Out Now Mittenwaldbahn - Out Now!

Try to drive to the signal.

 

Steam HQ is in Seattle. That is why the release time is 1800 UTC, as it is during office hours in Seattle.

 

Yes, it's because of the Series S, although it is also a problem DTG could easily solve. The draw distance is set within the initial config of the game files, and because the Series S is supposedly a Gen 9 machine like the Series X there is only version of the game that runs on both systems, so that config is shared between both.

The thing is, only DTG seem to have a problem publishing an Xbox game that can tell which system you are using and adjust the settings accordingly. I watch a lot of Digital Foundry videos and frequently things like draw distance are culled on the Series S when compared to Series X.

I don't know Unreal code, but surely it is capable of doing the equiliviant of If system = Series S then Draw Distance = 3 else Draw Distance = 4

 

Exactly that isn't doable as i know (and i think Matt said it a few times on different places on streams). For UE both consoles are the same. And that's the problem. When there are games for the S and the X that are using different settings, then they build two different games for the two consoles. Not sure if DTG would like to do that or even can do that (i presume no or they would have done it). So we probably have to blame XBox to not having a readable system information thing to figure out what console it is running on.

 

Lmao, it's always someone else's fault but only the players suffer.

Somehow other devs/games figure this stuff out, but never DTG/TSW. Similar situation to the lack of DLSS/FSR support on the PC side. Tiny indie games support it on day one, but DTG make it out to be some sort of arcane mystery that will take years to solve if ever.

The route looks beautiful on PS5, but garbage on Xbox, but DTG will happily take the whole $45 from Xbox players.

Gross.

 

Safely hidden away for launch day, when they probably do 90-95% of total lifetime sales for a DLC.

Deceptive af, imo.

 

How difficult is it to drive the crocodile?

 

You need to learn to read. I'm not complaining about the release time, it is what it always has been. I'm annoyed by the "out now" messages all over TSW when I have to wait almost another full day to buy it the few times I actually want to buy a route at full price on release day.

 

More things to set up before the ride, the ride itself is not difficult, the route is difficult, many descents and ascents. So far I've always only been on the gold...many penalties for speeding

 

Disabled small brother S and tiedlegged big brother X that's Xbox family...

 

It because of the Series S, and MS won't allow different builds between. The game has to work for both S and X.

However if DTG would give us more graphic setting controls like other games do then we may be able to change that.

They can make the timetable different I can't see why they can't make the draw distance be able to tell if its an S or X. It can't be that much different.

But it's just a dream and the reason I won't buy Mountainous routes since Semmeringbahn.

 

You would think so since they can make it determine the difference for timetables.

It can't be that much different than that set up.

 

Well it is out for certain people. They can't do a separate out now video or post every time a new region gets the content

 

I love the idea of this route, and would want to get it, but for nearly $50 and missing mountains on a mountain route, it just doesn't make sense. Dang, I was looking forward to it.

 

Love the route already. Posted my thoughts in the quotes below:

 

Regarding draw distance, wasn't there a technique they used for Rosenheim-Salzburg? On Series X, they are the only mountains in-game I recall that can be seen from a long way away.

 

how is the catenary? those massive 2 inch solid black gas pipes again, so the wires are visible on the consoles?
That's an absolute no-buy for me.

 

@TSG: I've played quite a bit now and I'm loving the addon!

Just a few bugs I've noticed:
- When you do the Seefeld Freight run, you start in the depot and need to exit that - which is fun! But I've encountered some issues:
- The Wartesignals stay dark even when they should be permissive (can be checked via map view). They will only light up when the front of the locomotive passes the signal - at that point it's too late.
- After exiting the depot area, you are asked to change drivers ends and end up before Signal Sch131 which shows a permissive aspect. But the following Verschubsignal V393 shows a restrictive aspect, even though it is supposed to be permissive (and at that point, it actually is - according to map view). AFAIK in this case, you are not yet considered a "mainline run" (Zugfahrt) but still a "shunting movement" (Verschubfahrt) as the starting signal was not a main signal but a protection signal, so you'd actually have to obey to the restrictive aspect. Am I wrong?

 

How are you blaming that one on the consoles? PS5 literally runs the game using PC's high settings, the catenary wasn't any more or less visible than on PC.

 

So i did buy it on PC, and it's fantastic despite some bugs. Innsbruck and the surrounding mountains are spectacular.

Playing on controller, with the train brake, it's VERY easy to go past running and overcharge and into shutdown, which obviously isn't ideal. Maybe there could be a lock button similar to the reverser?

The Krokodil tutorial has multiple duplicated audio dialogues, some of which don't match with the text on screen. There are awkward delays between steps that take way too long to resolve. And some informational text is only on-screen for a fraction of a second, which makes it impossible to read. Anyway this is more of an frustration for newer players, but for a premium price it's a bad look.

On to the positives:

The first service i played with the Krokodil is Scharnitz Freight, Part 1, which has you start the loco (i didn't realize this was even possible in service mode due to AI limitations!?), use the turntable and hook up to your consist before setting off in Part 2. Very impressive! Not sure if any other runs are setup this way, but i really like it!

On to part 2.

I would def buy again on Series X if DTG fixes the draw distance travesty.

 

Lukas said on stream to lock the brake key again once in running or in any of the service positions. That will lock the handle from going beyond overcharge.

 

That's great advice! Thank you!

 

Great route.
I have no complaints. It is worth every penny.
Chapeau TSG!

 

Neither the route's users manual nor the tutorial run explain how to turn the windshield wipers on and off. Help?

 

The little red air valve near the train brake handle

 

Great route with lots of details like original ÖBB and DB timetables at the station, non static cows, original tyrolean car number plates from that era,etc!

 

I really love the addon and the croco.
And it is very cool that croco spawns nearly cold in freeroam.

 

duplicate audio and text happens on other routes too after latest patch

 

Yes it is happening in normal scenarios too. Also finding occasionally the screen will just flash black or occasionally show the menu screen before returning to the in game display.

 

I really wish there was some acknowledgement of the Xbox Series X issue from DTG Alex or DTG Harry - as an Xbox Series X owner I would like to know that the issue will be brought forward for investigation at least. This seems only fair given the particularly high price point of this DLC.

 

Hi Harriet, the one currently being seen as the biggest gamebreaker for Xbox Series X owners is the lack of mountains in the scenery. Basically, this thread: https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/mittenwaldbahn-has-no-mountiains-on-xbox-x.89201/

While we all understand the underlying constraints of Gen9 on the Xbox side with Series S being what it is, we would like to have Series X used to the fullest of its abilities. Similarly to how layers are cut on Series S but not on Series X, I think having the mountains rendered on XSX is possible. While limited draw distance on Series S is understandable, having critical visual objects such as mountains rendered is a fair ask. This is one of this route's most important selling points, and removing this is a real problem for the most of us. Given the premium price of this add-on it would be nice to enjoy the premium looks on Xbox Series X as well, similarly to how the route looks on PlayStation 5.

 

Thank you for pointing this Xbox Series X issue out again. It is not only a problem and a dealbreaker when it comes to Mittenwaldbahn, but also towards potential new routes. No mountains (or other interesting landmarks) to be seen. The drawing distance has to be increased. You buy the perfomance-wise best Gen 9 console from Microsoft but you still don't get the full performance when it comes to TSW in comparison to PC or PS 5.

 

They don't care about the Xbox issue and won't do anything about it or even acknowledge it- see the feigned "ohoooo what isssue do you mean???" above. They buried a thread about it on launch day so it wouldn't gain traction and hurt those all-important day-one sales.

DTG have already gotten their money so that's all that matters to them. It's a shame because it's a fantastic route, and should be a celebration on all platforms. The bad reviews on Xbox will only fall on TSG, while DTG laughs all the way to the bank. Gross imo.

 

No, they haven't. They haven't gotten mine, they haven't gotten others' - at least as multiple posts on these forums are concerned. There is no will in the Xbox community to buy an above-regular price route that is badly disfigured in the visual department. Plenty of people said it. I am sure that the developers want to have unanimous praise for this route instead of what is happening now in basically every single medium (forums/reddit/youtube): it's great on PC and PS5, it is badly broken on Xbox so you should not get it now.

Also, I don't really get this hating on DTG Harry here: she asked a question and was provided an answer. I hope that this leads to further investigation of this game breaking issue. Unless you have something to back your negativity with, other than general doom and gloom that these forums are full of, then I'd much rather take her involvement at face value - as a genuine interest in a reported critical issue.

 

I agree with not personally attacking people. The frustration is that recently we've had a lot of stuff swept under the rug and a real lack on engagement on the forums. The whole product as a whole has taken such a hit for TSW5.

We're now lucky if we get any sort of explanation for anything that isn't a PR response at the moment. I understand this isn't the fault of the community managers and they're probably doing the best they can under the situation.

Again this isn't an excuse for treating people badly. But this frustration comes from a viewpoint of wanting the game to be the best it can be.

 

Absolutely no offense to Harry, but I did get a right good chuckle as she is asked about an Xbox issue and the reply is basically, "which one?" This does not speak to her at all but to the multitude of issues Xbox faces at the moment. Really I would find more fault with the poster not being more specific about what Xbox issue in particular was a concern, but it was just an innocent query at that. For those interested here is another thread that deals with Xbox draw distance (I edited this to fix the link):

https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/psa-a-dire-lack-of-mountains-on-xsx.79884/

 

Is the announced date of the first update, around February 18th, still valid?

 

One more thing, if I may. I expect this issue to be fixable in Xbox Series X. No one is demanding this to be true for Xbox Series S, but it is reasonable to expect visual parity between XSX and PS5.

I have heard DTG Matt explain how Series S and Series X run essentially the same build. In my understanding there are still differences, maybe not in what the term "build" implies, but in package dependencies, or other some such similar mechanism - games downloaded to the Series S are usually smaller than the same games downloaded to the Series X - this is particularly true for larger games such as Sea of Thieves of Forza Horizon. I consider TSW to be such a "larger game". Surely this proves that the games are not byte for byte identical when downloaded to both platforms side by side.

There are obvious ways to differentiate between Series S and Series X - your engineers are already doing this with things like layers. If for whatever reason there are reasons as to why you cannot similarly apply different logic on these machines when it comes to drawing this very distant object, I would like to hear the reasoning for it. I find it tremendously hard to believe that DTG is able to detect a Series S and limit the layers and AI traffic, but cannot tell the game to hide an in-scene object. If not outright by the default draw distance mechanisms, then maybe other things could be employed that would render this only on XSX and not XSS. How does that mountain differ from a disabled loco?

One final word, I don't mean any disrespect. I am just a passionate fan and I would love to enjoy this product on my console in the way it was meant to be enjoyed. I have seen things differ in plenty of games from XSS to XSX - be it visual fidelity, fps, enemy count, etc. It seems like this should be achievable.

On the other hand if this is NOT somehow achievable due to whatever reason, I would also have a clear and final answer. No, we won't fix it, there is no reasonable way for us to do so, so take the DLC or leave it as it is. This would work for me as well.

 

I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so sarcastic. I know the community team does the best they can in these circumstances.

But the fact remains the major issue remains, and doesn't sound like it will be fixed anytime soon if ever.

But the Xbox version is still being sold at full-price, many people will buy it unaware and review it poorly and it will be DTG and TSG's reputation that takes a hit.

Just seems a shame to me.

 

I'll be the devil's advocate here. This is an Xbox Play Anywhere DLC, so it suffers on Xbox, but works with Xbox consoles and PC, where I understand it works fine. It is not possible to differentiate pricing based on platform to my knowledge (not with a Play Anywhere game at least).

 

Bottom line is if you buy this and play it on Xbox, you'll be disappointed when you find out alot of the mountains are missing. Some people don't have a fast enough PC so when they buy it on Xbox, they plan on playing it on Xbox. Play anywhere doesn't help.
Everybody talks about how great the new routes look in their YouTube demos, but nobody tells you that the tops of huge mountains are missing when you play on console. You just learn that by spending the money and being disappointed. and they're not cheap.
I've been burned enough to hesitate on this one, and I'm glad I did. It's too bad though, because Id love to drive a train through the Alps.

 

Oh I absolutely agree, just pointing this one out, is all.

 

Performance of XBOX X is even to PS5. Just do it guys. Stop talkin start walkin. Until then, one star in Xbox Store from me.

 

Went for a bit of a hike, but finally managed to find the Cable Car Mastery Tile. I'm sure there's a massive sign at Mittenwald Station pointing to it!

 

Any news on the limited drawing distance on Xbox Series X, which means no mountains on Mittenwaldbahn?

 

No news

 

Just wanted to repost what I said on the feedback thread:

On the whole I am LOVING this route. I grew up only a few k from Garmisch, and the landscapes at the north end of the line felt like coming home; TSG have captured the feel of the Werdenfelserland perfectly. And, yes, the Krokodil is a blast to run- you have to drive the thing, not simply set a cruise control, but it's responsive enough that you don't feel like you're fighting with it all the time (hear that, Class 45?).

And I LOVE that fact that TSG created new house and building assets appropriate to the area, houses that in proportion and features really look like they belong in the Oberbayern- something DTG should have done but didn't with Semmeringbahn

A couple of minor quibbles-

• As noted above, Eilzüge were semifast locals, certainly not surcharge express trains
• All seating sections on the Silberlinge are marked no smoking; actually until 2007 one of the two end sections was a smoking section (the IC cars however get it right)
• Magic 1020s that apparently don't need overhead power to run
• No 218 layer, which would be nice to have. Yes, I realize they would have to be re-liveried, but that's not such a big deal, is it? Just Trains provides a boatload of paint jobs, and TSG themselves quietly included a Verkehrsrot 628 with NTB just for use on other routes.
• I think the Abfahrtplan is a very nice touch; still, it's a pity the old mechanical PIS boards haven't yet been worked out.

DTG Lukas, a question. I see that the train museum in Württemberg provided your research access. I notice that they have a running DB E 94, which I assume was your primary source, and a 1020 they use as a parts donor for it. Were there significant differences between the two locos?