Enough Is Enough!!! The Ongoing Saga!!! It's Almost The 3 Year Anniversary

Who are these "console kiddies" you keep badgering on about?

Everyone I know who uses a console is older than me, and I am no child.

 

Just leaving this here

 

Yeah, but that doesn't fit the narrative

 

For some reason I can't see when people post a YT link on this forum any more. The only reason I know you posted a YT link is it is mentioned when you click reply. Still can't watch whatever it is though.

 

Exactly. I'm now in my latter 40s. Consoles were invented when I was a kid. I still use them now, as well as PC.

I see this on the Flight Simulator forums, too, suggesting MSFS 2024 is just a game now because the developers introduced a career mode. The "console kids" have ruined the simulator hobby.

Well, no, because they have introduced a new feature. They haven't taken away anything you could do before in a flight simulator, only added options for different players.

Just as DTG have introduced Thomas for the intended audience, not to take away the simulator aspects from the rest of TSW.

 

Totally agree March Hare.

If people want TSW to be a niche game like TSC then they should really consider what that would look like. When a simulator has more reach (like MSFS for example) it increases the likelihood that more developers will get on board because there's money to be made.

I'm not suggesting TSW will have the same customer base as MSFS but I do feel TSW will do better sales-wise year-on-year than TSC because of it being available on consoles alone.

 

Same, I'm 42, got my first console in the late 80s (NES) and even before then I was playing them at a friend's house. Hardly a kiddies fad.

 

My first console, using the word in the looset term here, was a spectrum 48k, god in old now lol......

 

Proper old school lol.

 

Amiga CD32 for me, ruddy whippersnapper!

 

CD32 came much later than a 48K Spectrum I sold my CD32 and games last year, for over £500, albeit before eBay decided to scrap their fees. Damn.

I started on a simple console with only one game (ping pong) and controllers that were just a knob on top that you twisted to move your paddle, which was merely a white rectangle. The ball was a white square, and the net a white line.

Got a 48K , and still recall laughing at a comedy advert on a Crash magazine tape that said, "When a game says press any key, do you have trouble finding the Any key? Then buy a games console! Consoles – the computers for idiots who don't know how to use a keyboard." Oh how I laughed, because I was an immature kid back then who actually believed console players were idiots – then I got a Master System.

 

I am reminded of that time in the early 80s when everyone I knew had a ZX Spectrum like me but there was that one kid who thought he was better than everyone else because he had a Commodore 64. There was also one kid who had a BBC Micro but nobody talked to him. Platform superiority complex is an age old incurable condition and the only known treatment is to nod along and humour the afflicted person.

 

You missed out the Amstrad, in the 3-way Spectrum/C64/Amstrad 8-bit computer war. As you say, the BBC Micro was irrelevant (apart from birthing Elite, of course!).

The Spectrum+ (the 48K Speccy with the less-rubbish keyboard) was my first computer. Still got it.

 

I used to spend breaks, lunch hours, and after lessons time on our school’s (only) Commodore Pet 16K. I was fascinated figuring out programming in Basic. Then they procured a second machine, a Pet 32K, twice the memory! Happy days.

 

Seeing as we're going off-topic haha!

My brother got a Dragon 32, I loved that computer!
My first one was C64 - one of my all-time favourites.
From there to Amiga and then finally the first of a number of PCs.

The only console I've ever owned (and still have) is the N64.

At primary school we got a BBC Computer and I was one of the founding members of our Computer Club. Remember continuously borrowing a book from the library to learn BASIC.

 

My first gaming machine, as opposed to a console, was the Amiga 600 (basically a cut down 500+). Ah, the joys of Workbench etc.

However full credit to the programmers of the time. They worked blooming hard to get the best out of very limited hardware and colour palette. Titles like the Microprose flight sims, Digital Integration with F16 Combat Pilot and later Tornado or Thalion with their A320 Airbus (albeit dead flat terrain everywhere - doing a flight from Seattle to LAX no Sierra Nevada). And I lost count of the hours spent trying to get a perfect score in Lemmings 2…

 

Memories of Golden Axe, out run, Speedball. All Amiga!

 

When I had the NES I was the popular kid on the street and kids up and down would come over and play on the NES, It was great.

Then a kid down the street got a SNES and my popularity vanished overnight lol.

 

Wow I really feel old my first console was a Magnavox Odyssey 2 back in '78.

 

Loved Speedball!
My Amiga favourites were It Came From The Desert and TV Sports Basketball.

 

My first and last console was Xbox One, I feel very young now!

 

How it feels with DTG lol

Admittedly not just English Riveria, many other routes have been requested by many for years which are seemingly ignored.

 

Damm right. Would love this route. Could be nice with IETs. Could be nice with HSTs. Or both. Maybe smth fgw. Would like to see more GWR in the game and this would be a great route for it. Maybe through in a GWR 150 too?

 

No developer has an obligation to develop requested routes. They'll know if a route is wanted by the community at large, but there are much more important parts of the process of choosing a route to develop.

 

I think it’s a route which would really benefit from having some stock for which the South Devon banks would be a bit of a challenge. I suspect much of the current stock goes over them as if they’re not there.

Ideally for me that would mean a Western (already in the game, of course) or Warship with a heavy train, but a Class 50 (much requested) would be great too, and could fit in the same era as an HST.

101s, 31s, 33s, 45s, 47s all ran in the area too, so if set in a carefully chosen era it could have lots of stock on it. If they went forward a bit to a transition era they could include the 150 too. There’s lots of potential.

It is quite surprising that nobody’s ever done Exeter - Plymouth/Paignton for TSW as it’s much requested, fairly short, and has loads of landmarks, with the sea wall being one of the most iconic railway features in the UK and the South Devon banks being very interesting from a driver perspective.

 

You’re right of course, and I must admit I can’t remember what all the letters in LAMPOIL stand for, but on my rough understanding of the factors considered I’d have thought Exeter - Plymouth/Paignton would come out pretty well.

 

Perhaps they genuinely are conflicted over which era to set it in.
I mean, if steam had persisted in TSW then it would have made an ideal first GWR/BR(W) 1950's route.
Classic diesel, well you have the choice of the hydraulic era with the 45's and 46's on inter regional services and a fairly wide selection of DMU's.
Or late 70's or early 80's BR and you are into the Class 50 era on the main expresses with 47's backing up then the incursion of the HST's. Still a variety of DMU's.
Then you had the early privatisation era with HST's working pretty much all the internal WR services (the private companies wanted out of expensive loco hauled operations other than the Night Riviera and certainly no more relief trains or overnight summer Saturday dated services). Pacers and Sprinters were starting to appear with a few remaining Class 108 and 101 DMU's still kicking about.
Then you had the VXC loco hauled being displaced by HST's and in turn by 220's and 221's.
The Valenta HST's turned into MTU then in turn displaced by the Cucumbers.
The 142's which predominated in the Exeter area were displaced by 150's, 153's and 158's. Not sure but probably now got 165's and 166's working down there as well.

So a very complex equation for DTG or whoever does the route as to which era will have the broadest appeal and not put too far out of joint the noses of those who want a different epoch. Personally I want one of the two BR Classic eras, but would be content with something around 1999/2000.

 

Perhaps it would, but there are so many routes that also have good results that there's no real reason for them to go for Exeter to Plymouth over them.

I did look up LAMPOIL, and it stands for:

• Licensing: The GWR license is back on the table so a modern era Exeter to Plymouth is possible.
• Anticipation: I'll quote it directly here: "Gauges how players are likely to receive the proposed route, based on reviews, community feedback and similarity to existing content—ensuring it won’t feel repetitive or underwhelming." DTG don't seem to follow this one very much. Exeter to Plymouth is a route that has been requested more than once though, so at least it has that going for it.
• Mix: If there was a 150 and 158 included along with an 80x or HST, then there would be a mix of passenger services. Then again, this is another one that DTG seems to ignore more often than not. I have no idea what the freight scene is like in that part of the country though.
• Prominence: "Considers the global appeal of the route and its assets—famous locations, landmarks and locomotives that will resonate with players worldwide rather than just local fans." This one seems a bit redundant, because very few routes in any country will have recognition on a global scale.
• Opportunity: "Looks for ways to broaden the add-on’s appeal—adding iconic landmarks, linking spin-off or seasonal content, or creating layers that could lead to further related releases." Again, seemingly redundant.
• Intelligence: "Aligns the release with real-world events or anniversaries (festivals, historical dates, etc.) that marketing and community teams can leverage to boost visibility and engagement." Ditto.
• Limitations: I think DTG will know more than me about any potential reasons why they couldn't make the route.

 

Not a huge amount. A bit of engineer's traffic, plus if they still run the Colas timber trains to Heathfield. I believe the china clay traffic out of Cornwall finished a few years back. Even going back to the 80's and 90's there was never a massive quantity of freight. Coal from South Wales to Exmouth Jn and a bit of Speedlink traffic. Oh yes and at that time the "Silver Bullet" china clay did pass through en route Cornwall to/from Scotland.

 

I’d love to think that’s the dilemma, and that serious thought is being given to cunning transition-era timing which enables maximum use of as much existing stock as possible. However, if it’s DTG I can’t imagine choosing the era takes very long given that the answer is always the same. It’s why I’m hoping someone else makes it so that there’s a chance of it not being modern-day.

I agree on the preferred choice though, and while I fear the chances of getting one of the BR eras are zero (unless it’s JT) it does feel as if 1999/2000 would provide modern DMUs for those who like them, as well as some older traction to attract a wider range of people.

When heading West, Exeter-Plymouth was always my favourite part of the journey, because speeds were relatively low (enabling a good extended run with your head out of the window without getting blown away) and there was lots going on, with the spectacular beauty of the sea wall followed by the thrash up the banks. Both the HSTs and the 47+7 mk2 sets were great fun. Ideally you got one with a booked call at Totnes in order to commence the climb up Rattery bank from a standing start.

 

Highly recommend this podcast, and particularly this episode about the Ratner's incident
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4gyDxWuPJa1xqnhIWN7LFT

 

The clock is ticking...

*For legal purposes, this logo is fake and I nicked it off a YouTubers Thumbnail (sorry)

 

That's not a 6, its an upside down g

 

As the specific threads about current performance issues appear to be buried, just thought I would pop in here…

Did a quick route on HRR yesterday evening with the (standard) 101. Stuttering and sound squelching galore. This is an ancient route that never used to have any performance problems. There is something seriously rotten about the current state of TSW5’s core and DTG’s complete inability to fix it.

Ah well, we know how they eventually deal with stuff they can’t fix or get to work properly… Flight Simulator World, Catan, Fishing and now CTS say “hi” from the dustbin in the corner.

 

So today has definitely been a day of opposites with regard to liveries.

DTG announce a new Thomas pack that has the same engine but a different livery (with a new story included) and state it'll be £7.99, It's met with widespread criticism from players (myself included) who see it as a cash grab and a bit cheeky to put it mildly.

An hour or so later, Just Trains announce five...yes FIVE!!! new livery variations for the class 87 coming today along with a range of new updates and it's 100% free to players who already have WCMLOS, This receives widespread praise.

OK I get that with Thomas, DTG's hands are tied with licensing and Mattel with what they can and can't do, but this shows how much they have missed the mark in comparison to Just Trains and the playerbase.

 

And here's me who thought two liveries were a treat - now there's five more.

 

As I popped diplomatically in the Thomas reskin thread, I would much rather the effort had gone into doing a Class 45 rework (Class 45/0) and green livery for a diesel timetable on Peak Forest than more Thomas twaddle. £8 ready and waiting to fly out of my Steam Wallet if that ever became reality.

 

I could even understand the price if it had a new engine like Percy or Edward etc etc.

But it's the same stock as before but this time Thomas is in green. It's the new class 66.

 

I think DTGs efforts on heritage UK stuff are done now, Its Gordon Gekko style business all the way and 3rd parties will have to give us fans of anything other than the latest cyberman sounding one handled extravaganza or face on a well known kids book engine our fix.

 

Hello definly enogh is enough as i cant even play some routes without them crashing dovetaill need to act

 

"and what better way to celebrate 200 years of rail by releasing our 200th DLC with the Class 66?"

 

"And before anyone says this is just another Class 66, It's not. This one comes with 200 on the side of the loco, fully licensed by DBS."

 

Enough is enough li150special edition.

What am I doing wrong? There are not sooo many ways you can mess up things when playing on a PS4, can you? How can I be too dumb to properly install and play and enjoy the game? Maybe this is way over my head and it is just time for a new hobby, maybe juggling chainsaws.

https://forums.dovetailgames.com/th...broadway-missing-great-western-express.91666/

https://forums.dovetailgames.com/posts/1007611/

https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/cargo-line-vol-4-military-missing-although-installed.91881/

https://forums.dovetailgames.com/th...375-and-465-ai-trains-have-disappeared.87058/

https://forums.dovetailgames.com/posts/986295/

https://forums.dovetailgames.com/posts/984328/

https://forums.dovetailgames.com/posts/982788/

https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/flashing-headlights-on-ai-class-66.90215/

https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/gwe-ai-class-66-headlight-incredibly-bright.91178/

 

Maybe get a hobby that gets you outside. Id recommend storm chasing or gardening

I've found the TSW quite frustrating at times.
Was thinking of getting the WCMLOS , but then I'm on PS4 pro, so limited timetable, and probably crashes with TSW5.

 

WCMLoS is a VERY nice route, but on PS4 it does not make much sense in my opinion. There are separate timetables and not a lot going on. Totally different story on PS5, of course, with all the layers.

 

Saw this today.

TSW5 Is going to be in the Playstation Plus subscription.

I think we all know what this is building up to.

 

Yep and I’m not buying anymore.

 

Would you take a free version?

Hopefully they at least offer that option anyway.