Free download of TSW5 starter pack Without DLC

[AmericanSteam]

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2967 ... m_World_5/
Be advised, long download time.

[GSkid]

I bought the standard edition and am currently downloading. For me it's a 122GB download!!!

Now I remember DTG talking about how all our DLC would download with the game. I assumed they meant for a fresh install for those that don't already have previous content installed. I thought this because if memory serves me right, a newer version of TSW would automatically recognize DLC installed from the current older version.... negating the re-downloading of it. Because I remember it only downloading the sim and it's accompanying new DLC. Only a few GBs data..... nothing even close to 5GB, let alone 122GB! I wonder why?!?

Anyways.... It's over 3 hours to download at my current 100Mb download speed. I will report my impressions in the coming days.

[AmericanSteam]

Everything I had had from Sand Patch forward is accessible. If it is re-downoading all your assets it may be updating them to run on TSW5.

[kris120]

Have not played TSW since years, but have got a handful of routes from TSW1 - TSW3.
I've noticed that all the content from TSW1 to TSW3 appears under TSW5 after it's installation.
It seems to me that TSW5 only accesses this, probably converted, content and not the original data.
My question now is:
Does anyone know if you can delete the older TSW versions without losing content in TSW5 ?

[GreatNortherner]

Does anyone know if you can delete the older TSW versions without losing content in TSW5 ?

Hi Kris, hi all,

I uninstalled my previous TSW versions through Steam each time I got one of the newer version (TSW2 -> 3, etc.) All the DLC previously owned was automatically available in the new TSW version, though it always re-downloaded it through Steam each time. That made it "a bit" of a lengthy process with my not super-fast internet connection.

What I couldn't find out is if we can somehow install a "basic" version of the new TSW, without DLC, and then manually transfer the DLC packages from the previoius version to the new one. At the moment, I can't even start the installation of TSW5 because none of my PC's drives has sufficient space for the default installation (which seems to be with all DLC enabled).

EDIT: I've just discovered that we can disable the DLC in TSW5 before we start installing it. The "Manage my DLC" function in the Steam Library apparently works even before we start the download/installation.

Cheers,
Michael

[august1929]

EDIT: I've just discovered that we can disable the DLC in TSW5 before we start installing it. The "Manage my DLC" function in the Steam Library apparently works even before we start the download/installation.

Cheers,
Michael

Thanks Michael - has made a huge difference. I don't have a lot of TSW DLC but it sure takes up a lot of space!

Rod

[GSkid]

So I did a free roam run west to east on the included Los Angeles-San Bernardino line to check out the whole route visually. I had my graphics settings set to Ultra and everything maxed out.

My impressions….


THE GOOD:

#1: Visually… it’s easily the most impressive of all the TSW North American routes IMHO. Rural routes like Kane Creek with it’s red rock canyon formations or Clinchfield with it’s thick groves of lush trees covering the mountains…. have more natural beauty than this new Los Angeles regional based east-west urban/suburb route.

But why I like this route best visually is a combination of it’s large variety of structure/object assets, the sheer amount of those assets placed in the world and the variety of colors that routes through cities present.

Some routes through cities have object counts go down and the density of them thin out the further away from the tracks you go. This is usually done because most people run from cab view and don't need to see a ton of objects far away from the tracks. Especially with closer objects blocking a lot of the view. It allows for generally higher frame rates. It can also be due to time constraints or trying to make a route as cheaply as possible, while making the route passable enough for most of the causal players of the sim...... or it's just laziness. I personally refer to these as "scenery corridors" where the scope is limited to a certain distance from either side of the tracks.

This route on the other hand goes well beyond what was needed. If you use an external camera and set the view as high in altitude as it can go, it allows you to view the sheer distance the scenery goes out to and the large amount of objects that populate it.

#2: The map screen is better now and I like it a lot.

#3: Fast travel is nice if you want to bounce around the map for whatever reason. Route hopping is okay, but nothing I would advertise as a big new feature.... cuz it isn't a big deal. Just a somewhat pointless new feature to overhype in their sales pitch to get people to upgrade to TSW 5.

THE BAD:

#1: The frame drops and micro-stuttering can be pretty bad in spots. It's obvious it has to do with object and tile loading. It's worse in some areas and seldom to almost non-existent in others. It seems to be worse on the western half of the route that tends to have more large buildings and such than the eastern half. People on the forums have reported it being a caching issue. They suggest running the full route in both directions at least once to remedy most of the issue and to launch the sim in DX12 mode. It's had mixed results for people. I still have to run the route west to test out that suggestion. I read that this is a bigger problem on the German route. I'm gonna try to add some TSW 5 mods and hopefully it improves things if DTG doesn't have an update yet for it. Otherwise my frame rates are very good at maxed out settings.

#2: There is a rather large amount of trackage that is on the map, but is ultimately inaccessible to your train. This pertains to some spur tracks, parts of yards and exiting mainlines on the edges of a route. For instance... The San Bernardino Line route has the BNSF San Bernardino intermodal yard and about 5 miles of track up the Cajon Pass route to at least CP Ono on the map. In free roam you can set the end point of your journey near Ono, but your train never makes it past the signal at the end of the eastbound 90-degree turn northward out of the yard. You never make it to the 8th street overpass. It says "End of session. You have reached the end of the represented area". Why put 5 miles of mainline track on the map and allow it to be select-able in Free Roam, only to not allow any of it to be run on?!?!? Just remove that section from the map.

#3: Some of the trees are too big in scale than would normally be in most parts of a city. Especially the very tall conifer trees. They look funny next to houses that they dwarf in comparison. It happens a bit in real life, but not to this extreme degree.

#4: Floating vehicles on the roads are still a thing on this route even though I've heard some European routes have fixed the issue.

#5: I've had the reverser lever not move out of neutral a few times. Not sure why that happens. I've had to re-launch the mission sometimes to get it to work. Not sure if that's a sim problem or me somehow.

Conclusions...

That's about all that comes to mind at this point. Despite these flaws, I still highly recommend the route. Especially if you liked TSC's Surfliner route. There is also some local freight timetables you can run to mix things up from the normal commuter trains stuff. Keep in mind that other than a zig-zag section near the middle, this route is mainly straight trackage with a very light curve here and there. I will post more if needed after I have played it awhile.

[Cardinal51]

Haven't played TSW since the first free version a decade or so ago.

I got the Free Starter Edition because I wanted too see what the scenery looks like and if it has all the annoying scenery glitches and flickering TSC has.

But in the Training School they put me in a UK Mule on a foggy day, nothing to see :-( Is there any other scenery in the Training Edition ?

For the rest it seems to run mighty fine. Although the menu structure is very confusing and seems to be designed for 10 year old's.

[AmericanSteam]

Haven't played TSW since the first free version a decade or so ago.

I got the Free Starter Edition because I wanted too see what the scenery looks like and if it has all the annoying scenery glitches and flickering TSC has.

But in the Training School they put me in a UK Mule on a foggy day, nothing to see :-( Is there any other scenery in the Training Edition ?

For the rest it seems to run mighty fine. Although the menu structure is very confusing and seems to be designed for 10 year old's.

So console users can use it. Snarky answer I know.

[Cardinal51]

Ah ok, thought they would have a complete different menu layout.

Does anyone know if the Training supports any other scenery besides FOG ?