Rail Quest
Member
That was unexpected haha. I actually can't make my mind up on this one bizarrely as they (the trees) do look quite good. At least it's not clouds I suppose... Sounds like something to wait for a sale to get probs
-
Our booking engine at tickets.railforums.co.uk (powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!
Train Simulator 2021
- Thread starter Flange Squeal
- Start date
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R
RailUK Forums
Purple Train
Established Member
Conveniently, they have just had a sale!
FrodshamJnct
Established Member
Not really out of nowhere - there was a quite obvious clue in their last newsletter. Looks great to me.
Purple Train
Established Member
Is the newsletter freely available?
(And it wasn't announced on social media - I coincidentally checked about an hour before release!)
PacerTrain142
On Moderation
It’s all getting a bit silly now. The weather and track enhancements were good but now I think they’ve gone a bit overboard with the cloud, signal and now vegetation enhancement packs. What next, a bridge enhancement pack? An overhead wires enhancement pack? Feels like they’re just making stuff just to make money off people. The cloud enhancement pack uses 18 GB of hard drive space and for that reason alone makes it a total deal breaker for me as I just do not have the storage space. I’d much rather spend my money on some good looking and nice sounding trains (like the new class 142) rather than some pretty clouds or grass.
At the end of the day, if you want a good looking train sim, you might as well just buy train sim world 4, which will be a lot cheaper than buying all these enhancement packs.
FrodshamJnct
Established Member
Yes, just go on their website and subscribe, it’s pretty good so worth it if you’re a fan of their products.
Purple Train
Established Member
Despite my grumblings I am a fan so thanks for the tip
FrodshamJnct
Established Member
Bought the veg pack and had a go tonight. Worth every penny. TS has never looked so good.
Purple Train
Established Member
You're right. That does look amazing! Seems fairly reasonably priced as well
PacerTrain142
On Moderation
I agree it looks good, however, for the amount of time I play it, it’s simply not worth me buying all these enhancement packs, plus id Rather spend my money on trains rather than some pretty clouds or trees. If I want good graphics I can play train sim world. It would be good if they did a deal where you get a discount if you buy all the enhancement packs at once.You're right. That does look amazing! Seems fairly reasonably priced as well
Silver Cobra
Member
Alan Thomson Sim already have that field covered:
Overhead Live Electrification Pack (OHLE Pack) – Alan Thomson Simulation
alanthomsonsim.com
Though I guess it doesn't stop Armstrong Powerhouse making a rival product
FrodshamJnct
Established Member
Alan Thomson Sim already have that field covered:
Overhead Live Electrification Pack (OHLE Pack) – Alan Thomson Simulation
Though I guess it doesn't stop Armstrong Powerhouse making a rival product
I can understand this view, but I think a route with the added AP track, cloud, weather, signal and vegetation packs looks brilliant. TSC is still the far more immersive simulator and will be for a fair while. The main limitation of TSW is lack of variety. Driving a route you’ll see a few different locos and units to the one you’re driving, but much more so in TSC.
Rail Quest
Member
Apologies for diverting the conversation a bit but I thought it was worth mentioning that TSRollingStock have released v2.0 of their JGA-K wagon pack to include the older style variants of the wagons and better textures. Its an insanely good pack, even if it was pay ware let alone freeware! More refined overall and still compatible with AP (Old) Wagon Sound pack.
www.trainsimcommunity.com
Here's a screenshot I took earlier:
JGA-K Wagon Pack v2.0 - Train Sim Community
www.trainsimcommunity.com
Here's a screenshot I took earlier:
FrodshamJnct
Established Member
Couple of releases this week.
ATS have just released their Mk5 sleeper coach pack - https://alanthomsonsim.com/product/mk5-sleeper-coach-pack/
AP also released their class 318 pack - https://www.armstrongpowerhouse.com/class_318_electric_multiple_unit_pack
ATS have just released their Mk5 sleeper coach pack - https://alanthomsonsim.com/product/mk5-sleeper-coach-pack/
AP also released their class 318 pack - https://www.armstrongpowerhouse.com/class_318_electric_multiple_unit_pack
PacerTrain142
On Moderation
There's an AP sale on currently. Bought the class 150, HST Valenta and VP 185 packs and the weather enhancement pack.
www.facebook.com
Armstrong Powerhouse
Armstrong Powerhouse. 8,029 likes · 601 talking about this. Purveyors of quality Train Simulator add-ons. For any support queries, please use the Contact Us form
www.facebook.com
I quite like driving the trains with tread brakes, like the 150 and the 205 (thumper). Just got to be a bit more cautious when approaching stations. I make sure to start braking in plenty of time, and tend to use heavier braking at higher speeds ie step 2 and full service, bringing it down to step 1 below 10 mph for a nice smooth stop. Very easy to get caught out if you're approaching a station on a downhill slope in poor weather conditions though.Subsequent to adding tread brake simulation to the various 150 and 156 packs, tonight Armstrong Powerhouse has announced it is now added to the 37 packs, plus the Class 50, 86 and 87.
Given how hopeless I find myself with the realistic tread brake simulation on the Sprinter packs at only 75mph, bringing an InterCity Express down from 100mph on tread brakes is going to be real fun! Is 2 miles going to be enough distance!?!
365 Networker
Member
- Joined
- 19 Jul 2019
- Messages
- 408
A shame the standard Mk5s aren’t included.
Monty
Established Member
- Joined
- 12 Jun 2012
- Messages
- 2,352
Drogba11CFC
Member
- Joined
- 15 Sep 2009
- Messages
- 868
Isn't that the Dorset Coast Route?
Wivenswold
Established Member
I realise that it's got nothing on TSC but it looks like the next UK route for TSW will be Gospel Oak to Barking Riverside with a Class 710 which is a route I'm looking forward to as I'm not a fan of Turbostars and driving a 2 car DMU around London in the TSC version.
I do hope they find a creative way to make Barking feel busy. I'd use TSW more if the routes didn't feel so lifeless, hopefully the excellent Just Trains Blackpool route will kick all the other TSW route builders up the behind.
I do hope they find a creative way to make Barking feel busy. I'd use TSW more if the routes didn't feel so lifeless, hopefully the excellent Just Trains Blackpool route will kick all the other TSW route builders up the behind.
Rail Quest
Member
Isn't the GOBLIN really short? Hopefully that means it's cheaper. It's this kind of thing that continues to put me off TSW and why I've sticked to TSC so far. You just don't get as much for your money, which is saying something given how poor value for money a lot of first and third party TSC DLC is these days
Would be cool to see the 710 put into TSC!
Wivenswold
Established Member
Agree with all of that. It's just over 13 miles but it's a 40 minute trip so it won't seem as short as some others. But yes, the routes are much shorter in TSW which feels like a backward step and a rip-off. I find TSC so much more immersive. I'm hoping that, like the Glossop Line release, this is a small route to fill the gap before a larger project is announced. Maybe we're finally getting an AC commuter route, very soon we'll have Rainham to East Ham Depot modelled so C2C would make sense.
I'd love to see the 710 and a 720 in TSC. I love driving trains with huge windscreens.
I'd love to see the 710 and a 720 in TSC. I love driving trains with huge windscreens.
Melancholia
Member
JustTrains has released today the Wessex Main Line: Southampton - Salisbury Extension for Dovetail Games South Western Main Line: Southampton - Bournemouth Route, which features a vastly updated Class 165/166.
Last edited:
FrodshamJnct
Established Member
And 17 scenarios chucked in all for £24.99. Well worth it.
Melancholia
Member
That too, very much worth it.
I mainly bought the route for the 165/166 upgrade, so I had a play around with it a little bit, and despite some shortfalls (mainly the horn sound is quite poor), it's ok, definitely much better than the original that has aged like milk. There are proper power/brake notches now, physics seem much better, but don't expect this to be at the level of Armstrong Powerhouse and their enhancement packs, or even DMU packs.
Silver Cobra
Member
Two new additions have arrived at Alan Thomson Sim. The first is the Class 745 FLIRT:
alanthomsonsim.com
The second is the enhanced Great Eastern Main Line (named the GEMMA Phase One):
alanthomsonsim.com
The Class 745 is a payware add-on, costing £37.99 (£29.99 for those with ATS subscriptions), while the GEMMA is a subscription download, meaning you need an active ATS subscription to download it and any updates released over time.
I personally don't have either of these as yet, but I do plan to get them eventually. I've been looking forward to the release of the Class 745 in TSC, and am hoping that it will soon be joined by the Class 755 as well.
Alan Thomson Simulation Class 745 FLIRT – Alan Thomson Simulation
alanthomsonsim.com
The second is the enhanced Great Eastern Main Line (named the GEMMA Phase One):
ATS The Great Eastern Mainline GEMMA – Phase One – Alan Thomson Simulation
alanthomsonsim.com
The Class 745 is a payware add-on, costing £37.99 (£29.99 for those with ATS subscriptions), while the GEMMA is a subscription download, meaning you need an active ATS subscription to download it and any updates released over time.
I personally don't have either of these as yet, but I do plan to get them eventually. I've been looking forward to the release of the Class 745 in TSC, and am hoping that it will soon be joined by the Class 755 as well.
Last edited:
Rail Quest
Member
What an absolute joke of a price tag. I really hope people realise how much of a scam that is in comparison not just to the rest of the TSC third-party dev space, but in the context of the wider gaming industry.
We're edging towards triple A game prices for DLCs for addons that are, in my opinion, only a marginal improvement on previous releases such as the 185.
From what I have seen of the product, its a feature-full release with many cool additions but non of which are anywhere near as transformative as I would expect from charging 8 quid more than AP's ask for the 411/412.
If people want examples of reasonable prices for addons, I suggest looking at the likes of PLD/Caledonian Works who've charged high, but none the less justified price tags for high quality steam locomotives. Theoretically, I would expect these two companies to be performing far better financially than the likes of ATS/AP as these high price tags should only be deterring people from buying, especially given the struggles of households these days. I also wonder if the hilariously low frequency of releases from AP/ATS is contributing to them hiking prices.
I heavily discourage people from falling for any marketing that suggests that a single train for a 15 year old game is worth the same price as many entire games.
Trying to think of EMU add-on I would spend £37.99 on. After a 10th of a second later.. the answer is none.
Rail Quest
Member
Reminds me of a wolf of wall street bit...
"Twenty three thousand dollars in EMUs!? What do they do, cure cancer?"
ATS: "The EMUs did cure cancer that was the problem"
Purple Train
Established Member
Not only is the price tag three times as much as what a multiple unit add-on cost back when I started playing, but all the fancy gizmos seem to have distracted them from things like the way the train looks. It's way too clean, it looks a little cartoonish (the lines don't seem sharp enough) and a bit too squat.
I love trains, and have not much more than antipathy towards buses, but am preferring OMSI 2 to Train Simulator at the minute because there is a wealth of free stuff that requires little or no paid DLC (possibly aided by the fact that I'm considerably more pedantic with trains and aim where possible for the correct train and correct route).
I'm not suggesting that they should make all their stuff free - but charging £25 each for five products a year (AP) or having some free stuff, but it requires a load of paid stuff, oh and you'll need an extortionate subscription for this bit (ATS) is too far the other way in my opinion.
I've looked forward to both a Stadler and a new Great Eastern for ages - if they ended up releasing an Aventra as well, I'd probably play no other route! - but, given the way they've been done, I'll probably end up with neither.
I love trains, and have not much more than antipathy towards buses, but am preferring OMSI 2 to Train Simulator at the minute because there is a wealth of free stuff that requires little or no paid DLC (possibly aided by the fact that I'm considerably more pedantic with trains and aim where possible for the correct train and correct route).
I'm not suggesting that they should make all their stuff free - but charging £25 each for five products a year (AP) or having some free stuff, but it requires a load of paid stuff, oh and you'll need an extortionate subscription for this bit (ATS) is too far the other way in my opinion.
I've looked forward to both a Stadler and a new Great Eastern for ages - if they ended up releasing an Aventra as well, I'd probably play no other route! - but, given the way they've been done, I'll probably end up with neither.
computerSaysNo
Member
- Joined
- 14 Dec 2018
- Messages
- 1,172
On the other hand, the target market size for Train Simulator content is very small, so publishers have fewer sales to spread the development cost over. The cost of living has gone up so that may also have contributed to the costings of content.
My main complaint is routes being created where those journeys already exist in Train Simulator at a decent quality. We've now got two Fife Circles, two London to Ipswich, two Gospel Oak to Barking, two London to Brighton, at least two Bristol to Cardiff, two London to Kent High Speed, etc etc. But nothing in southwest/central-west Wales, nothing in the northeast or north-central of Scotland, nothing in the south west of Scotland (apart from Port Road). I've noticed Train Sim World in particular is bad for this.
My main complaint is routes being created where those journeys already exist in Train Simulator at a decent quality. We've now got two Fife Circles, two London to Ipswich, two Gospel Oak to Barking, two London to Brighton, at least two Bristol to Cardiff, two London to Kent High Speed, etc etc. But nothing in southwest/central-west Wales, nothing in the northeast or north-central of Scotland, nothing in the south west of Scotland (apart from Port Road). I've noticed Train Sim World in particular is bad for this.