Before I start, I wanna mention that the last poll I did was worded very wrong, and I apologise for that. And I wish that I never asked that stupid question in the first place. Anyway, I’m creating this one with a more valid question that makes more sense in the present time. Instead of looking too far in the future, a mistake which I made on my last thread. Who, in your opinion, is the best at making TSW dlc? It’ll be interesting to see what people think… Before you all fire at me, I just want to say, I don’t want to cause any sort of controversy or conflict, I just want to know what people think, I’m testing the water here.
I did make me chuckle coming straight from the linked thread below to here, but at least it isn't as wacky as some are. To answer the question, I think there are various factors which could impact the decision, on quality it would clearly be JT, but so far we have only had one DLC from them, along with this all we have had from Simtrack is a livery pack which isn't exactly fair to judge them on. Skyhook have a mixed bag, but with MML shown they have the best post release support for routes and Rivet seem to have been the devs to bring new things (E.G. TMS, Auto Announce, Neutral sections I believe too). Then DTG have been able to release fairly regular decent quality DLC which also deserves credit. Along with these positives every single dev has various negatives, which will likely impact people's, including my, decisions on who to choose. I went JT as they not only brought a very high quality DLC, but it were near enough exactly the DLC I have been asking for since I joined the forum, perhaps apart from the actual route itself. This is the thread I were talking about: Polls | Dovetail Games Forums
I'm tied between TSG and JT. Their big examples of content are of course Niddertalbahn and Blackpool Branches. They both have incredible levels of detail and have also gone above and beyond to include content for other time periods that didn't even need to be there, TSG featuring the 628's later red livery for layering and JT featuring the 142's later engines and transmissions. Thus far however, I have to vote JT. The reason being is they not only went above and beyond with the new content they added, but also went out of their way to drastically improve existing content we already had with the 47s, MK2s, TEAs and 08s. Their very first route ever made for TSW immediately featured (I believe) the most locos and rolling stock of any single release since the first release of Sand Patch Grade with three locos and the many bits of US freight that came with it.
I’d say that DTG are the best overall because they make many varied DLC each year and their content is good. Just Trains and TSG content is better quality than most other DLC but they only make a small number of DLC between them each year. One route each so far and a handful of loco DLC by TSG.
Can't say anything about SimTrack, I don't believe they've released anything yet (unless I'm mistaken). Same for TSG as I don't do non-UK routes. Rivet are good at modelling and scenarios. JT for quality (although can't really compare them as they've only released one route so far). Skyhook for their cargo packs and their recurring MML updates (haven't used them and rarely play MML but like what's been done to it). DTG produce more than any of them though, so takes the spot.
I would say JT because of BPO but it is their first dlc and whilst HIGHLY unlikely their quality could go down hill from here. They’re definitely one of the best at the moment but until we see more from them I’m not gonna give them the crown just yet. DTG, Rivet and Skyhook are kinda in the Middle. Their DLC’s have been hit and miss but overall for DTG’s case their quality has been on a steady increase for a while. Skyhook are in the same place, but similarly to DTG they’ve made steady improvement and have showed they’ve committed to improving their content (MML). Rivet have the upper hand when it comes to bringing out new features like announcements, but almost everything else falls behind I think, train models are good but scenery and sounds… Nothing to say on Simtrack as their dlc was a 323 reskin. TSG on the other hand I think have been pretty consistent since their introduction to TSW, every project they worked on whether it be Niddertalbahn, the Br 101 or the number of other trains they’ve made with DTG have been pretty good, the only major letdown people seem to think is the Br 218.
Just Trains, are without doubt my all-time favourite DLC creators. Skyhook are pretty cool. They actually fixed an MML bug I reported, where DTG have never fixed a damn thing I've submitted a ticket about. I will never touch anything made by Rivet Games again, after Edinburgh-Glasgow was so awful.
Just from word of mouth in the forum and from what I've read elsewhere, I'd have to go with JT. Blackpool Branches looks to be the best received route in TSW and the hype for their next route shows that. I haven't played Blackpool Branches myself, but other people's reactions says it all. I do also want to throw DoveTail a bone here. While DTG have done some questionable things over the past few years with the yearly TSW releases, I do want to commend them for their recent DLC releases. The Goblin line and Class 380 EMU are actually really good. It's quite refreshing actually to see the 380 met with a lot of praise and positive response. Good job DoveTail.
JT have made one route so far and excellent it is. DTG has made some excellent content too, recently the Goblin and class 380 are some of the best I've seen. I imagine they might be more restricted when it comes to development time. I don't think this poll is particularly balanced as how can you judge Simtrack on one train reskin?
Just Trains only had 1 tsw release but they delivered a masterpiece without excuses and learncurve blabla. In short i can see the passion. DTG makes good dlcs too, but fire and forget + breaking content made me even stop supporting the franchais. On top of the JT level is definetly TSG with their german content. I gave up on Rivet, nothing more to say. Cant see passion in their projects, instead the community has to tell them everytime about things lacking either of services, missing scenery or whatever. Really got tired of that and for sure not dropping any money here. Skyhook made a huge step up, but the 187 is still broken and in a total inacceptable state. And yes the cane creek 44cw rear bogie is still the wrong way around. So also here a hard pass from my side. While many like their mml hst, skyhook didnt even bother to put effort into the hatch for towing with a buckeye adapter. So this didnt convince me perspnally either. Nomatter what direction tsw takes, while i still enjoy the sim, my time as active supporter is definetly over. The purchais of dlcs at 80-95% sales create no annoyance on my side and still can use TSW, even when my buying cycle is 6-8 months delayed
The winner will always be the studio with the balls to produce a BR standard 9F, fully lined green and with a copper clad chimney and named Evening Star, that will be the dlc to rule all other dlc's...........
It's very subjective. On the surface JT, but then they have only made one route which is very good, it's relatively short compared to ECML, BML or SEHS. JT also are not so good at TSC, at least in the beginning which is kind of irrelevant but nevertheless puts a few checks and balances in place. It's easiest to say who is the worse, trailing by almost a lap - Rivet.
I voted JT as they seem to take their time with making routes as that’s what’s needed if you want a route to stand out. NO “Quick hurry up and get this out so we can start the next one” attitude. Rivet are amazing with modelling the trains but sadly the sounds and the scenery just don’t cut it which is a big shame. Mind you Bernina wasn’t too bad scenery wise. But then they did Fife Circle and barring the super detailed Forth Rail Bridge…. Yeah the rest of the route was easily rushed. You can tell. Also Skyhook have done a U-Turn. They started off poor but eventually got better.
Gave Rivet Games a sign of respect here (always for the underdogs). They have given us configurable Destination Displays, Announcements, Fife Circle and Bernina which are good routes imho. Fife Circle was a complex project, Jasper was attacked personally in the rudest of ways though it was not his fault the preview stream had been a disaster. There were moronic comments wanting to see Rivet "burn". FC's way more complex than MML and offering a lot of scenic views, as opposed to flat and running through trees MML, which has become a good route on its own largely thanks to the work of londonmidland. (Still, the TSC version by JT is way more detailed, also featuring the "Brush" factory logo at Loughborough). There's flaws everywhere, but FC was quickly patched. Skyhook haven't managed to fix outstanding issues on the 158 instead let bugs carry over to the SR version, and it seems they can afford spending a lot of time on their MML (no new route since and probably never, I think TSW is not their main source of income), still not addressing their utterly buggy past DLC. Removing the smoke from Ratcliffe (and the tracks at Ratcliffe and Toton, which likely means that's the end of that project) is not understandable especially on PC.
Current stats coming up. Just Trains are in the lead with a 40 vote majority. At 52 Followed by TSG with 23 votes DTG is third place with 9 votes Rivet with a whopping 2 votes. And skyhook and simtrack with none.
JustTrains - 1 route DLC TSG - 1 route, 2 loco DLC shows that less is more. But both cannot live from being a TSW 3rd party alone. JT is part of JustFlight and have a catalogue of TSC content on sale, and TSG's Maik also works for DTG as 2nd party.
It's hard to rank one as the best, Blackpool is my favourite route but it's the only thing JT has made so is it fair to vote for them? Rivet have continued to dissapoint and ignore the community, the only exception being Bernina which is their best work. Skyhook had a bad start but since Adam joined the team things seem to be getting better with MML getting several patches but they need to revisit their older content. TSG did not make Niddertalbahn despite what everyone may tell you, it was made by two individual employees at DTG as a 3rd party route so I can only count their two loco releases (although they have provided sounds for a ton of DTG published trains) Simtrack have only made a livery and some scenarios so the only one left is DTG. Their quality has gone up, it's usually the route choices and limited scope that lets them down. I look forward to seeing what third parties can bring to the table going forward.
Yes, Niddertalbahn was made by Lukas and ? as a non-DTG project with Maik and Influenzo (628 model), as this would have probably not been approved by DTG's accountants for its amount of detail and therefore required manhours. My guess.
I’d have to say DTG, I don’t necessarily agree with their scope for a fair chunk of what they put out, and while they certainly have bad ones, they have some very good ones too. JustTrains have just the one route so I don’t think it’s fair to the other devs to put them as number one, but if they continue with the approach they’re on, they sure will be in the top spot. TSG - high quality work, if I’m in the mood for something German I know something from those guys will be a solid pick. The only thing that turns me away is I find their content can be lacking in the gameplay department. Skyhook are meh, it seems everyone has forgotten about their other work in TSW just because they fixed up MML to an ok standard. Personally I don’t trust them to release good quality content & whilst I will give them credit for committing to MML, their other stuff is pretty egregious. Overall they rub me the wrong way, all they’ve done the past year is ride on the success of MML & it’s 158, which with the latest DLC you can already see the signs of their true nature lurking in the background. Rivet this year used the last of their good faith I had in them, Fife was not acceptable & still isn’t. Their other work for the most part is rough around the edges to say the least. The sad part of it is that Rivet are the one dev that seems to want to get some depth into TSW, they come up with trains & routes that are different & usually are the first of its kind in TSW aswell as new systems such as announcements & ETCS - however I think their ambition is their downfall. Add on that they are simply abhorrent with post release support, it raises the point why Rivet bother with trying to add more when they lack the enthusiasm to stand by their products. Simtrack? Not going to judge them on a cheap livery pack for a route I don’t play. Seems odd to include them in the poll. I would like to include a huge shoutout to all the individual parties that assist in various projects across the various devs, there has been some solid work done that have made DLC’s something truly special. From rolling stock overhauls to expansive timetables - the big names as a whole owe some serious successes to certain individuals, who really pour their passion into TSW.
well mate this is good question. Personally, I can say TSG for German stuff DTG for uk stuff rivet for Swiss stuff DTG for Austria stuff just trains for uk (I don’t like uk stuff but Blackpool is very good)
DTG's best work is very good, but you have to go all the way back to SPG, NTP, TVL and BPE to find it. And they've only put out two routes this year, including the rebuild of LIRR. Credit should also go to the individuals who made BPE and NYT playable. But the big demerits are the abandonment of steam and freight and, for me, that narrows the scope of their output and takes away from any overall credits they might have earned in the past. You're really only as good as your most recent work. Credit to Just Trains for rather bravely taking us back to the real railway. But it's just one route, however promising. Pity they don't do US routes. Credit also to SHG for making the two US freight routes from their studio in England. Whatever you think of HSC and CCB, they were brave attempts to step outside their bailliwick Given all that, I don't think anyone is best. DTG has the tech and therefore bears the onus of moving the game forward which I don't feel they're doing effectively right now. Unless they can improve the lighting, the editor and the NPC's among other features, get away from the one trick ponies aka commuter routes and the 3XX toy trains that populate them, build some real locomotives and restart steam and freight, the future of the game looks a little bleak for DTG and their partners.
Hardly a shock. Do we need a poll to tell us JT would win, with their one piece of content so far! I question what the point of this poll is and what it is trying to achieve? A bit like the other poll. Wonder what the next one will be, "do DTG charge too much?" maybe or maybe "Should DTG fix bugs". DTG having produced far more content was never going to win. Some of the recent releases like Goblin, Rosenheim, Vorarlberg are excellent and close to the excellent Blackpool route. I might be wrong but I imagine JT can afford to take longer to produce DLC and have a fraction of the staff members.
IMHO, DTG still win overall. As I said, JT have given us one route which is very nice but let’s face it more because of the chosen era than the prototype, which runs through what in all honesty is a fairly bland bit of the UK countryside. They need to produce several more like that to gain the top accolade, as I said knowing how erratic their work is in TSC.
Rivet - Absolutely not. Just Trains - Quality is there, quantity isn't and won't be for a while. Dovetail - Quality is usually there, and quantity definitely is. Skyhook - MML (after countless improvements) is a good route and the 158 is a loco. The rest of their TSW stuff is meh, not to mention the 187. Simtrak - Only release as of yet is a scenario pack, so we can't tell yet. TSG - Same as Just Trains.
we could have the option to vote for more than one option as I think both tsg and jt are equally the two best at creating dlcs for tsw
agreed. I personally put them both at second place. Skyhook on second place close behind them. MML is now so great to play. I am still sad the 187 isn't getting any love, would like to see a 147 too one day. Haven't really played simtrack's reskin. no opinion and Rivet well I enjoy bernia and adding announcements. but they made a name for themselves, and that is hard to let go. DTG products are mostly good. some not up to hype expectations but especially the recent timetable updates and refreshes make things pretty enjoyable. liking the recent releases. good and bad releases aside. I don't think there's a single route or loco without bugs or a neccesairy mod to make the game better because bugs that get reported are not interesting because they don't make money.
Even though I’m definitely getting tons of gameplay out of Blackpool Branches, I voted TSG here because they have a much more established track record. TSG can make a variety of DLCs with a variety of rolling stock in different time periods, support DTG with first party stuff, and we always know everything will be pretty good. Just Trains has released one incredible route, but they will need to prove their dependability and consistency in the years ahead.
Hard for me to qualify JT since they have one DLC. It was a great one, but we’ve got to be over 30 routes by now, of which they have just one. That’s not a knock on them; if anything I hope they keep doing what they are doing. If they were the sole party, this would not fly, but thanks to DTG and other third parties who churn out content, JT can take their sweet time doing great work. DTG obviously has the largest impact. After that, TSG is probably the most impactful third party with all the help DTG get from Maik, but they don’t exactly churn out a ton of their own content either… yet they are still hugely impactful. Then we have Skyhook, who have impressed with MML and their work on the 158, but their other dlc have ranged from bad (187, crane creek) to mediocre (horseshoe curve). Rivet get a lot of hate but they have their uses, they certainly pump out routes. WCL is awful but FCL is probably going to be pretty decent once the route is finished. Their routes always seem to have some sort of major flaw but keep a lot of us busy nonetheless…. So if I had to vote, I’d probably say DTG is the best with DLC because they do keep the content rolling and most of the time it ranges from good enough to very good, with the occasional outlier either way.
I have a bit of a bias towards Rivet Games,.purely because it means there will always be an entertaining video rant from Trainspotter from Tauranga (now known as DC 4260 Productions) that will follow it lol. But in all seriousness, I have been quite enjoying the attention that has been made to the ScotRail routes, as it gives us a nice bit of variety from the same operator.
Even though I don't own anything from them, I say its Just Trains 1st with TSG just behind. I haven't been really happy with anything DTG has put out since Clinchfield, and SHG's US efforts were good on paper but executed poorly.
They all have good points (some moreso than others) and bad points (again), so I'd vote 'none of the above' as 'best'. These 'polls' are happening way too often.
