Midland Mainline - Skyhook Feedback

Retiring and hard working 40's!

 

TBH my fave loco ever. Still get the occasional goosebumps hearing that throttle up sound on Northern Trans-Pennine. Heh… wonder if a rail tour could happen into Nottingham on this route, come to think of it… In my neck of the woods we used to get Summer mystery trips for a fiver, always 40 hauled and I did end up in Nottingham one week….

 

Andania has been through some railtours in Chester (my area) past couple of years, I've been on one a couple of years back upto the North Wales Coast (My avatar on my last trip, oh that brought back memories) but missed the last couple of trips

 

how do you do that in the HST without isolating that AWS? I haven’t seen a temporary isolation switch.

 

Me neither, unfortunately. I’ve hunted high and low but it looks as if it doesn’t have one. For now I’m sticking with the 158, and hoping the TPWS speeds get fixed with the update (or they add the TPWS isolation toggle switch to the HST, of course!)

 

Has anyone had any wheelspin glitches with the 158? Had a station overshoot so reversed back to the station and ended up not moving and wheelspinning. Couldn't get the train moving again at all had to restart the scenario. Probably the fastest a 158s wheels have ever been

 

Not really, if in real life there was a faulty TPWS grid that was always active they'd inform the drivers to slow down at that point or instigate a TSR, so this could be treated like that
We've always asked for unknown factors, but in this case it just so happens that it's a bug

 

I can't speak for real life but I did upload a "Jolly Fisherman 1979" scenario onto Content Creators club where you drive/thrash a class 40 from Derby to Nottingham lol.

 

Great news about the timetable which was my number one complaint. I think with the timetable update and the rest of the update this will be a very good route and it sounds like it might the beginning of something bigger. Thank you Jane.

 

I've not seen it mentioned here, but before I refunded (will repurchase once the patch is out - once bitten and all that) I noticed one of the wheelsets on the 158 always spins at high speed. Even when stopped. Anyone confirm?

 

a TPWS fault would keep the previous signal held at danger and would involve you being talked past it and authorised to temporarily isolate the TPWS when passing over it.

 

cwf.green Were you aware of this? ^^

 

This is something we became aware of after release and work is in progress to sort it.

Hope you have a great weekend!
Jane

 

jane-skyhook , is there any insight into this new feature?!

Have a nice weekend.

 

You might find this post interesting and useful

 

There was a sequel as well. Evening Star allowed you to drive the Somerset and Dorset. Graphics and gameplay were similar to Southern Belle.

 

Is MML worth getting now or should one wait for fixes and avoid being disappointed by all the issues?

 

I don't regret buying it at the "bundle" price, but mainly for the 158 and actually the HST where you can actually here a bit of thrash in the cab, with the doors open.

Scenically the route is passable but as I said previously the signalling and speed restrictions are a bit of a mess and in need of a thorough overhaul by someone competent in how modern UK signalling works particularly with regard to placement of AWS ramps and TPWS grids. Also missing speed limit signs and advance warning boards too. That to me is more of a priority for SHG than whether they have the correct type of bridge at a particular location.

But I'm not regretting my purchase (already played beyond the refund window) and actually about to go back in and try the Class 45 railtour.

 

What if one just skips useing all saftey systems until there fixed.Would that cut down on some issues?
What about useing the br 43&158 on other routes do they function any better elsewhere or do they still suffer all the same problems?

 

Apart from the visual wince factor, yes. Also drive with the HUD on to pick up the otherwise unmarked speed restrictions.

Oh another one for you jane-skyhook , the railtour consist at least on the Down run does not have a brake vehicle in the formation. This needs to be rectified and for the return too, if an issue there.

 

On the 158 you can run with TPWS in temporary isolation. I described how to do this in the ”bits and bobs” thread. I still run with TPWS enabled because I haven’t really encountered any issues yet but I also haven’t run more than around 10 services (been busy adding features )

 

Yes, I’ve been aware of it for some time. It is not a physics issue, but rather an animation issue. The wheels aren’t actually spinning in Simugraph. Unfortunately I don’t have more of an answer than that since animations is not my thing, but Skyhook are working on it like jane-skyhook mentioned.

 

Not sure whether this has been posted yet, but here's a floating stop marker at Nottingham platform 7 (Which by the way doesn't have any platform number signage)
I really hope the stop markers can be improved, because they can be pretty important to gameplay when playing with minimal HUD.

 

A big patch is coming out so I would say it's worth it. You can even play with a brand new timetable once that comes with the update as well. Doesn't hurt to wait a little bit.

 

Another mildly infuriating thing on the 158 is that the vestibule doors don't close again without input.

 

Unpopular opinion: Southern Bell and Evening Star were LOVE! You could make a cuppa and sit down for a chat with yer mam in the time it took to update the next frame

 

Wow, this is awesome news and one of the best things I've read on these forums in a very long time! The timetable was the biggest reason why I initially held back from getting this route, which was frustrating as the MML and 158 in particular interests me - however I've now bought it. A big thanks to you Jane and your colleagues at Skyhook for improving the route and giving the timetable a revamp to make it busy, especially with some more freight.

I really wish DTG could give some of their routes a timetable revamp.

 

thank you, just booted up here and confirmed. Well spotted, thank you! Added to the list

 

Personally I just think we need to see the update before getting too excited. No offence to Jane or the team but I’m just going to manage my own expectations on this one. I’m glad a fix is on the way, but I do find it very disappointing the route was sent out in such an unfinished state.

I do very much enjoy having the HST overtakes between Leicester and East Mids Parkway, I remember trying to set up Great Western to have a more loaded timetable so you could have something similar on a Turbo run but the scenario created didn’t have the capacity.

 

Do you have any services in mind? I'd love to try them.

 

While there's been plenty of talk (as well as a promised fix) for the 158's windscreen wipers on here, I want to talk about the HST's wiper.

There are issues that were already present on the GWE HST, and insignificant new ones.

• It is too slow. Comparing it to videos of real HSTs using their wipers, this becomes apparent. It also isn't able to keep up with the rain, meaning visibility is worse than it should be.
• The interval setting is labeled "Wash" (which would actually be activated by pushing the lever in, not by turning it) and doesn't do anything different from being "On".
• New: The lever doesn't snap into the "On" position.
• New: The range of motion is too small to the left, so it doesn't actually fully reach the wrongly labeled interval position.

The slow speed is definitely the main issue here, as it heavily degrades the usefulness of the wiper.
A working interval setting and properly labeled and moving lever would be nice to have, but are definitely less important.

 

I forgot to ask in my earlier post, but jane-skyhook can you confirm if part of this timetable update includes purely just AI services too which would make larger stations like Derby or Nottingham much busier? Thanks.

 

Nice one - just played it! Liked overtaking the two 31s at Derby at the start

 

It is hard to see the vehicle destination indicator small.
Please tell me whether you are same as a true car

 

Not having a towing bar and open hatch is the true issue with the hst from my view point. Thats 5 steps backwards.

 

It's amazing no one at skyhook thought it might be usefull to have the towbar hook.

 

I come bearing a rather annoying little bug to do with the placement of a set of buffers at the Mountsorrel quarry reception line.

 

IceHound said - I come bearing a rather annoying little bug to do with the placement of a set of buffers at the Mountsorrel quarry reception line.

Interesting. They have truncated the headshunt, possibly to align the Buffers roughly with the three buffers on the adjacent tracks. The headshunt or spur runs further back than those three lines. They have room just to make that extension. Only a few yards. I guess that the gas holder on the East side of the line standing in for the British Gypsum "dome" might have been a "placer asset" that the devs had no time to convert before being told abruptly that Dev. time was up.

 

Not sure if this has been flagged, but this is the 5F87 0214 Leicester to Eastcroft depot ECS part one. Looks like a small Nuclear detonation has occured lol

 

Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thought I'd try something different lol.

 

That’s just TSW3’s crappy lighting I’m afraid.

 

If you want a true comparison, play TSC in vanilla.
Otherwise, you're comparing Gold to Silver.

 

Very happy about the prospect of an increased number of services!

just wondered if it could be possible for jane-skyhook to publish a timetable of all the services so we can see what services have which calling pattern? Maybe like a downloadable PDF document in the format of a passenger timetable?

i did something similar on my own for the current timetable.. but it took me 4 hours to compile and a bigger timetable would take much longer!

anyway loving the updates and comminucation regarding this route so far too

 

I happen to disagree. One is an old DX9 game, the other uses one of the most modern flagship game engines there is. Both are shown here to the best they can be.

You’re completely missing the point though…it isn’t a TSC vs TSW comparison.

 

It is though.

You're comparing the TSC and TSW Editions of a route, and therefore at the same time, should aim to reflect the base state of both products (MML).

If you were driving the base HST in TSC, it would be a fair comparison to the TSW one. Instead, you're comparing TSW's Base, to TSC's best. That's only good if, oh, I don't know, you're trying to push a narrative... You wouldn't happen to be doing that at all, would you..?

 

The lighting in TSW3 is amazing!!

I remember with TSC it won't go completely dark!

How can you guys have such a bad attitude.

This really is the best train game with great graphics since the launch of original Train Sim C.

TSW3 is amazing.

 

Great point. I think he does have an agenda and is fully driving on these forums. He isn't merely "pointing things out"....

 

As I said, you’re completely missing the point. Again, it isn’t about it being a TSC vs TSW comparison. It never has been. This specific video is about the content within the route, not the engine that is used to render it.

To be absolutely clear though so there’s no misunderstanding, I am absolutely pushing a narrative. The narrative being that the route building, assets, attention to detail and care in the Just Trains version of this route is far superior to the version in TSW. It is there in front of you and it is undeniable. TSW should be better than TSC, I’m not sure how you’re not able to grasp that. TSW is not a new game, it is over 6 years old and should be better than it is. The video I made compares the best that is available for both games. It is absolutely fair and it is a valid comparison.

Skyhook have committed to improving their version, so we give them the benefit of the doubt and wait to see what shape that takes. Of course though, the route shouldn’t have shipped in the state it was in, but I suspect Skyhook are not to blame for that. I bought the route to make that video because the pictures speak for themselves, far better than those of us that see these issues can do in words. Perhaps someone, somewhere, who matters might see it and think that perhaps TSW3 isn’t looking so great after all. Perhaps they won’t. At least I tried. I’m tempted to do one at night because that really will be an eye opener. No doubt people will still be here telling me that it’s not a fair comparison for some unfathomable reason.

SD40Australia Again, for the avoidance of any doubt, you’re absolutely correct. I do have an agenda. The agenda being TSW3 is a shadow of what it should be, and I will continue to point that out until it is no longer the case. Making a completely valid comparison between two train sims from the same developer, one old and one new, is a completely legitimate way of making that point. This video is not about TSC vs TSW as rendering engines, it is about the care that has gone into both products. One is clearly, very clearly, better than the other. The fact that it also happens to highlight some of the inadequacies that befall TSW3 is purely coincidence. If you’re seeing them then you know as well as I do that they exist.

 

You've both completely missed the point. The comparison is to clearly compare the quality of route building, foliage placement, embankments, custom assets etc. Not whether TSC looks better than TSW or vice versa. I'm confident that when Just Trains start showing off their TSW route it'll show up how poor the likes of Skyhook and Rivet are in this regard.

 

You can explain it until you’re blue in the face but if someone isn’t willing to listen…

I can’t wait to see what JT and ATS are able to do with UE4. It’s just such a shame they’re inevitably going to be hamstrung by all the usual stuff (primarily lighting) but I’m confident they’re going to push the boundaries. I believe I’m right in saying ATS are going to bin collectibles and not have them on their route. Hallelujah!