New British Routes Speculation

Just playing devils advocate, what if ECML is 12months into a dev cycle and these routes are paying for it. Stranger things have happened. I hope somewhere commercial viability helps it over the line.

Are routes now made differently to accept bolt on extensions or is that giving the game away?

 

Considering how much detail would need to go into either of those routes, this is an interesting theory. As long as that ECML route has a Gresley A4 or Deltic running on it, rather than an Azuma. They can do it anyway they want to

 

Does this route use a pre COVID timetable or 2022 Timetable for services?

 

I really think this would be something worthwhile investigating and even prioritising, not only from a gameplay point of view but actually as a sales incentive.

At the moment I (and I'm sure others) buy some DLC not because I particularly want to drive the route but because stock from it layers into my preferred routes. For instance, I've just picked up LGV in the sale because it adds extra trains and variety to SEHS, one of my favourite routes, whereas previously it didn't figure at all into my wishlist.

Bolt-on route extensions or network merging (however you want to call it) would effectively do the same thing but in the environmental domain as opposed to the locomotive domain (I hope this makes sense). It would also allow complex route networks (such as that around Brum) to be built up in stages and provide a varied and satisfying gameplay experience that builds on all of the hard work that the DTG team have put into it.

For instance, the next West Midlands Network (I'm calling it that now) release could be Rugby - Stafford via New Street with a Class 350, then Trent Valley introducing the 390 (and maybe a freight loco DLC). Rivet could even contribute by doing the Coventry to Nuneaton branch with a Class 230 derived from their 484.

The point I'm trying to make is simply that TSW's core strength is how DLC can become more than the sum of their parts through the layering and timetable systems, and bolt-on extensions are in my mind the natural endpoint of that thought.

 

Ah well, rumor has it that you guys spent about 2 years producing SPG/ CSX Heavy Haul and look how well that turned out - still the best route overall in TSW in this player's opinion.

Could that ever happen again? Probably not, I guess. The youngsters in the player base don't have the patience.

 

I'm also looking forward to it. I hope it has a busy timetable like London Commuter

 

Roadmap today, right?

 

yes there is

 

I thought it was tommorow. I guess we will see later on in the day

 

its today

 

Well I sincerely hope BCC is not a burner route and we do indeed start to see extensions in all djrections. And while slightly OT for this thread I fully support starting to extend existing routes SEHS style as a viable alternative to all new projects, whether that be Boulby and Bishop Auckland on TVL, York and Liverpool on NTP, Oxford and the branches on GWE. If these extensions sell with a new loco or trainset, so much the better.

 

I imagine for a moment that the Dartford-London Bridge/Charing Cross line and the Rochester-Swanley-London Victoria line are being added to the SEHS. East extension to Sherness, Ramsgate, Margate, Dover. We would get crazy gameplay. After all, sooner or later we can get it, I believe in it!

This can happen with any railway junction and direction. Fantastic journeys await us.

 

Post of the week Vern, massive potential in those routes with a base to start with already. Many of us hanker after seeing enhanced already existing content not new trains and new lines every release. I am always interested in transition periods and if I was a dev would be looking to sweat popular types of traction more without diverting from reality too much. 56s and 37s are still in operation today on many different types of train although everytime some modern stuff is done licensing is needed. These types of traction attract huge numbers of enthusiasts out still and that includes younger ones. RHTT and test train work literally dominates YouTube for 37s for example. Many of us are happy to have modern units but just want something a bit different to pass or change to in timetable mode. London Commuter is needs more freight for example and the Thameslinks running to finish it off.

 

I rather we didn't get extensions in the sense of you requiring ownership of the base route it's being extended from. In the case of Cross-City, if we got the Cross-Country line down to Bristol the value of such route would be reduced for those who already own the section to Bromsgrove.

Similarly, the reason I haven't yet purchased TSW3 is because the price of the SEHS extension doesn't justify the additional content in my view, I would be paying £30 for a route I already own part of (and neither the US or DE routes interest me).

Luckily because Cross-City will be featured in a starter pack, I can buy Cross-City and essentially get SEHS extended for free

 

SEHS is a lot better now, just needs Eurostar and Thamslink to Rainham really and it's the full deck.

 

Eurostar isnt going to happen anytime soon, except dtg gets a real licencing surprize wonder

 

A lot of this thread is wishful thinking about extensions, networking, additional locos etc..

Show me any evidence that DTG is contemplating, let alone planning, any of these things for existing or future routes.

Apart from a very few isolated locos tied to a particular route, one make-up branch and one or two packs here and there, oh and one so-called extension which was actually a rebuild, there's no reason to expect that to change anytime soon.

So, dream on fellow players, whistle Dixie if you must. If wishes were horses, as they say.

 

Yes there is a roadmap today

 

Hopefully the save function would also be ready to released along side it

 

Perhaps the depot was included after all? If you look at the auto testing screenshot on the roadmap Soho Depot is listed as a spawn point that was tested within the route.

 

Unfortunately JD has already confirmed again when I asked today about that exact screenshot that the depot is not coming with the route.

 

It’s just been confirmed on stream soho depot is not in route. It is on an autotune document posted only as a spawn point but it has been confirmed no time to develop

 

Can't they pull an meißen branch release that they develop Soho depot after the BXC release and release soho depot as an update?

 

I can imagine they can pull anything dev time and commercial viability allows in future yes, doesn’t unfortunately mean they will. There’s a huge depot on London brighton with short services in it. I don’t personally think they add much. If trains needed maintenance and you had maintenance services, that’d be interesting. Bit like car mechanic simulator

 

They'll need people for it available to do it since it might take a while to do. Adding services in, extending services would also require work on the timetable. Meiben only occured cuz dtg had outside contractors/employees/whoever they were who were willing/able to do it. So unless they have additonal staff and time available, this won't happen since a lot of other dlcs are getting created

 

O

Ouch...., im not from the region, so what depot will there be included?

Cathcart wouldnt be the same without the shields depot.

 

They did the same with SEHS. Slade Green depot is less than 2 miles from Dartford but yet never made it into the game. It does make a difference to game play. When you have a service that says, "Slade Green depot to XXX" and you start at Dartford, it's annoying.
Also, the way I play the game by starting the timetable from the earliest and doing each service in chronological order until I have completed the day means you miss out on all the stabling moves.

 

**troll mode activated** .

 

There won't be a depot sadly.

Unfortunately as much I enjoy a lot of what DTG do and I am almost certainly going to purchase Cross City, you get the feeling they tend to do just enough to get away with which leaves what might be small but interesting bits of game play missing.

Soho depot would have been a nice touch and a relatively small extension, a lot of it in tunnel. The Boulby branch is missing from TVL which would have given some interesting freight movements, not having the Greenford branch on GWE even though so services from Paddington go there in the game.

 

Is the English Cross City route just having one train then? Seems a little sparse no? I hope it has more. Would DTG bundle this route with TSW3 I wonder? As then I would look at it, I don't want the other routes. Is there any news on the Rivet UK route and when it would release?

 

It is Birmingham Cross City route not the cross country route. A small part of the route also sees cross country services.

 

Only 1 train. But it's getting layers from other content which they will reveal in the article coming out next week. So we'll probably see the class 66 for freight and the rhtt for its services but it's a layer, not part of the base route.

It has been mentioned by other forum members that Rivet will not announce their route this year. Rivet might drop a teaser or something but until they happens, we know nothing

 

TSW is still in a phase of having just not the available stock developed yet. DTG cant just delay all releases until 4 trains are ready to make the route more alive. So im ok to get additional loco dlcs or compromises with 1 new train.
Gameplay dlcs like köln achen are the perfect example that dtg is also going back and add static stock and additional services.

The 323 is a good joice. For people cant wait, there is a manual from "northern" attached.

 

Cross Country? Do shoot me down if I'm wrong but I thought it was cross city line or have I just been really ignorant and not listened/read correctly.

 

Perhaps Matt has just done a JD and let something slip...

Time to stoke the rumour mill!

 

So it is cross city then? I thought I had lost the plot for a minute!

You may well be onto something there then. I wonder if they have a wheel with all their names on it in the office to decide who will let something slip next!

 

It’s called the Cross City Line. No idea where Cross Country has come from, unless that a subtle hint that Cross Country trains are coming to TSW

 

Fire her up Vern! I hear the Executive Producer has confirmed several hundred miles of 125mph running, coming to TSW next week.

 

I thought it was just me.

 

Set in 1980 it will give our Class 45 fleet a decent leg stretch, too!

 

we can then count on a return of the HST.

 

I meant the Birmingham Cross City, my bad.

That is tempting Matt, Thank you. I assume you meant Brum Cross City.

 

And there I was, about to sneak off to Asda and buy another £20 Steam card...

 

Okay, Matt. Get some rest. You can answer questions later

 

I have a similar thing I use on the ETS2/ATS Steam forums, any time someone asks "when is the next state going to be released?" I say that SCS are waiting until two weeks after the last person asks the question. Hence, whenever the topic gets raised I just make a post saying that the 2 week timer has been reset. Given that the question gets asked multiple times a week, needless to say some DLC is never going to be released at that rate