My intention for this post is that DTG should take note of this seemingly trivial news. Background - Altfuture has just released its first patch after their 'Simulator' update to their title 'Derail Valley'. In their release post, they've shared an interesting statistic ! Maybe time to step-up the quality & customer satisfaction ?!
'Simulator update' was going to be big for Derail Valley, it was much anticipated but the fact that they overtook TSW on the launch day surprised me. 'Surprised' because DTG is everything that Altfuture isn't... They are a group of 5 or 6 full-time devs from Serbia, while DTG is god knows how big ( definitely more than 6 people ) They have no experience prior to DV, while DTG folks are in this genre back since the Railworks days. They have little to no interaction with the railway professionals, unlike DTG. They are 'entirely' focused on one thing only - TRAINS unlike DTG's 2 train sims... cough... fishing.. cough... Catan... cough... They've already revealed their plans for DV upto 2026 on their roadmap ( Yes, they do have an open roadmap ) while the community still doesn't know what's cooking for the next month in DTG studio at the moment. Before someone says, 'TSW & DV are different products... can't compare'. Yes, that's true. But let's ponder, maybe because they cracked the 'train simulation formula' correctly... Maybe ditching the licenses gives them more freedom in what they can do... Maybe they made it more enjoyable than realistic... There's more freedom of how you can drive / derail your train, how you can shunt it, and how many locos. you want on the front... Maybe making 6 unique locos. each having its own distinctive properties & driving characteristics was better than having 6 repaints of the same thing... Their instruction manuals / Job Cards are really innovative. Maybe having a printed manual in your 'Digital hand' is better than some text on a UI... I'm not saying that DV will replace TSC / TSW but considering the noise they made, it's pretty clear that there are lessons to be learnt...
It's worth mentioning that every point you're making above is what makes DV less of a sim. DTG specifically aims for realism in the trains and their operations, and that's what their customers expect. What DV's doing isn't cracking the sim formula, it's throwing it out and making something else entirely. I'm not saying either is better or worse; I'm saying that DV is a different game for a different audience. I'll also point out that the update above specifies the 2600 player spike on release has topped all current train sims on the market. That's because TSW2, which is no longer being sold, had over 3000 players at launch. Point here being, marketers are gonna market. The assorted numbers for all three games can be checked out here: TSW2: https://steamdb.info/app/1282590/charts/ TSW3: https://steamdb.info/app/1944790/charts/ DV: https://steamdb.info/app/588030/charts/
Yes, looking at the figure posted by Calidore266, it confirms exactly my play pattern on Derail Valley. A peak every time they release a patch and then it drops away quite quickly. Credit to them for a great game that looks fantastic in VR (even though it makes me motion sick) but after the initial excitement I've uninstalled it again and it'll likely stay that way. For me it doesn't have any lasting appeal. Whereas with TSW I'll come back every time there is a new route I like (admittedly few and far between this year) and TSC I play pretty constantly. There's been a lot of hype with some quite prominent 'Influencers' for this version of DV. So well done to there marketing team. Come back in a month and I predict DV will be below 500 average and TSW will be around the same as it is now. Hope I'm wrong, they've done an awesome job. Can't see DTG being too worried yet though. Also conveniently ignoring the fact that two thirds of TSW players are on console anyway.
I think I managed about 10 minutes in DV after the last patch. Same old map, dropped down at the Harbour. Same old jobs in the office. No despatcher board to set the route without having to keep looking at the map and trying to hit the sweet spot on the point lever with the remote control. They really need to start expanding with more routes, perhaps true to prototype and have activities such as proper passenger operations.
Why would I want a less realistic simulator? True. What are the player numbers for Derail Valley on console again? Don't get me wrong. Derail Valley is a nice toy I'd like to get my hands on, but it's not realistic by any stretch of the imagination. I kinda want realism in a simulator though.
The other thing DV lacks is any sort of AI traffic. You can’t expand your operations and give commands and jobs to other drivers. Though in fairness that would need a more logical railway network with crossing loops on the single line, or double track and signalling. Essentially it’s an updated concept of Transport Tycoon but again with just one train moving at a time.
This and Railroads Online fit into a nice genre of semi-realistic train games. I don't have Derail Valley yet but my friend and I have been playing loads of RRO and really enjoying it despite its bugs and other things that make it irritating. They are not simulator replacements. It makes me metaphorically roll my eyes when people refuse to play them because they're not absolutely realistic because that isn't the point - wait until these people find out about the Burnout series. The point of these games is completely different to the games DTG makes - Train Simulator and TSW can't do what Railroads Online does, and it can't do what DTG does.
Agree... Everyone is entitled to their opinion, I respect that. But the way I see DV ( & maybe RRO after they sort out their internal problems ) is that they have set their premises correctly. Simply put... Great plans + botched implementation = poor results. Simple plans + great implementation = great results. Forget DV, take Mini Metro as an example. There are hundreds of 'commuter railroad elements' that it doesn't simulate ( train maintenance, yards, sidings, station design, and so on ). But they have a clear vision about what features they want to have ! The result is a simple game, not realistic but representative & fun. This is where TSW fails to monetize it's strongest point IMO... It's nothing new to drive a BR Class 43 HST from Paddington to Reading or Nottingham or wherever, a couple of games will already let you that... TSW's uniqueness lies in the way you interact with an HST's powercar. That thump of opening the door... the click of inserting the master key... the roar of Valenta & the 500 or so emotions it carries at 125mph ! What I want from TSW is to make trains a 'digital' commodity. Develop trains like a character in your story, the routes are the set... The timetable is the role & scenarios are the memorable dialogues... make them stand apart, make them iconic... This is pole apart from 'painting a green stripe & a rainbow' and charging 5 pounds for something that already exists... This is my vision for TSW, nothing personal if someone disagrees... Cheers
