Route lengths going backwards?

[Antti-san]

As much as I enjoy playing this game, the past few route releases have been sorely lacking in length, a worrying trend. I mean, short isn't necessarily "bad" as such, but even added trackside detail and a couple of miles of branch line can only compensate so much, especially if all the routes are priced the same.

I'm not asking for Paddington to Penzance here, but "decent" length routes, similar to the ones Dovetail released in the beginning.

[Yerolo]

To be fair Peninsula Corridor which was the release before last was the 2nd longest route (47 miles)

30miles (Brighton - Eastbourne + Lewes - Seaford) brings it to roughly the same track length as MSB which is around the norm tbh

[Echo Kilo]

My first feelings were similar to Antti-san's, especially when compared to what we have in TS20XX series which is where I came to this game from. However, I've also personally come to like routes (or scenarios) which take about 30-45 minutes to run through, with 1 hour being pretty much the absolute maximum. Longer ones tend to be left untouched when I look at the scenarios I have completed in TS20XX. So, personally, I'm now more interested in the time it takes to run a typical service on the route, rather than the route length in miles.

Everyone has their own preference, of course. I'm sure there are those who would like to run from London to Edinburgh in one go, too.

[Antti-san]

Originally posted by Yerolo:

To be fair Peninsula Corridor which was the release before last was the 2nd longest route (47 miles)

30miles (Brighton - Eastbourne + Lewes - Seaford) brings it to roughly the same track length as MSB which is around the norm tbh

True, Peninsula was the exception, though I don't know how much it had to do with that track being from TS originally. But the trend as of late seems to be short routes (Tees Valley, Rhein Ruhr Ost and this new UK route). The thing with branch lines, while good to see, is that you won't be running them and the main route all in one go, so I can't help but see it as compensating for otherwise short route lengths.

[JetWash]

23 miles for the main route (in this case) is too short. Period.

Couple that with 1 new loco and I’m afraid I feel that it’s too expensive at £24.99. I’ve pre-ordered it but really am in 2 minds given it’s length.

[Yerolo]

Originally posted by Antti-san:

True, Peninsula was the exception, though I don't know how much it had to do with that track being from TS originally. But the trend as of late seems to be short routes (Tees Valley, Rhein Ruhr Ost and this new UK route). The thing with branch lines, while good to see, is that you won't be running them and the main route all in one go, so I can't help but see it as compensating for otherwise short route lengths.

I ran a poll recently on the DTG forums asking everyone what their favorite route was so far...and RRO came in at the 2nd most popular (which is one of the shortest routes in TSW)

I figured at first it was because at the time it was the newest route and freshest in everyone's memory...but ppl who voted for it gave good reasons why it was theirs.

A short route does not necessarily mean a bad one. Its not the size which counts, its what you do with it as the old saying goes.

[Antti-san]

Personally, I regret buying RRO. Maybe I should give it another go, but I felt it didn't offer anything better than my favorite German route Ruhr Sieg Nord (overall one of my favorite routes in the game). Short isn't bad per se like you say, but when it seems to have become the trend, I worry - especially if the costs are the same as longer routes. There's still only so much you can do with limited length (well, excluding shunting) IMO.

I just can't help feeling "let down" by the new route announcement, I love GWE to death, and was waiting a long time for another modern UK route.

[JetWash]

Remember also that RRO was the most detailed route to date, with various new techniques employed to make distant scenery look better. It also seems less buggy than other routes.

I’d imagine that was largely what was behind it. I can’t believe many people voted for it because it was short.

[JetWash]

I’m pinning my hopes on this being part of a 5 year business plan for TSW (there has to be one!). Release DLC at a fairly rapid rate to increase the available asset base, all the while gaining revenue and introducing the game to new markets.

Hopefully at some point the next phase will be to move towards longer routes with more variety. This new release boasts of over 200 services...great and all, but how much variety can there be on a route 23 miles long? You can only do the same thing so many times before the replayability dies away.

[Jackthedragonkiller [Chirch]]

The reason why they're so short is because the Unreal engine they are running on takes a lot of time to work with so long routes like we got in TS20XX aren't happening because they'll take longer to make. The Sandpatch Grade in reality is over 100 miles long while the one in game is literally cut in half to around 50 miles.

Dovetail is going for more multiple short routes rather than less long routes. This is why I prefer TS20XX because we have huge routes that are 3 times larger with a hell of a lot more diversity and of course workshop and Raildriver support for the same or cheaper price than the ones we have on TSW.

[Metallos]

Short routes would be no problem if they could be connected to each other and the trains would run over the whole length (like in Run8) but with the actual system of TSW (trains and signals are scripted based on timetables) it's not possible.
A human dispatcher would be necessary (especially with random spawned AI trains) and tell the "console couch potatoes" (who are the limitng factor in TSW in case of arcadish gameplay and input devices) that they have also to dispatch other trains / set switches and signals for the whole route. The "console couch potatoes" would hate you if they have to do such demanding tasks...

About prefered sim you mentioned: I bought recently a Raildriver and it makes real fun (also labeled buttons instead of keyboard shortcuts, especially if you don't have an US keyboard), I started to play again old German routes from MSTS in OpenRails (hope with no crashes, the addons really took the MSTS engine to the limit) or play Run8. I could also reinstall TS20xx but I was fed up times ago with TS20xx because many jobs failed due to not halting at non existent ghost stations.

Buying content for TSW is still paused, the Raildriver has set the bar higher (first stopped after GWE due to many unfixed bugs, then (which is still actual) old customers are punished with buying already bought routes again for trash and the new demand is "Raildriver support: yes" (using my Saitek Throttle Quadrant would be an alternative but TSW supports only console crap)).

[Antti-san]

Well, another 20-something mile route. Hype and pre-order cancelled, again...

[Merlin]

If DTG make the routes any shorter the front of the train will be at one end and the back of the train will be at the other. Come on DTG TSW has been out long enough now to get decent length routes.

[Metallos]

They'll make a 0 shaped route (like a basic model railroad) extra for you and instead of the EOT device (American trains have this) there's a sign with "catch me if you can" written on it. ;-)

[Antti-san]

Originally posted by Merlin:

If DTG make the routes any shorter the front of the train will be at one end and the back of the train will be at the other.

Unfortunately, I'm sure people would still buy it. A sub-20 mile route can't be too far (reused locos and wagons, all at a full price, of course).

[Mondyrocks]

The only way to make Dovetail realise is to stop buying these routes.
It's bad enough that they're short and they're running on a badly optimised engine but to charge £24 for each route is a joke.

Maybe if they were priced more realistically, at around a tenner, it wouldn't be so bad.

I'm not a hater either.
The routes look stunning but run like a bag of s..t.

My last purchase was the first New York route, where I was getting under 20fps in the underground station on a 2080ti @ 4K.

You couldn't make it up..........