I was just reading the PC forums with the usual complaints and moans; mine among them, and switched to a YouTube video while I was on the phone. It was a simple vid of trainspotting at Koln and then Aachen. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnmVmlt3x6fYmfLy-qfLF8Q As I watched the second half, (6-7mins in) I realised what an excellent job Matt and his team had done. Yes we all want perfection, but for a software program they have made a really good attempt. It can only get better. Sometimes we forget to appreciate what we have. This is someone who played the very first flight sim in Dos on a black screen with white lines. We've come a long way.
To be fair, bugs and issues aside, TSW is a beautiful looking game. So much detail. It really is a pleasure looking at the scenery as you drive by. It has huge potential to be an awesome product and I do really enjoy playing it.
We get to drive trains. Lots and lots of different trains. Yes there are bugs and issues . . . life is like that too. But I get hours and hours of pleasure from this game and have been around long enough to compare what we have today with the early days of TS. I must say, I am truly grateful for what Matt and his group have accomplished -- warts and all.
I join the congratulations. More than once I get frustrated, but I love this game. Sometimes I'd like to go in and lick these beautiful freight cars.
Agreed wholeheartedly. We all see the bugs, but many (I suspect most) of us choose to get on and enjoy the game we love. Life's too short to do otherwise, especially these days.
Without doubt, the new Köln-Aachen route is an excellent new starting point. ICE's sounds are a big step forward if compared to preserve collection train sounds (levers, engine, etc). On ICE all looks amazing. The only suggestion I feel to do to DTG is to always looking forward. New important step will be to develop and apply a trains precedences system in timetable mode. Cause RE, ICE, freight services (and IC too) runs on the same line. And we will like to see an RE who stop at the station (or a freight train along the line, in a different "temporary" track) and give precedence to an ICE or IC train. This feature will be also the key to add more services along the railway (and also a more immersive experience). At the moment DTG use the strategy to alternate ICE and RE services. 1 ICE every 2 hours. That is a big limit for the train traffic along the line (especially with the freight trains added).
I‘d like to chime in as well. I only played MSTS before TSW as I lacked the hardware for TS. When I finally found TSW (2019 I think) on PS4 it completely reignited my love for trains and it completely blew me away (after all I could only compare it to MSTS and that is like comparing a smartphone to the very first computers). Well done, DTG! TSW may not be perfect but nothing is.
To be accurate - the strategy used at the moment is "find the real timetable, and reproduce it as much as possible, as closely as possible". So on Koln for example, every ICE service and every RE service in the game is from the real timetable, timed and pathed accordingly, HRR is the same. Fortunately DB provide a great web portal for accessing timetable data (it's public) which includes all trains from and to any station and all the platforms they route to - so the first step in timetable creation is drawing that information into a giant set of spreadsheets from which to calculate actual train movements that coincide with the times noted on the timetable. Ideally in the future the game will support things like looping slow trains to allow service re-ordering for high priority ones but that's actually really complicated to try and dynamically programme (it's humans that do that in real life). Where they normally stop for holding points that's doable as long as we can spot it - e.g. Peninsula Corridor has a number of trains in either direction that hold and wait for a bullet to go past before they are allowed out of their platform. Thanks for all the great feedback folks, we're really glad you're enjoying it and continue to do our best to do even better with each release! Matt.
This is very true! I’d say even more so for the players on consoles. DTG are the first and only developers to make a Train simulator for consoles. Without TSW I would not have had a chance to enjoy this hobby!
I agree, while the bugs can be frustrating at times, and there are certain things in the game we'd all like changed, it really is an amazing game with so much potential. If you can get passed the issues, like most of us have, it is really enjoyable to play, whether immersing yourself in the game or just watching the scenery go by. To repeat the title - Well Done DTG!
The past few days, I've been playing a lot of Main-Spessart Bahn. There's one service that only goes from Gemunden to Lohr, stops for ten minutes, and then heads back. The whole route takes about 20 minutes to drive. It's an adorably small consist of a DoStos cab car, one passenger car, and a DB BR 146.2 for traction. Driving this little train back and forth, chasing green-yellow signals, seeing a number of freight and passenger services go past each way, and following larger 5-car passenger consists on their way to Gemunden or Aschaffenburg is great and I absolutely love it!
Let me correct my aim, During the "Aachen Turnaround" scenario we have a great example of precedence. In fact, at Solberg Hbf we have the red aspect because before leaving for Aachen we have to let an ICE pass. The thing that surprised me is that freight services (in broad daylight) run along the main line (a high-speed line Düren-Köln or fast line between Aachen-Düren) for about 62km without ever having to give priority to any passenger service. And that, in a real fast line, would slow traffic down a lot. This is why 1) strategic or night time schedules are used, 2) high-speed freight services are used or will be used in the next future. I agree, on Peninsula Corridor, I noticed frequently precedence stops at Lawrence and at Bayshore stations. And that looks great. It does not matter if they are not dynamic (I understand the complexity and limitations related to the hardware) what matters is that, even if fixed, they exist.
And that is why I love “Service” or “Timetable” mode, because in TS Classic I hardly ever played the default scenarios, preferring to create my own from the TT (using Realtime Trains) with accurate AI etc this is what I would love to see in Scenario Planner going forward, with a schedule and the opportunity for overtaking etc. Going back with some positivity, 18 months ago, I never played any German route in TSW or TS classic, it was always UK only for me, as it’s what I knew! Of course what helped was my interest in German railways having travelling there frequently for the last few years now. DTG through TSW2 have done so well with the German DLC and preserved collection (apart from the odd PZB bug) I prefer to play German content now, even becoming very familiar with PZB/Sifa/LZB etc Main-Spessart Bahn for the scenery, HRR for the variety and Köln-Aachen for the ICE, shows what DTG can do!
Slightly off topic but I remember Nightflight on the ZX Spectrum, my first flight Sim. Incidentally I am loving TSW2, from a developer that doesn't have the resources of EA or Activision, and a product that doesn't have a massive target audience I think what they have done is stunning.
DTG has done a great job. I'm happy. I am a loyal fan of this simulator. I am looking forward to new works. The expectations are high. I intend to collect a complete collection.
I disagree, I don't want perfection, I'd be satisfied with authentic. However, I love the interaction with your own train, especially some of the freight scenario's on NRR, love to see more of these in other routes? Despite my critique, I do enjoy playing it and I look forward to the sim evolving.
I'd like to thank DTG to release a train sim on console. It enabled me to try something I can't do in real life: experience the day of a real driver without going through the mundane. I like that it is not only the happy case that modelled, but sometimes the "annoying" wait for the signal to turn green. I would also like to thank for the detailed scenery. Sometimes I like stopping and enjoying the countryside or the sunset. For me there are more to a simulator than just driving. For me the level of complexity is just enough, I don't want another job and learning manuals. If I break it, I know it is because I refuse to learn how to operate it. I actually like the challenge. Although a more detailed manual would help me "cheat". Although I am a casual simmer, I enjoy "close" to authentic behaviour. And I'd like to thank the crew to keep the forums civil so it is possible to learn new and interesting things about trains.
The locomotives models at TSW are great. Very complex, full of interaction. More manual activities! Now, this illusion of walking around is, in my opinion, a very big advantage of TSW and it should be emphasized and developed. I remember those beginnings of HH SPG only - but that I can leave the cabin? Shock!
I get so much enjoyment out of this game, despite any of the bugs I think it’s just tons of fun to play.
I spent well over an hour yesterday just wondering around the TVL route and jumping on a train as a passenger occasionally. I didn't even drive a train and still very much enjoyed the experience. I enjoy discovering the little details. I think it is nice to read something positive for a change, yes everything is not perfect but I find TSW to be a very enjoyable experience overall.
Oops my bad! RSN! I really like the drop off these wagons and then go and hook up to some more and drop them off elsewhere type scenario's. I think that particular one is a timetabled one.
I’m definitely still enjoying my time with TSW 2020 at this point... with enough unexplored purchased routes for it to keep me busy for quite awhile. Lately I’ve been getting back to the Hamilton Explorer free-roam scenario in Oakville Sub, getting ready to put together a manifest train there using available stock. I still have my two unit trains configured in this scenario (a 4x1 MU grain train + a 2x2 DPU oil train)- I decided it’s time to put together manifest train to go with them! Some of the highlights in TSW 2020 that stand out for me include: - the ability to explore US, Canadian, UK and German routes... both passenger and freight ops supported in most routes - spectator/rail-fan mode... have really enjoyed this mode, it’s a great way to take a break from my tedious/challenging engineer duties - ability to create fully functional MU and DPU trains in Oakville Sub (think I got a UP DPU test train up and running in Peninsula Corridor too) - functional HOTD/EOTD devices in Oakville (can trip EOTD emerg stop from head of train) - really nice ambient sounds in some of the smaller stations in some of the German routes (birds, car traffic, church bells)... my wife noticed this too! - very happy that all four seasons are modeled, including weather variables... especially like the simulated rain with an overcast sky - finally, I’ve also enjoyed searching for collectables in some of the routes... and that searching has given me a real appreciation for the amount of work that goes into creating the scenery for these routes- especially the German ones So yeah, thank you DTG for making all of the above possible in TSW 2020... despite some nagging issues, I’m glad I have this sim and pretty much spend some amount of time on it every day.
With the addition of the preserved collection to TSW 2 I've been enjoying revisiting some of the earlier routes. I had forgotten how much fun it is just to go for a walk along the line in the game. there are so many interesting bits to see.
This is what happens on HRR. Parallel run on different lines (20secs vid) this happen frequently. Like in a real railway (AI trains only). Majestic and complex timetable on HRR. Köln-Aachen, artistically is on a superior level, there are improvements all around, it's almost a completely new game. But, like I wrote above, if we talking focused on trains traffic, we will notice that all the SKA traffic between Köln and Aachen (High Speed, passenger RE1, RE9 and Freight) is focused only on TWO TRACKS, ONE FOR DIRECTION (Also if between Köln and Düren we got two different parallel lines, all trains run exclusively over the High Speed line). So I suppose this is only a "temporary" timetable, and the plan is to left the space to the new trains that comes with the new TSW2 routes/add-ons. Trains with LZB feature, not preserved.
I love the game as well. It's great I can't wait for the WSR, GWE and NTP to be added they're my favourite routes but I have a few questions. 1. Why on is the sky so white. On the TVL is was blinding going towards Darlington (not the sun)? 2. Will we be able to edit liveries on the preserved collection one day? This doesn't take away how great the game is and how much better it will be in the future. I would like to know why as I don't believe it was like that in TSW if it was in remembering wrong but overall I love the game and it has brought me hours and hours of entertainment. Big thanks to all the Devs at DTG
I think people forget that programming does take time and it’s working that into an 8 hour shift. In any job. And for 24.99 you really can’t complain, there is a real noticeable improvement with TSW2 so kudos for moving all of TSW1 bar NEC over to TSW2, to be fair a new NEC with the Acela would probably be better! As I’d love to be able to walk around the cab of one, and the coaches. The underground is amazing and I hope for more as majority of lines are within the limit so far of TSW, whether there is a true limit we shall see! What I hope for is inclusion of Armstrong Powerhouse, Matt, these guys really need access to the helping with sounds, and we pay a little extra.
I fully agree. There are so many thing to enjoy in this game. Bugs should be fixed and yes we want improvements, but do not forget to enjoy what we got right now. Some of the amazing TSW features are just taken for granted, but they are not. And there are details probably few people have noticed, but that were crafted with a lot of joy. My favourite example are the sounds of the semaphore signals at WSR. They are there, but did you ever hear them? or the Sandpatch windmills turinng if there is wind only (not sure yet if this survived the upgrade).