Honestly, where is TSW even going at this point? I’ve been part of this series for many years now and after spending hundreds of euros on the game and its DLCs, I’m reaching a point where I genuinely question what direction this product is supposed to be going in. One of the biggest problems, especially on the German side of TSW, is the constant recycling of the same rolling stock. The BR 423 has been around since TSW2. The ICE 3 has been around since SKA. Many routes keep being built around exactly those trains again and again. Yes, occasionally something new appears, but when you compare what we get to the massive variety of modern German passenger trains that exist in reality, the amount of genuinely new rolling stock added over the years is honestly extremely small. Take a look at how many major modern German trains are completely missing from the game after all these years. The ICE 4, the Desiro HC, the FLIRT 3, the KISS, the IC2, the Twindexx, the list goes on. These are trains that dominate modern passenger operations in Germany, yet they are still nowhere to be seen in TSW after 9 years of this series. Instead we keep getting new routes where the timetable is conveniently set in a year that allows DTG to reuse as much existing content as possible. Mannheim–Kaiserslautern is a perfect example of that. Instead of representing modern operations with newer rolling stock, the route was deliberately set right before fleet changes so that most services could be filled with trains already in the game. And even when we do get something “new”, it often ends up being minor variations of existing vehicles. Slight modifications of existing wagons, slightly tweaked versions of trains we already have, or freight locomotives that many passenger-focused players were not really asking for in the first place. What makes this even more frustrating is the state in which some of this content releases. Even a lot of reused rolling stock frequently ships with bugs. The systems and features are technically there, but they often don’t work properly because of persistent issues. That means parts of the functionality end up being unreliable or effectively unusable in practice. Seeing content reused while parts of it are still not properly fixed just adds to the frustration. Another issue is value for money. Routes are consistently priced €36. That might be easier to justify if every release came with substantial new content, but when a route is relatively short and relies heavily on existing trains, it becomes very difficult for many players to see the value there. And before someone says “just don’t buy it”, that completely misses the point. Forums exist so players can give feedback and discuss the direction of the game. Many of us have invested hundreds of euros into this series over the years. Wanting the product to improve is not unreasonable. After eight years of this franchise, the amount of German rolling stock available in the game compared to how much money many players have spent is honestly disappointing. The potential of TSW is huge. The technology, the immersion, the idea of building a living railway network with layered timetables – all of that is fantastic. But the execution often feels like the bare minimum required to release another DLC. At this point it’s difficult not to feel like long-term players are being taken for granted. Many of us supported this series from the beginning, bought route after route, locomotive after locomotive, hoping the overall ecosystem would keep growing. Instead it often feels like we are still stuck driving the same handful of trains again and again. For me, the time has now come where I am simply only disappointed, feel betrayed, and will no longer invest any money in TSW. After years of disappointment and an increasingly frustrating and worsening situation, I have given up hope.
Well, what they create also depends on licensing and access. They can't really create a train if they don't have permission to use it. They can't use an operator if they can't get the branding or licensing rights. I don't think dtg would do unbranded content Then you have to consider who is creating it. A brand new community member or a single developer might not feel comfortable creating all brand new stuff if that makes sense. It's not that they are purposely not creating the newest of trains. It's a lot more factors
