Walking up to a locomotive is one of my favorite parts. I'll spawn in on foot in service mode just so I can trundle up to and admire the sheer scale (and beauty) of what I'm about to virtually operate. As an IRL heavy equipment operator (not rail), there's nothing like having a moment to admire your machine, what it's capable of, and the scale of what it's being used to accomplish. Even on my GTX 1060 rolling stock look gorgeous and I get above 30, usually ~60fps consistently. The slack-simulation is really cool, too. Add power, switch to rear cam, wait a few seconds (on long US trains), and you can watch and hear as the slack is pulled out of the consist.
This was one of my key impressions that I wanted to bring to life in TSW vs what other sims had done before. Trains are big. They are impressive machines. They are about as far from "toys" and "models" as you can get, and yet to me, you had to make other sims work to feel this important thing. It was one of the key moments in the very early days of TSW development when we were able to walk around, climb up the steps of... what was it... a U36-B i think... open the door, sit down at the seat. That journey of "i'm walking around the world" to "i'm in control of this big train" and it instantly just felt right to me. There are many other "moments" in the game that work well relative to the original vision but good to see this called out, it's also one of the reasons it's in the first launch video for CSX Heavy Haul (walking along the back gangway into the cab and sitting down) to just demonstrate in a 2 second clip "this not what you're used to". BTW, U36-B, before it sets the tongues wagging, no plans to release one, the model was a rough import from the TS Classic one without any upgrades other than what was required to prove we had captured what we needed to - work immediately then began on the first "actual" TSW loco, which was the GP38-2 that you all know and love Matt.
I am still using one of those too but conscious that I should upgrade at some point but it seems to handle the sim fine. I do feel that despite some antagonism which occurs on the forums this is a very vibrant and overall friendly and interesting community, centred around a common interest even if approached from many different angles. Train simming in general and especially TSW has probably kept many people sane in the recent difficult years.
Same here. My PC is a real old potato. I7 4770 with a GTX 1650, 24Gb of RAM and three mechanical drives. The motherboard cannot take a better processor and as regards GPU a RTX card is going to be throttled by the CPU and might push the 450w PSU a bit too. I should really replace it but Mrs. Vern is the bottleneck and has basically stated it only gets replaced if it breaks! However strangely enough it runs TSW quite well, struggles a bit now with TSC and think if I put the forthcoming new MSFS on there it will explode in a flash of blue light!
Among the many great things about the game I think the most important one for me is the double aim of providing a serious rail simulation, including all the bells and whistles, and at the same time providing a super cozy and beautiful world to chill in.
A lot of new and interesting solutions have been implemented in TSW, but I look forward to the realization of even more potential! I would like more interaction with the equipment of the locomotive, wider access to its hardware in the engine room. I miss the function of technical and service maintenance of rolling stock. In passenger mode, you want to visit the station halls and station squares (this is an important part of traveling by rail), you need the function of purchasing a ticket and interacting with luggage. These are my dreams and I hope that some of them can be realized.
Excellent thread! Thank you. While I love yellow and red signals, that’s not what got me into this game. Early in my career, I worked long hours and would often be driving home as the sun was rising. Occasionally, I would hear a train in the distance and it was always soothing, taking me away from the job stresses I had just experienced. For me, TSW captures this feeling well. I love late night and predawn runs rumbling a freight drag or powering an express through towns and platforms that are only just beginning to wake up. It takes me away from the stresses of daily life. The escape of TSW got me through the pandemic. I am grateful to those who put in the hours creating TSW.
For me, there's a few but I love doing a few runs on the St Ives branch during the summer. Or standing on the end of Huddersfield station watching the trains and not knowing will be on the front. Reminds me of my childhood
I drove my first train when I was 5 years old. It was in buttonwood yard in Wilkes barre pa. The year was 1971. My dad would take me there to watch the trains whenever we went to my grandmas house. Things weren’t as controlled back then. A really nice engineer let me ride in the cab blow the horn and use the throttle to move the train. ever since then my boyhood dream was to be a train engineer. as I got older software became another passion and I’ve had a nearly 40 year career. but I’ve never lost the dream of being a railroad engineer. train sim world gives this old man the ability to virtually live out that little boys dream
Oh wow that also shows the old Dash 9 - you couldn't even walk onto that train, you walked next to it, pressed E and teleported into the drivers seat - no moving around that one at all and almost nothing interactive. In this instance it's behind the loco because at that point I don't think you could drive it even The uboat at least worked even if it wasn't especially pretty Matt.
Just saw this thread and had to reply. For me, my favorite thing about TSW (I had TSW2) is the fact you're actually there. I'm planning to make a Railway Series using TSW3 (though it'll be fun "filming" on 3 different routes) but I haven't seen any done with TSW3 so it could be my niche and something new for my YouTube channel. Only thing missing is more routes and trains but keep up the great work...it's really taken off this year in my opinion and I can't wait to see what the future holds for TSW3.
Now I'm confused, CSX never owned any proper Dash 9s, just some pre production ones that were built in a Dash 8 Carbody, or did that old model eventually become the AC44?
That clip is what got me interested in TSW in the first place. I've always been a fan of the wide-nose GEs and having the opportunity to virtually walk around/through them drew my attention instantly. You aren't loading in as a train, but as an engineer, and I appreciate that dynamic.
I’ve not always been well over the past few years and I have a load of personal problems at home wife my soon to be ex wife , which is heartbreaking for me . Loading up TSW takes me away from all of that. It’s such a joy to be able to drive a train and not all around places I’ve never been to. I do really like the safety systems . At first , I didn’t play with them on , but now I can’t play with them off . Special mention for the German systems
I think it was Clinchfield that brought that home to me. Climbing up into the F7 my first thought was, this is high. If you fell off the top step or back out the cab even stationary you would do some damage - almost as high up as the second floor window in the average UK house.
I think my favorite thing about TSW is the exploration. The ability to walk around the station platforms and walk through the cars is something I really enjoy and something that I really missed when I checked out TSC recently. I also love that TSW has allowed me to re-live the past with routes like LIRR and New York-Trenton.
For all the criticism it gets, I picked up LIRR in the Humble Bundle and have been quite enjoying it. Never going to be a classic but that and Harlem the closest we come to having something like the NYC Subway in the game.
