With the expansion of the Train Sim World franchise bringing more opportunities for fun and engaging gaming for a wider range of players it feels like railway enthusiasts are getting left behind. Train Sim World features incredible trains offering physics realism unparalleled anywhere else, although falling short in realism when it comes to railway operations. If Dovetail Games were to put more time into prototypicality, development into the kind of gameplay that is expected by the wider gaming community could be stifled and sales could suffer, but what if we could satisfy everyone? I propose Train Sim World: Professional For TOCs, Drivers, Trainees, and Railway Enthusiasts Taking Train Sim World 5 as a base a new version would be forked and supported on PC and Steam Play (for flexibility) only. The target audience could be Train Operating Companies looking for an affordable alternative to more expensive simulators, Real drivers looking to keep their route knowledge current, trainee drivers looking to practice at home, railway enthusiasts who want a prototypical train simulator comparable to OpenBVE. The premium priced Train Sim World: Professional would feature:- Cab centric driving experience Prototypical signalling Fully implemented safety systems that can only be disabled as part of an operations scenario where authorisation is granted Less graphical smoothing to keep signage legible TSRs and ESRs, perhaps based on real world data Longer routes with sufficient scenery for the driving cab perspective only Scenario designer similar to that of Train Simulator Classic with extra abilities like the ability to add microclimates and change adhesion properties on lengths of track, planed system failures, and route knowledge tests in the form of incorrect path setting. Train Sim World: Professional would not include: Beginners scenarios Collectables Medals Photo mode Extended scenery beyond what can be seen from the cab Console support Train Sim World: Professional would not replace Train Sim World 5 but may compliment it: The best way to get those longer routes made would be an open source model that TOCs and railway enthusiasts could develop together and it could be mandated that this work be done under a BSD style license. Imagine that LNER, ScotRail, Northern, SRPS, NRN members and train enthusiasts made a route like Edinburgh to Newcastle, or even all the way to London. Dovetail Games or a partner could then take a section of this BSD licensed route, expand the scenery to the level expected for Train Sim World 5, add collectables, develop scenarios and other gameplay features then release it on Steam, Epic and the consoles; everybody benefits! Improvements with signalling and safety systems cold be ported into Train Sim World 5 also. I would imagine that many players would be interested in both titles amongst others in the franchise, I would like to create a poll but can't see how to do it. Would you like a pretty cab focused train simulator?
DTG is a commercial company, and profit is its primary goal. I just want to say "DTG can be a slave to money, but it is definitely not a lackey of simulation enthusiasts." Sorry, I used this metaphor.
There is already such a market and Zusi fills it, especially in Germany. It is used by TOCs who set up real cab simulators and display the content of the MFD on screen cutouts, etc. On Innotrans, there were two simple cab simulators with levers and stuff and they were running Zusi for the route. You could then interact with the levers in the cab and Zusi would take that input and continue simulation with it. All the safety systems are realistically modelled but the graphics are far more barebone. The consumer version of Zusi has the same core but all the cabs exist only for it because the professional version does not need a visual cab on screen as they use actual cabs.
I thought the TSW franchise was about letting everyone enjoy trains and not just the professionals that already have access to real trains and very expensive simulators rigs. And sorry for stating the obvious: Why would train companies allow enthousiasts to be able to drive their trains? Trains in TSW already need to be dumbed down because of safety concerns. I think the Olympics in Paris have shown that rail infrastructure is very vulnerable infrastructure.
Certain things could be more professional. For example, I ran the In Threes scenario on ECML the other evening. One of the three incidents was a bovine incursion on the line including the farmer. This was advised by a ditsy pop up message from Emily Turner and the location overwriting the current objective data. If the report had just come in then the signaller would place an immediate GSM-R emergency all stop broadcast to trains in the area. The incident would be protected by signals, by maintaining the last controlled signal at red or replacement on an auto signal where fitted. Drivers would then be cautioned from the protecting signal, cleared as necessary for the train to approach the area if running at caution. Generally the driver would not be expected to get down and help with the roundup. Trains would either be on stop until the incident was dealt with or extreme caution past the site. Unlikely the farmer would be on the line on his own. In short order you would probably have the Mobile Operations Manager (MOM) on site and PW staff to assist also carry out any fence repairs. And the farmer could certainly not authorise the driver to move his train, that instruction would come from the controlling signaller after confirming the line is clear. Further on we had another example of how not to advise an emergency speed restriction. Flooding would once again generally not be boarded unless ongoing but advised to the driver via stop and caution. If an ESR was implemented then it should be properly boarded including “Dalek” and warning board with AWS magnet sufficient braking distance from the commencement board. Not blink and you miss it. As a (retired) professional railwayman while I can appreciate there is a compromise for entertainment, this type of casual approach does rankle a bit.
Scenarios have always felt like a normal service with either added context, nothing extra, or little minigame gimmicks such as the Glossop Line photo scenario. Fair enough doing that in TSC where there aren't timetable services which are just normal operations; but I've always felt TSW should push the boat out with scenarios. It's probably the only "expert" feature of the new 101 that I can say I particularly like; that the Scenarios are fairly 'out-there' and aren't too generic. Of course it offers a fault simulation in regular services, but I'm not huge on that. Scenarios should be difficult and they should be, well, scenarios; situations that don't tend to occur normally; and ones that demand the player acts like a driver would; be that waiting for clearance fron the signaller, finding faults, or dealing with TSRs and the consequences of delays building up.
