Hey all, I just wanted to post this thread to generate some positivity about how route building should be. The Blackpool - Preston - Ormskirk is just absolutely spectacular and I must say that the British feel, particularly down those branch lines is so fantastic. I thought I would get everyone's view about how they feel about it and of course, any niggly things, bring them to the party
I like the Pacer. It's on course to becoming my new favourite train. But the bounce is awful, I'm glad their consigned to the past in real life, fun to drive though.
Absolutely brilliant route and big kudos given this was a first try. DTG need to look at that routes offering very carefully. Such value for money - A work of love.
Just Trains are the TPD, if only all DLC was to their exacting standards and quality control TSW4 customers wouldn’t have a single complaint about DLC. You know when you buy a Just Trains DLC item you are getting a first rate product. I have been playing TSC for well over a decade and have purchased a very large amount of DLC over the years. While it’s mainly UK, route, steam (especially) & heritage diesel related, there are several TPDs that I’d love to see releasing content for TSW, names such as Steam Sounds Supreme Victory Works and Bossman Games spring to mind along with Just Trains, both for route DLC and locomotives (steam in particular). I hope the recent statement from DTG regarding steam and potentially TPDs becoming involved to fix the issues with their own steam sim DTG have completely failed to resolve leads to resolution.
Not much traffic in this thread. Which is not fair because the route is outstanding, indeed. Clearly made with that special dedication and love for detail. JT walked the extra mile, no doubt. I´ve bitten the bullet and bought TSW4 (yeah, Special Edition on EoY Sales was a treat). But just because of that route. Just around Blackpool North I experience a severe performance drop on PS5. Not sure what's the reason for this, maybe foliage. An optimization of that area would make a great route just perfect. Build by JT, one can hope?
There’s a whole multi page (official) thread doing exactly the same as this one, with JT devs in it, so yes less traffic is to be expected.
It's by far my favourite route. So much to see and do. The 142 is a great drive and I love the challenge of driving the 101 on a Blackpool south-Ormskirk service and trying to keep to time while also braking effectively.
My only gripe with the route is some of the timings seem out. It's a route I go to a fair bit, but not my overall favourite.
It's not bad but like all routes after a few go's in each direction it starts to wane. Still not entirely convinced the TL11 engine sounds are quite how I remember them either. But in terms of quality it puts DTG and the other associates to shame.
Doesn't that go for all routes though? At least this one has branches to explore and is not just A to B.
It does. Eventually, they will all become boring, for many reasons. Although busier timetables and more engaging routes would take longer.
I'm gonna be honest here, the love of this route for me has died out completely and it's not for the reason you think. BPO is a nice route and a high quality addon HOWEVER I can't enjoy the route the same because of what DTG did due to the success of it where it sucked people in and then created Maintalbahn which was let's be honest a pretty mid addon because of it fluctuating quality, and it was a pretty scummy move on DTGs end to do that
What are you on about? DTG did not do anything on the back of this DLC. Their DLC is a separate thing. Nobody can blame the mediocrity of Maintalbahn on the success of Blackpool and that route would have been the same if JT hadn’t made a route at all. If you are meaning that people bought TSW4 just to be able to play Blackpool, nobody was obligated to then buy DTG’s next offering. The two are not connected.
If I'm understanding him right, what he means is that having the low quality Maintalbahn released with a few weeks of the high quality BPO was a ridiculous thing to do, which it was.
Yes quality job from JT here this route is just as exciting and interesting to play as it were at release, worth every penny I paid for it. Bonus points for the BR Blue too!
not much praise because we have had threads like this since release so people are not going to come back and do it all again its just pointless
So you no longer enjoy it because the following release which had nothing to do with JT was so bad. That's a weird form of logic.
It's a fine route, for me mostly because of the varied and thankfully non- electric rolling stock. I mean it could have been set in Outer Mongolia and I would still be enjoying the 101, 45, 47 etc. The danger, if you want to call it that, is that BPO will remain an outlier among the dull procession of the Glossop- Goblin paradigms to come. Is there really no-one at DTG with the imagination and boldness to create routes and trains outside their ever-shrinking box of electric commuter " buses" stopping twice at every corner of uninspiring roads?
No the TL11 isn't quite right but its a pretty good approximation. The AP one sounds better. However the bigger gripe with it is the gear changes are much to quick and there is no hold gear function and I also think it holds on to its gears before it changes for too long.
Enjoyed a good few hours on this route, the last one I will probably have used in TSW. Its really well made and the producers deserve a lot of credit for it. Its let down on two fronts in my eyes: 1) Its at the mercy of TSW ongoing bugs and dispatcher shortfalls. Run late and watch the shunter at Blackpool North go out into the station to pick up coaches which haven't arrived yet. Also run early and watch Mexican standoffs and your simulation descend into a farce. We should be doing better 7 years into the franchise not worse and unfortunately coupled with the save game inability and the fragility of restarting if you do manage to save then its tainting what should be a great DLC. 2)The second is the lack of AC traction at Preston, this is immersion ruining for me in the end as there simply would not be that many 47s running about on trains through the station. Also a lack of 1st Generation DMUs other than the 101 is wholly un-prototypical for the year presented. The above are not the fault of JT who must be applauded for their work. The lack of focus on older generation rolling stock (Nobody wants it etc) and the fact the only thing the dispatching engine seems wired to do is keep trains a signal section apart means the same old emotions creep in once the novelty of having something from interesting era starts to wear off. When its more fun to create free roams on TSC, play Zusi 3, model in N and fly MSFS in VR then TSW wont be worth the HD space and unfortunately BPO goes with it.
Brilliant route I hope very much its revenue puts JT in a good place and that they are glad of its release and reception. It’s an example of how routes are well taken by customers for sure. The model of what TSW can be and an example of vision of the franchise being done and not just aspired. it has a very small number of things to improve on and for any future addons, but definitely the best quality of a route I have played, barely came across any bugs if at all personally and that’s not something at all I can often say with TSW. so another developer released something separate what you weren’t keen on so to speak and now you don’t like what is better… that is some confusion right there. if anything if I thought a bad route came after I would appreciate the one before and stick with it even more without moving onwards more.
+1. With regard to shunter or turnover engines preceding the train they are supposed to release, this was an issue that also affected the classic diesel layer on WCL. I haven’t delved into the timetable editor but surely it is possible to put a flag or variable that the pilot or fresh train engine does not depart for the station until the incoming train arrives and overrides the actual departure time.
Brilliant route, despite having most UK routes of late just been playing this one. It is the attention to detail that makes it. Some bugs though as have found at least three services do not work, you just get a red light that never changes. Overall though puts the other routes to shame. It is crying out for Class 104, 108 and 150/1 as additional stock though.
