What Are Your Tsw4 Impressions So Far?

Antelope Valley is better than I expected.

However are those trains almost silent running? There doesn’t feel like there’s much sound attached to them. I can hear more of the environmental sounds than the train.

Also, it seems to lack ai traffic.

 

The new HUD is a bit different, but I'm really trying to get used to it, would be nice to see distance to the next objective/station. Antelope Valley is really cool, different from routes we had before and the loco is interesting soundwise. Vorarlberg is good as well, but the annoying Talent 2 sounds are spoiling a lot of fun for me, as I know those trains IRL. But the scenery is wonderful. ECML is kind of meh, I remember the hype when TSW3 and SKW released. Lot of hype, but I got bored very fast and didn't touch the route more than maybe once a month.

 

ECML is better than SKW, LGV, SKA, HMA, and almost as good as SEHS, bar 91 and the fact that SEHS has a branch

 

Yep. And the points breakdown just says N/A for both safety and wipers, even though they were both used.

 

Ah are you sure it was silver and not Platinum then?

 

Oh! Will have to check

 

The line lacks AI from the freight layers as they aren't available till the official release.

The route is also gonna be missing the Amtrak traffic to/from LAUPT due to the lack of appropriate stock.

Though the line itself isn't that busy IRL.

 

I was in 2 minds about picking TSW4 up, but by having Depeche Mode as music on a video in the Steam store, it won me over.

 

There you go! Platinum, not Silver.

 

A cogent reminder that we need some locos from Amtrak's diesel electric roster such as the P42 and the newer ALC 42 Charger. All we really have right now are the two electric locos, ACS 64 Sprinter and Acela, which are limited to NEC in the game. DTG need to take advantage of the good relationship they have with Amtrak

 

Hope that research trip to Amtraks yard while they were in LA yields some results....

 

Antelope Valley is a lot better quality then what was shown in the preview stream. And after tweaking the vegetation lods (it's pretty bad, even on high setting) it is a really nice route, lots of detailing around the track and DTG put a lot of effort in it. The Union building also looks much better then what was shown earlier, no idea why.

The PS5 version however is having far too much vegetation lod issues, and really makes it a lot less enjoyable. And I really hope DTG tweaks the lods on PS5 and probably also Series X versions.

 

Maybe I´ve overlooked it (in a zillion of TSW4 threads), but this one seems the best to place a question: Is the 2D Map still this rather simplistic one or has it improved?

 

Have a guess…

 

I feel more strongly than not that this will be the only release of the route and I highly doubt we'll see any bug fixes addressing scenery issues and other issues that arise. Apparently the alter button in the cabcar doesn't actually do anything when you press it and you have to move the throttle to get the alerter to reset. Again, I doubt this will ever be fixed.

 

I guess FOMO is kicking in What improvements would you like to see to the map? I used the map already. It looked the same but I did not have a negative feeling about it. Not that I'm a fan of this map but I guess it's not broken.

 

Hmmm, I had a feeling. Just wanted to make sure.

 

I had to look up "FOMO". You presume too much!
But good thing it is not broken. Then again: What can be broken on this map?

What would I expect? Well, some serious map for a serious train simulator. Not much to ask for having city, town, village, junction names, isn´t it? A bit of terrain mesh with upcoming grades, speeds and level crossings, maybe? I´m easily entertained.

https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/tws-route-maps-by-sjay.69110/

Now don´t give me that hysterical bullmerde about "huuuuuge fps hits". I won´t buy it, sorry. That "Map" looks too much like "cutting corners". Means overly simplistic for a serious simulator and I would expect improvements over the course of a few TSW versions already.

 

Thank you for the link because I first did not understand what you meant with cutting corners but sure compared to a map like you make it's indeed cutting corners. Good examples of what maps could look like but not a fan of the art style. It also looks like a lot of work. Isn't the map that TSW uses something that is being auto generated?

 

I don't make these maps, SJAY_ONE does. They are very good and he uses several different styles. The link was meant as an example. How nice would it be to have even the simplest version as 2D map in TSW, rather than printing them out to use them besides? (Ohgodohgodohgod, the climate change!).
That was my point.

 

But you can see how this takes time to make and also make it look good in the UI? I'm not sure I want to spend €5 more on every route so I get a detailed map. A detailed map like your example is artwork. That's not cheap. (edit; used to be not cheap as we have AI these days)

 

The points you get when you stop seem to be influenced by two factors: the stopping distance (as expected), but also timeliness.
Based on my observations: the maximum is 490 APs (stopping distance under 1m, and on time). If you're on time, the penalties for stopping distance are similar to TSW3 levels. However, if you're late, there are deductions. I can't work out the exact formula.

I think this is completely the other way around. The Platinum medal was supposed to be awarded at 90% of the maximum available points, yet you can obtain almost twice the points needed for the Platinum medal, which means the requirement is not much over 50%.
In an attempt to obtain a gold medal, I drove without safety systems and headlights, yet still got enough for Platinum. The only way to get a gold on a short Vorarlberg run was to skip the stops.
Even without safety systems and headlights, we are still getting 65 APs per segment. So far, I checked VRBG and AVL.
Penalty for over-speeding is only applied if you are caught, i.e. over the limit at the time APs are awarded for a segment. If you return under the limit before the next points award, you get all of it, even if you were in the red. This is different than old scoring system, where you get deduction even if you were over the limit for a split second during a segment.

So much for encouraging safe driving!

 

Yes I'm not sure if the scoring medal really works. Did not expect to get platinum on my first runs. But I've become a descent driver I noticed so maybe the scoring system isn't broken I'm just a platinum driver who stay humble I suppose

 

I think it was more about not penalising safe driving, but I might be wrong..

 

I don’t think so far I’ve had anything other than Platinum medals! Must be a right goody two shoes.

 

Stuttering? I'm reading several opinions and I really don't know what to expect about that. Stuttering is definitely my main concern talking about TSW franchise... I'm on Xbox Series X and I'd like to know from Xbox users how the game is behaving in terms of performance. Thanks!

 

All of this.

Ever since I started playing TSW, I’ve been amazed by how rudimentary the map is, and the fact that it hasn’t evolved since the TSW 2020 days. It’s very disappointing. Would it really be too much to ask to at least add station names on the map and nearby cities and landmarks so that we can see the route in context with its surroundings? I’m not expecting an ordinance survey masterpiece, but I think the map is long overdue some major improvements.

 

I'll let you know my impressions of TSW4 after the TSW3 fixes have been applied in the short window.

 

On XSX myself. Performance is about the same as TSW3 with dome slightly more stuttering in places in Training Centre and Risa Dresden.

But overall good and better than PS5 performance by some margin.

 

Has XSX audio improved since TSW3?
Apparently PS5 and XSX have different draw distance settings which explains most of the performance difference.
The future PS5 Pro should be able to brute force itself to a better frame rate!

 

And it would be much helpful especially now with the new Free Roam feature, where you want to plan your route to a specific end point. Without route knowledge it is pretty hard with current map.

 

I was very suprised to see that Dresden-Riesa seems to have them!
Would like that on all routes!

Where is the new option to stop certain repaints from showing up as AI trains? I can´t find it anywhere.

 

That would be amazing especially for those of us who are OLD.

 

No. This is the new Age Concession feature.

 

You must have not watched this:

None of this is implemented as promised.

 

I havent bought TSW4, instead waiting for TSW5 in a few months. But in that context it could do with a rework based on what Im seeing. Another reason to wait for TSW5 then...

 

When they said that the new scoring system would reward " advanced players ", they were clearly not talking about playing time.

 

This right here. I really like the new HUD, but this just sucks, and AFAIK stations don't show up on the track monitor either. I blew through the first station doing my first service on Antelope Valley, it just crept up on me. Maybe I'm out of practice, but when the only distance rading you have is the objective marker, it's difficult to tell. I'd like it if the objective display on the normal HUD could replace the one on the Minimal HUD.

Other than that I don't quite understand the new safety systems, but that's to be expected.

Overall, I think this is solid content.

 

I will wait how the old content is handled, but overall I like TSW4. The route bundle and the fantastic Vectron justify the upgrade for me, it's a bargain, paywall or not - in the end I was keen on all these routes. And for the editor, can't wait.

There's stuff to work on like the thick black OHLE, but overall it's a step forward I think.

 

The Antelope Valley Line Mastery reward, honestly alot better than expected, I thought they would use something not even close to the actual LA Metro.

 

So far it would seem that Antelope Valley is actually a winner. I didn't do early access so I'll have to wait until Tuesday to see it for myself. Aside from a few bugs I've seen, it seems pretty good actually.

 

It is really good! I did not expect to say that I love antelope valley but it's a really beautiful route. Very relaxing route. For the first time I like all the routes that come with the base game. Normally I like only one of them so my appreciation has tripled

 

Heres a link to a 2010 Metrolink Employee timetable if anyone wants to look at it, a bit outdated but could give some fun info for some.

http://www.multimodalways.org/archi... authorities/SCRRA/SCRRA ETTs/SCRRA ETTs.html

 

I have installed TSW4 yesterday, and explored the various links within the main menu; I also loaded my previous profile from TSW3 when prompted to do so. When I went into the game to choose a route, I discovered that none of my existing routes or locomotives were listed anywhere!
These were all in my inventory in TSW3, how and when will they transfer across to the new game please?
ChessieT

 

Because they don’t come out until the main release, which is on the 26th.

 

As I just remarked in the AVL feedback thread, credit where it’s due to their choice of routes for this year’s update. All three are very enjoyable, yes there a a few glitches and caveats particularly AVL which I presume was built by the same team that did Cajon. And ECML catenary is way overscale. However it has become very hard to choose a favourite all give a nice and interesting run and Metrolink with the F125 with its Caterpillar engine is something new for the US. Even Flying Scotsman which I wasn’t particularly looking forward to is good, just needs the sound refining at higher speeds which we have been assured is in the works.

So my current overall rating for TSW4 stands around 8/10 or 4 stars ****.

 

All your routes and loco dlc will have to be downloaded again from Tuesday (the official launch of TSW4).

Hentis

 

Thanks for the information guys

 

In TSW4, are you seeing a medal after completing a service? In TSW3 it's random; you don't always see one; and in TSW2 you always saw medal progress after completing a service.

 

So far, I always received a medal on the service end screen.
But I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't show up: under the hood, this is TSW3. Warts and all.