Midland Mainline - Skyhook Feedback

Discussion in 'TSW General Discussion' started by jane-skyhook, Apr 19, 2023.

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  1. stewartforgie

    stewartforgie Well-Known Member

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    Hi Jane . Great news about the patch. When you post the images, Can you please include some freight workings? It would make
    an old ex freight guard very pleased!
     
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  2. jane-skyhook

    jane-skyhook Well-Known Member

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    It would be a pleasure Stewart. I have asked the guys to prepare some for you.
     
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  3. MLP Derick

    MLP Derick Well-Known Member

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    Hi Jane just wondering were you able to find out how many playable freight services there will be?
     
  4. marcsharp2

    marcsharp2 Well-Known Member

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    That is fantastic news. You should all give yourselves a drink and a well earned day off.
     
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  5. dudders

    dudders Well-Known Member

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    With 180 fixes and all the extra stuff this should be a very exciting patch and must cover a lot of stuff that was wrong. Thank you Jane for all the updating you give us and we'll done to the team.
     
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  6. stewartforgie

    stewartforgie Well-Known Member

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    Thank you so much. It's greatly appreciated! :)
     
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  7. johnmcglade17

    johnmcglade17 Active Member

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    When is the update coming for Midland mainline
     
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  8. Disintegration7

    Disintegration7 Well-Known Member

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    This is very exciting!!

    Ok DTG, let's hit that "publish" button soon lol, it's a 3-day weekend here in the US extra time to play.

    I know it won't be that soon lol but still soon i hope
     
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  9. ARuscoe

    ARuscoe Well-Known Member

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    Or let's wait so that it's all tested and working else what'll happen is people will have all weekend to moan about it (It's a three day weekend in the UK too, thanks to those pesky believers)
     
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  10. theorganist

    theorganist Well-Known Member

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    I don't know if it is referred to Whitsun bank holiday nowadays. In my diary it is referred to Spring Bank holiday. I suspect a lot of people wouldn't know its origins.
     
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  11. ARuscoe

    ARuscoe Well-Known Member

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    When I was a kid the half term itself was always known as Whitsun, but you're right in that the Bank Holiday is no longer called that in the UK
    Fairly odd when Easter is still Easter, Christmas is still Christmas, but I've noticed that May Day is now "Early May Bank Holiday" so it seems the pagans have had their names stripped out as well
     
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  12. theorganist

    theorganist Well-Known Member

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    Yes it was for me too, I still call it that but get blank faces from younger people. Most people have adopted Christmas or Easter even if they don't believe, of course Pentecost (White Sunday) is only a Christian festival.

    It means that there is one less day for Skyhook and whoever else is involved to get the update out so I think we might see it next week but not necessarily in the month of May. Hopefully most won't hold them to a May release.
     
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  13. dudders

    dudders Well-Known Member

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    At least it's a shorter working week. Would love a 4 day working week every week
     
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  14. redlichtie#1320

    redlichtie#1320 Member

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    Did you not bother to read the above post by Jane on the current situation?
     
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  15. Disintegration7

    Disintegration7 Well-Known Member

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    Thought my lols indicated i wasn't being totally serious. Definitely wasn't trying to start any controversy lol, just excited to play the updated MML.
     
  16. ARuscoe

    ARuscoe Well-Known Member

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    Yeah, but a good moan about the people that would moan about something that's probably improved but somehow doesn't fulfill their moany requirements is always a good thing, no? :cool:
     
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  17. Crosstie

    Crosstie Well-Known Member

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    I've been waiting to buy this route until the patch/update is released. ( SHG call it both ways ).

    I'm not too concerned how much is fixed/added to the route, though I hope they continue to improve it with more patches.

    I'm really going to buy it to reward the effort SHG have made for the community's benefit. It's so refreshing.
     
    Last edited: May 26, 2023
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  18. antony.henley

    antony.henley Well-Known Member

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    Read what she wrote above!!!!
     
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  19. jane-skyhook

    jane-skyhook Well-Known Member

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    I just wanted to share some MKIII stock with you guys.

    You can see we addressed numbering issues (all MKIII stock are now allocated realworld numbering appropriate to that time). We have also upgraded the overall quality as you can see, including improved decals for carriage number etc. I feel much happier with the texture definition.

    We tidied up the coaches visually, dealt with seating issues and put the buffet car the right way around too :)

    In short, a big tidy up on coaching stock.

    coaching stock.png
     
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  20. Tom158826

    Tom158826 Member

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    Looks nice. Is the night lighting improved/ fixed on these now? And the orange door interlock lights not on permanently.
     
  21. Greyweasel

    Greyweasel Well-Known Member

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  22. Monder

    Monder Well-Known Member

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    Just a little thing (I've never seen these HSTs IRL, so keep that in mind) - the B and C don't look like they come from the same font at all. Might be prototypical, but I just wanted to point it out in case it is not.
     
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  23. carter

    carter Active Member

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    Any update on the timetable?
     
  24. Wieczorek

    Wieczorek Active Member

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    Timetable update will comming with Patch.I guess next week.With 250 Services or more?
     
  25. jane-skyhook

    jane-skyhook Well-Known Member

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    actually, I think it is a lovely little touch. We spotted that on some of our references :) They probably had a different batch of stickers floating around.. So yes, accurate to the real deal. I love little details!
     
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  26. jane-skyhook

    jane-skyhook Well-Known Member

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    Heya,

    There has been a massive timetable update for both AI and playable services. I posted a number somewhere upthread (which has been added to since). I am not at work, so don't have the exact number to hand, but you can search a couple of pages ago. Off the top of my head, we more than doubled the services. We added in more 158 services and substituted a 158 for other DMU's and substituted the HST for other services. Poor Tom had quite the job as he hand tweaked the timings based on the real timings, with making modifications for the fact the HST isn't as fast on acceleration as the newer units. So all substitutions were hand crafted to support revised timings for an HST, whilst replacing real services.
     
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  27. carter

    carter Active Member

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    Thanks.
     
  28. byeo

    byeo Well-Known Member

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    Take as long as you like, I'm enjoying the PMDG Boeing 737-800 on the Xbox.
     
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  29. bartolomaeusz

    bartolomaeusz Well-Known Member

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    Yes, I believe "summer" was September or even into October that year? Using the customers as field-testers was not as much of a thing then either. But that approach has grown, so that now when any of us gets a new Route the first thing we look for is what's wrong with it. Not healthy in my view, I would, like so many others, prefer to wait until a Route is truly ready in terms of quality. But there are two very different schools of thought on that, as we can see.
     
    Last edited: May 27, 2023
  30. Termy

    Termy Guest

    Hi Jane,

    Great to hear that the first update to MML is heading through the process and will be with us soon. :)
    Are you able to confirm whether this update will fix the safety systems on the HST on Xbox? I'm hesitant to play without DSD unisolated (to mirror the day job!), and not being able to reset the DSD with the B button like all the other stock is... jarring.

    Looking forward to seeing the improvements!
    Thanks.
     
  31. JetWash

    JetWash Well-Known Member

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    I don’t use an Xbox but have seen that they’ve converted the PC version 100% (or at least that’s the way it looks). The systems simulation in the PC version is 100% accurate & I’ve yet to find something that doesn’t behave as per the real aircraft. The electrical system alone is probably more complex than an entire loco in Simugraph.

    Rather blows the whole ‘TSW…because performance’ argument out of the water really doesn’t it?
     
    Last edited: May 27, 2023
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  32. Monder

    Monder Well-Known Member

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    Didn't know that and I stand corrected, cool detail.
     
  33. Crosstie

    Crosstie Well-Known Member

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    The more Jane posts about this update, the closer we become to a pack of Pavlov's dogs. :D:D
     
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  34. TimTri

    TimTri Well-Known Member

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    It’s worth noting the Rush Hour release period was definitely not as nice as you’re making it seem.
    They literally released Boston Sprinter in such a bad state that most of the community had simply written it off until the Acela and route update got released almost two years later. Two of the branch lines had to be removed from Nahverkehr Dresden due to lack of time (one of which was later re-added) and it still launched with significant performance issues for many players. London Commuter also suffers from crazy performance limitations due to the way the route was built, which now prevents them from adding further trains and rush hour passengers even on next gen/PC and almost lead to the exclusion of the Gatwick Express train from old gen consoles.

    To summarize, the past is not as rosy and amazing as you think. We’ve gone through rough route releases already before TSW3.
     
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  35. Pipe

    Pipe Well-Known Member

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    Indeed, not much for "lessons learnt" at DTG´s HQ. It seems to be a fururistic concept for them.

    Why am I not surprised?
     
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  36. OldVern

    OldVern Well-Known Member

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    Boston Sprinter if anything is even worse now, still has Journey scenarios that cannot be finished (66) without working round the specified path and doors on the trains that don’t respond to open and close commands.

    London Commuter still has the half finished mess that is Reigate, section of track missing at Redhill and numerous bits of missing lineside fencing. The redeeming feature is, of course, Joe’s superb timetable still really unbeaten in any other subsequent DLC.

    Dresden to Riesa wasn’t too bad but as mentioned cut down from the original scope and never revisited. Also all stations cab car driving is about as exciting as doing the housework on a Sunday morning while being nagged senseless by the wife.
     
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  37. Good point. MML was better than Rush Hour. The German route was done nicely though.
     
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  38. meridian#2659

    meridian#2659 Well-Known Member

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    Nice shots, i have a question about the emergency coupler hatch.

    In gwe the hst can be towed with the buckeye emergency bar. Does your shg hst support this feature with the upcoming update?

    This forum had a big thread about standard features, and my first action after purchaising mml was a scenario on west somerset with towing the new hst. My first thought after the disappointment was that you guys didnt do your homework properly. This was even before i first fired up the new route.

    Something i cant stand with tsw is, when the progress wheel is turning backwards.
     
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  39. Monder

    Monder Well-Known Member

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    I have no idea what direction the wheel is turning these days. To me, it seems like the fun fair gyrosphere.
    [​IMG]
    It is spinning, for sure...
     
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  40. cloudyskies21

    cloudyskies21 Well-Known Member

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    To be fair, while I totally agree with you that Rush Hour had and still has its problems, I do think the type of routes offered - London Commuter and Dresden Riesa especially with their amazing timetables, busy large stations and plenty of rolling stock - seem to be lacking in TSW 3 and, well, since Rush Hour. Basically, I wish we had more routes like this come to TSW (although in great quality with minimal bugs etc).
     
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  41. jane-skyhook

    jane-skyhook Well-Known Member

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    Hey Tom,
    I will check the interlock lights.

    We have made improvements in lighting, however I will be honest and say not major. The reason being we wanted to address primary issues in patch 1. We are looking at the possibility (caveat there :) ) of a major round of lighting improvements for patch 2.

    There are a number of lighting improvements though both at environment level and the 158 and HST, including much improved cab and gauge lighting.

    all the best
    Jane
     
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  42. jane-skyhook

    jane-skyhook Well-Known Member

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    I will ask the Xbox team for you today,

    all the best
    Jane
     
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  43. jane-skyhook

    jane-skyhook Well-Known Member

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    I have no issue with that, after having nearly 20 years in the PMDG beta/tech team :) I flew the 800 for my VA over the weekend. Back to MML today though for me :)
     
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  44. Scotrail156467

    Scotrail156467 Well-Known Member

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    Can we expect the update to drop this week
     
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  45. stewartforgie

    stewartforgie Well-Known Member

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    My guess is late this week or early next week. I'm just waiting for the preview pics (hint, hint) :)
     
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  46. MarkCovz4761

    MarkCovz4761 Well-Known Member

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    Jane said she was hoping to release the patch before the end of May which is tomorrow but they might want a bit more time with it I can't wait for it tbh
     
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  47. jane-skyhook

    jane-skyhook Well-Known Member

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    Not forgotten you Stewart I promise, we have all just been totally swamped coming back from the Bank Holiday.
     
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  48. jane-skyhook

    jane-skyhook Well-Known Member

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    We have released to publishing (We signed off on the Skyhook end of things). Just waiting for our partners at DTG and Steam to organise upload schedules etc. They are working behind the scenes on that right now.
     
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  49. StenioBlackHawnk

    StenioBlackHawnk Active Member

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    OMG Jane I just cannot wait, feels like another DLC being released I'm so hyped! Thank you, and the team for the fixes and improvements!
     
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  50. nwp1

    nwp1 Well-Known Member

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    I agree with that. Tip my hat to Skyhook for their efforts. Shame Rivet are not bothered in the same way. Rivet don’t want to work hard to correct their mistakes, so very well done to Jane and the team at Skyhook for your unbelievable hard work to make MML acceptable to everyone.
     
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