TS2015 coming on 18 September

[bpetit]

Aw still no thunderstorms though the rain looks nice.

[glenn68]

I just picked up the MGA Coal District for half price. Can't beat getting a brand new route for half price, thank you Dovetail games

Rich,
I think you will like the route.

Glenn

[buzz456]

Not to be a smart A** but reading those posts there are a lot of the lowest possible denominator involved with this game. It is no wonder if that is the majority why they are dumbing down our beloved sim.

They long ago banned anyone that knew anything about trains and what should be fixed or adjusted.
That's why I'm more openly snitty about things.

Well be snitty over there and not here please.

[DrewG]

Just got it running. Who thought this UI design was a good idea! I can barely use it!

*edit* now all scenarios disappeared except for one on the PL&E.

*Edit 2*
Now this has happened...

I'm so confused

[Chacal]

Maybe your update is not entirely finished.
You have a mix of new UI elements and old images.
Notice "TS 2014"

[Bermúdez]

Cajon Pass with new 3D clouds. I love it.

Screenshot_Cajon Pass con peraltes_34.13481--117.31149_20-04-40.jpg

Screenshot_Cajon Pass con peraltes_34.14733--117.32513_20-05-48.jpg

[jwtheiv]

Huh? I thought only the three included routes in TS2015 were using the 3d Cloud System

[Bermúdez]

Huh? I thought only the three included routes in TS2015 were using the 3d Cloud System

Not only it's included in these three routes. The new SilverLining's weather & 3D clouds system is included in the core of the simulator, therefore it can be used on any route.
In the scenario editor you must choose from the weather patterns that begin with '3D'.

[Ericmopar]

Has the new weather affected frame rates?

[buzz456]

Doesn't seem to.

[MontanaRails]

Has the new weather affected frame rates?

Yep, what Buzz said - doesn't seem to at all. What's really cool about it is we now have dynamic shade and sunlight, as the shadows pass. You can actually watch the landscape brighten up, and progressively fall into shade.

I dont seem to have any real ill effects from the update. All routes seem to work, including my B&O route in progress (so I can start full force into it again with confidence!). I dont like how vibrant the colors are however...that I'll have to get used to. It's almost like non TSX mode color, with TSX shadows. Very "game" like atmosphere, and rolling stock that used to be the right color is now way too saturated. Doesn't seem to be a way to adjust it.

I dont seem to have lost any of my customizations, and it all seems to work well with the new game engine.

Image quality seems improved, so does frame rate. Anti aliasing seems better.

Sound quality is better. Sounds are louder, crisper. I like the new atmospheric sounds, and wind sounds when outside the locomotive.

Only oddity is that I have no thumbnails on 90% of my routes in the selection menu, yet I have most of the locomotive thumbnails.

Definitely the smoothest upgrade I've ever experienced with this sim.

[barnez]

Only oddity is that I have no thumbnails on 90% of my routes in the selection menu, yet I have most of the locomotive thumbnails.

The menu system appears to now look for the route thumbnail in the \RouteInformation folder. Looks for Image.png

-barnez

[jwtheiv]

Only oddity is that I have no thumbnails on 90% of my routes in the selection menu, yet I have most of the locomotive thumbnails.

The menu system appears to now look for the route thumbnail in the \RouteInformation folder. Looks for Image.png

-barnez

256x128 image.png file seems to work perfectly.

[GSkid]

Ok....I figured something out. TSX-OFF legacy mode is in fact NOT gone. It's still there. It's NOW called Dynamic Lighting instead of TSX. Just UNCHECK Dynamic Lighting and you get the old graphics engine. Tried it on Donner Pass and the lime-yellowish barren mountains in the far distance were the dead give away along with the day-glow saturated colors overall. No headlight shinning ahead either.

I do seem to be getting higher frame rates overall in either mode, although I'm still testing. The new menus are cool, but they take some getting used to. They are far harder to select with the 360 controller than in 2013/2014. Very tedious now so I use the mouse instead for selecting things.

Tried the dynamic clouds in the academy. I get the nice rolling dynamic cloud shadows, but the clouds themselves don't look 3D volumetric to me. I had it checked and tried to fly my cam through them. Am I missing something here?

Anyways.... so far I'm liking the upgrade a little better than I originally thought I would. I will give more opinions as my testing continues.

[gtrtroger]

While I didn't get a chance to check "everything" last night, all my assets and content were still where I left them....that's good. Some have mentioned "loosing" assets, content and scenarios..... Not my case. Even my development route is intact.....

Contrary to postings in another forum, I find the new UI works well.....

I did have one problem with flashing skies in R. Gerber's "Colton and Northern" route.... Something I'll have to explore this weekend. Probably run thru several scenarios to see if this is occurring on other routes..... May be related to older routes versus the new Dynamic Lighting and Sky Options.....