Just given TSW2 a quick try this morning as it's the first chance I have had. I hate to say it but I really am disappointed with it as it actually seems to be a step back overall from TSW2020 IMHO. For me the following issues stand out enough to spoil what should be a great follow up and are what make it seem slightly worse than its predecessor..... Bakerloo..... Sounds don't seem right in that there is no extra noise within the tunnel environment when going over points or over intermittent track joints as there is in reality. (Unless LUL have welded their entire network into one continuous pair of rails!!!) The change from level to inclines is very, very noticeable at a couple of locations to the point that it seems to just be a sharp angular change rather than a smooth rolling change. Track textures in places seem poorly done and can be noticed when coming towards ends of tunnels or going through short tunnels or bridges. Just did the second scenario/journey where you drive from Queens Park to Harrow and back again in the rain but at no point did I actually have to have my wiper going (Thanks goodness cos it sounds awful) as apart from when I was stood for more than 30 seconds or so there was no evidence of any rain even touching the windscreen. ICE..... Sounds again..... I did the first couple of scenarios and the track sound from the Talent2 unit has to be the most obvious and poorly looped audio I have ever heard. You can hear a small section at the end of the loop as though just before the end of the looped recording the unit in the recording went over a junction or something but it therefore just repeats every 1-2 seconds. It drove me potty so I just ditched that route before even trying the ICE unit itself. Track textures again.... don't seem very good compared with TSW2020 and look to have been hastily cobbled together. Sandpatch..... Sounds yet again!!!!..... The bell on at least the SD40 but not sure about the others sounds awful and every so often just ends up making a weird squawking / chirping noise before eventually reverting back to a bell again. The horn seems very very quiet even with the windows open. Track textures yet again!!!! and actually seem the worse of all three routes.... If you look at the track texture at Hyndland for example when you stop off in the siding you can see that the two main lines textures just repeat every four or five sleepers distance and they repeat very, very noticeably. When travelling at speed the track texture in front of the train looks like something from MS Train Sim from 15 years ago. Track textures to the sides of the tracks are also very poor IMO with small sections constantly just placed at a skewed angle to the track itself and again these are very, very noticeable. On points/switches I notice the chairs appear only a few metres in front of the train and again is noticeable when the train is travelling over them. General Issue..... In TSW2020 you could have the HUD off but when changing throttle or brake positions you would still get a pop-up indication of what throttle or brake position you were using. This seems to have now gone and the only way you can see what throttle or brake position you have is to now have the HUD on screen. This is more an issue in Sandpatch where you can't fully see the throttle and brake handles without moving your view away from the windscreen and view ahead. This may just be a setting that needs enabling but I can't seem to find it if it is? Overall for me the biggest thing is the track textures in all three routes seem a definite and very big step back compared to what the track textures are like in TSW2020. How can a successor for a sim/game actually look worse than it's predecessor? I'm going to have a look on the section of the forum to report issues to see if these have been raised but to be honest I think I can actually say I may quite happily leave TSW2 for a while at least and go back to TSW2020 till things improve. I was sat on the fence before it's release having heard the arguments about whether it was a worthy successor or not but I hate to say that it seems such a disappointment. Dave.
