Ts18: The Dawn Of A New Era

No release date, no news on any new routes or vehicles. Only that it's 64 bit and "coming soon"

 

There hasn't been a new blog post about it, other then this one.
Steve did answer some new comments at the end of August.

Hope to see a new blog post indeed with some more details. Since it was announced I have been wanting it more then ever since some scenario's are just packed with stuff, really great, but you have to play at a lower quality setting because otherwise the memory would exceed the current 32-bit limit.

As it is with the case of the latest Frankfurt High Speed release. Luke mentioned they were aware of the temp dumps and recommended to turn the quality slider more to the left, otherwise you run out of memory.

https://forums.dovetailgames.com/th...rt-–-karlsruhe-route-add-on.12658/#post-48277

For optimal use of that route, you need 64-bit. So, hopefully a new blog post in the near future detailing more about it.

 

There has been some time since the announcement ... is there a release date soon?

 

Really, the one who waits hopes, we want this update to continue enjoying this game.

 

I agree with whomever suggested the possibility of inserting portals at the scenario editing level. I've often thought, as well, that being able to insert interactive objects such as loaders at the scenario editing level would be helpful, especially since DLC routes often contain inactive loaders. The ultimate goal for me as a scenario maker, however, would be the possibility of fully activating turntables; that is, being able to drive an engine across a turntable using a StopAt or GoVia instruction for that purpose. This should extend, logically, to being able to place a track marker on a turntable bridge. Myself and other scenario makers have discovered ways to work around this unfortunate limitation, but a legitimate solution would be much more welcome. If these things can be accomplished in TSW, why not in TS?

 

Knud Berggreen no update, but then that’s rather DTG’s modus operandi with game developments. Last year’s TS2018 came fairly late in the year, in mid November, so as 64 bit comes as part of TS2019 perhaps a similar date might be a reasonable guess. The wait is a little frustrating. I’m sure I’m not the only one discouraged from starting anything too big on the basis of when 64 bit is available it’ll be possible to do a much richer job. However hopefully it’ll be worth the wait.

There’s an interesting discussion on the Steam forum at the moment (‘More RAM for 64 bit TS2019’) which speculates on what levels of improvement might be possible. Again, speculation, but there are some informed opinions on how significant the change might be and how hardware is impacted.

The Steam forum is noticeably less ‘Wild West’ these days with less verbal gun slingers present. A victory for the improved moderation by DTG I’d suggest.

 

Waits patiently... (Ie spams the F5 key until the post appears)

 

Was looking forward to this release but disappointed to read the route content is route that u can ready buy in steam store. Thought it might have come with new routes

 

The advantage of buying the TS19 package is that it costs less than an individual route. Based on previous years, the new package will cost $40 USD, or the cost of a single route included in the package. Frankfurt-Karlsruhe is $45, Helper-Salt Lake City is $45, and the PDL is $40, meaning that even if I own two out of the three routes but none of the extensions, I can snag it all for just $40. The base package since 2012 has only had two exclusive routes - Riviera in the 50s (TS16) and North Wales Coastal (TS18). Every single other time it has been repackaged routes that are already on the market.

 

hey DTG question can there still be improvements over the world editor?

 

Will be glad to see updated Gradient tool, allowing precise values during EDIT MODE (not laying the new sections). Thanks. Laying tracks in TS (especialy, junctions with gradients) is a piece of terrible headache.

 

Assuming the buyer wants the additional routes that game will come with.

 

That's great Steve, thanks.
I have 10.1 Gig of space left on the drive so more than enough even with the purchase of 2019 for the extra routes I hope.

 

From 64 reasons to Play Train Simulator, No.8 The Release Date.
"Train Simulator 2019, the extra editions, the free update to 64-bit and other improvements will be available October 11th, 2018!"

 

My only question is: Will this stop or help the obvious slowdowns that are experienced when the game loads a new section of the map into memory?

 

From my experience, developers will always push the boundaries, so whilst TSx64 will probably load existing routes and consists more smoothly into the new free available memory addresses, I'm sure people are already making much more saturated routes and scenarios which will fill this gap. And ultimately the loading of forward attributes is based on the speed of the slowest component which is often the hard drive transfer system unless you've got a PCI based SSD.

 

I'm not sure its fair to blame HDD's for the slowdowns. Most engines can handle level streaming using at HDD in a way which rarely affects the FPS. The issue is more likely the way in which the engine is loading in these assets. In my experience, the engine currently both removes and loads in huge chunks on the map in one swoop. If you compare this to TSW which runs on UE4, you won't see any of these slowdowns with an even greater graphical fidelity. By adding more memory available to TS, surely these chucks could be loaded differently allowing for less of the slowdowns.

 

I would assume that this hasn't been done. They've only talked about the "upgrade" being a move to a 64 bit architecture rather than a complete rework of the basic engine

 

64bit works well for me on my underpowered and unsupported laptop. I'm a TS newbie since November so I can't compare it to the previous versions but I've done over 100 hours with no crashes - thank you!