So I was having an issue with some trains and their headlights not working correctly. Like I turn the headlights on but they look like they're turned off until you get really close to the train, and only then they appear on. So then I update the game to the latest beta version which fixes the headlights issue, but then introduces a bug where all the signals are red, even though the line is clear. And then I rollback to the latest stable version and the signals are fixed but the headlight issue is back. You just can't win.
Have you tried to use a turntable recently. DTG has had absolutely no updates on a fix to any of these issues.
Turntable bug was the result of turning off physics when stationary, to avoid the slow hill creeping. Ask me, that was never something that bothered me. Result is, without physics the locos don't follow the turntables anymore. No one thought that far, that's why it's dangerous to change anything in such an old game where you can't just update all content. I'm contemplating on completely going back to v72.3b. The performance improvements are not that noticeable on my system, it's more the stability in the editor that is the best it ever was... But then we're left with the headlight issue. Which is not even a bug from the core side, it was something I often called out - misuse of headlight flares as base headlights, all over the place, even by DTG. AP headlights are not broken, because they are doing their stuff correctly. The idea of the bugfix was to improve performance by reducing the distance when the lensflare textures show up, which was perfectly reasonable. Just wrongly setup locos all over the place now, showing their flaw.
I'm currently testing to only go back one step, the previous public version. This had trouble with spawning the MajorWalesDesign Class 60, but since this pack has also received an update, I will check. If it works, that'll be the build of choice that was pretty much bug free (end of phase 2). (v 75.8a, release 15-Nov-23) Steam console command: download_depot 24010 24009 6124394136512064068 EDIT: The MJW Class 60 tends to crash the editor. But turntables, headlights and AP dynamic weather do work. So I'll pick my poison which is the Class 60 compat issues and stick with v75.8a until DTG decide to continue the work.
How does the MJW 60 fair with an existing scenario, also could the 60 be added in a later build but then be played in 75.8a? Also I assume that any recent AP code tweaks wont be adversely affected by the rollback to 75.8a? Interested in this as I'm also considering rolling back I still have the build sat in situ just renamed Railworks_old_v75.8a and have only a small amount of content to add to bring it up to my current build DLC/3rd party content. This is indeed starting to look like our only option now DTG have so obviously and blatantly failed us, thanks for sharing your findings.
I assume there's no compatibility issues, the changes have nothing to do with the update to 77.6, though I will ask Richard about that. If anyone has contact with Jack Hales, who did the scripts, would be nice to be reassured though. I'll be running AP stock exclusively tomorrow, and check if existing MJW Class 60 scenarios are running. If they do, then 75.8a is the best option for everyone I'd say. (Even if not, the pros outweigh the cons of one loco failing). Pro 75.8a - working turntables - headlights rendering correctly - AP Dynamic Weather reliable - no performance difference Con: - MJW Class 60 probably incompatible - reintroduces the slope creeping
Definitely the TS version to go with, so dump the buggy v77.6. Download the depot (see above), copy its contents from steamapps\content\app_24010\depot_24009 to your Railworks folder, Yes to overwrite. Then reinstall APSWEP so you got the correct script and shaders back. Workaround for scenario creators using the MJW 60 would be to either use LocoSwap or a separate small installation for editing. If it's on the tracks, it works, just picking it from the list in the editor crashes it. (LogMate hints to an interaction with the dispatcher at editor pick selection time (probably for aligning the loco with track direction, that was fixed in 77.6 but... welp.)
Well my experience has mostly been fine. Game still runs terrible in high density environments and still crashes now and again but it's always been that way. It wasn't until this year I started having these issues with the headlights and signals. I've since rolled back to the latest stable version and all the signals work fine. On that note I wish Dovetail would actually improve the frame rate and optimize the game but so far we've had two major core updates and neither of them seem to make any difference whatsoever.
Most addressed stability and memory management issues. As explained above, I recommend rolling back to v75.8a (TSC "2023"). It is the best version overall if you take compatibility, stability and performance into account. (No, an "OOM" is not an out of memory error btw, just a badly worded error message. These errors are almost always content (script/blueprint) related.) The last public beta was too ambitious, implementing some long standing wishlist features. Something went wrong there...
Having some coding experience myself, I understand that implementing / changing core features into old code, especially something as complex as a railway simulation, with thousands of DLC relying on certain functionality, can be impossible at some point. Each single change can have impact on multiple things that are unforeseeable. At some point, you just have to start over from scratch again. It's more likely they are planning a TSW (development of which started in 2014) follower than investing in TSC again.
As a loser in the last rounds of update lottery I am minded to cash in my chips and avoid any further updates. I have invested £1.5k in content and more importantly 1000 hours plus building custom quick drives, fixing route problems and sourcing timetables. Based on minimum wage rates for the work done that is a huge amount just to throw away if the game becomes unplayable on my set up. Apart from any further expansion of the Southeastern network workshop route I own pretty much all the must have content I would want from the Steam store. As I run my own content I generally don't suffer out of memory crashes, I have enough scenario permutations to last several lifetimes and the game performs pretty well for me on a mid range computer aside from the usual tile stutter hot spots which I guess will never be fixed. I have no wish to stand in the way of the vocal players with high end computers who like to play labyrinthine WTT scenarios with lots of obscure DLC (although guess what they probably will still crash however well optimised the game is because that dodgy re-skin hasn't been installed properly). I would just like the option to keep the build that I have without being forced into installing unwanted potentially damaging updates with no relevance to my own game playing experience.
As Spikee1975 said in the post #11 above create a new installation using the 2023 ver 75.8a I created a separate version of TS 72.5 using the instructions Spikee1975 gave us. My installation is very stable at the moment and the only problems seem to occur with 3rd party freeware items https://forums.dovetailgames.com/th...ly-install-old-ts-versions-next-to-tsc.71041/
I am happy enough with my current version of the game. The headlights thing doesn't impact too much as most AI traffic I use is third party with lens flare turned off. The only content which I have completely lost is the Newport to Ashey section of the IOW network which was never in my link rotation so seldom used. Thankfully the menu music can be turned off and Stainmore still works in a fashion just without ground signals. My worry is more about repetition of previous update problems prior to the revamp which broke most of my signals or impacted on the creation of AI spawn points which are crucial for quick drive scenario creation. As I said I would just like to secure what I have. If it means not being able to play online, having no support (no change there) and missing out on future content (what future content?) I would still settle for that over the risk of being collateral damage in the push to reinvent the game for the benefit of elite users.
The headlight issue is only a small part of the problem, there's also the ground signal issue with Stainmore for example but the biggest issue for me is the AP Weather scripts not working correctly, I have changed a lot of my scenarios to use the AP random weather feature so that it's different weather each time I play the same scenario, this is only achievable with a rollback to v75.8a
I was suggesting you create a different install to run alongside the current version. I have both the v72.8 and the 75.8 on my computer - the v72.8 does not get changed with Steam updates. Not sure why you think people who might want the game improved to avoid errors are "elite users" Mabe you should roll your game back to an earlier version
Sorry I'm just a player of the game not a computer expert so I would rather risk DTG breaking it than doing it myself. My impression was that much of the pressure for change came from players with high end computers who felt the game didn't meet their expectations given the capability of their equipment and if a few players had to sacrifice their outdated content then tough. Apologies if that was not the case. Bottom line is I run my own content on 50 odd routes many with fairly intensive AI and do not suffer from OOM crashes so you might or might not understand why I don't wish to lose further content or functionality on the altar of perceived progress. In the rare event of me wanting to run my TSW4 content I don't have to install the free TSW5 update. I would just like the same option for TSC instead of the all new singing and dancing updated TSC2 which if it ever is completed just might break my game or come with minimum requirements way beyond my computer specs. (Unsubstantiated speculation of a worse case scenario before anyone pulls me up on that) If you believe this progress will stop the game crashing then good luck with that. I have no wish to stand in your way. Its not an option for most players but not playing faulty content works 99.9% of the time for me. I would just like to keep what I have and in the unlikely event of new UK content being released on Steam I would happily pay for a new copy of TSC2 (in the sale obvs) to access it.
I'm also just a player and not a computer expert and I run what I want where I want The option is there to create a separate installation so that any updates to the game Don't affect it. You basically turn the clock back to TS2022 or any time depending on when you first got the game. TSC2 is very unlikely to happen as DTG have virtually stopped making content for TSC. What they are doing is work on the core engine to improve the reliability of the game The other option is to Go off line in the Steam Client and you never get a Steam update or any changes to TSC2024.
Let's see what the holidays bring if anything is in the works for TSC. I am curious if TSC2 becomes a reality, what that sim would look like.
