Last time I did a "review" was for Cornwall, so it's been a while. That being said, I have a lot more to say here, and a lot more positives than negatives. Wasting no further time, lets begin. Southeastern Highspeed Southeastern might easily be the best part of TSW3. It's taken an average at best route from TSW2, and made it something so much better. I've only done one full run so far, from Ashford to St. Pancras, calling only at Stratford. Firstly, the 395 is very enjoyable. The tweaks to it make it nicer, and I quite enjoy it. The 375 is great as well. Ashford, Ebbsfleet Int'l and Northfleet all happen to look very good, and the Ebbsfleet domestic platforms at night are wonderful. The HS1 upgrade between StP and Ebbsfleet adds more value to driving the 395 in terms of enjoyment, and the Static Stock around the place brings some life to it. As for the Ashford extension, the scenery is pleasant along the route, watching it fly past in the cab is very nice. The station itself is well made and the depot seems to be as well. The use of the TGV on HS1 is good, additionally. On my run from Ashford -> London I also got a bit of Dynamic Weather, although it was subtle. Leaving Ashford it was lightly showing, with hardly any blue in the sky, then, it cleared up until roughly Ebbsfleet, where the typical British weather returned and the sun went AWOL. I will be trying a bit more and update this post, however my ratings so far are: 395 - 8 375 - No opinion yet 495 - 10 Ldn to Faversham - No opinion yet Ashford Extension - 9 Dartford Extension - No opinion yet Overall - No total yet Kassel - Würzburg Over to Germany and it's Kassel - Würzburg. I took a run in the ICE1 earlier from Kassel to Fulda, and thoroughly enjoyed it. The scenery was - and I say this as no overstatement - stunning, and it was a very enjoyable drive in a fairly fun loco. On arrival to Fulda I was running early, so ended up running parallel to an ICE3 coming from another line ... until I accidentally applied my emergency brake, and by the time I got the train moving again, it was gone! Although a Dostos set came in to fill the void. Dynamic Weather did come in at Fulda with a spot of rain, however it was a nice sunny run most of the way, through the tunnels and the stunning valleys. Whilst I know bits about Southeastern, I'm not very knowledgeable on this route, so my ratings are solely my opinion: ICE 1 (401) - 7 ICE 3 (403) - 8 DB BR 185 - No opinion Route & Scenery* - 8.5 Stations** - 10 *Route and Scenery is, of course, referring to sections outside the tunnels, although tunnel lighting and whatnot does have an impact here. **Despite only driving Kassel - Fulda, I checked Würzburg out. LU Bakerloo Line Bakerloo Line, despite being a TSW2 route, is one I want to talk about here anyway. I could never really get into BKL with its old timetable. It was a very dead route, and the underground section didn't help, as your only indicator was the PIS, which at times was telling you times you'd expect from Northern. That being said, the new timetable is a massive upgrade. Trains are a constant, especially in the E&C <-> Queens Park section, and the Static and AI stock (including a sneaky 375) really gives the route a sense of life. As if it is actually in Central London. Timetable - 10 Route w/ Timetable - 8 Training Center Training Center is not something I will really go into much, just wanted to say how much I appreciate finally having a place to test trains out without restriction. Oh, and for a semi-fictional Test Track, the attention to detail and scenery quality is superb. Well done to Adam's team for this one. Others Cathcart Love to see the Rush Hour passengers added, really injects some life into much needed spots. Glasgow Central could do with more folk in the concourse but having more people around and about us good. In conclusion; Train Sim World 3. The third time really does seem to be the charm. Despite having it's issues, the game is a massive upgrade on TSW2. The Lighting on the core routes is far, far better. Lens adaptation looks brilliant, and the length and variety in routes leaves you with plenty to do. Out of 10, TSW3 takes a 9, for me.
