Thank you so much for bringing steam traction to TSW2. It's so well executed and so enjoyable to drive those loco's. One more thing left to say: GIMME MORE! Thanks!
I agree, with the variety of steam engines still in service during this era, looking forward to filling out the timetable with a variety of locomotives. Hoping for some panniers for yard work, some tanks for local and short haul freight. Getting some preserved engines for WSR would be a good idea for DLC. Steam has been the missing feature that had me going back to TSC for the past 5 years. Will be fun to see the improvements to the firing side and the expansion of steam locomotives and routes in the future.
I agree well done DTG. I too hope for more in time. Looking forward to seeing a Prairie and Odney Manor.
Yeah a brilliant route and nice to have a positive thread about an overall positive moment for TSW. Well done DTG.
Oh I thought we weren't allowed to praise it. Honestly, it's one of the few routes I don't mind the relatively empty timetable, sure it could certainly do with another loco (or if the 8F was a Black 5), but you're too busy looking after the loco to notice I find. It's far from perfect and does have its problems but it's a very nice pack in general I think. Now for an LNER route, please
Ooo it is sensitive on the freight derailing. First time I tried the first scenario in the journey, I was doing about 3 mph and put the brake to about 10 psi and still got a derail (I've since found that about 15 psi when stopping seems safer). Lovely route and a couple of great locos though (and other rolling stock). Even the steam chest needle bouncing in time with the chuffs makes me smile
I can’t stop driving this route! I love the locos; the in cab experience is impressive and it is fun to lean on the whistle as I blast the express through a station. Time just slips by as I run up and down this line. With the manual firing option, you can control everything but the water and driving becomes a challenge to maximize speed with efficient use of steam and come somewhat close to staying on time. There is also the challenge of driving the route smoothly. If you are too aggressive at getting down to a speed limit, it could cost you for miles as you lose steam and/or speed trying to make up for it. Best I have done so far is to be a little under 10 minutes late on an end to end run. The rolling stock is well modelled. I love lighting the furnace in the brake van and seeing the smoke come out of the chimney. The coupling and brake riggings are also impressive. As for the track noise, the sound going over points and frogs is good. A fix for the rail joints is said to be coming in an early patch. Just three days in, I already feel like I have gotten my investment back in enjoyment and I haven’t even begun to fully explore the route or – and I am really looking forward to this! – take these locos on other routes with Creator’s Club scenarios. There are some TSW locos that I really love driving; the F7, the 465, the DB 101, and the 612 come to mind. However, it is going to be a while before I think about anything else but driving these two steamers. Well done, DTG. This is a great start with steam. I can’t wait for loco DLCs on this route!
It is a little over-sensitive, and we're looking at what we can do to remedy it. Glad you're having fun though!
Thanks JD. Yeah, I saw you and Matt mention it in the stream, but it surprised just how sensitive it was If in real life the brakeman would help by braking at the other end of the train, is there any way that a mechanism like that could be setup in the sim? Maybe get the brake van to brake a bit when the loco applies its brakes? Dunno, just a thought.
I havent played a lot of SoS but the little i did was very enjoyable. It was the first DLC i had preordered the very first day, and i know what can go wrong with that, but i havent driven steam locos in any sim since good old MSTS, so i was very excited for it. And so far it is decently meeting my expectations. I just wish the steam locos could be added to the Railtour services in SEHS/ECW/CCL. I know WSR is a real heritage route so it doesnt make any sense to add them if the locos present in SoS never ran there, but the railtours are fictional, therefore adding the possibility of running them with the SoS locos would be a very nice little addition. (assuming it is possible, idk if the locos might have a different gauge or whatever)
Spirit of Steam is absorbing at a level no other route can offer. There is so much to do, and you really cannot lose concentration. Just getting the damn thing started is a challenge at times, and then getting it to stop (in the right place) can be fund too. The route is also magnificent - full of interest. I look forward to more steam in future, which must come given how positive the response to this has been.
Being a veteran steam driver on TSC I’m thoroughly enjoying SoS. I’m full of praise for the DTG team for all of their very hard work on this route. Not just for the actual appearance of the route itself, but for the effort and thinking that has gone into the introduction of the concept of steam power to TSW2. They have considered things for a complete steam power novice and made understanding how and what to do quite easy to understand! Well done indeed team!! What we really need now is more variety of Steam motive power for this route now please!!! How about a BR Standard Class locomotives pack? ChessieT
Kettles aren't my thing and I've never driven one on a simulator before but I'm enjoying learning to drive one on this route.
I didn't like Steam Trains at all in TSC + the fact that my Grandad brought me up to beleive that anything other than the Great Western Railway was not worth bothering about had me thinking I would not enjoy this route so I had no intention of buying it. That lasted a day, when I saw all the positive feedback and what negative feedback there was was mostly what DTG had already announced, then curiosity got the better of me. Have to say I'm absolutely hooked. It really is a nice route, I harldly notice the lack of AI as I'm so busy trying to keep my train going. I'm really enjoying the learning curve. Also compliments to the Community team who have been far more engaged with this release. The megathread was very helpful, it was good to know what to expect and what not to expect. Plus I've notiiced far more helpful responses than usual. I hope this continues with future releases and the enthusiasm doesn't die away after this big release. So well done DTG, I look forward to the fixes - especially the one making it harder to derail!
I don't understand why people cream over the GWR. They only had like 3 designs of engine, and when incorporated into BR set themselves up for failure with the non-standard hydraulics which had a really short life as a result of being non-standard.
I‘m not quite old enough to remember it, but if I wanted something for my model railway, it was GWR or nothing. Aside from the fact he had a great view of Newton Abbot and surrounding yards from his house, I have no idea why.
You’d have to live in the West of England to fully appreciate the sheer beauty and power of a Castle or Hall class on the Devon Banks and hear that unmistakable crisp Churchward ‘Bark’ from the exhaust, then see the sleek Green thoroughbred whisk by with her rake of Chocolate and Cream coaches as she tears past, to really understand! Oh, happy days! ChessieT
And another thing... I remember when - think it was Trans Pennine - I noticed that all the carriages had the same number. Okay, no surprise, but it was oddly... disappointing. It just said "its a game". But in Spirit of Steam... EVERY truck and carriage and whatever has a different number! Now, I have no idea if the numbers are accurate or appropriate (I am really not that level of enthusiast), but it really made me smile to see it because it was so strangely satisfying, and really made it feel so much more real. Well done to whoever did that!
I don't remember that, though i do remember a bug in GWE where the HST power car would sometimes spawn with the number 00000.
With SoS, DTG has really done a great job! Kudos to the team! At first I had big concerns about the control with the controller. Or you absolutely need the keyboard. With the automatic Fireman you can get started right away, it's quite intuitive. Even on the PS4 it looks decent and is quite playable despite the limitations. A milestone has been reached for TSW, finally, after such a long time. Now we finally have steam, but with that comes a new problem! We have far too little steam! We need more steam! Lots of steam! Yeah!!!
Yes in tsw 2 the numbers match the wagon history & batches. When looking at the jna for example it leads you exactly to the narco batch made by Axiom Rail.
I never thought that it would be so interesting for me to ride steam locomotives. I'm not a fan of steam propulsion, but this addition changed my interests. Suddenly. Thanks DTG for the work and the entertainment delivered.
A picture of the Transporter Bridge at Runcorn - from river level. It seems to operate roughly every 10-15 minutes - there seems to be a audible alarm before it sets off.. :
Well I think it has been worth the long wait for steam. There was some scepticism about whether steam would be popular in TSW, well hopefully going by the comments on here, it will turn out to be a success for DTG. I am looking forward to (I hope) more DLC for this route, steam traction from other countries and eventually (I hope) at some point there will be at least one ex-GWR, LNER and SR route to go with this ex-LMS one.
Its been announced that it’s fixed just not released yet, and I believe it may have been mentioned it’s coming along with the livery designer compatibility update.