My Train-sim experience : MS Train Simulator, Auran Trainz, TSW 2 (I did not know about TS classic), and I HAVE put in a preorder for TSW 3 on Steam. Why? A. I support what Dovetail does. Whether they succeed in their endeavors to everyone's satisfaction, including their own... let us leave that open ended, but for the most part, the game is playable and enjoyable, even for curmudgeons like myself. So, I am happy to support them by paying for their content, which brings me to Suggestion #1. Dovetail : Please sell an Annual Subscription and not new products. I will happily support you on a yearly basis @ bronze, gold, silver levels of support, if that means I get to play whatever you release that year (or which my subscription entitles me to. No more trying to raise money with product version changes.... and that brings to why TSW (3), and my next suggestion... Suggestion #2. I realize that the fundamental game architecture and code have been significantly reworked. From graphics in TS Classic to TSW 2, and included updates to a number of people & trains (Rush Hour), PIS systems, STEAM, signaling, weather, and even UI/UX updates, and new routes/DLC. So, rather than making versions of the product that are --significantly- incompatible with each other, ---build the base architecture that lets you scale, AND migrate/rework existing content to work on the new. That grows content, players, community, ecosystem, the whole works. Is TSW 3 that base platform? Only you guys know... but hopefully the preservation crew can bring their knowhow on the old product to help you with gotchas to avoid in the new. IF not, I seriously suggest thinking about what TSW Ultimate might look like, and going from there . Ultimate including a base kernel for the game that is extremely optimized to work on any platform with a reasonable amount of computing and graphics power. Suggestion #3 Bugs to prioritize 1. We spend a whole lot of time looking out the front of our locos. There HAS to be a better solution for rendering tracks, wires, and in general, what we see out that window. Else all the immersion you are trying for (wind, rain, sway, noise, ambients, etc..) is GONE. a. Motion blur? Make it variable as a function of speed, so at slow speeds you can see more track that is not blurred, at higher speeds, the tracks could blur. b. Replace track sleepers /ballast etc. with textures (instead of 3 d elements) Switch to 3d mode if the train is stopped and the engineer is walking along it, but when barreling along at speed, does the game really need to draw each individual sleeper? I don't know, your tracks probably have Hi and low LOD versions... and are more a unit (junctions, straight lengths, parallel lengths etc.) I assume but I don't know. 2. Tunnel lighting is broken. You see the --other end of the tunnel as you enter it from the front & then it disappears !!! .. because the tunnel is much longer. The end of the tunnel is lit properly with spillover from the outside coming inside, and then the eyes adjust exposure.. nice. 3. Headlights and track lighting/blur/LOD probably go together. The old steam locos had pretty pathetic lighting, but the modern trains have pretty powerful lights that really illuminate the track and surroundings at night. Back to the idea of what we see out of the front of the loco is really important!!! Last One... Suggestion #4 -- You have talented folks in the community. Open the platform enough so that people can build their own routes and share, and you guys focus on the premium routes that take the best advantage of all the features. The Darjeeling toy train, the Orient express... mmmmm... mmmm........... imagine the possibilities! And what if people could play together, yard dispatcher and crew working together... driver and brakeman chatting over the radio as they haul a long cargo train across the desert.. People driving multiple services in a scenario instead of AI trains... the world could come alive !!! That's it. ... Please keep the trains and routes coming... !!
