I have an XBox voucher from Christmas burning a hole in my pocket. Do I get Peak Forest or wait for the new UK route? Is Peak Forest a good buy?
If by the new route you mean the Goblin Line then unless you are a fan of ultra short routes with one handled EMU’s then Peak Forest definitely the one to go for. Even though steam is not very good in TSW the route itself is very nice and looks set to be getting some sort of diesel enhancement pack in the coming months.
If you like to see a route running through lovely landscape then I'd definitely get Peak Forest. As Vern has set there seems to be some enhancements to the route coming along soon which will make it even better. There are some great green diesel scenarios for it too on Creative Centre.
They are both very different routes. Peak Forest is a slower steam route through some very nice English countryside, with both freight service and stopping/express passenger services. The upcoming Goblin line is going to be a route through London (advertised as "busy" and "bustling", but will most likely end up empty and dead), with start-stop modern EMU commuter services and probably some freight runs with Class 66 as there is no other UK freight loco available. I would recommend Peak Forest, but both are very different types of routes, so pick what appeals to you more.
Peak forest despite its many timetable failings I do enjoy. The route is beautiful and has a lot of clutter. It just needs that diesel expansion pack which hopefully isn't too far away!
Yeah The Goblinline is more like Birmingham Crosscity! If you love this route you better choose the Goblinline. If you more a fan of history route choose Peak Forest
Wait until both Goblin and the expansion pack for Peak Forest are out. We have no idea how good/bad Goblin will be, it's just that people on this forum are biased against modern content and have already decided how they feel about the route. Peak Forest is a beautiful route but there's hardly anything to do. The runs with the Jubilee are fine enough but most of the 4F timetable is just shunting, not to mention the engine's questionable physics. Bear in mind that even if the diesel expansion for Peak Forest is great, you'd still need to pay for that on top of the £30 for the route itself. Meanwhile it's possible that Goblin, being a very short route will have a lower price than Peak Forest. Even if it doesn't it's still less than Peak Forest plus the expansion.
Thanks for your replies guys. It looks like it’s going to be Peak Forest. I’ll wait and see what the Goblin Line looks like when it comes and decide then for that. Thanks again.
Not so much biased, as a bit sick of EMU after EMU with not far off the majority of the main types of UK EMU covered across 80s to present day. With a lack of diesel freight and even electric locomotive traction and quite frankly some variety route and loco wise. Lots would be happy with a 67, 68 or 70 all modern.
Another backer for Peak Forest here! One of the best looking UK routes as far as scenery goes, just a bit quiet on the timetable side of things and steam physics needing some love and attention. The upcoming Class 104 is also another exciting addition to the game. It will be great to have another 1st generation DMU added to TSW alongside the (most excellent!) Class 101 As for Goblin, while it doesn't have that hype factor, I'll be picking it up and will likely enjoy my time with it. It's another EMU commuter type route with a little bit of freight (likely packaged with yet another EWS Class 66), so if that's you like that kind of gameplay then you can fill your boots there!
How exactly? I literally just said that Goblin might end up being awful. What is biased is everyone on this thread recommending a route over one that we haven't even seen screenshots of!
It seems an odd choice to be given. One of the historically oldest routes in the sim with steam engines and an up coming first generation DMU. Or a yet to be released route, about as up to date as you can get with a very modern EMU! They are so different that it seems a strange conundrum in the first place! Peak Forest indeed looks lovely, but steam is still not well developed in TSW, and has possibly been abandoned. We don't know yet what the new class 104 add-on will add. Will we get new services, one of the stations on the route, didn't even have one stopping in the Derby direction so as it stands the timetable is poor? Peak Forest is set in an era I find much more interesting but I suspect the Goblin line will feel like a more complete route, certainly until we know what Peak Forest will look like after the release of the new pack, as it stands, like SOS I think PFR is flawed as the timetable is bereft of many of the services which should be in it.
Erm..........No you didn't. Then you said that "people on this forum are biased against modern content". Personally I will buy the Goblin route (I already have Peak Forest) but that is just me. IMHO, as a Scenario Creator, I believe that the current Peak Forest has the potential to be the much more interesting route with greater track mileage, more sidings and more junctions than GOBLIN. There are already some great scenarios for it that expand game-play and, with a new timetable, there will be the ability to do even more. In fact there is nothing stopping someone from making a free diesel timetable right now. (With the public editor that is possible....as has been recently shown with TVL). I might even have a go myself. Hopefully GOBLIN will be provided with usable lines at both the Gospel Oak (NLL) and Barking (LTS/Ripple Lane) ends. Who knows we might even get a new emu to run on the LTS and some District line stock too. However I won't be holding my breath that DTG will do this. (Mind you if the Editor is developed further we may be able to breathe extra life with 'mock' emu alternatives and scenarios using any extra lines provided). Going back to the OPs original question. The best answer, IMHO, is to buy Peak Forest now and then look to see if there are any spare pennies down the back of the sofa to buy GOBLIN too when it is released.
Hopefully, if DTG finish the public editor, we will be able to more easily fix these sorts of issues ourselves in the future. Yes some people will say we shouldn't have to but, in some ways, that is the real fun of the game. It isn't too hard to make a new timetable now (says that person who got 5 trains running on a 1970s timetable for IOW only for it to all snarl up 3 hours into the day). Editor created scenarios should enable us to use every siding, every platform and every portal on the route. That will be a real game changer for all routes,,,,modern and historic. Let's hope that they deliver.
I said "we have no idea how good/bad Goblin will be". Unless you're getting hung up over me using two different words for the same meaning. And people on this forum are blatantly biased against modern content. Every single day I see at least one person on here making a snide comment about "one handled EMUs" or something similar. People are already recommending Peak Forest, a very flawed route itself, over a route we've seen literally nothing of. To answer the OP's question, you can't definitively decide until both are out.
I picked up Peak Forrest in the sale in December 3 big issues on Xbox I found unfortunately though 1, snow texture, possibly a core issue is quite bad on this route 2, fair chunk of Z-Fighting on the steam trains particularly around the reverser 3, I tried about 3 timetables for the jubilee and each one failed for no reason just before finishing at the last stop, always on approach. I use auto fireman aswell so it wasn’t that. I’m convinced that loco is broken
You may want to read his comment again. He said it could be good or bad. Personally I’m not the biggest fan of Steam so another EMU suits me fine. The Goblin line might be a banger, even though it’s a bit short on the route length. Until I see a preview stream I won’t pass judgment. I was dismissive about the Glossop line too, and that turned out to be an enjoyable route for me.
To be fair, everyone has their own individual interest. If people prefer historical content, and have no interest in what runs on the UK network current day, they’re not going to find anything exciting with an upcoming modern release. If someone makes a comment like “one handled EMUs”, just ignore it. Don’t let it ruin your enjoyment of that content. Personally, I’m recommending Peak Forest because I do prefer historical content. It’s my niche, and despite the flaws with steam physics right now, I get a lot of enjoyment out of it. I’ll likely have a good time with Goblin when it comes out too, but I’ll still prefer Peak Forest simply because of my personal era preference. I don’t think the current rumour of DTG abandoning steam helps the attitude toward modern content on the forums right now. Someone from DTG really needs to get into that topic, and nip the rumour in the bud.
In the future I will be up for making timetables in the TSW editor, I haven't got round to looking at it yet. I am doing quite a lot of scenario creation in TSC at the moment. I do feel when we get routes with gaps missing in the timetable, a much vaunted feature in TSW, then it is a wasted opportunity, espectially, as in SOS those gaps are never filled. Unfortunately we are unlikely to get anywhere near the variety of stock needed to make a really realistic timetable on SOS, certainly not without a large amount of modellers licence. I personally enjoy driving anything, including modern EMU's, even if they aren't my main sphere of interest. If the train and route are well modelled with a realistic timetable then that is enough for me really. However TSC thrives because of its variety, I feel if TSW too strongly leans towards railways of the last 20 years then it will get much less interesting, variety is the spice of life. The rumour that steam might be being abandoned troubles me, especially on the back of statements that BR blue doesn't sell and isn't a good portent for what is to come if both these eras are to be abandoned. I do feel it would be good if DTG made their intentions clearer, although I suspect internally policies will preclude this.
It's surprisingly addictive. Don't go there if you are a perfectionist or you will quickly find that your whole day has gone. Even the look/layout of the Timetable 'chart' is something you can stress about.....and that is before you get any trains running
I am recreating the 1995 WTT for the north Wales coast in TSC at the moment which has taken me four months so far, but the TSC scenario editor is quite easy to use, even if it can be recalcitrant at times. I wouldn't say I am a perfectionist, although a bit of a purist. From the little I have seen of the TSW one it looks a lot more involved, although probably a lot more rewarding. I definitely will look into it as I enjoy scenario creation in TSC and imagine that creating a complete timetable in TSW is very rewarding. I think NTP would be my first port of call.
Yes if I ever venture back into the TSW editor more than likely it would be to devise a timetable of some sort.
Well I went and purchased Peak Forest and I must say I’m very happy with it. I’ve only done a few runs but I’m very much looking to doing more. Thanks for the advice guys.
Thinking about getting Peak Forest as well… the new WSR steam gala timetable will use it as a main layer.
If I am being honest I can't advise Flying Scotsman as the whole steaming physics are just an unsalvageable shambles. A shame, but I'd rather be honest.
If they get the steam physics sorted and back port it to the 4 stream trains already out, all will be well on that. but they need to stop making any more steam trains until that’s sorted.
The Goblin route is good in that unlike Peak Forest, it is a complete end to end run. The fact that it's short shouldn't be a problem
