So I have no idea how easy it would be to implement, but I think if there was the ability to do the little route introduction scenario and maybe the training for the locomotve(s) of a DLC before you bought it that would be cool. Could help people experience a small bit of what the dlc will actually feel like first hand.
Would be easy enough to do. Have the core game and a basic bog standard DLC with one train on it for a scenario or two but not even the "core DLC" unless you buy the game
I doubt DTG would do this as ultimately there is the refund option on Steam if you really don't like what you bought, up to the point when they fire the yellow card that you're overusing the feature in a way that's not intended. Of course this is where I miss the days of PC magazines and their cover discs which usually had demo versions of new games. Problem there is, 1. There's not many PC mags these days and 2. Modern games are so complex they would have to give you the full code which the hackers would have open in a few minutes - not to mention the file sizes involved. The other option is just to sit back for a few days after a new DLC releases, wait for the comments on the forums and the YT etc. reviews to start coming in.
What about useing the training center as demo route.Offer the training center as a download with one locomotive from the UK US Ger so people can try the game before buying full routes or locomotives dlc's.
It would be amazing if the route introduction, loco tutorials and perhaps 1-2 scenarios/services could be tested in advance for free, especially considering how difficult it is to refund stuff for console players. However, I’m having a hard time figuring out how to make this work properly. I don’t believe platforms are currently able to provide test versions of DLCs, just full games. That could be circumvented by integrating the DLCs into the core game and turning purchases into “toggles” which unlock full access to the respective piece of DLC. But that would seriously bloat the size of the core game and probably make things like general development and patches much more difficult. They could also make these test versions completely separate free downloads with no connection to the full DLC. But how do you remove these test versions on platforms without add-on management like the PS4? And can progress carry over to the full version nevertheless? In the end, it would probably be a very difficult endeavor.
