So, I took advantage of the free weekend play on xbox not thinking this would be up to much. I last looked at this when CGD games posted a video over two months ago and to be honest it looked a bit drab, empty and bland. However I've been pleasantly surprised this weekend. Whilst it's not the most in depth simulator I've ever played it does a really good job of driving a tram and it exceedingly relaxing and chilled to play. The graphics are pretty decent, the traffic is good and it has really good potential as long as it doesn't get abandoned. The good The map is very good. initially I was disappointed it wasn't a real place like the previous games Vienna or Munich but I've grown to like the map. When it's busy and you have a few trams running their timetables and the traffic is flowing it gives off a good European vibe. The sounds are good as well, and although I'm yet to drive the tram at the level of TSW, I'm looking forward to it. The models are very good, the Trams look great and feel great. The AI traffic is pretty decent as well and flows very well across the city. I also like the management bit with the line creator, although it definitely needs some jeopardy adding in to make it feel like you are trying to grow a business. The graphics don't suffer from that horrible shadow pop in we get in TSW although there are other issues but the transition from morning to afternoon and then night is done really well. What needs to be improved Graphics There's still some serious pop in in the distance on Xbox Series X and on PC. I'd Like to see this addressed. There's no reason why the whole map can't be loaded in as it's not massive. You also only do 40-50kmh tops so it's not like TSW where you could be racing across a long stretch of map. Buildings should not pop in. Passengers Passengers are ok, the y path fairly well, but I'd like to see them with more variety like what's started to happen on tsw. People carrying bags, going to work, on phones etc and a bit more clothing variety, but it's a good start. Traffic I like the traffic. it's really well done. Could do with some buses though and maybe some events? A bit like Taxi driver? Map The map is very good but it lacks elevation. If you see some of the tram and u-bahns in real life they have fly overs and bridges. It would just spice things up a little. Management You should be punished for mistakes. maybe you lose money or people lose confidence in your services? Just adding some jeopardy will help you focus? Ive crashed into cars and hit pedestrians by accident and all it does is reset you and you lose some xp. Weather This is the biggie. It sorely misses dynamic weather. It really, really needs it to knock the absence and immersion up. One last thing...what do the timers represent when driving? I don't understand them at all and there's no proper explanation given. Can someone clarify? maybe dtg_jan could help? All in all though I'm really enjoying it and I hope work continues on it. PS one thing I noticed. My E1 tram got very full (almost to bursting) when I got stuck at a stop and couldn't work out how to get the tram going again. When I did I managed two more stops in the expansion south map and it crashed to dashboard. Any ideas?
