Let's be honest, friends. The routes that have been included with Train Sim World 2 for nearly two years are not great for new players. Sand Patch Grade has arguably the worst locomotive tutorials in the entire game, which is unfriendly to new players who want to drive freight trains. Koln-Aachen is empty as it does not include any freight, RE1, or S-Bahn services (you need Main Spessart Bahn and New Journeys for the full experience). The Bakerloo Line is simply very linear, dark, and empty (currently). So let's decide what can replace them! While I'm not at all an expert in marketing, here is the criteria I think works best for a bundle of base routes: - 3 routes: 1 American route, 1 British route, and 1 German route. Nothing's stopping you from adding a 4th route, although there's only one other country that meets the requirements below. - No third-party routes; DTG routes only - Nothing from the Preserved Collection. These routes don’t use the Immersion control scheme for scenarios and tutorials. While I would love to include the perfection that is the Peninsula Corridor, I can't do that sadly. - Somewhat good balance of passenger and freight. It's not exciting to only drive passenger trains. So let's get into it! Here are our contestants: United Kingdom Southeastern High Speed Cathcart Circle Line London Commuter Spirit of Steam United States Clinchfield Railroad Boston Sprinter Sherman Hill Harlem Line Germany Hauptstrecke Munchen-Augsburg Hauptstrecke Hamburg-Lubeck Nahverkehr Dresden Tharandter Rampe Let's start off with our UK candidates. Sorry for you folks rooting for London Commuter, I'm eliminating it from my picks immediately. That route is still a mess that runs poorly. It still sees crashes on some services, the route doesn't run very smoothly, and the interior sounds of the trains are just bad. Spirit of Steam is a genuinely good pick for a starting bundle. That's because it gives the bundle a big piece of variety, as steam trains are wildly different from diesels and electrics. Helps even more that the route includes both passenger and freight services. However, it isn't the best pick for beginners. There are plenty of people who are going to pick up TSW 2 simply because they like how the cool trains look. If their first experience is these steam locomotives that have a lot of elements to memorize and take care of all the time, that's a lot for new players to handle. So for that, it will not go on my list. Cathcart Circle Line is one of the most quality releases that this game has gotten. It's a fun route with a wonderful train in the Class 314. There is a great variety of services available to the player as well, as the route has the main circle itself, the Neilston branch, and the Newton branch. There's a good amount of stuff to do. The main issue I see with this route, however, is that the Class 314 is the only train included. Eventually, it gets tiring driving the same train over and over again. So for that, I'm passing it over to my top pick for a base UK route. Southeastern High Speed has it all. It has variety for its trains, with the quick commuter that is the Class 375, and the fashionable speedster that is the Class 395. The variety that the service mode provides is quite good, too. The high-speed section from London St Pancras to Ebbsfleet Intl. is simply an exciting factor for many. The Chatham Mainline section is very enjoyable as well, allowing the Electrostars to get up to speed, and having plenty of stations. Services include the full Javelin route, Rochester-Faversham, Gravesend-Rainham, and other neat ones. Perhaps the base game could also add in the Class 465, just like how some Train Sim Classic routes include extra add-ons. My pick for the UK base route: Southeastern High Speed Next up, the American routes. I'm going newest to oldest, by the way. The Harlem Line is a decent route, allowing some nice commuting through New York. The route can get fairly busy around Grand Central Terminal, where Hudson Line services can also be seen. The route also has the benefit of having two trains, the M7A and the M3A. To be honest, though, the route lacks interesting elements. It's just any old commuter route. You stop and you go. While there are both local and express services, they still drive on the same stretch of track every time, likely getting repetitive. Sherman Hill is a very good freight route. The SD70ACe included with the route, while nothing too crazy, is a very nice locomotive that is recognizable to any Americans who've seen a freight train before. The route lets the player choose how much of the route they'd like to drive as well. Just want a quick and easy freight run? Laramie - Hermosa. Do you simply want to go up or down the hill? Cheyenne - Hermosa. There is a lot of rolling stock that can be seen as well, forming basically any kind of freight train that one would regularly see driving around. The main issue I can see with the route is the challenge it brings. Not many people will be excited to see their train going half the speed limit when going uphill, and many will likely have a runaway train going downhill, as there is no tutorial to properly explain the dynamic brakes. This is honestly a tough choice for me to pick, as while it has a lot of elements that make it a good route, many will be annoyed to find that they can't properly handle the route. It needs a better dynamic brakes tutorial. Boston Sprinter is a route that exists. Many find it bad, many find it tolerable. I think it's a nice route, honestly. It provides a great variety of trains to drive, with the electric ACS-64, the diesel F40PH-3C, and the cab car (CTC-3). Service variety is decent, having high-speed Amtrak services along the full route, with MBTA trains stopping at most of the route's stations. There's also the Stoughton branch, which is a very nice line to drive on. It does get fairly busy around Boston, with many MBTA trains coming in and out during rush hour. I will note the lack of freight on the route, however. Americans like freight trains more than most other countries do. The Clinchfield Railroad is alright. I know that some people have absolutely fallen love with this route, but I am not one of them. The included trains are fine, with the F7 being well-known among many older railfans, and the SD40 is simply cool. The route provides a nice challenge with its various branches and such. Coal trains are pretty cool. I don't like loading them, though. Dynamic brakes can't handle low speeds and air brakes always stop the train. The route is actually nice to drive, however, and looks quite pretty. A bit of a slow journey, I must say, as the speed limits never get very high (Greenbriar branch is not fun). Overall, it is a nice freight route, but there's just something about it that prevents it from greatness. I'm not sure what it is. My pick for the base US route is Sherman Hill. This may come to you as a surprise, as I called this one unfriendly to beginners while barely criticizing Boston Sprinter. But as you know, Boston is a purely passenger route. In a country where most states don't have legitimate passenger rail service, I feel like representing it with a passenger-only line doesn't do it right. If CSX services were included on the route, I'd be singing a different tune. But Sherman Hill is recognizable to many by including Union Pacific, a railroad that has been around for centuries and dominates the West. This pick is also necessary to keep that passenger/freight balance I put in my criteria, and since my pick of SEHS was purely passenger, I decided that a rural freight route would work well for a bundle where the other routes are urban. Onto the German routes! First up, the Tharandter Rampe. Dresden-Chemnitz, how exciting. The BR 612 is cool for being a tilting train, adding a neat bit of gameplay variety for the route. It operates the regional services, and can cross the full route in about an hour. There are also S-Bahn services available, with the full S3 line being present. Freight is also in full force, having a Railpool 185 for mainline freight, and a BR 363 for shunting in yards. The full package is here! It's a decent choice for sure, but there really are better choices. Nahverkehr Dresden is a wonderful route, possibly one of the best in the game (in my opinion). The variety of trains is simply incredible, having the BR 442, 146, 143, 185, and 363. You have regional services for the 442, whether it's to Riesa or the Grossenhain branch. S-Bahn runs on the route, mainly the S1 line that includes a very nice Meissen branch to drive on. Mainline freight runs aplenty on the route, either on the fast line to avoid passenger trains, or the regular line where it may have to mix in with others. The 363 is simply there for simple tank car movements, but it's still nice to have! What a wonderful route this is. Hamburg-Lubeck is definitely a route that exists. Hamburg is a big German city, but looking at it currently, the route does not represent that, where you're lucky to see a single regional service in the station. Of course, this route will get a timetable upgrade soon enough, so let's ignore that. The BR 112 is a neat train, good for new players as it always uses AFB. The Dosto cab car may be more difficult to grasp with the 112 in the rear, though. The ES 64 U2 does freight, and just looks and sounds nice. Just some regular freight, although it does drive a few kilometers on a separate branch, that's different enough. But eh, the route is very flat and linear, and that's not too exciting. Munchen-Augburg is a route that relies on layers. Not only is that bad for new players who need Main Spessart Bahn and Hauptstrecke Rhein-Ruhr to add regionals, but 8th gen consoles will seemingly never get these layers at all. It'll be an empty route with only S-Bahn and ICE services present. These are the same reasons I called Koln-Aachen a bad base route. My pick for the base German route is Nahverkehr Dresden. So there we go! Southeastern High Speed, Sherman Hill, and Dresden-Riesa are my picks! I think that if TSW 2 got new base routes, these would be the ones to go for. Of course, we may see better base routes that'll be made in the future. But with what we currently have, I'd personally say that these three picks are good. Of course, you can feel free to list what YOU think would be the best base game bundle for TSW 2. I'd love to hear them. Maybe you can even come up with routes that aren't in the game which would be perfect for any type of new player! Anyways, thanks for reading this thread, and have a nice summer.
Hard to choose routes cuz some of the preserved stuff are actually good. For an American route, many people want more passenger routes and many people want pure freight routes. So I think a route that has both mainline freight and passenger would please both. I don't know any routes since I live in an area where there is not really a lot of trains and don't know much about trains. Sherman hill is a good option if there is a in game tutorial covering the brakes and maybe a manual because people would start complaining they have a runaway train for not knowing how the brakes work. The lengthy livestreams are helpful, but it's still too long for me even though that is how I learned. The braking is realistic, physics feel decent and it's awesome seeing long consists on next gen consoles and pc. There are services that go full length and some that go part of the way. There is shunting and new horns, so that is a plus. Clinchfield is nice, but I just like sherman hill better. Clinchfield feels long and tedious and very challenging and some other issues that might put off certain players. Boston sprinter is a decent route with amtrak and mbta. The passenger experience is great. The only drawback I have is red light issues and how certain services are bugged/uncompletable sort of stuff. Harlem is a good route with new sounds and physics to the trains. there is express, local, services to the stadium station. It also has a lot of red light issues, so that's the main problem. Good route, but held back by issues. American choice: Sherman Hill or a route that has both mainline freight and passenger. SEHS is a good route. It has the javelin which has a high speed section. the 375 does short services and longer services. There is a lot of variety in this route. Some may complain about the sounds and fences and scenery, but I do not care. Cathcart is a full route with lots of variety, but only 1 train. Good sounds and physics. Branch lines. LPC is the steam route, but it is currently full of issues that are being fixed/updated. It's a nice route, but it needs some loco dlcs to make the route busy and be able to use the whole route. There's the issues with the safeties always going off, constant derails on freight which beginners will not know about. There are plenty of tutorials out there. It's a nice route, but not really a whole lot going on. London commuter is definitely a great route with 4000 services and over a 1000 playable services. However, at the cost of performance issues, red light issues, crashing, etc. UK choice: SEHS Nahverker dresden is a good route. There is a lot to do, good lighting, modeling looks good, better physics and sounds than other german routes in my opinion, lots of trains. There is a meissen branch the the other branch which I can't remember the name of. However, it does come at a significant performance cost and crashing on some platforms compared to other routes. Hamburg lubeck is nice, but there isn't a lot going on. You got the freight with the 182 which is awesome. Passenger services has some variety with the 112. Some going all the way, some stopping at a middle station, etc. But overtime, it kinda feels dry. It's more of a generic german route rather than a route I would say wow on. Tharandter rampe is a good route because of the 612, railpool, 363 and 143. But unlike riesa dresden, there isn't too much variety. HMA has a lot to do in the base package. The ice is an awesome train that does high speed. br423 is also a great train doing all sorts of sbahn services. Sounds and setup done by TSG who makes high quality german content. The route only gets busier with other german routes. Then you have regional express services, freight and stuff. German choice: Riesa Dresden
The Bakerloo line really is a poor choice & forces anyone interested in UK railways, probably the majority of the UK player base & a good chunk of the rest of the world to then have to buy additional DLC which I feel is a tad unfair as let's be honest for alot of people the underground holds little interest, I for one have not run a train around the Bakerloo! Anyway if if was down to me I would bundle..... South Eastern High Speed Boston Sprinter Nahverkehr Dresden With these there is a great variety of thing's to do & should entertain for a good while before any DLC is needed which I think is fairer as you will get to know & love the game 1st before splurging on extras.
At the end of the day, the main package's job is to offer distinct routes from the three main countries represented that new players can get into and that will sell them on buying DLCs for even more and better experiences. You don't want to throw your best work into the loss leader. Would anyone buy Bakerloo as a DLC if it were swapped out of the main package? I'll disagree particularly with replacing Sand Patch with Sherman Hill. If the problem with Sand Patch is the tutorials, they can be updated (and for that matter, if the problem with the preserved routes is the control scheme, update that too). But Sherman Hill has two things working against it: 1) It's freight hard mode, with trains twice as long and heavy as the others--not a good place to start noobs, but good as a DLC for people who decide they like U.S. freight enough to want to try hard mode; and 2) as a side effect of #1, it's a major system hog that had to be downsized for 8th gen consoles. You want everyone to get the same intro package as much as possible. Sand Patch has good basic inclines and speed changes, and even lets you open up to 50 mph for a stretch. I think it's fine for a U.S. freight starter. I haven't played enough German or British routes yet to feel qualified to evaluate them, but the routes chosen should at least be distinct enough from each other to not give the feel that there's really only two different types--U.S. and generic European. What you can at least say about Bakerloo is that it's completely different from the other two, as they are from each other. I've enjoyed SEHS and ECW quite a lot, and ECW was actually my intro to British trains on the recommendation of several people, but again, I don't have the rounded experience to say whether they'd be good, unique picks for the main game.
Perhaps they should feature two. A passenger package and a freight package? I've included preserve collection because they've started to readjust that. From the passanger routes I've played: Britain: Cathcart Circle. - Only one train but it's a really well made one that I love to drive. Besides the night lighting, everything is well done and thought out. Germany: Munich-Augsburg: A nice mix of ICE runs and regional services with the BR.423, which is one of my favorite trains. USA: Boston Sprinter: Despite the safety system being broke, I like this route the best of all the US ones. However, that might change if the Harlem line gets updated to iron out some niggling problems as a NYC line would be a nice inclusion. I've rated shorter routes a little higher since the save function is broken and why would a noobie feel happy with wasting an hour only to experience a bug or crash? Freight: Britain: Tees Valley: Unlike the other decent British freight route, this one doesn't need DLC to bring it up to snuff. Neat older trains as well. Too bad there's not much variety in the services. Germany: RSN: A little slower than the others but a very nicely made route. USA: Sherman Hill: I only have Sandpatch Grade for US freight, which I dislike, but going on what others have said, I'd say Sherman Hill would be the best choice, especially as it isn't as slow as molasses.
Looking at the core game content from the point of services variety I think they've made quite a good choice, we have: 'inside city boundaries' train (Bakerloo Line) commuter and high-speed trains (Koln - Aachen) freight train (Sand Patch Grade) I would only make a change of Bakerloo Line to Cathcart Cirlce Line - same type of services, but the route is much more enjoyable as half of it is not running underground For me, Bakerloo Line was like a TSW2 demo - I've run few services there, find the game suitable to my needs, then go for a lookout for more 'open space' british route. Besides, I think base game routes doesn't have to be the best DLCs routes available up-to-date. Being so, anyone who would bought any DLC would be dissapointed at some point that DLCs are not as good as the core game routes. And from financial point of view, why would they sell best DLCs they've produced in core base pack for 25EUR/GBP/USD, while they can sell it separately for the same earning 3 times more. Core game routes should be just good enough to make you like the game and encourage you to buy and check other routes.
You two make a fair point, the base game does do a good job at offering the type of variety that a new players would enjoy. Although to be fair, I feel that the routes I picked do a decent job at giving a fair bit of variety as well. - Heavy Freight (Sherman Hill) - High Speed/Traditional Commuter (Southeastern High Speed) - Regional and City Transit (Riesa-Dresden) I’d say that perhaps Riesa-Dresden was my weakest pick, since I didn’t consider how much it would affect profit. To be fair however, it was part of the Rush Hour season ticket that cost $40 for three routes. It’s been in this bundle territory before. Would Dresden-Chemnitz have been a better choice perhaps? It provides most of the same stuff that Riesa-Dresden had (Regional, S-Bahn, Freight, Shunting), while being a bit different by having a tilting DMU. Although it did only come out this year. It hasn’t even seen Christmas sales yet, so perhaps not. If Riesa-Dresden was originally made with the intent of being part of a $30 bundle, I’m sure it’s fine being in the base game. Besides that, you’re right that making routes feel limited can encourage players to buy new, more exciting routes. I have little doubt that the Bakerloo Line would continue to sell as its own thing. Some people go absolutely nuts over the London Underground. Perhaps Cathcart is a good starter route, then, giving that good suburban feeling to it. If new players enjoy it within the base game, perhaps they’d be inclined to get future ScotRail routes, or more simple commuter routes in general. Maybe to make up for the lack of high speed there, LGV Mediterrenne could be a fourth route perhaps? It’s been done before, TS2017 included it as its fourth route. It’s incredible simplicity of basically being a straight line would encourage the purchases of more exciting high speed routes, such as Köln-Aachen and perhaps Southeastern High Speed.
If someone buys the base game and doesn't like the routes showcased, is that really going to impress them to buy DLC?
For me UK SEHS for those that want TVM-430 KVB Vacma on a British Train US Harlem Line combines Third Rail Commuter trains with the positive train control of NEC Boston Providence. Spoiler: Harlem Line some journey services involve a Rush Hour setting like Train 610 where you must stop at Crestwood for the train in front to go then you. If not done correctly result is a Game Ending Stop signal Overrun United States terminology for signal passed at danger UK Germany Riesa-Dresden offers Different Rush Hour scenorios for each of the locomotives involved. Good route to practice East German signals which are different from the West German railway signals
I like discussions like this, good thread. I’m in favor of keeping the base game the way it is, but if you come to me and tell me I must replace them with the stipulations mentioned in the OP, I’ll go with: US Route: Clinchfield Railroad. Why? Well, the business reason: Realistically that’s probably one of the lower selling DLC’s. I can finally give it away. But the base game needs to have US freight and I’m not giving my best freight route (SMH) away in a bundle. The benefit to the customer is that they’re probably railfans and US railfans love an F7 and SD40. It’s also a kid friendly route as most kids just want to blast the horn; in which case they’ll love the SD40 and not care a whiff about the low speed limits anyway. On to the UK: If I’m DTG, I’m not giving away SOS as it just came out and I’m probably still busy dabbing on haterz. I would think LBN is just too high of a seller for them to want to give away in the base game. That leaves a couple of other reaaaaally solid routes in SEHS and CCL. Not to take anything away from CCL, but I’d actually go with SEHS as it gives users an opportunity to experience high speed and commuter. Good gateway to other route purchases. Germany: No need for speed as we’ve already given users a taste of high speed by including SEHS.That makes HMA slightly redundant here. Dresden-Riesa is probably the best route in the game, which means lol no no no I’m not letting you have it in a base game bundle. The 612 is a bit too challenging for a beginner for us to bundle Dresden-Chemnitz. That leaves HHL. Most of the locomotives on HHL are easy enough to hop in and get going, and users get a taste of Hamburg’s famous German freight, which is easier (with pzb off) than US freight. There’s even some German passenger services, but the passenger locos offer a much different experience than the UK EMU’s offered in SEHS. Decent gateway to enjoying more of that german engineering. Summary: Clinchfield, SEHS, Hamburg-Lubeck
