Hi all, I am an AC with Keolis, the company that operates the MBTA's commuter rail. As if working on the trains isn't enough, I occasionally enjoy playing TSW. While I appreciate the MBTA addons, from the original Boston Sprinter to the new Boston - Worcester line, I would like to add my take on some needed improvements. While I understand the Boston Sprinter is from TSW2 and unlikely to be updated, I will be including some needed updates for that as well. First and foremost, we really need to see cross-compatibility with the HSP's and Rotem's between the two routes. We shouldn't have to make our own scenario's to play with the HSP and Rotem's on the Providence/Stoughton Line. The timetable is fine as it is, just allowing the use of the new locomotives and cab cars would be nice. Alright, now on to technical stuff. The car markers at certain stations on inbound trains on the Worcester Mainline are not accurate. Some stations are, but others are not. When stopping at stations with mini high level platforms, the 1st set of double doors (between the first and second car from the locomotive) needs to be on the mini high for ADA purposes. I believe Westborough is the culprit I can think of off the top of my head, but I know there are a few others. Coach numbers are painfully inaccurate on the Worcester. Rotems (the Bilevel cars) are numbered in the 800's, and the control cars are numbered in the 1800's. While those are correct, the flats (single level) cars are numbered 500's, and the control cars are 1500's, based on what is in the game. However, in game they are all currently numbered as 800-series. Seeing a flat car numbered "809" pains me to see. On the Rotem Cab Cars, the "Horn Sequence" timing is off. The timing needs to be adjusted so that from the moment you press the button, the whistle sounds for at least 15, but not more than 20, seconds. I haven't tested it on the HSP's or the F40s. On all of our locomotives and cab cars, the ditch (auxiliary) lights only flash when the bell is on, and they flash until the bell is turned off. The game currently has them so they turn off after a certain time, and so they will quickly flash when the horn is activated. Our trains simply do not do that. On the Stoughton line, I would love to see a feature added where you have to "Contact the Dispatcher" to activate the Washington St crossing just after Canton Center. Currently, the crossing deactivates after stopping at the center, and does not reactivate when going through. Also, there are no "Whistle" or "Crossing" signs before any of the crossings on the Stoughton branch. With the exception of the private crossings, all crossings at grade on the Stoughton require a 19(b) (The horn sequence). On the Providence and Stoughton lines, there should be car markers to assist with stopping both inbound and outbound trains, in accordance with ADA rules and placing the first set of double doors on the mini-high platforms. The most bugging to me is on BOTH the Providence/Stoughton and Worcester lines. The stop locations at Back Bay are incredibly off! Especially on the Worcester, where absolutely none of the train is on the mini-high. But even on the Prov/Sto line, the locomotive should be just off the platform on the south end, so not to allow passengers to enter or exit on the locomotive. While I don't expect to see these changes, I am hopeful they will be considered. This will add a level of realism to the game to help non-railroaders experience a more lifelike feel. Thank you!
nice insight ... anyway, for me atm the biggest gripe is the final stretch of Boston/Worcester Route - as you approach the station, the last bit shows you STOP aspect in the loco... some patches ago, you could barely get like 300 feet or so towards the stop marker before you got penalty brakes... now you can get within a few feet, but it still triggers the penalty brakes, even if you go incredibly slow like below 10 mph and still some ways from actual RED and second thing I havent been able to figure out 100%, tho this is not a fault/bug (I think) is the physics of acceleration/power delivery/tractive effort on HSP46... since you spend a lot of the time on this route fiddling with throttle notches, I would watch the amp and tractive effort values on screens in the loco... and I noticed sth interesting - up to notches like 5 or 6, the tractive effort rises pretty much in linear fashion, a bit more at 5 and 6... but when you put it into notch 7 and 8, the tractive effort goes into almost double the figures from notch 6 we had some discussion about it here: https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/mbta-commuter-feedback-thread.86929/page-5#post-931163 seems like those are when the turbos kick in, but havent found any more info about it (since I guess it is confidential?)
