Doncaster To Retford

Just wanted to share my thoughts on the new ECML route, and more specifically the northern portion between Doncaster and Retford (as this is the section i know best of all in real life)

my initial reaction is honestly wow! It's very, very true to life.. much more so than i was expecting. The foot crossings at Scrooby are not just there, but the surrounding roads and paths and scenery are laid out very close to how they are in reality.

the level crossing at Ranskill, the signal box has Ranskill written on it.. you may not notice at 125mph but it's a small detail that really makes the route feel real. The same at Toworth level crossing which has the exact mileage location written on too.

the lake near Torworth level crossing (Daneshill Lake) is there, but what struck me was that the paths that run close to the railway line there are modelled almost exactly as they really are (okay they look more like tarmac roads than gravel paths.. but the point is they are there, and the layout of them is spot on!)

one minor (and i mean minor!) thing is at the next level crossing (Sutton cum Lound) the scenery to the east side of the crossing is too 'built up' with houses.. in reality it's just a very small village.. but again this is incredibly minor, and if you're not looking for this (why would you!) you'll sail by at 125 mph never knowing the difference.. there's a similar thing with the east side of Ranskill level crossing, in game the road streches far off into the distance, but in reality is relatively short before coming across a small industrial area.. again only local people would know that, and as a local person i'm happy to say i really don't care! The actually important local stuff here (the route, the level crossings and the immediate surroundings near the track) are honestly spot on

i'm sure i noticed the 'Edinburgh 250 miles' sign at Daneshill/Torworth too.. a nice touch there, accurate as in reality, and very nice to be included here.

finally at Doncaster station.. i'm guessing the multi storey car park is called 'FrenchFence' instead of 'FrenchGate' for licencing purposes.. and is actually quite amuzing!

So overall, just taking into account the top stretch between Doncaster and Retford.. DTG you have done an outstanding job.

i so wanted this route to be good, it's the exact route i've always wanted to be made, but i didn't want to get my hopes up incase it didn't live up to expectations (i've learned that the hard way after Midland Mainline)

but honestly i'm so impressed here, driving this route between Doncaster and Retford and it FEELS like you are there.. so credit where it's due to those who created this, it's outstanding.

i'm not going to comment on the route further south of Retford.. because even though i know it well there will be people here who know it even better than i do who can give a better opinion of how accurate that is. But take it from me, this particular stretch north of Retford is seriously high quality, and i cannot wait to spend more time on this

so all that's left to say is thank you to everyone who made this happen, and thank you for taking the care, effort and time to get this right, it hasn't gone unnoticed!

 

Very much agree, all this praise can be applied to the rest of the route too which is just as nicely done, again apart from things that 99% of people wouldn't notice. A very good route which clearly had a lot of work go into it and glad it has paid off. Top notch.

 

Yes I don’t think we would have got this level of detail if it had been Kings Cross to Peterborough.

 

thank you too JD, you and the team really nailed this.. of all the UK routes released over the years, this one really stands above them all for it's detail and quality.

my only personal issue is (because i always drive with a front facing external camera view), the camera bounces around erratically inside tunnels and under a few bridges and forces you to go back to cab view, then to manually reset the front facing external view whilst driving when you leave the tunnel (i imagine this is due to limited clearance inside tunnels and under certain bridges south of Retford, and isn't limited to this route as i know parts of SEHS have the same issue too).. but other than that i can have no complaints at all.

but the route itself, honestly outstanding. Even on 8th gen there is also so much AI (both class 801 and class 66), the route feels truly alive.. plus the stations with lner specific posters, i guess what i'm saying is the route has all the big, key and important features and places present from real life.. but also the very small details are there too.. so again thank you, i'm genuinely very impressed and happy with how this section of the ecml has been represented!

Katia

 

can i also just add.. i'm currently exploring Retford station on foot and you've even added on the platform 1 benches the local landmarks and famous people 'like Kings Park and the Pilgrim Fathers' in the same colour and font as reality.. that level of attention to detail is genuinely outstanding.. to have taken the time to add (what to many may seem very minor and not even noticable) details is frankly unbelievably good

i don't think i've ever seen a set of UK stations in this game that have such an immersive and realistic feel.. the more i explore this route the more i'm impressed, this is honestly a whole new level for the game, the diaromas and the more 'alive' coffee shops, it all just adds to the immersion here.. and as a cat lover, loving the cats added around the route too!

and a final note to add.. the music in the menu and the loading screen is a really nice touch too, the whole feel of tsw4 so far is a real step up from anything that has come before!

 

I can also confirm my house is there and looks housish which is a good sign and actually the rest of the village looks rather nice too. No large graffiti in sight as someone suggested may have been the case, on here!