I know we all have a bit of a moan and grizzle about TSW from time to time, but to put things in perspective... Yesterday evening thought I would take a quick look at Derail Valley, which has just completed its upgrade to "simulator". Well yes it looks nice(ish) they now have weather and diurnal cycle but to start with I couldn't begin with a fresh game. Could only load my old save which dumped me down at the Harbour by the station office. Grabbed a job, but it's the same old map and destinations (The Steel Mill, The Town, The Factory) maybe slightly prettier but nothing we haven't seen before. Found a loco and started it up and hit by tooltips constantly popping up for gauges and controls. Getting across to your train is still a case of scrutinising the diagram and trying to figure out where you are relative to it, then throwing the points manually or using the weird remote control. Nothing has changed in that respect - no signals, no passenger operations etc. So after about 15 minutes or so I found myself back in TSW. Finished off a saved run on Glossop, then fired up Lubeck which is a new route for me. The 112 is not the best electric loco in the game but not bad and I quickly found myself settling back in, like a comfortable armchair. I've had the same with Run 8 or even TSC. Both great games but after a few days, TSW draws you back to it. So I guess DTG must be doing something right.
Yes, had a run with the new Derail sim and was very impressed with the physics,sounds,performance and graphics - it's just the weird world it's set in. Now if we had a real world route for it..... Run 8 I keep going back to, for the physics side of things - thinking about buying my first bit of DLC for it, the Fitz sub. There's not one sim that gets everything perfect, but I guess it's a hard one to crack.
I've picked up BRO and LFR in the sale, and I'm very pleased with both, especially having the two most important Epoch IV locos 110 and 103 now.
Bremen oldenburg. Linke rhinestrecke https://dovetailgames.freshdesk.com...1072374-train-sim-world-add-on-guide-acronyms
As much as we all moan about DTG, you’ve got to give credit to them they know how to keep you anticipating for more, and hooked to their game, so far I have over 1500 hours on TSW 3
Indeed I seem to always end up back on my little collection of routes. Loving TVL at the moment having almost completed the class 20 journey about to move onto the 31 which should be a fun challenge! Although there are bugs and things that could be better I do agree I always find myself coming back to the game and I guess part of the reason we are critical/frustrated sometimes is because we want tsw to be as good as it can be But DTG have definitely created a game I really enjoy playing and keep coming back too
Oh, I see. Thank you and thanks for the link, too. Sometimes you have to hold your nose when a newbie is in the room
Indeed other sims do come and go like fleeting affairs, but TSW is the one we always come home to. Must admit I’ve never tried Run 8 as it doesn’t attract me at all.
I do think TSW strikes a good balance between being an approachable game and a simulator. I believe that everyone should be able to explore what makes them happy. If you want a relaxing escape filled with trains, you got it. I know for a fact that TSW has made a lot of people very happy in that way. If you want to dive down the rabbit hole and learn about the more the technical side of things.. the rules, the signals, the protection systems.. it has that too. In my opinion, TSW really shines when you understand what is going on and WHY it is happening. I recently convinced a friend to get TSW. He’s a fan of the simulation genre like me. He was a tough sell cause he thought it looked boring on the surface. Finally he caved. We were on headset and I was answering his questions and helping him get started. After a couple hours he finally goes “wow there’s a lot more going on than I thought”. TSW allows rail fans of all shapes and sizes to immerse themselves in whatever way they see fit. It’s aesthetically pleasing and relaxing. Meanwhile it also presents a genuine challenge, but only if you want it to. It’s the ability to choose that sets it apart from the rest.
I also took a look at the new derail valley and It’s ok, but given the hype they‘ve been trying to create, I‘m ultimately disappointed. They haven’t really improved the user interface at all as far as I can tell. In non VR Mode I find it quite difficult to do some things until you get the remote control. In VR Mode, sadly it’s the only game so far that makes me feel motion sickness. So I’m back to DTG products as well. TSW for German routes as the experience of driving hudless with PZB is a fantastic challenge. TSC for UK routes because of the variety of stock allowing busy packed stations and yards. I do think TSW DLC is on a bit of a downward trend at the moment. I haven’t enjoyed either of the last 2 of DTG’s German routes as much as I hoped for. I bought Glossop and that’s nice, but I’m getting a bit bored already and I bought Peak Forest, but I’m coming to the conclusion that Steam Trains on TSW are just not developed enough for me yet. When they are the level of a Bossman Games DLC, I‘ll take another look. (Also as many suggest give us Green Diesels a crossover with both will get my money). In general though. I’m happy to have both TSW and TSC and I‘m very happy with the recent moves to improve TSC. Really hoping there is a big summer release for TSW and it’s something that grabs my attention.
In defense of Derail Valley: True, Derail Valley is not very good at being Train Sim World, but it's not trying to be Train Sim World. It's trying to be Derail Valley, and I think it's very good at doing that. It's not a train simulator, it's an open world video game with trains in it. It's realistic in areas where that makes the game better, so it's got excellent physics simulation that makes the trains feel like they're actual machines that really weigh a couple hundred tonnes. And it's unrealistic in ways that make sense for the video game that it wants to be: yeah, you have to read maps and track plans, choose where to go, figure out shunting puzzles, and set all the switches yourself. I think that actually makes for really satisfying gameplay, especially if you do multiple jobs at once. And knowing the map actually is really helpful there, so I don't think it's that bad that there's only one. Plus, Derail Valley can let you wreck the train and have spectacular derailments and explosions because it's not depicting real places and trains. Derail Valley and Train Sim World are trying to do entirely different things. I think they're both pretty good at what they're trying to do, and I don't think either of them should try to me more like the other. (Except DTG should really try and get the rain effects in TSW to look even remotely as good as the ones in Derail Valley. Altfuture really did a spectacular job on those.)
I think you’ve just hit the nail on the head about why we get annoyed about TSW on occasion. In short, it’s a fantastic game and makes us frustrated when that bubble gets burst on occasion
Haven't been able to find a more enjoyable piece of train-driving software. (Trying to avoid the term 'simulator' here). So I'm quite happy with TSW. There seem to be a few other alternatives available, but most of them are focusing only on one specific area. I like the variety. The only other one I know that has variety is the Trainz-series, but that looks incredibly aged with graphics that's worse than Train Simulator. Curious to see how Simrail develops, but I fear it won't give me the same enjoyment as TSW does. So yay for TSW.
Trainz is good for route or virtual model railway building, but the driving experience has always been less than stellar. Whether it's the aged locos and MU's with cabs that look like they were knocked together in an Amiga paint program, defaulting to unsuitable sounds it still doesn't hit the spot for prototype representation. The complete lack of any means to set up a player timetabled run and that you largely need to signal your own train too. Every couple of years or so, N3V reinvent the game and put new clothes on it, but underneath not much has changed in years. And these days, if you want the questionable best of what it has to offer, you need to take out and run a Netflix style subscription which, once cancelled, you lose everything.
A shame really, because Trainz seems to have a good amount of varied content, even venturing into countries that TSC/TSW never did and likely never will.
Indeed, there are times when I don't play it for days. But then I am always drawn back to it. Probably because it's one of the few games that can actually keep me entertained for a few hours.
Funnily enough, i've had just about the opposite reaction. Haven't stopped playing DV since the update came out. Maybe it's because i hadn't already played it a ton originally? In any case, i'm really digging it. I love all the little details and that it's almost like a puzzle game in some respects. Two examples: Very early in the game i was running the DE2 and four loaded steel cars from the mill to MF town- didn't remember the steep gradient and was running in reverse, so the radiator wasn't cooling efficiently and i overheated and popped the traction motor breaker on the climb. Had to stop, reset the breaker, wait for the motors to cool, and then restart the engine. Ended up leaving two steel cars on the incline (seriously, don't forget the handbrakes), delivering the other two and then coming back for the remainder. Later i was shunting and there were already some cars on my target track, so i figured i better release their handbrakes so i can move them a little- i did, and then when i shunted my consist into them and hit the brakes, the loose cars kicked 100 feet or so down the track and into the junction, so i had to run around and put them back in place (much more gently this time lol) The new lighting and weather systems also look great IMO. There are definitely downsides- it's still very grindy in career mode and the UI can be challenging to say the least. Hopefully it's selling well enough that we'll see new maps and it continues to receive updates. I'd certainly pay for DLC maps, but not sure if they want to go in that direction. Fwiw i started a new save, so can't comment on issues with legacy saves, but the tooltips are part of the new tutorial system and they only pop up in the very beginning of a new career (and can be totally disabled i think).
Trainz is a good game, but suffers the same limitations tsc has, content is good, but requirements are insane
I gave up on TSW a year or so ago and then TSW3 came out with the extended SEHS and the new Cross City route and since then I have played it more than ever despite there still being a relative lack of more historic content. However I find even driving Electrostars immersive modern units I would generally avoid in TSC. I used to spend 90% of my time in TSC making scenarios and 10% driving and have got fed up with doing so, I still dabble with it as there are some great steam routes and stock plus routes like the Wherry Lines with the AP Sprinters are a good combination. I think if Trainz had a timetable mode, especially for routes like the ECML route it had I would use it more but I couldn't get on with making sessions and there was a distinct lack of useful tutorials. DRS is great especially as I love DMU's but I don't like the fictional routes particularly. Simrail might sit along side TSW in the future but for me TSW is by far the best of the "simulators" despite its frustrations.
Really? I tried both the Sebino Lake and Niddertalbahn routes which came with TRS2019, so I suppose those being part of the base package are supposed to be good enough to make me want more, but I was quite dissapointed by the aged graphics and horrible sounds. Although I wish we had a route like Sebino Lake in TSW, because the landscape was quite impressive, albeit very low-resolution.
It pretty much goes back to most of the traction and rolling stock assets dating back to the TRS2004 era. There's a wealth of Australian stuff but it's just so old. I downloaded some Japanese stuff at one point and the cab was aliased to the F7. There's a Class 50 that sounds like an Alco! As I said good for bimbling in the editor making model routes but that's about it (IMHO).
I remember TANE with the ECML route which had plenty of stock with it, I remember the class 105 sounded convincing riding as a passenger. I was excited for it as the time. However it came only with 3 or 4 "sessions" if I recall which didn't come close to showing off the complete route. As I said above I tried to work out how to make "sessions" but it is like a dark art and it seems when you do make them you can't drive them realistically, as a real driver would. Trying to find information on how to make them was not easy and what was out there was very scant so I gave up. I would have put up with graphics which weren't as pretty as TSC for a comprehenisve and fairly complete ECML set in the BR period. I had a similar experience with the Trainz classics S & C route a few years before which again had a great roster of stock.
Yes doing player services for Trainz is a dark art known to only a few. Fairly easy to set up sessions for AI trains using a range of commands but if you take over the train these vanish and it becomes a free agent. Sadly N3V don't seem to acknowledge this basic shortcoming and if you push the issue on the official forum, the acolytes arrive to put the boot in!
I missed out on the MSTS fun (despite some prompting from a friend in Sweden who drove trains for a living) but fell into the 'hobby' through Railworks and the various iterations of it until TSC. I've dabbled in Trainz too (and wholeheartedly agree with Vern). My main train sim is Run 8 and has been since V1 because I love the multiplayer aspect when you can run trains with likeminded players. That said, I also enjoy TSW (1 through 3), but because Run 8 gives me my native North American rail operations fix, I use TSW to enjoy Euro/UK rail which also fascinates me. Each game has it's good points and I enjoy them for what they bring to the table. Oh and I picked up a copy of Zusi III (Aerosoft) for the challenge... Kind regards, Dave
