Hello. I just recently bought and installed an add-on from Travel by Train, a licensed partner of Dovetail. It is the same SD70 that was just released by that developer, just in Conrail and Norfolk Southern paint schemes. The engine is fantastic, and I have no complaints, but I have a bit of a phobia of installing unofficial third-party content (ruined my copy of MSTS) because of messing the simulator up. What I would like to know is, if I ever experience an issue, is there a way I can reset the game to factory settings and remove unofficial add-ons? I read in Dovetail's website that the uninstalling and reinstalling TS 2020 will reset it completely, but I am concerned that there would be an error if I did so. If I ever uninstall and reinstall TS, will the reinstalled game be like it was before I installed the add-on? The locomotive was installed by using the Utilities.exe tool in the railworks folder to install the .rwp file. Also, my copy of TS is the TS 2014 disc. Thank you for any answers and God Bless.
The way Train Simulator is delivered to your computer is thru Steam as such you keep everything you have purchased. And although you purchased TS2014 the main program is upgraded each year - you do not get any new trains or routes but it is Free. So when you go on to the Steam Client it will upgrade and keep the files update without any action from you. If you got a new Computer you would only have to Install the Steam Client and then you tell it to install Train Simulator and you have everything you had before. There are a number of reputable Third Party companies that sell add-ons for this game - you won't have any problems with them. Have a look at this thread - https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/third-party-repository.3548/ And as you seem to be interested in US railroads I suggest you have a look at Railworks America http://railworksamerica.com/ Peter
If you uninstall the game and reinstall you will most likely need to reinstall all of your 3rd party content or customizations that you have made. If you are seriously thinking of adding 3rd party, I highly suggest that you install another drive, 250-500 GB SSD, in your computer to backup your Railworks folder (do not get the 2.5" laptop HDDs sold as external backups). If this is not possible you can connect this drive via USB using an adaptor cable. Doing it this way you do not need an enclosure nor seperate power supply. The USB port has more than enough power for the drive. I have been doing this for 7 years and never have lost any of my 3rd party. If you ever need to reinstall TSXX then it a simle matter of copying over your Railworks folder. If you have a faulty installation of your 3rd party content you can copy over the untouched file. Using 3rd party can give you more DLC to choose from. You can get reskins of your existing locomotives and rolling stock at no charge from various sites, cheaper than purchasing the same rolling stock in another livery. Enjoy, happy railroading. If for any reason your TS fails to start you can run it off of this drive for testing purposes.
Thank you very much for the advice rwaday! I'll definitely make a backup just in case. Also, do you have any recommendations for high quality American freeware?
Check Railworks America - they have a lot of free stuff http://railworksamerica.com/index.php/download-library The top half of the page has some strange text but scroll down to find the sections Peter
