Western Pacific GP20 by Reppo

[TheOldDessauer]

Reppo has a reputation for making quality DLC. His creations include the original low-nose GP20, and the Baldwin Centipede. These locomotives are known for being highly detailed and realistic to operate. The Western Pacific GP20 continues this trend.

The Western Pacific GP20 looks beautiful inside and out. Textures look crisp and really bring out the exterior detail. Roof-top cooling fan blades are animated. Prime-mover exhaust output is variable and voluminous and looks good. Headlights, marker lamps, step lights, and number lights are all present and function independently of one another. Cab lights work. Windshield wipers are functional. Another cool feature is the animated brake rigging and brake pistons (nice attention to detail, which incidentally is available on the original GP20). Dynamic weather effects are included on the windows.

Unfortunately, cab doors and windows do not open (a minor quibble). Another missing feature is a the lack of dynamic snow effects, i.e., blowing snow chunks from the undercarriage and snow on walkways during winter weather scenarios; this is a curious omission on a locomotive that runs through a route that can have heavy snowfall in it's higher elevations. Another problem is the placement of camera views. The cab-camera only rotates about 180 degrees so you can't look behind you. Also, when you are running the locomotive long hood forward, the only way to see around the long hood is to use the head out view. However, when you do this the camera is facing towards the short-hood so the user has to constantly swivel the camera around to see where they are going. This makes reading signals on sharp curves in a timely manner somewhat difficult. Therefore, when running long-hood forward it would be helpful for the head out cameras to be pointed toward the long-hood end. Lastly, there seems to be an issue with some of the controls not working on the keyboard or the HUD. For example, dynamic brakes won't work on the keyboard, the sanders won't come on by using the HUD, etc. For the most part, the controls work, whether they be keyboard, HUD, or control stand. However, if you are coasting downgrade with tonnage and try to use the keyboard to apply dynamic brakes, you will be taking a ride off of the mountainside friend. Little things like this could probably be patched; lets hope it happens.

Sound effects are generally good. There is no sound for the Dynamic Brakes (the high pitched whining sound of the cooling fans). This omission needs to be corrected with a patch. Many other sound effects are present; The control levers, switches, and buttons all make satisfying sounds as you move them into place, throw them, or press them. The prime mover sounds like a 567 engine block. The bell sounds crisp and clear. The air horn sounds alright to me (I am by no means an expert on horns and whistles), although I have heard some Western Pacific fans citing it as incorrect for the prototype. Edit( The air horn loop prevents the user from giving short blasts for signaling; for example, you can't give two shorts or three shorts. It would be nice if this was changed). Bailing-off the air brakes makes a whoosh-ing sound. The sanders make a satisfying hissing sound. The brakes shoes screech as they engage the wheels.

The locomotive has an advanced start-up feature (a trait which it shares with the original low-nose GP20) which lends it a sense of realism. New users should familiarize themselves with this feature in the locomotive manual. It only took me a couple of minutes and I was able get the locomotive rolling down the track. The locomotive has dual control stands for bi-directional control, both of which are fully functioning (very nice). For those of you who don't want to trifle with the advanced features, fear not; There is a standard version that has basic controls. Another neat feature is the locomotive engineer. As you move between control stands the engineer model moves; whether in the locomotive or between locomotives, he will be where you put him. No more multi-unit lashups with 4 or 5 locomotive engineers (nice attention to detail). The locomotive does not have advanced braking features.

No rolling stock is included with this DLC. It would have been nice to round out our Western Pacific freight car fleet with a tank car, gondola, covered hopper, and perhaps a coal hopper, all of which were missing from the Feather River Canyon route DLC. However, this locomotive DLC has enough going for it that I am willing to let that slide.

The locomotive comes with four scenarios and I'm sure that more will be forthcoming in the workshop. Furthermore, the Feather River Scenario Pack 01 DLC from Elphaba is available; some of the scenarios include the GP20.

Pro's:

Highly visually detailed
Realistic start-up procedure
Classic North American Diesel ( EMD's first "2nd Generation" locomotive )
Compliments the Feather River Route DLC perfectly


Con's:

Does not have advanced braking features
No sound effect for dynamic brake fans (immersion breaking) and air-horn loop prevents giving short blasts for signaling purposes
Doors and windows do not open
Lack of dynamic snow effects
Issues with camera placement restricting cab visibility and long-hood forward operation
Minor input mapping issues affecting keyboard and HUD functionality
No additional rolling stock included


Overall, this is a good DLC value. The GP20 is a classic North American diesel locomotive and Reppos combination of attention to little details and realistic features lends this locomotive an air of authenticity that outshines it few shortcomings. I'll give it a 3.75/5. If the above mentioned issues with the dynamic brake FX, horn loop, and camera placement are patched, I'll up it to a 4/5 .

I would recommend this DLC to my friends....

[leroyphillips]

Thanx for this useful information!