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

I’m also now wondering if the 86 will just sub in for 87 services or if it will come with more because I don’t wanna complete the timetable with the 87 and leave nothing for the 86

 

i think cardiff wil be next week

 

I suspect and therefore am likely totally wrong that it and the carriages will be mainly on the "cross country" services or services using the old mark 2 carriages. Maybe it might just be interchangeable with the 87 but that would make sense to me. There might be a totally different timetable of course.

 

"The pack includes 10 scenarios, custom created with new features such as complex depot movements, the opportunity to run around your train and coupling double headed formations for very special railtours along the East Coast Mainline."

"The iconic 47484 “Isambard Kingdom Brunel” is also fully drivable on a range of UK routes for TSW5, seamlessly substituting into the existing timetables for a wide range of routes as desired [...]. The loco is also fully quick drive compatible for all your favourite routes!"

I really do wish Athena would stop over-hyping their product like this. Depot movements, running around the train, and other shunting moves, are fun, and the WCML Shap timetable shows how much they can boost immersion. It's great that they're making scenarios that include them! However, they keep saying that this is, somehow, a "new feature", which it just demonstrably isn't.

The second paragraph is less problematic, but just boils down to making a lot of noise about having enabled Substitution on their locomotive. Again, this is good, but hardly as much of an achievement as they're trying to make it sound. Boasting about Quick Drive compatibility is even more bizarre, as that's just a core game feature that, as far as I know, requires absolutely no setup on the side of the scenario, timetable, or locomotive.

Since they're over-hyping the product to the point where they're actually just making untrue statements about the gameplay, I'm simply suspicious of whether or not anything else they're saying is true. I think that's a pity, because if they simply stated in a level-headed and factual way what their product is and what it does (like Just Trains are doing just above them in the same article), I'd be looking forward to this pack.

 

I'll admit i was sceptical about this marketing campaign, but the first week has gone very well IMO.

Class 86/2 will be a day-one for me based on JT's excellent work on Blackpool and Preston-Carlisle.

The Class 47 looks very nice and i'm sure i'll get it eventually for scenery, but i don't really drive railtours so it might wait a bit depending on pricing.

 

So you're not going to buy it because you don't like the marketing blurb? That's a choice for sure lol. Isn't most of that stuff just boilerplate anyway? Like i feel like just about every TSW DLC Steam description sounds like that...

 

All the developments announced this week are of crazy interest to me. I can't pass by and refuse at least something so as not to empty my wallet completely.
All that remains is to be patient and wait for the releases, which is quite difficult and takes energy. Many thanks to all the developers for your work.

 

I didn't say that. Just that I will take anything they say before we can see the product in action with more of a grain of salt than I usually would.

They do tend to use slightly flowery language, but usually not to the extent that they leave the realm of truth. I've certainly never seen DTG or Just Trains claim that shunting is a new thing that's never been done before.

 

Class 86 is an instant purchase and it’s nice to have a different version with the Faiveley pantograph.

 

JT have revived BR to a point that other new developers want their product to work with theirs. That’s a huge compliment!

 

JD said ‘Bolstering the timetable and adding new scenarios’ so looks like additional services.

 

This 86 were well worth the drab week of building up. I honestly don't know what this big surprise at the end is as it will be very hard to top this reveal, with the air cons and a MkI buffet included. Excellent!

 

Sorry i kinda overreacted. Upon re-reading, their language is a bit breathless lol.

 

Agreed, and it makes me question the accuracy of their other claims such as they are utilizing the latest modeling techniques and that the coaches have gotten a makeover. Off course just because parts of their statement doesn't seem true, doesn't make the rest false, but it definitely makes me more skeptical. The pack itself seems good though, especially the Mark 1 coaches. The price and full scope of timetable operations remains to be seen though.

 

I'm hoping it adds services. Hanging around Carlisle you can see big gaps in the timetable (sometimes 2hrs) before a passenger service next appears on that platform, I was hoping these are currently hidden and reserved for the 86 services when the 86 is released, looks like they could be.

 

Yes, yes and yes! They saved the best for last this week. Class 86, Mark 2 “coffins” and blue grey Mark Ones. And the main event, the Mark One catering car. Oh DTG Matt what am I to nag you about now?! Oh I know, a Class 26 hee hee.

Santa will definitely get a mince pie and glass of milk for this one…

 

It's going to be great to see the 86 on Over Shap so that will definitly be day one purchase for me!

In terms of the ECML Railtour Pack, I feel like it's just going to be a nother version of the Railtour pack for Cornwall Local. That pack was the perfect pack to introduce a GWR loco or two and with this ECML Railtour pack, Athena should have given us all the preserved Deltics instead of another 47.

I'm glad that 47484 is making her debut in TSW but the ECML was the main stomping ground for the Class 55s so this would have been the perfect pack to give us the Deltics even if it was only the 6 preserved examples

 

Look up who heads Athena

 

Purchasable sandwiches in the buffet car perhaps?

 

Could actually be used for a scenario. That would be something different lol. Serve the hangry passengers rather than check for tickets.

 

Even though we already knew she was most likely coming, I’m still incredibly excited to have the 86 officially confirmed now.

Despite having been overjoyed to pick up Maintalbahn for the 218, I haven’t touched anything but WCMLoS since its release. More tap changers equals more fun in my book

 

There are some games on the Android and iPad tablets where you have to prepare ever increasing complex food and drink orders over a cafe counter. So not unprecedented!

 

I will quite happily ask for the Class 26 on a regular basis also. Wonder if the buffet will have the plastic seats or will it be the more traditional style. Last time I rode in one on the WCML it was plastic seats on a Glasgow to Manchester after a day at Model Rail Scotland and a look around Eastfield also.

 

If it’s an RMB, fairly certain they all had upholstered seats either the old style with the large wooden wings or the later slightly narrower style. Guess the idea was to provide a coach for the dual purpose of normal seating and also the buffet. The trains on the Far North line, the Wick portion was almost invariably the RMB plus a BCK.

 

YES!!! NLL AND A DUAL VOLTAGE 378 IS COMING TO TSW THANKS DTG!!!!!!!!

 

I would expect a release date for Manchester Airport commuter.

 

Ooh..I would love that!!

 

Oh please, please JT, I hope it's those plastic orange ones they model. When I was a kid and whenever we travelled back from Euston to Chester (which was a lot because of family) me and my dad used to go to the buffet carriage and I always wanted to have my drink and sandwiches in the buffet whilst my mum stayed in the other carriage waiting for us. I used to see people drinking their beer and I used to think to myself, I can't wait to be 18 and me and my mates can do that, drinking in the buffet from London to Chester lol

By the time I was 18 of course, the buffet cars were MK3's, soon to be replaced by IC125's MK3's - it just wasn't the same as those plastic orange seats in a MK1.

Please JT, make it the orange plastic seats so I can stick my VR headset on and relive memories and also what could of been lol

 

As noted above, think you will find it was the RBR’s or RU’s which had the plastic bucket seats. To my knowledge the RMB’s always had proper seating bays, because they were regarded as part of the second class accommodation.

 

Your memory and knowledge is better than mine Vern to me a MK1 buffet was a MK1 buffet.

 

There was something that caught my eye.

"The Mk2F coaches also have a considerably more modern interior than the older wooden interior."

Now as I remember the old BG Mk2 air cons still had wooden sides. So is there something that I don't know?

 

Yes the D’s and E’s had wooden style panelling on the walls and the seating same as the non aircon Mark 2’s with the wide winged headrests. The F’s had a creamish plastic laminate on the sides and the later, less comfortable seat type, that also turned up in the Mark 3’s.

 

Thanks for that. I honestly don't remember Mk2Fs then as all I remember is seeing the wooden air con ones every time we went anywhere on the train.

 

Didn’t have time to check the forums until today… how was the community reaction to the gameplay packs announced on Thursday?

I personally think that the San Bernardino line Christmas pack is quite nice. Provides some festive fun. But the other two packs are questionable… on Frankfurt-Fulda, they basically locked a layer formed of existing rolling stock behind a paywall. Not even a new livery. If I buy this, then I’ll have zero motivation to get Salzburg-Rosenheim unless it’s got a 80% discount because I basically already paid for the loco. And on WCML South, it’s literally just a reskin for a single freight wagon.
That would all be relatively ok if the packs were very cheap, but the price has gone up by like 100% compared to the New Journey packs, while we’re getting less (new) content in return. And I think it’s around the same as the TSW3 core route enhancement packs (like the ROG Class 37), but again for way less (and lower-quality) content. It’s a disappointing trend.

 

It’s fair to say that is going to be a difficult sell.
Why is anyone going to pay more than £2 for a reskin wagon?

 

I'm definitely getting the bundle of 3 packs. Not too expensive and some pretty good content.

 

Sorry for digging this up but I'd thought I'd point out today I got on a 710 at Stratford working 2N98 1552 to Richmond

 

Look forward for the Koln-Aachen more traffic update!
It would be great if DTG could also add the 3D clouds and weather.

By the way... I have noticed when you selects Dynamic Weather on a route, now it never changes!
May be this was already reported, but just in case!

 

On reflection I have decided that NLL is an excellent reveal, when compared to the 'big' reveal.

 

Who would have thought at the time, eh?!

So basically, the best of the reveals was actually in the first week, with sitting firmly at the top the JT Class 86 and stock pack.

 

I would imagine the catering was brought in for the execs when the Thomas deal was done and the other 'reveals' such as the JT one were not deemed as high profile. TSW started off so well, BR blue stock, aspirations for steam, timetable mode being rightly promoted. With this it just feels like they are missing the point by a long way even if commercially that isn't the case. Need to be greatful JT have bothered being different when DTG is going for the big city lights and TV toy market.

 

Just Trains for the win... again!

 

well they add Dalston Junction ?

 

is that a bold station ?

 

No its Tunnelstation Overground i mean it

 

it was also very much a joke

 

I play TSW 5 on my PS4 and every time I choose a service it immediately crashes, can anyone help please ?

 

You might be better off with opening a ticket on the support pages https://dovetailgames.freshdesk.com/en/support/home