On one of the five million threads about the TSW editor, somebody asked how they could get access to the editor, and the answer they were given was that if they were an actual developer (and not somebody who wanted to mess around in the editor) they could ask DTG, but otherwise they wouldn't be allowed it. While I am personally not devastated by not having an editor (a scenario editor is much more useful for me, and in Train Simulator very few routes made by the community were actually any good), I was intrigued by the bit about actual developers having access to the editor. And that brought me back to the past. There was a route called Phorum Peninsula that was available for a while in Train Simulator (you will have played on an updated version of it in the London Transport Heritage Collection). It was built in 24 hours by Dovetail and was sold for a while (possibly a few years), with all profits sent to The Railway Children, a charity. I have campaigned many times for old Train Simulator DLC to be rereleased (including my darling the Seebergbahn) in Train Sim or TSW, but since that's probably not going to happen, another idea popped into my head. We've seen what some members of this community can do considering the limited tools in the game, from londonmidland 's global upgrade of SEHS to the fence fix by someone (sorry I can't remember your names), as well as the work of those on other sites like the TS Community, ranging from reskins to brute-force scenarios. So here's an idea... Why don't we work together and, like DTG did when they made Phorum Peninsula, make a proper DLC for TSW2, with all profits going to a charity? Phorum may look quite ugly compared to modern standards, but its LT Heritage version looked absolutely stunning (IMO the most beautiful route in Train Simulator), with loads of charm that we rarely see in the real-life routes in TS. The original version of Phorum was also quite content-heavy, despite the route being tiny: S100 steam loco, Class 07 shunter and SW1500 switcher (sadly all three of these were very basic models). Reskined Isle of Wight coaches, as well as freight wagons. A small tramway with a London E1 tram. TWO narrow-gauge lines, with three locomotives and an assortment of wagons. A donkey in a car park. Sadly the LT version got rid of the tramway (although it can be brought back with a Workshop route by Danny Leach) and the narrow-gauge line, I still love it. Anyway, back on topic. A fictional route would make the most sense for this should we do it. We wouldn't need to do any reference work and some members of the community (you know who you are) won't be able to complain about the ballast being the wrong colour or the fences not being there or being too high. The location of the route doesn't really matter. It could be anywhere in the world, but I believe that those who are actually making the route would have to be comfortable with the location as, although the route itself would be fictional, the country it's in wouldn't be, and would have to at the minimum look believable. There are many 'full-on' developers who can help out here as well. Obviously AP and Rivet Games would be useful, and if steam comes to TSW2 in time, Digital Traction, Steam Sounds Supreme and Caledonia Works could also be helpful. All of these developers could help with the loco side of the DLC - I personally wouldn't want them making the route as it's not really a 'community' route then. The trains which are actually made for the route would largely depend on what type of route we're making. If it was a heritage railway like Phorum Peninsula we'd need some old diesel locomotives, if it was some modern mainline we could make something line a Class 360, if it was a classic freight line in the USA we'd need something like an F7 (although we're getting one with Clinchfield anyway), or if it was a narrow gauge line (probably the coolest option) we'd need something... narrow gauge. DTG probably won't want to give the editor away to some randoms, especially if this is a one-off, but if we're serious about this and actually want to make more 'proper' DLC for TSW afterwards, I doubt they'd be against us - even if they won't make a profit. Anyway, that's enough waffling on. This is one of the random thoughts that goes through my head, so it probably won't happen, but I certainly would like it to. As usual, if you are interested - either in helping out or you just like the idea - just say so on this thread, because the more people who are interested now, the more people - hopefully developers - will become interested.
