Enough Is Enough!!!

I think that freight or retro passenger is the essence of American railroading. It's now being turned into UK or Germany with just EMU's and DMU's on passenger runs which are all quite similar to drive.
Imagine how we'd feel if BR blue era had been totally dropped from the game? I was going to say steam but it has lol.

 

This is the most relaxed I’ve been for a new TSW. Knowing I can get on the ladder straightaway and then buy when ready in the future. I just hope the Christmas sales are good!

 

If even the creator of this thread thinks the TSW5 release strategy is a good thing, then that ought to have been where this thread ends.

I can't fault the strategy, and I don't understand those still moaning. There is literally no cost to claiming the free version on your platform of choice, just in case future you wants to buy a yet-to-be-announced route; you don't even have to install it if you don't want to, you can carry on playing your old content on TSW4/3/2/whatever (though if you own a route that's since been remastered then you're literally getting something for nothing!). And if the starter pack entices a new player to try out the game, who then likes it enough to buy DLC in the future, then great - that's how I started, with a free giveaway of TSW2 which I never got round to playing much, but saw enough to get TSW3 in a sale then TSW4 on release.

As for TSW5, I've pre-ordered the deluxe version as there's one route and loco I'd pay full price for if sold separately (WCML and Pendolino) and the rest I'd get in a sale, so overall the price (after the 10% discount) is about right for me.

 

All support, patches and updates for TSW4 will cease with the release of TSW5.
https://dovetailgames.freshdesk.com...rain-Sim-World-4-continue-to-receive-updates?

Fortunately the "update" to TSW5 will be available FREE for 1 month after it is released. Make sure you grab TSW5 free during that time and new patches, updates and the latest DLC will be available but only on TSW5.

This is a massive improvement to the insane previous practice of locking customers out of new patches, updates and DLC every year unless they pay to keep up with the latest version. I congratulate DTG on taking this decision and I hope it works out well financially for them so they are never tempted to go back to the previous awful sales model.

 

I guess all games today are somewhat never finished until abandoned, so there’s a need to create a new base to enable future development. Each patch, update and core update creates an essentially new game which forms a new basis.

That will be the reasoning behind another core update, I’m not a software engineer but they wouldn’t want to create a whole new core for the sake of it.

Having everyone on the same build (i.e version of the game) surely helps everyone as well as DTG. This means any new updates to existing routes that get remastered are available to everyone, free if you already own that route and as a full core updated route if you do buy it after. This means all those who never updated to TSW3 or 4 get the added benefits of the new tech.

Surely you don’t expect DTG and all their affiliated partners to update all the existing routes to (for example) get the new guard feature from the launch of TSW5? They release numerous routes every year which add to the back catalogue.

The routes and rolling stock continue to evolve with new features. I imagine TSC does this. You can look at every platform and every game in history for more of this approach.

I can’t wait for those Class 87s!

 

Greetings to my fellow online free speech protagonists

 

How does giving access to the new base version instil FOMO when, regardless of a new edition of the game coming out, they are still going to develop and release new DLC anyways? And in the case of new players, they are a business so they need to make money - of course they are expecting people to buy DLC or one of the combo packs for better value.

 

Oh cool TSW is getting VR, even a one-handler might be fun in that....

... It's a whole separate game.
FFS DTG!

 

I'm not sure if DTG will be simplifying the trains in the VR version; I hope not. I would have thought that making it for PC headsets would have made more sense, especially considering they're effectively having to port the game to Android to have it run on the Meta Quest.

 

Not interested in VR. I remember like ten years ago, when 3D TV sets came out. Everyone was hyped. Few months later, nobody talked about it, the thrill was quickly gone. (We had already gotten this in the eighties (first using red/green spectacles in 1982, later using the coloured glasses dimming one eye to have information arrive slightly later, needing constant camera movement) for a period of selected programmes, also a hype quickly diminishing.)

Actually if I move my head close to the screen, and scenery is in motion, I can get the 3D feel by almost closing one eye completely, leaving just a slit open. The light will take a little longer way to the retina, combined with movement this will trigger a 3D perception as your eyes are having slightly different viewpoints now.

I'd rather invest in a bigger 32:9 screen than low-res VR and that thing on my head.

 

VR made a lot more of an impact than 3D, which died very quickly. If it was a failure, Sony wouldn't have released a second VR headset.

 

Never said it was a failure. It's just not for me, tested it, but felt better playing without it. The "Oohs" and "Aaahs" and "Wows" were not triggered again after a while of playing.

 

Not downgraded my Deluxe order to Standard (yet) but the initial hype has worn off a bit. People seem to be drooling over route hopping when all it is (really) is a glorified shortcut bypassing the menu.

Anyhow this evening I found myself back in Run 8 after an absence of nearly three months. Great fun watching Otto sorting out all the trains I've thrown at Tehachapi while plodding along steadily in the Bakersfield to LA Oil Cans. Just had to deal with a DPU cut out after wondering why I couldn't get more than 10 MPH approaching Sandcut! Cracking stuff.

 

I don't have any hype for TSW5. I'll likely get the free edition due to waiting for the release of Tadami, additions to Peak Forest and TOD4 updates/remasters for some of older routes, as also I will be taking a look at what new DLCs will be coming between TSW5 & TSW6, which wouldn't take place if I didn't have TSW5, just like I got interested what DLCs were released for TSW4 only after I got the TSW4 itself from Humble Bundle (I didn't watch any past TSW4 content previews except for the WSR update until then).

 

So you're going to be happy with a possibly broken tsw if they implemented into the main game where there's over 100 dlc it would need to work perfectly for and the core that's been heavily modified?

Lots more can go wrong when you start big than to start small and build your way up.

You don't start with a massive project from the start more than you can handle

 

Yes, they will. At least, unless my memory is completely faulty, they said (in the roadmap stream?) that the VR game doesn't use Simugraph. I'm sure that's what they said.

 

The quest is pretty limited on what it can handle, so I'm not surprised Simugraph isn't gonna be used for it.

 

I don't really see the point in the game then... I might as well play Rolling Line.

Didn't TS have Oculus Rift support at one point? If so it's been long gone now.

 

I might get the free starter pack for the track shadow improvements and IF I can port all my past DLC to it.

 

bro i didnt check the date, i clicked and saw 125 and was like dam.

with it being free this really isnt a reason not to get it.

 

ATM I think I will use the free pack. I'm not decided yet to buy the german regional pack, that depends on the live stream and feedback. Because: I WILL NOT BUY ANYTHING IN ADVANCE FROM DTG EVER AGAIN! I've been burned way too often through sub par routes. If it turns out, that Frankfurt Fulda is a decend route and I feel like I want to spend money, I might buy the regional pack.
The other packages are not that of a good value. The standard is somewhat nice, three routes for a good price, but they loose me with the deluxe package. Its a standard package with two trains and an old route with a very small discount on the trains.

 

I'm actually excited for TSW5. I'll definitely upgrade with the free pack on release, and I'm even seriously considering to purchase the Deluxe edition for the ICE-T, Flixtrain and Frankfurt-Fulda addons, even though I wasn't planning to buy it because I won't have a lot of time to play this fall (as I have just bought a house that requires some refurbishment and will becoma a father for the first time in November, yay!)

My personal hope is that the new route hopping feature might encourage DTG to do a MSB overhaul while also extending it to Würzburg Hbf at the southeast side and to Hanau (or even Frankfurt) at the northwest side, so we get the opportunity for route hopping at Aschaffenburg Hbf from MTB to MSB then to KWG at Würzburg Hbf or to Frankfurt-Fulda at Hanau/Frankfurt. By including part of the SFS between Würzburg Hbf and the Nantenbach curve towards Aschaffenburg and Hanau/Frankfurt, we can get a whole new playing experience on the MSB. These are relatively short extensions (± 40km from Gemünden to Würzburg; ± 25km from Aschaffenburg to Hanau) that would make a whole lot of difference in playability and diversity of service runs. This would really excite me, and I guess also a lot of other players with good memories to our beloved MSB.

If DTG would consider this (and read my post), I am hereby reaching out to provide help in the form of building the timetable for this. I'd even do this for free if that means this convinces them to do the route upgrade. By working on my MSB 2024 timetable upgrade, I have now a good understanding of how the MSB timetable works and although the Spessartrampe between Laufach and Heigenbrücken has been replaced by a series of tunnels, setting the timetable in e.g. 2016 would provide us with a whole lot of new possibilities:
- ICE runs between Würzburg and Ashaffenburg/Hanau/Frankfurt that combine real high speed running with winding curves (somebody calling for the ICE-T? )
- RB/RE runs from Würzburg over Gemünden to Aschaffenburg, Hanau and Frankfurt (and back), providing end-to-end running for those players who love to be able to do just that.
- Long freight runs and the possibility of banking operations (I really prefer this to stay as it provides a unique way of operating trains in Europe and even TSW as a whole)
- All kinds of shunting operations
- Huge layering options
- And of course the possibilities to hop between all kinds of different routes

Maybe I should post this in the suggestions forums, but scrolling through this thread gave me this idea and I was too excited diving into the idea to switch topics.

 

I am starting to think on similar lines standard vs deluxe and definitely considering downgrading my purchase.

 

That's probably my biggest gripe with route hopping - it creates a shortcut for not connecting routes more properly. If they wen't into connecting and created those extra 60-70kms of track, you could have F-F, SKW, MSB, Maintalbahn and the extra mileage all in one map. A proper crazy network. But at the very least, I agree that MSB2 from Frankfurt to Würzburg would be a must-have even on its own.

 

I'm interested in Preston to Carlisle and held off buying the AP 87 till I see the TSW version. I have managed to create quick drives on the Merged West Highland on TSC so that's keeping me happy for now. TSW barely getting fired up at the moment.

 

VR is still very niche. I remember attending SIGGRAPH 95 and it was a huge topic there but, nearly 30 years later, I see little sign of it having taken off significantly. Even AR, which is seen as a more palatable middle ground, is struggling, with Apple cutting production of the Vision Pro by 50% and Meta cancelling their latest headset project. To be fair, both of these headsets are premium but if early adopters are turning away from it, it doesn't seem like a guaranteed success, even if they are able to lower prices without compromising on the tech too much. My personal view, which is just an opinion, is that the whole concept is flawed: putting something on your face that separates you from the world is antithetical to hundreds of thousands of years of evolution, which is one of the reasons why 3D TV failed so badly.

 

I did look into it once but it was a very expensive thing to start on. I don’t think I could ever justify the outlay.

 

As I have a lazy left eye VR unlikely to work for me. And I get so much flak from the wife for ignoring her when I use headphones to avert complaints about “train racket” VR would probably see me living in a tent after the divorce settlement!

 

From my experience - whoever lives with a VR user, gets regularly entertained by the said VR user movement in game. Videos of myself then made rounds in family chats to the amusement of many.

 

It’s surprising. I have an issue where my eyes don’t work together. According to my eye specialist only one eye is registering at a time and therefore I don’t judge distance the same way as others do. VR works perfectly fine though and I don’t really understand why!

Still not particularly interested in TSW VR though. Tried the mod UEVR. Driving a 47 on Blackpool since suspension was implemented induces a feeling of motion sickness. Really hope we get an option to turn suspension off in the future.

The new VR game is going to be very simplified. The Quest 2 is not that powerful. From the direct stream, it looked much more game like than TSW proper.

 

For the second time now it's Just Trains making the killer route for the game. WCML Over Shap is a very compelling route (although dare I say that it would have been more if it was a Class 86 included by default rather than an 87). It'll be interesting to see how the JT 87 compares to the AP one. The DLC is probably going to be an 86 although I am hoping that an APT is one the cards, but I doubt it would be better than the TS one (disregarding its awful sounds).

The Tadami Line looks interesting but UW's routes in TS were only good and not great, and their rolling stock was pretty mediocre with poor sounds, so I'm not holding out much hope for it.

The WCML not including the 390 by default is probably one of the biggest insults to the community in TSW's history. There is no way to spin it in any other way than a predatory decision designed to milk the fanbase with one of the most popular trains in the UK. To compare, the longer TS WCML route (with likely better scenery) included the 390, every appropriate variant of the 350, the 377, the 221, the 378 for the Watford DC line, and a Class 66 for freight. Granted the 390 and 350 were the only ones that were worth driving, but for a new player it is truly unbeatable value. The 1972 stock being included with the WCML in TSW is quite good though.

Plus, DTG advertising the 'Lioness' Line as a feature is pretty funny, because it really is just the WCML.

That is how the starter pack works. Well, that's unless you're an ardent fan of NEC New York.

 

Of course you didn't show the 'pretty' end!!!

 

Issue a BR era Scottish route for that one!!

 

Unrelated to TSW, I remember a large number of enthusiasts not understanding why the Class 385s couldn't have a design similar to the 126s, with one end having a gangway and one end having a regular front. Obviously it would be useless in practise since they'd need to design two different cabs and would need to make sure the trains are the right way around. There's a good reason trains with a similar design to the 126s weren't built in the UK afterwards.

 

I came from SCS Euro Truck Sim 2 and American Truck Sim. I have to say I am very happy about the Free edition of TSW5. I have owned both of the SCS titles for over 4 years and never had to pay for a core update and there have been around 22 updates in that period, some of which were really major updates too. I have nearly all of the DLC's they have produced as a result, all purchased on day one.

I hope that DTG do not go back on this strategy. I say this as a player who has spent £375.00 approx. on TSW4 since April 2024.
It will be the Free Addition for me, I feel I have spent enough already.

What I would like to see is a much improved Training Centre, there are to many that just include basic training. Take the new Scotrail Class 380 for example. This unit has a functioning digital display, there is no mention of it. Also it has a very complicated coupling, uncoupling procedure, again no mention of it. The 380 is not even mentioned on the TSW4 manual web page.

 

What on earth is that abomination of a train? So someone thought connecting 3-piece DMU might be good from one side only? And then they sealed that end? Sounds like a lot of DTG development choices.

 

For context, this is the gangway end with the gangway fitted. I'm not sure what the purpose of the gangway end was meant to be. It would have been more sensible to have both ends with one type, rather than one. As I said before, there's a reason no UK trains did this afterwards. It's amusing that the gangways on these were plated over, rather like the Class 318s which indirectly replaced them.

(Photo by Jim Bavin)

The manual situation in TSW is pretty terrible. In TS pretty much all DLC trains have their own manuals which explain everything you can do with them (bar the Woodhead in Blue stock which have annoyingly bare manuals). In TSW there are plenty of trains that have some quite in depth features, or at least ones that aren't obvious, that could really have been helped by having a manual.

 

For all of Rivet's faults they do at least provide decent manuals. So surely DTG should be able to do the same...

 

Diesel Railcar Simulator has the class 126 running in one of it's routes. On there they are arranged as six coach sets with the gangways together so the driver has good space and visibility at each end, but they can still be split to run as three coach sets and passengers/on train staff can walk through in six coach formation. It is a rather unusual design, it would be interesting if the 185s used that technique as they are more or less the modern equivalent (express 3 car DMU), with a normal 185/360 style cab at one end and a gangwayed 350 style cab at the other. It could probably be arranged with the CAF units by swapping a DMS out of a 195/1 with a DMS out of a 197, do it again with a second and you've got the same 6 coach arrangement and an extra 195/0. I tried a similar thing in TSC where I swapped a 150/1 and 150/2 around to create a pair of hybrid sets that could be gangwayed throughout but also use 150/1 vehicles. It looked quite good in Central Trains livery as the 150/2 had no blue ends so it looked as if it was a solid four coach set just like when arranged as a 150/0.

 

High five!

I’m just about to boot up ETS2 now

 

[QUOTE=" If it turns out, that Frankfurt Fulda is a decend route and I feel like I want to spend money, I might buy the regional pack.
The other packages are not that of a good value. The standard is somewhat nice, three routes for a good price, but they loose me with the deluxe package. Its a standard package with two trains and an old route with a very small discount on the trains.[/QUOTE]

£29.99/$39.99/€34.99 for 1 route vs £35.99/$44.99/€40.49 for 3 doesn't really seem logical to get a regional pack over the standard to save the value of a family size bag of chips. But thats just my opinion. I bought the deluxe because its cheaper than buying the standard and the 2 loco dlcs i want. while im a us player i play everything even thought this us route looks a bit . If the regional blundles actually had come with a loco dlc for its route it would make a bit more sense this time around esp since the base game is free for 30 days.

 

I´m more upset about beeing forced to buy the Goblin Line to have the Aventra on the Watford DC line to be honest... you get the deluxe version, but still have to go buy another route to have all the player trains on the new route. On top having Cajon Pass is a weird choice for the extra route in the deluxe. I think everybody has that route at this point.

 

oh no! I gotta quickly open my wallet to pay for this free game or its too late!!! the horror!

 

I agree that it is odd, but I think that's because it's just not a great route. It does make sense as an expansion for the San Bernadino line, but if they're going to pick a route from the back catalogue to add to the main TSW5 routes I don't see why they couldn't add one for the WCML and one for Fulda. That said, I'm pretty sure Cajon Pass has only been included as opposed to a dedicated loco DLC.

 

Probably because they really can't add anything new that is worthwhile for San Bernardino. The only other locomotive available with Metrolink is the old EMD F59PH. Outside of that, a BNSF EMD GP60/GP60M would of been killer as they usually work out of Kaiser Yard on the route, but of course, no new freight locos so that wasn't gonna happen either.

 

Including Cajon in the deluxe package is superfluous for most of us since we already have it and it somewhat devalues the package. Maybe an extra discount should have been offered to those who own CJP.

For newcomers it might add something to San Bernadino I suppose.

 

I was but I got over it - haha

 

Its a tin can on wheels