Simtrack's Br Class 104 & Pfr Improvements

I were going to put this on the 3rd parties thread, which can be easily found in the forum, but I thought, seeing as (from what I can see) there is no thread for this rather interesting and exciting piece of content I thought I would put it in a new thread.
Any how I just thought I would say that I really do think this DLC and the improvements coming (more on those in a minute) really will take PFR to the next level. Currently the route has a rather sparse timetable with various services missing, which the 104 will be able to fill, and is a route set in 1963 without a single diesel present which wouldn't have been the case in real life at all. As we all know steam is not one of TSW strong points and as anyone who has played the route will know that there is some really lovely scenery which has been well made and so it will be great to actually properly absorb this in a BR green diesel running along side steam.

Alongside the DMU itself there will also be 'a significant timetable overhaul improving the busyness and variety present on the route' which sounds good and from what I infer this will mean more freight services, some extra shunting activities, the DMU runs and possible more passenger runs with the Jubilee, though the last one is very, very speculative. On the latest roadmap thread there are also mentions of other extensions and additional features though I can't place a finger on what these may be. The last thing that ought to be mentioned is the additional wagons coming with the pack those being the 21T Hopper and Covhop wagon of which will add even more variety the route visually, but hopefully with their new services too.

Now as you may have guessed this is what I am looking forward to most from this direct thing and it really is looking like an excellent piece of work from Simtrack, and I do hope they continue with BR Green/blue diesels going into the future. Speaking of, another glaring omission from the Peak Forest route has been the class 45/0 which were just as, if not more, common than Jubilees on the expresses so it would be great to see these added too. The 25s would be another good addition to the route.

Anyhow I have rattled on enough so I will leave you with the couple of screenshots from DTG of what we can look forward to:

 

I just wish it was a green rat or a 45/46

 

Interesting insight. Is the 45/0 the same locomotive that is featured in Northern Transpennine?

 

Yes, either of those would have really had me bouncing off the walls, but I must say I am a fan of the 104s and I generally am not as bothered by MUs as the locos.

 

Thanks hope it were useful! No the 45/0 would essentially be the original form, whereas NTP has the 'improved' 45/1 and there are noticeable differences between the two.

 

Please elaborate: how are they different?

 

I believe there may have been other differences but the key thing that defined the 45/1s from 45/0s were that the /1s had ETH fitted whereas the /0s retained the original steam heat boilers.

Also a Peak for PFR (in 1963) would have had vac only brakes, with dual brakes not being fitted until the late 60s/early 70s and also it would still retain a head code box rather than the beam lights.

I feel there are other differences too but these are the most defining ones.

 

This might not be a popular opinion but honestly, this and the Japan route were the only things in the Direct stream that piqued my interest.

I too hope that this could be extended to include at least a 45/0 to properly rescue the route from the ignominious state it's been left in since launch. One of the SimTrack devs on Discord suggested that the PF timetable would be heavily revised too (thank god).

 

Not to also mention Split headcode varieties too

 

Yes, plenty to choose from! I personally prefer the look of the split centre head code (far right on image above).

 

One of the people working on this pack stated that he absolutely hates the peaks so don't expect a Class 45 add on anytime soon lol.

This 104 I am very much looking forward to though, Peak Forest is a very underrated route but sorely needed a diesel layer.

 

It is one of my top 3 favourites totally underrated by many.

 

I am sure he could make an exception, for authenticity's sake.

I don't understand how you can't like a Peak though.

 

I'm excited for this- as others have said, PFR is very underrated.

Will it be a completely new timetable? If so, will any other BR diesels that we already have make an appearance?

 

It would be petty to not do the 45 just because some people on the team don't like it, simple fact is the 45 makes sense and should appear on the route in some form. Now whether that's as a part of the 104 pack or not is a different debate. I would love getting the 45 tossed in as a freebie, kind of like how we got the various Pacer variants in Blackpool, or even how we got the new version of the 08 with the NTP Heavy Freight pack. That said they clearly already have their hands full between the 104 and freight cars, especially if they stick to the plan of getting it out within the next three months, so I'm not complaining if that's the extent of the pack.

 

The 104 and new freight cars with a timetable overhaul are certainly enough for one pack and to get me excited! I agree though - getting a BR Green Peak as well (in a future pack) would give us a really nice transition-era route that actually makes you feel like steam locos are chuffing their last bit of steam.

 

Doesn’t stop DTG from contributing a green peak to the pack as a dominant substitution on Manchester-London expresses, or adding a 25 as a DLC.

 

I'm just glad we're getting some form of BR Green diesel action. While a peak in BR Green would be nice, I don't expect it in this upcoming pack. Looking forward to seeing what the timetable update will entail, I'm really hoping for some local pick up & drop off goods runs with the 4F.

 

if it is along the same lines as the WSR updated timetable we just got this one will be epic

 

Well, it's up to them at the end of the day and the 104 is something that was created out of passion so if they don't like the 45's they don't have to make it. If anything DTG should have made the 45 then we'd have the best of both worlds.

 

I do remember way back prior to release of PFR and fedback about the lack of a green Class 45, there was some sort of comment that DTG had asked the original author or maybe one of the "pool" artists to revisit it and was just laughed at. A real shame if that was the case as a green Peak would complement the 104 perfectly. (And staff should be following instruction/direction from management, not laughing at it ).

 

I am very much looking forward to this pack. I didn't think we would get another first generation DMU in the sim but very happy to have been wrong. I am sure the new timetable will add more life to the route.

However my only concern is, how immersion breaking it will be when driving a class 104 and passing a steam hauled train, maybe up an incline, headed by a virtually silent AI steam engine. For me the AI steam sounds really should have been sorted as a priority.

 

We're putting the cart before the horse a bit aren't we? Steam has bigger issues than the sound frankly, probably should really put in the effort to get the physics and firing fully working first before worrying about the looks and sounds.

 

With no mention on the roadmap to confirm or deny the assertion a month or two back on Discord that steam traction in TSW is effectively abandoned where it’s at.

 

TBH it's a shame that the public editor hasn't really been developed further since launch. If it had, and the cooking function added, then there would already be an updated timetable (similar to TVL) and, probably, many more scenarios that used the route to its full extent.

Yes I was surprised about that. I thought, at the very least, there would be a brief comment referencing this. There would've been nothing wrong with "we are in discussions with......" or "we confirm no further action this year".

 

Making timetables has been working really well in the Editor from day 1, and it's probably the easiest part of the Editor to figure out for people without Unreal experience. If anyone's really keen on making a new PFR timetable, I don't think they're just waiting for the Cooking fix...

 

Actually it hasn't been "working really well" because you still can't get a Timetable into the game from the Editor itself (which is what the majority of players would want). Also, for me, the Editor still crashes far more often than it should do in Timetable creation mode.

For myself, I'm keen to make a PFR timetable but I am put off by the fact that it is more difficult to get the finished product into the game than it should be. Really, by now, the editor should be able to do more than it does. If that were the case then there would already be 5-6 different community created PFR timetables for us to choose from.

 

Obviously you want to get it into the game once you're done, but given the amount of time it takes to make a timetable, that's not a reason not to start making one now.

I've been working on timetables for months now and I go several weeks without it crashing once.

I don't think so, sorry. If interest in creating Peak Forest timetables was that big, someone would have announced at least one by now.

 

I'd love to know your secret. I only have to think the phrase "call-on dependency" and my system crashes.

But, seriously, I enjoy creating timetables and just wish that DTG give us the missing pieces of the editor to develop things further (not just for PFR but for ALL routes). In the meantime, if you have any extra timetabling tips, it would be great to hear them. (Best not clog up this thread though).

 

Silent steam engines are completely immersion breaking. An 8F hauling a heavy mineral train up some of the Peaks steep grades whilst making little more sound than a Pendolino is hardly conjusive to creating the atmosphere required. Since they apparently have put any development regarding steam on hold, I think it is disappointing that what is for me a much anticipated DLC will, for me be a little spoilt by near silent steam engines. They have been like this since SOS was released. I agree there are bigger issues and I would like to see those fixed too. It seems at the moment none of this will be addressed.

 

As of the March roadmap, and as many are likely aware, the class 104 and other PFR improvements have been moved from the 0-3 month section of the roadmap into the TBC pile. Personally this is not a bad thing as, like I said in roadmap thread I would rather a very high quality, well detailed unit compared to something that is half decent and hardly passable. Good on Simtrack for ensuring that they aren't pushing it out before its ready. Still very much looking forward to it though!

I must admit I were hoping to be able to leave some screenshots here however I will leave the paragraph from the roadmap where they went over it, in case anyone has been under a rock and for some reason haven't seen this in roadmap:

 

Good for Simtrack! "We will sell no train before its time."

(You probably have to be an American of a certain age to get the allusion)

 

Well, the BR Class 40 is broken right now.
If you switch on the marker lights, the cab and engine room windows shine brighter than the sun.

The BR Class 20 top headcode disc on the cab side is also broken.

So unless you like running locomotives with their headlights switched off, you don't want to be using those.

 

Good call and still looking forward to this.

 

Are you on pc or console. I use pc can’t say I have noticed this my end last time I drove the 40 ?

 

Here is the thread. They are both broken on all platforms afaik...

https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/br-class-20-headlight-head-code-disc-bug.78943/

 

Thanks will take a look.

 

Is this just the 40 with the disks, as I can't say I have noticed it on the domino markers, which is the one I have driven most recently.

 

Domino seems to be fine at the moment. Kinda hoping they don't go for a hat trick and break all three locos.

I get scared whenever DTG release a game patch these days.

 

Ahh, that'd be why then, best I steer clear of the disks then!

Yes it has become less unsurprising recently when a patch for one thing completely ruins something that were fine before and is seemingly unrelated!

 

Glad to see SimTrack is prioritizing Quality. This is a very smart move by them that makes my excitement for the 104 even greater than it was before

 

Considering they seemingly hadn't even gotten it in-game or had textures ready to show yet back in that direct this isn't surprising. Frankly I was expecting at least a few solid in-game photos, if not footage of it during that direct given how close the release date was. Good on Simtrack though, gives me much more confidence that it will actually be a worthy purchase when it's released.

 

DTG could slip in a green peak with this pack to substitute on the expresses. Okay it would require a few modifications snd updates such as removing ETH and adding the boiler and headcode boxes etc, but it would greatly increase the playability value of Peak Forest.

 

At least you'd also hear it when it passes you! Unlike the steam engines!

It is certainly a good sign that Simtrack aren't rushing the 104 out of the door.

 

Honestly, if this pack came with a green Peak as well as the 104, along with the new wagons and timetable, I'd happily fork out 25 quid for it.

 

You know what, so would I. Much better value for money in my view than the GOBLIN is as I would certainly use these much more!

 

Put a CL25 in it as well and I'd fork out £50.

 

I would pay anything for a rat

 

A Split-Box Class 40 is a glaring omission from DTG.

 

*45

100% agree.