Overall, I'm quite happy with the new game, I think the work that was done and the direction DTG/TSW is heading is excellent and I'm excited to see the continued outcome. It may not be perfect, still lacking a few things, but the announcements, details, and streams leading up to launch didn't lead me to believe anything more than what the game is, so well done on the new, improved communication aspect. I've only briefly looked at everything, but these are my thoughts so far... The Bakerloo and Koln-Aachen routes seem fun, though I have no experience with those routes, so I really can't say anything on how it is in game vs. reality. I'm excited to play around a little more with the livery editor, though limited now, I see a lot of potential for it. Though for PC, I find the controls quite awkward to use and I hope in the future more use of the mouse can be added, and make the mouse work more like a 3D modeling program, where you have more control of the camera - all I was able to do was pan and zoom, but not rotate. Again, I only was in it for like 5 minutes, I still got some figuring out to do. On SPG, I don't know if its the new UE4 engine, remixed audio, or what, but the sounds are slightly better than in TSW1. On its own, the FDL engine sounds on the AC4400 are better and you can actually hear it more compared to before. Though I still think the turbo needs to be turned down volume wise, yes its loud IRL, but it shouldn't be screaming in my ear like it is in the game. I'm also going to hold out hope that the Dash 8 or the skyhook games route (forget the name) will bring some updated sounds (same 7FDL engine) and features. The AC4400 is missing traction motor sounds (GE AC traction motors are quite loud), so really its more of a dash9. Bugs I've found...all centered on SPG - Nit-picky thing, not super important: In the SPG intro video, it says "Welcome to Pennsylvania." Yes the route is mostly in PA, but Cumberland is in Maryland. - Walking around in Cumberland terminal, there's little ridges in the rocks between tracks that you can get stuck on and you have to find another way around. Especially prevalent around the turntable - At about 28 MPH, the SD40 drops traction power temporarily. The audio gets weird (engine speed up?), amps drop to zero, and then it returns to normal. This was also present in TSW1. I believe the same thing happens at about 23MPH using the dynamic brake, but I can't remember. --Audio Bugs-- - For all three locos, there's a bug in the starting audio (and no, it's not related to AI vs. Player train). On the GP38/SD40, the prime audio plays once and then stops. You can flick it to start, but it holds 5-10 seconds of silence before the engine start audio plays. There's also some weird audio glitches after startup: on the GP38, it sort of cuts out, then it sounds like its playing a really low quality low-idle audio sound. On the SD40, it cuts out for like half a second then resumes (this happens 5-10 seconds after engine startup for both) On the AC4400, ignoring how awful the startup audio is, the prime bell plays once, then there's silence for about 20 seconds before the engine starts up. That's a more realistic start time for the AC4400, but the audio is missing. - The GP38 doesn't always play the low idle and high idle audio. Going and getting in another loco, and then coming back it will usually make it work - The SD40 has no low and high idle audio, just idle. It was present in TSW1. - Jumping between locos when the engines are running can lead to some weird audio artifacts, presumably from switching AI vs player train. This was somewhat present in TSW1, but it seems more pronounced now - The GP38 is missing the click sound when moving the reverser from N to R, but it works for N to F. - (Continued bug from TSW1) You can still hear things in the cab at volume levels you shouldn't. For example, start a service on SPG where you have a AC4400 leading, and an SD40 trailing. In the cab, with windows/doors closed, the SD40 engine audio is heard much louder than it should be, and it drowns out the audio of the AC4400. Or go to "cumberland switchback" go to the turn table, start up the AC4400 and the SD40, and same thing. Also really noticeable on Penn Corridor. - The MP36 in penn corridor also has no cab isolation for audio (opening windows/doors) doesn't do anything. And the engine audio is wayyyy to quiet. I know its preserved collection, but I hope this is also something that can be fixed.
Yeah there's a fairly big audio bug, prevalent on US locomotives. Here's what I have deducted - The audio mode doesn't switch to the correct "compartment/position" of the player. When you switch to exterior camera - the audio is supposed to get louder, like you're next to the train. However, sometimes when you switch back to interior camera, the audio levels stay the same, it doesn't get "muffled" like it's supposed to. Opening doors/windows has no effect on audio volume like it should. If you keep switching between the exterior and interior cameras, the audio levels remain. I have found that switching to 8 camera, and getting some distance away from the locomotive than switching back to 1 occasionally tends to fix it and when you switch you can hear the audio levels going down. Now, when you open the window the engine sound/audio actually get louder. I've noticed this on PC and SPG, and it was like this in TSW2020 as well, but the audio failed to switch rarely, now it fails almost all the time, and sometimes I have to switch between cameras like 10 times to get it right.
I believe Dovetail need to invest in a license for either FMOD or Wwise as an audio solution. I watched the credits in-game and didn't see any audio engine plug-in listed in their licensing section, so I'm assuming they're still using UE4's built-in audio system, which doesn't really seem to be cutting it.
