Travel coast to coast in the US with an introduction to US railroad adventures in Train Sim World. Read More : From Sea To Shining Sea (dovetailgames.com)
Saw the headline and thought this a promo for a new route, though coast to coast would be 3000 miles, unless DTG decided to do the Panama Railway!
I did think this was going to be an exciting announcement about route mergers and building out networks across continents, ah no its just another ad. I am perfectly aware of the routes available, it would be nice to have some communication which doesn't involve shilling for more sales.
These articles are for new players who may come to the sim, or existing players who might not have looked at a particular region. Not everyone know's the DLC and it can be hard to know where to begin. We'll be doing more of these covering other countries and operators. Any feedback appreciated on this approach or other hobby article ideas people would like to see please let us know.
I know, I meant that it sounds like we will be getting a new us route announcement soon which (imo at least) is interesting.
Not sure where you're reading that. This is purely a "look at what we've done" post (directed at new players as Jamie says) and has no other relevance I wouldn't be reading anything into it personally
Probably a promo to coincide with the Independence Day holiday ( tomorrow 7/4 ). For what it's worth, for new players, I would recommend Cajon Pass, Horseshoe Curve, NEC and Peninsula Corridor, but especially Sand Patch Grade, which is still in first place for overall quality and is an absolute steal for 80% off on Steam.
I was admittedly excited for a moment before I saw what the article is really about, but it’s cool that something is being done to make the whole library of routes and DLCs easier to overlook for new players. It can get quite confusing, I still remember trying to figure out which routes were included in the different TSW2020 editions.
Oh man, SPG was such a great production at the time and it’s held up pretty well. I mean there’s even the occasional radio chatter which I don’t think we’ve seen elsewhere. Great beginner US freight route.
Not really that interesting, I think most people would predict we’ll be getting more US routes for tsw
Shilling for more sales is rather important for a company's survival. Especially attracting new customers. A series of articles highlighting noob-friendly routes is a good idea. Making a point in the future of including the noob-friendliest routes in the steepest discounts and advertising this every time would also be a good idea IMO. One comment off the bat, DTG Jamie: The article mentions Steam Sale discounts up to 50%, but you've got El Cajon and Long Island at 70% off and Sand Patch at 80% off. Kind of underselling yourselves there. And to echo others above, Sand Patch remains a magnificent route. When I first bought TSW2 and tried all three included routes, SPG was the one that completely hooked me. At $5.99 currently, it's unmissable.
I'm more interested in what the Roadmap is gonna be like tomorrow. While might not be expecting much from it, but having it not only on a Tuesday, but of all the other dates it had to land on a US holiday as well. Seems too coincidental to have, don't ya think? (or I'm maybe thinking waaay too much because of the forums these days.)
"Mideast" is not really a term we use. We use that to refer to the Middle East, as in Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Mid-Atlantic is almost appropriate given that part of Sand Patch is in Maryland. "Eastern U.S." might be the right term.
"Mid-Atlantic" is a term of rather fuzzy application but usually always includes Pennsylvania and New Jersey as well as the coastal states south through at least Virginia. It sometimes also includes New York, i.e. "everything south and west of New England", but New Yorkers themselves consider their state to be sui generis.
From this bundle there should be mid East Northeast Corridor Trenton New Brunswick Rutgers University Robert Wood Johnson Hospital Newark Airport Railway Station New York Penn Metro-North Harlem Line and LIRR.
""From sea to shining sea" -- with nary a nod to the vastness extending between those narrow limits. Granted that many of the railways that once traversed that vastness have vanished -- surrendered by Eisenhower's destructive interstate highway system clogged by speeding semis. But what about reviving those "fallen flags" that that once moved freight and passengers throughout the Midwest, the North and the South of America? There's a lot of sadly neglected railway history to be resuscitated, ragazzi! Get busy!!!
Seems like I gotta redownload Sand Patch Grade and give it a proper go, lots of people praising it in here…
Posting this on the same day as roadmap is obviously going to make people put 2 & 2 together and get 5.
Yes. There will be a freight route this year for sure! Most likely in the big three. Or by December at latest....
Skipping from "Mid-East" to "Rocky Mountains" leaves more than half of USA railroading unrepresented. In my opinion, that's a sad failure.
Considering how long routes take to make and US players wanting both passenger and freight, it makes sense. There's not much 3rd parties for US routes either other than skyhook who made some stuff. Passenger is limited by licenses. Freight is easier because of more licenses but it's going to be a while before it covers the whole world
Passenger also limited by the fact outside the corridors, in both Canada and the USA, most long distance trains run at best once a day and on some routes only three times a week!
True, but there are still plenty of short and medium distance Amtrak routes in the East, Southeast, Midwest and West Coast. Unfortunately, DTG doesn't seem inclined to explore these areas for passenger rail.
compared to how many routes exist compared to what DTG have got through, then narrowed down by a about a third for NA based. Give them a lot of time is what I’m saying, things have barely started in terms of coverage, no one should be expecting for a number of years for some of the most even basic corners to be completely done or slightly knocked. Going by biggest landmass, there are 7 continents, 6 rail purpose ones (assuming u don’t count Decauville railway at Dumont d'Urville) and only 2 seen in TSW. I mean it’s only 4 to cover that whole category of different areas yet I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s still not in 10+ years I’m seeing a lot of near demands for more American freight, maybe they should think for a second what happens if your vouching for Sweden or Thailand or (insert one of 200ish here) etc and see where they are at in terms of did they get the North instead of too much to the east… and in the end that’s just about covering one point of a year rather than different era’s.
Thing is, no one really makes routes in the midwest in general, both TSW and TSC really lacks in this regard, as most TSC route exist either in the East or the Rockies Westward. Only 3 routes are really set in the mid-west -The old Chicago Racetrack Route. -The horrible Grainger Heartland route. -The forgotten Livonia Subdivision route. Meanwhile TSW doesn't really have any route set in that general area, with a majority of the routes set in the east and 3 around New York City (4 if you count the dead NEC route) And not EVERY freight route has to be set on a mountain pass.
Coast to Coast and for the Great Lakes OSD Great Plains Sherman Hill Great Basin Cane Creek Utah. Northeast HSC SPG Nec Trenton-Boston
Having a route similar to Dresden Riesa for the US.... its flat and has a massive variety of services. The IC&E, Chicago to Byron. Will be about 106 miles and passenger runs to Pinegree Grove (You don't need a Metra license). From the rail yards freight can run to Byron. And because it isn't a high speed route or Class 1 railroad route, it is slower and more fun. Single track. The scenery is agricultural and very pleasant similar to the Niddeltalbahn. This is what we need. Sure Donner Pass, Marias Pass and Stevens Pass would be nice eventually, but Cajon was a mountain route. Anyway we will see in August what will come for September release. And no it won't be on the roadmap. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iowa,_Chicago_and_Eastern_Railroad If they really want to enhance the route they could install Union Pacific's trackage to Rockford. I'm not sure they can use two license at once though. Maybe Matt or one of the DTG gurus can chime in here. But I'm sure they won't want to participate in route speculation ROFL.
Interestingly, Metra will begin commuter service between Chicago and Rockford, IL in 2027, after upgrading the track and building some new stations. It's about 80-90 miles. Ideal for TSW, with freight and passenger, but it cannot happen without that Metra license. But DTG could model the Amtrak route between Chicago and Milwaukee, the " Hiawatha" , which is about the same mileage and runs 7 trains a day in both directions plus some longer distance trains, like the " Empire Builder ", which use those tracks. This would require new diesel locos too.
