I got a steam gift card for my birthday, and just recently got into TS21 with the humble bundle (purchased all three tiers). It feels like there's an endless stream of TSxx DLC's, its a bit overwhelming, as a newbie I’m in need of some help. I have no country/route/loco/difficulty preference just want a quality experience. Wondering which DLC's available on steam are the best in terms of quality, immersion, and gameplay, that don’t require a massive amount of investment. If there are any other threads/discussions/lists/videos regarding this topic, please do share them with me.
A few recommendations from me: WCML Over Shap is pretty good, as is North London & GOBLIN, IMO. I've heard the DB BR420 is good but not used it yet. WCML South is a fairly descent route but comes with a boat load of trains. For Japan, the Wakayama (spelling?) route is quite nice (well, all of Union Workshop's routes are). Not sure about the rest of the world.
For german routes I can recommend "Im Köblitzer Bergland", it might be translated to Köblitzer mountain route or something like that, there is 1 scenario that is not set up correctly, it has the loco facing the wrong way, you can just flip it around in the editor and the scenario will work correctly, everything else is working correctly, the route has functioning PZB and LZB if you have locos supporting it, it also have it's own weather system and what is made to look like dynamic weather, It's a fictional route but very realistically made. This is the best route I own for TS, I have tried only 50-60 routes though as I am to consider a newbie to TS. Another german route I can warmly recommend is "Konstanz - Villingen", there is also an expansion addon by a different developer for this route which expands the route into the black forest area. This route is long, each scenario takes about an hour to finish, but it's a beautiful route so you won't mind spending a lot of time on it.
steamfan, what you ask is impossible to answer because it depends what you mean by 'quality'. Do you mean the most realistic looking, or the most accurate in performance, or the best sounding, or the most fun to operate? If you want realistic looking then the two routes listed by olsbyn above are probably the best in TS. I also highly rate WCML Trent Valley and Welsh Marches for realistic modelling. If you want accuracy in sound and performance then anything by Victory Works or Armstrong Powerhouse can be recommended. But I would pick things of subjects that interest you. There's no point buying a beautifully model of something that doesn't interest you in real life. Read the reviews, have a look at Youtube videos and pick what excites you. Steam will give you refund on stuff you don't like, but only if you've used TS for two hours or less after buying it.
The Humble bundle was an odd deal- TS2021 for pocket change is fair enough but the rest was just a grab-bag of stock from all over the place including electric loco's which a new user can't run anywhere. If you haven't activated the keys for everything yet you might consider offering them in the Steam forums in exchange for a gifted route or two. Anyway... The Weardale and Teesdale Network in the '60s is a sprawling representation of secondary lines in County Durham centred on Bishop Auckland now mostly vanished. The area has a stark simple beauty which I think the DLC captures well and, although it's Diesel only as it comes, there are plenty of steam loco's available that would fit right in. Still my favourite route. I'll second the nod for WCML Over Shap. I got it to run the APT in which I love doing but it's detailed and varied and much more entertaining in its own right than I expected. Continuing up the line WCML North covers Carlisle to Glasgow and some of the network of lines around the latter. It's an older route which does show in some respects and has more than its share of flawed scenarios included but it's still good and there's a lot of it. £4 isn't the best sale price it's ever been but still worth it. For steam The Riviera Line in the '50s is stretch of Great Western main line with a couple of quieter branches all through lovely scenery and a nice collection of kettles to drive. I like it even more with the Western Region Diesel-hydraulic loco's added but then I'm a barbarian. For a bargain bundle you might consider the Great British Railway Journeys pack of five routes. I've got three of them and, while I wouldn't rate any as highly the ones listed above, I still like them very much. It's a tie-in to a TV show- be sure to pick the "complete my collection" version if you're interested rather than the stand-alone edition. The only non-British routes I have came with various editions of TS plus one that someone had a spare key for from the last Humble bundle and gave away. I enjoy thundering over Sherman Hill now and then and it would give the Challenger you have somewhere to stretch her legs. (You might consider the Battle for Sherman Hill bundle- again you want the complete my collection option in this case because you already have the Challenger which is part of it.)
Depends on what you're wanting to do in the game. Do you want to haul freight? Regional passenger services? Commuter trains? etc. A few DLC's I can recommend: UK: London to Brighton All WCML routes (Over Shap, North, South, Trent Valley) Edinburgh - Glasgow Isle of Whight Chatham Main and Medway Valley Lines Settle - Carlisle Suburban Glasgow (I don't have it, but looks good) West Highland Line (I don't have, but looks good) Kyle Line (Again, I don't have) South Wales Coastal (You'll get the unbranded version - I have the original that came with TS2018) US: Sherman Hill Feather River Canyon North Jersey Coast & Morristown LInes Peninsula Corridor Germany Koln - Koblenz Ruhr - Seig (Originally known as Hagen-Sagen in pre TS 2012 days) R.O.W (Rest Of World) Peitermaritzburg - Ladysmith Albula Line Tadami Line Hidaka Main Line Midland line (The New Zealand route that got released a few weeks ago) As for rollingstock, just pick what you think you'd like - be sure to check the route requirements though as it's kinda pointless in buying locos if you don't have the route for it. They did a humble bundle last year I believe, which had a couple of routes and some locos for those specific routes - I ended up buying all of it as at the time there was a heap of content I didn't yet have. However, it came with some duplicate things that I don't need. How does one go about swapping with somone on steam for something I don't have?
It was a veritable cornucopia- extra routes in each tier and some well chosen stock for those routes. A hell of a start for any collection and a little annoying for me- I had already bought pretty much all of the content that interested me some of it only a few weeks before. Well they're just Steam keys which can be PMd to friends, e-mailed or whatever and DLC can be bought as a gift for another user. Coming to an agreement with someone to make that mutually beneficial would be a matter of trust.
I grabbed this before it was withdrawn from sale- had I known it was going to be back so quickly I wouldn't have bothered and it's still the only route I've paid more than 50% of the RRP for . It's a bit there-and-back-again but well made and achingly reminiscent of my Midlands upbringing.
Well, in my opinion, I have listed the following DLCs UK: WCML South, South Wales Coastal, Chatham Main Line & Medway Valley. I like these, because don't need more DLCs to have fun, all the main Rolling Stock comes with the route. Only South Wales Coastal need some for Cardiff suburban services and GWR Regional, but only Class 150/1 is available. Germany: I don't have many yet, but the best I have is Köln - Koblenz. But the newer Riesa to Dresden looks like a good. USA: NEC New York to New Haven It's the one I have the most fun with. If you love this route, you can buy Metro North M8 for Commuter services and Amtrak Acela Express.
Searchlight Simulations Canadian Pacific AC4400CW, while pricey, is one of the more authentic North American Locomotives you can experience in game in both functionality and sound design. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1364034/Train_Simulator_Canadian_Pacific_AC4400CW_Loco_AddOn/ Also the Sacramento Northern by G-Trax is a fairly good route too with its complex signaling on the Bay Bridge and thru the streets of Oakland. https://store.steampowered.com/app/...rthern_Suisun_Bay__San_Francisco_Route_AddOn/ Union Workshops routes for the Wakayama Line and the Tadami line are also good, though there are a few bugs with the Tadami Line. https://store.steampowered.com/app/376961/Train_Simulator_Wakayama__Sakurai_Lines_Route_AddOn/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/...adami_Line_AizuWakamatsu__Tadami_Route_AddOn/
Many many thanks all, much appreciated! Definitely helps me narrow down which DLC's to purchase. I've added all to my wishlist. I don't want to abuse the system but is there a maximum amount of steam refunds one can use in a day or so?
Anything you buy will become part of Train Simulator and the two hour refund window does not discriminate between DLC so I'd suggest not buying a bunch of things at once if you're unsure. If you bought say three routes you could quite easily burn your two hours before you get around to trying the last one and, if you then decide you don't like it, well- good luck getting a refund. This rather mitigates against the GBRJ bundle I guess- two hours to get an impression of five routes? Optimistic. As you get into TS though you'll get a better idea of whether or not you're going to like something from experience and checking routes out on YouTube and there'll be other sales.
GBRJ is great bundle for starters, and it gives you a nice amount of British stuff. Another good bundle is the Epic Journeys collection. In my opinion, for US material the best is to follow the content required for the scenario packs of High Iron Simulations, you will get hours of fun with those. Finally I really love the Three Country Corner route, is good with the scenario pack because you can use better rolling stock (the weakest point of the route), but buying all the required stock may be a little expensive. If you add OBB 1144 and city shutlle you'll get plenty of regional services, S-bahn, with a mountain pass and a urban section. And all in a triple border zone. Oh and, if you like metro systems/trams you will love Frankfurt U-Bahn. You get all the network and it is a Pro range product so it's very realistic.
Ops, I didn't knew. The 1144 available on Steam comes with the double deckers (idk if those are aveilable for free too) and good scenarios for the 3ccr (same here, maybe there are freewares too). Anyway I already bought it
The Freeware one does not have Double Deckers but then I don't know if they work over the Arlberg line
