Considering how old the route is, I'm pretty sure something like this has been suggested already. Nevertheless, I gotta get this out of my system I've gotten to like the new BR 111 quite a lot and to get some variety I looked for opportunities to use it in other places than Rosenheim-Salzburg. The München-Augsburg route is a perfect match, since the loco has been a major player there for some decades, sadly not anymore. Well, after a couple of minutes of travelling I remembered why I used this route so sparingly. Of all the routes I own and use, this is perhaps the one in most dire need of a renovation! There are a couple of things which royally bug me: 1. The scenery Don't get me wrong, it's not all bad. In total it holds up pretty well, and since I know the original I dare say it's depicted quite accurate. It might be a bit bland at times, compared to newer routes though. Sprucing it up with some newer objects, trees, buildings would do wonders! München Hbf could really use an overhaul. The original is no beauty either, but ingame it's even less pleasing to look at. Especially the two side wings (platforms 5-10 and 27-36) have been modeled in a very rudimentary way, probably because they aren't too relevant for the Augsburg route. Augsburg Hbf is a little bit better than München. The main building could use some love, and being one of the oldest train station buildings still in use in Germany, I think it would make a neat eyecatcher if modeled correctly The in-between stations are actually pretty ok, no major issues there. 2. The lighting Is it just me, or is the lighting in this route a little bit weird? Even when it's bright and sunny at noon, it feels somewhat dark. Cold. Moody. Not quite sure how to explain it. Also, there's some weird glare going on, it almost reminds me of the STALKER games, and I don't like to imagine driving my train through an irradiated wasteland filled with mutants 3. The loneliness That's the big one for me, my immersion breaker number one. München and Augsburg are both bustling hubs of activity, usually densely packed with trains arriving and departing, people clogging up the platforms and tunnels, movement everywhere... but in the game? A vast empty space made out of concrete and snack vending machines! This route needs so much more AI activity to feel a bit more real. Pedestrians and trains alike. I get it, generating all the AI traffic is complex. The area between München and Pasing is literally a jungle of tracks and signals, with some depots and maintenance facilities thrown into the mix. But I'd say with some effort put into it, it could be done. Especially since we got such a nice variety of rolling stock by now, that would fit nicely into this melting pot which is this route! Just imagine what could be done in München alone... ICE1 and 3, 101 with ICs, perhaps even an occasional 103 or 110 helping out. 628 departing towards Mühldorf, 111 with n-Wagen arriving from Garmisch while another 111 departs with Dosto's towards Nürnberg and a couple of 612 make their way towards Lindau. And somewhere a busy 363 is shunting IC cars back and forth. Also en route, you hardly encounter any train at all, which simply doesn't meet reality. It's actually one of Germany's most densely frequented routes, and the game should reflect this. 4. Additions I've gotta end this before it gets to long and no one reads it, so just one more thing... there are two areas I'd like to see added to the route. I know, the route is already very complex in the München area, but hear me out please. First, I'd add the lower level S-Bahn station platform 1 and 2 below München Hbf. That wouldn't add much complexity but give the S-Bahn services a bit more of a "worthy" end destination instead of finishing at Hackerbrücke. Second, a nice treat for all the cargo enthusiasts out there would be to add the branch towards and including the Rangierbahnhof München Nord. That would definitely add a great deal of complexity, sure, but also a lot of variety for cargo services and another opportunity for some shunting timetables. Ok, I'll better shut up now. Roast me
I think many would like to improve MAG. The only problem is that the project currently has no priority because the devs are currently working on other things. What also immediately catches my eye are the huge empty track areas. One reason for the emptiness is certainly a drop in performance. If the BR420 comes at some point, a timetable and TOD4 upgrade could also follow. On the subject of scenery, I also agree that Munich's "Frauenkirche", as a landmark of the city, could have been placed behind the main station. There are now tricks to display sights or the Alps on all platforms without a drawing distance limit. I also spontaneously think of the missing Manhattan skyline.
The real problem is not the implementation of the route, but rather the route itself. It's just so complex talking about scenery and traffic, that a realistic simulation would be unplayable on your average PC or console.
For me HMA need a new timetable or a big uptgrade of the timetable that has HMA maybe a expansion of the route to Ulm for me if dtg will make a better timetable the train that we need in AI (layer) BR 403,401,146,185,193,OBB 1116,425,101,628,642,218 (if it come),363,155,442,423 and maybe a big uptgrade of the timetable with br 420,423,403,401,101,F140-160 AC2 (traxx 2),425,193,155,363,103,111,442,1116 RB,RE:146.2,425,420 IC/ICE: 101,1116,403,401 we need maybe a rework of the freight services : Br 193,185,155,taurus and maneuvering services on freight or IC service at Munich area BR 363 DB red and blue,G6 for me it will be good thing for HMA
How about Taurus and Vectron locos hauling the Nightjet and Kalman Imre Augsburg Hbf München Hbf Budapest Keleti trains.
I agree, recreating everything with 100% realism in mind would be impossible. But I still think there is room for a better compromise between realism and playability than the current minimalist approach
there is someone making amazing progress in the editor already making a proper timetable for this route. I personally can't wait to play that and the route again. most routes I have are just no fun anymore as soon as you realize how desolate everything is when they were made with older consoles in mind. it's sad dovetail dropped support for their products. hope they realize how their developer passion projects and community fixes and updates for older routes are appreciated more than newer routes.
Just searched for it and found the thread for this project. Looks very promising indeed! That will go a long way to add some realism. Thanks for mentioning Seeing how long they've been on this course, I wouldn't hold my breath for any changes. Let's put out a new DLC, most people will buy it regardless of quality. There's no money to be made with patches... at least not directly. Which is a shame, I'd rather see less DLCs per year, but each of them being made with the intent to release the best possible product. Instead they seem to just settling for "good enough" way too often. Maintalbahn comes to mind in this regard
yeah the newer routes are not as interesting to me. adding service variation and rolling stock like they did with RSN made that one of my favorite routes. people seem to dislike the whole loco pack idea. the last one was more repaints which imo is not that worth it unless you get the whole bundle discount. but special services like the british RHTT or rescues with the dispolok is something special and new that really adds to the immersion. nowadays it's all "well we didn't feel like it so use the free roam mode" or "we added these trains so you have maximum use of your library instead of realism" but then leaving the realism layers out on other routes. Free roam I see for the unrealistic and special stuff there is no time to add in development. not an excuse for every service that isn't put in. being able to drive something that doesn't get put in by the devs is great, don't get me wrong. but you will never see those as AI. there might be good reasons for this but the state of communication about why choices are made is so bad that the entire playerbase now acts out of their own speculation and gets shut down if they get too violent. sure it gets out of hand a lot here, but it doesn't have to if there was some clear communication. anyways I'm rambling on about stuff not for this topic.
Totally, I never understood why it was omitted from the route and all the S-Bahn services end at Hackerbrücke
I think München Augsburg will get an update in the near future do to the creation of the ET420, which will probably get TSW 4 standards, so that HMU has to get an update to TSW 4 standards including a new timetable
