Train Simulator Classic Core Update Feedback - Dx12 Experimental Build

I compared overall running and framerates between 64 bit and the new experimental DX12 64 bit. I ran a workshop scenario (Boston Freight to Framingham) on the new Boston & Albany route specifically because I wanted to run on a populated area where framerate hits would be noticeable; the scenario begins in the Railway Express area of Boston South Station.

The first thing I noticed is that the textures and lighting were so much sharper and the light appeared much more natural - as if I was running Reshade (which I wasn't). After beginning the run the framerate hits began, and in certain areas near the Back Bay station they dropped from 60 fps down to the upper 30's. After proceeding westward to the suburbs (Auburndale, Wellesley, etc.) the framerates went back up as expected. Now with the regular 64 bit mode I had 60 fps throughout, and I have my settings at FXAA + 3 x 3 SSAA and Anisotropic x 8; Scenery Quality, Density and View distance are maxed out.

I will say that unless I had the framerate monitor up and was specifically noticing it for this post I probably would not have noticed anything as I was too busy enjoying the much richer color density and the much more natural looking lighting effects.

For me the DX12 is a keeper.

 

Hello,
Since today's update my game is no longer working, at all, no matter the build I'm launching. Whenever I choose a route to play or to edit, the game freezes and I have to force it to shut down. It does exactly when it should start loading the route and when the usual images from the community are about to be shown. I've already tried verifying the integrity of the game and clearing up the cache. Also, I've made sure that Directx and my drivers are up to date. Right now, no matter if experimental or not, the game is not working.

 

The picture (image.png) of some routes seem to be causing the software to lock up or crash, DTG are aware and as a work around the offending pictures can be removed from the routeinformation folder of the route in question. It seems to be related to the aspect ratio used in the image itself.

 

I've deleted all of them, and yet the problems persists. I haven't had this freeze yesterday. The freeze appears even when I attempt to create a new route.

EDIT: I've fixed the issue only be reinstalling the game from scratch.

 

No connection to ThirdRail. Guess ThirdRail needs new plugin to enable this to work in parallel. I will wait until BeenSoft comes out with the plugin before I switch over to X12 as I am using their tool to track all of my runs

 

System is an Asus z370 prime with an i7 8700 32gb of ram and a nividia 2080 running driver 531.68 windows 11
TSC loaded fine with the 64bit DX12 ver the only issue as mentioned is lowe frame rates and not much visiual changes

 

If you use Afterburner and Rivatuner: This is DX9 (D3D9) and not DX12 !!!!!!
strange isn't it

 

Delete (after backin up) all DX9 DLL files from the Railworks folder, then run in DX12 again... worked for me... but performance is poor.

 

With the latest build, the TSC did not run in Window-mode.
I can hear the Sound, but the TSC-Window did not shown in Windows10 pro (latest updates)
RTX3080TI (Latest drivers
TSC run in 64-Bit mode (no DX12mode)
When i turn off Window-Mode, then TSC run.

 

Doing that with PhysX will do nothing for TS Classic, it runs on the CPU to cater for AMD GPU users - turn on the PhysX indicator in Nvidia Control Panel and it will confirm this.

 

I've tried the DX12 exe out on some DTG and third party routes, and found about a 30-40% reduction in frame rate compared to the standard 64 bit exe. This is quite consistent so where I would normally get 20-25fps (e.g. Euston on WCMLS) I get 15 or less, and in open areas where I would normally see a solid 60, it's more like 35-40. Besides the low frame rate I haven't run into any other problems. Since the patch I've noticed that there are issues with some heavily scripted addons reported elsewhere, including the Steam version of the vR BR101 Pro Line and the GST MPV. Otherwise all seems well so far. With both 64 bit and DX12, the game loads a bit faster and tile loading hitches seem much reduced (this may be placebo/confirmation bias on my part of course) and frame rates are more consistent, albeit too low in DX12 for now, with far fewer drops or stutters.

Since the patch, I have had one dump, which after a bit of poking about in logmate, I fixed by reinstalling the AP Signal Enhancement Pack. Since then, the game has behaved itself immpeccably .

If it's useful to the devs to know, my system is a Ryzen 7 3800X running at 4.2GHz, 32Gb DDR4 RAM and an RTX2080 Super. I play in 1440p with all settings maxed except for antialiasing. Edit to add, I use the AP Sky and Weather Pack 2.0 which means I have 3D clouds off.

 

From what I understand, TSC is still running on DX9 - there is now a DX12 translation layer applied over top. So I am fairly sure this is why it reports DX9 to you still.

 

This is an experimental version of DX12 why not go and take a chill pill?

 

DX12 ran alright for me at 17 FPS but I don't know what I got before as I had never run a scenario on this route. The issue I did find was I was going to make a short video with Nvidias Video recorder software it record alright but all I got was the Nvidia Startup screen with a frozen train in the background with the sounds playing.

 

I have just heard on a YouTube video, that this core update breaks the "Raildriver & Joystick Interface" by Cobra?
Can anyone confirm or deny that this is the case?
If so, I will have to utilize a back-up copy of the pre-update version, and avoid this update like the plague. Cobra no longer updates the interface, so there is no chance of an update of that program. As someone who has used hardware controllers in TS for around 10 years, I simply cannot enjoy the sim, reverting to driving with a keyboard.

Thanks in advance for any pointers

[EDIT: I should have made clear above, I just meant the core 64bit update. I'm not bothered about the DX12 Experimental. A number of people on the ATS FB page have confirmed the Cobra One Raildriver & Joystick Interface still works ok with the new 64bit Core update version ].

 

So far, DX12 has helped my performance. I was able to boost some of my graphics. I don't turn the settings way up but the settings I have work for me. I tested it on some routes that have struggled for me on the previous version. I have noticed a difference in performance and it led me to enjoying driving those routes much more. I don't quite know how to explain it but it appears that DX12 speeds up my graphics so my card is not struggling to carry the load. At least I think that's what it is. I think this is on the right track. I look forward to seeing what else this can deliver in the future updates. In conclusion, i do have to say, if this were the final build, I would be satisfied with the improvements it has made. I give you guys alot of credit, your trying to improve this simulator and since I don't intend on playing TSW, I am very grateful that my content is secure with TSC. Thank You DTG.

 

Running in DX12 provides very choppy game play and low fps.
Confirmed Raildriver running Raildriver and joystick interface software (Cobra One) will not work with DX12.

 

When loading save, my train was lost.
Switch back to normal 64bit, the save crash.

 

I have it running DX12, I havent noticed anything nasty yet. Its maybe because I did a clean install and re added all the 3rd party stuff. The only problems are just the Interlaced Thmbnails issue. I also uninstalled that old Legacy PhysX System Sofware from my Windows settings. The only PhysX System Software I have is the one that comes with the current NVIDIA Drivers.

 

Worked fine with v 73.6a, then you came with 73.7a, total disaster.
Locks up completely when in fast drive and when Im trying to change to new train. Hard reset

 

I've done one short test. A career scenario on the original Chatham Main Line, 2M82, 15.40 Victoria to Orpington. It's fairly busy at Victoria while you wait to depart, I noted a reduction in FPS of around 1/3 when using the DX12 version but other than that I had no issues. My power brake controller worked perfectly, using the proprietary software. Will try a non DTG route later.

 

So DX12 will only work on my intergrated GPU, if I try and use the Nvidia control panel to use my 3070 the game doesn't start. I did a fresh uninstall/reinstall too but it's the same outcome.

 

If people just did what many of us recommend... all the time, and have a back up of the Railworks folder, you could just roll back to the previous version until problems are sorted out. It amazes me that home computers with mass internal storage have been a thing for pretty much 35 years now, and still people aren't backing up. Hell, I used to make back ups of my Commodore Vic20 cassettes back in the 80s. I mean, it's not difficult. Just make a copy of your Railworks folder on another drive, then if something goes wrong, you just copy it back over, overwriting when prompted to do so, and it will be all back as it was. You can't do that now though, as you will be backing up the one with issues, but when it's all sorted, please, just make a back up and you will be protected against any such issues. I made a back up of mine last week, and at any time, I can roll back. I have sorted all the menu freezing options with the updated version, and once I have tested it properly, I will then make another back up.... etc... so I can always roll back to the last known working version.
DTG have gone to great lengths to inform everyone what is happening with these updates. There have been announcements and posts about it for weeks now. The game needs updating. It's old. If it is to have a future, it needs it.

 

xbox 360 controller not working with DX12 version

For the moment after another clean install this morning and only the 3 basic routes of TSC, MSI still indicates that it is DX9 that works and not DX12!
I'm going to stop testing here because there is nothing more to test at the moment.
The drop in FPS and stability is far too great with the DX12 exe, if it's really the DX12 of course, but I have serious doubts about that.
For me it's DX9 32 bit and not DX12, when I see the stability and the low FPS it's not possible that it's anything other than DX9 32 bit or there is a big big problem with the exe that must not be good!
MSI can't be wrong at this point.
I even tested with the vulcan API over it and the DX12 exe works as if it was DX9!
It's impossible, if the exe was DX12 the game would crash immediately (I tested the same thing on dirt 5 which is in dx12 and it crashed immediately!)

For my part the game works very well in DX9 64 bit and very well in vulcan (personal patch)
It's very stable, some micro jerks on the US road which is very busy on the 1st scenario but overall it's more stable than before and the FPS is very good.

As a reminder, my PC:
I5 12400 - rtx 3060 (12gb) 16gb mem - 1TB crucial SSD reserved only for TSC and windows 11 pro latest version.

 

ThirdRails will not work with the DX12 version, because, as others already commented, the Raildriver dll is not implemented and inactive.

That is why it is an experimental version I guess.

 

64-bit is great, less stutter than before, but PC runs a little hotter. In the DX12 Experimental, there is more stutter, but seems to run cooler. Thanks for attention to this game! I have all the UK content and enjoy it.

Ryzen 7/RTX3060

 

Confirmed

• Standard Raildriver software
• Raildriver & Joystick Interface (by Cobra One)
• TS Controllers software (PBC etc

....all work fine in the Core updated 64bit version, but do not work in the DX12 Experimental version.

 

when I start the DX12 mode,I can't enter the game.I even can't see the menu.
my laptop has RTX 4060laptop

 

From the TSC store page.

• 
  Laptop, Notebook, Mobile or Low Power versions of the above specifications (including Intel or Integrated Graphics) may work but are not supported. Updates to Chipset, Graphics and Audio Device Drivers may be required. For information relating to recommended specifications for Train Simulator 64-bit, please refer to the Train Simulator Classic User Guide.

 

so what should I do my drivers are the newest.

 

make sure your laptop uses the GPU instead of the integrated graphics
in your nVidia control panel, enable the taskbar indicator from which you can assign the dedicated GPU to those programs that demand it

 

of course I use the GPU

 

perhaps DTG forgot to compile the accompanying RailDriverDX12_64.dll plugin, since there are now three GameManager.dll's in the PlugIns folder.

DX is also used to interface peripherals to games, does running DxDiag.exe from the command line give any clues as to whether the peripheral is supported by DX12 at all? RailDriver uses a custom dll, those other hardware controllers probably too.
This dll needs to properly integrate itself in the DX chain, unless the custom dll interfaces to the particular game engine direct, and the game's developer has to provide interface.

 

Then don't run the experimental DX12 build.

Run the standard 64 bit build.

 

I found that the steam overlay does not work on the DX12 experimental version either, but I will try it again whem the next beta is rolled out for testing. As it is the new 64 bit core works great.

 

OK I give up.Hope DTG can find issues soon

 

Can someone please explain in layman's terms what DX12 is, and how it impacts tsc. I'm a console player who graces tsc on my laptop from time to time.
I have no idea what any of these terms are

 

https://www.windowscentral.com/what-directx-why-does-matter-gaming

Basically, DX12 is the newest version, and train simulator is currently a DX9 game, so it can't take full advantage of the newest features, and will eventually become impossible to run if the older DX versions become unsupported by newer versions of the OS or hardware. That's a fairly simplistic answer, but it will help you understand I imagine.

 

Agreed. Good point.

 

I've had a dabble with the experimental DX12 core this morning, which has also been an opportunity to test TSC on my new PC. The specs for the PC are the following:

Intel Core i5-13600K
MSI Ventus RTX 4070
Corsair Vengeance 32GB 5600Mhz DDR5
Kingston Fury Renegade 1TB NVMe Gen 4.0 SSD (OS is installed on this)
Solidigm P41 Plus 2TB NVMe Gen 4.0 SSD (game is installed on this)

Using a scenario I've created for ATS's Kings Cross to Kings Lynn & Cambridge to Peterborough merged route, I drove a full 50 minute run from Kings Cross to Peterborough using the AP 800 and a good amount of AI trains. Performance-wise it was a pretty stable run with no crashes The FPS fluctuated from around 19FPS in the Harringay-Alexandra Palace area (this area is notorious for FPS drops due to the amount of OHLE in the vicinity) up to 58FPS in the open countryside between Huntingdon and Peterborough. Comparing to a run with the DX9 64-bit core, the FPS was between 20% and 50% lower for the DX12 core. I used MSI Afterburner to monitor both runs, and the DX12 core does seem to make better usage of the GPU, running between 35% and 50% utilisation compared to 15-20% for the DX9, but CPU utilisation is still around 10% or less. Interestingly for me, the performance of the DX12 core on my new PC is around the same to slightly better than the DX9 64-bit core on my old PC (Ryzen 5 3600XT, RTX 2060 and 16GB 3200Mhz DDR4).

I can see the potential for what the game could do if they can make it utilise hardware better, and am looking forward to trying the next experimental DX12 build when it comes out.

 

Like many others here, I'm seeing worse framerates in the DX12 build than the 64bit 'normal' build. I tried a couple of different consists, and noticed that with a very simple one (Thomas the Tank Engine, Annie and Clarabel!) the performance was perfectly acceptable. With a double-header Castle class and a selection of rolling stock, some 'official' and some 3rd-party, the framerate dropped considerably. I used a worst-case scenario with rain and an electrified line (Birmingham NS to Euston, Alan Thompson freeware WCMLS v5.3). I deliberately used a 3rd party route to see if it caused any dramas, and it didn't.

I also used that route because I have two versions of it. Re-running the same scenario using the Dovetail version of WCML South did slightly improve the framerate, but not much. It's still not really playable.

Disabling motion blur when the camera moves improved things a little, and I'll leave that off permanently as I prefer the effect without it anyway.

Aside from the poor framerates in DX12, I haven't experienced any other issues so far. The game loads normally (and quickly), and I only had one message about a missing asset. I got Steam to verify the files and I haven't had that message again.

I have a lot of DLC, several AP enhancements (including track and weather), lots of Steam Workshop addons, and several loco and coach packs from other third-parties. I haven't tested them all yet, but they aren't causing any issues so far.

 

It didn't run for me. It launched to the load screen and Task Manager showed a lot of CPU and memory activity but that fell away and I got the error message that TSC wasn't responding. I will have another go later see if I can get it running.

 

Decided to make an account to share some feedback about the DX12 version of the game, It seems to run at a lower FPS than on the regular DX9 version to the tune of around 10-20 FPS dropped, I have noticed some visual bugs too with pointwork in APs Track Enhancement pack which are not present in the DX9 version. I haven't had any other issues that I've noticed, however today I decided to grab DXVK and apply it to the DX9 build of the game and its a night and day improvement, from 40-50 FPS on the GOBLIN to around 120 FPS with no visual bugs. Seeing this I will personally just stick to that version of the game and I'm kind of surprised that DTG didn't just go the simpler route and package DXVK in with the game, since it already works well and is open source.

My specs for reference: Ryzen 7 7700X, 32GB DDR5-5600, Nvidia RTX 4070 on a 2TB NVMe SSD

Edit: Just tried to test on laptop but after I set the DX12 version to run on my dGPU in Windows' settings it refuses to launch, DX9 version still works after doing the same process. I'm not sure if its an incompatibility with Advanced Optimus.

 

I use the unofficial way to force Vulcan which improves performance over DX9, and it fixes that distant terrain rendering issues with dx9 on a amd card.
The official dx12 version gives me worst perfomance then DX9. but at least it fixes the distant terrain rendering issue.
Base line for a release is it should work better then 3rd party mods.

 

You couldn't have sent a more generic answer than this even if you wanted to... 32bit and 64bit versions have been functioning well on laptops for like forever... Hopefully DTG will take a look at this issue, because a lot of us are facing it on the dx12 experimental build.

 

Hi guys, bit of a noob with regards to Vulcan and DXVK. How would I go about using it with TSC? (karlack26 mentions an unofficial way). By the way, I have an Optimus based Nvidia card on my laptop (GTX 3050TI), and I still have to force my card to play TSC in 64 bit mode. 32 bit however uses card natively. Is there a workaround for this?

 

Here is a link to how to do add vulkan it. its pretty easy.

But you should really ask this questions in the support threads or general dissuasion.
https://forums.dovetailgames.com/th...ance-how-to-finally-fix-it.26786/#post-629307

 

This is a tale of 2 computers; I've always had TSC run brilliantly on my gaming notebook which is an i5, likewise it runs the new core update perfectly everything turned up to max. Then I have a gaming laptop with an i7 and the two just don't get on for some reason - I have freezes whatever I do on that rig and the update hasn't made one iota of difference!

 

Hi, having been on the TSW side for console till recently. I did play Train Sim back in the Fuji days, but did run some of the WCML route timetable on the 64bit - Direct X 12 experimental. I am on a Ryzen 7 5258u with Radeon TM graphics - so Vega 8 cores, did have fps of 15 on Medium and 10 fps report by AMD Adrenalin app, but was fine other than that. Will do some more testing on normal 64bit and and 64bit experimental with other routes. Oh and the machine has 16gb of random that was reporting as 11.2gb utilised and GPU aroun 60 to 80 % wit Cpu at 15 % throughout, hope this feedback is useful

 

Interestingly I found that the 64bit vs 64bit - Direct X 12 Experiment seemed to utilise less overall RAM on the system, 9.6 vs 11.2 to 9.2 gb for Direct X 12, with the D12 having fps on my rig of 12 to 16 consistantly compared to 14 to 17 on the normal 64 bit, but the addtional ram did make the experience feel less jarring. I did notice on the 64 bit normal gpu was used between 64 to 80 %. But d12 used 82 % consistantly vram of 456 mb seemed to stay the same for both, but d12 seemed a nicer experience for the Ryzen 5258 u with Radeon TM Graphics (Vega 8) for RAM and system utilisation, not bad for an Laptop with integrated graphics. This was from running one activity on Portsmouth Direct.