The Tsw World Cup: See You In December!

Funny how SPG ended up as the lone US route, Boston got screwed by being put up against SEHS

 

Yes. I will have no problem with Blackpool Branches being the World Champion, it was always going to be the most popular route and deservedly so.

But it always looked like a UK route would win it. Just the way the player base is distributed, I guess.

I'm glad that quite a few people agree with me that SPG is still the class of US freight.

I also would welcome a loco version of the World Cup, though I suspect, given the popularity of the British emus, it might go the same way. Still, you never know.

 

Yes, hopefully it would be one of the better EMUs like the 801s or 323s rather than a bloody electrostar winning it!

Saying that I think the 158 will have a good chance.

 

Don't get me wrong. I love Blackpool as a route and think the Pacer might be the best driving experience in TSW with the Vectron a close second. It is not the same now to go back to other locos without the bounce. It will be hard for me not to vote for the Pacer to win the loco cup.

However, I am a bit of a gameplay and driving challenge nerd and what I really love about DRA and SEHS is that there is no guarantee that your next service is going to be the same as the last one. From TSW2,3,&4 SEHS has nearly 50 runs called out by the community as awesome while DRA has nearly 40. Personally, I have nearly 4500 miles (interesting that it is not listed in km, but it does make it easy to compare) in SEHS and 4200 on DRA. So, for driving trains on a route, it has to be one of those two for me.

Interestingly - and this surprised me when I looked - my most driven route is SKA at 4700 miles. SKA should have gotten more love in Europe Group A!

Love this thread! Thank you!

 

I’m completely with you, actually. I wanted to post something similar but didn’t know how best to put it. I love BPO - the route is gorgeous, it’s vintage and the sheer visual variety of stuff included is amazing (3 liveries each for both the 142s and 47s). That’s not even counting the locos layering in. The Pacer is amazing in looks, feels, and bounce. Also, I’m sure we’ve never seen stations modelled to this level of detail. All in all, it’s an unbelievable hit given that it’s their first route on top.

But I’m not sure it would have been my top pick. The gameplay, while not underwhelming, is not quite on the same level as everything else on the route. That might not be JT’s fault, I don’t know anything about the prototype in real life. You rarely encounter signal checks that aren’t scripted approach control. Your runs are rather predictable, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but we’re talking about the best route, not whether a route is good. I expected a bit more freight with the Burn Naze branch as well, but I don’t own the Rivet route lending one freight car, so maybe that helps.

As I said, I love the route and hope JT can keep up this incredible level of quality, but it wouldn’t have been my top pick. I get the feeling that there’s a bit of recency bias favouring it right now. Still, hats off to JT if BPO takes the crown here.

 

It's time, folks.
https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/tsw-wc-the-final.77251/

 

Couldn't agree more with you mattwild55 - it's a really frustrating aspect. This is a much bigger issue regarding UK rather than German content though I'd argue, as at least with Maintalbahn you can use the 612 and/or 628 (if you have these already, obviously) to complement the 642, not to mention the additional AI traffic that uses even more locos. Basically, loco substitution and content used from other routes consistently is what makes German gameplay the best in TSW overall, though I'd still like to see more than one loco per route, of course.

While in theory the Goblin Line should interest me very much, a potentially one-loco route in London seems very underwhelming and highly unrealistic; compare that to the German route - Rosenheim-Salzburg - which, if judging by real life, should hopefully have lots of regional, long-distance, freight etc; thus, so, so much more appealing compared to Goblin.

Don't get me wrong, Cross City, Glossop etc are quite good routes, but when you compare to BML, SEHS or even BPO, there's no comparison regarding long-term gameplay etc and it's the latter type of routes TSW needs more of, especially considering how popular these are as shown by the World Cup poll...

 

To be fair to Goblin Line, it is a small self contained route with one train in reality, with freight as an added bonus.

 

Kinda bummed that SPG didn't make the finals, but I'm happy that it did as well as it did.

 

Agreed, I have many good memories of SPG and with its TSW 2 upgrades it still holds up well. However no american route is top 3 quality imo.

 

SPG was very well crafted, and comes with three locos in six liveries plus a bevy of freight cars. Its weakness is that is still just an A to B, admittedly with a switchyard.

 

Technically 5 now, as the GP38-2 in YN2 is no longer spawnable and hasn't been fixed.

 

SPG could really use an upgrade like SEHS, Dresden Riesa and Boston Sprinter got.
Would be great with the new lighting.

 

Ladies and Gentlemen.
The first half is over!

The Route Phase of the TSW World Cup has been rounded up and the results have been handed to me.

3rd Place - Dresden-Riesa - 57 Votes
The top German route falls to third place, despite the bonus vote added for solicitr.

Regardless, it's a very strong performance for Dresden-Riesa, and is a testament to it's quality and variety.

2nd Place - Southeastern Highspeed - 60 Votes
Southeastern Highspeed, with it's extensions and multitude of rolling stock, comes in a strong second, just ahead of DRA.

Had this been the TSW2 SEHS, I imagine it would have been near the bottom. I think this does show what difference variety (i.e. longer HS runs on HS1, or the Dartford-Gravesend runs, or even Thameslink) makes.

1st Place - Blackpool Branches - 89 Votes
Ladies and Gentlemen of the TSW Forum, it is with great pleasure that I announce that the winner of the TSW (Route) World Cup, is BLACKPOOL BRANCHES!

Once again, a route with great variety - in terms of both service pattern and rolling stock, (Hmm...) and it's a route that has been incredibly well crafted by the Just Trains team.



Thank you to everyone who has participated in this fun little festive-season contest. I do hope it was fun.

Stick around for the Loco World Cup - it'll be even more chaotic.

 

== PART TWO ==

You've decided the Ultimate* TSW Route was Blackpool Branches...
But what's the best train?
Introducing...

The TSW Loco World Cup
Part Two of the TSW World Cup sees every loco/MU featured in the game pitted against each other.

The following list, I believe, is an exhaustive one. If anyone can spot any trains I have missed, it would be appreciated if you let me know. (We can't have any missing out on the fun!)

== UNITED KINGDOM ==
BR DIESEL
08/09
20
31
33
37
40
45
47
52
101
142
150

STEAM
Flying Scotsman
4F
8F
Jubilee Class

ISLAND LINE & TUBE STOCKS
483
1938 Tube Stock
484
1972 Tube Stock

MODERN DIESEL
HST (GWE - MTU)
HST (MML - VP185)
158
166
66

MODERN EMU
313
314
323
375
377 (BML)
385
387
395
465
700
801

== GERMANY and EUROPE ==
CLASSIC
103
110
N-WAGEN
628

ELECTRIC LOCO
101
112
143
146
155
182
185
187
193 (Vectron)
ES 64 U2
GE 4/4 II (Swiss)

ICE/TGV
ICE 1
ICE 3
ICE 3M
TGV Duplex

EMU
422
423
425
442
1442
ÖBB 4024 (Austrian)
RABe 523 (Swiss)

DMU
612
642

DOSTOS
766.2
767.2

SHUNTERS
650 (G6)
204
363
365

== USA and CANADA ==
AMTRAK
ACS-64
Acela
Amfleet Cab Car

REGIONAL RAILROADS
NJT ALP-46
NJT Multi-Level Commuter Cab Car
CAL F40PH-2CAT
CAL MP36PH-3C (Baby Bullet)
CAL MP50DC
CAL Bombardier Bi-Level Cab Car
CAL Gallery Cab Car
MBTA F40PH-3
MBTA CTC-3 Cab Car
MET F125
[Metrolink Cab Car]

EMU
M3
M3A
M7
M7A

FREIGHT
AC4400CW (SPG, CANE)
C40-8W (SPG)
ES44AC (HSC)
GP9RM (OAK)
GP38-2 (SPG, PEN, HSC, OAK)
GP40-2 (SPG)
SD40 (CRR)
SD40-2 (SPG, CANE, SMH, CJP)
SD70ACe (SMH, CJP)
F7 (CRR, CJP (New Journeys))

The Amtrak Shunter from NEC: New York and GP40-2 Loco DLC have been excluded, as they have not returned to the game since TSW2020.

Some similar trains or variants (442 & 1442, SD40 & SD40-2, M3 & M3A, etc) may be thrown together, just to trim the whole thing down a bit.

Pending the decision of those, and any trains i've missed, I will be able to finalise the format.

Any objections/suggestions relating to the above rolling stock list are appreciated.

Until next time, I'll be trying to figure how the **** this will work.

 

Great result and, like I say, thanks for setting this up mate. Look forward to the loco world cup! I just hope you find an unbiased way to set it up!

 

Unbiased? No, we can't be doing that!
The 187's booked it's ticket for the final and we'll have the semi-final between the GE 4/4 and the 483.
(I am revealing none of my other cards at this time)

 

I'll buy you a Route DLC of your choice if the Class 37 wins. *wink wink nudge nudge*

 

Which one?

 

Any of the BR ones, though I'm partial to the TVL one.

 

Does this really count? Most players on here probably started playing TSW2 and beyond, and probably would of never tried the GP40-2.

 

I thought it had been carried over to TSW2>
At least that's one scored off the list, cheers.

 

Yeah like the SW1000R, it never returned.

 

I assumed it would have just stuck with SPG like the others. It's always a shame to see a train lost to the void.

 

Could this be the worst thing to have ever happened in all of history??

 

IIRC it was a separate loco DLC, plus it took the Steel Coil car down with it.

 

Technically, the 365 from Niddertalbahn is missing, which differs in having a different engine (not sure if TSW switched out any sounds) and uses the I60 safety system instead of PZB 90. Not sure if you wanna include that since it’s more or less splitting hairs within the confines of TSW, but figured I’d point it out since you asked

 

Also, the 155 seems to be missing (PRESS from BRO and DB from RSN).

 

Added the 155, cheers.
I've also added the 365 but I'm not 100% about having it. Pencilled in for now.

 

No problem

Up to you of course, but I’d just group her together with the 363. If you want to be totally accurate, you could name the option V60 instead (both 363 and 365 are part of the V60-family). Or just 363/365. As I said, I’d lump the 365 together with the 363 since there are almost no player-facing changes.

 

Are the CN locos GP9RM and GP38-2 ( Oakville ) and F7 ( CRR and CJP ) missing? I don't see them in the list.
( Or am I misunderstanding something? )

 

Indeed they are. Thanks.

 

Kinda glad this ended before the Steam sale. I can use the results to help rank what's available.

 

These are my favorites:

UK: Flying Scotman / HST GWE / 465 / Class 66 / Class 801
Germany: 101 / 103 / Vectron / 442 / 612 / 363
USA: SD70ACE / MP36PH / M7

 

If the HST-GWE doesn't win with the British 101 in second with maybe the 166 or 465 in third then there is some money changing hands.

 

trainsimplayer, are you still intending to do a Loco World Cup?

 

My untimely suspension over New Years' has thrown it off - and I don't want to clog up the forum while it's in full flow.
I may do a staggered one, though.

 

I think it may be time to let this ship sail for a while.

This Christmas it'll be back.
It was fun this (well, last) year and I thoroughly enjoyed doing it.

The Loco World Cup will come this winter too. The Forums are too busy to clutter up with a TSWWC now. At Christmas it'll die down again.

DTG JD or dtg_jan, might be time to unpin this thread and clear up a bit of space.
[Keep the thread open, though. I'll revive it when it's time comes.]

 

Aw, bummer.

 

Bump!
So, you thought Dovetail were the only ones with something to reveal this Advent?

Well, dear forums members, it's a late submission from TSWWC Headquarters but we are back for TSW World Cup: Season 2. It's going to be quicker, later and, hopefully, better than last year.

Once again we'll have the Routes category - updated to include the DLCs released since last December - up to the most recent one: WCML: Preston - Carlisle, as well as remasters and re-releases.

We'll speed the process up by skipping Round 2 and going straight to the death, meaning the Groups will count for more.


But, as I promised back in february (as above), we've got a new division, the Loco Cup - where you can vote for your favourite trains in the entire game. A lot more to play with here - especially counting variants.

The gameplan:

Routes - Dec 15th through to Dec 20th
Locos - Dec 27th - Jan 2nd

Let's make this Forum fun again.

See you soon

 

The best news I've had all day!

 

Sounds like a barrel of fun!! Bring it on!!

 

Very happy to see this back. I'm especially looking forward to the locos, since that got derailed last time.

 

quick question will the subclasses be considered separate locos or will just represent the whole class during voting. For example we have over two variants of the class 37 will each subclass have it's own category or will it just be the overall class that gets the votes?

 

It depends if there's a notable difference - in terms of gameplay or variant

For example, the RHTT will be separated from the main class 66s. Likewise, the 377 from BML will be seperate from the WCML version, because that has a Pantograph.

Others won't, like the 380/1 and 380/0 or 385/1 and 385/0 because the only difference in either case is an extra carriage and livery modifications (and minor interior changes, for the 385).

The 37 I'm not sure about. I might separate the ROG on the same grounds as the RHTT.

 

oh wow I joined the forums late compared to playing. this sounds really cool and I can't wait to participate!

 

Will it also be separated for developers like you got rivet's class 37 and dovetail's 37s etc.