Dovetail Games Dovetail Games - Season Of Reveals 2024 (week 1)

i fully agree with this, and i'm really enjoying these reveals, even if some days it has no relevance to me (like yesterday's German timetable enhancement.. it's not a route i own or ever plan to own, but i'm all for routes in this game getting timetable enhancements so it was great to see!).. i'm looking forward to every weekday for the next two weeks at 2pm already!

 

Yes I think it's great that they seem to be aiming them at a broad range of users.

 

Previous new journeys(gameplay packs) was much better, at least they was coming with new liveries and some models differences. Like RHTT, Class 37, SD70ACE, shiny beautiful F7.
New wagons - ok, fine, but add at least some different variation of Class 66(even DB dirty livery at very least).
111 - Ctrl + C -> Ctrl + V. Ok, at least this is a set of a train not only wagons.
F125 - I suppose she will become for player only without integration in timetable . Sounds me-h to me.

 

I like the gameplay packs. Looks like decent value to me. Very excited for the WCMLS update as i haven't really touched it since launch.

Slightly OT, but when are DTG going to address the Gen 8 Elephant in the room? It's become clear, especially since the TSW5 launch, that those players are getting a significantly worse product for the same money they are charging for Gen 9 and PC.

I actually think DTG have done a commendable job keeping Gen 8 going as long as they have, but it seems to be reaching a point now to where the two versions are diverging rapidly in quality.

I started playing TSW on Xbox One before i was able to upgrade to Series X and PC, so i'm very sympathetic to this issue- just don't see how it's fair to keep charging them full price for a fraction of the content.

 

Been getting into cargo like only recently and been liking it as usually just stick to pax stuff so will be adding these waggons for uk

 

Nice the BR111 with Einholm pantographs! Perhaps also Abn coaches??

 

Very peculiar. Just yesterday I was talking to a friend, and mentioning that the 111 could fit into so many more routes in TSW, and some n-Wagen services would be nice. Now this

Shockingly, I haven't tried out Frankfurt-Fulda as of yet, because the current choice of rolling stock there just isn't my cup of tea... this pack will change things

Edit:
If something similar is gonna be announced for the 218 and the n-Wagen diesel cab, I'll be over the moon

 

I’d argue they are getting the same product they are just running it on significantly worse hardware. As soon as they upgrade the hardware they get the missing features.

If they offered it at a lesser price to Gen 8, then we’d all just buy the Gen 8 version and let it upgrade. If they sold separate versions it would just add confusion when people upgraded to Gen 9

 

Is it true wcml patch is next week??

 

It’s a great pity that Koln - Aachen timetable upgrade comes without TOD4 lighting and suspension update. It would be very hard to step back in progress and force myself to play route with old lighting and no working suspension, I think I’ll just rather start service on Frankfurt - Fulda route instead and I think I’m far from being only one who is adapted to new quality standards. I would even pay for this current-gen upgrade pack for this route, if gameplay packs annouced today are worth 5.99€, this should have been made for Koln Aachen too with the same price - but with both timetable and up-to-gen update as well. Development time wasted on useless conductor mode and route hopping could have been used on this, for example. Such a missed oportunity DTG, again…

Going not far from this topic, gameplay packs that were annouced today, only relevant information for me as a DE content player is BR111 formation with n-wagen coming to Frankfurt Fulda route for 5.99€. Nice idea to improve ingame variety via paid packs and Im okay with that, maybe one or two new freight vagons could have been added too for this price tag. Only thing I’m really missing is providing BR111 and N-wagen cab car updated suspension physics, to meet technical and enjoyment standards of current gen Frankfurt Fulda route!

 

Yes, it’s in the linked article.

 

I suppose the San Bernardino holiday train will attract some, but it's a once and done and I'll pass.

However the F59 is certainly interesting, even though I'm not greatly enamoured by the route itself.

Still, enjoying this reveal season. It's kinda fun.

 

The F59 has got to be the most boring livery I have ever seen. Metrolink wasn't even trying...

 

£4.99 for a new UK game pack....yep day one for me.

 

Really don’t know why they can’t do as asked and put each new release at the top of first post. Well anyway another neutral reveal, not bad but nothing that really stands out. In fact since the exercise started the scope seems to have diminished each day. We started with a route, or well part of a route, then a new loco, a new timetable and now payware gameplay packs. Come on guys, make the Friday reveal something really significant and iconic

 

They actually had much nicer liveries on them in the past, including the original

It seems like with the rebuild they went with the most plain livery they could get away with - white with their name on it.

My best guess is since they were only keeping a few of them and they are acting more as spares now, they didn't want to put the money and effort into giving them the fancy new livery that the F125s have.

That said I am glad DTG is giving us the "boring" livery because that is the one that is accurate for the period the route is currently set in.

 

I am confident we'll get something really exciting tomorrow.

 

Continuing the thread of people being disappointed by the reveals and whatnot, I’m not going to posting that I’m disappointed with today’s gameplay packs as they look quite good, but rather that I’m not sure I can risk using them, or at least the German offering. As we know these are not being released for gen 8 consoles as the core routes are problematic on them already but I am concerned about the impact more being added to Frankfurt Fulda will have on performance on that route on my PS5.

When it was released it was bordering on the limit with all the layers I had and since buying Maintalbahn it has taken a further hit with what that adds, and it does not seem stable enough on PS5 to have another loco and passenger wagon set added to it. It may be great to have the extra train and services but it’s going to cause more crashes and more slideshow fps for sure. We know the blurred textures will appear within minutes or seconds of starting any service on the route. I know other layers could be disabled to improve performance but that’s a difficult choice to make as to which ones to disable each time you play. It’s a great route, the best of the core routes, partly down to how busy it is but can it really handle more? I don’t think it can. I think only players with really powerful PCs are going to have no issues adding another train to it.

I’ve not played much of DTG’s WCML core route and I am waiting for the big update before I do but I’m thinking with all the extras that update will bring the performance will suffer (but can’t say by how much) and I don’t know whether the weathered wagon pack would have much of an extra impact there. I don’t see the US holiday train being an issue, even when paired with the previously revealed loco DLC (but who knows) so it is mainly the BR 111 pack for Frankfurt that concerns me and maybe the WCMLS one but the update is more of a concern there.

 

We will see! I mean, I don't want to be negative about the gameplay packs but just about every route I own has masses of unplayed Journey elements or scenarios as it stands and that's before all the existing timetable could be worked through. I could have got more excited about the UK pack if it had included a new freight loco such as the 56, 60 or 70 but just like the SHG Cargo Packs, new or weathered wagons are not really my thing.

 

I’m sure it is just me being out of the loop lately, but performance on the Gen 9 consoles seems to be a question mark that’s growing larger and larger.
The article about the WCMLS update is the first official thing I’ve read, which showed any concern about having to disable layers. It didn’t seem that long ago that those with the PS5/XBX were known to be just as well off as those with decent PCs.
Maybe I’m just overthinking it, or maybe it’s being made to sound worse than it is. I’m not learned enough on the subject, is this something that optimisation updates can address?

 

Wouldn't it be great if a new freight loco was behind one of the doors

 

Yeah funny enough this is exactly my sentiment. German routes used to be some of my most played but currently I have most of them on the backburner because they all seem to be so jam packed with content that they suffer from the blurred texture issue that drives me insane. Frankfurt Fulda I've never even done a full run on because FPS are terrible (which I could live with) and the blurred textures take over 1/3 through the route (can't handle this).

I also have shelved WCML until the improvements but I am worried that with hundreds of new services added to it, it will have those issues too.

The US routes, which typically tend to have much less rolling stock variety don't seem to suffer from the blurred textures. I don't think I've ever seen the blur texture issue appear on a US route, so I am back to mainly playing those. And of course the JT routes despite being some of the most detailed ones don't have the issue either, knock on wood.

And for anyone wondering, PS5 Pro doesn't seem to solve the blurred texture issue. It has SLIGHTLY more usable ram but they appear seemingly in the same places as a regular PS5. It does give me slightly higher FPS in general but nothing major in TSW.

 

Agreed, Frankfurt-Fulda is by far the worst offender for the texture issue & it doesn’t take long at all for it to appear. Perhaps I’m reading into it too much, but DTG folding the problem into performance limits & advising to turn off layers doesn’t give me any confidence they’re actually going to solve the issue. You get the same problem even if you switch from 4k to HD textures - I’m not buying this isn’t a DTG issue.

 

I have a feeling we'll get a new UK freight loco because the UK game pack doesn't include the class 66

 

Nothing on roadmap?

 

Think it's just the nature of the evolution of the game. Gen 9 were released 4 years ago now, so in computing terms getting on a bit. That and the fact they are constantly developing the game, means bigger DLC, more assets which will quite easily eat memory.

Personally, I think a Gen 8 announcement will be made in the next month or so, as they were released back in 2013 with upgrades to pro in 2017 (if memory serves me right). Optimisation for that is only going to lead to poorer offerings for it, so would not be surprised to see them call it. I'd be very surprised if TSW6 was not next Gen only.

 

Will the timetable updates for WCMLS be available on Xbox Series S?

 

Not sure why the chasing for a roadmap, this has way more information on stuff.

I do hope one of these doors reveals the rolling stock for Cardiff & absolutely a new UK freight loco.

 

Fair points on the free upgrade.

My concern is probably more for new players. If a completely new player buys TSW5 on PS4/Xb1 and it runs like LOVE, that reflects badly on the whole brand as well as probably makes that a "one and done" customer for DTG.

Existing TSW players can make a more informed choice on whether Gen 8 performance/feature set is acceptable for them.

Only DTG have the stats on how many "brand new" players there are on Gen8

 

What I meant was is this reveal something that's new and not shown on roadmap. Love reveals so far

 

That is one thing I remember less fondly, about PC gaming when I dipped my toes in 10ish years ago, that is the sometimes very pricey components being replaced/made redundant every couple of years give or take; whether that has changed I don’t know.
I too wouldn’t be very surprised if that’s something that’s on the not too distant horizon. My PS4 Pro is a fancy TV box now, I stopped buying physical game discs a long time ago and am quite content with the PS5 Slim!

 

It's a six-dollar gameplay pack. You don't get a new loco for that price

 

Absolutely baffles me that nothing more has been made of the 37, a 56 produced or 60 for that matter all of which feature on today's dynamic innovative joined up railway!

Instead have another set of wagons for your 66. I will await one of the spokes people official or unofficial to advise me how hard it is to develop for......

 

I suspect most 8th-gen owners already understand that they can't run, or can barely run, 2024 games. Heck, most publishers have ditched 8th-gen builds entirely. Certainly I accept that I can't run most modern games on my ancient PC (TSW5 strains it to the limit, as does Ghost of Tsushima on "peasant" graphics settings.)

 

A little bird told me it's a 1960 Wolverton RMB. Comes with a free BR potted meat sandwich from 1959 ( refurbished ).

 

Out of interest, will the Frankfurt DB 111 be any different from the Salzburg one?
Because otherwise we'd be paying for what should be a timetable layer.

 

Mono-pantograph...

 

Sounds like either a new route or new loco tommorow.

 

I think it has to do with the chance of the gen 8 buyer potentially upgrading to gen 9 and getting the extra stuff, if that makes sense?
Like if they make 2 separate versions at different prices you would have to re purchase the dlc in order to get the full thing if you decided to upgrade. That the way I'm looking at it. As a gen 8 user I do think it's looking like it's time to upgrade.

 

I am enjoying this season of reveals, I am an advent calendar’s fan.

And I find it cool that we have only one thread.
Great news about the DB BR 111 and the N-wagen. Day one purchase. Also interesting the details for the new timetable for Köln.

looking forward to see more reveals

 

Not to have something revealed before it’s revealed, but:
Can we expect something from Rivet?

 

It's got a more modern pantograph. Also, as I understand the description, it isn't actually an additional timetable layer, but a new timetable that uses the 111 and n-Wagen instead of the 114/146 & Dostos.

As for the value, it's a real bargain if you don't have Salzburg-Rosenheim and Bremen-Oldenburg & easily the best value out of the three in my opinion. But yeah, if you do have both already, 6€ for a timetable (and suspension, new rain effects etc on the vehicles, I hope?) isn't awesome, but it's okay I guess.

 

Yes maybe. Are you hoping Rivet reveal something ???.

 

Sorry to go slightly OT, but your post reminded me of this- is there a comprehensive list anywhere of what vehicles have the new suspension?

 

Actually yeah- I hope for something new from Switzerland
Especially since Bernina I really love these RhB routes and although Bernina is not perfect, it’s in my top 3 for sure!

Yes, there is a lot to say about Rivet and there is more than one thread about them- but I still hope for something!
Especially since the only RhB routes left are all eternal bangers with higher speed limits of up to 90 km/h

 

Rivet seems to be busy working on a DLC for The Bus so it’ll be a miracle to see a route announced by them during this “Season of reveals”

 

My brain always forgets we have Swiss narrow (metre?) gauge routes in the game.
They’re some of the few European DLCs I don’t own, I know Bernina is well thought of where the quality of scenery is concerned.