All Caltrain Content Being Removed On 27 February

I would - downloaded the free starter pack and Sherman hill (I think) on all platforms when they were free, even though I'm only a PS5 TSW player really.

As said previously, it's my personal opinion. Of course 80% is better than nothing at all, but it doesn't interest me. You're entitled to your opinion, but this should be conveyed respectably.

 

Given both Epic and PS sales got all Caltrain dlcs at 80% off, betting the other sales with them will be at that same discount price until the end.
(Which honestly is better than nothing just to grab 'em for the collection before they're gone.)

 

The last Peninsula Corridor sale is now live
Caltrain Last Chance Sale

 

This is really concerning:

Hopefully those who already have the TSW5 version will be able to download again regardless - thinking new consoles etc.

Also sad to see everything mentioning current version of TSW, not future versions - so sounds like when the death knell rings for TSW5, Caltrain won't currently move to TSW6 leaving behind yet more DLC with the previous version...

 

Keep in mind that this does not affect Steam.

If you buy it for one game on Steam, you get it for every other TSW game even if you don't own them.

 

Has dtg responded further to this yet? I think they should clarify what's going to happen to this dlc in future versions of tsw. And any other routes where licences end. Could I find myself having future versions of tsw with more of my paid for dlc missing?

 

I don’t believe they have responded, despite being pinged. Even if they are still working on being able to carry the routes forward to a future iteration of TSW, they could brief that out accordingly.

 

Dtg need to break the silence at some point.

 

They won't know what happens when other licenses expire until it happens. I don't think they are able to give specific details about the terms and conditions about the license.

They are still looking at ways to rebring caltrain out but they are still in talks to figure it out

 

They must have some idea. You don't just sign agreements like that with no idea what happens when the licence ends.

I understand at the end of the contract they can't sell the product anymore. But I've paid for that product. Its part of the tsw franchise, if dtg didn't have this ridiculous, let's bring out a new version every year, yet its the same game basically, I wouldn't come to this.

 

It would be nice if this Caltrain fiasco refocused their policy on that and stick with a consistent title that just gets updated with DLC funding development, but I somehow doubt it. As mused on previously, if DB or one of the big UK operators insisted no more of their routes/trains in the game and the existing ones can't be carried forward to the next version even if already owned - would pretty much kill the franchise stone dead.

 

They won't say because currently there is no TSW6 or announcement of such.

When TSW 6 is announced I'm sure they will reply. But for them to reply now would be to admit there is a TSW6 coming.

And they won't want to do that.

 

They don’t have to admit to TSW6, just that for existing owners the licence allows the DLC will be carried forward to any possible future version ad infinitum.

 

I think one cannot be 100% sure of this until TSW6 hits the Steam store.

 

Just one last thought on this debacle. Is Caltrain a publicly owned body? From discussions I’ve been having on another forum about content for Run 8, I have been told that State or Government run bodies do not have any protected rights on their liveries or branding - they are effectively in the public domain. This is from someone who is a Run 8 insider when I enquired about the possibility of Metrolink (for SoCal) and SunRail is it for Florida coming to the game, that they don’t need a licence to put their trains in the game. Obviously that still leaves issues of access for research etc. but in the case of Caltrain that’s already happened anyway.

So who is right? DTG or Run 8. Or are Run 8 playing a bit fast and loose with the letter of the law, given they haven’t actually dropped any content from these operators in the game yet?

This is the actual quote, taken from Trainsim dot com…
“Publicly owned agencies cannot trademark the same way a corporation can, so no licensing needed for TriRail, SunRail or Metrolink.”

 

Perhaps it only applies to entities based in the US (I have no idea where Run8 publisher is based)? DTG being a foreign entity and all may have affected it, and maybe especially so now given the US tendency to protectionism now

 

That is a possibility. DTG are UK based with Focus I believe headquartered in France. I doubt we will hear direct from the horses mouth but if I remember, maybe one to throw in the Q&A for the next Roadmap stream. Run 8 are a US registered LLC.

 

Also interesting is this nugget on Wikipedia:

Caltrain announced on August 19, 2011, a staff recommendation to sign a five-year, $62.5 million contract with TransitAmerica Services, after taking proposals from three other firms, including Amtrak California, which had provided operating employees since 1992.[13] The new operating contract was approved by the full Joint Powers Board at its scheduled September 1 meeting. TransitAmerica Services took over not only the conductor and engineer jobs on the trains, but also dispatching and maintenance of equipment, track, and right-of-way from Amtrak. On May 26, 2012, TransitAmerica took over full operations.
---
TransitAmerica Services, Inc. is an American passenger rail service provider headquartered in St Joseph, Missouri. The company was established in 2002 as a joint venture between Herzog Transit Services and Stagecoach Group. In 2004, Herzog bought out Stagecoach, and the company became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Herzog Transit Services.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caltrain
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TransitAmerica_Services

 

I mean, some commuter lines do outsource their crews.

IIRC, Some Metra lines are operated by crews from the freight railroads.

Such as the BNSF line....

 

in the end, it is just a lighter, more fleshy cargo to haul lol

 

I’d suspect this is the case. I have no clue about the laws here, just to be clear. But no license required sounds a bit like an unintended backdoor to me if true. DTG have made it clear that they play it very safe with licenses because of possible knock-on effects with other licenses on top of research access. Given that Caltrain was very cooperative in the past and that we don’t know why the license wasn’t renewed, I’d wager DTG don’t want to burn any bridges (with Caltrain or others) by turning around and effectively saying “we didn’t need your license anyways, we’ll just keep publishing your stuff without your approval”, if what this Run8 person says is even true.

 

Yes, I'm sure this is not the case. As I pointed out elsewhere, publically owned agencies such as Metra and Septa would require licensing just like TfL in the UK.

 

In the airline world, passengers may be referred to as SLF (self-loading freight).

 

or in Slovak bus world as "substrát" aka the soil with enhanced nutrition that you use for house or garden plants, usually sold in big packets

 

And in the UK as well, for example Heathrow Express (operated by GWR personnel)

 

Will there be licensing issues with Canadian routes with more rolling stock? Because only part of Ontario exists.

 

Hard to say. The lack of further Canadian routes could simply be that they don’t score highly enough on the LAMPOIL process or that they don’t have anyone local who can act as an agent to do the quality research or even outsource the building. Fairly certain I remember reading that VIA wouldn’t grant a licence, obviously we know that GO said “No” which leaves the question mark hanging over CP. They are pretty much vital to getting the more interesting parts of Alberta and BC in the game, something between Calgary and Vancouver via Revelstoke.

 

Trust me Caltrain want Return in the Future with the Updated Peninsula Corridor with the new Stadler Kiss Train

 

I don't love electric trains, but if the route returns, that's fine. I saw a news story that said the old Caltrain rolling stock would be sent to the Latin American country of Peru. But I think they won't give him life because of the things that are said. Maybe that's another licensing issue. That's the news https://andina.pe/ingles/inicio.asp...-90-rail-cars-and-19-locomotives-1008150.aspx

 

I would suggest a dual timetable - first partial timetable shortly before KISS was put into full operation, with KISS running ECS test services and diesels doing full runs, and the other with KISS doing most of the work and diesels doing only some full runs and shuttles to Gilroy ... that way we would get both diesels and KISS ... one can dream, right?

 

Not being used on the zigzag line, then!

 

I can't download it for TSW5 even through I paid for it as well as it is installed in from TSW2 to TSW4 on my PS4. Very important that you downloaded it before it got removed if on PS4/PS5. I can't say anything about other systems (Xbox, PC)