With the Preservation Crew starting to work on the Preserved Collection, I thought it would be beneficial for me to at least suggest some things from my favorite route to help. I hail from the Bay Area and have rode/lived with Caltrain for years, so realism with the route would help seal its legacy since they are electrifying the route soon. Two things I noticed that could be updated is the sounds as well as rider density. The sounds as a whole are somewhat accurate, but i've noticed that engine noises and horn especially seem to be muffled in a way; they're not that loud. When I tell you that the engines roar, they REALLY do. The RPM gets so loud when the engineers throw the throttle to 5-8, that you can hear the roar/rumble of the engines from 1/2 a mile away. In game, the MP36ph is pretty quiet, and even though it's a newer engine compared to the F40ph, it's just as loud. Here's a clip of the MP36ph from a short distance with full throttle engine sounds(LINK). The F40ph's sounds aren't too bad, but it's also muffled. As an older engine, its roar and loudness is definitely prominent in real life, so it would be fair to have it in game too. Here's a clip showcasing a sound pack for an older train simulator game for Caltrain's F40ph, which has the most accurate and realistic sounds(LINK). Second thing is the ride density which i've noticed is pretty low. On PC, i've seen clips where there seemed to be more passengers, but on console especially i've noticed it to be really low. Obviously console can only handle so much, but it still feels unrealistic when running routes and barely any passengers board or are on the station itself. Rush hour times at stations are always heavily packed, including stations Palo Alto, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Redwood City, Millbrae, etc. I noticed before on roadmaps that they are working on transferring rush hour to other routes, so hopefully they can up the passenger counts on this route. Hopefully Preservation Crew can take some of these suggestions into account, this route is incredible and with more realism it can hold that legacy when the older engines are soon replaced. If anyone has any other suggestions for this route definitely don't hesitate to comment Good luck Preservation Crew!
Passenger density should be addressed, because apparently a part of the standard PC overhaul going forward will be Rush Hour passengers on all routes. Unlikely, however, that you will get a sound remix; the PC generally doesn't do that. The exceptions would be seriously awful sound flaws, like the silent M7 on LIRR.
