Not boasting but I think I have quite a large one! At over 201gb, with a total of 41 installed entries in the content manager (31 being DLC routes) my PS5 installation of TSW is not small and I am wondering how much the size affects the way the game runs. Firstly, on start-up why does it take so long ? TSW is on a very fast SDD yet takes a ridiculously long time to load compared to every other title I own. When I first installed TSW6 it loaded quickly but as I added my DLC it just got slower and slower. What is it loading on start-up that takes so long and why does it need anything more than basic look up tables for the available add-ons? The route running performance I currently get is extremely good and very smooth but the latest Just Trains route (Crewe to Preston) is awful with terrible frame freezes and excessive stuttering. Amongst suggestions from DTG was to remove some my other DLC which is not something I am willing to do as they all run very well. If any DLC is getting deleted it is Crewe to Preston as it is the only one that has problems. Why would I be advised to remove my older content to improve the poor performance of a new one? Why would other perfectly running DLC affect a new route? Why does the new route NOT affect the performance of the older routes? Lots of questions here that have me scratching my head at. I feel that deleting my beloved older content (that run perfectly) to maybe improve the dreadfully poor performance of a newer one is not a good idea and is similar to amputation of the WRONG limb whilst attempting to save a patient from bleeding out. It seems strange that DTG put so much effort creating and selling new routes and then inform us that we need to keep the number of routes down to levels well below what we were told as manageable on a PS5. TSW7 is possibly arriving soon with hopefully the free update for existing customers. I will probably be downloading 201gb of content yet again and this is one area where size really does matter because of the off the scale tedium involved. A year ago I wondered whether the minimal improvement of a new TSW version was worth the massive effort and boredom and as the time approaches there is now a truly gigantic question mark hanging over the matter.
im on pc and have over 600 mods that will even double that time again plus i own all dlc except the latest expert train
The loading times are absurd, they became that way when DTG implemented the add-on manager which seemingly loads in every single piece of DLC in order to build a database of what you own. What I have never understood is why that has to happen every time I open the game. The PS5 knows the exact time I last updated the game, it knows the exact size taken up by the game, so it should be possible to build a simple check and if those values are unchanged since you last played, then the game should just use the previous database rather than waste a few minutes creating it all over again.
Even on PC I have triaged out routes that I rarely play to save HD space. Think my total install size was kicking close to 500Gb with all the content, which is just absurd. For the moment at least, additional storage is not exactly cheap either so the only option is a brutally curated install. All the American routes are gone and most of the German/European ones.
all depends on situation the ssd prices does not seem to be that much higher then before it probably all depends on how much you can spend or save up
668GB. 124 DLC installed Series X. It takes 4 minutes and 17 seconds to load the game at startup. Routes take about a minute to load. And about 1 minute 40 seconds to go back to the main menu.
I have all the DLC except for the "Expert", on PC Total Files Listed: 200 File(s) 562 783 866 406 bytes
Thank you all for your replies. A few things seem evident from them. 1) Large TSW installations are not uncommon and some people have ones three times the size of my own. 2) Start-up load times are generally considered as excessive. 3) Some form of content cull is useful to keep the size manageable. I've looked at deleting some routes and considered the several German DLCs as possible candidates but recently I started playing some of them again and was really surprised how good they are. I have never got my head around the German train safety systems or signalling but even as a simple manual drive they are really good fun, smooth running and with impressive scenery. They have a feel of being well built and of a high quality, much like many other German products so I am keeping them. I do not feel there is much I can cull so perhaps I have reached a point where I should start limiting new DLC purchases and just enjoy what I have currently.
About the question in the title, I would suggest to ask her. About the amount of installed DLC, yes it matters for the start-up time of the game. Also layers and substitutions of old routes matters on a new(er) route. Layers can be disabled, however from what I understood, they're still loaded but not visible, so the only option to get rid of them is removing the route completely. You can only disable all substations at once from the menu, but I don't know if the same happens with substitutions as with layers and the're still loaded but not visible. I suggested to Matt to do something about the substitution situation and he told they want to change this. I also hope they figure out something to completely disable layers and substitutions per route, so they're not loaded at all anymore.
361.8gb, 116 dlc, standard PS5. Yep, takes awhile to load, but has improved more recently, especially near the end of the load. It's not so long to be off-putting, but I'll watch a bit of tele as it loads in the background. Sometimes I'll get hooked on that and kill the game.
