PlayStation Tsw6 Disc Edition

PS5 version of TSW5 on disc was released roughly 3 months after the digital edition last year - I preordered it as soon as it was live and it was despatched on 3rd December. It would be nice if this year if the delay was lessened or indeed eliminated (though getting Goblin for free was nice).

I know you can't say anything about release dates in general DTG Matt DTG JD DTG Alex , but would you be able to say anything about whether the disc version of TSW6 will be day and date with digital, or how long a delay should be expected?

Thanks muchly

 

Cheers for the fast response Matt. I think these days a day 1 patch is pretty much expected, so assuming a 3 month lead time from code submission to disc mastering to shipping, would mean submission in mid June (assuming TSW6 will be out in its usual September timeframe). I don't recall the patch download for the three TSW5 base routes being particularly onerous, perhaps 500MB each? How much data download would be needed from the delta between the June version and the day 1 version I obviously couldn't say, but personally I'd rather have a day 1 download and simultaneous release with disc and digital, than have a smaller download but 3 month wait. Fully aware that the decisions on this are out of your hands though

 

I hope this years we have a physical edition on Xbox, even if in my opinion it won't sadly.

 

Thanks for the explanation, its certainly an interesting insight into the development process. The only thing I would say is its obviously frustrating for the end user that desires the physical version, as there aren't many games that don't have both digital and physical releases available on the same release date, even within Focus - Roadcraft was out physical same day as digital (though that trend is changing a little, hello Microsoft)

My assumption for other developers/publishers is that a game is declared "gold" at some definitive date, and that version is sent for mastering, with the remaining ~3 months used to prepare the day 1 patch, beta testing, ironing out bugs and the like. Do you think this is ever likely to happen with TSW to align with Focus strategy for their other titles?

 

I like these kinds of threads, they give good insight into the dev side of the game.

Which trains was that that were not finished yet Matt? xD

 

That will be the little Feldbahn loco for the Yugoslavia Ohrid narrow gauge line.

 

What's with streaming things?
Not like making it mandatory, but i.e. MSFS does it, and for those who have a good internet, it works really well. I know it's a limitation, but why not make it a keep it like the classics or you can choose to stream.
You have basic internet pretty much everywhere these days, and with handhelds like the Steam Deck or similar devices getting more hype I don't think people should underestimate the abilities of streaming things.

And if it's not graphics, it might not be large files to be streamed

 

First off patching is very different from streaming, former's a one off download you need to do once and can use offline at any point afterwards. The latter means you have to stream data constantly from the server and actively need to be online. Granted it kind of doesn't matter all that much in this particular case, either way it negates the only reason to own a game physically, if you have to download anyways for it to be playable if basically just becomes a digital game where you have to put a disc/cartridge in for no reason. I haven't bought PC games physically so long, and I'm very selective of purchases on my Switch/Switch 2 as well for those reason.

Since you mention it though I'll address streaming itself, which I can personally say the two key reasons I don't do it.

1: Streaming works fine until it doesn't, case and point MSFS 2024's launch, or before that the 2020's outage due to CrowdStrike. All streaming or any cloud based product really boils down to is using your PC to access someone else's PC. And if those company's PCs have issues, or worse decide your product just isn't making enough money and shut them down you're just SOL. Physical, or downloaded software is better in this regard, as even if support's withdrawn you'll at least have the games on standby, ready to play as long as the data exists. As someone that has gamed on my PC to past the time during extend internet outages, and owns a handheld partially as a "just in case" for power outages, I (and I'm sure many others) greatly value that.

2: Local playback of anything's just better in terms of visual quality and latency. That's why gaming hasn't really switched to streaming that quickly, and is also why there's still a niche but dedicated community toward Blu-ray despite all the value streaming provides, you just can't beat the image quality that provides. Heck, look at how many diss the Series S, and that isn't even streaming, lot of people care about visuals, and streaming just isn't a viable replacement for that crowd.

You say that, but streaming ain't the best use for those sorts of system, if you want to do that frankly you can just use a smartphone and buy a cheap controller for it. The whole point of having a gaming system with dedicated hardware in it is to actually have a fairly powerful system that can run games locally on the go. In large part because going to random places on public wi-fi isn't the most reliable experience. Maybe you're lucky and can do that, but I can attest that even in my own damn house I have dead spots where I can't really get good connections. You can't convince me that I want to rely solely on public wi-fi of all things to access my games. Plus there's other things like security concerns you have to think about which makes needing to rely on wi-fi kind of unappealing.

 

Still building the walkable Dawlish sea wall, then Matt?! Or the yachts we can sail up and down the Exe estuary while watching the trains go by.

I’ll get my clotted cream ice cream…

 

If only that would turn out to be true maybe with a Class 50 and Valenta HST just to make it perfect.

 

DLOGW2. Though one of the main reasons I’m looking forward to the GWE remaster is being able to run with the cab doors open on the HST. MTU not as pleasant to listen to as the Valenta but close your eyes and imagine it’s a Blue Pullman!

 

What did we get with TSW5 in terms of routes?
We got very poor routes and trains with TSW5, some of which still don't work properly today.

And when I read your statement that nothing has been completed yet, that means it will once again be finished at the last minute, and the beta testers will once again be the people who buy these routes or whatever.

When I read something like that, I can already imagine what the outcome will be.

 

TSW6 won't be coming out till probably September or October, and considering it's still mid July, I'd be surprised if it was finished yet

 

Two and a half months (or around 10 weeks) is not a great deal of time to test and snag content, unless of course it will get pushed back later - maybe the end of October or early November. I would certainly prefer to wait an extra three of four weeks and get something nicely polished, unlike the disaster WCMLS was and still pretty much is (tunnels made and textured by an 8 year old, wrong AWS indications at numerous signals or even where no signal at all).

 

TSW5 was released on 17 September 2024, and the Deluxe Version was released on 12 September 2024!

And today is 17 July, and if TSW6 is also released in September, that's just two months away.

And so far, DTG has been messing with us every year, and we've been buying expensive versions every year. The free starter pack was only available for the first time with TSW5.

And how do you plan to get everything ready, then do beta testing, then fix bugs? Oh no, like every year, the bugs will probably only be fixed sometime after release.

 

Would have thought the obligatory Class 66 and Dostos ould have already been completed at this point, we might be onto something big here