Around Lancaster, I get terrible fps (around 10-20fps.) On the rest of the route, I get around 70-90fps. I have a 3070, 5600x and 32gb ddr4 RAM. Are there any fixes or things that could help?
Just around Lancaster? Most people get slowdown on approach to Preston or Carlisle, because of the amount of extra assets that need to be loaded there. What resolution are you running at?
1080, 1440 or 4k ? screen percentage at what ? have you turned your gpu fan curve up ? do you play the route regularly, to build shader cache ? dont have skybox on ultra
The stutter and sound squelching seems at its worst on this route. For all the accolades sent JT’s way and acknowledging the route and train pack was a superb achievement, in the cold light of day it has to be said some optimisation is urgently needed. I started another run yesterday evening but gave up after 20 minutes, just couldn’t take the oscillating and squelching traction sound. Could start with all that hi res grass and scrub which is not just near the lineside but extends into the distance. Similar to what brought Sherman Hill to its knees before the route was reworked to mitigate the use of high poly vegetation. DTG must also do their part to sort out the core as this performance degradation is present on other routes, just not so marked. Unfortunately all efforts prior to Christmas were directed to the reveals and Thomas announcements. No one seemed bothered that at the time of year when player numbers would rise and people buying content in the sales, the programmers were not being tasked with sorting out their mess. And I can testify that the hurried suggestion from Alex, before rushing off on leave, to turn graphics down from 4K to HD (1440p) makes zero difference, at least on PC. None of my other games, train related or otherwise, has these chronic issues not even TSC. Even Forza 4 runs nice and smoothly.
with your computer specs you should not be having those issues. Is your TSW install on an m.2 or ssd or a mechanical hard drive?
With respect, I don't think computer specs are the main issue. PS5 users on standardised hardware have problems. It's a combination of core deficiencies and a route/train that could benefit from an optimisation pass or three.
the OP has a PC, he listed his specs, I play exclusively on PC and don't have the issues discussed, so his experience should be similar to mine, probably better because I play in 4K and the OP plays in 1080. As an aside I have no console experience, but see the continued issues across xbox and playstation platforms that DTG seem unable to get to grips with, frankly some of DTG's deficiencies are cringeworthy.
I am not getting these problems either, apart from a very occasional sound issue in the 87 but it is so occasional that it doesn't bother me. I have a 4060 GPU and 32GB of ram and a i5 processor and I play in 1080. I think there is clearly an issue with consoles which need addressing I am sure will be. With PC's there are so many different sets ups, not all are equal which I am sure makes it hard to nail down any issues.
I've been reading about these console issues for as long as TSW has been available on those platforms. It's been 6 or 7 years. You seem certain that they will be addressed, when do you think that will happen.
Well the fact Alex posted what he did before going on leave seems to vindicate those of us who are having issues, regardless of platform. I admit to only having a GTX 1650 in my PC, but only since TSW5 have there been these issues with severe stuttering and associated sound oscillation and squelching, as I call it. And when the same card runs Forza 4 or TSC silky smooth, sorry but to me that’s something wrong with the game and to a lesser extent a route overstuffed with high poly assets. I mean yes the problem is there on other routes, such as Fife Circle but to a lesser extent. I can put up with a certain amount of stuttering or FPS fluctuation but DTG need to come up with some means of preventing this from distorting the sound. In all honesty, as much as I want the Class 86 and stock pack, can’t see me buying it until I know the aural experience is going to be considerably improved over current.
I haven't seen anyone having the amount of problems to the extent that is being recorded now. The fact that so many on consoles are having problems and that it won't be very good publicity leads me to believe that they will be looking at performance issues. And, I am sure I have read comments made by DTG staff suggesting they will be.
I play on PS5 and PC. I get exactly the same sound issue that Old Vern is describing on PS5 and it’s not confined to WCMLoS. Rarely get anything on PC though, but my PC is fairly high end. Definitely needs looking at from DTGs side. Along with the crashing issues on Consoles (rare for me but does happen more than with 4), TSW5 is certainly not in the state it should be.
And even if the solution worked, running at HD on a native 4K monitor ends up with slightly blurred textures, especially on gauges. The only time I've ever had to do this ironically is on older games such as X-Pane or X3 Terran Conflict//AlbionPrelude/X-Rebirth where the fixed size fonts in the in game menus otherwise end up being tiny, not for performance issues.
I think they very much are. I’m not seeing these same problems at all, and WCMLOS runs as smooth as silk for me. If dropping your resolution isn’t sorting the problem that suggests your CPU is the bottleneck, as does the sound squelching. Dropping your resolution is likely going to make the problem worse, not better. I think people seem to expect DTG to produce miracle’s but they can’t fit 10lbs of soil into a 5lb bag. I would suggest that there is nothing wrong with the foliage on WCMLOS, quite the contrary. It is nicely detailed at the lineside but pretty sparse beyond that. I appreciate PC components are offensively priced at the moment but it sounds very much like a PC upgrade might be the way to go. The game has to progress, and expecting the developers to nerf the experience for everyone to make the game playable on what are, realistically, pretty low-end components isn’t really fair. The 1650 is almost 6 years old and pretty much the entry level card on what is soon to become the 1st of the last 5 generations of GPU development technology. It isn’t meant for anything other than 1080p gaming.
I don’t deny that my PC is falling behind in terms of the latest tech. Hopefully looking to upgrade or buy a new box in 2025. That said, even within TSW I get far better performance on routes like Maintalbahn or even ECML, than WCMLoS. Doesn’t explain why PS5 users on standardised hardware are getting the same problem. I haven’t got WCMLoS on the PS5 but running BML has produced the same symptoms. And again, repeating ad nauseum, other relatively high level games such as Forza 4 or even MSFS 2020 don’t see stuttering or sound distortion like this. And games which do stutter a bit, like SimRail, doesn’t take the sound along with it. TSW is not in itself actually a new game and came out when the tech level of my PC wasn’t too far removed from middle of the road. Of course since then they’ve bolted on to it and tangled the code up with more spaghetti so we are where we are now.
The game is much more developed graphically than it was when it first came out though, it’s night and day different really. That takes its toll on the GPU and VRAM. It has new features, much larger, diverse and demanding timetables, more involved locos and units, a more developed front end etc. Much of that will take a toll on your CPU and RAM. In a nutshell It isn’t the same game it was in 2017. From a layman’s point of view there is nothing wrong with the game’s code. Whilst most of the heavy lifting is done by the engine, I believe the majority of the coding side of this game is based in simugraph, but that itself is developed inside UE4. The consoles struggle because realistically they are still underpowered for running simulators. Even Microsoft struggle with flight sim on the XBOX and that is all theirs; console, code, game etc. Only they can say why, but this current crop of Gen 9 consoles have a staggeringly small amount of RAM available to them, which has to be shared with the VRAM. For machines that purport to allow 4K gaming there is a definite disconnect between what is logically required and what is available. It’s the reason that the vast majority of the more detailed add-on Flight Sim DLC for XBOX just don’t work correctly, there simply isn’t enough RAM/VRAM available. I would hazard a guess that when the Gen 10 consoles release that will be very different. To highlight my point, the PS5 has 16GB of RAM which it shares between system RAM and graphical VRAM. The PS5 Pro has an extra 2GB I believe. My PC on other hand, which is now at least 2 generations behind the drag curve, has 32GB RAM and 24GB VRAM. You can’t expect to get an A1 experience for a game in late 2024/2025 using 2017 era hardware and stripped down, that is the crux of the problem. Your GTX 1650 has 4GB (yes, 4GB) of VRAM. It’s easy to shout ‘this game is terribly optimised’ and yeah, there are areas I’m sure DTG would like to, and will, improve upon but as I said, no matter how hard you try you cannot shovel 10lbs of soil into a 5lb bag.
The whole standardized hardware idea only works with games targetted to the platform and developed around its limitations. TSW is only ported there and some rough cuts are done to get it at least somewhat playable, but nobody cares about finetuning it for a specific console, be it standardized or not.
ps With the caveat that my game is modded to heck and everything is turned up to 11 (and it looks pretty damn good, if I say so myself), running the game in 4K and arriving into Euston there using our EP and timetable my card was using 16GB of the available 24GB of VRAM. If you’re trying to run the game in 4K on a card with say, even 8GB (let alone 4GB) you must be able to see that it is not the game that is the problem. That’s not even taking into account the actual speed of the GPU and it’s ability to render the game at an acceptable level.
Guess I’d better just uninstall TSW then and go back to the side of light with TSC… which for the most part runs smooth as the cliched hot knife through butter.
Hah. I’m not suggesting that obviously, just that the game isn’t really as bad as is being made out and the absolute last thing it needs is to be made less detailed etc to work better on low-end hardware.
Well, as a player I have to question that. I often play SPG, GWE and other early routes. And then I might dip into, say, Glossop or Goblin. Sorry but I don't see the graphical progression you seem to observe. Unless you think that the blindng " eye adaptation " feature and funky snow kick up or the dynamic weather which doesn't work realistically are all graphical advances. I'll give you the skybox maybe.
Those earlier routes seem to have a more immersive feel regarding scenery, especially foliage. They run smoother as well, but I think it's probably down to light timetables. I really feel we could do with a better foliage pallete, getting a bit bored seeing the same tree types in all routes now. Still looks OK, but some of the foliage scenery in the UK routes doesn't feel very UK like.
The route building and assets are largely identical yeah (although there are some good and more detailed new ones kicking about - look at the post TSW4 vending machines as an example), but ToDv4, volumetric skies, volumetric fog, weather effects, hugely different exhaust particles, snow kick up (as you mentioned), new windshield rain and snow effects, pantograph / third rail sparks etc all take their toll, particularly on older hardware. Don’t underestimate the difference ToDv4 makes to the lighting, shadows, light sources etc. The lighting under ToDv3 was largely baked, that’s not the case under ToDv4. The default lighting is over exposed granted, but it is vastly different to those earlier routes and games. I can’t wait to see what GWE looks like having been brought up to date, it’s going to be like having a new route I think.
Well I’m currently running Edinburgh to Glasgow and while the Rivet 385 has god awful sounds, not experiencing any stuttering to speak of or audio fluctuations. I can’t remember if it’s TOD3 or 4, but I’m going to stand my ground with my view on WCMLoS - marvellous as it is - either the route of the loco/rolling stock needs some serious optimisation to make it more playable on consoles and less powerful PC’s. JT are by no means perfect as I recall when BPO came out it was crashing repeatedly in the Preston area and they were forced to go back in and change an (undeclared) issue that fixed the problem.
Although ToDv4, E2G is a vastly less detailed route than WCMLOS in almost every respect. It’s also considerably less detailed than it’s stablemate, Fife Circle.
Yes, me too. Particularly as I've always thought that the original is very well done, apart from one or two gameplay issues. Unlike most players, I even enjoy DLoTGW, mostly for the addition of the 101.
It'll be an interesting comparison once the GWE remaster is finished to see the impact of TOD4 and an increased timetable etc on a old route with this issue debated Personally I get the odd tiny stutter on BPO for example but most of the older routes I play are fairly smooth. I've recently upgraded to a series X from a series S which has made a big change to how smoothly the game runes. I still need to get WCMLOS once I've sorted a gift card out!
GWE will be like a new route for certain. The TOD3 routes to me now look very poor compared to the TOD4 routes. I only really use NTP and ECW now, any others are only installed for their layers onto other routes. I do hope in time that the rest of the TOD3 routes or at least the majority of them will be upgraded.
I re-downloaded my copy of TSW2020. See for yourself. Everything was set to its highest, with FXAA and 200% screen percentage. I had to reduce the resolution of the images afterwards by 25% so the forums would accept them as a direct upload. 2020 on the left, 5 on the right. Opening to scenario Cumberland Charge (note they made the wind turbines spin at some point; I remember in 2020 they'd only spin when there was wind - is this still the case?) Service Q116, Spring (April) with rain, wetness and cloud all on maximum Spawn on foot, Cumberland Turntable, Summer (June) clear, 10AM.
