Midland Mainline - Skyhook Feedback

I am so so pleased to hear that Vern, I have genuinely appreciated how you have challenged me in this thread (always very politely and to the point) and now I am so delighted to see you loving the 158. I think there are about 40 updates on the sheet in relation to 158 systems. Will and the team are working with 158 drivers and mechanics on a daily basis to add so much detail!

You have made my day, thank you!
Jane

 

I will grab Tom and see where we are at.

 

No problem Jane. Thought I’d drop the bit in about speakers, as I’m sure at least where the PC is concerned most of us these days rely on the built in sound board rather than investing in a separate Sound Blaster or similar card. The options to tune the Realtek output are actually fairly limited and quite hidden away. If you don’t tinker, the output is very flat and it has been quite noticeable to be running TSW on both the PC and PS5 the latter to the big screen TV, how much better and deeper the sound is from the console.

 

The 158 is brilliant to drive I'm really enjoying it it sounds lovely to great job they've done with it and the 43 once the issues are solved it will be even better

 

I've been enjoying the 158 even more the more i drive it and i can't wait for the update to make it and the route even better.

I'll echo the poster above about the saloon lights in the HST being way too bright- the coaches glow so much at night they're borderline radioactive lol. Should be a simple fix though.

Seriously, though, very much appreciate the open and regular communication from SHG since launch day.

At the risk of going off topic- can jane-skyhook say anything about future plans for the Horseshoe Curve route? Specifically, any plans to get TOD4 added maybe via loco DLC? NS SD40M is pretty obvious, or....may i suggest - Amtrak P42 diesel (which can layer on SPG, Cajon, Sherman Hill, NYT, Boston, and Cane Creek)....I realize it's somewhat risky because of the limited number of Amtrak station stops on these routes, but would add SO MUCH to the atmosphere and immersion of many US routes.

I feel like SHG could garner a lot of goodwill with the community with such a project.

Thanks for listening

 

heya, we are aware of the lighting, but I appreciate you raising it.

I honestly cannot give plans for the Horseshoe Curve. Not for secrecy, as I have recently joined the company so have been devoting my train sim efforts to Midland Mainline. Once I am happy with where I want us to be, I certainly will be looking at the existing catalogue and thinking about possibilities.

 

Will and some really talented people in the team have just done wonders with all of the traction. I am loving the 158 personally and have got quite addicted to it!

Thank you for the kind words Mark. It is appreciated.

 

I can confirm what Gary rightfully says, there has been a LOT of work behind the scenes to push the 158 even further in the realism stakes. I am excited for you guys to see it.

Gary spends a long time with the 158 in the beta group and has provided excellent feedback. Thank you Gary!

 

and you are in such trouble Vern! You precipitated me to do a foray to Tesco for a Fruit and Nut bar as you got me fancying... You know what, they didn't have one so I had to settle with Dairy Milk and a banana!

 

The 158 is a real pleasure to drive and I like the fact that this route allows for shorter drives so you can complete something if your time is limited. Jane, thanks to you and all the crew at Skyhook for doing this great route which, I know, will just be better once the patch is released.

 

Dairy Milk’s much nicer than Fruit & Nut anyway, Jane. It’s frankly outrageous to claim otherwise. Don’t think you can get away with claiming a Fruit & Nut as one of your five a day.

 

Thank you so much Sharon for the kind words. We are determined to fix all the niggles (they niggle us too!). I am so grateful for your support. I will pass it to the team who will be really motivated by your comments.

So appreciated,
thank you
Jane

 

now you have caught me out on my five a day

 

Is there a unit/loco in TSW with a claim to be a better recreation than the 158? Some of the early locos (40, 45) are beautifully done, but they don’t have the complexities of the 158. I personally love the 101 because I love the real thing, but I think for the sheer amount of work put into every detail, I don’t think the 158 can be beaten.

If I had one small wish it would be that there was more of a pause between moving the power handle and the power coming through, as there is on the real thing. From a standing start, after you move the power handle, it should take a couple of seconds before the train moves. When that pause is re-created, it gives a wonderful sense of realism. But that’s a tiny niggle on an excellent unit.

 

Out of interest, is there any brake rub sounds simulated on the 158 unit? I watched the stream a couple of weeks back but couldn't hear any, maybe it's me?

 

Thank you so much for this. I will have a word with the guys and see if this can be added (no guarantees here, in case I get told it will break everything ). I will ask the team in the morning for you.

 

You're very welcome Jane you and your team have done a fantastic job with it and also the 43 I'm looking forward to the patch releasing keep up the great work

 

Really love this route, but it's so frustrating how unstable it is.

Service 1D63 Nottingham to St Pancras with the HST has crashed twice, both in the same place, between Sileby and Syston. On both occasions I set the weather to light rain (dynamic), and I believe the month was November.

 

hey James, to help us track that further, which platform is this please? PC or one of the consoles?

 

Jane – It’s great to see such a positive approach from you on dealing with the issues on MML. I had resisted buying MML based mainly on the negative reviews on here. However, in response to your commitment and enthusiasm for the product, I took the plunge and purchased the route. I'm very glad I did and I'm really enjoying it. There are issues which have been discussed here and I’m looking forward to the patch when it’s ready, particularly if you are able to expand the timetable.

The 158 is good to drive and looks great but, for me, the reworked HST is the icing on the cake. It sounds terrific and the rate of acceleration from standstill is much as I remember them. It also looks the part with stunning lighting and reflections, particularly in the setting sun!

 

Hi Jane, I don't know if this has been mentioned but you cannot sit in any of the seats on the HST, also the brakes take a very excessive amount of time to release on the HST making it almost impossible to keep to timetables. Also welcome to the community

 

The non functoning wiper on 158 was the only thing stopping me from buying the route, as I use to pick the dynamic weather every time since TSW3, and I would like to see the world in front of me. Is this bug fixed now?

 

The non-functioning seats are a known issue, but i haven't had trouble with the HST timings even with safety systems on, but i've seen a couple people mention slow brake release- what step braking are you using? I'm never above step 2 unless i really mess up.

 

I’ve found a workaround for the wipers. Cycle to the outside camera and then back to the cab camera. I’ve noticed that if you alternate between the cameras the wipers start working and then stop.

 

Both the units are wonderful to drive and some what made me become rather addicted to the route.

I've not had these issues and regularly been arriving early, certainly not late though.

 

Hi jane-skyhook can you confirm if part of the timetable update includes purely just AI services too which would make larger stations like Derby or Nottingham much busier? Thanks.

 

Can't believe I remembered the month but not the console! I'm on PS5.

 

does anyone know whats going on with londonmidland and his crews enhancement mod for the midland Mainline for PC its been 3 weeks and still no Release whats the go is it going to happen or not

 

Some issues I found on my Xbox Series S were that:
*the 158 windshield for some reason does not want to wipe away rain
*the acknowledgment button cannot be pressed with the “b” button on the HST, therefore making alerters impossible to use
*unable to sit on the mk3 coaches
*for some weird reason the 158 horn, when heard from inside the cab, has a very distinct looping sound, although the same horns when heard from outside has no loop


A couple things I really appreciate though are the including of relatively good resolution maps on the 158, and I absolutely love the camera height when sitting in the passenger cabin seats, because it’s actually accurate and doesn’t make the character look like a giraffe.

 

When its done its done.

Have some freaking patience.

 

I think Londonmidland is co-ordinating with Skyhook. They have already adopted his ballast and cooling tower colours I believe. LM will mop up that which Skyhook leaves to be mopped up.

 

Morning everyone,

A couple of visual updates from me. Will and the gang have spoken about 158 updates, so I want to touch on environment a bit today and show you progress.

There are numerous custom assets that have replaced existing assets right across the board, with Jon and his art team working very hard. I want to share one of the new bridges, of which there are many, at Loughborough. Attention to detail is getting ramped across the route.

 

We are also adding clutter and new signage across the route as I type to you now. I will get additional photos, but I believe personally the route is becoming much more alive.

This is a demonstration of new signage. The artist just kindly sent it to me now. The signs are not finished, so you will see the placeholder text by the disabled sign (yes we know and we are backfilling text as signs are going in ).

You can also see a significant detail increase across the station, from canopy edgings, to custom posters, to more detailed blinds in windows etc. This just happened to be the station the artist was working on, but this is reflected across the route.

Every thing from whole new major buildings, bridges down to little things like flowerpots and better quality (and more accurate) station signage. In short, everything big and small has been revisited by the artists.

 

Now we’re talking. This is much more like it!

 

jane-skyhook It’s looking fantastic so far, thank you for the fantastic communication and effort

I’m just wondering, has there been any work yet to change the Class 158 destination screen? The next currently is extremely small, it’s almost unreadable unless you go very close to it - increasing the size just a little bit would be amazing. In addition to this, the destination board does not display off-world destinations even though the train is terminating off-world, and I’m just wondering if the team have figured out why this is the case yet!

Thanks

 

Excellent work. Can I suggest you make a NEW post with some of these pictures on so that people can move away from the negativity at the start of this post and maybe look forward to (or comment on) the work you're doing?

 

Are you able to change the typeface on the signage at all? The default UE4 font is quite jarring and far from the NR Brunel text used in reality.

 

That isn't a bad idea. I was trying to create a one stop shop for all updates and discussion, but if people want a new updates thread I am happy with that too.

 

We are looking at a font pass yes. You taught me something there, I had no idea it was called Brunel! I love that!

 

It's been used for years by Railtrack / Network Rail and SWT / EMT. Its going to be phased out as Rail Alphabet 2 is planned to be more widespread.
NR Brunel - Wikipedia

 

heya, I will find out for you right now

 

this has now been done.

 

hey All,

For further update images (by request) please take a look in the new updates thread I have just created. It has images not in here. Please feel free to use this thread for general discussion, bugs and discussion of Cadbury chocolate as always.

Thank you!
Jane

 

It's looking great can't wait for the update keep up the good work

 

Well done guys I think this is going to look amazing when finished. And thank you Jane for being here and updating us every day excellent communication.

 

The reason I suggested a new thread is that many people won't wade through 17 pages of all sorts of stuff, but will go to a new post that says "Hey, Shiny things here if you're interested..."

 

agree with you completely!

 

Thank you so much for that, I appreciate it. I share the passion of everyone here!

 

jane-skyhook
Another video for the devs to have a look see with some research into what the trains are really like in the UK, for those like me who are not there or ever were in the UK.
https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/puzzling-purple-phenomenon.69951/

 

Hi Jane. Have to say it's been great, the dialogue that has been going on in this thread about the numerous updates you are planning to make this route really magical. As unfortunate as all the bugs that were in the DLC, upon release, the interaction that you've been involved in, with the community, shows that Skyhook really want an impressive product to come of this.

It's my local route so it will be great to get the full enjoyable experience out of it.