Castle Class Question

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Cyclone, Oct 1, 2020.

  1. Cyclone

    Cyclone Well-Known Member

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    So I am trying to determine whether I need to acquire the Castle Class DLC, which I do not have ownership of. My question stems from the DLC that came with the Humble Bundle, which include the Castle Class Double Chimney and the GWR Castle. What exactly are these two DLC? Is Castle Class a unique item that is meant to be acquired separately? This has been bothering me for a while as I've seen the occasional item requiring it; in this case, South Western Expressways requires it for the "Castle Meets City Railtour" scenario. Will my rewards work or will I need the DLC? (Let's assume for this case that I do not swap it out with Ts-Tools.)

    Image showing the DLC items is attached.
     

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  2. theorganist

    theorganist Well-Known Member

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  3. 749006

    749006 Well-Known Member

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    I don't think you would gain anything by spending money on the Castle Class pack.

    If a loco called for by a scenario is the one from a certain pack then it won't appear if you don't have it
    Even though you have an identical loco in a different pack.

    Example - A scenario used the EWS 66 from MML but you don't have it then the game won't pick the one you own.

    Just swap the Castle you don't have for the one you do

    Peter
     
  4. Cyclone

    Cyclone Well-Known Member

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    Right, I'm aware of this. I'm just trying to figure out if it's the same one. My guess is that it isn't. And honestly, I get packs for the scenarios more than the trains, so I would probably get it for the scenarios anyway if I want to try them. Most likely at a good sale price, if that.
     
  5. 749006

    749006 Well-Known Member

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  6. Cyclone

    Cyclone Well-Known Member

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    I'm not sure which DLC you are looking at here, but I tend to play towards a smaller number of requirements, which tend to be ones I already have or that won't cost a lot for me to get. For a counter example, I noticed Erewash Valley came out today. If I wan to play every single scenario as designed with the intended traffic, I have to, in Canadian dollars, spend over $700 on loco add-ons, enhancements, coaches, and such between Armstrong Powerhouse (alone over $500-worth), Just Trains (another $188.26), and Steam (where I have most of the items already save one or two). And yes, I'd edit in the 158 I own, the 156, etc. With that said, the pack includes 12 versions of the scenarios that have already been edited down to the asset pack contents (and perhaps those are the original intended versions and they made the others as bonuses, I don't know), and I would not feel inclined to touch those; however, there are still a few scenarios in the pack that require the extra items, though perhaps not all of the listed requirements as some may only be in the duplicate scenarios. While I could get into a great debate over whether one should have to spend over $700 on DLC for one pack (even for three Armstrong scenarios one might have to spend over $500), that discussion has been borne out in threads, particularly related to scenarios in Armstrong Powerhouse packs that can't be touched. I do think it's not proper for designers to expect customers to edit scenarios using third-party software to be able to play them and really wish there wasn't such a heavy reliance on other DLC. Just Trains is at least trying to welcome everyone, which I appreciate, while trying to also cater to the collections that are massive. In general, I don't mind using additional trains from other packs, but only add in one or two that best contribute to the content, and leave it at that. That seems fair.

    Again, this is far from the topic of this thread and I won't carry on that discussion here. The question was pertaining to the Castle Class DLC and whether the train is the same one that is represented as a bonus. I'll probably get the pack on sale to get the scenarios anyway, either way, I'm just attempting to figure out if my bonus will work for the scenario in question (and even then I think I have to get City of Truro and a PlusPak, or edit those out anyway). So regardless, I won't likely be too worried about it by the winter sale. I was just wondering in case I run into that needed DLC whether my bonus item is the same one, and would work. It seems we're either not sure about that or that I should just swap the train. That is the conclusion I expected.
     
  7. 749006

    749006 Well-Known Member

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    Which is the point I am making.
    Don't buy add-ons unless you actually need them - buying an add-on because one scenario requires it is pointless
    But.
    So you can run scenarios on the route with very little or no expense
    But you still find it necessary to complain about the other scenarios
    You are given 12 scenarios with the route which is more than DTG do
    And there lies the problem - if JT were just to include scenario featuring a small amount of add-ons which ones.

    Living in the UK I know the types of trains on the Erewash Valley past Toton yard and depot
    Which of these actual trains should they include in scenarios?
    Class 37 in various liveries on Network Rail services
    Class 60 in DB & EWS liveries
    Class 66 in DB, EWS, GBRf liveries
    Class 150 in Northern Livery
    Class 156 in EMT, Midland Mainline and Northern liveries
    Class 158 in EMT, Midland Mainline and Northern liveries
    Class 222 in EMT and Midland Mainline liveries
    HST's in EMT and Midland Mainline liveries

    Just Trains could say - "Ok, our stock only" - like DTG do

    Peter
     
  8. Cyclone

    Cyclone Well-Known Member

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    The key words I used are "that best contribute to the content". In other words, which trains are most prevalant on the line, and use stand-ins for the ones that are less common. For scenario packs, I don't mind having trains be more varied, but for the actual route it should not have so many requirements. Create a couple of scenario packs to feature the other trains, and have free bonus scenarios for owners of all packs. That seems fair.

    Even better than that, get permission to put the train in the DLC so that people who don't have the other DLC can at least get the train. They don't have to get all the liveries from the otherwise-needed DLC, just get one or two and let people drive them without having to go spend $20 on a pack with 20 different liveries we don't need or the scenarios we can't use (in the case of the Armstrong packs particularly). It might mean adding $4 to the price, but including the train and letting people get something that is ready to use is just a good policy, I think. JT can even put their own trains in, which is even easier. Add a Class 37. Add a Class 222. Easy. They can do that with their own content. Instead of requiring an asset pack that has not been free for eight years, put one or two of their own trains in. I don't so much mind the asset pack being required, personally, but if I am going to buy a route, put in a train that is driven on the route by default instead of moving the same trains and styles around the world. You see DTG put the same trains in 10 different DLC. Just move a few around like that and create new skins that are not in the packs. Bingo.
     
    Last edited: Oct 8, 2020
  9. 749006

    749006 Well-Known Member

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    Just Trains could only add a Class 60 and a 222 plus the Kuju HST
    I suspect if they were to add a DTG 66, DTG 158 and an AP 37 the price would then be stupid and people would not buy the routes
    And that is before any freight/passenger stock.

    And would you then be happy to purchase a route knowing you already owned the DLC included?
    I doubt it - you would be first in the queue complaining about the high cost of the route.

    Don't forget
    The route comes with 12 Scenarios which most people will be able to run from day one.
    A lot of people might already have some if not all of the other DLC for the scenario variations
    And you can swap out with TS Tools

    Nobody is Forcing you to buy this DLC
     
  10. Cyclone

    Cyclone Well-Known Member

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    I did not suggest they should add the AP 37 or the DTG trains to the route. I could discuss this further, but this thread was regarding the Castle Class, not this discussion.
     
  11. 749006

    749006 Well-Known Member

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    So which 37?
    The thread is about the Castle Class and you went off topic in #6 saying how much the Erewash Valley would cost you to run
     
  12. Cyclone

    Cyclone Well-Known Member

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    ...I'm not sure what I meant there now. LOL I'm pretty sure I meant a different train, not the AP train.
     
  13. DTG Jamie

    DTG Jamie Staff Member

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    Hi Cyclone, the Castle Class DLC is separate to the double chimney and GWR variants, if the scenario needs the base pack you would need to purchase the DLC in order for it to work. Hope this helps.
     
  14. Cyclone

    Cyclone Well-Known Member

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    That is what I needed to confirm, whether both of the bonus variants were different from the pack. I had avoided that pack initially because I wasn't sure. Now I know it would be needed (or that I would need to swap in a variant myself to replace it), so I can go from there. I'll probably get the pack later anyway for playing the scenarios in my playlist.

    Cheers!
     

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