Why Can’t Routes Be Longer?

3rd party though, so it isnt binded as hard from development time as DTGs own 1st party routes, which is a factor in longer routes from DTG themselves.

 

I would rather have less routes but more longer and higher quality routes instead

 

Yeah, but corporate higher ups have more pull, which obviously influences deadlines on routes.

 

They are need to start actually listening to the community and allow more time for stuff to be made well, like who is going to buy a half finished route (as in missing textures, bad audio and broken physics) with a ton of bugs

 

You're in the distinct minority. Whenever roadmaps come out, there is incessant whining about "how few routes there are!"
Now imagine it's half as many routes.
Do you seriously think that'll go over better?

 

If they are better and longer then yes!, people are more willing to buy for better content, it’s the reason why just trains and train sim Germany are so popular and loved by the community

Quality over quantity

 

Those aren't that "long" though (in the context of this thread)
It's also near the top of what people are willing to pay for video games DLC.
Double the size means double the cost, and half as many routes.
I just don't see that being a big selling point for most of the player base.
As always yes there are a few outliers and you are proving Matt's point... 3rd parties are the one to ask for different content, not DTG directly. It's not just length per se, it's also cost. Not just for the company, but for the customers.
As I said, paying double for a "longer" route is pushing it.
People already whinge over paying $30.
Quite a few will only touch the higher stuff on sale.
When that jumps to $80-90 for a route (or more).... sales drop off.
Other games have seen that phenomenon too.
There's a disposable income spending limit.
Varies by person, but few will throw $90 at a DLC.
Ironically they will pay $30 three times before they spend $90 once.
It's human nature.

 

Or maybe the reason why people are complaining about routes being £30 has something to do with only getting a small route like Cardiff city which is pretty short for £30 and there’s many like it that are short or have really dumb end points + missing rolling stock

 

I see, so there's nothing stopping longer routes but it's more of a gamble on the sales side of things.
I understand that dtg have to make money and can't gamble it all on a continuous production of longer routes. Although I wish dtg would occasionally take a gamble on something a bit longer.
Maybe a once in a year or every couple of years. I understand that going thru densely populated areas takes up more time than going thru the countryside. I'm sure players wouldn't mind some more scenic routes.
I'm only speaking for myself here, as the shorter routes are sometimes a little cheaper, I would happily pay extra for something that's taken up more development time. Maybe others would too.
Maybe the intentions are to leave this sort of thing to third parties from now on?
Jt's Preston to Carlisle was a steal at 32.99, I would say it would still be the case at 39.99.

 

Speaking of long routes, I think Frankfurt-Köln would sell like hot cakes. It has many intermediate stops along the way, where each ICE service has different stopping patterns (Limburg Süd, Montabauer, Siegburg/Bonn). Because TSC can´t handle the gradients of the route, it´s the only route that will never be done in TSC. I´m sure many TSC Players, who have some version of TSW sleeping on the hard drive, would pick this one up. Köln is in game, Frankfurt and Airport are in game, so they can reuse all those assets. The Schnellfahrstrecke also has no branches, that people would be asking for. It´s a very straightforward, but interesting run because of high density of ICE trains and the different stopping patterns. New train for the route could be BR 407 or ICE Neo. For the local commuter Hennef could be added (one station after Siegburg). That would allow players to drive the full S12 and S19 by using the route hopping feature in Köln Hbf and carry on the journing to Horrem and Aachen. Only downside beeing having no freight action in this add-on.
If you want a long German route, that would appeal to many... I think this is the one.

 

Thanks for your reply... That´s good to hear. I think it would check many boxes. I know for sure it would be one, even TSC players would be picking up, because it can´t be done for TSC. I´ve been on Frankfurt-Köln in real life many times and it´s an impressive highspeed run with those crazy "rollercoaster like" gradients and the stops in rural areas along the way.

 

One of the problems with "Bus stop routes" is that the developers (all of them) pay little attention to the margins of the route. The bits on either end, of at junctions or yards, where a bit of extra interest could have been added. GOBLIN, Glossop and EDN-GLA (not sure if this is a bus stop route though) are particular examples where the complete dearth of paths provided with the initial release effectively stops anyone with a bit of creativity from making something a bit more exciting.

In GOBLIN there is Ripple Lane, in Glossop there is Piccadilly and the goods lines towards Guide Bridge and in EDN-GLA there is Haymarket (possibly the poorest depot ever modelled), Eastfield, various loops & junctions and Bo'ness steam railway all of which could've been opened up to be easily used in scenarios and timetables. Now it requires use of the unofficial editor and hours of work to bring these areas back into play but, of course, only for PC Players. A couple of extra hours work by the developer and almost every route could have been improved no end which would go some way to satisfying some of the complaints regularly seen on here.

Longer routes are, of course, exactly the same but, I guess, you don't notice the problem so much because you are able to drive your train for longer before getting to the end?

Two quick points to end on;
1) I guess TSW6 will confirm one way or the other which direction DTG are moving in with regards to this debate.
2) Surely the true definition of a "bus stop" route is that it is one that requires the player to use 'double decker' stock
(I'll get my coat).

 

That's what Third Parties are for.

 

Why can't it be done for TSC?

 

I don't think they would be that close necessarily. But inevitably of wcml gets modern routes upto to Preston I don't think there's anything in it for most people to then make a whole new route with modern scenery for Overshap.

Your example definitely wouldn't fly, but if the North is backdated and the south is modern its more reasonable to have something like the gwe great western for the modern part, atleast I think that would be better than the other two options of A. A whole new modern version cannibalising older content B. Leaving full line runs with modern traction to be done on freemode only.

TSC has a vibrant scene of backdated scenarios on modern looking routes and vis versa. As long as its done sensibly it hink it would bring a lot to the game.

 

It shouldn't be left to third parties though. Dtg have made some decent routes over the years and should keep up the good work. Apart from just trains, third parties have been making the same short routes some people don't want. Well apart from rivet, who I'd be surprised if they even bother again after the backlash they get.

 

Why not?
DTG didn't want to do 80s routes.
Just Trains and TSG have stepped up.
That's the advantage of third parties.
They can take risks and specialize.
DTG focuses on the core and filling in the "easy to sell" to stay in business.
The system appears to work.
It was similar with TSC, although there it's even less DTG routes and even more just core support.
Honestly if there were enough third party developers, that's the ideal situation for DTG.
Would probably improve the core game overall if they could focus on that.

There's no reason most routes have to be in house at DTG.
It's just been that way because there aren't enough third party developers interested to take up the bulk.