maybe it tsw on handheld device or another tsw game spinoff like tsw city or something ether way we will have to wait and see.
Unless it's a major core change or the return of steam and/or freight or a groundbreaking new route with new locos, it will be a disappointment.
Even DTG saying it was a "Special suprise" and something they'd been working on for ages must surely mean something? Even they Can't build up all of this hype and then just drop a bog standard route or loco? Or knowing DTG can they?
I'd like to know why this whole thing started with "a special surprise" and as the days went by it became "the big reveal". "Great Expectations" by C. Dickens.
Sleeper Stock? Am I wrong or was that also included in the WCML South improvements? Could be Mk2-3s or new Mk5s ... Maybe with a beautiful 92! They could have obtained the Caledonian Sleeper license!
Preservation crew comeback with some Routes that are already remastered by now (would explain the "worked on for some time" and the "long awaited by players" part). Wouldnt fit a new Tsw release and everyone gains something from it. There are many routes with new loco dlcs for them or even extreme timetable updates, which are still Tod3 and deserve this. (Dont want to open a discussion here for what route should or shouldnt be remastered etc.) I dont think there would be anything better to reveal at 20th for the long term and the community
It must surely be something that goes across all routes. If it's something UK then DE and US fans will be up in arms. Same if it's DE, then the 20th for me means nothing. At the risk of th wrath of this place, I can't believe they have announced something special that doesn't cater for all streams.
Fair point. I wonder if it could possibly be a rush hour style reveal but honestly that seems too good to be true…
I'm a tad worried that it will be a separate game built on UE5; it wouldn't be great because it would be "starting from scratch" as routes wouldn't be able to be ported over, and support for this version of the game (which I think is fine for the time being) would inevitably wind down.
You never know it might be a Special Brew tank wagon for WCML to transport the 9.5% nectar to the alcoholics begging for change outside of London Euston...
If we get PDL I'll be beyond excited. Especially if my beloved 455 is present. (Rework the 350 to a 450, introduce 444 as a new train and all the 455 variants as a paid DLC like the Pendo.) Slim to no chance of that happening though. W'loo to Woking alone would probably be too busy. I hope we'd go at least as far as Guildford with the commuter lines, especially as they are still missing from TSC. Thinking about it, when was the last British Route released by DTG? I remember GOBLIN, then nothing after that if it's true that WCML:South is really a Rivet route. Would the majority of the team work on both British and American content (as MBTA released recently).
I can only imagine DTG trying to make a competent racing game... The horror. They managed to release a bog substandard route with Spirit of Steam, but obviously the hype was for steam itself rather than the route. At the time I thought the route and train choice was LOVE, and it still is. As is the steam simulation. Whatever frightening concoction DTG are working on, it probably isn't going to be a route. If it is one, it will need to be massive in scope, and for that reason I doubt it will be that. I've had a look at some of the suggestions on this thread and here are my thoughts on a couple: Nintendo Switch port: The ship left port with that one a long time ago. If they wanted to release a Switch version, they would have done it four years ago at least. New Nintendo console port: I actually think this is possible, and I wouldn't be surprised if DTG had got a development kit. However, there's no way they'd announce it before the actual system (whatever it will be called) is announced. Return of steam: DTG have said that there is not much of a market for bad steam locomotives. Them announcing its return would be like Ford announcing that Edsel is going to return. Return of freight: Ditto. Unreal Engine 5 version or the replacement of TSW: Plausible, but unlikely. While DTG did announce Train Sim World around seven years into Train Simulator's life and we are at the same point with TSW now, there are still routes yet to come out for TSW and new things being announced for it. The public editor has barely been finished as well. TSW has had constant problems from launch and I'd like to see a move away from it, but if they make the same mistakes again there's really no point. A UE5 version is more plausible, but also problematic and unlikely. GBRF Class 99: DTG have never had a GBRF license before. If GBRF-branded content was to be sold by DTG, they'd obviously give us a 66 reskin first. Logbook: I'm not sure why anyone would want this, but either way I don't think this would be a 'grand reveal'. iOS and Android ports: Not a chance. The awkward situation is that DTG have not explained what they classify as a 'grand reveal'. I assume it will be underwhelming, and even if it isn't I doubt it'll be good when it comes out.
It's probably going to be the subscription thing they've been trialling on TSC, either that or multiplayer.
If its a subscription, then it will be a disappointment for me and people like myself who own all or most DLC anyways. And mutiplayer is not coming. The game would need to be redesigned they have said in the past. And thank the stars for that. Thats why I don't like Simrail. Too much focus on multiplayer and not a good single player mode.
I do not see any mention of the already foreshadowed, second "expert" locomotive by TSG. It would certainly deserve a special announcement (or rather confirmation) even if, predictably, the release date is quite far away...
TSW5 subscription would be dead on arrival, as the game is too broken and buggy. People would get fed-up with the jank and cancel after the first month or two. DTG would need to bring every route up to at least ToD4 standards and mass bugfix everything for people to pay a monthly subscription... Internal QA team would need to work overtime.
The only thing that comes to mind for me that would make a BIG reveal worth it is the announcement of a new steam era route, including completely rewritten physics from the ground up, better auto fireman and the long promised manual firing mode. This would truly be something worth all the hype! Though I’m trying to keep expectations low for now. Anything such as a new modern or diesel route, loco, etc would just be a standard announcement. I just really hope it isn’t multiplayer. Speaking for myself, it’s something I’ve never wanted in TSW and have no enthusiasm for.
Really think DTG are setting themselves up for a fall/fail with this. As others have said it can’t be a route DLC as TBH there’s not much left in the UK that could be classified as mega iconic, given we already have WCMLS (with all its flaws), WCMLoS, ECML, BML etc. And a UK route again as stated is not going to please the user base around the world. Just have a horrid feeling it’s going to be something utterly tacky and sticky, some marketing man’s wet dream that they think will get the kids going ooh and aah, but has precious little to do with a decent train sim. Anyhow postscript, one thing not speculated on yet is some form of signalling simulation being added to the game. A very outside possibility but they have obviously heeded how popular that is in SimRail and that many of us play the likes of SimSig. So, maybe…
I really don’t think they’re ready to incorporate a signalling mode, considering the state of TSW5’s new conductor mode. Then again, they also got Rivet to make the highly requested and long awaited WCML so anything’s possible regarding bad decisions I guess. A Holiday Express 2: Revenge of the Elf is probably what it is and we’re getting hyped up for nothing. It’ll likely include a model steam locomotive with the Richy Rail F7 physics.
You now I like you Vern. But take a step back and read what you are posting here. DTG can hardly get the features right they are promising. I had to fire up that "sim" to check my mod and instantly two new bugs (a patch is supposed to fix things, at least that's how it works in all my other games) appeared. Class 350 VCB light stays on (worked before), Rotem Cab Car has no lights anymore, internally and externally (worked before). Or maybe that's rivet counting, "software is never perfect". Hmm. Disagree. I know of an awful lot of perfect software. You are dreaming of a dispatching feature? Honestly? Take a break from TSW for your own sake to realise what this game is about for eight years now and what the developers are capable of and willing to do. Someone mentioned "Stockholm Syndrome" in relation to TSW. I understand why. Each new route excitement wears off so quickly, so they keep pushing out more toys for the kids to please them and just forget the bugs. If I was DTG CEO and up for better numbers, I'd stop all the work on patches and let these people do something which can be sold immediately and turned into money, patches don't, as the base DLC has already sold. People are buying anyways. Because they have been trained by DTG to accept rubbish software and even defend this. A train has passed me! Wow, awesome service mode run.
I did last night after finding the AP to qualify for December Mastery had jumped to completion with 10k points despite needing 50k. Another gimmick for the kiddies. So fired up WCMLS in TSC. Super smooth, no passengers standing on the track at stations. Tunnels that look like the real thing, not cobbled together from Roblox with Superquick brick paper. Now the SimRail update has downloaded will be checking that out later. Yes, they continue to disappoint with the SP and no save game but need to check out the extended route in particular. Have a feeling the steam loco might have gone live too. If AP have their Christmas sale, definitely thinking of getting their Class 86 or 87 pack. Just cannot enjoy the sounds on the TSW route with the stuttering and squelching distortion. TSW to TSC is a bit like childhood when you asked your parents for an “electric train set” but instead they got you the Triang clockwork one. Or one year, the “Big Big Train” Zoo set complete with red plastic track. Though ironically the latter probably worth a fortune now, as would be all the HO and OO stuff that either got sold cheaply at Swapmeets or latterly on EBay.
It depends on how each person wants to interpret it. Everyone has their own tastes and feelings. It sometimes happens that Christmas gifts (in general) fall short of expectations.
Would like to see this. Especially nice if the reveal also entailed that it was a route extension. I feel it may be UE5
My suspicion is the release of the remastered GWE but what do I know. I’ve always found it better to not speculate, it tends to lead to disappointment
According to their socials they seem to be super busy with train sim classic after being announced as a new third party dev for TSW. I forgot how many were announced and never heard of again
i mean they used the term so it isn’t really up to your own interpretation i was just saying that’s what it said in last months roadmap
Personally I think they're entitled to call it a grand reveal if it's a significantly bigger one than any of the previous ones in terms of surprise/scale/scope. So by the time we get to 19th December just look at all the reveals and consider what could be bigger than any of these. So far the only new route reveal (albeit guessed by everyone) is a 12 mile route (albeit quite complex and urban with tons of AI). It's likely most of rhe other reveals this week will be updates on known projects like Manchester Airport. In that context a new 50+ mile highly requested route not previously on the roadmap could be considered pretty big compared to the others. If it's meant to be like an advent calendar, at the end of the day the 24th December window is usually just a bigger piece of chocolate than the other ones Whether it's big enough for everyone or what everyone wants or likes is a different matter entirely.
Apart from revealing the uk route and uk loco which we knew about, the reveals so far were already on the November roadmap. I hope this weeks reveals will all have imminent release dates announced. Would love to have Manchester Commuter in my hands at Christmas. I know it won’t be, but l would like the big reveal on the 20th to be the Thames Valley extensions to GWE and wouldn’t mind paying well for it. I know that they said it isn’t coming, but l just hope that is not the case. Whatever it is we will all know in five days time!!!
route mergers? three months after adding the route hopping that doesn't work because of mismatched timetables or delays and years of saying there's no way that will happen. I even suggested to do something like RSSLO did for the westbahn in TSC. different parts of the Westbahn from München to either Vienna or Bratislava, planned to connect to each other. not sure as I don't have any of them, then buy a combination dlc to actually add them all together as one big route if you bought the routes from their store. and there have been multiple reasons given to why that won't even be a thing. UE5 is a good shout although I do expect them to wait at least a year as there are already so many bugs to fix. unless they will switch to UE5 and then hopefully do a big fix project taking over a year letting third party devs focus on new content. I think one route or loco will be too specific as people will get sad it's not for them. so I expect either a new big rework of something, maybe the dispatcher pathing, creators club mod support for the editor and immediately a higher download limit or the API thing. maybe in train and on platform announcement but I don't think it's anything else than a core thing, weather and UI have been updated a lot recently so not that either.
Unreal Engine 5 would be good to see but the big problem is that we will have to re buy all routes that were made in Unreal Engine 4. I’m pretty sure it was stated by one of the DTG members on here that you couldn’t just transfer everything over into the new engine. Everything would have to be built from the start again. I don’t see UE5 being the reveal… Not saying it will never ever happen but I doubt it’s going to be for TSW5. Unless the reveal is UE5 for the next TSW game. But why announce it now when TSW6 is probably a good 9 - 10 months away.
The route-hopping feature could’ve just been a bridge since it doesn’t take much to program. I think it simply spawns you into another route at the same time and weather, allowing for a bigger timetable that isn’t impossible to implement. I’m not so sure if a route is worth all the hype, let alone a loco. I think they’ve worked on UE5 for a longer time, but we’ll have to wait and see that’s just my guess from what i’ve seen.
I’m not sure when it was said that everything has to be new because that isn’t true these statements could’ve been before they fully decided to start work on switching to the newer engine. It obviously takes work, but UE4 and 5 are compatible for transferring projects. Maybe they’ll announce it early to stir up some hype since they don’t have to release the new engine immediately. All just my opinion though.
I don’t know a lot about Unreal Engine 5. Other than the game will look a lot better. What other improvements could be seen if they chose to do this ??. I’d assume the game would run much better too.
