Alan Thompson Simulation Route Discussion/speculation Thread

I don't know about anyone else, but I've been genuinely enjoying this route (ignoring the bugs) and the foliage and close up scenery has been really great (apart from the mud huts around Heaton Chapel), the station models are spot on!

I can definitely say it's certainly better than the UK routes DTG/Rivet have been pumping out recently, that's for sure.

The route having both lines definitely adds variety to the services you can play. It's just a shame it didn't make it to Crewe to be honest.


All it needs now is a 331 DLC, and for those eyesore bugs to be fixed, and it will be a cracking route.

 

Really enjoying the route too, it's incredible how realistic it feels.
Just as an aside, there's a weird junction in the route (Slade lane I believe) where you peel off from 75 to 45mph with no approach control or sign advanced warning - and watching the real cab ride video from Don Coffey, it's like that in real life (and a driver on here said the same). Just find it strange that in todays rigorous safety culture that there's no warning for this, but I guess that is what route learning is for.

 

Has anyone done a night time run yet?

I would appreciate an honest assessment of the night lighting since neither ATS nor DTG were brave enough to show it in their preview streams.

 

Mostly fine, nothing obviously wrong.
Aspect light colours seem a little odd. Colours seem to change slightly as you get closer. Nothing major. It happens in daylight as well but more noticeable at night.

 

I don't have the route. The critical question is not what the line speed is on the main line on the approach to the junction, but what the line speed is across the junction if you take the main route. Generally speaking (although other factors, such as the position of the signal, play a part) if the line speed for the main route and the diverging route are within 10mph of each other, then both routes can have green aspects and only a route indicator is required on the signal to indicate that you are taking the diverging route.

So in this case, if the line speed across the junction if you take the main route is up to 55mph, no approach control or flashing aspects are required.

Just to check - are you talking about Slade Lane Jn (near Longsight depot, where the line towards Mauldeth Rd diverges from the line towards Stockport) or Heald Green Jn (just after Heald Green, where the line to the airport diverges from the line towards Styal)?

 

Thanks for the info, yes the one I've quoted above. I think it's because the line essentially splits into 2 from 75mph, both splits being 45mph, so no app control needed (you need to be at 45 for all routes). Thought there may have been a speed warning board though in real life.

 

I don't usually post on these forums. I have to admit its one of the better routes in TSW5. Line side scenery is beautifully created the OHLE station details. The route has good stock variations. I can't wait to see what ATS does next in TSW. We need more northern routes.

 

I've got to say I have genuinely and thoroughly enjoyed the route so far... And I'm going to go as far as saying the scenary is the best I've seen in the games UK content, even surpassing JTs level of detail. It has exceeded expectations that were already high. The lighting on the route is also very nice. The scenary even on the console (PS5 I play on) looks like it was a PC mod enhancement pack! Absolutely superb.

I never really had a criticism around no new rolling stock being produced, as I always felt the 323 was sufficient and served the route in real life. The 323 has always been a really nicely built unit with matching driving physics, and to see it on a route that takes advantage of it potential is really nice. I've always felt Cross City and Glossop have never done the Class 323 much justice with the dead feeling of the routes, and not did not give people a chance to experience 323 at its 'full potential'.

The route feels very alive, and the utilisation of other stock is also a really nice touch... Thanks to ATS I purchased Cardiff City Network, simply because of its layering ability (and without going into a rant about that route, it is as dull as rain water as is the quality). The route shows that the 153 from CCN is a very nicely built unit and gives yet another existing piece of rolling stock to show it's full potential with some top speed running. The route also shows the contrast in quality between ATS and Rivet, being two small companies, ATS have absolutely nailed this route, whilst Rivet, we'll fill in the blanks. It just cements the idea of their being no excuses for shoddy work.

Each and every station goes beyond the basic modelling, and really is scenic and detailed. Lovely stuff.

My only criticism, and one that seems to be very common, is the route not going all the way to Crewe. I had a nice run on the fast line from Alderley Edge to Manchester Piccadilly, and just as I was beginning to get the feeling of contentment and full immersion, I felt short changed in terms of the mileage. This could easily sit in my top 3 routes in the game (and with TSW players as a whole) if it went all the way to Crewe, and having a full end to end route... But who knows? I know it's not on the cards for now. But I hope in time there is a small possibility of an extension, even if it come with a pay wall of extra rolling stock to fund it I'd be happy to pay personally. Look at the NLL which is another superb route which will be given the 'end to end' finish after positive reception and sales.

Another piece of feedback that I feel hasn't been mentioned is, Manchester Piccadilly does need the sounds updated to give it busy static sound and a busy ambient noise as on PS5 I've found it eerily quiet. But again, a small niggle that can be resolved in a future patch.

Overall I think this is an absolute belter of a route for not only ATS first entry into TSW, but for setting a bench mark for quality that seems like it is just on par with JTs content.

Hats off to ATS, and well done to all the team.

 

Wholeheartedly agree with what’s been posted above!

This really is peak TSW! The lineside scenery and clutter really is something else! Even the white painted rails! Wow!

 

Totally agree, watched the first part of this video and the similarity is amazingly accurate, even down to the correct type of cable troughing, for example! So many details, too many to mention. I really hope they continue with TSW.

 

I'll add to the positive vibes in that I am really enjoying the route. I generally like the route lengths. There aren't any really that I personally feel that I want to carry on with once I get to the destination but this route is an exception. I am 100% behind the decision not to extend to Crewe but I am left wanting a bit more when I get to Alderley Edge and that isn't a bad thing. With a little bit of touching up and Alans talk of updating the route in the future this route really could be up there with the best ones!

 

Just got derailed at Slade Lane Junction by a Pendolino because the tracks are too close together. That's a serious issue

 

Glad these are being looked into quickly. It's a great route already but fixing just a few things would make it amazing.

Could you please also check into:
Bridge reverb seems completely absent across the whole route

Any chance you could enable the use of the MAC Class 323 on Glossop? It's a perfect opportunity for route-hopping but jumping into the "suspensionless" version of the 323 is disappointing to say the least. AI traffic layers at Picadilly would be amazing too but i know that's a lot of work.

 

I was being my usual cheeky self, Matt.

Of course, I couldn’t but help of think of the MSTS route editor when terrain spikes could pop up anywhere, anytime and ruin your route building day! (Though not as much as the dreaded blue poles and end on end vector message appearing…).

More to the point I think is chaining. As mentioned we still have the outstanding issue if you attempt it saving the game and resuming, but as noted it even affects a straight changeover to a new train without a game save as T or the equivalent on console loads in the timetable of the first train you were driving. Get that sorted and the network routes will thrive. I reluctantly refunded Cardiff, not so much because of the shortcomings (and I do love the 153) but simply because chaining into an emergent several hours long work day over several sessions doesn’t work. The MIA route presents a similar dilemma, the standalone 20 minute journeys aren’t really my bag, but getting some good back and forth going would make the experience so much better.

 

I would like to express my gratitude to Alan and all the project participants for the masterpiece they have created. I admire the work that the team has done. After the first announcement of ATC's participation in the TSW project, I was sure that a high-quality product would be released, but the result exceeded all my expectations.
There is only one thing missing - the section to Crewe. In this format, the route would be recognized as the top one in the existing collection. I really hope that Alan's team will return to the project and bring it to its logical end point. This day will be a real holiday for me.
As a result, for me, this is the best among short routes. Thank you very much for the route. I am looking forward to new works from your team.

 

Out of interest Vern I tried out starting another service following completion of one selected from timetable mode. It wasn't the same consist as I just wanted a quick run, so I did a depot move on Cardiff (HST to depot around 19:30, forget the service name). Returned to free roam and warped to Cardiff station and found another depot move after a few minutes hanging around (a 153 I think). Sat in seat and confirmed service start, and it did indeed come up with the previous timetables objectives in the timetable. However, while the information in the objective list (pressing T on PC I assume, this is brought up on PS5 by holding the touchpad), at the service start time the objective for the new service did appear correctly (ie. at top left of screen), which was to move the set to the depot. Once I got there it dinged as expected and service was completed

While it obviously does need looking at, if you can live (for now) with just the objectives list not working but the objectives themselves being processed correctly you may still be able to enjoy the service chaining. Its something I've done myself multiple times before and when I'm in the mood its certainly enjoyable. Several times I've done a session starting at the earliest service I can find in the timetable for a route (last one I did this on was Cathcart I think) and then find the nearest service at same location and time and taking over. Note I have full HUD so if you don't already, current objective will need to be turned on for this to work

 

Did anyone notice at 35.27 in the TSW stream with ATS the GSMR disconnect audio or was I imagining things? Is this a new feature? Fair play if so.

 

Yes you are correct, when I chained a run straight off without a save the Objective data does show correctly on the HUD though the pop up timetable is the original.
However chain from a saved run either on the original or subsequent trip and it all goes bye, byes.

 

From the Streams and Reviews i saw i really have to say it is absolute tempting. In Terms of scenery, this could be the best looking route to date for TSW, it look so organic and cluttered, way more representing real life especially compared to other routes. I love that they put a lot of attention to the track ballast and line side vegetation, this is how a route in TSW5 should look like. Normally im not even really into those commuter routes, but given all the different service patterns and included depots, there are a lot of options which i feel ATS has taken a good advantage of this.

Another thing they took advantage is that we can walk and explore and i love that they have opened up so mich area to wander around.

Now, im a bit unsure, there are some or many bugs. Not fuzzed about any achievement (i generally dont care as long as i can achieve the mastery rewards) but possibly having tracks laying to close together so trains can collide is an absolute no go imo. If this is the case, this has to be fixed no matter what.

ATS has done a lot of right things with this, polish it up and this route is a big winner i feel.

 

This is pretty much how I feel, though it comes back to my own personal LAMPOIL. Ultimately no matter what the good points of the route are - and bearing in mind there are a number of issues such as missing reverb and track spacing causing derailments that seem to be getting overlooked amidst the oohs and aahs - what will this route do for me personally. I have plenty of routes already in my collection where I can do similar length runs with the existing rolling stock. I just finished up a semi fast run with the 350 on WCMLS and other than the different station names and infrastructure the “thrill” will be no different.

Although I sent Cardiff away (for now) that did offer something a little different.

So I’m still inclined to pick this up on the first deep sale, probably Christmas. Another quite important consideration is that in just over two months we will be getting TSW6 or the late summer upgrade bundle. So pay £20 now on this short route or keep the funds back towards the likely £40 or £50 three (substantial) route bundle plus bonus rolling stock we will undoubtedly be seeing.

 

I get what you're saying, the above are good routes, but this is a massive step up imo. It really feels like a real railway experience now. The 323 is great for this route with it's bigger windows - you get to see much more of the excellent scenery. So much playability even though the route mileage is low. £20 is an absolute bargain in my eyes (but layers are important for this route). I'm sure you won't regret your purchase Vern, if you go for it, but I get that we all like different things in our railway simming experience. If you like ultra detailed, realistic and immersive modern routes, you're in for a real treat. And it runs great on my ageing i7 nivdia 1080 card.

 

I've also asked about bridge/ tunnel reverb. It's so hit and miss across routes. A old route like Tees Valley has bridge reverb but some newer routes don't. I asked Matt on a roadmap stream a while ago and he said he would look into it. You would think it would be built into the core.

 

Especially as 24 yo MSTS had bridge reverb and clatter for crossing bridges over roads, water course etc.

 

Is this route worth it considering there is no new rolling stock?

 

That's the question, isn't it. I'm not inclined to buy a route like CCN just to get some stock variety.

The 323 is not the worst of the toy trains already in TSW, but, if they had built a different emu, I might have considered this route, given the low price on Steam and the obvious build quality.

But then again, it seems that there are some awkward errors, like reverb missing and track laying issues and the emptiness of a big city terminus, ( Piccadilly ) once again.

And I'm not sure how much I would replay yet another bus stop commuter route. I think I have my fill of those.

Might be a Christmas thing.

 

The only issue I've noticed is a station between manchester and Stockport has floating ballast

 

I think it's worth a buy. 323 is one of my favourite trains in TSW. Route and line side scenery is top notch. ATS have set a bar for UK routes in TSW. My only small gripe is not getting to Crewe however listening to Alan on stream I understand why it wasn't. I hope in the future it will be extended to Crewe. I believe another developer is building Crewe not sure who they are. I like the stock variations in this route.

 

Finding alot of game crashes on xbox series s, most of the services I've attempted have resulted in a crash around longsight or piccadilly

 

Slightly unpopular view here - if ATS have built a visually brilliant route (and the screenshots do look top notch), it’s a pity they chose a section of the WCML with not enough layers for realistic immersion. Seems a bit arcade game like for me unfortunately…although I’m holding out for a 331!

 

Just had a crash on PS5 on the route map, so frustrating. That's a core issue I believe.

 

Crewe is already featured on another route.

 

Since they ditched the plan to run from Crewe (a pity but understandable) and decided on a network vibe it would have been cool to have had New Mills and Chinley to make a loop back to Stockport and vise versa adding Hazel grove as a via.

 

Manchester Airport Commuter – Update & Thank You!

Hi everyone,

We’re absolutely overwhelmed by the amazing feedback following the release of Manchester Airport Commuter. It’s been fantastic to hear how much you’re enjoying the drives, timetables, and the overall experience. Your support means the world to us.

Now, let’s talk about what happened at launch…

What Went Wrong?

Unfortunately, the launch didn’t go as planned. A patch released the week before launch introduced a change in the core that conflicted with how we had deep-copied an asset. This had to be fixed urgently before release.

DTG did an incredible job getting the fix in on time—but due to a mix-up, the wrong version of the route was released across all platforms. This older build contained bugs that had already been fixed during QA.

We’re aware that:
Xbox users were the most affected
Steam users had the smoothest experience

ATS and DTG have been working hard to resolve this, and we’re now happy to say that the correct build is finally live—the one you should have received on day one.

What This Means for You

You now have the correct version of the route available to download.
This version includes all the fixes that were meant to be there at launch.

What This Doesn’t Mean

Any new bugs discovered post-release (that we weren’t previously aware of) are still being worked on. We appreciate your patience as we continue to improve the experience.

Achievements Issue

We’ve been made aware that achievements are not showing across all platforms.
These achievements were created and should be present, but for reasons currently unknown, they are not appearing in the release build.
We are working closely with DTG to investigate and resolve this issue as quickly as possible.

Fixes in the Latest Build (Now Live)
Note: This list isn’t exhaustive—some additional bugs may also have been resolved.

✅ Aligned the builds across all platforms to the most up-to-date version
✅ Fixed a number of terrain-related issues around Manchester Piccadilly, Stockport, and Heaton Chapel
✅ Fixed various issues relating to the Sunday timetable
✅ Fixed several material issues with the station building at Burnage
✅ Fixed footstep audio on concreted area at Burnage
✅ Fixed an issue with the lamp material at Manchester Piccadilly
✅ Added speakers to lamp posts at Manchester Piccadilly
✅ Fixed CCTV and PIS systems at Manchester Piccadilly
✅ Fixed an issue with missing OHLE at Manchester Airport (Xbox)
✅ Fixed missing textures at Stockport Viaduct (Xbox)
✅ Fixed the ballast mound at Heaton Chapel
✅ Fixed passenger deboarding issues at Stockport
✅ Fixed an issue with Class 350 pantographs to now default to raised
✅ Fixed an issue with intermittent crashing and performance issues on console
✅ Added various lighting improvements
✅ Added TSW5 track shadow implementation

We Need Your Feedback

We’re actively monitoring feedback across forums and Facebook groups. But for bug reports, please use the official DTG feedback thread here:
https://forums.dovetailgames.com/th...ter-feedback-thread.92319/page-2#post-1015204

Please also use the DTG support system available here:
https://support.dovetailgames.com/en/support/home

A Big Thank You to the Team Behind the Route

We want to give a huge shoutout to the talented individuals who brought Manchester Airport Commuter to life:

Hayden Yates – Project lead, weekday timetable, and all-round TSW guru
Kieran Wright – Sunday timetable, environment artist, and Class 323 improvements
Danny Shepherd – Track, signalling, and OHLE
Nicholas Wiszniewski – Environment and asset artist
Jake Fuller – Environment and asset artist
Dom Cazaux – Environment artist
Adam Haigh – Scenarios
Skyhook Games – Environment and all-round helpful hand holding

Final Thoughts

We sincerely apologise for any issues you’ve experienced and are working closely with the brilliant team at DTG to ensure this doesn’t happen again.

Please keep the feedback, videos, and screenshots coming—we love seeing them!

Cheers,
The ATS team

 

I bought the route yesterday and I must say it looks fantastic the scenery is brilliant and theres good amount of AI the station modelling is brilliant to great job

 

Good update, thanks for the clarity.

 

Jittery

 

I’d have loved to see Buxton services implemented and the line taken to Hazel Grove so we have a couple more services to complete. Otherwise, aside from texture issues (which I know is a DTG fault), the route is pretty good!

 

There’s still black bridges after patch.

 

for the layers on this do i need the following for the full layers there may be something i've missed

MML for the 158
WCMLS for the 350
the 390
the cardiff route
scot rail 158
Railhead treatment pack

im looking to get the route but it may require a big spend even with the sales, that with the 86 coming out on the 15th is the only thing putting me off getting what looks like a fantastic route

 

Pretty much. Also the WCML Shap for the 87 although it doesn't feature much.
I personally think you need all the layers really to get the best out of this amazing route, unfortunately. There may be a new option in the menu to allow substitutions now, although not much has been said about it? Maybe completely wrong though.

 

The route has opportunities for expansion with the line to Buxton or Hope Valley to Sheffield at the Edgeley Junction and to Macclesfield and Stoke at Cheadle Hulme Station Junction.

l do appreciate that extending to Crewe would have be a monumental task in the time scale involved, but l would like to see it extended to Holmes Chapel to include the Jodrell Bank telescope.

 

Maybe Macclesfield would have been better in this case as a smaller undertaking if Crewe was too much.

 

Alan Thomson 3S50 17 min RHTT schedules are all broken, when you load up the train falls into the abyss or fail. Has anyone else noticed this?

Great DLC, needs that extension to Crewe though

 

Whilst waiting at Manchester Piccadilly, watched a container train pass through. So refreshing to see a wide variety of containers in random order with some empties, not just the same 3 like on the default DTG routes. That, plus loads of other attention to detail and a lively timetable makes this route one of my favorites. I, for one, am always willing to trade route length for quality.

I'm not at all surprised to see the focus on realism, especially after watching Alan's product reviews for years and his lack of patience for inaccuracy, incompleteness and sloppiness. Was very much looking forward to this release and am not disappointed! Thank you ATS!

 

Shoutout to ATS for the amazing route, the scenery is absolutely amazing, other than a few crash worthy bits it’s been so good, and it honestly feels like what I expected of DTGs WCML south in terms of quality, hopefully we see more high quality routes like this

 

Macclesfield wouldn’t have married up with both lines at Wilmslow. Hopefully we get Macclesfield somewhere along the editions, in the not to far future.

 

Macclesfield wouldn't have been any different from curtaining the Crewe line at Alderley Edge. You're just curtailing the Stoke line at Macclesfield. At least for Alderley Edge it is an actual location where services to turn around, plus it allows us the two routes via Stockport and Styal.

 

I've completed most of the rail journeys at this point, and a couple of things stand out to me.

I think the most effective part of the route is the trackside/near scenery. I'm finding it constantly interesting to look at the various bits and pieces either side of the line and I feel like this route really nails the sense of organic and inorganic "mess" that tracks in real life tend to accumulate. Looking more closely, I appreciate the amount of work that will have gone into this, with the casual-looking clutter looking natural and authentic - but is actually anything but casual in terms of effort. The distant scenery is also pretty good too.

The other thing that I've noticed is that it does night lighting about as well as is possible with the game's lighting model. TSW has always struggled to recreate realistic levels of light pollution, but MAC does a good job of making sure that there's usually something lit-up outside of the immediate track area before too long. Additionally, a couple of the stations have lighting that looks extremely realistic.

We've seen third parties break new ground in the past and set new benchmarks that other routes have then started to aspire to - while everything takes time and effort, I hope that the trackside scenery in particular can become a 'new normal'.