Ny-trenton: Usa Content Is Still Severely Flawed

To be fair, however, it must also be said that it's easier to build a comfortable branch line than one of the busiest traffic junctions in New York.

 

Finally gave my review in steam

Maybe. But is also easier when half of the NYT route is cut and paste from previous routes.

 

Oh wow already deeply discounting the route? Smacks of desperation. Really must not have sold well and the disastrous Steam reviews on it must have kept many away.

 

I guess as more players get to buy it at a discount more reviews are coming in........

 

DTG's coalface employees are railfans. But the Men In Charge are profit fans, hence the infamous "DTG Flywheel." I'm sure Matt etc were not happy about being confronted with a release deadline which didn't allow for the route being done properly, but it's not their call.

 

It's not easier to build even a branch line with NB's almost insane attention to detail.

 

You have to remember that DTG were so proud of the work they did to the route....

 

It's been a while now since the release, but with how bad the Trenton feedback is, I'm surprised they still don't have plans to add to the timetable. Even most of the positive reviews on steam mention the lackluster timetable.

Trenton has worse reviews on Steam than Oakville, Arosa, original NEC: NY, and the Amtrak SW1000R loco DLC, and it's almost caught up to the DB 187. (and that's even including the original TSW 2020 store page for Oakville and the original TSW 2 store page for Arosa and DB 187, since the reviews don't carry over to the TSW 3 store pages for them)

It was also kinda disappointing to hear that DTG employee in the TSC discord saying (twice) that Trenton doesn't deserve negative reviews and that the community expects way too much. I don't think anyone was expecting Niddertalbahn quality, we're just expecting the same quality as the UK routes. I'm not going to name names, but it's easy to find using the discord search function in that server. I also think paying customers deserve an opinion, not to be shot down by people that receive the route for free.

 

I think it’s pretty odd that a DTG employee would have that attitude. It’s not unreasonable for paying customers to expect scenery that doesn’t clip trains (especially when this was fed back about LIRR a lot and they just copied and pasted it over. It’s not unreasonable for paying customers to expect value for money - especially when we’ve had more for less. If DTG doesn’t want negative reviews - it ought to do better. It should know by now what gets positive and negative feedback from the community. It’s supposed to be learning from its mistakes, and yet we still get DLC like Trenton released. It’s farcical.

 

I won’t ever be buying the route - even at a steep discount in its current state. I can happily live without it until DTG decides to put in the effort to bring it up to a reasonable standard. And, that includes a fix to NY Penn so scenery doesn’t clip the trains.

 

I’m sure there are elements of NYT that deserve due praise, but with the apparently lacklustre timetable unworthy of such a (IRL) busy route, the people have spoken, and the people want to see lots of AI trains and feel immersed. Surely such a basic notion cannot have escaped the powers that be?

 

I find this interesting, it's like the hands that kept getting burnt by the match are now holding the flame thrower.

cutting corners for accountants is leaving that dlc in discount alley it seems

 

Lmaooo DTG said the community asking too much???the same company that GAVE BML 1,000+ playable services with nearly 1,000 ai. How are we asking for too much, I mean LIRR ai layers in and out of Penn is asking too much?..a legit timetable for the dlc is too much???even part of Newark Broad St and small part of NJCL is asking too much??

 

Tiny bit of clarification on my part before I get blasted here with spreading false information…

It wasn’t a DTG employee we’re all familiar with in the community, and I’m sure they weren’t speaking on behalf of DTG when making that remark, but it’s still a very bad look on the company IMO that someone working on the QA team doesn’t seem to be taking paying customer’s reviews seriously and publicly saying that the route doesn’t deserve negative reviews and making negative remarks about us in a community Discord. Customers are what pays them, and it really makes you wonder what they say and joke about behind the scenes about the community.

The message is still posted and searchable using Discords handy search function, I just don’t wanna start drama in this thread again, it’s long enough as it is


I really hate to bring it up, but it really did leave me disappointed.

 

It still sounds like it's an employee from DTG that may have said this though, that's still a bad look.
But u corrected that it's not an employee the community is familiar with.

 

Probably a comment that came from someone that probably knows very little about the NEC . Is very frustrating seeing only 28 passenger service for ALP-46(not including the 3 deadheads and 10 yard moves, a gap of 5 hours between passenger services (from 0900 to 14:06 on the ALP-46,, even on the multi-car from Trenton during rush hour a gap from 0824 to 0950 , an hour and a half Of a gap with no NJT from Trenton, they are several gap similar and even longer throughout the game that just didn’t make sense. Is like they went back into TSW2020. You are willing to substitute the Amtrak trains but not the NJT. They said the signals would handle all the traffic but with all the current issues I doubt it. Just an awful representation of the busiest part of the NEC…… can’t even imagine next year when the next US passenger route is announced. Can’t imagine getting any lower than this……

 

Ah ha! Now we know you're not being truthful! Since when does DTG have a QA team hmmm?

 

How quickly NYT has been relegated to the back burner.

Now all the attention has switched to the German and UK offerings.

I don't begrudge European fans their day in the sun and I sincerely hope that the upcoming UK routes meet all their expectations.

Still, can't help feeling that US players have drawn the short straw recently.

 

I completely understand where you’re coming from on this, unfortunately it ain’t just American content what feels forgotten when this happens, the route before Trenton which I can’t recall what it was, will have felt the same way for those with an interest in that route.

I think it stems from players seeing lots of bugs and few fixes, they have to put hope that things get fixed before their released, but that doesn’t really happen… so when the next dlc arrives, it feels the previous dlc has bugs, but has been left (ignored) for the dazzle of promotion of the next, (repeats cycle for the one after)

 

I was so keen to have this route that I bought it and abandoned it. I just don't feel like playing even with the Acela which is a good train.
What a pity, five weeks after its release it hasn't received a single update. It's a punch in the gut for the customers who went out of their way to report so many bugs. And the communication from DTG has been very bad as well. I had hoped that the delay was because they were working hard and were going to surprise us with a new timetable, static stock, LIRR IA etc. But now I know I can't trust them and I am very disappointed with their attitude about this route.

 

I just hope this thread is being shown to the powers that be. More time is needed to develop a DLC properly. Half-arsing it isn’t working anymore. No more treating us with contempt.

 

Man they as usual do not research properly involving anything part of NY....my friend who purchased even said he saw few services in the game (Boston bound) using track 3 at Newark lmaoo...I've never seen that in real life...as usual it's excuses and excuses smfh

 

Another failure of both research and effort for American content is represented by the BNSF SD70ACe. Nobody at DTG thought it made a difference to make an early "thundercab" model - less work to adapt from the UP - never mind that a thundercab cannot be a drivable BNSF loco. Or for that matter get the number range right. Or add a single new service to the route. (Aren't they still working with Gary Dolzall? He wouldn't have let a blunder like that slip through)

Yet in less than two weeks after release a single modder, in his spare time, came up with a very presentable iso-cab unit, with the right road numbers and everything- and tossed in a PTC screen and improved headlights to boot. So it isn't like DTG couldn't have done it- they just couldn't be arsed.

 

Update coming probably next week, so all US content will now be top-notch, right? RIGHT?

 

After much careful consideration with Skyhook, we have made the decision to release Midland Main Line: Leicester – Nottingham and Derby a little later, with an expected release date in April.
This is to allow us to work with Skyhook to bring you the best possible experience with launch

I would say that we had something to do with them delaying another rush release just to meet a deadline. I'm glad they are listening to the community and hopefully we can get a future patch and other improvements for the US content

 

If only they would have took that same action with Trenten. Push the date back and improve everything on this route. But am hoping big improvements are coming for the route since it is taking a while to release the update for it

 

I have a feeling that Matt oddly has more authority in that wrt third parties than with DTG's own releases- they pushed back Horseshoe Curve for polishing as well. While DTG has to release its own content according to The Schedule, third-party releases can be more flexible.

 

Unfortunately, according to previous statements, the update will include some needed but fairly minor corrections to the rolling stock, passenger behavior and catenary in Sunnyside.

It will not include improvements to Penn Station and will not impact the timetable or AI traffic.

So, unless something has radically changed in the last few weeks, this update will not be the one we all wanted.

As to delaying releases in order to polish or improve them, there is some history.
The Rush Hour routes of 2021 come to mind, notably BML.
Sadly, this wasn't considered for NYT.

As I posted elsewhere, we Americans have drawn the short straw recently.

 

I gave in and bought the route plus Acela in the dog end of the sale yesterday evening.

Okay only £20 but it’s all a bit meargh… Performance is very choppy and stuttery, worse than Niddertalbahn even with the latter’s high density foliage. That does odd things to the Acela sound which is a bit crap anyway, just a constant whine with no rise of fall in pitch as the traction motors spool up or down. However the stutter puts a momentary lower “whoop” into the sound which totally destroys immersion.

As noted in another thread I switched the safety systems on, then on departure from Newark got whacked by a 45 MPH speed reduction with no time to slow down = penalty brake stop.

I know it’s a cliche but finger once again hovering over the refund button.

 

I looked at this route but decided to wait until it's either way cheaper or DTG patch it. I don't understand why it was so rushed? As has been said by others it was the chance to do something good like London Commuter on a busy US route. I can understand how US gamers feel about this.

 

May as well get your money back. You've seen first hand the disaster. If they choose to fix it in the future you will be able to buy back in at a deeper discount. Refund is win-win for you as a consumer.

 

Yep, really don't know what compelled me to buy it - the forlorn hope that it couldn't really be that bad, could it?!
But it is/was.
Only thing now, I'll probably get a refund yellow card off Steam having also sent West Rhine back, but the next item up Leicester to Nottingham/Derby looking to be worth buying and keeping.

 

Yes , I don't understand why anyone who is concerned with this route's quality would pay for it now, even at a discount. If the route is ever improved, then it would be a waste of time to drive a lot of subpar services now. You would probably want to drive them again with a busier timetable and more to look at, if that ever happens. On the other hand, if they don't improve the route, then it doesn't make sense to pay money for it in the first place. Even if it was free, I would download it to check it out, but not to play it in its current form. This DLC was clearly more than DTG could handle. A lesson learned for all involved, I think.

 

To be constructive, if dtg would charge another 10 euros for the enhanced "true to life" timetable i would buy the route + timetable pack full price.

But in the current state..., nope

 

The other thing, it's not even that long to get a decent high speed run. After crawling out of Penn and not getting more than about 70 MPH to Newark, crawling out of Newark then getting hit by the 45 MPH ACSES, that only left just over 40 miles to Trenton! I guess we got spoiled by SKW but if you're going to do a high speed route, it needs to be good for some sustained fast running.

 

I agree with this as well. If DTG said, look, it was more work than we thought, so we can't charge less because we've already put the work in, but we can fix it up and charge a little more, I would respect their honesty and consider paying the full price plus extra, depending on the total cost and whatever new work they do. This is an interesting idea really, charge for the route whatever reflects the value. If players won't pay for quality then that's on them, and DTG could always point to that as evidence that the player base won't pay for high quality. A different approach than the current price points and release dates, for sure

 

I don’t think this route would even get a loco add on DLC. A. Sad end to something that could have been great. I mean 1/3 of the playable services are yard moves. What did they think would happen?

 

I will buy it full price if they improve the timetable. As it is it is one of the few routes that I wouldn't even purchase even at 50% off.

It looks very well done overall, apart from the area around NYP, which I could live with but the timetable really is a disappointment.

 

I mean they said they were proud of the so called effort aka lazy attempts they made of this route...forget the yard moves.. first mistake was taking a bit of the LIRR parts to put in this dlc instead of scratch.....But they did this to themselves, especially high standards coming from London Commuter dlc. This dlc should've been thought for work...And the nerve to not even try to revise or patch a better timetable in the future. but Bakerloo had a timetable patch, Rapid Transit one of the OLDEST dlcs even had a timetable patch as part of an option....Again NO excuses. And this is all before we can get to bugs/issues.

 

It shows the scenery sloppily, too.

・The truck during the stop of the warehouse is a fresh cream state.
・The border step of a station and the road in artificiality.
・The color of the surface of the water is funny.
・A cab car and brakes of ASC-64 are improper.

 

Some sort of patch preview:



This was posted today.

 

I appreciate this guy is doing what he needs to do to get what he wants from the freebie bin, but this is the same person who's told me TSW3 doesn't have any more performance issues than TSW2 and yet posts this video which puts stutters and micropauses on full display. No need to wonder why many tend to ignore the fanfare cheerleading from "ambassadors".

 

Everyone's experience is different depending on platform and hardware. Some people may have performance issues, some may not. Ambassadors have a whole channel where they report any bugs that they find. If you think they're just getting free, then you're wrong. There's much more to their job than you think.

 

Just going by what this one particular "ambassador" has told me. Clearly his claims of a mostly stutter free / micropausing expericence was not true. Therefore, my opinion on the matter stands.

 

Given that consoles have the same performance specs as a minimum across the board, you’d expect performance on them to be absolutely polished. At least by now when we have TSW 3. They keep listing optimisation improvements in the roadmap - where are they? They’re a long long time coming.

 

You can even see the game stuttering while his facecam is still smooth, so it's not even issues with the video encoding.

 

Yes that is what I noticed. At first I thought ok, it's a recording. But as you mention the face cam vs the game is smooth vs stuttery. Hence why I don't take anything this "ambassador" says at face value (in terms of game performance). He's either towing the company line or is simply ignoring the obvious (as I believe many do with this game).

 

I never trust any opinion when someone has a vested interest in something. I always look for reviews and opinions from those that have nothing to lose.

 

I suspect they are there just to appease folks like me who call it out all the time. Yeah, it's on the roadmap, but probably not being worked on all that much since the rush to get tons of routes and paid paint jobs out a month takes priority. Still unsure how they expect to bring in and keep long term customers with such a poor performing game.

 

It is possible he doesn't notice the stutter. I know people who can play games at 30fps without their eyes starting to hurt, after all. But yeah, if people are pointing it out, you can't really say "it's not there", that would be like me saying there's no problem with say, the colours of signals, if a red/green colour blind person was saying they couldn't tell the difference. It's obviously a problem for the people who can see it and I will take them at their word and suggest DTG need to accommodate that.