Dovetail Games Mildmay Line Preview Q & A

What were the most challenging aspects of building this route and what lessons did you learn from using this as your first route. How will you apply these learnings going forward?

 

I think the idea being the more people asking the same question, the more likely it will be addressed and not ignored.

 

The route, in its current form, sounds a bit long. Are there any plans to shorten it?

 

Can Incredible Trains extend the GOBLIN to include the entire C2C network. I'd rather that than the 4 miles DC section of the North London Line?

Do I get the "least practical question of the day" award?

 

So… are there? I missed the stream so don’t know if the question was answered

 

no plans to extend the route.

 

No extensions.

DTG currently have no announced Underground routes, they are technically challenging to make.

 

Unlikely. Certainly the route as it is is considered a finished product.

 

Yes the Class 66 operates Timetable services.

 

no plans for extensions, you should consider the route a finished project.

Goblin Line is a DTG route, different developer, there will be no discounts.

 

With a little bit of uncertainty from Johannes I believe he'll see the success this route and I think maybe he may consider it I believe it really depends on the success of the release of the route

 

"No extensions planned", I can imagine that won't go down well with some but that hopefully means he's working on something that isn't London Overground related next, doesn't mean it won't happened it's just not on their "to do" list. What we have of the route looks like it's good quality and I'll be getting it.

Love that "G*****r A*****a" livery, absolutely spot on but without the branding, you can tell that TOC is on its way out with DTG almost trolling them.

 

Oh...

Then do so before asking questions here

Probs Not

Bruh...

Sure

Lol

 

Like Seriously

 

[EDIT - Jan - Language]

 

Rude..

 

I saw the route preview on the live broadcast, and I would like to know if the absence of passengers was for a specific reason or will they appear normally when the route is released?

 

Passengers are a core issue in tsw. That's why other routes suffer from lack of passengers or weird behaviors as well

 

In actual fact I took the opposite from the preview...

He didn't say 'no' outright to extending the route, he said he would be initially concentrating on bugs and issues when the route releases. He didn't say the route wouldn't be extended in future, he said that he would let it release first and then he will work on other DLC (cough cough that DLC could be the extension, aswell as other things for the game). There was no outright refusal or 'no' to that question. I interprete his answer as 'leaving the door open for a future extension, but not committing to a time or date, just getting the first part of the route released first before moving onto other things' ... I mean did anyone else interpret it the same?

He come across incredibly articulate, and detailed in his responses on the stream. He also come across as a thoroughly decent and well informed chap.

 

Would this preview demonstrate nighttime scenery of this route? I am a little worry about the lighting issue.

 

One service began around dawn and finished in the light.

 

For those in the know about building TSW routes....

Is it possible to model city light pollution in TSW? My biggest issue with night driving in TSC and TSW is that orange/pink glow reflecting off the clouds as you approach major conurbations is missing.

 

Suspect this thread will be locked without an answer now, but this is a great question. Night time drives could look fantastic & would certainly be attractive in comparison to the ill looking daytimes TSW has, but cityscape lighting has so far been lacking in TSW, so would certainly be interesting to know what prevents it.

 

TOD4 allows localised fog/mist to be scripted, but it's not something we have seen.

 

Matt stated on stream ""we currently have no date for the missing passengers fix""

 

He said he "considered this to be a finished product".

DTG would recommend against extensions, as the publisher, because they become a loss loss situation, you invest Dev time and give the extension for free losing money, or you charge for the extension which annoys and upsets people who bought the original. Especially smal team devs, if they invest 6 months in a free extension how do they pay their bills?

 

What if the route as it is now cost £25 and once the extension is released the updated route would cost £30 whereas those who already bought it get the update for free. Early access games work like this.

 

If 80% of purchases are made around the time of release,
20% are made during lifetime, is 6 months worth of dev investment for £5 extra gain of 20% worthwhile?

Also once you announce that you are working on an extension, most people will buy at £25 almost wiping off the new price proposition.

Personally I would love to see WCMLs run from Euston to New Street, but I cannot see DTG ever extending the poor excuse we have for the route at present.

 

It’s certainly an issue here. I wouldn’t mind paying around the standard route cost for an extension of say MKC - BHM, or BML going through to both London Bridge & Eastbourne. (Just off the cuff examples).

For Willesden to Richmond, it’s obviously not going to go down well being a paid expansion. Now Richmond & Clapham Junction would likely be much more attractive as a product, especially if you could link the Goblin Line in.

Essentially these routes being cut the way they are, are a lose lose. The community is essentially never going to get the line to Richmond & the dev has a great product that is tainted over 4/5 miles of missing area.

It does make me wonder if there is any potential for a dev team to focus on paid upgrades/expansions for TSW content. I think there is a potential market there.

 

Personally, I wait for the route that could be a pinnacle of train simulation in terms of scenery and driving: DLR: Bank to Shadwell

 

Really glad that Matt scoffed at the notion of the DLR being in TSW. Whenever I see a thread requesting the DLR I have a very negative visceral response. That's as politely as I can put it.

Maybe it'll appear in Commuter Sim World, that's if DTG don't do Bus Passenger Sim World first.

 

If they added DLR as add on, the game would become Passenger World Sim

 

But this is a huge break in the immersion of the game's simulation. Shouldn't this already be a standard feature on all routes?

What's going on DTG? Are new developers being prevented from promoting a new route by not having a feature that is a standard feature in the game?

 

Must admit the lack of passengers is a bad one, not blaming the route's creator. While I'm looking from the outside in, it seems like a really elementary fix especially as it will have been known about since testing started at DTG.

Now watch as someone in the community makes a mod that fixes it within 24 hours of release.

 

Commuter Sim World is already here. Used to be TSW back in the day.

 

Ouch, nice one. Though as I grew up in suburban London, my preference is for commuter routes.

 

Not sure if it was said, so apologies if I'm doubling a question - will the Elizabeth Line and GA units be spawnable in free roam, or are they strictly AI only?

 

Think they’re strictly AI only.