In DTG's fishing simulators they also have the Action Points system (which you build up catching fish), those AP going towards levelling can be used for upgrading tackle, lures, baits etc. We have AP too in TSW for completing scenarios and timetable runs, but what do the action points actually achieve in this game? I know they level you up but there are no rewards I can see for doing that. The same trains, scenarios and skins are available from level 1. What if they gave you some rewards for levelling up to provide more incentive, maybe unlock new skins that sort of thing, or unlock new more advanced scenarios like they have done on TSC with some of the route releases. Perhaps an idea would be to make Timetable mode and Training scenarios only available from level 1, then as you leveled up more advanced scenarios were unlocked, along maybe with new skins. Then you'd have targets to aim at which would gibe meaning to what are now meaningless AP.
That "unlocking" feature was quickly dropped in TSC after Horseshoe Curve. You can divide the players into two categories - those which see it as a game to beat, and those who just want to simulate driving a train. I'm one of the latter, and I want immediate access to what I've paid for and freely select any service from the beginning. It's not a racing game, and if a train's late - well, so be it. That's just realistic. No silly medals or points needed.
I agree but it would give the action points more of a purpose. I have the AP display disabled because of how pointless they are.
I would rather see the complete removal of action points. Imagine you buy the new DLC for 36€ and it greets you with "Nope, you also need to grind for hours to unlock this".
If by "grind" you mean driving lots of trains then that also sounds like you aren't too keen on the simulator aspect either - can't have it both ways.
Same-i just have it turned off. Just like the "Xp/levelling" system that is also pointless. And mastery (if there's better scenery it should be in the game by default) I'd rather they scrap all of it and put that part of the budget back into the simulation itself.
I never bothered with them anyway, I'm here to simulate driving trains, not like its a game that finishes or upgrades anything.
By grind, I mean unlocking stuff for action points would force people into playing content with high AP per hour (compare how much AP per hour you gain on London Underground and how much on a freight service). I enjoy TSW for the simulation, not for the gamification. I see AP as a pointless number that I would prefer to be removed, rather than being given a purpose in arbitrarily locking away parts of TSW.
Agreed - I had to smile because someone posted about a 2 hour run which not triggered an achievement as a "waste of time". If you're not in for enjoying running trains, that game's not for you.
I would like to offer my heartfelt apologies regarding a previous post on this forum where I may have foolishly suggested that fishing simulators seemed mundane and boring. That was obviously a mistake on my part as I was not aware that DoveTail Games made them too. Whilst most fishing sims probably are brain numbingly tedious, I am sure that the DTG one is stunningly exciting and as action packed as any AAA action adventure game by the most commercially successful developers. I am going to buy the presumably excellent DTG fish simulator and am really looking forward to trying it out. Given the stunning track record (pun intended) of DTG I know I am in for an incomparably thrilling edge of the seat ride where I will be subjected to breath taking plot swings and stunning state of the art graphics. I will be downloading it soon and cannot wait to get playing. Never since Spielberg's Jaws movie have fish been involved in so much action and excitement.
Have you ever drilled and succesfully landed a 2m catfish in real life, using a 28g spinning rod? There's your action. I have
Perhaps the next product from DTG will be the pigeon feeding simulator. You’ve gained some Action Points for nurturing the fattest greediest bird in the game. Here’s the Flying Rat achievement on Steam!
But there are completely different train driving experiences in TSW and different people enjoy different ones. If they have to do something they don't enjoy to unlock the stuff that they do like, I think it's fair to call that a grind.
Personally I don’t see driving any train in a train simulator as a grind, how can it be? It’s all you do in a train simulator - there is no role playing, no economy to manage etc. You just drive various trains. By calling it a grind you are basically saying that you don’t enjoy driving trains in a train simulator! “various train driving experiences” = driving different trains. If you don’t enjoy a certain train for whatever strange reason, then you wouldn’t be trying to unlock stuff on it anyway would you?
At the moment we have an utterly pointless scoring system in the game. It might be cool to make it of some significance. That’s all I was putting out there. Other games have done this successfully and it’s proved popular. How about points totals and levels being used to unlock new skins? That might be a viable alternative.
Of course the only thing you do in a train simulator is drive trains, that doesn't mean all trains (and routes!) are the same and everybody enjoys all of them equally, does it? If that was true, DTG could just have stopped after CSX Heavy Haul. Why do people want all those other locos and routes? All you can do in those is drive trains, and you can already do that in CSX Heavy Haul, can't you? Are you seriously trying to argue that if someone doesn't like every single route, locomotive, scenario, and timetable mode service in TSW, that means they don't actually enjoy TSW at all?
I’m not arguing anything I just made a bona fide comment about a wasted scoring and levelling system in a train simulator GAME. This is not a training aid for real train drivers, it’s just a game. Some people jumped down my throat for doing so. There is no grind in a TSW4, as I said above if you didn’t like a particular route or train; 1. why buy the dlc? 2. If it came with the game then you wouldn’t want to unlock more of it would you? Either way there’d be no “grind”. It would be fun to have some purpose in the game, like I said some rewards of some type, that’s all. Some people need to take chill pills.
I'm not seeing that. People just disagree with you, that's all. Not currently, as you can just choose to play whatever you want whenever you want. If, however, there was the unlock system you are suggesting, then there would be grind. 1) There are varied experiences even within the same DLC. On Nahverkehr Dresden, taking an S-Bahn from Dresden to Meißen, and taking an InterCity from Dresden to Riesa are very different to one another. 2) Even if someone does genuinely like everything an addon has to offer, they're probably not equally keen to play everything all the time. They might be in the mood for a chill InterCity one day and prefer a busy S-Bahn run the other. If you have to play a given number of one type of service to be able play the other, some people will have to play some stuff even though they don't want to. In my book, that's grind. If, on the other hand, playing one type of service simply unlocked more of exactly the same type of service, then sure, there wouldn't be grind, but then there wouldn't be any progression and the whole unlock system would be kind of pointless, wouldn't it? We already have (almost) that, in the mastery system. I think individual per-route challenges, as it currently has, are better for that sort of thing than just the total number of points you have.
Because if you for an example have to drive an ICE for an hour to unlock a Br185 scenario, that would be a grind, because I do not enjoy ICE services, but I do love freight services... Same goes the other way, for people who prefer said ICE scenario.
Personally I don’t see TSW as a game focused on unlocking things, it seems to provide no purpose other than take development time to implement, if they are going to include extra stuff or if it’s about locking the usual stuff, I don’t see a need to be forced to do something in order to unlock it, I would rather have access to whatever I can use and do what I wish to do. if you want to pretended the ICE or something else is locked until you do something your welcome to pretend to need to do said task first, but theirs plenty better things for DTG to focus on doing properly for everyone else
Exactly this, they serve so little to no purpose, that I have no desire to see them in my game, as I like to declutter the display as much as possible.
AP display serves a great purpose at least for myself, when turned on it brings the signal/upcoming speed limit hud down from the top right corner of the screen and into my line of continuous sight, it’s a pain to turn off as the signal/upcoming speed limits move up to the top right corner, I don’t see the corner without directly watching it.
Just get rid of them. If people want to play a game to earn points to get rewards, a simulator is not the right place imo.
AP is the tool that allows DTG to monitor its player base, see what routes they’re playing most and use that information to plan and make future content. That’s it. Its secondary purpose is for bragging rights. Hey look at me I have X amount of gold medals and I’m LV 1000…
I've been wondering why are they even called "action points", like it was some turn based game and the points you gained were to be spent on some actions later, and not for example "experience points", where the points are used for leveling the character, as what they are actually currently only used for.
Because they are awarded to you based on your actions...? I don't know, that's the only explanation that comes to mind.
