West Coast Main Line South Improvements

[Cardinal51]

Dove Tail Games commented on the West Coast Main Line South problems . . . . .


By DTG Protagonist - DTG Community Manager
West Coast Main Line South Improvements

We would like to thank players of Train Simulator 2021 who have taken their time to give us comprehensive feedback about their experiences with the game so far. Suffice to say that this feedback has not made for the easiest of reading, and neither should it.

The performance of West Coast Main Line falls a long way short of what you should expect and what we intend to deliver. As such we are working on multiple updates to this route to address the criticism it has received. Following investigation overnight we have determined that the current low frame rates experienced by many, if not all, players comes as a result of a couple of areas we have identified in the rolling stock. To that end we will make a priority update in the short term that improves frame rate performance. This should improve frame rates on the WCML South for all players.

Supplemental updates will address scenery and other areas that have been observed and reported. To ensure we are tackling as much as possible, and if you would like to help, any further problems you can identify would be appreciated.

The first update is being worked on now, and we are targeting within the next week to 10 days. We will follow up on this thread throughout next week to ensure you are kept up to date.

We are postponing the stream on Saturday as we do not feel it is appropriate to promote the game while one of its headline components falls short of both your and our expectations.

We want to take this opportunity to apologise to players who feel let down by this release. We are reviewing our handling of new releases in light of these problems to ensure this situation is not repeated.

https://forums.dovetailgames.com/thread ... nts.27504/

[_o_OOOO_oo-Kanawha]

At least DTG with its new Community Manager acknowledges there is a problem.

Yet they still released a borked route many British players have been looking out to.

Hopefully it will be fixed soon.

Two months ago, I was looking very forward to the Rhine Valley route, Koblenz-Mainz, bought it at full price even, but refunded it since the signaling was full of grave errors.
DTG found it necessary to include Frankfurt HBf, which even in its empty state eats fps, instead of including Wiesbaden and the right bank freight line. There is no Lorelei rock even.

No money of mine goes into full price purchases of this quality.

[AmericanSteam]

Not only did Dovetail step in it , but slipped backward and fell in it as well. So my question is, does not anyone run every scenario end to end as a final test? If someone did, did they get up and get a cup of coffee when these obvious errors passed on the screen. Whether or not this was created in house or from an outside developer it is on Dovetail. At least they were honest and forthright in accepting responsibility. The new openness at Dovetail started with the backtracking of priorities and expectations in TSW2. I hope that it continues. I don't run European routes so this does not directly affect me. But will it in the future? The issue is important but how it is handled is even more important.

[_o_OOOO_oo-Kanawha]

My guess is, the market is mostly saturated by now, and with TSW clearly divided in console 'players' and PC 'creators'.

I mean, we get all the cut-copy-paste modern US 'kit' Diesels, in simplified execution, w/o traction motors, sand lines and with poor shallow texturing.
But no classic ALCo PA or other early streamlined Diesels, let alone iconic steam locomotives. And we haven't seen new passenger car and freight car models for how many years?

Today's British and Continental Europe passenger trains are mostly plastic 'kits' too, often almost literally. Classic loco hauled trains are a small minority now. Freight moves in unit trains.

To stay within the Euro 13.99 for a loco or Euro 29.99 for a route, compromises need to be made, obviously and understandably. Key station buildings are created as new assets, scenery is often an afterthought as time is money.



We'll see if they really pick up on the reported errors and defects and issue an upgrade.

[Cardinal51]

In yesterday's RailfanTV stream DTG stated that the first update, addressing frame rate, is in the testing phase now..

They also stated there will be another update but fid not give information on what it incorporates.

[kris120]

I cannot compare the route by DTG with this previously release freeware as I didn't buy the route available on steam, but this is defenitively really excellent, one of the best in the TS at all:
https://alanthomsonsim.com/?download=we ... south-v5-3

[Cardinal51]

I have read reports that the Thomson route with all dependencies comes to roughly 300 US$. Seems kind of steep, unless one already has those dependencies.

[Cardinal51]

By DTG Natster - DTG Community Manager. Sept 30
As it stands today, the WCML has gone back in for a second pass as QA weren't happy with the update after it's first test. We will continue to keep you informed when we have more information.

[Cardinal51]

By DTG Jamie - DTG Comminuity Manager
Wcml South: London Euston - Birmingham Update #1

Today we are bringing the first of two updates for the WCML South: London Euston - Birmingham Route Add-On for Train Simulator 2021 to address various issues raised by players on overall usability and performance. This update also includes a first pass on scenic improvements with more to follow in the next update. Please find the full update log below for this update:

Performance Improvements:

• Optimised the Level of Detail of the included train models to improve overall performance: BR Class 390 ‘Pendolino’, BR Class 221 ‘Super Voyager’, BR Class 350, BR Class 377 and BR Class 378. Collectively, these and those listed below, are anticipated to provide moderate rendering performance gains whilst playing scenarios and Quick Drive and improve overall usability for players that may not have the latest in computer hardware.
• Fixed an issue with a multitude of scenic lighting which had been misconfigured to be shadow casting thus impacting rendering performance.
• Removed the reliance on 3D Skies in scenarios to provide a multitude of rendering performance improvements.
• Updated Milton Keynes lighting and clutter to improve presentation and limit performance impacts.
• Optimised the scenery in and around Willesden and Queens Park to improve overall performance.

Signalling, Traffic and AI Operation Fixes and Improvements:

• Improved wide-ranging signalling related issues in line with customer feedback throughout the route, correcting in the region of 50 signals to improve traffic flow and instances that could impede player progress.
• Fixed several issues relating to AI Collisions whilst in Quick Drive Scenarios.

General Scenic Fixes and Improvements:

• Fixed several instances where overhead line equipment was missing their respective contact wire throughout the route.
• Improved several scenic assets that were improperly placed.
• Fixed several instances of floating buildings throughout the route.
• Fixed several instances of floating garden clutter.
• Fixed instances of grass clipping at Hampton in Arden.
• Improved the platform presentation including clutter at Wolverton.
• Added missing petrol station on approach to Lea Hall.
• Added missing four-car stop marker board at Stechford.
• Made some minor improvements to the representation of Birmingham International and Coventry stations.
• Improved an instance where a viaduct was using low resolution textures.
• Made some minor improvements to the representation of South Hampstead.
• Made multiple improvements to the visual representation of various legacy models and textures.

The update will download automatically for owners of the WCML South: London Euston- Birmingham Route Add-On when it becomes available. The approximate download size will be 1.2 GB and players should allow at least 24 hours after restarting Steam for the update to appear and before contacting Customer Support.