Another thing with Barry island, not only would it be an extra terminating station, you would get Eastbrook, Dinas Powys, Cadaxton, Barry Docks and Barry. So that’s 6 extra stations, and Barry Depot would likely have been included. Would’ve added much more playability.
Overall thoughts after a couple of days are that I like it but it needs some polish in places and it is over priced. The 150 is better than the WCL version and the 153 is a great little unit. More routes for this please - like say Scottish Highlands route? The scenery is okay for the most part, but there are some really rough parts. Whitchurch, like, how did this get allowed out the door? It feels like a day one rough mock up that no one went back to. Cardiff Central is just lazy to not model the concourse and outside of the station front and the teleport markers are are joke. I think someone nailed it, it has been rushed out for financial year end when it needed another 3-4 weeks of TLC to get it all finished off. Timetable wise it is good, it feels busy for a network route and you pass plenty of traffic. A bit of variety at Cardiff with the GWR stock and some freight. Interestingly the timetable also has layers listed for Flirt, 197 and Class 67 services and static stock ... The scope though is by far the biggest let down. It just needs more ambition and it isn't the first route where this is the case. It should have had Barry Island (6 extra miles) and also Caerphilly (6 extras miles) to add two more actual service end points. If they wanted to really push the boat out then 8 miles to Pontypridd would have given a few extra miles for running as well. That'd still be only 40 miles total with all 3 and 32 miles with just Barry and Caerphilly.
l agree the route is well done in places and absolutely abysmal in other places. Whitchurch flats are terrible, but l do like Cardiff Station.
I’ve made my feelings on central very clear…. The platforms are well done and the subways too I guess. Mismatch of eras slightly. When platform 8s lift was red (Covid branding) the stair case was blue. I haven’t had a good look at the red on the stair case properly, but irl it has metro branding and I don’t recall seeing it other than a flat red colour in game. the above are minor details I guess, but the lack of front concourse and the model completely missing outside is disappointing to say the least.
The more I play this route, the more I’m enjoying. Nice variety of different runs which is good to see. Whether it’ll will outlast my other UK routes Suffragette, WCML over Shap, WCML South and Mildmay are in my main rotation, we’ll see for now. I echo other comments about Barry Island and / or Caerphilly being included. I’d have said Caerphilly as you could have two complete end to end runs (from there and Coryton to Penarth) 150 sounds and performs a lot better when you notch up gradually. I went from notch 2 to get moving then 3, 5 at 5 mph and 7 arouund 10-15 mph. I found a better experience this way. What I do like is it really does feel busy, there’s a lot going on but more importantly, a lot of adverse signals especially around Cardiff. I done a run from Cogan to Heath High Level (2D48, 1811 dep) and was following a service into Cardiff so yellows / reds and was then held awaiting a platform at Cardiff Central. This is what we’ve really needed in TSW a tight timetable. Mildmay is good for this too.
Not simping. But seeing as people have bought it, even those who have repeatedly said they won't, it can't be as bad as its been made out.
Pretty typical thread I would say… 20 plus pages of people predicting how terrible a route will be, THEN the route is released and heaven forbid, people actually like it and are having fun leaving many of the naysayers rather dumbfounded….
Whilst I respect your opinion, I do disagree. There are some people who have done a U turn, but there are also those like myself who stuck firmly to their position and continue to do so. It's a subjective matter, but I'd argue it is a very mediocre and bland route that doesn't stand out nor does it ooze quality or the detail I'd expect of a TSW5 route regardless of it being released now. My gripe now is the people who continuously moan about the poor quality/quality decline of content but then continue to keep buying this stuff... I've stuck to my point of view, my point of view hasn't changed that the route itself is of a poor quality overall, and I am not spending anymore money on content unless it meets certain quality criteria... From a personal perspective and as a one man army I stick by my principles, and that's funding content that is exceedingly good quality and not bothering with stuff that does not meet that criteria... If a few others stuck by their guns it would shape the game for the better. But that is their freedom to do what they want with their own money, but by not sticking to their principles, future content that was previously considered 'poor quality' can be considered as 'acceptable quality' by certain developers.
I totally agree with you dude, it's just beautiful to watch, but people need their hills to camp on for entirety with their specially sharpened spear and screaming blindly into the void. I like to smile and wave at them as we leave them behind and move forward with the progress of the game, but the distant howls and wailing from all the hills being camped on really are sweet music to go to sleep by.......
So. My two cents. I've picked it up BUT I will be refunding it and I still remain adamant on a sale purchase. Cardiff Queen St has been modelled brilliantly - at rush hour, it's VERY busy with passengers. The 153 is okay, sounds aren't all there, but they aren't terrible. There seems to be an intermittent issue with not getting brake release with AWS enabled. The 150, is.... well, the 150. The route overall seems to have a fair bit of detail, but as said above multiple times; the route lacks details and the missing concourse and station building at Central is inexcusable. There is also issues with Off indicators being lit up when the main aspect is at danger, this needs fixing. Lifts at Central aren't operable as the subway in which the lifts lead to isn't modelled. Make your own opinion up on this.
No obsession here, but many interesting things happen in these virtual halls when people find that hill or mountain that they won't budge from. The entirety of the human condition plays out and boy can it be equal parts epically funny and borderline tragic that humanity just can't handle not getting what they personally wanted from this product.....
Does this go near Llantrisant?(spelt?). I used to work at the Mint but never used the trains, barring one trip to Cardiff from Portsmouth. Cheers.
Same here. Despite temptation I have doubled down on my resolve not to buy this until, 1. The issues that have been raised are fixed and, 2. The price is at a level more compatible with the scale of the add on, which is actually my biggest grievance. I found myself once again yesterday evening on Mittenwald and it is just hard to conceive this work of art is in the same game as Cardiff, let alone cost just £3 more. Keep the faith and don’t feel any need for pity purchases to support this company.
It’s not difficult at all. There is simply no alternative available and people want fresh content so they cave in and buy. DTG have the market and they know it, and whilst they do they can keep producing average to good routes that are unfinished.
Your position is strange. You seem happy enough with what gets pumped out so why are you in these threads butting heads? Surely you should be in the game, chilling and enjoying your high quality dlc?
There is not many 2 car 150 services but most of the 153 services I've driven/guarded besides scenarios are single units.
Yes I noticed that at Cardiff Queen Street yesterday. It's nice they've included them but they need to be done properly if implemented. It can't be more difficult than a regular signal surely?
My position could be viewed as strange and not normal, but then again what's normal these days. Oh definitely not butting heads because I don't care at all about the other person opinion, respect that they have one but really don't care about it, yes the products are far from perfect and things do miff me about it. But when taken into the bigger picture of life and all that stuff, people loosing the plot and their marbles is equally truly rib tickling stuff and tragically sad when it's only a game. What we got is far more than not having it at all......
must be the scenarios that i've seen then - but there does seem to be an abundance of them. it should just be tied to the main aspect to which it applies... if.signal=red if.signal=yellow,green
I forgot to note I am indeed playing right now just done a run from Dresden to Riesa, while waiting to leave for a real train trip to St Ives.....
Anyhow if we are talking attention to detail… While the price hasn’t been announced yet but probably no more than £30, just look at the quality of the forthcoming 137km Lodz route add on for SimRail, compared to what DTG foisted on us with Cardiff… https://store.steampowered.com/app/3583200/SimRail__The_Railway_Simulator_d__Warsaw/ Now not denying SimRail has issues notably the still less than robust single player game, but by god what a contrast.
Probably a stupid question one way or the other but do any services go via Ninian Park and Fairwater? It looks to be on the map but haven’t spotted any services in timetable mode.
So. There should be a number of Cardiff Central services to Radyr via Ninian Park... SHOULD there's like two or so an hour I believe IRL.
I would hope with such a small route that the timetable would be complete. If there are services missing my decision to purchase would be easily made.
I mean, the files are still on my PC - I can probably test it. But would be happy to know what others experience is with it.
You know, this is a really short route, 20 miles. Yet they needed Third parties to help them, not trying to be harsh but you really shouldn't need help on a route like that and yet it still ain't great. The Fact there is issues, trains getting stuck, red signals, bad pathing just speaks volumes of what quality they dish out. JT have a small team (Not sure how big) Yet they managed to release WCML OS in Amazing condition with only little errors which really aren't noticeable, never had a crash on the route and no issues whatsoever. It is a 79 mile route (around 100 totalling all tracks) Scenery is amazing, buildings are accurate. If you're going to do a 20 mile route at least get it completely right. Point is if your needing third party help on a small route then there is something clearly wrong.
TrainsimTVs second video on the 150 is worth a look. He talks a bit about the scenery and the tooling used when between Llandaff and Cathay's. Like that section it seems like the train paint standard grass was just put on which you can't really see very well and just in general could've used a little more care and attention.
This. I mean just contrast with the sheer quality and artistic beauty on Mittenwald. And they only want £3 less for the Cardiff disgrace. TBH at this point I’m not even sure I would buy Cardiff in a sale, well maybe if it ever went less than a fiver. I still wonder if this was something that was bounced out to an intern, either at DTG or Rivet (or both) as a sort of training exercise, then at some point adopted into a full project but without any checks and balances in place to review the quality of the work.
Agreed, and yes I got the route but I wanted to try it for myself. At First decent its good. But then the more I played it the more bugs I would encounter, bad scenery as well. Getting stuck at signals because 2 paths have collided. Not great.
As mentioned the Merthyr Tydfil (M headcodes) services do at least, because they make a loop from Radyr via Fairwater then through Cardiff Central and then back up via Llandaf to Radyr and off the map.
What's it like now after today's update im holding off for a bit i just wanted to see the feedback before I decide whether to get it
Lots of conflicting opinions on this route, but i'm still enjoying it. It has the usual level of TSW bugs but nothing horrifying other than those Kuju-esque buildings at Whitchurch, which i have to say is probably the worst piece of scenery in the whole franchise IMO, but at least it's not something you see every five minutes. Same with the unfinished concourse at Cardiff Central- yes, it should be better and it's annoying, but i can still suspend disbelief way more often than not. Guess i'd describe it as "messy but fun" Look, but i'm absolutely biased towards urban/suburban networks- players who don't enjoy them won't find a lot to love here tbh. Otoh, i took a freight run on WCMLOS from Carlisle to Preston last night. While it's beautifully crafted and i appreciate all the little details, I almost fell asleep before reaching Shap summit.
How can this 20 mile route cost $39.99 when, for the price of a medium latte, I can step up to WCMLoS at $44.99? Actually, in my opinion, they're both overpriced. But the pricing policy is hard to fathom.
They’d probably like to charge more for the longer routes but at that point you’re getting close to the ‘line’ drawn where people just won’t pay for something. Looking at other sims such as ATS/ETS/MSFS, there are plenty of high cost vehicles, which are worth the asking price, but the majority aren’t likely to spend an arm+leg on virtual models. Look at the Pro BR101, £30 for a trainset is very expensive relative to other TSW content, but it’s still in the realm of standard pricing across all content, so most aren’t going to bat an eye & just grab it for the sake of it. I reckon when we see a £50 content release (and I bet we will), that’ll really test the waters. DTG have been really clever with what they’ve done with TSW. Drip feed little chunks of routes that offer limited long term gameplay, and the majority will just snap up whatever gets released, the quality & logic of it all doesn’t matter.
Well, there's definitely some " price creep " happening. For a while I think we'll see some routes at $39.99 and an increasing number at $44.99 until, suddenly, we'll realize that the latter has become the new standard. That higher price crosses my " red line " of $50 ( with tax ) so I'm loathe to pay that amount for any route. That's why I asked the question in the QA thread. Why is this Dutch route $44.99, when, unlike WCMLoS, it doesn't seem to have any branches, few stations and a straight, flat run between two fairly minor termini? Yes, it has 2 trains ( which used to be the norm until post Rush Hour ), but it's still overpriced in my opinion. Especially when you consider that it needs a bunch of other dlc to make it busy and give it variety in gameplay. I'm not cheapskating here. I can easily afford to pay the higher price. But, until we get a consistently high quality of route making with no more than minor issues at release, I don't want to encourage " shrinkflation " and other attempts to raise prices.
Yes. There are a lot of services which go full circle ethier via Ninian park before/after Cardiff Queen Street.
OV. Stay clear of this one. As you say it hasn’t got the sheer quality and artistic beauty as on Mittenwaldbahn. It’s similar to WCL, Fife Circle and other routes Rivet have been involved in. Some of the buildings portrayed and the football pitches scattered around the route are so blatantly amateurish that you would see better on the wall in a first year primary school. If it was a book l would say it has been issued without a proof reader seeing it. Some areas of the route are particularly well done, but if l was in DTG and responsible for checking out the route before release l would be totally ashamed to see it as it is and certainly would have sent it back to the design team to improve and correct all the flaws. I am not going to start on commenting about the bugs as some have been commented on in earlier posts. I just cannot understand why some routes appear so amateurish. Do DTG think the vast majority of users in the game are youngsters, as the scenery in some parts are really terrible and laughable. Thankfully, we have a couple of Just Trains routes that do justice to the game and show the quality achievable, it’s just a shame that some developers cannot reach the same standards we would expect.
Do I dare say the word ‘Laziness’ remember when like few years ago we called out the devs for being lazy and Matt got really annoyed about it. thing is wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t done in a lazy fashion.
I suppose it could be equally asked why you are in these threads butting heads. Surely you should be doing something else that makes you happy, given that TSW is essentially dead to you. Yes, it's a strange argument. And, before you start, I haven't bought any DLC since TSW5, except for GWE in a sale (less than a fiver, I think).
There is plenty in TSW to make people happy, WCMLOS, Mittenwald etc. that when DTG drops a dud like this it is utterly frustrating. I was actually looking forward to reliving some of my old Wales & West/ATW days, albeit a very small section, with this route but I just can’t bring myself to buy such a shockingly low quality effort, signed off by the DTG management at such an outrageous price.
It depends on their operating model. Perhaps contracting isn't working very well for DTG but lots of software companies do it. I work at a software company which directly employs thousands of high-calibre software engineers and we still hire contractors for some things.
