Question about career mode

[Scrapper-Lock]

Hey there, folks. I am toying with buying this game, and I have been able to find tons of information about just about everything else, but I can't find any details, not even in the instruction manual, as to just exactly what Career mode involves.

So far I have been able to piece together that, in career mode, the game tracks your performance from scenario to scenario, and awards you 'experience points' and levels. But I am not clear on what 'levels' mean. Are they just numerical window dressing? Or is this like Euro Truck 2 where you need to be a certain level to drive a certain locomotive?

If someonw could provide me with some details on just what's involved in the career mode that would be a great help. Thanks.

[Mavadelo]

You can earn 1000 points max per career scenario, levels are just "show off" and do not give perks or open up "new" things. It is just a bit harder then standard since you obviously want the 1000 for a perfect scenario. Some achievements can be unlocked with getting perfect or near perfect scores but not much else.

Many of the career scenarios from older routes are almost impossible to do perfect since the timings on many are way unrealistic. Some scenarios can give you "more" then 1000 but in the end only 1000 are awarded after the scenario. Some scenarios do't make it to 1000 for whatever reason

It is a sim, levels do not matter ingame, only among friends (I am lvl 36 nahnahnahahnah showoff type)

[FOUR The Dark Side]

You also forgot to mention that some of the career scenarios can't be completed due to devs negligence. Ill-famous 801 at 8:01 is still being fixed, I presume? God, it must of been so difficult.

Donner Pass is to be avoided at all costs if achievements are of importance to OP.

And no, many of the current, newer career scenarios just continue the nice tradition of racing trains.

[Scrapper-Lock]

Thanks for the responses. I can't really say whether this will make me more or less likely to buy TS 15... but I just like to have all the information before making a purchase.

[FOUR The Dark Side]

Originally posted by steven.viscido:

Thanks for the responses. I can't really say whether this will make me more or less likely to buy TS 15... but I just like to have all the information before making a purchase.

My advice is to wait for the next sale, which, I suppose, will be somewhere in autumn. This way you have a chance of getting this sim for some reasonable money. It is an enjoyable sim, I've spent 4500+ hours in it since 2007, but it will also present you with great deal of problems and sometimes pure frustration - devs aren't that prolific when it comes to patches and fixes. There are tons of issues that aren't still fixed and, I am afraid, will never be fixed.

And, surely, you will have to hunt DLCs in the sales. They may turn to be a burden on your wallet otherwise :)

That is, I can recommend this sim, but with so many limitations that my loyalty to it is still around 0 to -5 on the 10 to -10 scale.

[Mavadelo]

Originally posted by steven.viscido:

Thanks for the responses. I can't really say whether this will make me more or less likely to buy TS 15... but I just like to have all the information before making a purchase.

It shouldn't matter really. You should decide on the type of game. Do you like simulations in general and Trains in particular than this is the best option (other sims imho don't come close)
Check out some gameplay videos :)
There is heaps of DLC (buy in sales, buy in sales, buy in sales lol)
There is heaps of freeeware
there is heaps of 3rd party DLC (buy in sales)

you should be able to find some vids here (tooting my own horn if you don't mind) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpo49GC2NeTJEaxJNixdkuw/videos

[Mavadelo]

ah, like FOUR said sales of course or.....

If you can find TS2012/13/14 for cheap in a discount bin at your local gamestore you can use the key to activate it on steam, it will give you the routes of that specific version AND update your core engine to TS2015 (just the core engine, no free routes when updating ;)

This way it might cost you only a few bucks

[Scrapper-Lock]

Originally posted by Mavadelo:

Originally posted by steven.viscido:

Thanks for the responses. I can't really say whether this will make me more or less likely to buy TS 15... but I just like to have all the information before making a purchase.

It shouldn't matter really. You should decide on the type of game. Do you like simulations in general and Trains in particular than this is the best option (other sims imho don't come close)

I have seen some vids. Even the ones that say they are career mode just showed individual scenarios so I was trying to get some sense of what the career mode was like.

And yes I do like sim games. I played the heck out of CimSity back in the day. And The Movies. And The Sims 2 and 3. And Cities Skylines more recently. And I am doing Farming Simulator right now.

But I tend to like simulations that have a fairly robust career mode where I feel like, on top of the simulation itself, I am developing along a forward trajectory. For instance, in Farming Simulator 15 you start with a single field and a few pieces of rudimentary equipment. And by now I have 4 fields, a new larger combine, a couple of extra tractors, two new seed spreaders... etc. I like that aspect of these games as well.

So I was trying to get a sense of what sort of 'development' happens during career mode, if any. It seems like not much really happens, so I'm not sure how much I would like TS... but I do love trains (I have an N scale model RR in this very room with me, running around a large oval of track, right now.)

[Mavadelo]

I promise you, you finish a career scenario with a 1000 points you feel like a kid winiing the big price at the fair :) I have seen (and done) many career scenarios that people made a mistake (speeding, SPAD etc), the negative numbers showed and they went.. Esc--->Restart
It is quiet satisfying to complete a orange or red scenario with a 1000. Development, maybe not in game items and such as in other games but development is there.
I could never drive a steam engine, took me a lot of trips with the black 5 (everybody can drive BigBoy, other steam engines...not so much) before I was able to keep the darn thing running up and over a summit. First time I finally did it I actually treated myself on a nice Whiskey to celebrate :)

[FOUR The Dark Side]

There's a world of difference between red and orange scenarios and red and oranges scenario, in fact.

The ones you are talking about are colored this way because most of the time you have to race (unless we are talking about advanced version of the locos, for which DTG are mainly publishers, not developers). Really, what's the challenge other than speed faster than time when you have two buttons active in the cab?

The only challenge in this case can be met when you are driving a steam engine up a punishing gradient. But that's not very often the case.

[skinnyraf]

Orange may also mean that some point switching is involved and you can expect some signals, while Red may mean changing directions, coupling/uncoupling or adverse weather conditions - though the last one doesn't matter much cause of the HUD.

As for career scenarios: they are actually easier to complete successfully than some standard ones. If you are late for a stop in a career scenario, you get point penalties - only if you are really, really late you fail a task. With standard scenarios with a timetable, if you come late (sometimes as little as 30 seconds late), you fail the whole scenario.

And no, you don't have to hit 1000 points all the time. Even a bronze medal means you did a good job after all. And if you drive with the HUD off, losing a couple of points here and there is almost unavoidable.

[Mavadelo]

@ Above gentleman. All true but don't tell me that the fact a 1000 is nearly impossible in some scenarios you don't even try right? And that if you manage to get that 1000 you don't have a feeling ofaccomplishment and pride? And if you check the standing and see that some of your friends might have around 980 you don't think "hah...nahnahnanahnahnah"{imitiades the indexfinger rubbing)

You notice soon enough if 1000 is actually impossible and you will aim for the highest possible. And don't believe the glovbal listings if you know 1000 is impossible. even in this game there are people that feel the need to "cheat" their way to a 1000. Not sure how they do it (I don't even want to know) But I do know that if a scenario has a maximum of 800 points to give away someone that is listed as 1000 must have cheatedd somehow

(I remember a scenario I found myself 1 point below Growler, I even messaged him how mean it was that he had that 1 point more and wanted to know excactly where he had stopped because I knew I stopped right on the dot.... I still revisit the scenario and I still can't beat that 1 point more and I am still frustrated as heck about that (frustrated in a "good way" that is lol)

[skinnyraf]

Well, I aim at 1000 (or 750, depending) only if there is an achievement for completing a scenario with a given score or without penalties. Then I play with the HUD, drive like mad, save progress if a scenario is long.

Other than that I drive all scenarios, career or not, the best I can: observe speed limits, try to adhere to the timetable, avoid poor driving quality - and then I check the score how well I managed. Do I get a feeling of accomplishment if I do perfectly? Sure! Do I repeat a scenario if I did really badly? Yes, but only if my mistakes were the reason e.g. I started slowing down way too early and arrived too late. If the reason is that a scenario is borked, I move on.

If I want to get competitive, I play Player versus Player games online :) But to each his own :)

[Scrapper-Lock]

How do you do PVP in this game? Both do the same scenario and try to earn more points?

[Mavadelo]

No Multiplayer or PvP in this game :) After you finished a career scenario the result screen will show you the standings how you did compared to your friends and worldwide.

In fact Multiplayer is one of the most disputed subjects when it comes to the future of the game. There are two distinct camps. Those that want MP and those that don't want Mp
I am in the no MP camp (meaning I see no use for it, if they add it good for them, I won't play it)

[Scrapper-Lock]

I don't think I would want to do multiplayer in a simulator either.... but then in games that are multiplayer I tend ot hate PVP anyway.