My first taste of just-launched TSW5 hasn’t exactly inspired confidence. Over breakfast I had a wander around Euston Station – the London end of the sim’s fairly short stretch of West Coast Main Line – and chanced upon a couple of platform-penetrating passengers.
I then fired up one of the route’s scenarios – Carriage Collector – and within five minutes was scratching my head. Following the on-screen hints in the cab of the Class 377 EMU, I rotated knobs, adjusted levers, and illuminated dashboard lights, but failed to produce motion. In order to persuade my train to budge I had to jab the ominous ‘I’M STUCK – RESET SIMULATION PHYSICS’ button in the pause menu.
Somewhat demotivated, I jumped ship and went off to try Conductor Mode (a genre innovation I jokingly predicted thirteen years ago) and couldn’t find it anywhere. Having watched the Dad Rail video embedded above, I now realise this new option isn’t available yet in the Class 377, and sports a few bugs at present.
Oh well, at least Dovetail is letting TSW4 owners upgrade for free. Anyone with the older sim can get TSW5 minus the new routes, rolling stock, and conductor options, for nothing until October 17 via a Free Starter Pack.
Currently, one of the stranger consequences of DTG’s questionable approach to sequels, is weird two-tier DLC pricing. Some routes like Blackpool Branches – the add-on used in the last THC rail tour – cost £15 for TSW4 and £30 for TSW5 at the moment. As far as I’m aware, there are no differences between versions, and TSW4 adjuncts work fine in the ‘new’ sim.
I just watched the video you linked called “Train Driver Plays” (the 1st one) and DadRail explains the Conductor is only available on certain trains at the moment, and he lists the ones that work, and how to activate them. He demonstrated the “Class 350” train, and it looked like there were a lot of “opportunities” for the developers ahead, but the Conductor mode was working. I wouldn’t really know, I live outside the UK, so don’t mind me.
Thanks for the review… loves me some trains!
You can upgrade for free from any previous version of TSW.
Small note that 2004’s “Densha de Go Final”, on PC and PS2, featured a conductor mode.
Indeed, judging by the videos I’ve seen on TSW5’s offering, DDG implemented a far more developed version of the feature.
Apparently the two tier pricing thing was down to not being able to put a discount on something that was so ‘recently released’, a downside to the Fifa style of updating I guess.
Still, getting the TSW4 stuff just plops it onto your TSW5 install, so it’s no problem. I finally got Blackpool Branches and oh my…I look forward to Just Trains WCML route, and perhaps a conductor mode for Blackpool Branches as well.
I wonder if DTG could be arm bent into looking into a signaller/dispatcher mode next….