Maybe everyone guess what means the title. Today I finished the journey mode of Clinchfield. This expansion is extremely hard, difficult, frustrating, depressing, i can recommend only to masochists, people who really like the place or the trains in this game, that much, they don't care with bugs, glitches or anything, or people who think nowadays games (respect for all the exceptions) easy, fun. But first thing first... The expansion is an industry line, the scenery is not too exciting but it's ok. This one is about the freight trains and challenge to drive them. Thought that. But the first signs was already bad. After introduction you already get a 5 star difficulty mission. After first chapter you get the clear view, this journey is not good. First, you always drive in either darkness, darkness with rain, dawn or sunset but already at darkness. There was some missions in snow time... Aw man. Devs need to fix that. First, this expansion looks better in green than in snow. Second, if you are in snow at night you have a feeling a very big giant spotlight is above you somewhere lighten up the whole scenery. At some points on map, you can find some place where the snow scenery looks as intended. There looks great, not bright and loved that tiny parts. Even train headlights looks much better there. But wait, you do the tasks in the dark. Literally. Screenshot not manipulated, you really need to do things on a black screen if you try to do couple and uncouple by the cam views. What about the train light? Headlight, or better to say we get a flashlight on the train. Is not giving help most of the time. But ok. We just do couple and uncouple by hand. Let's go... Wait, i get a train on the track at opposite direction and can't go anywhere. Yes, you can't, because if you not fast enough, other trains will mess up your trip, you get stuck and need to restart. Only way to finish missions without getting trouble is using outside cams for couple and decouple as much as possible. But be careful! After you decouple you can get a surprise. The cars sometimes have glue on them, you can't decouple them, because they recoupling automatic after the confirmed is uncoupled. I give solution to make stop the glue effect. Yet still, if you uncouple your wagons and leave sometimes you see a thing you will laugh on it how is this going... The cars slowly start to follow you, and comes after your loco xD. So you will learn soon or later, you always need to use the parking/handbrake on one of the wagons before you decouple them. And the shunting part is... At the ending you will most possibly have no idea which of the cars is where ends up on your consist, or on the yards. What I loved then? The trains. F7 CRR, SD40 CRR. The locos is a good experience to drive them, but be careful at way down on slopes, sometimes the only way to don't overspeed using the automatic brake at "full service" mode. Aw right, the routes have ambient sounds, that's a plus. But the roads are too empty, no cars or trucks at lot of places. One of the most annoying bug is the "missing sounds". When you switch between cams, the train randomly losing horn sounds if you are lucky, or every sounds, even the engine sounds itself if you are unlucky. Random thing, so i found no solution. Also good news, you can save the game, nothing gets messed up after you load back your save. But the coal loading is fun, not? Yes it's a unique part, but i have no idea in 6 chapters why we get 2 or 3 missions, not more, where we load up the hoppers. This is the special operation in this expansion, yet the makers missed the mark. Of course, the tunnel effects missing here too. The journey mode is possible to finish, but impossible to do gold. Because on lot of places, if we use the stop with the last wagons at stop mark trick to get more points with doing more distance, we end up easily block the track we will need later, or the game don't give us permission later to recoupling the same cars, because a red light will never change to green. I had lot of trial and error situation to make gold on other missions too. Now my conclusions and after some tricks and tips for the game. This expansion is hard, makes player frustrated by not finishing in time to don't meet other trains, losing the chance to do switching or coupling by hand, playing in total darkness, and rain, sometimes i felt almost depressed too. Making a mission challenging with rains only is not good if we get it all the time. After a while i said myself, oh, rain again, what a great boring thing. So after all I give 3,5 from the 5, because while the trains is great, the glitches, bugs, the darkness and too much rain killing the experience. Tips and tricks: - if you get stuck somewhere by a red light, and you see no train anywhere, not even very far, save your game, leave it, go back to main menu, and load back the save. You will find the missing AI train now somewhere coming to you. This is why was red light. - same solution if you somewhere get the message from dispatcher you are off from track. Stop train, save, and after load back, you get connected to the next checkpoint again. - Always use the parking/hand brake on wagons. You need only to use on one of them after you stopped, and before decouple it. Don't forget to release the brake on wagons after you couple back too. - Solution for glue mode. Apply full parking brake on the wagon you will decouple from. Release all the brakes on loco, except the independent brake. Keep on full. Go with outside cam on the wagon, and keep the cursor on the couple locker. Now give 1-2 speed level to train, if high slope, make to 3, release the independent brake and click on the couple locker 2-3 times. While the train start to move, the locker finally unlocks, and you save your train from the wagons. Good job! - Always set up every locos. No matter the selector, i always turn on fuel pump, generator, and engine on every loco, and turn on the comms in SD40s. Except if we have F7 too, then don't turn on the comms, or messing up the powers. - helpful glitch, if we want to to fast in a loco, if you use outside view cam, you can just "go into" locos if you push the cam through the loco windows or doors before you first start moving the train. The glitch not working most of the time after you already started moving the train. - Don't trust the auto system for the switchers. Always, i repeat, always check the switchers in map view if in right position, at all the way you need to travel, because I hade some situation, where a very hidden switch wasn't changed on right direction, and got off track after almost finished mission. - If you get red light, first check the map. All the way, every direction. I had situation where a train was half map away, yet i needed to wait that one, after I staying in place for 30+ minutes waiting for it to arrive. - In 2 missions, the final stop mark is dangerously close to a red light. There is a solution to don't risk go over red. Stop the train full before the stop marker, don't try to go into it, or you will definitely go over red. Instead, fully apply the independent brake, release the other brakes, and carefully release the independent brake between 5-9%. So it shows between 95-91%. If you accidentally make more, don't panic, just pull the independent brake to full again. Restart the procedure. Now check with the outside view the loco front. If you did as i said, the train will do a very little move forward, then stops. Doing again, and stops again, without stopping permanently. That's it, the train will slide into the stop marker, and becase stops, the game will register the train stop and you finish the mission. Of course, experienced players can stop the train very gently on the marker without this trick too. - Last, if you got an AI train anywhere, either waiting for it, or that waiting for you, there is always at least 1 switcher somewhere that needs to get changed, because not in right direction, even if you changed it before. Look out for that checking in map view after you left the AI train. Missions where gold not possible: Chapter 3 McClure Shifter Part 3 - Ready to Return 3330 from 3350 Chapter 4 First Greenbriar Turn Part 8 - Back to the Shop 810 from 850 Chapter 5 Nora Turn Part 2 - In the Middle 2620 from 2650 Nora Turn Part 10 - Finishing up 1310 from 1350 Chapter 6 First Moss Turn Part 2 - Processing Pickup 4250 from 4350 So that's all. If anyone of you have question, need help, let me know, i will look into it if I can do something for you! Time to move on the next journey mode.
I think calling this dlc only for masochists is quite extreme lol. There are players who like the route, unit and type of gameplay. Sure, there are some things that can be improved but it's definitely not the worst. Also, bugs exist in all pieces of software, some being worse than the ones on this route.
I told i recommend to players who love the place or the trains that much in this expansion, and I write my feedbacks as a casual, not professional sim player, for casual players this expansion is very hard and frustrating. I always write the negative things, bugs and glitches i find in journey mode in every feedbacks (did in Arosalinie, SoS too), because if not before, monthly developers checking topics, they can see what missing, or need fix. Also, i write my feedbacks about the journey mode, in this expansion is timetable mode is much better, but not the journey mode.
I am definitely a casual player, and Clinchfield is by far the best journey mode in TSW2. I too was surprised by the 5 star scenario right after the introduction, but the mission was not that hard anyway. I've completed all the "spur" journeys to gold. Like you said, some have targets slightly higher than what is achievable, but you can grind a few extra APs in between red lights, if you want the gold medals. I have a few more "main line" trips to do, and I will have it all in gold. I find these incredibly boring though, so I won't do more than one of them once in a blue moon. blackard#5391 One last thing I wanted to tell you: if you check the timetable, there's a scenario hidden in there, Coal Loading at Bertha, which is quite nice. Not sure why they didn't include it in one of the journeys.
Clinchfield is nice but a classic example of DTG quietly laying to one side a DLC that still has many issues.
I don't think I'd be able to risk going red light back and forth for the gold, honestly, the gold points need a fix, i doubt the devs had in mind "ok, we get this on silver. Players just go back and forth and get gold, done" xD. I will try the mentioned hidden scenario on the weekend, thank you for letting me know, and yes, as i told in feedback, i have no idea why we don't get more loading missions in journey. For now i started the Great Western Journey, and it's truly enjoyable so far. For now I almost there i need a magnifying glass to find anything negative in it, but i don't give final rating/answer until i finish it, if recommended for everyone. I enjoyed Arosalinie journey, but not everyone enjoy it, i didn't enjoy too much Clinchfield journey, others enjoy it. It's ok, people not the same, and still with felt negative i gave some tricks and tips for players who want to finish it. I enjoyed the Cajon Pass, when i tried it for a bit after Clinchfield, if the freight routes all so hard and having the same glitches, but luckily, the answer no. Maybe i was a little too one sided about Clinchfield? Idk, but true, my expectations was quite high after all, This route is connected to my childhood. ( My Father's friend was a driver there) Hopefully we get a fix for it, but at least we still able to finish the trips. Thank you the suggestion again
I love Clinchfield and think its journey is great- but I agree with the OP that the pathetic night lighting/headlights make half the services a chore.
