One thing which continues to bug me is how passengers behave on the platform. Like not at all, that is. Issue Usual behaviour: Train arrives, comes to a stop. Passengers stand scattered all over the platform and remain motionless. Train doors open, people exit. THEN the people on the platform start moving towards the doors, walking idly sometimes over 100m. This often causes delays. But there are some even worse outliers, mostly bound to specific stations: -In some cases, the passengers aren't even on the platform, but only start arriving at the station when the train arrives. This causes even more delays. This can be observed at Bookholzberg (Bremen-Oldenburg) and Lindheim (Niddertalbahn) for example. -On some stations, the people who exit the train don't move away from the doors and block the entrance for incoming passengers. This happens a lot along the Niddertalbahn, for example at Niederdorfelden, Kilianstädten, Höchst. -There are also a couple of stations where people don't board or exit the train at all, in some cases even if people are waiting on the platform. Bacharach (Linke Rheinstrecke), Hufschlag (Rosenheim-Salzburg) or Aschaffenburg Hochschule (Maintalbahn) come to mind. Solution (?) I think, in the age of AI and such, a little bit more realistic crowd behaviour shouldn't be totally impossible. A couple of ideas: 1. Have more people waiting near the entrances to the platform, and less at the far ends of it. Some of them could gather into groups and move around or sit together. 2. When the train arrives and slows down (below 20 km/h or something), have the people on the platform move roughly towards the positions of the doors. When the train stops, have them huddle around the doors, hopefully with some space for exiting passengers to get away. As soon as there are no more people exiting from a specific door, the new passengers around this door will start entering. 3. With a low percentage, some people could arrive late to the platform, when the train's already there. They'll sprint towards the nearest train door, so you have to pay attention to them when closing and departing. 4. When the train is arriving with delay, the people farthest away from the doors could move towards them quicker than usual. In my opinion, these four points could add a lot of immersion and realism, without adding too much complexity or quasi-human stupidity on the passengers' side. Although I can imagine some of it being hard to put down into program code. Gotta see it as a challenge
Yup. This needs added! Would definitely increase realism and immersion and is something I've been wanting for quite some time now. Good suggestion!
Makes sense. The solution could help with the Bug at Stratford International where they just stand there.
Another thing I'd like to see is objects on the tables in the train, or luggage in the luggage areas. Overall great suggestion though!
And if you’re late, should be able to close the doors once it looks like everyone has boarded and alighted, not wait the full dwell time.
Yes, that's a great idea too! This way, some minor delays could be reduced if passengers board/alight fast enough. Or if there are only 1-2 people around anyway... what's the point in waiting?
It amazes me that after seven years DtG still can't script AI passengers so that they all get off at the terminal station. Is it really that difficult task? It's even more puzzling because some elements in TSW (for example, the displays in the Class 380 EMU) can recognize the terminal station and respond to it correctly. But not AI passengers. I'll probably be told again that I'm demanding the impossible and that I should do a reality check... but shunting a consist with cars full of passengers on the siding at Neilston and Newton destroys all sense of realism and immersion. And pulling back to the depot a train full of passengers makes me quite resigned to run these scenarios at all. PS. Although I must say that the behavior of boarding passengers on the remastered Cathcart Circle Line, has improved tremendously from what I remember the last time I played with TSW on the East Coastway. Now I really enjoy watching the platform while waiting for everyone to board to close the doors. It's a shame that this improvement has only occurred on this one and only route (as far as I can tell from what I see on Youtube). Does this mean that for each DLC route the AI passengers are created separately,? Are they not common to the entire TSW?
Gotta add one item I missed for the Issues section of the original post: Only some of the waiting people on the platform are boarding. Totally hypothetical situation: You're on your way, let's say, from Aschaffenburg to Miltenberg with your RB88. Your 218 comes to a screeching halt, more or less gently, at platform 1. The doors open, a bunch of people exit and some others enter your Dosto's. But many more choose to remain on the platform, about two thirds of the total. What are they doing here? -Trainspotting? Nah, no cameras. Not even a phone. -Seeing their loved ones off? Nah, no waving hands, no long goodbyes... good, let's close the doors and go already. -Waiting for the next train? Hmm, the RE87 came through minutes ago, and the next train towards Miltenberg is due in 50 minutes. -Waiting for the train to Aschaffenburg? Someone should tell them they're on the wrong platform then. Long and flowery story short, this happens across all routes I travel on, and is getting a little bit irritating. I have no problem with it on larger stations, where another train heading for another destination might arrive at the very same platform shortly after, but on all these lonely backwater Outer Rim stops it's just weird.
This is a must at this point, Cathcart circle Remaster? Nah, passenger flying into sky, passenger getting off when I’ve opened the doors at Glasgow central, Neilston having no passenger whatsoever, they just aren’t spawning, tsw is a mess with its ai and desperately needs fixing
Gotta add another passenger issue which bothers me, and surely other people too. On some routes, not all passengers exit the train at the final destination. Not even if the train is due to go back the same way it came, or continuing on to the depot. Or the other way around: You have to grab a train from the depot and bring it to the station, to put it into service for the day... but it's already cramped with passengers even in the depot! A huge offender in both regards is Maintalbahn. But it also happens on Linke Rheinstrecke, Tharandter Rampe (on the 612 services in particular) or Rosenheim-Salzburg (for quick example, check the 628 services towards Traunstein or Salzburg, or the Dosto shunting operations). On the other hand, there are routes where this works quite flawlessly. Hamburg-Lübeck or Bremen-Oldenburg are good examples for how it should be working. Or are Northern German passengers simply more intelligent?
I watched the NPCs before setting off on my journey, and many of them were like zombies slowly walking around and bumping into one another. It would also be good to have platform staff at the station whether they are cleaning, looking like they are talking to other NPCs or even dispatching a train.
I would like to add I'm sick of the grumpy and depressed looking TSW passengers. (And blondes are an ignored minority in TSW it seems... also open hair.) TSC 3DZug ICE1 passengers...
Absolutely! A bit more animation and interaction would help a lot. Even small things like two people turning to each other, gesturing, talking... on the platform and in the trains as well. Someone using a vending machine. An occasional trainspotter at the end of the platform, or along the route, perhaps greeting you as you pass. And yes, the grumpy and monotone looks on their current faces... I always dread having to go to the rear end of my 628 for the safety systems, since I know it's zombie apocalypse along the way.
Sorry the game is about Trains Not the Passengers, and you want better more Realistic Passengers than a More realistic Locomotive, is that what you're saying!?! understand DTG has skipped 90% of Realistic Engine Physics and control, but you're like the Hell with that, I would rather better animation passengers, WOW I seen it all now. You took the cake on Crappy upgrades or what.
I don't think it's for you to judge this. This is a Suggestion subforum. The game has many aspects people want to see improved - and you are not the one to decide what's important. The passengers might break immersion for many players, so respect that. Besides, the team working on passengers have nothing to do with the SimuGraph people.
Sorry I can't RESPECT a company that takes advantage of their player base every 2 years rereleasing a New version of their game and saying it's New all while adding the littlest add-ons No one asked for in the first place as they say all the time we Listen to our Fans BS you do. Joined Sep 13th, 2023 you'll find out in the long run TRUST ME you'll find out!
So don't go on the forums. Certainly don't go on the suggestions area just to put down other people's posts.
They should have a look at the Planet Zoo NPC's. Thousands of NPC's all following their own path. Never seen them do something unexpected.
I really enjoyed Planet Zoo! Haven't played it for ages tho, but if I remember correctly, the NPC's behaved very well there overall. Which is quite a feat, considering that almost all of the paths, accessible areas, platforms etc. have to be created and connected by the players themselves. Which makes me think even more that with a little bit of creative AI behaviour and situation-dependent pathing, it should be a walk in the park to get a little bit more bustling life on our train platforms @ The Troll from a couple of posts above: Perhaps more realistic locomotives AND more realistic passengers BOTH add a little bit of realism to the game? They aren't mutually exclusive. And since locos, suspension, expert modes etc. all got their own wealth of threads, I just wanted to bring the current zombie passengers a little bit into the spotlight. You don't have to care, but please don't be rude about it.
I know this isnt fully on topic, but havent they kinda mentioned in Dovetail Direct that they are working on your train driver customization?
The weirdest thing happened the first time I played ECML. Some bug had the passengers on the platform in an unorganised way and it looked way more realistic. Some passengers faced the incoming train, others were bunched up but not entangled like you see on Niddertalbahn . My fist reaction was "they fixed it". But I never saw passengers act normal on ECML again.
I'm usually not the one for bumping my own threads, but lately there has been much discussion about passenger behaviour, so I'd like to bring this one back up. From my own point of view, I think passenger behaviour on the platforms has improved, a little. At least on the newer routes, like Frankfurt-Fulda or Mannheim-Kaiserslautern. The passengers don't scatter as much as before, mostly. Some can be seen interacting with each other, forming groups, couples leaning against each other while sitting and so on. But it's still a long way to the top, and literally all of the critique points in this thread are as valid today as they were back then. And to highlight something that already has been brought up a couple of posts above, but is even more relevant now: With conductor mode becoming more common, I'd really like to see more variety onboard the trains as well. Currently, walking through a well-frequented train is zombie apocalpyse. A broader range of facial expressions would do wonders. And I'd like to see some passengers chatting, using their phones, trying to get some sleep, drinking some water, watching the landscape... A lot can be done with just a couple of new animations
Plus some basic chatter sfx would be good as well. It's very rare to have a silent train unless it's like first thing in the morning.
Excellent idea. Even the most basic games, like Tavern Master for example, do something like this. There could be different levels of chatter, depending on how crowded the compartment is This could also prove useful if we'd ever get a vehicle, where the driver is sitting amongst the passengers... like the German Schienenbus or the BR 515
Although OMSI2 can be frustrating to play, some third party routes like Yorkshire Coast or the South London one have some quite lively passenger comments, particularly if you slam the brakes on or swerve around a corner. So yes, TSW could do with some chatter to break things up. I mean the concept isn't new, GTA SA in 2005 had NPC's coming out with little sound bites - right up to the point where you unalived them with the double barrel shotgun for the $20 in their wallet!
Funny you mention it... earlier (before I resurrected this thread) I was watching an OMSI 2 video and thought, that level of passenger comments would be fun to have in TSW! OMSI 2 looks quite fun too, I might give it a go at some point. And yes, GTA SA had some great bits in that regard. Pedestrians in GTA IV were equally... flamboyant, if not more
Controls are frustrating though, I end up having to drive and steer with the mouse as there is zero analogue sensitivity with a joypad.
This definitely needs to be added, there has been a lot of complains by players about the AI passengers at the station in every route, they look completely lost and inactive, even when a train crash happns, no reaction from them, making the route feel so boring
As Spikee mentioned (he's no longer active on this forum, sadly) those screenshots came from TSC, not TSW I never played it myself, but it seems to have more amicable passengers...
