Instant Gaming Tsc Purchase Problem & List Of Add Ons I Should Get

I totally agree with this
There are a number of AP pack that I have not purchased because I don't drive them often enough to justify the purchase.
I'm not spending money on an AP 150 or 156 when it's just "eye candy" that goes past or is in a station.

 

kind of curious, are there any routes in TSC that you personally like or like to drive in?

 

Everyone playing TS has different interests, so the question is what sort of thing you want to do. However experimenting can be fun and I've discovered plenty of routes that I'd never have taken a second look at over the years.

My personal favourites are the Riviera Line in the Fifties, the Chatham Main Line to Dover and Ramsgate, WCML South, and unsurprisingly the route that I've been building myself.

 

I'm rather taken by JT's Midland Main Line series of routes.

 

i see i see.

For another topic i might start a new thread of plans for getting WCML/Trains should i get next after one another, since this thread feels way too off topic now lmao. But I do thank you for everyone's help. (Might have to ask again about the early bundles etc-)

 

I've seen them and they do look very good. Certainly better overall than their GWML.

 

would their MML be worth having a look? Do they have an entire MML route like the GWML? (And i assume it would also cost a fortune?)

 

No the MML route is made up of 7 linking DLCs with no current megapack. TSC is 15 years old with 15 years worth of DLC. Do not expect to be able to buy all of it at once. I would focus on what you have already bought and what you enjoy purchase more of that. Also most of the JT products come with 2x scenarios. Basic scenarios using standard stock and AP heavy scenarios.

 

Yes, it is definitely worth looking at. Please note that there is a certain order to buying the route that must be followed or else the route won't work. I don't know what that order is, so you'll have to do your own research on that one.

 

Sheffield to Derby first then everything builds off from that ‘spine’

 

ah i see- actually wait a second, would the london to bedford route be required? Or does a JT pack already have it?

Actually now that you mention it, are there still new DLCs being made (by DTG) for TSC? Or have they fully focused on TSW now?

Also just to confirm again WCML North does include the European pack (the one that includes the HST and everything else) right?

 

List of which routes include it:
https://dovetailgames.freshdesk.com...-is-included-in-the-european-loco-asset-pack-

 

MML Bedford has nothing to do with the JT MML bundle. DTG have not made anything DLC wise for over 2 years. Everything is now 3rd party.

 

ah, so even 3rd party still release DLCs for train sim classic? or do they only sell them on their own website?

 

The MML part between St. Pancras and Bedford was built by DTG, and AP overhauled the route earlier this year.

That one is the highest standards route you can get for TSC - surely JT have done a good job on the other parts, but the AP MML just blows everything out of the water. Not only because they recorded 59 different ambient sounds (JT routes are very quiet), but the visual detail is on a whole new level.

https://forums.dovetailgames.com/th...don-to-bedford-route.73936/page-3#post-844909

 

Some 3rd party will sell on Steam via DTG - for the UK
https://www.justtrains.net/ will sell on their site and Steam - current production geared towards TSW
https://www.armstrongpowerhouse.com will sell only on their site they also have a separate AP Scenario application with 100 AP developed scenarios
https://alanthomsonsim.com/ will sell only on their site - will sell JT stuff and also have a lot of links to free stuff
https://rivet-games.com/ will sell on their site and Steam - current production geared towards TSW
There may be other specialized vendors selling rolling stock.
Respectfully

 

ah i see (unsure will i pick up that EP for the route whenever I get to that) but good to know.

Ah i see- (Maybe some 3rd party should make routes and or trains that we have yet to get in TSC like 458s or some other things that i couldnt think off).

 

Most modern UK trains have already been made, there's just a few left to do. I wouldn't be shocked if someone made a 458, although considering their weird history it would be a lot of work.

 

i had a discussion about that before- something along the lines of not having a line for the 458 to run on as that said route doesnt exist in currently/havent been made in TSC yet.

 

I think Class 195 and Class 720 Aventra is lacking the most in UK TSC... I´m expecting those two to be made at some point.

 

The 458s are operated by SWT and would work on the Waterloo - Woking section of the Portsmouth line.

 

Once they are done with their current work when the 701s are introduced they will most likely be moved to their originally intended route, primarily Waterloo to Portsmouth services.

 

Ah i see- weird that it isnt made despite that there is already a route that let them run on...

now that you mentioned it. I dont think any of the CAF civities nor Aventra family has ever made into TSC- Closest to what we get for an Aventra is in TSW with the goblin line- i am surprised we never got those (at least yet anyway).

 

It's a very complicated story and one that highlights the stupid way South Western Railway is run and the overbearing nature of the DFT. To cut it down, when the SWR franchise began the plan was to introduce refurbished Class 442s to replace the 450s on the Portsmouth Direct Line, which were unsuitable for the line. New-build Class 701s were set to be introduced on the metro network, replacing all of the trains that were running on that part of the network at the time. However, both the Class 442s and 701s were delayed due to major issues. The Class 442s did eventually enter service briefly but they still weren't very reliable, and since they'd need to be replaced in a few years anyway the contract was cancelled. This left a hole in the fleet, so SWR announced that 28 of the Class 458s would be refurbished and regeared to be used on the Portsmouth Direct Line instead. This conversion process took a while, but by the time the refurbished units started to roll off the production line they were immediately put into storage.

In the time it had taken them, the financial situation had gone downhill and the cost to remedy issues that the unions had with the Class 458s was a major issue. However, the cost to cancel the contract was higher than the cost to continue refurbishing the units. In effect, the taxpayer was paying to refurbish trains that (at that point) would be heading straight to the scrapheap. Meanwhile, the Class 456s were withdrawn and the Class 707s began to transfer to Southeastern, but with no 701s on the horizon to replace them. As a stop gap, the Class 458s were introduced to replace the 707s and, weirdly, the Class 458s. With less seats and one less coach per unit, passengers on lines that were run by the 458/5s were treated to significantly lowered capacity. That said, a train is better than no train. Recently the last Class 707 has moved to Southeastern and earlier this year some of the 701s finally entered service, so within the next few years hopefully everything will end up going that way it was supposed to three years ago.

Amusingly the Class 701s had been delayed by so long that their temporary announcements recorded by the late Celia Drummond are now being replaced on the rest of the fleet. Unfortunately the new announcements are nowhere near as nice. Celia had probably the most pleasant voice of any British announcer.

We recently got the Stadler Flirts by ATS, albeit only one type and for a stupid price. The 385s also came in the past few years, so there is certainly progress being made on the missing classes.

 

Oh yea the whole waste of a 442 fleet refurbishment- but dont even the 458/5 originally have a place or metro route that they regularly run on? Is part of that Hounslow loop (and i am not very familiar with the SWR Network apart from the trains) and does any route of TSC even cover where the 458/5 runs in terms of metro route? The portsmouth direct line i also heard (why havent they put 458/4s on those lines yet again?).

Oh yea that utter joke of a 3rd party add on (talking about the 745). Honestly I might as well recreate the rail scene before the FLIRTS were a thing, much more variety on the GEML compared to the accessible plastic (And not that i have a plan do so atm for TSC-).

 

As far as I'm aware the routes the 458s currently or previously ran on are not in TS, at least fully.

When the 701s begin being introduced en masse, the 455s and remaining 458/5s will be withdrawn, and the 458/4s will likely be moving to their intended route, the Portsmouth Direct Line.

The GEML before the Flirts and Aventras were introduced has pretty much every train represented in TS. The Class 90, 315, 317, 321, 322 and 379 are all available from AP, and the Class 360s are available but without an enhancement pack to make them more pleasant to drive.

 

Ah- maybe some 3rd party should make those route. Heres an idea for a name "South Western Commuter" then just consist of a lot of metro route around south west london.

Oh and i think i remember talking about is it possible to get a full MML route-
https://www.justtrains.net/product/complete-midland-main-line-bundle Literally today JT released exactly that but holy christ its 70 pounds-

 

Well worth the money if you don’t have them!

 

Certainly a lot to spend all in one go, but works out at nearly £50 cheaper than buying the parts individually.

 

Yes, that pack is great if you are just getting started with TSC... endloes possibilites on that massive network and it will make you laugh at skyhooks MML in TSW.

 

defiantly. I heard if buying every single route on it own cost well over 130 pounds so having 70 pounds is a good discount (as much as how its a deal i could've spend a first class trip on a cross country trip lmao). I do want to ask rather or not does the route include trains. Or it doesnt?

 

No, there's no rolling stock included.

 

All of the routes typically use basic rolling stock available. There are usually duplicate routes using AP stock. There may be some other JT dependencies on a few scenarios as well.

 

Ah i see.

And suppose if i were to get the 222. I would also need the London to Bedford route then to get it working then? At least according to steam

 

I would generally advise to slowly grow your collection, not mass buy - and if - only in a (regularly happening) sale. Use SteamDB.info to check which routes are bundled with other useful packs.

When I started with TSC in 2015, I bought three DLC in addition to the TS2016 bundled routes. The BR103 from VirtualRailroads, Karlsruhe-Mannheim and Black Forest Journeys, being local routes. Then there was a break of more than a year where I didn't touch it. After discovering how to mod the game, it exploded. Still I have some DLC I bought a few years ago that I have only ever played one scenario from, at the moment I'm in a state of happily rediscovering all I've got (all with AP sky now, some routes had terrible lighting by default (it's individual per route), and the lack of new routes comes in handy - there's more than enough already out there. Eventually I ventured into AP and 3rd party stuff, took a lot of time to have a decent asset library to be able to play everything - also removing corrupt freeware assets causing crashes. It's a lifelong hobby, ever growing. But with more DLC added, the playability of freeware routes grows exponentially. But you have to invest first. Prepare to spend money like you would on a model railway or car pimping.

 

A staff member from DTG has mentioned on Steam that DTG is not making any more routes for TSC 2024 and is now concentrating on TSW5.

 

That's right. Obviously, since LIRR, Leeds-Manchester and Pegnitztalbahn were their last routes. That was in early 2023. TSW has a much wider audience due to the console market and modernish looks, that's where DTG are investing naturally.

DTG are known for not communicating "bad news", they usually let the discussion fade out like promised bug fixes never arriving... it's what they don't say that says everything.

A prime example I often use is this short but revealing thread. Note the dates and promises.

https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/metro-north-textures-not-loading.15301/

 

You don't need London to Bedford for it to work. I'd also recommend getting the Class 222 (and pretty much every other JT DLC) on the JT website as some of the liveries don't have branding in the Steam version.

 

https://www.justtrains.net/product/class-222-advanced-2019
If you purchase this from JT you will find scenarios in JT MML where it operates AND 9 scenarios on the OLD MML Bedford Line. You do NOT need scenarios to make locos work. You can swap out for a 222 or run a 222 on a Quick Drive on any route where it is operable.

 

Doing exactly that! I have a shopping list and shared it on a previous post on this thread, if you're interested in what I wish to get you can check the list out. Currently aiming to get WCML north during the next sale. The steamdb info website is very helpful. Thank you!

Ah i see.

So getting the voyager family (i plan on getting the JT's 220 and 221 as well) on JT's website would be the recommended purchase instead on steam. Got it.

And I still have yet to get to plan what part of the WCML and trains should I get next after getting WCML north, 91 and mk4 and class 68. (unsure should i open a new thread for that if its suitable?)

 

A DTG produced 221 comes with DTG's North Wales route, and DTG also do a 220. You may wish to consider those instead of the JT versions.
When you see rolling stock marked as needing a route it usually only refers to running any bundled scenarios that are set on that route.

WCML over Shap would be the logical choice, as it continues south from Carlisle. Comes with a class 87 and Mk3 sleeper coaches..

 

That is something, that really annoyed me though. Everyone was waiting around for a year for the next UK or German DTG route... until the rumors started spreading about them never doing a route again. For me it became clear when several developers like TSG, JT and Rivet moved to TSW for good. JT was the only one to actually publicy talk about it on Facebook.
The UK still has ATS, but for Germany nothing is happening. There are some payware projects ongoing from third parties, but they are S-Bahn or diesel-branchline things in very compact areas (Berlin Ringbahn extension, Brockenbahn stuff, U-Bahn Hamburg extension, Kleinbahn Altmark).
The past two years people from German community could have teamed up to make routes in the future, but no one knew what was going on and now everybody is thinking: "is it worth it starting new routes for this old game?"... and everyone is left wondering, who is going to build stuff in the future. Why is that a problem? Because Germany has massive holes in the network. The whole center of Germany and the Ruhrgebiet are non-existent in TSC. Everyone focused on building Bavaria and the north for 15 years. Bit of a shame how it all played out for Germany (and Switzerland) whilst Austria and the UK have massive routemaps with huge merges.

 

oh yea since i have the WCML south i do have the Avanti Class 221. By the way is that model made by Just Trains or DTG? As for the class 220 i cant seem to find it on steam? And does the voyager models that were sold on steam have any difference between the one being sold by Just Trains?

Might consider picking that up when over shap on TSW also releases. Might as well mark that down on the shopping list. maybe along side MK2s and mk1 from AP (possibly and i also took the chance to change the name of the thread title to be now a bit more accurate).

 

Yep.

Though personally (and for my wallet) I am satisfied with what I got, as I'm not fixated on one country. (Poland in SimRail is very refreshing and interesting). So much stuff coming out, the SF to Salinas workshop extension, just discovered the nice Ragland WS route, for which Coasty already made a little scenario series, and catching up on older content.

As for Germany, it's in the hand of the community. I think we got so many assets now that we could just build a lot of stuff ourselves. It doesn't even have to be overly detailed for starters. PushingTin's Bremerhaven route is quite nice for example. I mean we have the knowledge and the tools, and TS is living from community content. How many routes have DTG made? GUID ends at 106.... (112 was Weardale, out of the numbering order). I have about 350 routes, so 3rd parties and freeware / workshop are already the majority.

I was thinking about getting into the Indian TS content, but I'm turned off by their downloader and payment system, and subpar route quality though some of the locos look very interesting.

And for enjoying networks (personally not really in need of mergers, as I don't use savegames I am happy to continue a scenario loading the next route) there's always Zusi 3 which is slowly but steadily growing. More than 17,000 unique services to play, and the random pathing, brilliant.

I have the greatest of respect for makers, like you made the Harzbahn or Carsten Hoelscher made Zusi ("I wanted a train simulator, there was none, so I made one.")

 

We´ve both teamed up and are working on an extension to Frankfurt-Koblenz revamped. Going to include the whole Wiesbaden area. It takes ages to make routes. We have been working on this 20 Kilometer extension for like 3 months now.

 

Just checked, it was withdrawn from sale 4 years ago!
The 221 with WCML-S is a DTG product, not JT.

 

Completely selfish of me, but I would wish for more new routes than revamps. (I love Frankfurt-Koblenz just as it is... only swapped signal lightglows) There's a lot of talents wasting their effort on yet another IKB/AltenburgWildau revamp... give that one a rest

While typing, just added a freeware route (Sussex Lines) to my library and enjoying the quality.

 

Alright heres an updated plan on my shopping list. Still huge.

 

ah. but yea are there any differences between the DTG model and Just Train models of the voyager family? Which would be better if i am looking at a more realistic driving ?

 

We are extending a route, you got that? why is that selfish? we can not upload to railsim and keep it to yourselfs... then you can call me selfish.