Is The Game Getting Worse?

It is really frustrating - same situation as you - not played in a while now - having paid good money for DLC it's annoying to see how it has been run into the ground.

 

To be fair I’m enjoying the Dutch route and it seems better optimised and not so stuttery as some. But to be honest, think I might find myself back in Snowrunner for a bit this evening.

 

Mind you you want to see the state of fernbus after the latest update…

 

Have to agree regarding optimisation. On Series X the route is perhaps one of the smoothest I've ever played regarding performance which is very good - and no blurry textures either! Now I really hope the next routes continue this trend and that it's a major positive turning point for TSW 5.

 

Any Z-fighting or audio popping?

 

Is there an equal split of people being fed up and disappointed with TSW on PC and Console or is it weighted towards one particular piece of hardware?

 

Nothing really noticeable of concern in my opinion.

 

I think it's consoles that's suffering. PlayStation 5 being the worst. I don't play it anymore. DGT can't be bothered in optimising it. But as long as there happy with it on there dev kits then all is good. Well it's not. I've wasted a lot of money but no more. I will laugh my head of when they say tsw6 is coming.

 

I did used to play on PS4 a few years ago and I did find it a really frustrating and not very immersive experience. Hopefully they can sort the issues out but they don’t seem to be very responsive to any form of criticism. Recently DLC are popping out like hot cakes so perhaps the next version of TSW will be less lacklustre for those of you on the consoles.

 

One positive for PS, at least it doesn't have Zfighting and audio popping on top

 

It’s the consoles. On pc using jet washes mod really helps.

Xbox series x is better than ps5 but has series a limitations.

 

It isn't just consoles. And mods don't count as fixes, to me. DTG need to take ownership of issues.

 

I can confirm PS5 is the superior console version. That’s coming from a guy who plays TSW on both consoles, though 90% of all my content is on PS. Series X is terrible due to the issues you mentioned. How long have these issues been present and not been resolved? Expect TSW6 to be the same.

How can PS5 be worse when it has its own build for the game? Series X uses the Series S version, plus it has audio popping and other issues not present on the PS5.

 

I was running BML on the PS5 yesterday and not only was it stuttering, from time to time the sound did the drainpipe distortion effect.

 

Yes they do. Certainly DTG need to take ownership of issues Every year DTG issue a new game and the problems continue.

l would be happy if DTG stopped this practice and worked to get TSW5 running perfectly and then any new annual releases are just added to a fully working game. I am sure that this may alleviate some of the problems, they seem to always have.

 

I'm not sure what PlayStation 5 you have but I would have thought they were all the same. It's not superior at all. In its current form it's not nice to play. Micro stutters walking round stations. Trains that pass each other is not smooth. Fps drops like a stop and start as you drive along. I have to turn all layers off just to get some kind of enjoyment out of it. But then why should I turn everything off. Anyway like I said previously I've stopped playing it. I used to be on it every day because I love it now I hate it.

 

I dont like the way various dlcs are released and not patched to an acceptable standard . LIRR is a perfect example it’s barely had any patches , and there are still many stations with zero passengers , scenery issues , and this is somehow deemed acceptable .

WCMLS , a deserted Euston also seems to have been deemed acceptable.

The problem now if you buy any DLC you have no idea what state it will be in , Quality control is very poor . Going back to WCMLS really when you look back at all the issues at release and how much they have had to fix , it’s incredible it was ever released in the state it was in .

 

The Dutch and Mittenwald DLC’s I Day One’d and luckily my faith was justified. But having seen the poor quality mess that Cardiff is, I would think twice about buying any more UK DLC blindly. For that matter I didn’t buy the Ludwig route for Germany or the new MBTA as seemed too similar to what we already have. Which of course is part of the problem DTG have going forward. The game is already awash with content, much of it far better quality than what’s being pushed out now at the new “squeeze ‘em” pricing levels, too. Absolutely no need to run out and buy everything Day One, if at all.

Mind it’s not just TSW. Saber have announced yet another Season Pass coming for Snowrunner. But apart from the fact I still have loads of regions barely touched or even untouched, after a while apart from a few architectural differences the maps all start to look the same. And having just started Austria, it is not fulfilling with broken roads and bridges everywhere that can’t be repaired and it takes 30 minutes just to drive through from one map to the other. More frustration than fun.

 

The Zfighting issues have been around since rush hour. We were told that from tsw 5 onwards it wouldn't happen anymore.

Then, we were told that tsw 5 stuff would be fixed, and it wouldn't happen any more.

Fast forward to CCN, where it still happens....

Audio was supposed to have been sorted for tsw 5 too.....

The last dlc I got for xbox (aside from the free starter pack) was Blackpool Branches. I won't be getting any more until DTG start to commit to some fixes.

 

I always wait and have a look on YouTube first, although it is more difficult to fix Xbox content than PC or PS. But as I've said about above, I've not purchased anything since Blackpool. This also suffers Zfighting and Audio popping. Personally that was my enough moment. I got the free starter pack, so I can still enjoy what I have for now.

 

I’m currently not buying any new content until I see an improvement in quality control . I may buy some items on sale but that’s it currently.

 

I would maybe buy some on a decent sale. But unfortunately, sales are rare on Xbox. There have been some just recently, but very poor in comparison to PlayStation.

 

As I said, "to me". Others' viewpoint will differ. But, to me, mods are more like bandages, while the wound beneath remains, which Dr DTG needs to take responsibility for.

 

I’ve played TSW quite a bit on both consoles and they have their own separate issues. Granted I’ve mainly been playing PS5 for the last few months.

Series X is a little better on FPS but that could be because it has reduced draw distance from the Series S. The newer mountain routes looked terrible on Xbox because you couldn’t actually see a lot of the mountains. I’ve read this might be fixed on some of the routes now.

Xbox also had the z fighting texture issue and the lower quality/compressed sounds.

PS5 had none of the above issues but does have lower FPS primarily at busy stations with passengers.

Both consoles had the blurry texture issue which seemed to be route specific.

TSW is by far the worst game on my PS5 for noticeable performance issues, and the load times are insane when you first start the game. I have most of the DLC and it literally takes a few minutes to even start the game, it’s like 1990s PC flashbacks. The PS5 has an insane fast SSD and most other games have 0 load times so no clue what the issue here is.

Performance varies widely by route though. Like Frankfurt tends to run like garbage but the new route Dutch runs fantastic.

 

I had the PS5 on again this morning, continuing with BML. Complete stutter fest, sound dropping out, pitching up and down or doing the drainpipe thing. As I've noted before, this is standard hardware, no potato CPU's, GPU's or unofficial mods.

High time DTG brought in a UE4 sound specialist to sort this nonsense out for once and for all. Got £20 sitting in our PSN Store Wallet, but despite the sale on a few items I just couldn't bring myself to spend any of it.

 

Micro stutters have existed from the very first version of TSW and will continue to exist in future versions of the game. They seem to have gotten worse over the years though, maybe it’s due to the amount of dlc in the game now. This is something that can’t be fixed, blame that on how the game and routes are made. Same can be said for most sims I play (fernbus, taxi city driver, bus simulator).
Some routes are worse than others, for example the Frankfurt route is probably one of the best looking routes in the game, but it’s also the worst. 15-20fps I get entering and departing the Frankfurt area. Also I experience random crashes, but hey that’s another topic altogether.

When it comes to the better console version PS5 is still the best. It will never be perfect though, no matter what platform you play on.

 

Let’s be honest, TSW will have to get ALOT worse before DTG makes any serious investment into fixing it.

We’re nearly a decade into TSW now & there has been a marked decrease in quality, content releases have been expedited massively & the only times core improvements are made, is when they can replace an issue with a marketable feature, usually one that ends up either broken or inconsistently implemented by the next release. This has already happened with the new track shadows, as recent as CCN.

DTG have got financial rabies & they’re salivating for as much money as they can get from TSW, no chance all these problems mounting up over the years will get fixed now, we’re firmly locked into TSC’s same fate.

 

l was agreeing. DTG need to take ownership of issues.

 

Given how bad the "core" game has got now and how terrible the "core" TSW5 WCMLs route was.... I'm going to be passing on TSW6 in September. Gotta save them pennies up for when GTA6 comes out for PC in 2026 anyways

 

I hadn't had my coffee, sorry

 

Pretty sensible. This time next year, we will still be complaining about issues on TSW6 if it is released as believed!

 

I was watching some videos of a Japanese train simulator (Densha De Go) which also runs on UE4 (PS4 and Switch) and I noticed that it seems to also have some similar microstutter to TSW. That would make sense if it’s an engine issue which has been explained by Matt I think in the past. This is an engine that was fundamentally made for shooters and adventure games after all.

 

Well, hopefully TSW6 also had a free option.

 

Even before GTA6, Rockstar has begun diverting my funds from TSW (which was nearly the only game I bought content and DLC for), into GTA5 (a 12 year old game) to buy the police content and recreating 1990s LAPD vehicles...

TSW5 has probably been the most deflated and problematic release I've personally experienced in the whole franchise of the game (well it's UK content at least aswell as the core issues that show no signs of going away anytime soon)

 

I haven’t touched the game in maybe a month, maybe 2. As a mainly U.S player there hasn’t been anything that’s kept me playing. Blurry textures and inconsistent FPS has pushed my love for this game out the window. Quality control seems to have had a brick dropped on it.

 

Oh I agree absolutely. As long as people are still buying in sufficient numbers, DTG will not feel the need to improve the game nor fix the many issues that plague it, especially core issues and especially on consoles.

This thread and the similar one on " Annoyances " make fascinating reading and are full of genuine concerns about the game we care about.

But you can bet your bottom dollar that, though the moderators may be reading, or at least monitoring, these threads, the content will not find its way to those in senior management, even less to corporate decision makers.

And even if some of it does osmote upwards, don't expect any action to result, as long as revenue satisfies the suits and the bean counters at the top.

 

100% Yes! I only have about 8 Routes, but honestly, it seems that every time I go on and play a route, there is a Bug!… the problem is for a couple of years now they have only cared about releasing yearly games and getting more money that way, what they don’t realise is people that actually get tired of this and the broken promises… I swear to God I will not touch any future DLC or game unless things change (Only purchased Cardiff since TSW5 release)! it’s about time people took a stand and stopped paying for this content that we all know is going to be riddled with bugs! What should be a enjoyable route, just leaves you unable to complete your journeys and getting frustrated and having to turn off the game

the funny thing is on their main profile. It talks about their values and I quote “Believing in all we do, we take pride in our work and strive for excellence.” that literally couldn’t be further from the truth!

 

Agree. There is uk routes i want to purchase, but the way the game is now is a mess, am on xbox series x. And have the usual, sounds quality is rubbish, texture issues, random flickering of scenery and shadows. I do play it now and then, but definitely not as much as i used to. Its not the same anymore.

 

I agree with you too. I'm also on Xbox series X. I won't be buying any more dlc, until Zfighting is fixed, along with audio popping.

 

DTG don’t Care about fixing the blurry textures since TSW 3.
They Need to stop making any new DLC until they fixed all the issues

 

I play on xbox one and if l play on pc mode, because l have all the content issued, it takes nearly 15 minutes to load up before starting and if l quit and return to the main menu it takes another seven minutes. Only slightly faster on my Xbox as well. I live in a slow internet area and any new route purchase at 10am, it will be nearly lunchtime before l can play on it. It takes a good 90 minutes from purchase, via install to play. Very time consuming. The other game Forza Horizon which l own loads with a couple of minutes.

 

When I ran TSW(2) off a hard drive not an SSD, there was a long pause (minutes) for it to load the service complete screen after the final instruction.

 

Maybe they do strive for excellence – they just don't know how to achieve it, or have a very different measure of it (which would be even more concerning than lacking the skillset).

A big problem with DTG – and I hate to disparage anyone, because the development team do appear passionate about this franchise – is that the only team members with actual industry experience are the managers, while the programmers (to my knowledge) were all straight from university, including the lead developer.

I don't accept blame being put on Unreal Engine, for example. It isn't perfect. It has issues, including those that lead to stuttering, such as caused by the world loading. But in the hands of experienced developers, those issues are coded out.

 

It all seemed to be better in the beginning, with teams doing the code, the content and some decent management oversight. However as I stated previously, the franchise seemed to go downhill with Covid and WFH plus not getting out for research and I don’t think the operation ever really recovered. Then we had Focus come in and, despite claims they were leaving DTG at arm’s length, nevertheless I get the vibe they swung the personnel axe leaving a very thin organisation mainly staffed by marketing managers or community managers who rarely pop up, unless to admonish an inappropriate comment on the forum. I even wonder if anyone works on it full time anymore or has it become a second occupation for most of the team in between or after their main job?

Not just TSW, but TSC pretty much abandoned and I feel sorry for the poor sods who bought into Fishing or Catan. Not to mention the very dubious involvement with CTS which has the makings of being even more disastrous than Flight Sim World was!

 

DTG's staff seems like more talk than substance these days and there isn't even much pride in the product.
A staff presentation like SCS now has would be nice, but the SCS franchises Euro and American Truck sim are still going strong, unlike TSC IMO. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/227300/view/547856285733749080

The apparent successful release of the newest Dutch route notwithstanding, the general degradation of TSW from a simulation into a game must be visible to even the staunchest followers.
After every disclosing of a new territory, it will be milked and squeezed as long as the license lasts, with ever shorter routes with simple reusing the existing assets and rolling stock.

 

Short Answer to the OP - Yes.

Longer answer, the game is evolving, with some good features and more ambitious new content.
However, plenty of issues the tarnish the game, old and new.
This can make the experience disappointing, depending which route you play.
It's a shame, and I hope DTG are working hard, because I am sure certain members of the DTG team are disappointed as well, they just are not allowed to express that feeling.

Consistency and testing are two areas that really could do with improvement.

 

With Ridiculously over priced DLC & 5 instalments to get it right to iron out the bugs its just not happening for DTG & its going the way of there other IP ( Bass Master ) .

Its got worse in big sort of way not that DTG are doing anything about it

 

Must be honest and say with the extra RAM I salvaged from the last machine all is right with the world at 64gb RAM. Plays beautifully and hasn’t had a single stutter in a long while. Am playing it more than ever.

 

Same here, with 64GB RAM and a 4070 TI Super, my issues have only been with mod compatibility causing Unreal crashes at startup.

 

Vandalism on WCMLS