TSW Beta 9 first impressions?

[MaineLines]

I stand corrected. You can couple/uncouple cars with the mouse in "8 key" mode and even set and release the handbrakes which is important with the new physics. Looks like you just can't use the "E" key to hop on and off rail cars.

[Ryan93]

Actually, you can use the E key to climb up the railcar ladders when you are close enough. It is very immersive and I'm thoroughly impressed with the realism and attention to detail.

[Ryan93]

doh'

How could I forget the screenshots for those that are not participating in the beta.

TSW Ladder.jpg

TSW Ladder Up.jpg

Hopefully someone else will chime in on the physics for you as I am not very good at judging that.

[bpetit]

Does anyone know the speed limit in the Tunnel? Every time I go thru it, I trip the emerg. brakes.

Meanwhile in the rain..

TS2Prototype-Win64-Shipping 2016-12-09 22-46-39-150.jpg

[MaineLines]

I haven't been able to duplicate the "E" key functionality in "8" key mode but while looking for a handbrake on the autoracks I found that I could open the cars doors and climb in.

AutoRack.jpg

[Ryan93]

I'm sorry, I misread your post and I forgot that we were talking about the 8 key free camera. The E key to climb up the ladder only works for me in first person mode while walking outside.
Nice discovery with the interior of the autoracks. Some of the little features may seem pointless to some people but it really adds to the immersion.

As far as climbing out constantly to throw switches, I agree that it can be very time consuming and somewhat monotonous. I would think that we'll have the ability to set switch positions from the map view (9 key) in the full release. That is only speculation on my part of course.

[Cardinal51]

It runs ok on my 64bit laptop, actually better than expected. A little sluggish and low fps, but still very playable and enjoyable. I will post some screen shots later. My system specs are:

Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64-bit
CPU
Intel Core i3 @ 2.30GHz 28 °C
Skylake-U/Y 14nm Technology
RAM
8.00GB Dual-Channel Unknown @ 1063MHz (15-15-15-36)
Motherboard
ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. UX310UA (U3E1) 29 °C
Graphics
Generic PnP Monitor (1920x1080@60Hz)
Intel HD Graphics 520 (ASUStek Computer Inc)
Storage
465GB Samsung SSD 750 EVO 500GB (SSD) 16 °C
119GB SanDisk SD8SNAT128G1002 (SSD) 14 °C
Optical Drives
No optical disk drives detected
Audio
Conexant SmartAudio HD

I have two remarks / questions....

-- Since I am basically interested in driving around and enjoy the trains and scenery , this whole 3D thing where one has to walk around and actually do all things like in real life is not my thing (yet). I really miss the simplified on-screen HUD to manipulate the train. Is the HUD still available ?

-- Is there a users manual for this beta version ?

[imnew]

Feedback / report. ( Running TSW on an 34" Ultra Wide Monitor )

I7-3770K OC 4.2ghz, MSI Z77A-GD65, Crucial DDR3 BallistiX 16GB, MSI GTX 980, Intel® High Performance Liquid Cooling, 34" Ultra Wide Samsung Monitor, Windows 7 64 Bit

Settings in game:
Screen Resolution 3440x1440
Window Mode Fullscreen
Graphics Presets Ultra
AntiAliasing FXAA + TAA + Off ( They almost all show the same FPS and MS )
VSync Off
Screen Percentage 100%

Services: ( Eastbound Coal Train ), using only view 1 and 2 and not touching anything gives the following results:

Sunny Morning
View 1 26-28 FPS 36 MS
View 2 29-30 FPS 34 MS

Rainy Afternoon
View 1 21-22 FPS 45 MS
View 2 23-24 FPS 40 MS

Summer Evening
View 1 30-31 FPS 30-31 MS
View 2 29-30 FPS 30-32 MS

Winter Morning
View 1 27-28 FPS 36 MS
View 2 27-28 FPS 35 MS

Snow Storm
View 1 21 FPS 46 MS
View 2 24 FPS 40 MS

Winter Fog
View 1 27 FPS 36 MS
View 2 29 FPS 35 MS

Going through the various Anti Aliasing options yields the same results, give or take +1 / -1..

Some first impressions:

Fantastic graphics and ambient sounds.

Wishlist list for final product,

Sounds on the engine needs more base/oomph!
Need option to turn off moving trees and shadows
VR mode, be the first DTG!

The sim is sluggish in the performance area ( beta ), it stutters / jitters? alot! Other than that I must say the sim looks very promising. Excited!

[BNSFdude]

So how are the physics? Are they much improved over the previous sims?

Twitchy from what I've experienced with the SD40-2. I think it's mainly to do with the load regulator.

[OldProf]

+1. I think this is more hype than serious beta testing.

Perhaps, but just think of all the DLC they sold to the would-be "testers".

[artimrj]

My take on it all is they wanted to show us what they are doing and wanted to get feedback from us on how it is going and what we all might want in it. Not to pee and moan about every little thing. They want input. And they would like you to do it at their forum. They made a list of all the things that are not right, so they do not need more input on those things. They want help not grief.

[jalsina]

After spending a good part of last evening with TSW, I believe now there is a change pattern with the frame rate changes.
I can get nearly 25-30 fps starting an scenario and suddenly it starts to reduce. When this happens a passing train is approaching, though you can´t see it yet (except in the map). The fps evolve (in my case) to about 13-17fps when the train is passing by. Then after the train is gone, the fps start to increase again until they get nearly those 30fps. Even if the point of view doesn´t "see" the other train, the fps go down and up again.

This is happening as well in the tunnel. Here is screenshot inside the tunnel (in TSW you can take a shot inside the tunnel) with 32 fps:

20161209215736_1.jpg

And another with 14 fps:

20161209210447_1.jpg

EDIT:
I am not seeing any stuttering at all in this game. I use for both, system and TS (and TSW), two different WD 7200rpm normal hard drive. I see strong stuttering in TS2017 even with the 1060 and the monitor at 144Hz

[pschlik]

So I see the performance inconsistencies are a bit of everywhere. Have an above ideal specs machine here and there is definitely a buttload of optimization to do on SimuGraph and the physics-in a scene with no trains around and having not sat down in a train yet, I get a nice 60 FPS. Being around trains takes that down to 40 FPS. Sitting in a train and being around other trains takes that down to 20 FPS-and the graphics card is not the thing being stressed. At least they have optimization listed as a known bug.

On a side note, derailments are there but can potentially be buggier than in TSX!

[BNSFdude]

I suspect a lot of FPS issues is unoptimized speed tree models.

[_o_OOOO_oo-Kanawha]

I suspect a lot of FPS issues is unoptimized speed tree models.

Speed Trees, the bane of Trainz in all of its incarnations ....

Why are these models the trees of choice?