Dovetail Games Lirr Commuter Preview - Q&a Thread

1. Has there been any changes to the existing route besides signalling e.g. new station details, improved town and cityscapes?

2. Will NJT & Amtrak be present as AI at Penn station?

 

Not so much a question but just to say this is eagerly awaited and hopefully sets the scene for further route rebuilds and extensions.

Roll on preorder day is all I can say.

 

Yep, my question too. Amtrak also go past Hunterspoint Avenue I believe

 

Has ATC and ACSES been built from scratch so that it finally works this time?

 

Can we see the Manhattan skyline including new World Trade Center or the Empire State in the distance, Brooklyn Bridge (Did anything got remodeled in that regard)?

Will we see planes arriving/departed at JFK when being on Rosedale or Laurelton station - (Laurelton especially as its at the exact spot below the air way of the 4L/22R runway from JFK and Rosedale because it's almost below the air way of runway 4R/22L)?

What is the mastery reward?

 

1. Why was Long Beach chosen but with neither Far Rockaway or even West Hempstead being modelled too? Just seems kind of redundant to go as far as Long Beach without allowing extra variety with the other 2 branches before it; I know the official reasoning so far was "extra variety in services" but I don't think these will add much compared to just ending at Jamaica and letting them continuing to a portal from there.

2. why was the M9 chosen as the new loco even though it would be more of a visual difference than a gameplay difference due to then being made to be very similar to the M7? Why not choose the DE/DM30 for a difference in gameplay to the pre-existing electrics we already had?

 

I'm looking forward to this and I can't wait, but I have a few questions and concerns

What has been reworked about Sunnyside yard? What's the difference compared to previous Add-ons

Does this route have a future/the potential for more add-ons?

Signalling wise, what has changed about the route and what stayed the same. Is there anything unique we should be looking out for?

Will we see AI NJT and Amtrak Train at Penn station too?

From your last NY Route(New York to Trenton) what have you guys learned and plan to do forward with other potential New York routes

 

In regards to adding in the Abandoned Woodhaven Station, is this something that can be explored in player mode? Are there any special easter eggs, garbage & equipment or is it just something to glance at when passing by on the Atlantic Branch?

Cool detail regardless throwing this in!

 

Will SunnySide Yard have all the NJT and Amtrak trains coming and going from it and will there be parked trains in the yard. Same with Long Island City will there be parked trains. Also did you know that the Kawasaki M9 uses the Nathan K2H horn

 

Will there be any freight cars sitting around the route like we saw on the Harlem Line?

Will there be trains stored in Jamaica Sidings & at Hillside Maintenance Facility?

Will the LIRR M9 tell you which car your in like it does in real life?

What is the mastery reward?

 

Why wasn't Grand Central Madison and the Thrid Track included? The M3's have been running and still run on the LIRR to this day as they are needed for extra services so it can't be because you needed to find a slot in which the M3 M7, and M9 run together because they always ran together ever since the M9s were introduced

 

Hello!

1. For those us that like using off the rails, will the M9 run into issues running on another routes like the Harlem Line since safety systems will be on all the time? I'm more so asking for Harlem, since the cab signals are similar, and if the M9 will be able to read them from the Harlem Line properly.

2. Have selective door controls been implemented for short platforms? This was a big issue back in LIRR1 where all the doors opened off the platform.

Thanks

 

1. Will there be freight stuff in the yards and the industries? Without that, it will look empty like at New York Trenton.

2. Will there be Amtrak and NJT AI stuff at Penn Station and Sunnyside Yard?

 

When will we get back the fast moving external camera on consoles. Without that Railfanning is nearly impossible now in TSW.

 

I really hope the Amtrak & NJT stock will make an appearance as AI. Would be a shame if it didn‘t.

 

Are the security systems working as intended ? Because they’ll be always on, I don’t want to be driving at low speed but it’s clear for the next 5 miles by exemple.

 

1. Is there any hope in having the mainline extended past Hicksville to Huntington or Farmingdale at some point? The reason I ask is Hicksville doesn’t really serve as an eastern terminus along the main line, so the main line doesn’t have that “complete” feeling in a way.

2. At what point is there “too much” of an extension? Is there a limit in mileage or other factors that cause a decision to stop an extension at a specific station/branch?

3. Will AI trains use their horns when passing a grade crossing?

 

I'm pretty sure considering Brandon aka cactusjuice built the signaling, it was remade from the ground up. The old lirr system didn't work at all which is why it had a quiet timetable

 

i am so desperately looking to the whole route itself especially the skyview for this route. i really do hope we finally get a better skyvew for this route. the city have to feel the same as in real life

 

Is M7 still unrealistically loud or you have fixed her sounds?

 

Can you provide freight service?
Wikipedia source:

Freight service lines
Four non-electrified lines are used only by freight, they are operated by the New York & Atlantic Railway.

Long Island City – Southold:

This 90-mile main line serves the following stations: Long Island City, Jamaica, Queens Village, New Hyde Park, Westbury, Hicksville, Bethpage, Farmingdale, Wyandanch, Deer Park, Brentwood, Central Islip, Holtsville Medford Yaphank Upton Calverton Riverhead, Mattituck and Southold.

Montauk Branch, we don't have it so we don't need it.

Bay Ridge Branch, we don't have it so we don't need it.

Bushwick Branch, we don't have it so we don't need it.

Port Jefferson Branch, we don't have it so we don't need it.

West Hempstead Branch :

The electrified West Hempstead spur connects Jamaica to Valley Stream then splits towards West Hempstead

Garden City-Mitchel Field Secondary:

This line is a small remnant of the Central Branch; it branches off the Hempstead Branch from Garden City Station and serves Uniondale near Hofstra University and the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. This line does not accommodate any NYAR trains.


As you can see there are many freight services!!

 

Any Layers on the route like NJT,Amtrak,CSX.

 

EXCATLY!!

 

if dovetail has learnt anything from the NEC NY - Trenton Release then they will need to have the NEC NY - Trenton stock added at sunnyside yard and Penn Station and in and around that area becasue if not then once again the US Railfans will be screwed over by dovetail and i for one know what it will be like if they not there also i do note there is one MTA Loco missing as i seen in a real life video there is a Double stack EMD DM30AC loco it would be nice to see this as a Loco ADD On DLC

 

One quick question to put, actually. Has the issue where the front pilot/obstacle deflector on the M3 and M7 could clearly be seen digging in the top of the railhead been fixed? If so, will this be extended to fix the same issue with the trains on Harlem?

 

To expand on the question above re the trains clipping into the scenery - has the problem where they crash through the platform edges and pillars (particularly noticeable in NY Penn) been fixed in LIRR 2.0?

 

DTG Alex, Could you please explain why there is no loyalty discount for console users? What is the reason behind this decision?

 

I think NJ Transit and Amtrak are in the game as ai layers...there might be a photo on IG and/or Facebook on the train sim accounts...there's a pic of the updated Sunnyside yard with two LIRRs (m7 and a m9) and few Amtraks and NJ Transit..

Not sure if those same layers would appear on gen 8 consoles!

 

Amtrak & NJT layer seems now confirmed by a screenshot on socials. Good to see!

 

Oh well, have to pick up Trenton at some point in a sale to get that.

 

Yeah seen the article I'm on Ps5 so no issues about not having layers

 

I swear i saw the new WTC in one of the screenshots.

 

Yes, for the love of God dtg please fix this. Plus the external camera, no matter what sensitivity it's on, is set to max speed.

It also should be added to camera settings on immersion mode.

 

Hold up...why is LIRR inside Sunnyside Yard in that photo???

 

This one ?

 

i don't see it. Can you point where?

 

It’s on the far left side, I’ve circled it here.

 

Is there a way to show comparisons (perhaps in a timelapse) of the variances in AI traffic between TSW3 and the two levels of AI traffic in TSW4 based on console generation? I’m curious to see how active the network will be for those with a reduced timetable (if possible). Thanks!

 

Freight was confirmed in another thread that there are no plans because of no license. Just fyi. I know matt responded to your comment there.

The issue with the dm30 might be memory. The series s and last gen have very reduced timetables as standard even with the base trains. Having a dm30 only for next gen would be kinda pointless since lirr is the only route where it could run at all

 

How many M3 services will be available on the Xbox Series S? I know the timetable will be reduced, but it would be nice to see a service breakdown.

Looking forward to this route nonetheless!

 

...it's finally here again! I think what we learned from NYT is that 3D clouds alone can't hide a missing skyline. This is particularly noticeable when you are at the gates of Manhattan. Of course, performance plays a role on mega railway sites like Sunnyside Yard, but San Francisco has shown how it can be implemented in TSW in a resource-saving manner.

It would be great to point the camera directly at Manhattan during the preview stream on Thursday, not only because the WTC was missed by many players at NYT. If it's rendered regardless of the drawing distance, even 8th gen players or weaker PCs have the chance to see it.

 

Would second this. If the skyline was done nice it could be a major selling point for people. Could Matt show the view on the skyline at in regular intervals at some spots during the journey switching to the outside cam?

This would be amazing.

 

It was something like 8 bucks in the recent Easter sale

 

And also Rosenheim-Salzburg, where they found a way to include the distant mountains

 

From the manual: "Owners of NEC New York - Trenton and Amtrak’s Acela will find the appropriate equipment stored at Sunnyside Yard." Sadly, this implies by omission that these trains will NOT run as AI at Penn Station.

 

Awesome work Joe.
Eddie

 

• Given the time period is there scenery showing the then-under-construction (started 2019) Main Line 3rd track?
• Are there passenger announcements on-board the trains or at stations?
• Any hope for even an AI/static-scenery version of the DM30AC?
• Does the NY-Trenton layer include AI Amtrak services in/out of a Hell Gate track portal?