PC Wip - Midland Mainline Enhancement Pack

Watching the stream and things really look great. This will definitely enhance the MML.

 

Not for xbox i guess ;(

 

Even as a console owner I always enjoy reading these enhancement mod threads. Congrats to the whole team on the good work!

 

Wasn't expecting to be able to catch the stream, but have seen the last 20 minutes. Looks like a massive improvement and makes me a bit less upset at buying the route. I love all the little details. Looking forward the the release.

 

Will be catching British Ace's stream later. By the photos on this thread it looks very good.
Just a question though. Do you need to have Peak Forest installed to use this enhancement pack?

 

So I have TSC and TSW3 on both Xbox X and PC steam. Though I’m use to having mods on TSC and have yet to download any for TSW3. But after watching the stream of the MML enhancement pack I have to say I’m impressed of the work,details, the amount of effort that went into. Kudos for the whole team involved. With that said I wasn’t planning on getting forest since I’m not really into steam. But after today I will get it just so I can get this mod.

 

My understanding is no, they have just pulled some plant assets from it. So the mod won't look as good without this dlc.

 

That is not fair lucky one platform should get the changes all platforms should get the changes it's like I am on PlayStation 5 it means I am not going to get a changes you so not fair

 

Just to be clear, you do not need Peak Forest to use this mod.

It is, however, a fundamental requirement of the UK Vegetation & Grass mod which, if you’re able to use it, will vastly improve your experience on MML (and all other UK routes) and will really make the foliage additions to MML shine.

FWIW I would recommend Peak Forest anyway, as it’s a great route and one of the best in the game. If you get it everyone wins. The player gets a very good route, they get to significantly improve every other UK route in their collection and DTG get more sales. What’s not to like?

 

Why Can't This mod come to PlayStation

 

Because consoles by their very definition are an intentionally closed architecture. No console game can ever be modded in this way, it’s just the way it is.

 

It is not fair

 

If you really want it, go get a pc and stop complaining that you don't have it as it won't change anything.

 

Just to second what Jetwash was saying above. The stream was showing mml ep with the Peak Forest mod. Whilst you can run the ep without it, and have the extra foliage, it wont be as dense and will load closer to the player pov. As it was in mml by default.

 

That's what happens when you get a game on console, when it's on PC.
Lots of PC games are moddable, you trade the comfort of playing on your sofa for the ability to edit/improve games.

 

I suppose I got lucky. Came across Train Sim and Train Sim World seeing a HST on the front of a PS4 game for £20. Picked it up, started picking up dlcs, but it was when my PS5 order got cancelled. I instead opted to splash out an extra £100 for a modest PC. Later picked up modding and havent looked back.

 

I've been happily PC first since Elder Scrolls Morrowwind and Oblivion. Modding plays such a big part of a lot of Bethesda games, always got me hooked.
I'll only ever buy console exclusive games, if it's on PC, that is always where I will buy it.

 

Absolutely fantastic work guys. Big hats off to your all but particularly whoever laid all the grass next to the track along the whole route. That must have taken a long time but makes such a big difference. I really do tear my hair out at the Skyhook devs though. Why could they not have done most of this to begin with and then console players could enjoy it too?

Do I need Peak Forest to get those new grass verges? From what it sounds like, I'll get them but they just won't look as good, right?

 

Well to be fair to SHG, stuff like company logos and posters etc is to do with Licensing.
But the other scenery additions and colour changes etc they absolutely could do.

 

You need peak forest. You also need it for the uk vegetation mod and changes the vegetation on other uk routes to the peak forest version

 

Hey. Again, Peak Forest is not a requirement of this mod. You will see the extra foliage etc without it but as you correctly said, it won’t look as good.

The issue is two fold;

- For whatever reason the foliage, trees, vegetation etc that is used in Peak Forest is far superior to anything else that’s been used in the game (UK DLC at least)
- On MML Skyhook have used, or have incorrectly set up, a type of grass that has a woefully short draw distance. As such it relentlessly pops up right in front of you and nothing, including ini tweaks, can stop that. Except, that is, the UK Vegetation and Grass EP which can be found here;

UK Route Vegetation & Grass EP - Train Sim Community

This EP does require Peak Forest as it swaps the line side greenery of each route with the assets from Peak Forest. We then altered the 2D grass textures that sit underneath the 3D grass to match it in colour and the result is a much more natural looking, denser and varied foliage. There is zero performance hit.

So to be clear again, you do not require Peak Forest at all to use the MML EP. However, we recommended that to get the best out of the MML EP you team it up with the UK Vegetation and Grass EP which does have Peak Forest as a core requirement. As I said, it is a great route anyway, it will give you the ability to enhance all your other UK content (you should see the difference it makes to NTP or SEHS for example) and DTG get more sales. It’s the perfect example of a virtuous circle!

I will put a series of videos up shortly that demonstrate both EP’s working at the maximum possible settings, utilising a completely new set of engine.ini changes I’ve been working on that (in my opinion at least) vastly improve the look of the game and alter the lighting and look of TOD4 significantly. They completely remove the washed out, over-bright and flat look of the game and replace it with what I believe is the best of both worlds. Lighting more akin to an AP Enhanced TSC or TSW2 but utilising the eye adaption and visual progress of TSW3. Big words, but you’ll be able to see for yourself. These things are always personal preference but I’ve never been happier with the game, I’ve even stopped moaning about the lighting!

 

Here's the first one. Two unconnected Class 158 services back-to-back. Please note these were made on a WIP version of the EP so some features might not be there.

 

Part 2

An HST service comparing the vanilla version of the route/game vs the enhanced version

 

…and finally Part 3. Here we take a Class 158 and play cat-and-mouse with an HST for a good chuck of the route

 

The foliage and asset laying took about a month - month and a half. Once youv’ve learned how to start doing it. Its quite straightforward. However there have been some really clever mods made by the other members in this collaboration. With more still to come (that I certainly cant get my head around). The plan is to get the pack out this coming week.

 

Sounds very interesting Jetwash, look forward to seeing these. Keep up the great work everyone!

 

I was just watched the British Ace covering this and I've got to say it looks amazing, great work guys. It also makes you wonder why more detail of this type isn't including straight out of the box so to speak, not just referring to Skyhook here, their MML was good, but to all developers. Is it because they are trying to keep the fps at a reasonable level? The draw distance of the power station being increased so you could see it from much further was especially pleasing on the eye, as power stations, in fact all buildings of note stand out way better in TSC.

 

That and the pop in would be noticeable. For niddertalbahn, tsg said something about how even though it's dense, it only worked because the speeds are slow. If going at fast speed, it would cause a lot of assets popping in at the last second. Even at slow speed, you can see the scenery popin a few meters in front of you. Imagine that at higher speeds. Some things are down to licensing like certain signs.

 

Proper lineside vegetation goes so far in making a route look believable and lively. That mod is honestly a god send and looking at how it's all been utilised in this EP really highlights how good routes can look when they get this level of polish. Great job all!

 

Having just watched the three videos, I have to say this mod will be a must have when it is released.
However one thing I did notice while watching the comparison video was that the signals were much brighter and easier to spot pre mod version as opposed to post mod. Is there a way to use the mod but keep the original signal brightness?

 

I am running LM’s signal flare mod which is much more realistic but if it’s not for you as long as you don’t don’t have it installed you’ll be good

 

I'm almost 73 and the old eyes aren't what they used to be. Sometimes realism is not always best lol.

 

No worries at all then, you’ll be just fine as you are. It’ll be with you soon, hope you enjoy it!

 

I still stand by this saying that a simulator of this type should be PC where there’s realtively little limitation - console is aimed at the throwaway casual gamer where PC gaming is the built to spec to play high spec

 

Love this video, really great to see the side-by-side differences. The added foliage and other added trackside, station & depot details is amazing and this really makes it stand out.

 

Your vids/shots look great, looking forward to it!
I've lost track of the unofficial editor and things you can or can't do - I'm just wondering if it's possible to create an asset and put it into a TSW route? More specifically I was thinking about creating a new speed sign set to overlay/hide those horrendous looking ones we have in game.

 

If you mean by static assets, then yes. It requires the editor but I believe it's relatively straightforward to do.

Just as a note though it currently isn't possible to remove existing assets on the route as you have to create a new tile when placing assets in.

 

I understand where you are coming from with that opinion. But it is probably the case that the hard reality is that it is thanks to the revenue generated from the console sales that fund the ongoing development that we PC users ultimately benefit from.

 

Then around 2/3 of the playerbase is lost. Even if it's pc exclusive, doesn't mean there will magically be more players. Not everyone can afford a pc either. Consoles are best bang for buck and runs pretty well

 

All we need now is the first fully community-made route :P

 

So why are the majority of crash reports coming from console users if they run ‘pretty well’ ?

 

As I understand it the sudden increase in crashes on consoles are caused by SHG MML DLC.
Consoles seem to run fine on all other DLC’s.

 

In regards to the speed signs. As a modder you can only really add things. So there are some speed or whistle boards that Ive added. Another dodgy sign for example at Long Eaton, Ive hidden with a junction box the added a correct one nearby.

 

Only my opinion, but Ive had crashes in certain settings on mml. Im tempted to say its more a dlc setup issue over hardware malfunction.

 

Maybe we can hope that whoever develops future dlc, recognises the importance of getting lineside scenery nicely detailed as a necessity.

 

ahhh that’s fair enough then.

 

What a fantastic enhancement! Really adds immersion to the route, especially track side clutter. I wonder why such things are so rare on other routes...it's these little details that make it believable, less sterile looking. Just great work, thanks to all involved in making this!

 

Good afternoon Great job and great result! Thank you very much! Looking forward to the release of your mod!

I need to ask you something! I'm very interested to see your engine.ini settings. Is it possible? I have no experience in changing settings and I'm wondering what and how to change. Thank you.

 

i’m sure ATS and JT should hopefully make us proud in the department

 

Of course. I’ve just been playing some more with them to make night more realistic but am pretty much happy. I’ll likely add them to TSC over the next day or so and link it here.