Introduction: Hey all, TrainGeek08 here, but not for another suggestion or CC release announcement like normal, but instead today I'm gonna pose a question to the community... What makes a 'perfect' Creator's Club scenario to you? There are some brilliant scenarios out there by a range of creators and some are out-of-the-ordinary as well, I have set up a poll at the top of this thread with some options for you to vote on, and in here I'll explain what those options refer to/mean TLDR (too long, didn't read) summary: We discuss the following key points in great detail: Is there a large amount of AI in the scenario? How hard is it? (difficulty), How long/short is it? (duration), Do I like the route the scenario takes place on? Do I like the train you drive in the scenario? Is it a train I like to drive? Is it something different to what is already provided to me by the developer? Options/Key Factors: Here are some questions you probably ask yourself before you subscribe/play the mod: Is there a large amount of AI in the scenario? How hard is it? (difficulty), How long/short is it? (duration), Do I like the route the scenario takes place on? Do I like the train you drive in the scenario? Is it a train I like to drive? Is it something different to what is already provided to me by the developer? Let's go into each one in detail... AI Quantity: (Is there a large amount of AI in the scenario?) Here's a big one: AI Quantity, what that means is how much AI is featured in the scenario, me personally, I like scenarios with lots of AI in them as it makes the scenario I'm playing more interesting as there are trains that go past you heading to a destination you have came from e.g. London Paddington on Great Western Express or Hamburg Hauptbahnhof on Hauptstrecke Hamburg-Lubeck, on the other hand, I wouldn't mind a scenario without AI involved but it depends on another section which we'll discuss later on, you might find newer players to TSW often upload scenarios with minimal to no AI in them (sorry to new players that create great scenarios) to try out the game and what it can handle, which is fine to newer players, but the experienced players I feel would prefer scenarios with a little something in it, that's AI Quantity Difficulty: (How hard is it?) Here's another great key to an amazing scenario, I use a scale of 1-5 for this for not just Creator's Club, but I use the same scale in my suggestions for scenarios, and this is Difficulty, this means how hard is the scenario to play, does the scenario have anything hard about it, take scenarios that are given to you by DTG/Rivet/Skyhook/TSG and other developers, they all use a difficulty rating to show how hard the scenario is expected to be e.g. Pieschen Predicament on Nahverkehr Dresden is rated at a 2 vs Powering America (Part 2) on Sand Patch Grade is rated a 5, (for those that haven't ran each scenario, I'll give a run-down of what happens in each...) (I'll highlight (in bold) the key differences for you in each scenario) Pieschen Predicament: An incident has occurred on the S-Bahn lines at Dresden-Pieschen, so you have to take the fast lines to get around the situation and continue towards Dresden Hauptbahnhof. Powering America (Part 2): Having loaded the train in Powering America (Part 1), the weather has turned for the worse and visibility is poor, drive this AC4400CW with a loaded coal train to Cumberland Yard whilst trying to drive in this rain storm. See the key differences, those can increase the difficulty of a scenario from a 1 or 2 to a 4 or 5 Duration: (How long/short is it?) Remember in AI Quantity I mentioned another variable determines how I pick a scenario, this is it, I use this on my CC mod descriptions, this is Duration, this means how long or short a certain scenario takes to play, often they are wrong... Bar-stowaway, looking at you , but it shows the time it should take to complete the scenario e.g. 7O01 Part 1 - 10mins vs Coswig Divert - 50mins, I like longer scenarios as it often means there is action involved like red lights or diversions etc. so it makes the scenario more interesting to play IMO, I tend to dislike shorter scenarios (even though I make them myself) because it lacks any action like the two examples listed above and you can sit back, relax and chill instead of being alert like in a longer and harder scenario to play Route Choice: (Is it a route I personally like playing on?) This one is a bit different, route choice, this means is this a route I enjoy playing on, let's say a scenario for Cajon Pass comes up on Creator's Club, people who like Cajon would download it but others that don't like Cajon as much wouldn't bother as it's something that doesn't interest them whereas if a scenario for Birmingham Cross-City comes up, people would download it if they like BCC and people that can't stand BCC would leave it alone Train Choice: (Is it a train I enjoy driving?) This is similar to Route Choice above but instead it's the train we are discussing here, this means is this a train I enjoy driving in, let's say a scenario for Southeastern High Speed with a 395 Javelin as the player service comes up on Creator's Club, people who like the 395 Javelin would download it but others that don't like the Javelin as much wouldn't bother as it's something that doesn't interest them whereas if a scenario for Linke Rheinstrecke in the DB BR 110 comes up, people would download it if they like the DB BR 110 and people that can't stand the tap changer on the DB BR 110 would leave it be and not download it The Creator: (Does this creator have (apologies for the pun) a track record of creating a masterpiece of a scenario?) This one is probably the best factor IMO, who creates the scenario, is it someone to prototypically creates amazing scenarios and how popular it is (more on Popularity later) or is it someone who creates poor scenarios and isn't popular in the community , I won't list examples of creators but you know who you are, regardless of popularity, you do a good job and keep creating scenarios, good or bad Uniqueness: (Is it something that the route doesn't offer normally?) Uniqueness is one I sometimes think about but I feel is often underlooked, Uniqueness in this context refers to a scenario that doesn't offer what the route gives you already in scenarios or in timetable mode e.g. a scenario like Coswig Divert doesn't appear in the main list of scenarios on Nahverkehr Dresden vs a scenario like my latest one, 1H08 VIC-LIT (377) is probably somewhere in timetable mode so it isn't unique in any way, it's just a glorified timetable service, I like unique scenarios as it offers a perspective you don't normally see in a route's scenario list or timetable list and it means it's unique to the creator of that scenario And the final one... Popularity: (Is the scenario I'm about to play very popular in the community?) Popularity is the last factor in the list, Popularity means how popular something is e.g. one of Tom Fresco's scenarios will often do better than one of my scenarios (on average, unless I release an absolute banger), so I feel Popularity is a factor as you wouldn't download a scenario with 3 subscribers, would you? You'd probably go for a scenario with 100+ subscribers as you know the community likes the scenario and it gives you that hope that you will too Conclusion: That is probably the longest thread I've ever made, this is inspired by trainsimplayer's threads of a similar nature and how well they go down with the forums community (me included), anyway thanks for reading everybody if you made it this far, put your thoughts on this behemoth of a thread below and please, please vote in the poll above, I've been TrainGeek08 as usual, and I'll see you later for another suggestion or CC release announcement, goodbye
This is a good topic to raise, especially with Creators Club scenarios being very hit and miss in terms of how good they are. The last factor you called out (uniqueness) is a crucial one, IMO. I have released seven scenarios so far, off the top of my head - and when I do use a train native to a route, I try and do it in a way that provides a new experience. My three Cathcart Scenarios all take a different approach. One is a 'Special' Glasgow - Mount Florida - Glasgow service, set up as a Matchday Hampden Park special for the national team. If memory serves Cathcart has a scenario with this pretext, but it isn't a special service, just a Newton - GLC one. My second scenario 'Blast from the past' has the 314, 150 and 47 in BR or SPTE liveries - iirc the player drives a 150 - and this also gives out a fresh experience. My third and most recent takes a 395 in AWC livery round the circle and up to Newton - chasing a stopping service from Glasgow as far as Cathcart. Again, a new experience. Branching away from GCC and I have three on three other routes. 'Points Failure' sees the player take a FCC (Debranded) Class 377 from East Croydon - Preston Park, where services are cut short. A lot of AI to be had, as well. This is my most popular scenario, however it did also make it onto the 'Featured' section of CC, so that helped. My scenario for Great Western Express was a WTT-based one, with a GWR Class 387 service from London - Reading. Likewise, on West Cornwall Local, I have a similar scenario, taking a GWR HST from St. Austell to Penzance. Finally, I have a GWR 166 service from Birmingham NS - Bromsgrove, under the guise of a GWR expansion to their Hereford line services, taking over from WMR's Birmingham - Hereford services. So, as you can see, I try and limit the number of DLCs I require, whilst also making a vibrant scenario. I tend to pack the route with as much AI as possible, without interrupting the player experience. And the only scenario here that I use a native train is the BML one, but still, it's a new livery, plenty of AI, and also an unconventional service (ECroydon - PPark) I do realise - as I write this paragraph - that I have accidentally just namechecked most of my scenarios and shilled them on accident, so, whoops! - but I think that maintaining a variety, whilst pushing scenario planner to the limits of the (very little) that it allows, is the most important thing to do, as a creator.
Thanks, Creator's Club is a good topic to raise, I do agree on that Uniqueness is a good factor to talk about and it is crucial as you want your variety in scenarios instead of a copy paste job from the timetable Yeah, like your three Cathcart scenarios, when I do a scenario pack, I do different service paths at different times of the day with different weather conditions to spice it up a bit, a bit like the scenarios you get given in game normally, it a) adds to the immersion and b) offers more variety as said above Yep, that's alright lol, I called out some of my scenarios in the thread so it's not a problem, as a creator, I aim to meet these goals and now this thread is up, we get the community's views on things and what to look out for and I'll try to meet those on any upcoming scenarios I have planned, some will be based off timetable services from this year regardless of route, but I'll often put a 'DTG-esque scenario' in there to offer something different to the regular mods
Yeah, you'd want to drive a train you know well instead of a train you don't understand how to move it
Hey everybody, just letting you know that you can join the discussion as it seems loads of people have voted, which is good however people aren't joining in the debate, which isn't good, it would be nice to hear more of the community's thoughts on this
I think the most important point is good and working AI traffic. I have seen lots of CC scenarios that just consist of the player service, which is a job of 1 minute at max. Varied AI and adverse signals make a scenario intersting and stand out. Then something different or something that brings variety to the timetable is always good. For example an IC/E or Freight scenarios for rapid Transit make it feel like a new route and gives a completely different experience than the s bahn only timetable. For me it doesnt need to be a realistic scenarios in terms of a real life TT for player and AI services, but realistic in terms that it it plausible and nothing looks out of place. Tldr a good scenario should offer something new compared to the existing timetable of the route while feeling like driving a (joe) timetable.
Totally agree, the amount of AI makes a scenario a scenario and variety is key to making a good scenario too as you don't want to just copy a timetable service either in game already or in a IRL timetable (I do this all the time, doesn't stop me from doing it over and over again ) but Coswig Divert and my upcoming Acela Stopper scenarios are both good examples of this, different to what you expect in scenarios or timetable mode, I feel that is a very key way for a scenario to be decent and get loads of downloads on Creator's Club
