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November Roadmap Q&a Thread

Discussion in 'TSW General Discussion' started by DTG Alex, Oct 27, 2023.

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  1. OldVern

    OldVern Well-Known Member

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    And DTG are not a lightweight company, did I see something like 170 full time personnel mentioned the other day? Now obviously some of them (probably too many :) ) are in PR or marketing or working on Catan and the fishing games (which also seem to have their share of long term issues) and any secret government or "pro" programmes they cannot tell us about. However that still leaves a bit of slack. Even assuming there's only two or three coders (don't tell me there's only one, what happens if he/she leaves?) familiar with TSW there must be scope within their schedule for core bug fixes. And as regards sorting out routes, let's go back to what we were told was happening before TSW3 - get the artists and route builders off new stuff and get them fixing up the old content, for a while at least.
     
    OldVern, Nov 10, 2023
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  2. Maik Goltz

    Maik Goltz Well-Known Member

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    Just that one example to prove you are wrong.
    - doing the fix (swapping the wrong car in all used formation assets) ... yes, that's the easy fix i mentioned before
    - simulating and maybe fixing the whole timetable ... can take hours or even days, depends on what really happens
    - get a slot in QA testing for the new bits and actually test it with making reports
    - gathering trough the reports and assig a developer to fix it again
    ... when fixed the whole process up to here starts again, fix->QA->report
    - when done with QA and all is fixed, make plans when and how to find a slot for doing all the platform cooking and what not hangs on that behalf
    - plan slots for releasing the fix on all platform at once

    There is obviously more to do, that is just a simple list of the things that happens to make fix live in the real world of things, not your own mod-can-fix-all-in-a-minute-without-taking-care-of-all-players.

    And that is just one "one-minute" fix.
     
    Maik Goltz, Nov 10, 2023
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  3. Spikee1975

    Spikee1975 Guest

    Even if that's right it don't take three iterations of the game?

    Testing: Just let the timetable run for a whole day, doing other stuff next to it. Or let the users play beta tester, as it's happening anyway.

    We are talking about replacing a car without a panto by a car with a panto - the formation used in the opposite direction already.

    So you are saying changing a formation (preserving length) takes more time than developing a route? Maik? Are you serious??? TWO YEARS. Oh my.

    And why does the Class 31 pack place a formation at Old Oak Common depot over the buffers, derailing as soon as I couple up to them? For years. Yes, quality must be guaranteed, you can't just move that static Mk2 consist just a few yards without a year long QA cycle. Come on.

    That would mean developing a new timetable should take decades.

    So again I disagree - providing a fix via a mod (that does work) is actually taking care of players - not leaving a DLC timetable half broken for years Maik. We don't care how DTG do that internally - we have paid money and the stuff advertised must work.

    And I'm happy to see there's a growing competition now on the Train Sim market. DTG need exactly that to get out of their comfort zone.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 10, 2023
    Spikee1975, Nov 10, 2023
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  4. Maik Goltz

    Maik Goltz Well-Known Member

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    No, i'm an idiot talking with you guys.

    (and you asking why developers do not communicate with you people? ... 'oh my' to cite you)
     
    Maik Goltz, Nov 10, 2023
    #304
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  5. Spikee1975

    Spikee1975 Guest

    Oh yes, make the paying customer feel sorry for being so impatient. Maik, I've fixed a lot of bugs in TSC within minutes or hours. Consists splits fixed, GP60 collision box and couplers, SD75 headlight scripts, missing textures, faulty blueprints, hundreds of them. I respect your work, but not your defending of how DTG operates. They are notoriously known for that.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 10, 2023
    Spikee1975, Nov 10, 2023
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  6. stateoftheartjonas

    stateoftheartjonas Active Member

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    ...test that it's working on all platforms, write the changelog, cut a release and deploy to the various distributors. Not a minute job (nothing is), but I'd expect the fix within two weeks or so, too. Leaving parts of the game in an unplayable state for years is just ridiculous. So yes, all the negativity doesn't come out of nowhere.

    And yeah a public issue tracker would be great, whether that's a pinned thread or a separate Trello board or something similar.
     
    stateoftheartjonas, Nov 10, 2023
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  7. Spikee1975

    Spikee1975 Guest

    ... and that's what they don't want - committing to fix issues - probably because they have a very low belief in their own capabilities. Fixing one, breaking two. Root of negativity.

    And again, it's the small things that heat it up even more. Rotem Cab Car camera way too high, reported even by an engineer who drives these. But what do they do? Raise the HST cam? Good one. If the game wasn't moddable I'd already dumped it.

    I'll stop complaining, actually looking for solutions is really what I'm into. This is waste of energy. More work, less talk.

    One last thing, Maik Goltz If there was such a thing as the QA cycle you've described - why did so many game breaking bugs slip through? It doesn't add up for me.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 10, 2023
    Spikee1975, Nov 10, 2023
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  8. PseudoStalker

    PseudoStalker Well-Known Member

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    I worked as QA for a couple years, and I still have close contact with the manager of huge projects. What I was able to learn from this kitchen is:
    The worst thing about being a developer is finishing/inspecting someone else's project.
    Everyone makes mistakes - that's true. But the number of bugs depends not only on the personal qualities of the developer, but also on the development culture. If everyone rushes ahead of the locomotive, then the project will be full of various bugs, which are always more difficult to fix after release.
    I didn’t write this about DTG, if anything. There is no need to draw parallels.

    What I currently want from DTG is a community manager who is closely woven into the development process. Not a person who comes to monitor the forum and spread news about the project around the Internet, but a person who can answer many technical questions about the game, not from a manual, but based on his deep knowledge.
     
    Last edited: Nov 10, 2023
    PseudoStalker, Nov 10, 2023
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  9. Spikee1975

    Spikee1975 Guest

    I was starting my train sim career with a german freeware program, Loksim, that's actually pretty good (correct safety systems, easy to use editor) but is slowly dying after 20 years it seems.

    Look how the bug reports are structured in their forums (and it's a small developer team, no community managers) - fully transparent.
    https://www.loksimulatoren.de/forum/board/49-behobene-fehler/
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 10, 2023
    Spikee1975, Nov 10, 2023
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  10. Fawx

    Fawx Well-Known Member

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    The employees are not to blame. DTG either need to create a dedicated bug fixing team, or increase the size of what they have.
    Currently they aren't even close to keeping up with the ammount of bugs, every release results in like 10 new bugs, while only 3-4 get fixed.
    They need more people, or they need to release content slower. One of the two.
     
    Fawx, Nov 10, 2023
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  11. DTG Alex

    DTG Alex Senior Community Manager Staff Member

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    Hello everyone,

    I've been following the discussion after the Roadmap stream ended, and I wanted to be able to come back and provide a full list of answers for (almost) everything raised in this thread. Due to the volume, and the nature of many of these questions, some answers won't have detailed responses, and certain ones we cannot add any comment on at all.

    From this point onwards, I've also locked the thread, so if you have other feedback to share please do so in our dedicated threads, or via our troubleshooting forum. We will also be back next month to answer more.

    Here's the full list of responses:

    Commonly Asked Questions:
    • Updates to Steam physics?
      • We don't have any comments regarding Steam fixes at this moment, however, we do hear the community feedback.
    • Mod support in TSW4
      • We have a long detailed answer for this on the Roadmap stream at 1:11:50
    • Z-Fighting on all Xbox platforms
      • We did acknowledge this on stream, the teams are aware and we're looking at what we can do to resolve this.
    • Passenger behaviour
      • We're reviewing the feedback around passenger behaviour, in the meantime we have a fix for NYT passengers to allow them to appear once again coming soon.
    • AI PIS issues
      • These issues are known, the team are aware and we'll share news on when we put this into a patch.
    • Left Rhein Improvements
      • The issues mentioned on this thread, specifically signalling, scenery and the 103, are on our internal tracker. Nothing to share regarding the ETA for these improvements.
    • General performance + Micro-stuttering issues
      • We're always looking at the feedback regarding performance, and how we can improve this for players. Just recently we were able to increase PC performance and reduce micro-stuttering for NYT.
    • Substitution Problems
      • Our engineering teams are looking at a resolution for this soon, we'll let you know when we have an update on this.

    Additional Questions:
    Due to volume, some responses on our progress may be shorter.
    • External free camera is not speeding up / moving fast anymore (PS5 & XBOX)
      • Known issue, we're working on an improvement for this.
    • Is there a planned Munich-Augsburg patch?
      • No current plans, we will share news if this changes.
    • Can we expect new third parties appearing on the roadmap?
      • Yes! SimTrack Studios just got announced as a new partner, and this relates to the Editor supporting more third parties to work with TSW.
    • Will the Asian route by Union workshop be announced this year?
      • Upcoming announcements won't be made public until they're ready to be announced.
    • Can we expect more old locos in future by DTG?
      • Keep an eye on future roadmaps for what we have upcoming (no leaks from me!)
    • Will there be improvements/fixes to photo mode?
      • Of course, we will share our improvements when we are ready to release them. Currently, we're looking at the Depth of Field issues, with other issues being resolved
    • Option to turn off the incidental music in scenarios?
      • Teams are aware, we hear the community feedback around this, and we know that music sliders don't seem to have an effect.
    • Will there be Free Roam updates? (Spawning Menu, dead locos, BNSF alerter)
      • Similar to Photo mode, we will ship improvements to Free Roam as needed. Currently, there are no plans for an updated UI, however, we are looking at addressing dead locos. The BNSF alterer issue is known and has a ticket.
    • Any hints to the US route in roadmap?
      • Not here, but we've previously given hints about upcoming content over our winter holiday social events...
    • Will there be sound updates for the DB BR 187?
      • Known issue, we have a ticket on this for our teams to review.
    • Fixes for 'Trunk Service' on RSN?
      • Known issue, we have a higher priority ticket on this.
    • London-Brighton rush hour passengers being turned on?
      • Nothing to add, we're aware of various route passenger issues, including those missing Rush Hour passengers.
    • Fix for rear door & cab being lit up in tunnels on London to Brighton on class 377?
      • I'll raise this issue again on our tracker, if possible any images provided (via DM) of this issue will help the ticket be re-produced by our teams.
    • Fixes for issues on Scotrail Express / 385?
      • We have a few minor changes our teams are looking to submit, nothing on 385 sounds. More information will be shared when they're put into upcoming patches.
    • Headlights not visible in the driver's seat (but are if you use external camera).
      • I've added this to our tracker to be investigated.
    • Steam loco missing AI exhaust sounds
      • This issue has been previously marked as resolved, if this is outstanding, please DM me and I can look into re-opening the ticket. Any provided video would greatly help.
    • Missing AI portals on Nahverkehr Dresden added at some point?
      • I'll make our teams aware of this issue.
    • Scenario Planner (Improvements, UI help setting destinations and intermediate stops)
      • We have a small range of improvements logged for Scenario Planner, some UI elements and hotkeys are planned to be adjusted. We will continue to look at feedback.
    • Firemen on the steam locos that shovel coal whilst the firebox doors open?
      • Nothing is planned to add this functionality.
    • Updates to the Edinburgh Glasgow timetable?
      • From Rivet's comments, there are no plans for changes to the timetable.
    • Class 313, any sort of updates/improvements coming for it?
      • We only have a few outstanding on our tracker, specifically around the AWS sound whilst driving. No ETA on these improvements.
    • Volumetric headlights not being consistent
      • The issue has been logged, images provided are a great help.
    • Patch planned for the Class 700/0?
      • We have a few outstanding issues for Class 700 scenarios and journeys, no ETA at this moment.
    • Incompletable journeys from TSW3 (Clinchfield, Diesel LotW, New Journeys, Arosalinie)
      • Issue has been re-raised for our teams to investigate.
    • Toggleable liveries from CC to save downloading/redownloading
      • Good feedback, it has been added to our system for our teams to review.
    • Talent 1 update? (headlights and poorly visible PZB indicators)
      • Headlights are being investigated, the indicator visibility will be in a future patch
    • Are any Dynamic Weather changes planned?
      • Nothing to share currently.
    • Feature to replace units with others in timetable mode
      • Feedback noted for our teams to review.
    • PS4 and Xbox One loading screens taking a long time with all DLC installed?
      • This is a high-priority issue our teams are currently working hard on providing a solution for, currently we've got no progress to share, but we will share when we have news.
    • What does "Winter core update" mean?
      • It's just the branding of our planned core TSW update including new features, planned to arrive for the winter season. The naming doesn’t have any relevance to themed updates.
    • Floating/missing scenery issues with Antelope Valley
      • Various issues have been reported to be reviewed.
    • Class 31/45/Oakville GP9RM come to livery designer?
      • Being investigated by our teams.
    • Union Pacific Heritage Livery Collection headlights and wheels updates?
      • Wheels are currently being worked on, no update for headlight changes.
    • Boxed version for Xbox?
    • PS5 - large shadow that flows in front of the train, in front of sun
      • Not currently on our tracker, if the OP can provide more information / a screenshot I can log this.
    • DB BR 642 going to layer anywhere?
      • We will share more news regarding 642 layering closer to Maintalbahn's release.
    • Class 150 WCL sounds being improved?
      • Nothing is planned.
    • Will transferring liveries from previous TSW versions be made easier?
      • We hear the difficulties that players have when moving up a version of TSW, and are looking at what we can do. No news to share currently.
    • Missing bench collectible on Midland Main Line
      • We have no outstanding issues logged for collectables on MML, if this is outstanding, please DM me and I can look into re-opening tickets. Any provided images would greatly help.
    • Shaders generation updates?
      • No progress to share regarding shadows/shaders.
    • Are there plans to make profiles renamable?
      • Nothing currently planned, I understand the frustration.
    • AI 801s are using their diesel engines
      • Known issue.
    • Fix for GWE HST wipers?
      • Known issue, high-priority.
    • Fix for Broken catenary on RRO?
      • Pole catenary on the trackers is being investigated, and teams are aware.
    • Azuma 801 PIS being one station ahead
      • Known issue.
    • Same Unit Numbers on the Class 801
      • Known issue, we hear the frustrations - teams are aware and working on a fix.
    • Wrong passenger door side bug
      • I'll re-raise this for our teams to investigate, previous tickets have been logged on this.
    • Scotsman AWS Xbox controller button fix extend to MML Class 43?
      • The issue has been logged for investigation.

    PC Editor (beta) Questions:
    • Official documentation
      • We don't have anything we’re writing up in the works, however, we have regular Editor masterclass videos, to continue beyond the new year, where we showcase how our development teams use the public tools.
    • Future improvements
      • We will be looking at what the feedback around using the editor is, and what people need most to determine what we add first. Improvements are being worked on, and we'll share more when we're ready.
    • When will the PC Editor get out of its Beta phase?
      • The plan is to continually add improvements until we feel the tool is in a stable and fully functional state.

    This list makes up almost everything asked (again some issues we can't comment on, and for others, there are no new updates on our progress). I will also mention that we cannot provide any response to comments that just ask to "fix X" without any context of what is wrong, which will determine if we can provide an answer.

    Finally, I want to reiterate that our Roadmap streams are already long events to prepare and host, so whilst we dedicate time to talking about some frequently asked questions, we will never be able to get to everything like the extent of the questions listed above. The aim moving forward is following the Roadmap streams, we come onto these threads and do a follow-up, just like this, on the questions raised.

    Thank you all for your questions, I hope that regardless of the level of detail that we can share, this will provide relatively full coverage for all the points mentioned. :)
     
    DTG Alex, Nov 10, 2023
    #311
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  12. DTG Matt

    DTG Matt Executive Producer Staff Member

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    Can I just ask - have you tried using tab to request permission to pass the signal?

    We're looking at this at the moment and can't see a problem. You're going past this signal into an occupied road, so you'll need to request permission to proceed. We're just giving it a playtest through to confirm that - but if we let the AI run the scenario that's exactly what it does and it works.

    Matt.
     
    DTG Matt, May 31, 2024
    #312
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