TS future

[buzz456]

Hmm. I want to drive trains not walk around them and spend a bunch of time getting them started. It's OK once in a while but my running time is often just a short time and I don't have time for all that foo foo. Different strokes I guess. As a friend of mine says every time something new appears we shall see.

[RSMattP]

Just wanted to clarify the minimum specs - those are for the beta and are based on a conservative estimate so that someone who has those specs will certainly have a good experience with it. By the time we actually get to beta those minimums may well be lower after optimisation and testing - but that can't be predicted yet.

DirectX 10 is the minimum - UE4 will use DX11 and DX12 if you have them and optimise itself for those as well, it scales according to your setup very nicely.

As Derek said those clips were taken directly from recording the game, not renders and no cheating and on a decent gaming rig but not any kind of major super computer.

Glad you enjoyed the video, i'm over the moon that you can see what we're working on at last! :)

Matt.
Dovetail Games

[bpetit]

[ZekTheKid]

Can't stop foaming over the pre-alpha footage that looks stunning.

[Derek]

Buzz, I understand your concerns but driving trains is what we care most about.
Hopefully you will not be disappointed when we show more.
There will be multiple ways of enjoying this Sim.

Best regards.

[ZekTheKid]

Buzz, I understand your concerns but driving trains is what we care most about.
Hopefully you will not be disappointed when we show more.
There will be multiple ways of enjoying this Sim.

Best regards.

Just a quick question. How long do you think the Pioneer Edition of TS 2017 will be posted on steam?

[OpenRailer90]

What I don't like about the new TSW is that there will not be any backwards compatibility (granted the "old" content would stick out like a sore thumb). Nevertheless, that AC4400 just begs for heritage stickers..

Hey now, we have Kevin, Anthony, and Nate here, working on the best AC4400CW that TS will get, so don't get too hung up on the one for TSW.

Chances are TSW will have proper simulation, hopefully with an advanced mode that can be enabled/disabled along with proper professionally recorded sounds.

[Griphos]

Appreciate Matt and Derek answering questions. This sure looks dern good to me! And it looks like some pretty incredible features are on their way.

I do wish there were a way to buy into beta access without buying the TS2017 stuff. I'm happy to pay early (and the same amount) for the Trainsimworld new version to help support development, but really have no interest in more routes for the current engine. If not, though, I think I'll buy the Pioneer edition and just not install the new routes.

[RAILSOHIO]

It seems like just yesterday we saw screenshots, then a video clip of the coming Railsimulator. People doubted it was real. Many said it was just "eye candy". Then it was out. I bought it upon release,and was thrilled. I left behind Trainz and MSTS. I started work on my Ohio prototype route,and am still working on it diligently. We have been through all the controversies and changes in Railworks/Rail Simulator over the years. I follow the news about updates on Open Rails. Once in awhile I see if they have added an editor to Run 8. (Nope) I login to the forum for that other unreal engine railroad simulator they say they are developing. And when it is all said and done,this is still the best game in town. I am enthusiastic about the upcoming beta release,as much as I was when I first saw the original Rail-Simulator demo. I get the fact that there will be no backward compatibility. I think the route choice is great. Here is the one thing that would be so wonderful,if is somehow possible. It would be great if my 7 plus years of route-building could be imported into Rail World. Just the terrain with the geo referencing intact would be an awesome thing. I would not mind building all the track,again. Yes,all the scenery would be lost,but that would make it much faster,than starting totally over. I am guessing there will be higher resolution terrain in the new sim.
There will be endless comments and speculation before it is released. Us veterans have seen it all before. Meanwhile,I will go back to route building,with an occasional re-skin thrown in for good measure. And if the development team would find it in their hearts to do a GP 38-2 WITHOUT dynamic brakes,that would be fantastic! ( I need to repaint some in Detroit,Toledo,and Ironton colors)

[plovdiv21]

I'm glad there is no backwards compatability.That's a boat anchor which would drag the graphics and features down in the sim/game.
And I really hope the terrain and ground texturing resolution is better than TS20xx.We'll still have all our 20xx stuf you won't lose any of it-this is a separate game.

[PamBrooker]

Derek??
Since thi is going to be a 64 bit ystem, will it be programmed to split child processes like textures and weather off to seperate cpu cores while using the main gpu to handle the main animation and engine display functions??

[NorthernWarrior]

Some further thoughts/questions which popped in my head overnight...

I struggle to see how multiplayer fits comfortably into the train sim paradigm - we don't want something like Run 8 where one person has to be despatcher, otherwise you just end up running your train solo in SP mode. Or you end up with trains going off dead as real life intervenes and players leave the server. Respect to those who feel it adds value but I hope I doesn't come at the expense of the SP game. Even Run 8 are now evolving an AI system for the next version of their sim.

With regard to routes, those of us who spent time around MSTS probably know about Sandpatch (and I'm about to re-run it in OR) but I'm guessing it's not an immediate iconic route in North America let alone the rest of the world. To sell this globally, DTG are going to need to demonstrate the same capabilities with a HST in a section of the West Country or a Class 37 on a rusty mineral line (for the UK) and something similar for Europe, perhaps Asia/Australasia as well.

Will TS2017 be the last iteration of the "old" game or will it carry on in parallel? How long will it continue to be supported? What about long standing bugs such as the crash on importing DEM near lines of latitude - presumably unlikely to be fixed, now?

Still concerned about how accessible this will be for content creation at the hobbyist level.

[ex-railwayman]

Hmm. I want to drive trains not walk around them and spend a bunch of time getting them started. It's OK once in a while but my running time is often just a short time and I don't have time for all that foo foo. Different strokes I guess.

But, this is exactly the problem we've had for years. At the end of a working day everyone only has an hour, or, so, for this hobby, sometimes even less, so, I would agree entirely with your comment buzz, that if you are on a time deadline just a quick hop into the cab and get your train rolling satisfies virtually everyone. However, when it comes to the weekend and/or holidays when you have far more time to play around with, being able to expand your enjoyment by walking around your locomotive cab, sitting down with your coffee flask and going through a lengthy start up procedure would give it that 'Simulation' feeling, and as long as DTG cater for both worlds, hopefully, we should all then be happy.

Cheerz. ex-railwayman.

[mjlevy1118]

I'm very excited for TSW, it's great to have a whole new generation of train simulation to look forward to. I hope there's some sort of AI conductor and/or dispatcher you can communicate with to help the immersive feeling of the game rather than the rather lonely experience of driving in TS16. And the ability to quill your whistle or horn, but that's pretty minor in the grand scheme of things.

Before the unveil of TSW in the TS Future video, did anyone else catch the DTG team say they're looking forward to releasing a San Francisco route for TS17? What are the odds that it could be a Caltrain route? If it is, I'll be one very happy camper!

To the DTG team: are there any under-the-hood improvements for TS17, or is it mostly a route bundle? I do wish there was more diversity for this edition than present-day diesel/electric operations, but I remain very intrigued at what will come down the line later for TSW.

Congratulations and thanks to DTG for keeping our niche simulation alive and kicking.

[Griphos]

Actually, Matt or Derek, I have a question about TS2017 Pioneer and the Beta access. If I buy the Pioneer edition, will I have to buy TSW as well when it is released in Feb? It would be great to have a chance to buy TSW early and get access to the Beta without having to buy the Pioneer edition of TS2017, which I don't really want.