A continuation of the '________ appreciation threads' that I regularly see on the forums: Train Sim Matt is one of the most down-to-Earth, humble, hardworking and passionate people I've ever come across. Despite being the Executive Producer of DTG, he still roams the forums, interacting with us whether we come with praise or criticism. I hear people say that 'the buck stops at him' so coming on here with that level of accountability is admirable at the very least. I'm not actually sure what an Executive Producer means (I imagine it is meant to be more like a bean counter) but I am sure that Matt goes above and beyond what most Executive Producers do in this regard. On the topic of high-ranking positions, a few years ago, Matt was a/the Senior Producer at DTG. He was actually offered a promotion, but nearly declined, citing the fact that he felt he would have to move away from the development side of things if he took it. It later transpired that an Executive Producer actually needs extensive knowledge of the development floor, and I'm fairly sure Matt is still developing things for TSW anyway, so that worked out well. I don't have much experience in the working world (showing my age here) but I'd imagine that many people try and go as high as possible. Despite all of the intricate knowledge of the game he has, it never seems to get to his head (at least to me). He's always open to when the community offer their ideas to improve the game on a technical level, and offer his explanations on why things are the way they are, or why a particular improvement wouldn't work currently. (These are things that I don't understand like DLSS and FSR. It gets explained over and over again, and it makes sense, but then I forget it after a few days, so I've just stopped trying.) Then there's the livestreams. Either he's on the roadmap answering questions about TSW's future (again - Executive Producer doing the roles of a Community Manager), raising thousands of pounds for charity (much more than I've done!), or he's completely blowing past stations he's supposed to stop at on the East Coast Mainline. I've probably missed a bunch of other things he's done - but the main point here is to show some appreciation. And history has taught us that if he does see this, his first instinct will be to redirect the praise aimed at him over to all the teams at Dovetail Games. That is humility at its finest! I have jinxed it now, though. Basically, Matt, thank you, you legend!
Matt is the face of DTG, always will be. Hands down The most transparent person at DTG, an all around nice, chill guy. truly grateful to him. Although, Matt has definitely reminded me to never overshoot Knebworth on TSC, and to know when to brake
Hear hear. An all round very nice man. Very friendly and approachable when I spoke to him at the NEC a couple of years ago.
He's certainly done a lot to promote the hobby over the last 20+ years. His UKTS website was my daily companion and source of content and information for much of that time.
Yep, it makes a big difference when he comes into explain why or why not things are done. Even when you don’t agree with it, an explanation goes a long way. I think we all can focus on the things that we want to be better etc. but important to call out the good bits too.
As I was personally able to actually meet Matt and have a great chat, I can wholeheartedly agree with all being said above. He's definitely the biggest enthusiast you can find here and more than anyone else, he wants to have the best train simulator possible. You're one of those people where we wish that there should be more of you, Matt!
I just wish Matt could invent something to give himself more time. As a TSC player mainly, I’ve learned so much from his streams and got a lot of enjoyment just listening to his enthusiasm for trains. It’s a shame he doesn’t have the time to stream so much these day. Though I do really enjoy the charity streams - I honestly don’t know how he does it - I’m either too tired or get bored after 3 hours.
I think I briefly met Matt many years ago at the Warley show, when UKTS had a stall. My 14 year old self was amazed he was giving away free DLC on CDs! Who remembers Thames Mersey? Happy days!
Without a doubt Matt and his father are key figures in the railway simulation genre. I've learned a lot from Matt's tutorials on scenario creation and Lua scripting in Train Simulator, which is still my sim of choice, having just discovered the dutch and french community, next being Romania with excellent high quality content. 1TB drive is full, so I've just acquired a 2TB M.2 SSD... Of course he's bound to (often unpopular) company decisions, but I'd chime in here and give Kudos to Matt. It' not easy dealing with train simmers who will just never be pleased
Matt has the patience of a saint when it comes to the community, and it's a trait I wish I shared in real life in my own work place!
What a lovely positive thread. And quite appropriate on International Men’s Day. A hobby that has given me immense joy and happiness and all started when I discovered UKTS many decades ago. Thank you Matt and to your Dad too for that early pioneering. And to all that make it happen today. I think Matt is a really positive ambassador for the game and although never met him comes across on here and the videos as a real gent. Thank you
When I think of TSW I think of Matt. I only joined in the TSW2 era because of a friend who told me to play. but ever since I have never stopped playing or felt I needed to take a break. Although there is a lot of railroad over the world and a lot of different things the community wants. Matt has always said "I want all the routes in all the era's with all the rolling stock in the game" and although he knows that's impossible, it doesn't stop him from getting closer and closer to that goal. There's a lot to be said about the yearly new game, the kind of DLC chosen for said base game or the frequence of roadmaps. But I think everyone will agree Matt and thus DTG manage to deliver each year on something for everyone and getting the game one step closer to being the best it can be. Personally I really like the passion projects. Schnellfahrstrecke Köln - Aachen, West Somerset rework or his own project on the Clinchfield Railroad. it shows that even in their free time the developers want to make the game more enjoyable. Of course nothing is perfect, and there's always room to improve. But I would say with the increasing number of third party developers, Licenses and the existence of the editor and hopefully mod support soon, there is a very bright future for this game to continue bringing it to more and more higher levels. Matt himself even though I have only seen him on streams instead of some here who have met him irl. I think he's as social and great as everyone here says he his. On streams he comes over very honest and always willing to explain and talk about anything he sees in the chat during his driving. His dedication shows again and again. even wanting to work on TSW after his pension age. because why stop doing what you love. I think I talk for many if I say that I am very interested to see what the future of TSW holds and hope to witness it all with Matt there with us. And of course a little praise to all the community managers and TSW crew being here available even past working hours and making this game possible for all.
DTG Matt Next time you think it's been a bad launch day for a product, remember that it's fair to say that all of TSW's releases have gone far smoother than day 1 of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. The few who've managed to get to the end of the download process before the servers finally collapsed were shocked to find most of their content missing. One guy bought the top of the range version (£199) and has two aircraft, rather than 85. Since my first abortive attempt my webcam keeps coming on unprompted. I'm going to have a relaxing night-time drive around the Fife Circle instead.
I think TSW5s release (apart from WCMLS) is the best launch since rush hour. And definitely has the most changes in the franchise. Because they scrapped the game locked behind a paywall. And they’ve made it as accessible as possible. By making it (basically) free to play. I think TSWs core (the game + training centre) should be free to play. Then the DLC paid, a similar concept to how war thunder does it. Then every year, they can simply update the game, and charge the routes separately in a bundle. I think that’s the way forward. It’s very obvious Matt has definitely tried to steer the game in the right direction, and it’s great. Matt has cared so much for the community, and I would say, yeah, he’s the godfather of TSW.
One of the greatest things about this game is how accessible the marketing and dev team are. For most games you have no clue who the people behind the product are… either that or they are so famous (ie Hideo Kojima or Todd Howard) that they are essentially celebrities that deal directly with games media. Here we have people directly talking to players on the forum, Facebook and Discord. Matt being a perfect example where I’ve had him reply or comment on things I’ve said and give inside perspective. They also take a fair amount of criticism from time to time (some fair some unfair) and they still make themselves available. More than a few things that are suggested on the forum make it into the game so feedback is actually taken seriously. Not to say that the game is perfect but this stuff goes a long way.
In Australia, if you are called a great bloke, then you are regarded in the highest esteem. Matt, you are a great bloke! You are so dedicated, patient, knowledgeable and very passionate about your work. Add in the fact that you are so community minded with your charity work, then you have a very good person. Thank you Matt.
Matt is definitely the face of TSW. His passion to this project noticeable on every stream. It's also always interesting to read his detailed answers on the forum. It's nice that he finds time for us. Clone him, we need more Matts.
Matt is genuinely the most nicest and possibly funniest guy at DTG he is and always will be an icon of the train sim community even when he used to stream his “trains with Matt” videos on YouTube back in the day!
Matt is to me a pillar of DTG, he’s always happy to answer to people, even at 22:00 or during the weekends/holidays. It’s always a pleasure to watch him on streams, he’s genuinely a nice person and what an icon with his nice cat pink ear headphones !
I very much agree with the OP. Matt has always been a very helpful, enthusiastic and interesting guy. I recall him in the UKTS days even before Rail Simulator and him joining DTG, he was Mr Train Simulator or seemed to be. His videos on scenario creations for TS Classic have been very helpful and intuitive. I too miss the days when he used to do his personal streams, they were very relaxing and informative. I believe he is very passionate about his job which is also a hobby and that comes across when you hear him on streams talking about trains, simulation or something technical which I don't understand. Long may he continue, and all the other passionate people at DTG and the third parties as collectively they have produced what for me is the best train simulator out there.
I'll add my thoughts to this and say i totally agree with everything positive said so far, i think what Matt contributes to the game and to the community is outstanding, and the game would be in a much weaker state without him. Matt always comes across really well in the streams, and i for one am really grateful we have somebody with the passion, knowledge and care that he has. so if you read this Matt thank you for all you do for us it really is appreciated, you come across as a really genuine person and DTG and Train Sim World are very lucky to have you!
Threads like these are such fine examples of the DTG forums being wholesome and united. We need more of this.
I might have objection with some prioritization, and the slow pace of bugfixing and feature improvements in TSW. But man, nobody can deny Matt's passion. If a train fan would have a photo in dictionary, it would have been him. Thanks for all the presence you have within the community
No we don't. Once in a while is OK, but let's not make a habit of it. This is a train sim forum so let's get back to constructive criticism and credit where it's due. Love, friendship, harmony etc.. Find those someplace else. The forums have never been " wholesome and united " thank goodness. I'll take some saccharine but just in my coffee thanks.
For my own thoughts on this, Matt is genuinely such a force of greatness in Dovetail. I genuinely mean it when I say that everyone in DTG constantly pushes hard to bring you all the best content and experience in our titles, but just to acknowledge Matt specifically, he is a serious key pillar in basically every department. He truly loves Train Sim World, and all the games we work on at Dovetail, and you can see his passion pour into every part, from initial pitches to celebrating each new release. On top of being one of the most critical members for so many of us, he still takes time to help me run our Roadmaps each month, he willingly hosts all of our route previews, and then still gets back in front of the camera for charity marathons and more. He is present in so many parts of the community too, and happily drops deep in-depth explanations of our key systems when asked more about them. Matt is truly one of a kind, really happy to see the appreciation for him
Wow. This thread is so incredible. I cannot begin to express how much this means to me, to be really honest. I will say that what you see is the result of an entire team of passionate people, while I may be the most visible I certainly don't want to cast shadow on the rest of the teams enormous contribution to what we do. Still, I really appreciate this thread, thank you Matt.
Called it! However, I probably could have made it clearer that I really do appreciate the hard work that everyone at Dovetail Games puts in.
This is a wonderful thread and I've really enjoyed reading all of the comments. It's great to see the well deserved praise and appreciation for Matt. As the executive producer, Matt has the big picture overview of all of the working parts of a project and there are so many. The amazing thing about that is he then takes the time to explain that to all of use, most of the time in great detail. His passion for TSW comes through with everything he does. Thank you Matt!
Definitely a great positive inspirational thread It is great to see the community come together and be thankful. Matt for the win. I am thankful for what Matt has contributed to DTG over the years with Train Simulator and Train Sim World. Many great ideas, roadmaps and innovations he has shared with the community on the simulator, amazing live streams and helping to make Train Sim World more accessible to the community and the charity streams. I remember a few years ago, Matt made an amazing tutorial including powerpoint slides and different scenarios on Sifa, LZB and PZB. While I mainly like to operate US trains in the simulator, it was lots of fun learning about the signalling in Germany and applying what Matt demonstrated to career scenarios and timetable services in TSW and even using a bit of what I learned in TSC scenarios. I genuinely appreciate how the staff at DTG engage with the community on projects and it's great to see the good progress that has been made over the years
I have already commented but I have to again as I have had a bit of a difficult week at work. Tuesday night I’d had a bit of a griefy day at work. In the evening as an unwind I drove a service from London Victoria to Brighton. It was a nothing run with no drama and arrived mostly on time. But the beauty was the pure 60minutes of escapism of driving a class 387 along the Brighton main line. Something I never will do in real life. We are so lucky to have this sim. Thank you Matt for your drive and enthusiasm (and please consider the LTS) but thank you to the wider team for giving me and others so much joy. It’s. It not perfect but damn it’s good.
Matt, you’ve created a game that has been the greatest escapism and one escape from reality I’ve really needed. Thanks to you and the team.
We all appreciate what Matt has done for the genre going back to the days of UKTS, rescuing Trainsimfiles from the horrendous situation they got in when the unexpected popularity of MSTS downloads vastly exceeded their bandwidth. He also came to my aid when my free distribution of the routes I created for MSTS hit a snag and UKTS took over the operation, at the same time integrating into a very nice installer. Of course, as with all jobs and particularly being a senior manager sometimes “passion” is not enough and you need to be able to take the tough decisions and give instructions which you expect people to adhere to. That said, again it must be a very fine line to tread balancing the wishes of an eager audience, the purse constraints set by higher management on costs and a workforce who at times seem to want to stamp their own ideas on things. Not to mention the dealings with third party associates which would probably leave me climbing the wall. So yes a virtual pint or three to Matt.
As far as I am concerned DTG took a big hit when Sam left. Let's hope Matt never leaves and continues his passion of TSW. TSW isn't always perfect but for me to be able to choose from a vast array of British routes (and ever increasing) on a games console is a unique achievement that DTG have brought to us. Well done and thank you.
Oh absolutely, bravo! I like complaining about game bugs and such (way too much) but at the same time can recognize when there's amazing, competent, hard working people in front of me and Matt is all that and more. Never forget we're all very thankful to have you (but really, all the rest of the staff as well!) here!
So modest. I can't think of anything to say that hasn't already been said but thank you Matt for being such a key part and lovely part of and manager of the community. This company and game needs you and everyone truly appreciates everything you pour into this game. Once again. Thank you and keep at it! Your doing an amazing job!
Which means it's very revealing when, as is often the case, there is no answer forthcoming from him or the rest of DTG...
