in TSW3 why are all the sidings empty? In all the scenarios on all the routes I play, we wizz past vast areas of finely detailed sidings and massive painstakingly created goods yards with absolutely no assets parked in them, they are barron, a virtual ghost town. What's going on?
It takes memory to show assets in the sidings, but this shouldn't be a real deterrent to them having things in them, although if they're too varied then that will add on a fair amount more memory If they are needing instruction (ie moving about) then this would take more time and a bit more memory and a lot more time for the timetable writers to implement
Largely empty freight yards have been a feature of the game from the beginning. Cumberland Yard in SPG can feel quite lonely when you're driving into it, though there is plenty of stock for switching operations. All of the NA yards up to and including Sunnyside lack AI movement. I've never completely bought the supposed memory constraints in TSWx. I have plenty of spare RAM in my machine and I suspect many others do too. If it's the older pc's and consoles we're talking about, then they can scale back where necessary, but by this time those of us with capable hardware should be seeing busier yards and fuller timetables in general.
Players are (by now) used to be able to step into any locomotive nearby and drive off. Because of this, any car, carriage or loco in a yard needs to be the full model (including scripts, sounds, interior etc.). This not only takes up a huge amount of memory, but also has to be drawn by your computer, slowing things down massively. This could be fixed by building "decorative" versions of the cars, carriages and locos: just a (simplified) exterior, no interior, no scripting and no sounds. This way, a car, carriage or loco wouldn't take up much more resources than a track side object. But those decorative version couldn't be interacted with, so players will stumble on them and wonder why. And then complain to DTG (or worse: to us here on the forum! The horror! ).
I would advise against that approach simply for the reasons specified. Plus I am not sure why creating such assets is that difficult within TSW, so if DTG really wanted to they could employ someone specifically to churn out wagons and we'd have loads of them. The physics of wagons is pretty basic, with the interaction being the issue, and we already have much of that already Also, if I remember correctly there are relatively few bogie types in use on wagons (especially UK ones) so really a "click to assemble" method similar to what they have with signal boxes might be a better approach on the wagon front anyway
Please stop spamming the TSW threads with TSC content. We all get it, you prefer TSC, so go post there and cease this one man brigade of the TSW forum
I think it’s just time that is preventing it, if you have the New Journeys SKA for example, they have some great depots with lots of stock in them, and the time allowed for that extra DLC is what got us there. I really do think DTG have gone too far with their time trimming on development, aside from the all the bugs & scenery issues of late, it’s stuff like this that gets relegated & it is a shame.
[EDIT - Jan - Language] We have enough nonsense. DTG won't fix it. This is the real reality. How to add more trains? My answer is TSC. I think this cures dissatisfaction with TSW. You will know the pros and cons of both games, and then invest more wisely. If you ask which TSW3 DLC do I recommend? I can answer some. For OP question, I don't recommend TSW. Here is a free UK route, made over 10 years ago. Looks bad? Can you tell me TSW can be better? I tell you NO. TSW4 might be better, but the old DLC won't be updated. Because TSC is like TSW2 too. A lot of DLC were abandoned. Thankfully there are tons of mods for TSC. If you are satisfied with TSW, you can save a lot of money. Yes TSC is expensive. Too many routes and trains, no time to play.
The a.i has already very limited & simplified systems. Only the player train is active for full simulation. Thats why you have to press "service begin" where you see the train weight etc.
That’s actually already a thing in the game. There’s a static Amfleet model in LIRR, used in the “Maintenance Maneuver” scenario. Don’t think it’s a real solution though tbh, maybe for the odd scenario, but not timetable mode. For example, If you place a static model on a track in a yard, that prevents that track being used in gameplay, because that model is blocking it.
Given how little any US timetables actually use the freight yards, it would be a good solution to fill a large yard like Barstow, though it wouldn't be helpful on smaller routes like Clinchfield.