I recently got the TSW2 Collector's Edition on sale from the PS store, have watched several YouTube streams, and am now looking at dipping into it when I need a break from grinding in Nier Replicant. Questions: 1. It's been mentioned offhand in the streams that East Coastway is a very beginner-friendly route, so I'll start with that. Is there a difficulty progression for the rest, or even just further suggestions for what's easier for a noob vs. what's more complicated and best attempted after some game experience? 2. One of the streams I watched had Matt running the Martin Luther King Caltrain Special, which he said comes with the MP15DC Switcher add-on for the Peninsula Corridor route. To my surprise, the DTG website description of the add-on only says "three engaging scenarios", the PS store description doesn't even say that much, and while the Fandom wiki does describe the scenarios, the MLK Special isn't one of them; seems it actually consists of several tasks in that loco's Journey Mode, but not named as such. So my question is (aside from wondering about the wisdom of creating what seems to be a fairly beefy activity and then letting people stumble upon it themselves in a task list or by watching a 3 1/2 hour stream), do any of the other route or locomotive DLCs have substantial stealth activities that might actually help sell the content if anyone knew about them? I would also like to give the stream team props for managing to make streams of people driving trains enjoyable and entertaining. The races especially are a brilliant idea, and I look forward to more of those.
First of all, welcome to TSW and the forums Now, onto your questions: There isn‘t really a progression per se - at least not the way you may be used to from other games. Generally speaking, anything coming with an EMU will be somewhat easy to drive. On the other hand of the spectrum, I‘d say heavy freight (especially North American heavy freight) is the most difficult to drive. What routes (and loco DLCs) you go for depends largely on your interest, but if difficulty is a factor in your decision - modern multiple units will be easier than old loco hauled stock. One thing I want to note though is that there isn‘t anything impossibly challenging that you should definitely avoid. For example, Clinchfield is to my mind one of the most challenging routes, but with some experience (playing a lot of SPG helps) it‘s not really difficult, you just need to stay on your toes. If you could share a bit about your interests (if you have figured them out already), I‘m sure we could offer some recommendations I‘m afraid you have a bit of a misconception concerning the overall focus of TSW. The scenarios are rarely anything more than extended tutorials (though there a lot of excellent scenarios as well). The real focus of TSW is the 24hr service timetable mode. The MLK train is in the service mode (divided into different parts for assembling it, running it one way, than back, etc,). These services can also be accessed via journey mode if that‘s your thing. To answer your question, people aren‘t stumbling upon it randomly, the service mode is the heart and soul of TSW - not the scenarios. I can‘t think of another loco DLC that adds this sort of special train right now. I‘m sure someone will correct me if I‘m missing anything.
As a starting route for newbies, I would recommend Great Western Express, which gives you a variety of train types (high speed, commuter, freight) but doesn't throw you many curve balls. OTOH, driving German routes with safety systems on is a challenge perhaps best reserved for later.
Thanks very much for the replies (and the welcome). My only interest at this point is in seeing if I might enjoy driving trains as much as I enjoy riding in them. Afraid that may not be much help. RL experience is decades on Chicago public transit trains, both small (CTA elevated) and large (Metra), and also decades of riding Amtrak's Southwest Chief (and occasionally the California Zephyr) end-to-end to visit family in California. Sorry, I don't know the acronyms EMU and SPG. Seems I do indeed have a misconception; thanks for the clarification. So gameplay is more or less structured as tutorials for intro --> scenarios for practice and polish --> services for the "real thing", as it were? Thanks for the input! Great Western Express is a DLC, so I'll hold off until I've seen whether the game's for me in the first place, but that's worth keeping in mind. Appreciate knowing about the German routes' difficulty also.
It actually does help. If you‘re trying to see whether you like driving trains in the first place, I‘d encourage you to try a lot of different things. I‘m assuming you own the TSW2 base package + East Coastway, meaning: Bakerloo, Schnellfahrstrecke Köln-Aachen, Sand Patch Grade (sorry for using the acronym before) and East Coastway? If so, you have a bit of everything. East Coastway will give you modern medium distance commuter traffic, Bakerloo urban commuter traffic, Schnellfahrstrecke Köln-Aachen high speed services, Sand Patch Grade heavy American freight. Try a bit of each and see what (or if) you enjoy. Feel free to experiment, what you know in real life is not necessarily what you enjoy driving in the sim. I use a long-ish commuter route daily (or used to before the pandemic I should say) but don‘t enjoy commuter traffic in the sim much. More or less. Some people will prefer journey mode over the service mode, but that‘s just personal preference. In timetable mode, you choose the service and weather, in journey mode, the service and weather is chosen for you. But I think we‘d all agree that the usual progression for a route is as you describe.
Ah, thanks. I think I'm the same; I guess my ideal would be long freight routes with easy commuter controls. Though I don't think I'd mind a relaxed commuter line with some distance between stops. Demanding, high-pressure routes that are like time trials in racing don't interest me as much. Yes, the Collector's Edition comes with those four routes plus Peninsula Corridor and Hauptstrecke Rhein-Ruhr. So, two for each country. Seems like that should be enough to evaluate with. I'm also seeing the value of acronyms now, at least where they mean not having to type out German words. Appreciate very much your taking the time, thanks.
Yes, that‘s a very good collection to test the waters. Peninsula Corridor (usually abbreviated as SFJ, sometimes also PC) may be something for you for those , at least the baby bullet services, though the F40‘s brakes take some getting used to. One last piece of advice for the forums: If we start using acronyms again (we‘re cheeky like that ), these are the route acronyms for the ones you own: Bakerloo (BKL) - rarely used though East Coastway (ECW) Hauptstrecke Rhein-Ruhr (HRR) Peninsula Corridor (SFJ or PC) Sand Patch Grade (SPG) Schnellfahrstrecke Köln-Aachen (SKA) I wish you a lot of fun with TSW
simplifying, to begin with the German ones, then everything is a matter of practice. I would start with the german ones
The more guidance within the game that you can turn off the harder it will get, distance counters, stopping markers, etc., all go to make a journey easier, without them you need to know where you, signals, speed boards and stations are, basically learning the route as a driver would in real life without the consequences of getting it wrong.
