The ability to fire and water the loco as driver needn’t involve playing around with injectors, valves or firebox doors. Just one keystroke to toggle firing on and off and another for watering. Given the lead in time SoS has had, I’m somewhat surprised this wasn’t planned and addressed from the coding POV at the earliest stage.

I still have to watch the archived stream but observations about missing lineside fencing and other paraphernalia again signal something that has been rushed. Although I was impressed to see the Indie Lines at Crewe, everything did look a tad too clean. This was the era of smog and pollution. In addition to steam locos, most domestic heating was still centred round a coal fire. Heavy industry belched out emissions day and night. Road vehicles burned dirty fuel. More than 50% of the population were heavy smokers. In short, everything even the air was covered with dirt and grime.

 

I really enjoyed the stream list night. hats off to you all for the work that was put in. just a quick question DTG JD . Somewhere near the launch could we have a stream with DTG Protagonist maybe with matt teaching him (a tutorial stream of sorts). It might come in very useful for those who might find handling the steam trains a bit of a struggle (and be entertaining).