This is just a quick appreciation post because I am genuinely positively surprised. Buckle up! Came home from a UK holiday two days ago (visited lots of TSW locations, trip report probably on Off-Topic at some point ). Yesterday I was checking some gaming discounts and spontaneously found out about a huge PS5 sale going on in Germany. Went to my local store, told me the discount would expire in a few hours, they had 50 PS5s in storage and only four left! Needless to say, I left the store with a brand new PS5. Setup with data transfer from my old PS4 was smooth, and I promptly began the process of installing the PS5 version of TSW3… way over 100GB of routes! In the evening, everything was ready and I went for my first ride on London Commuter. The results blew me away. This isn’t just the PS4 version with better performance and all the layers. There are better textures, way better colors, and an insane amount of detail even on my Full HD TV - probably because the 4K resolution gives the anti-aliasing etc so much more data to use, so it looks a lot better even though my monitor doesn’t support 4K. So if you’re also using a Full HD monitor, definitely try enabling 4K resolution anyways because the difference will be huge - kind of like setting the graphics from low to ultra on a PC (I’m not kidding). My PS4 constantly sounded like a jet engine for the past few years, so I could never hear the intricate running sounds until now. Riding towards Brighton with beautiful graphics, all the layers and smooth performance for the first time is an experience I won’t forget - especially because I was on that line in real life last Saturday (yes, I did force my travel companions to go to Brighton and Seaford with me because I secretly wanted to check out not just the beautiful coastline, but also the trains and stations ). This experience significantly increases my respect for DTG for making this game run on the ancient old Gen consoles… truly incredible. But I’m glad I finally can play the game the way it’s meant to be played now. To finish things off, I guess I should ask: What are your favorite current gen/PC-exclusive layers and features? I have a lot of new things to explore now, would love to have some guidance .
Happy for you!! I play on PC and the obvious advantage of PC/9th gen is that you get all the layers and substitutions and full length trains, all the bells and whistles, as it were. I would also recommend 4k if you can get it. I can tell the difference, though some players cannot.
Absolutely, I plan on getting a 4K TV in the future. That being said, the resolution feels so good even on my Full HD TV now. I guess the more powerful hardware makes the anti-aliasing etc. better, and the improved textures (especially close-up) also add to that. It kind of feels like “enhanced Full HD”, so to speak. I think Matt talked about this a while ago. According to him, using 4K resolution gives the anti-aliasing etc. more data, so the results will be much more beautiful even if you don’t have a 4K monitor. This was definitely a huge positive surprise for me, and the direct comparison between the ingame FULL HD and 4K setting is crazy.
Other than larger timetables on select routes, improved texture detail, resolution, and frame rate they are essentially the same underneath. The draw distance has improved and you may see more distant scenery vs. PS4. Being able to easily read the text on labels and signage is worth the upgrade alone. The Kraken compression on PS5 means that despite having larger texture sizes, your download size compared to PS4 should be about the same or even less, in some cases. I haven't loaded the game on PS4 in quite some time so I don't know what other restrictions might be in place on that version. However, Dovetail have yet to use any controller-exclusive features (like haptics or adaptive triggers), and loading times are very slow compared to pretty much every other PS5 game. PS5 games mostly use dynamic resolution scaling to hit 4K, the game itself probably doesn't run at that resolution internally (I don't know what exactly it is, but my guess is 1080p). The rumoured PS5 Pro might be able to do 8K dynamically.
Yup, PS5 version is slightly rough around the edges (some frame hitches here and there depending on camera movement and action on screen) so I can only imagine when compared to PS4. On Ps5, Boston Sprinter is smooth and had me gawking at the screen. I was puffing the magic dragon and went minimum HUD—flew right by the stop, lol. So realistic down to the familiar sound of the whistle of air coming through the windows that I know too well. I’ve been thoroughly impressed by the visuals, sure they could be better, but the sim underneath and weather effects make me just want all the maps up to this level. Hopefully more improvements for the old maps, or new maps, will be announced soon.
You're not wrong there. PS4/last gen consoles have their graphics and textures scaled right down to the lowest settings, so it’s not surprising you’re seeing a massive performance and visual improvement. If you’ve got the money to upgrade, it’s definitely worth it. Last gen graphics almost look like Nintendo DS style quality to me, after being so used to crisp and vivid details (PC player with settings at their highest)
Welcome to the true TSW experience. I switched from PS4 to PS5 about 8 months ago and I felt exactly the same as you do now. My mind was blown.
Has to be the freight and regional express layers on Hauptstrecke München Augsburg. Completely changes the experiemce.
For me: - The layers on London Commuter. - The extra layers on München-Augsburg and to an extent seeing the Dostos at Bremen Hbf and ICE layer on Bremen-Oldenburg. -The full length trains on Cajon Pass, Sherman Hill and Horseshoe Curve. -A big one is the draw distance of the scenery. (Very obvious on Cane Creek).
Welcome to the 9th gen console club! Of course, with the recent price drop, it makes the switch to PS5 easier. Since this year the long-awaited addon manager is finally available, there are no longer any limitations on DLC downloads too. Even without a 4K TV, the gaming experience is a whole step forward. I'm thinking of short loading times and hardly noticeable fan noise. Then have fun and enjoy playing (not only TSW of course).
The change from PS4 to PS5 is already a quantum leap, now think about a 4k TV as another big jump. Nothing short of a.m.a.z.i.n.g. Been through that a few months ago and I´m still replaying with a new profile everything already played. You´ll find out why. BTW: Make sure your 4k TV provides HDR.
London Commuter was the main reason I wanted to get a Gen 9 console back in 2021 - when the route came out I played the first 100 or services with the Xbox One, however when I finally got a Series X in December of that year the gameplay experience was so different, it was epic! I just love all the extra services, the GWR 166, all the Southeastern traffic, freight, the 313s and so on, not to forget that London Commuter performs really well performance-wise too. I really love the South Coast. I've also been to Newhaven, Seaford etc thanks to ECW and TSW. All photos taken by myself Newhaven Lewes Eastbourne
I switched to PS5 back in June. My biggest suprise were loading times On my PS4 starting up the game took over 4 mins, now it takes about 40 sec. Starting a service or scenario also took waaay longer on the PS4. Glad I made the switch
Nice to see people moving to gen 9. PS5 works great with older, less taxing routes, but can be a bit choppy with newer offerings. Still a massive difference from gen 8, so enjoy!
It is in fact a quantum leap and I would recommend the change to anyone really into TSW. I have kept my old PS4 and now use it in my second home. Interestingly enough, I have deinstalled TSW3 and moved back to TSW2, 'cause there is less stutter on older routes. TSW3 on PS5 is great also performance-wise but I think there is still some room for performance optimization.
