TSW player for quite a few years I would like to see this simulator towards a little more realism: why security systems are not used by default, a more realistic career progression with rewards (line, material, scenario. ..) and especially a traffic and incidents or disturbances on the missions would give more satisfaction to complete the mission if it is not like end of arrival at its term compared to a deadline without faults. No doubt this requires more development work, but a simulator that would be closer to reality (for example, a TGV driver does not start his career directly on the LGV, there is an apprenticeship on classic main line trains)
The usual answer DTG give is such a system removes the "pick up and playabilty" of the game, so for new players who want a quick jaunt in a train they want people to be able, within a few button presses, to get a train moving and drive. For me, I would love some sort of license system where safety systems need to be enabled and the "scoring" (AP points) is more in relation to following signal aspects, stopping points and so on rather than keeping to a fake timetable or "being under the speed limit" (which should be more thoroughly enforced) Unfortunately some of the mistakes made in the scoring and systems in TSC made them more wary in TSW
To allow new and inexperienced players to enjoy the game as well. If all safety systems were on by default, many players couldn't even finish a single scenario. Though some more in-game tutorials about the safety systems would be good, kind of like how every train has an introduction tutorial, small tutorial scenarios could be made to show players how to set up and follow the safety systems on a given route/train. But I think it's a good call to have them off by default, so new players can play at ease, while experienced players simply turn around, flick the switches and can drive prototypically. Don't really see the point in that. For starters, it can't even be done, as each route come with just a few trains, and you would need a complete fleet to be able to do something like that. But it wouldn't even be fun for most people. After all, this is a simulator, not a game. You buy the routes and trains you want to drive and you're good. No reason to hold players back and force them to drive commuter services and shunters before they can drive TGVs and long freight. Let everyone drive what they want.
I kind of disagree on this. Look at how Gran Turismo has worked since inception. Sure you can jump in and do a few laps in a basic car, but to get up to the good races you have to prove you can drive, and do so using progressively faster and harder to control cars. In TSW this could mean starting out in a yard doing some maneuvers with no safety systems at all, and then build up to setting the systems on, doing a short drive etc etc Each route's journey mode could be "learn how to drive the various trains and progressively longer and more technical drives until you can drive almost HUDless should you wish". This makes journey mode the "game mode", timetable mode would be the "normal drive mode" with full safety systems etc in force and scenarios a fixture between the two (with the levels marked so "players" do the ones marked game, and "simmers" could do all of them Nothing stopping a gamer becomming a simmer, but it would mean people who just want to play about can do so without falling foul of things that they cannot get a handle on
As someone who play's Rhythm games - you start on easy - and then turn up the difficulty as you improve. Starting straight away on "Re:Master" or "Extreme" is just going to put new players off. Remember that real drivers have weeks of training on the systems. Get good at driving without safety systems on, then try turning SiFa on, then maybe turn Sifa off and add PZB, then put them all together..
