I'm quite disappointed that many of the maps I had both in Train Sim World and then, purchased in Train Sim World 2 of which you could hear all the smallest noises in the locomotives (in diesel engines even the sound of the engine washers) or when you changed one of the 4 gears, everything in Train Sim World 3 is all MUFFLED (almost obscured).! :-(( Incredible to think that on a simulator, I hear the birds chirping outside but the noises of the engine are not heard much!. Clearly all audio settings have been brought to 100%. I think if the old maps are not 100% compatible though you could turn the volume up further from the settings instead of going to 100% and working towards that. A think a correction of the general volumes would suffice (allow you to turn up the volume of the locomotive sounds further).
Some sounds are realistic in that you don't really hear anything in the cab due to how insulated it is. Some of the older content did not really have good occlusion or got worse as they got ported over twice. These days, due to real recordings and ap and good source material, the sounds are better than before. You even have the creaks and rattles in the cab on some units which wasn't a thing before. The main issue I have is with diesel engines where the bass always seems to be missing, especially American freight locomotives. There is no depth.
TSW3 On a graphic level nothing to say but the sound also wants its part and, above all if we talk about simulation. Try doing the "Northern Trans-Pennin"e map in Train Sim World 2020 and hear the sounds (even the creaking ones as you say) and then try it in Train Sim World 3 and you'll see the difference!. On diesel locomotives I want to hear the engine and when I shift gears and puffs of air, not birds chirping outside!
