Birmingham Cross-City Line: Lichfield - Bromsgrove & Redditch will be arriving as a brand-new Starter Pack, and Add-On, for Train Sim World 3 on November the 17th. We thought we would take a look at some of the landmarks that you have to look forward to!
Starting approximately 27 Miles away from Birmingham in the historic City of Lichfield, the Cross-City Line has a far more rural feel than you would come to expect from a route that crosses the West Midlands’ industrial heartland. Heading south, bound for Birmingham, you will stop at various rural and suburban stations before arriving at the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield. Traditionally, it was a tourist escape from the City, but since the arrival of the railways it bloomed into a popular commuter town, this is also where the landscape starts to really change into the urban sprawl that is associated with the City of Birmingham.
Weaving your way from station to station, stopping and starting, your train will have started to get much busier with each stop, by the time you make your way under the infamous Spaghetti Junction and into the heart of the City, you will have a full train of jostling commuters keen to get where they are going.
Birmingham New Street
Arriving at the busiest station in the UK outside of London, you are greeted by fleeting views of the centre of this busy metropolis, this is due to the enclosed sub-surface design of the station and platforms, causing you to make your way through a cutting that is covered with various bridges and other stations on your approach. With 13 platforms being utilised constantly by various local and mainline companies, it’s no wonder it has its previously mentioned title, with 46 Million entries and over 7 Million exchanges between April 2019 and March 2020 this station's capacity is pushed to its limits.
A station has been on this site since 1854 and has only grown in size and footfall since its construction. It has undergone various upgrades and renovations, which include the incredible update of the entire entrance and waiting hall which opened in 2015. Once the 6000 tonnes of concrete that had been added in the 1960s were removed, New Street Station felt the light pour in for the first time in around 60 years. Its new open-plan, glass-roofed hall is now a feat of engineering and a genuine welcome space for tourists and commuters.
Birmingham University Station
Another first for Train Sim World 3 is Birmingham University Station. Unlike all of our previous stations created in the game, this one represents what it will look like rather than what it currently looks like. Due to be completed in December of 2022, and with a redevelopment plan costing around £56m its newly renovated site will be a more fitting and much more modernised station building on the north end, a widening of the platforms, a footbridge over the canal leading passengers directly to the campus, and a new public space around the new building.
Bournville
Those with a sweet tooth should be familiar with this name, as it’s the home of Cadbury, World renowned chocolatier. The railways and Cadbury have been intrinsically linked since the company started. So when Cadbury chose to move to their new site on the (then) outskirts of Birmingham, creating a purpose-built settlement alongside it to house its workers, railway access was vital. This new idyllic English village was named Bournville, adopting the name of the local river Bourn. Bournville would go on to become Cadbury chosen name for its dark chocolate range.
Thankfully a station on the Birmingham West Suburban Railway was opened in 1876, right next to their proposed site, but with Cadbury opening their new factory in 1879 the station adopted Bournville as part of its name, and in the early 1900s reduced this to simply be known as Bournville. Today the station serves commuters heading to and from Birmingham City Centre, and of course the streams of tourists heading to Cadbury World hoping to get their hands on a sweet treat or two.
Lickey incline and the South of the Line
When the line arrives at Barnt Green Station it splits in two different directions, the first retains the double track line and heads into one of the most famous stretches of track in the country, the Lickey Incline. Sometimes when railway engineers aren’t able to go around a hill or through it, they face the difficult task of running a railway straight over it. Over a stretch of only 2 miles the Lickey Incline climbs at a gradient of 1:37.7. This short section of the line is the steepest sustained main-line railway incline in Great Britain. With a canal running adjacent that uses the longest flight of locks in the UK to climb 67 meters over a similar 2-mile stretch of the hill, this truly is a record-breaking hill for transport. The line was electrified in 2016 to ensure passengers could access the Cross-City Line to and from Bromsgrove and services started in 2018.
In years gone by the Lickey Incline has seen traffic of all types, because of this it has remained incredibly popular with Railfans who are keen to spot locomotives being pushed to their limits to reach the summit. Utilising a unique set of whistle codes, steam train drivers would work in unison with a banking locomotive to make the climb easier. This process became so consistent that a locomotive was built specifically with the task in mind. The hugely powerful 0-10-0 locomotive, affectionately named “Big Bertha”, was assigned to help trains across the incline between 1919 and 1956.
Leaving Barnt Green Station, and bound for Redditch, you take the other Southernmost prong of the line and travel along the only section of single-line track the route has to offer. With a station that has moved location three times since it was opened in the late 1860s, Redditch is the final terminus for your journey. Much like the rest of the branch line, In its current guise, the station is also a single track and platform, offering you great opportunities to learn how to drive trains from both ends in the same session.
Train Sim World 3: Birmingham Starter Pack
If you are thinking about getting started with Train Sim World 3, or are a seasoned Train Sim World player and are yet to take the plunge into Train Sim World 3, the Birmingham Starter Pack is the perfect place for you to get started. Coupled with the Training Centre and all of Train Sim World 3’s immersive features, the Birmingham starter pack gives you everything you need to get started, learn the ropes, and feel the power of Train Sim World 3!
Learn the fundamentals of train driving in the Training Center, get to grips with moving a locomotive, switching points, and navigating this free-roam environment. Experience extreme weather – new volumetric skies and lightning bring a transformed atmosphere to routes. Feel total immersion as you learn the art of defensive driving to stay in control. Customise your own scenarios and liveries, then share on the Creators Club.
Get started with the Birmingham Starter Pack, then build your Train Sim World collection.
To get your first glimpse of the upcoming Birmingham Cross-City Line: Lichfield - Bromsgrove & Redditch be sure to watch the Railfan TV tonight (Tuesday, November 15th) at 17:00 pm UTC on our platforms linked below - Don't miss it!
Find out more about Birmingham Cross-City Line: Lichfield - Bromsgrove & Redditch, Train Sim World 3, and more by following @trainsimworld on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, and TikTok.
Birminham Cross-city: Timetable Deep Dive | Pre-order | Release Day Update
Birmingham Cross-City release date update
After reviewing the most recent build of the route overnight, we need a little more time to iron out a couple of lighting issues that the team have identified.
Whilst we are confident in providing a fix, as it is so close to release it does mean we need a couple of extra days to implement and test it ahead of submitting it to the respective platforms.
As a result, we will be delaying the release of the route by a couple of days, and moving the preview stream to next week.
Release will move from Tuesday 15th to Thursday 17th November
The live stream preview for the route will now be Tuesday, 15th November, at 17:00 UTC
Thanks for your understanding. We want to ensure the finished product is as good as it can be, and the extra time will allow us to sort the issues we’ve seen today.
Timetable Deep Dive
We have a new Timetable Deep Dive article taking you through all the fun nuances and layers you can look forward to on your Cross-City journey!
Train Sim World 3: Game Update - November 8th
Hello folks, We have our next series of post-release improvements as we approach the release of Birmingham: Cross-City, our first new route since the launch of TSW3! This update brings a range of performance enhancements, stuttering reductions, UI fixes and further scenario medal experience adjustments to allow more gold medals to be achieved.
Thank you all for continuing your feedback, we will keep improving Train Sim World 3 to be the best it can be with more updates to come.
Headliners
System
We’ve removed your fast-track ticket out of the game – you will no longer experience a crash when exiting to desktop.
Performance
We’ve implemented a fix that should reduce game-wide micro-stuttering to make the experience as smooth as possible. The team has also removed points of lag in certain conditions, such as instantly rotating the camera when loading into a route as well as during the Shop Class scenario on Cajon Pass, coupling the two ES44C4's together should no longer momentarily pause the game. The DB Dopplestock will also no longer massively impact performance when having the headlights activated – You may now safely and smoothly, go into the night.
Gameplay
We’ve fixed an error so LZB should no longer jump down in distance in the middle of a ride. If you continue to experience issues after this patch, let us know on our forums.
Fixed achievements
Further adjustments have been made to the required experience of medals across various routes to allow for gold medals to be achievable. This patch includes the 1938 Heritage Tube Stock Introduction on the Bakerloo line, S-Bahn Shutdown Scenario and Wash and Go Scenario on München-Augsburg and the Cane Creek Introduction.
Full Changelog:
Core
You will no longer receive a crash when closing the game on Steam
[Gameplay]
Fixed LZB should no longer jump down in distance mid-ride
Player will be restricted to interact with controls during voice overs - stay still!
Reduced initial lag when loading into a new route and immediately rotating the camera
[UI]
DTL menu buttons will now update to display when connection is offline
Tick icons will now correctly appear next to completed routes
Allowed Speed Indicator Line will no longer change when inside the Pause Menu
Added ‘Resume Last played’ thumbnail on various routes (Ruhr Sieg Nord, Bakerloo, Sand Patch Grade, Cane Creek, München-Augsburg and Main-Spessart Bahn)
[UI - Text]
Text should remain within the initial pop-up text box when loading into a route
‘Stop At Objective’ text will now be readable in all scenarios
Correctly added a title for On Foot exploration
[Xbox] Keyboard will now only pop up when selecting the Search Bar and Filter options
Southeastern High-Speed
Fixed a crash when exiting to menu on the Last Stop Scenario
Cajon Pass
Shop Class Scenario - The game will no longer pause momentarily after coupling the two ES44C4s together
Bakerloo
1938 Heritage Tube Stock Introduction - Adjusted required experience to all medals to allow a gold medal to be achievable
Sand Patch Grade
All C40-8W services will now correctly load
Cane Creek
Cane Creek Introduction - Reduced required experience for a gold medal to allow it to be achievable
München-Augsburg
S-Bahn Shutdown Scenario - Reduced required experience for a gold medal to allow it to be achievable
Wash and Go Scenario - Reduced required experience for a gold medal to allow it to be achievable
Other Loco Changes
[DB Dopplestock]
Having the lights on will no longer impact Performance massively on Main-Spessart Bahn and Ruhr Sieg Nord
AI trains will now correctly display lights and PIS screens
[TGV Duplex]
Fixed a derailment when applying the air brakes
Smoother TVM braking curves between shorter blocks
Train Sim World Roadmap - 3rd November 2022
TL;DR (too long; didn’t read) summary
A quick summary for those who don’t want to go through the whole article. There are more details on all these points within the Roadmap.
Birmingham Cross-City announced, coming November 15th Check out below for an exclusive first-look at the BR Class 323!
A new Dovetail Games US route has been added to the Roadmap
A new Train Sim Germany route has been added to the Roadmap
New Journeys Add-on released for all players
First Save Game update released – significant improvement on ‘Red Lights on resuming’ and Dispatcher issues
First derailment issues update has been released, with more being worked on
Deep-dive on Auto-testing and its application within our overall testing process
Batch of Performance improvements coming in the next game update
The BR Class 20 is coming to Livery Designer!
Union Workshop join the Partner Programme, bringing their wealth of Chinese rail expertise to Train Sim World
Train Sim World 3 is now available in the boxed edition on GAME and Amazon
Roadmap Live Stream tonight (Thursday 3rd), at 20:00 UTC
The Roadmap
Welcome to November’s Roadmap! The nights are drawing in and the temperatures are dropping – but we have a warm blanket of an update for you to wrap yourselves in. As well as adding a new first-party American route, and TSG’s first route for Train Sim World, there’s a whole host of new content, including:
a first look at the Birmingham Cross-City’s BR Class 323 in action, plus an interview with a member of the beta community who has helped make it happen
updates on core improvements
a new member of the Partner Programme
a new loco addition to the Livery Designer
a deep-dive into the possibilities of auto-testing for Train Sim World 3
…there’s a lot to talk about!
Whew! Let’s grab some cocoa, get some logs on the fire, and read on … and, in case you’re in the market for a Christmas present the Railfan in your life, Train Sim World 3 is now available on GAME (UK) and Amazon (Global) – search ‘Train Sim World 3’, and your chosen platform. Fill yer stockings.
Birmingham Cross-City – first-look at the BR Class 323
As you’ll hopefully already be aware by this point, Birmingham Cross-City is coming to Train Sim World 3 on November 15th. So, for this Roadmap, we’ve got you a little treat. Say hello to the BR Class 323.
As well as modelling the distinctive look of the 323, we’ve taken great pains to source authentic audio, replicating the iconic sounds of the traction motors engaging and its unique ‘whine’. So, we enlisted the help of one of our beta team who works for West Midlands Trains! We spoke to Daisy to find out more about how she’s helped us with the Cross-City route, and how (with her unwavering help!), we’ve sourced reference and sounds for the 323.
What is your job title?
I've been a Train Guard (Senior Conductor) for West Midlands trains (Formerly London Midland) for 7+ years, and my job involves opening and closing the train doors at stations, checking that the train is safe to depart, dealing with the safe running of the train and the safety of passengers. I also check/sell tickets and make announcements.
What is your history with Train Simulator and Train Sim World?
I've been a Beta Tester since 2013 and subject matter expert, providing Dovetail with reference and information for different routes (photos, video, recordings, examples, general detail), to make sure we try to provide the best and most authentic experience for players.
And by ‘reference’, what kind of things have you been able to help us with in the past?
I started helping out with reference trips back in 2020 when I went out and recorded the Bakerloo line 1972 stock whistle's and One Person Operation alarm. I own similar audio recording equipment to Armstrong Powerhouse who I've helped arrange official access to some of our train-care depots (though I will say I don't like having to write risk assessments).
I also helped get photographs of the Class 465-9 cab which proved rather elusive when I tried to get the reference for the Train Art team.
How have you been able to help the team with Birmingham Cross-City?
I have probably been gathering reference for the route and train for maybe 5 years now (my Dropbox folder amasses nearly 70gb of photos and almost another 20 in audio, video and documentation!), I even walked the canal section between Bournville and five ways 2 or 3 times in each direction (my poor feet!).
With the sounds, they were a bit trickier, the way to get sounds on the move of the traction motors is a closely guarded secret, but I did go to Soho Depot a few times to get picture and video reference along with all the static sounds required, I bought a Victoria sponge cake for my friend and Colleague Cliff (Class 323 Driver) and we spent probably 7 hours getting all the different tiny sounds a class 323 can make, there are a few teensy things I wasn't able to record such as the tiny 'quarter' brake release noises when the regen brake kicks in whilst braking, but that is not possible due to where the valve is and how much wind noise is present. but on the whole Cliff and I managed to capture everything.
(It's worth mentioning, there are 3 fans in the cab, Cab air conditioning, the main cab desk fan which blows around air, the other is a cab recirculation fan to make sure there is constant airflow to prevent condensation on the windows, as traincrew we can only control the desk fan and AC, the recirculation fan is constantly on, we've made it a reasonable volume in game, but as we have to listen to it for up to 5 hours in one sitting we thought we'd let you all enjoy that same pleasure too!
After recording audio from the train, the hard part comes. The Audio team have been messaging me since way before the 323 began modelling, and we've had numerous calls to run through nuances of all the sounds they've been working on from the recording sessions. Trying to make a simulated train is no easy feat, and especially trying to get the audio to match up with something as difficult as the unique sound the 323s are known for. Some (most) of the audio recordings were over an hour long, and trying to narrow down each little bit proved a little challenging at first – so I went through all the files and annotated what was happening at what timestamp, and to help the team further, I made little videos to demonstrate where certain sounds were coming from on the train. Hopefully, what we’ve been able to achieve together will be appreciated!
Soho Depot deserve a big nod due to how much access they gave me, any time I asked for something they gave it, for the train art and setup development teams that has been immensely valuable, another nod should go to two of my other friends and colleagues, who I've been messaging at all hours to double check on performance and what should happen during x scenario etc. Having real driver input alongside the train performance characteristics goes a long way.
Station reference was a tricky task, on my days off from work I walked around every small part of each station filming and taking pictures, 25 stations which took about 30-90 minutes to walk around each took many, many days. One thing is for certain - walking definitely helps with weight loss!
And finally, do you have any shout-outs?
First up, the Train Art and Setup teams - they've been massively receptive to any feedback I've given them and have delivered probably one of the most interactive trains in the simulators so far. There are some bits and pieces which we'll leave you the player to discover through either your own exploration or some scenarios. Next is Station Art - I've been talking to Mark, the lead artist for Cross-City, since the route's inception for TSW, we've been working closely on a lot and he's been working flat-out to try and get the stations looking their best, he's done an amazing job and has a good team supporting.
Track & Signalling - Track and signalling is a very underappreciated part of route development, and these guys have done a stand-up job. All the gradients, superelevation signal sequences are pretty spot-on. We've actually set the route a little into the future, because after December of this year, New Street station’s final signalling upgrade works should be complete, so we've set all of the signals and track speeds to what they will be in a month or so's time.
Timetable and Gameplay – The timetable engineer has listened to feedback and suggestions and taken pretty much every one of them onboard. We're using a late 2019 timetable with the high frequency service the Cross-City line is known for (the reason for the slight mismatch in route and timetable is to make sure you aren't waiting on platforms for 20 minutes for a train to arrive!
The Gameplay team have also been amazingly receptive to my personal experiences at work and have implemented some pretty cool scenarios, there's a lot more to do and see on these scenarios than ones I've personally played in the past.
Finally, A big thank-you to Daisy and the rest of the WMR team, who have been great to work with on building this route and providing as authentic an experience as possible for players.
For those visiting the Warley National Model Railway Exhibition on November 26-27th, we’ll be exhibiting Train Sim World 3, with Birmingham Cross-City playable in all its glory. If you’re coming along, please come and say hi! There will be more information on the route in the coming days – including a timetable and layers article, as well as a We Are Railfans article giving more detail on the history of the Lickey Incline, and don’t forget, you can get a live stream preview next Thursday (10th November). Put it in your diaries!
Train Sim World 3 core improvements
A progress summary on the core improvements the teams are working on. This month, we have updates on Save Game, Add-ons Manager, UI and Settings, Performance, and Derailing.
Save Game Update
Earlier this month, we released the first batch of Core improvements for Save Game (i.e. preventing Red Lights on restart of a saved game and allowing services to be completed), and this has had positive feedback from players. Thanks to everyone who has confirmed things are working for you since the update. We will, as a result, in a future update, be looking to turn Save Game on again as the default option (a toggle will be available if you’d like it to remain off). There is more to be done, and these will be addressed on a case-by-case basis (for example, train set-up remaining exactly the same after a Save Game has been resumed – which will need to be looked for each individual train). When we have more on these, we’ll update you. If you do experience an issue with Save Game, please report it on this Save Game thread and we’ll use it as the basis for our investigations.
Add-ons Manager
Testing will start on the TSW3 version of Add-ons Manager soon. It has taken longer than we would have wanted, and this is due to a number of factors. The team remain committed to getting it into your hands as soon as we can, as we know PS5 players are playing Add-on Tetris at the moment and aren’t able to get the full experience we want.
In short: the infrastructure for Add-ons Manager can be ported directly from Train Sim World 2’s version of Add-ons Manager (which is why we wanted to make sure we got that out in full first), but there is an extra body of work which will map that to the new TSW3 UI – particularly the new menu screens you see not present within TSW2. That is currently being completed before being sent through to our QA and beta teams to review. We know this has been said a lot, but thank you for your continued patience.
As a side note, as we are using the same infrastructure, all mods that currently work since TSW2’s Add-ons update should work within TSW3’s version of Add-ons Manager.
UI/settings/toggles
Over the course of several updates, we’re continuing to refine the User Interface (UI) of TSW3. As well as some of our longer-term aspirations (saving your ‘sort-by’ settings, using special characters in the search bar when the EN equivalent is used, and changing the colour of the selected option from grey to something more distinct), in the next update there are a series of smaller improvements to help improve your experience.
Keep sending us through your suggestions! And, if you would like to request an accessibility option or particularly struggle with any features of the UI, menu screens, and inputs and outputs – then please let us know on this accessibility options forum and we will take a look on how we can improve them.
Performance improvements
We know good performance is a reasonable expectation for you when playing our games, so we will be continuing to look at ways we can improve your experience going forward.
As well as using autotesting to identify where there may be problem areas (see the ‘Auto-testing’ section below for more details) in upcoming content, the Engineering and Special Projects teams are looking at ways we can optimise memory and performance for existing content, too. Here are some areas we’re currently investigating:
Lights on AI Doppelstock wagons (BR 182, Ruhr-Sieg Nord, Main Spessart Bahn) were causing big frame rate dips – fixed in the next game update
Certain custom liveries causing frame rate issues – under investigation. If you are experiencing performance issues and have multiple custom liveries enabled, we recommend removing them and adding just one per route as a temporary measure
Frame rate drops and stutters when first rotating the camera on a new route – improved with next update
Back-end improvements for locos with complex physics (i.e. Cajon Pass’ ES44C4) – improved with next update
Stalling when connecting long consists (90+ length combined) – improved with next update
(Steam only) crashing on exit – fixed with next update
As well as this, we believe that Add-ons Manager will improve performance for those with lots of Add-ons installed (it’s not a game-changer, but it should improve things).
As we continue to improve performance, you’ll find out updates in our Release Notes and future Roadmap articles.
Derailing issues
A quick update on a series of distinct derailing issues we could see players experiencing.
Since last month’s Roadmap, we’ve released the first of three potential improvements over the past week – dealing with derailments whilst in motion. We’ve seen positive feedback thus far, which means we can move onto the second and third improvements, which will be longer-term improvements.
These will cover:
Derailing when sharply braking
Derailing when coupling (which has also been connected to buffers)
Once we’ve completed these, we’ll check for any further problems, and address those on a case-by-case basis. Like Save Game, we want to provide core updates which we believe will fix most problems, before targeting other improvements.
It’s super-helpful for us as we start to review individual instances (and what might be causing these) for your input. If you’ve experienced an unexpected derailment, please head to our derailment forum thread and let us know – using the prompt we’ve mentioned in the thread title post to provide us with as much information as you can.
Special Projects Team update
Last time on October's Roadmap, we told you about the Preservation Crew team’s move to become the Special Projects team. Here’s a quick summary of what they’re up to, as well as some more Livery Designer news! The team’s focus is to target high-impact and highly-requested improvements for players from our back catalogue, and here are some areas they’ve been looking at recently:
Peninsular Corridor and Oakville Subdivision timetables – progress has been made on the issues preventing them being simulated. We’re now moving forward again to get those updates ready for release.
Rebuilding all grade crossings on Peninsular Corridor to resolve reported issues - released
Fixed medal thresholds on introductions (allowing Gold to be achieved) for… Southeastern High Speed Hauptstrecke München-Augsburg Cane Creek Bakerloo (currently in the build for the next update)
Minor tweaks to scenery around Cheyenne turntable on Sherman Hill – released
Achievements not unlocking (DB BR 187, Nahverkehr Dresden, Oakville Subdivision, Spirit of Steam, Horseshoe Curve) – currently investigating
Last month, we also updated you on the progress of the HST going into Livery Designer (quick update: it has passed internal reviews, and the coaches are having the issues raised fixed) – here are some images of the testing so far:
No Matt Peddlesdens were harmed in the making of the pink carriages.
But we also have something else to whet your appetites… The Class 20 is also coming to Livery Designer! Here it is in action.
The Class 20 in Livery Designer (Work In Progress)
Livery Designer functionality has been added, and has similarly passed internal review. You can see the current status in the pictures above. It’s now with our QA team and beta testers. We’ll update you with more in future Roadmaps!
TSW2 Preservation Crew updates
Finally in this section, a quick review on the outstanding TSW2 Preservation Crew updates – we are targeting these in a couple of batches, with the aim for at least one to be out this side of Christmas. As ever, you can find out when they’re live on our Roadmap articles, or by clicking here on our Announcement forums.
Third-Party developer (Partner Programme) update
Last Roadmap, we added Rivet Games’ upcoming route – more details will come in the future around what they’re working on. This Roadmap, we’ve added in Train Sim Germany (TSG)’s first route for Train Sim World! As with Rivet, You can expect more details in due course, but we’re really excited to help bring their content to the game. In other news, initial work with the team at Alan Thomson Simulations (ATS) has been going well. At this stage, they are honing in on what content they’d like to target first, and are getting up to speed with our tools – so we wouldn’t expect to confirm their first project for a long time yet. Finally, some big news! We teased you last week with news that another Partner was joining our ranks, bringing with them another country for players to enjoy – well, we are delighted to announce that Union Workshop, after building a number of exciting Chinese routes for Train Simulator Classic, will be bringing their expertise to TSW3! They have a dedicated team working on TSW3 content, and we’re really excited to see what they can bring to the table.
Auto-testing deep-dive
Last month, we promised you a deeper insight into the world of auto-testing, a new tool we’ve developed to improve our ability to grind through large testing pools (such as 1,000+ services in a route). We’ve asked Matt to put together a summary about what this is, what it will enable us to do, and what impact it’s had on Cross-City, the first route this has been used for. It’s a long read, but hopefully you’ll find it interesting!
Conventional testing involves following a sequence of actions and verifying the desired outcomes along the way and conclusion at the end, such as playing a scenario or service. While this is a straightforward way of testing a product, it starts to become problematic as the number of scenarios, services and locos, plus the complexity of routes and signaling increase. You’re not just testing 5 scenarios; you’re facing testing 1,400 services, saving and resuming them at different points and trying to spawn on foot at different times in the day (with 5 minute increments, that’s up to 144 spawn times to test and make sure they work correctly). Throw in variable weather with variable adhesion on top of all that, mix in seven different platforms with varying sizes and shapes and what you’re left with is a harsh reality that if you’re going to do this all by hand then all you can really do is pick a broad set of representative elements and do your best.
The way to solve this is automated testing. Computers are great at winding their way through big tedious challenges constantly, overnight, all weekend, all month if you need it, constantly doing things until it’s all done. And, if you need it faster, just throw more computing resource at it! When combined with the ‘human’, subjective element of testing, it can prove a great combination.
One area that we have been developing internally for some time now with a dedicated engineer is in this area of automated testing. You can’t just “automatically test the sim” because there’s so many ways to play, different facets that need to be looked at, so one of the challenges has been breaking the problem down to get answers to specific questions or pick specific areas to get visibility of which might then focus the development effort more usefully and efficiently.
So far, we have three different auto testing suites in operation, all very much under constant development because every question answered yields two more questions that need to be considered.
Suite 1: Performance and Memory
We started this journey by wanting to understand the framerate at all the different spawn-on-foot locations. So, the first auto test process spawns in at each location, lets the framerate settle and then captures the FPS, a screenshot and the free memory at that point. It produces a nice graph showing the change in FPS / memory over time as well so we can see if there’s been a sudden loss or gain and the team can use that feedback immediately to understand if a recent change has had a negative impact.
As an example, on the Cross City route we had a case where the frame rate suddenly went down a great deal on all platforms and at all spawn points, in some cases as low as 2 frames per second!
The tool meant that in one test session overnight we could see it was not l ocalised to one area, and it was not localized to one platform, it was across everything. The team investigated and found a problem with some materials being used and the next test run after that confirmed all the framerates were back to a reasonable count again. This saved hours, perhaps days of testing that could be used elsewhere.
The autotesting results of the FPS on Cross-City across the spawn points on a PS4. This also highlights another useful benefit of automatic testing, consistency. Every test, every day, every route, every spawn point and on every platform, is always the same test in the same circumstances, so any change can be fairly ranked against the previous values rather than being stuck in a questionable state where it might be different hardware, or different trains loaded, or different things have been done on the computer prior to the testing etc. This way of testing eliminates all of that uncertainty, greatly speeding up the process of diagnosis.
It is worth noting at this point that, for consistency purposes, these tests are conducted on platforms with no Add-ons installed. This is something we’ll be investigating in future.
Suite 2: Resource Usage
The next challenge that was given to the auto testing engineer was to try and understand what the complexity of the scenes were going to be, how many objects, materials, textures, polygons and so forth were in the various 1km tiles that make up the routes.
This was answered by the automatic production of a series of graphs and tables which show you where the busiest tiles are and graphs the entire route so you can spot any tiles that look too overpopulated. We’ve used this to identify where we can be more efficient with all these types of resource, sharing more materials, finding and removing duplication and so forth. All this helps improve that overall free memory count in the first set of tests too, and more memory that’s free after the route is loaded means more trains can be loaded too.
From Southeastern High Speed – an indication of highly ‘populated’ areas of resources.
Suite 3: Service Mode Overview
The latest auto-tester that we’ve developed is related to service mode timetables. During the development of a service mode timetable the whole thing is run end to end in something called a Timetable Simulator. This runs the timetable many times faster than normal speed, from start to finish and in its entirety. It can take 2-4 hours to run the whole thing, which is infinitely quicker than a human tester individually running those services.
There are two goals from this: on a practical level it saves out all the data needed to allow the timetable to spawn in at any point, putting all the trains in the right place for that moment of time; the second goal is a degree of auto testing in its own right, since it proves that all the trains can complete their tasks and also reports how long trains spend at red lights and so forth. It’s not quite the same as players running a timetable because we all drive differently, but it gives a good indication that the complete timetable should work at least in most cases, regardless of how complex or how many services there are.
Where we’ve seen challenges however is with the growing number of timetables, the growing range of locomotives that can swap in, and the strong desire to still go in and make improvements and fixes to core aspects of the game related to physics and the dispatching systems you can get into a position that you’re facing a 5 minute fix to the dispatcher that requires potentially months of retesting of all timetables to evaluate if there’s been any impact. Sometimes there have been cases where even after extensive testing there have been side effects which badly impacted a timetable but were still not able to be spotted prior to release because it’s simply impossible to retest all those timetables at this point by hand.
Here comes the latest auto-tester, whose sole job is to simply run every single timetable simulation with the latest versions of code and trains over and over, repeatedly. Once it gets to the end of the list of routes, it just starts again.
As you can see in the table, while not all routes are in the tester yet, we can see one has failed its latest run and we're now able to go look at that in the logs and find out why.
This means that we’re able to observe that a timetable somewhere in the game has stopped being able to be completed following a change, usually within 24-48 hours of that change going in, which is unprecedented visibility for the team to see what’s going on and react to it.
What’s next?
We have many challenges for the auto-testing environment, and things are still in their early stages. One test system we want to implement would not just run the timetable from start to finish but literally play every service from start to finish. Another would drive the route from end to end, recording a graph of FPS and memory to give even more insight into framerates and ram usage throughout the route and how they might be experienced across all the platforms allowing us to find problems and optimize the sim with surgical precision.
These systems take a lot of time to develop, but they are proving their worth and we are set to continue expanding their usage.
The Train Sim World Roadmap
These are forthcoming add-ons that are being developed by Dovetail Games. Where details are still being finalised for a release we are including the ID code for it when possible.
[NEW] [TSW3] – [3.GBB-R7 02] Birmingham Cross-City Line
[TSW3] – [3.DBB-R6 03] DE route
[NEW] [TSW3] – [3.NBB-R7 01] - US route
[TSW3] – [3.NBB-L7 01] US loco
[TSW3] [3.GBB-R7 03] UK route (developed by Rivet Games)
[NEW] [TSW3] [3.DGG-R6 01] [GERMAN ROUTE] – (developed by TSG)
[TSW3] [3.DBB-L5 01] DB BR 420 Electric Multiple Unit (Hauptstrecke München-Augsburg) - Developed by TSG
Core features are larger projects. These may be significant new pieces of functionality or changes that will affect players on one or several different platforms. Often requiring more time in development this list may move more slowly than others.
[TSW3] – Derailing improvements (harsh braking derailments, coupling derailments) – these will be released for TSW2 where possible
[TSW3] Save Game improvements (route-by-route)
[TSW3] Red Light / Dispatcher improvements across multiple routes (starting with Rush Hour routes and Harlem Line)
[TSW3] Performance optimisation
Projects that players will notice but don’t fall into one of the other categories.
[TSW2/TSW3] Rush Hour passenger system for London Commuter
[TSW2/TSW3] Spirit of Steam manual fireman functionality
Projects that are being tackled by the Preservation Crew. Many of these upgrades will simply be adding the latest game functionality to an older route. The additions or changes in the “upgrade” will include some or all of the following: station departure boards, animated crossings, platform climb-up functionality, improved track rendering, Rush Hour passenger density and appearance, support for RailDriver, contact signaller functionality, minor fixes to scenery, minor fixes to audio, minor fixes to gameplay, minor fixes to menu items, Livery Designer compatibility and Scenario Planner expansion. We have included a ‘scale’ of the size of the work/features put into the update.
Note: Preservation Crew updates will continue after the launch of Train Sim World 3
[TSW2][TSW3] HST Livery Designer functionality
[NEW] [TSW3] Class 20 Livery Designer functionality
[TSW3][TSW2] DB BR 187 Audio improvements
[TSW2] [Tiny] Scottish Commuter
[TSW2] [Small] Hauptstrecke Hamburg-Lübeck, including timetable update
[TSW2] [Huge] Peninsula Corridor – NOTE: there are further improvements to come on both games
[TSW2] [Huge] Oakville Subdivision
[TSW2] [Tiny] LGV Mediterrannée
Train Sim World 3 – Master The West Midlands!
Jump aboard Train Sim World’s very first route located in the West Midlands! Exploring the hustle and bustle of Britain’s Second City, and master the hard-working BR Class 323 with the upcoming Birmingham Cross-City Line: Lichfield - Bromsgrove & Redditch, coming to Train Sim World 3 on November the 15th in both Add-On and Starter pack format!
You will also be able to Pre-Order Birmingham Cross-City Line: Lichfield - Bromsgrove & Redditch on Steam from the 8th of November!
Crossing the City of Birmingham from the Neighbouring city of Lichfield in the North, all the way to both Bromsgrove and Redditch just south of the city, Cross-City couldn’t have had a more suitable name if it tried. It is a r oute steeped in history, and yet to get where it is today its evolution has been somewhat more gradual than similar inner city cotter lines across the UK. The line today is the sum of several parts, with its routes dating back as early as 1837.
Its total distance of 37-mile (60 km) was made up of sections from numerous railways building lines in and out of Birmingham before the turn of the last century, including the Grand Junction Railway, London and North Western Railway, Birmingham and Gloucester Railway, Midland Railway, and Birmingham West Suburban Railway. Considering its inner-city access and commuter potential incredibly it wasn’t until 1978 that these lines were consolidated to create one singular route.
In its current state, the route features 25 distinctly unique stations, and thanks to its history, variety of Railway companies involved in its construction, and evolving service types, the route has a huge variety of interesting architecture and points of interest for you to see. From Birmingham University station which isn’t due to open until December this year, to the mix of modern and historic features at Sutton Coldfield Station.
Of course, we can't talk about Birmingham Cross-City without talking about New Street Station, or Bournville.
Birmingham New Street station is the UK’s central hub for passenger services, with trains bound for the North, London, Wales, and the South West all heading through this bustling sub-surface 13 platform station. It's no wonder it's earned the title of the Uk ’s busiest station outside of London.
Bournville station has been a highlight of the route since Cadbury’s purpose-built factory was opened in 1879, with a works town being constructed to complement the factory and create better conditions for workers. The footfall expanded as years progressed, and today, thousands of tourists make the trip to Cadbury World hoping to get a little bite of chocolatey happiness.
Throughout its life, the Cross-City Line, and the individual sections that make it up, have been home to Steam, Diesel, and Electric traction. In the era of steam, one of the highlights of the route was the steepest sustained main-line railway incline in Great Britain. At a gradient of 1:37.7 for 2 miles, it is known by Railfans as the Lickey Incline. This famous stretch of the line had treats for all the senses, including sight and sound - as the line allowed the giants of steam to be pushed to their limits with heavy freight trains, unique whistle codes, and dedicated banking locomotives to assist with the arduous task of heading South West out of the city. Since the electrification of the line in the early 1990s, the more modern BR Class 323 EMU that serves the route makes light work of this steep incline.
Popular amongst Railfans, the BR Class 323 EMU’s home has always been inner-suburban lines such as the Cross-City Line, and similar suburban routes in and around Manchester. Built by Hunslet Transportation Projects and Holec in the early 1990s, a total of 43 units entered service in 1994. With the unique sound of its traction motors engaging, this busy unit's distinctive whine is easily identifiable as it stops and starts between its numerous destinations . More info, such as audio, will be covered in the Roadmap later this week!
Sporting West Midlands Railway’s current striking Orange and White livery, the 323 has been a staple part of the Cross-City Line for many years, and with each unit being individually named, it's nice and easy for Railfans to spot them and add them to their collections. However, the unit is nearing the end of its working life on the route, with plans to transfer the fleet to be housed alongside their Northern Rail counterparts in Manchester, and the Cross-City Line to receive the more modern BR Class 730 EMU as a replacement in 2023.
As a player this means you get to enjoy not only the very first West Midlands route for Train Sim World 3, but you will also experience a historic line that is going through various upgrades and modernisations, contrasted by a fan favourite classic unit in its twilight years.
Birmingham Cross-City Line: Lichfield - Bromsgrove & Redditch arrives for Train Sim World 3 on the 15th of November for Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Epic Games Store, and Steam!
Join the Railfan TV team on Twitch, YouTube, or Facebook. on the 10th of November to catch your first proper glimpse of Birmingham Cross-City Line, we will be confirming the time of this broadcast closer to the date.
Find out more about the Birmingham Cross-City Line: Lichfield - Bromsgrove & Redditch, Train Sim World 3, and more by following @trainsimworld on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, and TikTok.
Our successful applicant has been chosen and the patch today means their virtually reproduced and 3D-modelled avatar is immortalised in Train Sim World!
We also have the first round of potential fixes following investigations into player train derailments in this update. It brings increased stability for some derailments that may occur while the train is being operated. We are keen to get your feedback on how this improves your experience.
This update is for PC and Xbox / Gamepass / Microsoft Store players only.PlayStation players will receive the fixes for derailments in our next update, coming soon.
Read our previous Pringles article to find out more information on this event. You can read that here
Train Sim World 3 - Patch Notes: Save Game & UI Improvements
Hello folks,
We’re coming in fast with the second of several post-release updates, bringing fixes to the recently re-introduced Save Game functionality, and a large range of UI improvements, quality of life changes and fixes. We want to thank you all for keeping your feedback coming, and we will keep improving Train Sim World 3 to be the best it can be with more updates to come.
Headliners
Save Game
General improvements with Save and Resume game functionality
Settings & UI
Mouse Sensitivity slider will now function as intended
Added new icons for “Go Via” and “Stop at” objectives
Liveries on train selection now displaying the original route they come from
Railhead Treatment Train
Water spray effect has been improved to be truer to life
Weather effects will now appear on the windows
Fixed issues with wagon buffer physics
BR 182 Dispolok
The Dispolok will also correctly substitute on DB Cargo Deutschland.
Controller Usage
Added gamepad button prompts for settings in the pause menu
Navigation around the 2D map is now corrected on controllers
When using a controller, you can now hover over the search bar and filter buttons in route selection menus. A virtual keyboard will open when pressing A/X.
Full Changelog
Core: [Save Game]
General improvements with Save and Resume game functionality
[UI]
Mouse Sensitivity slider will now function as intended
Added new icons for “Go Via” and “Stop at” objectives
Re-added Back button to pause menu – It’s back baby! Literally.
Changing measurement units to imperial will now impact all HUD settings
Crosshair size settings will now be saved after exiting and reloading the game.
Level 5 or higher profiles will be recommended ‘Experienced’ option on profile import
Resume Last Played button will now display a suitable image on the home screen for various routes.
[UI – Selection Menus]
When selecting a service, duration times for other services will no longer disappear
You can now see how many services you can play when viewing trains.
Trains section should show trains from "Services" rides
Completing a scenario or tutorial will also mark it as complete in journey mode.
Scenarios and Tutorials for uninstalled content will no longer show.
When in the Route Selection menu, hovering over a route thumbnail will correctly show the route details.
Selecting a livery on the train selector will now show which route that livery comes from.
Livery Editor will default to dark mode, the one-true prevailing mode.
[UI – Text]
Text will no longer scroll out of the boundary when starting a route
Exit Game button text will no longer flicker
Decreased task padding around text on task list rows
[UI – Console]
Added gamepad button prompts for settings in the pause menu
Navigation around the 2D map is now corrected on controllers
When using a controller, you can now hover over the search bar and filter buttons in route selection menus. A virtual keyboard will open when pressing A/X.
On PS4, the ‘RB’ button can now be used to in the pause menu to get the settings menu.
On PS4, you will no longer be prompted to save changes when nothing is altered when exiting settings.
[Gameplay]
Drivers’ hair will no longer stick outside of the hat – we've finally fixed this g̶a̶m̶e̶-̶b̶r̶e̶a̶k̶i̶n̶g hat-breaking bug.
Southeastern High Speed
Increased station stop times on ‘Highspeed Run’ scenario to give correct sense of operating a late service – better not wait around!
Fixed AI spawning issue in the 09:35 London to Ashford service
Fixed issue where spawning between 06:39 and 06:41 would prevent the train from moving
[RHTT]
Water spray effect has been improved to be truer to life
Weather effects will now appear on the windows
Fixed issues with wagon buffer physics
[Class 66]
Gamepad and/or RailDriver can release Vigilance pedal when driving EWS
Weather effects will now appear on the windows
EM2000 emissive text will now be clearly visible
[Training Center Class 66]
Fixes to coupler animation
Cab lights will now give first time use reward
Removed semi-circular artefacts underneath wagons
AWS sunflower will now correctly work
Kassel - Wurzburg
Train should move again after stopping in the LZB Introduction tutorial
NPCs should not clip into each other while sitting on the chairs.
Billboard will now display on both sides
Player can no longer walk through the fence at Fulda yard
Fixed lighting on cars around Kassel station
Removed bench from the track between platform 7 and 8 at Fulda station
NPC clothes will no longer appear wet on sunny days
[Dispolok BR 182]
Will now correctly substitute on DB Cargo Deutschland
[DB Laaers]
Removed semi-circular artefacts underneath wagons
[DB Sggmrss]
Removed semi-circular artefacts underneath wagons
[DB Habbiins]
Physics adjustments to the brake pipe to prevent random brake applications
Cajon Pass
2D mini map will now correctly display the start and endpoint markers
Advertisements should now correctly display on double sided billboards
Time displayed to complete ‘F7 Training’ and ‘Switching it Up’ scenarios are now accurate to actual gameplay
F7 Training now includes manually using the coupling bar
F7 Training requirements for silver and gold medals have been reduced
West Cornwall Local
West Cornwall Local route intro can now be completed.
Other Locos [BR DB 101]
Removed automatic sanding from wheel slip prevention system
Physics adjustments to the brake pipe to prevent random brake applications
LOCO ADD-ON BUNDLE OUT NOW!
The brand-new Loco Add-On Bundle is out now for Train Sim World 3. Add some unique rolling stock to your collection and explore all three of Train Sim World 3’s beautiful routes and master even more machines in an exciting new way!
The Loco Add-On Bundle is out now for Train Sim World 3, it features brand new and engaging scenarios, unique rolling stock, and historic locomotives and liveries for you to enjoy. For just £11.99/€ 13.99/$13.99, you can explore Southeastern High speed, Cajon Pass, and Schnellfahrstrecke Kassel- Würzburg in an entirely different way.
The Dispolok BR 182, Rail Head Treatment Train, and Santa Fe F7 Add-Ons can also be purchased separately, the perfect addition if you picked up the German, UK, or USA Regional Editions of Train Sim World 3.
Dispolok delivering duties await you on Schnellfahrstrecke Kassel-Würzburg – climb aboard the sleek and stylish EuroSprinter dressed in iconic yellow accents, ready for service on nightly fast freight trains with the Dispolok BR 182! 3 new Scenarios and 8 additional Timetable Services are included for Schnellfahrstrecke Kassel – Würzburg, bolstering the route's busy night freight services and giving you the chance to enjoy a popular freight locomotive seen across Germany around the turn of the century.
Fast freight requires effective brakes so we have overhauled the physics and Dynamic Brakes on the BR 182. Through the function screen, you are able to increase the Dynamic Brakes power with an electronic booster, activate this and your brakes limit goes up from 150 KN to over 200 KN, giving you much stronger braking power. If you want to get the hang of the BR 182 before heading out onto the tracks you will be pleased to hear that it has a comprehensive training module in the training center. We have also included the Habbiins Wagons in Weathered DB Railion livery, giving your consists and services more variety.
Wrong type of leaves on the line? Not on our watch!
The Water tanks are full, 2 locomotives are raring to go, it’s Autumn and the tracks need a good blasting - power wash your way to success with the Rail Head Treatment Train! Take control of this unique and specialist train that is seen across Britain during the Autumn months. Highspeed services and busy commuter trains are only possible if the line is clear, as the weather sets in leaves and debris gradually build up on and around tracks up and down the UK.
From the cab of your modified heavily weathered BR Class 66 Diesel locomotives in EWS livery, your job is to drive the Rail Head Treatment Train across Southeastern Highspeed, clearing the path and helping other trains gain much-needed adhesion. With 3 new Scenarios, 16 additional Timetable Services and 20 AI services for Southeastern Highspeed, there are plenty of ways for you to simulate this vital task.
Rail Head Treatment Trains prototypically appear in a variety of configurations depending on the task at hand, so we have included the following Weathered KFA RHTT wagons:
Dual Tank with Generator
Dual Tank with Pump
Single Tank
Triple Tank
Giving you the freedom to simulate these unconventional trains in a variety of ways!
To fully immerse you in the task of driving the Rail Head Treatment Train we have included functioning in-cab switches to control the RHTT equipment, and high-pressure water spraying animation visuals to add to the realism. In much the same way as the BR 182, the Rail Head Treatment Train also has full compatibility with the Training Center and a detailed tutorial.
Going to war in style!
Warbonnet beauty! An American legend with perhaps the most famous face in railroading history, reminisce in the stainless-steel days and take on the challenge of mastering steep grades aboard the Santa Fe F7!
Put on your engineer’s hat and Conquer the Californian hills at the helm of a true legend! The F7 is a railroading veteran and loved by Railfans across the world, and the livery many Railfans think of first is the striking Santa Fe colours of the late 1940s and early 1950s. So, it was unquestionable this would be our livery of choice to include as part of the Loco Add-On Bundle. Once you’ve mastered this beastly-looking heritage locomotive in the training center, you are free to enjoy 3 new Scenarios and 18 additional Timetable Services for Cajon Pass.
Also included as a brand new feature for the F7 is the MARS light, this unconventional headlight bobs in a figure of eight pattern, projecting light not only across the track ahead but also to the sides of the locomotive, illuminating the locos presence to passers-by and making it stand out. This is something that in more modern times has been replaced with locomotive ditch lights, so offers a new experience and the potential for some unique Railfan shots.
For those players who have played and enjoyed the New Journeys Add-On for Train Sim World 2, you will be pleased to hear that it will also be available for you to enjoy in Train Sim World 3 shortly. We are working on some final tweaks to give you a great experience, and you can expect an update on this shortly.
NOTE: Train Sim World 3: Loco Add-on Bundle and the individual RHTT, Santa Fe F7 and BR 182 Dispolok add-ons all require the Train Sim World 3 base game in order to play.
The Railfan TV team gave you your first glimpse of the Loco Add-On Bundle last Thursday, if you missed it, check it out on our official Twitch and YouTube channels.
Train Sim World 3 Patch Notes - Save Game Toggle and more!
Hello folks, Thanks very much for your continued feedback on Train Sim World 3. Today we’ll be launching the first of several post-release updates, with quality-of-life improvements and bug fixes, as well as re-introducing a Save Game toggle for those who have been asking for its return. Read on to find out more below.
This update will be a little staggered, due to the certification process on different platforms.
As we know how anticipated the Save Game toggle feature is in particular, we wanted to make sure as many players had it in their hands going into the weekend as possible. This means that...
Epic and Steam players - will receive the update tonight
PS5, PC Game Pass, Xbox One, Xbox Series S and X players will receive the update tomorrow morning (pending certification)
PS4 players will receive this likely after the weekend (but before Tuesday)
Thanks for your patience - and we hope you enjoy the improvements!
Settings and UI:
Reintroduced Save Game Thank you for your continued feedback on this one. There will now be a toggle in the settings menu to enable / disable the save game feature, which is currently the same functionality from within TSW2. See the below screenshot on where you can find this.
As a quick note: this is the same Save Game feature you saw in Train Sim World 2.
We are working on ongoing improvements which you'll be seeing in future patches, but we felt it important in the meantime to provide a toggle for those who are happy to take the risk. Based on this, the setting will be set to disabled by default.
For those of you who do choose to enable save game, please send us any feedback over on our forums as we’ll be looking to pinpoint particular routes and work on improving individual issues we can identify.
While we’re on the topic of additional UI settings and features, we have also implemented a Mouse sensitivity slider for PC players (this is not functioning as intended, but we are working on a fix) and fixed imports of scenarios and liveries when transferring a profile from TSW2.
Gameplay:
Let’s jump into the gameplay issues we’ve addressed, where we’ve been fixing leaky ceilings and holes underneath structures so now rain, snow and lighting should correctly behave. Lighting strikes themselves will also occur at a greater distance away from the player.
We had an issue with fog getting extremely dense when moving from a high to a lower altitude, which has now been fixed so you can now fully embrace the environment while plummeting down from the Cajon Pass summit!
For anyone unable to finish the BR Class 465 tutorial, this is now fixed and therefore unlocking the Achievement is now possible. And finally, SIFA and PZB can be triggered from Gamepad and RailDriver
Visuals:
We have been seeing many reports of semi-circular visual errors above the wheels on various locomotives, which includes the recently added Class 66. These have now been resolved.
From leaky ceilings to leaky bulbs, we’ve found passenger lights on the BR Class 101 were leaking light into the cab and tunnels, so they have been reworked to fix this as well as improve performance. In addition, we’ve addressed the Dopplestock headlights being stuck constantly on.
Finally, we’ve also added a useful tooltip to the ICE1 to help with recovering from an emergency stop that requires the use of the HLL Fill button to recharge the brake pipe.
Audio:
In terms of sound, we gave the BR Class 375 our attention which will now have correctly reduced audio inside the cab when the windows and doors are all shut, and we added deceleration sounds.
And for our Long Island Railroad and Harlem Line players, the M7 Traction Engine sounds will also now no longer cut out after first 4 coaches pass.
Please see a full changelog of the patch below:
Full Changelog:
Core:
[UI / System]
Added toggle to settings menu to enable/disable save game functionality This is disabled by default while it is currently being worked on further
Mouse sensitivity slider setting added. At present, this is not functioning as intended, but we are working on a fix.
Scenarios and liveries will import correctly when transferring profiles.
Added ‘scroll to last selected route’ button when backing to the route selection menu
Added option to return to the timetable menu after completing a service
Added option to include/exclude tutorials from quick play
Added difficulty and length info to campaign events UI
Disabled the Copy button when at max number of scenarios created in the scenario designer
Fixed progress bar colour and wrapping of text in mastery menu
Hide Discount banner on store items now on by default
Fixed height of Signed In profile widget
Added Green Tick to completed services in timetable menu
Fixed custom weather presets not updating sliders properly in weather menu
Scenario Designer will show first stop length instead of shortest stop length
Pause menu will no longer toggle when clicking Esc in the route map
Pause menu will now correctly load 2D Map
Debriefing screen names and experience numbers will no longer extend out of the window
Settings will now save when clicking "apply" with unchecked options
Store image thumbnails now load properly
[Gameplay]
Lightning will no longer strike under cover and will be at a greater distance from the player
Fix for fog getting extremely dense when starting at a high altitude and driving to a lower altitude.
Fixed clothing material on characters and passengers to prevent odd shading and glitter-like appearance on edges
After rain stops, performance should return to same level
Tees Valley Line decals will now properly change colour
[Achievements]
BR Class 465 tutorial can now be completed, thus unlocking the Achievement as well
Fixed introduction tutorial achievements
Southeastern High-Speed
Removed snow from under station canopies, inside tunnels and under bridges
Car stop signs visually updated to align correctly to DOO monitors
Route indication signals changed to match current designations.
Passengers should now board trains correctly on the platform at Ebbsfleet International
Players can no longer fall through the ground at Gravesend – Of all the places to be sending players six feet under!
Added Wheel blur to MFA wagons
[Faversham]
No rain will be inside the depot
Player will no longer be able to walk through fences
OPO monitors should now be in the right places
Player should not be randomly blocked in Ashford around sidings
Lighting fixes for the North Downs Tunnel
[Class 465]
Reverser and Master Key now work as expected in both Immersion and Classic input modes
[Class 395]
Front destination should correctly display the final destination on platform boards
DSD/DVD pedal will trigger only when system is turned on and above 3mph / AWS/TPWS buttons will only sound when either system is enabled, and input is required/expected
[Class 375] - Improved Audio
Fixed issue whereby the cab wind was playing far too loud when a window was open
Reduced rain audio when inside the cab with windows and doors shut
Traction motors should now be audible during deceleration
[Class 66]
Coupler should now animate as expected
Adjustments to physics to avoid unexpected stalling at low RPMs.
Cab Light First Time Use Reward should now trigger correctly
Removed semi-circular white artefacts from wheels
Cajon Pass
Resolved issues that caused the player to be kicked out to the main menu suddenly.
The 2D map will now update when selecting a range of starting points.
Fixes to Scenario Designer map tags
Correction to localisation on free text sign
Updated scores to ensure players can get gold on ES44C4 & SD40-2 Training Modules
Removed semi-circular white artefacts from above wheels for all Cajon Wagons (Box Car, Bulkhead Flatcar, Tank Car and Autorack)
[ES44C4]
Fixed issues relating to player getting stuck in a moving train.
[BNSF SD40-2]
Added rear headlight sound that matches that of the front headlight switch
[Bulkhead Flatcar]
Wheels rotate as expected when in motion
Kassel - Wurzburg
Player should no longer be able to walk through cars at Korle Ost.
Player should no longer be able to walk through stairs at Kassel Wilhelmshohe Station
Fixed pathing of ICE 1580 to not go wrong line running
Tunnel sign collectables are now able to be picked up
Prevented train getting temporarily stuck in “Ice Breaker” tutorial
Adding Text ToolTip for refilling Brake Pipe
Bugfixes to services
[BR 185]
Adjusted cab windscreen to prevent errors involving SSR reflections of cab screens
PZB Acknowledge will only work after passing a 1000Hz magnet (Cab must be active and PZB enabled)
SIFA and PZB can be triggered from Gamepad and RailDriver
[BR 146]
SIFA and PZB can be triggered from Gamepad and RailDriver
[ICE3]
Horn is now named correctly
Correctly spelt “Bremsen” on the MFD.
[ICE1]
Adjusted cab windscreen to prevent errors involving SSR reflections of cab screens
Player can now select each length of ICE-1 in the game menu
Added recovery from Emergency Brake tooltip on ICE1
[DB Kijils]
Brakes should release quicker to prevent getting stuck on an incline
Peninsula Corridor
PIS should now be better aligned to lamp posts
Fixed an issue with the first-person camera on the Route Introduction to allow it to be completed.
[CT Nippon]
Player can now walk across the consist without needing to crouch
[CT F40PH-2CAT]
Ditch lights will now pulse as expected
Hamburg - Lübeck
Should no longer have rain effect inside stations or under cover
[Route Intro] Doors will now close automatically
Bakerloo
Removed incorrect reflections appearing on side mirrors
Pringles posters removed for PS4 and PS5 players
Marseille - Avignon
Added many new sounds, including Mastery sound additions, firework sounds at night and jet sounds during the day
Main Spessart Bahn
Fixed crashes when loading certain services.
Long Island Railroad
M7 Traction Engine sounds no longer cut out after first 4 coaches pass
Blank entry should no longer appear in Profile Train Selection
Harlem Line
M7 Traction Engine sounds no longer cut out after first 4 coaches pass
Tees Valley Line
Tees Yard Turn Around Achievement now correctly unlocks on X1 XSX and Win10
Tees Valley line decals added to Livery Designer
Other Loco Changes
[DB BR 182]
Made sure the door interlock does not prevent you from using the throttle when the doors are closed
[DB BR 101]
Adjustments to the AFB to keep speed offset below LAB, and decreased LZB deceleration to be more realistic for typical braked weight percentages of IC trains.
Passenger lights from the IC coaches will no longer bleed into the cab, providing improvements to performance
Reduced illumination from cab lights into tunnels
[DB Doppelstock]
Headlights will no longer always be toggled on.
We appreciate all the feedback you have been sending in so far, we’re working hard to keep a report of the most prominent community issues and delivering the best experience possible. Thank you everyone!
Brand new Train Sim World 3 loco Bundle!
Master more machines and add exciting detailed locos to your collection with this incredible upcoming loco bundle, coming to Train Sim World 3 on the 4th of October!
This brand-new Add-On adds fun new content, exciting new liveries, and engaging scenarios. You can beat the weather, add more variety to your routes, and feel the power of new locos with the Train Sim World 3 Loco Add-On Bundle.
The Loco Add-On Bundle features new locos for all three of the routes featured in Train Sim World 3. For those who like to go fast between Kassel and Würzburg, you can relive the days of fast freight in an entirely new livery with the high-speed and modern Dispolok BR 182. Conducting a vital maintenance task, the Railhead Treatment Train is the perfect addition to simulated Autumnal services across Southeastern Highspeed. Finally, Cajon Pass receives a striking heritage locomotive, the F7. Resplendent in the famous Santa Fe Warbonnet livery this powerful Diesel-Electric monster offers an entirely new driving experience across the mountain pass.
You can add the Loco Add-On Bundle to your Train Sim World 3 collection on the 4th of October, at the amazing price of £11.99/€ 13.99/$13.99!
If you have started your Train Sim World 3 journey with one of the awesome Regional Editions, fear not! The Locomotives that feature in the Train Sim World 3 Loco Add-On Bundle will be available separately for you to enjoy too and will be £4.99/€5.99/$5.99 each.
Railhead Treatment Train – New Add-On for Southeastern Highspeed
As the British weather sets in, Rail Head Treatment Trains, or RHTT for short, start to make their way out onto the line and become a common sight. Across the entire length and breadth of the Country, these humble maintenance trains keep the network running. Designed to remove leaf fall residue that interferes with both trains adhesion and signalling systems, the Rail Head Treatment Trains blast high pressure water jets directly onto the track, removing any to help passing trains grip the track better and maintain signalling parity. Some also further improve adhesion by applying a Sandite mixture to the rails (a mix of sand, antifreeze and steel shot).
Appearing in a multitude of guises across the United Kingdom, they are an interesting find for even the most casual train spotter. The Rail Head Treatment Trains seen in the South East have no ability to move under their own power. Instead, suitable pairs of Diesel locomotives are the applied to the task, and given additional equipment to control the RHTT remotely.
As part of the Loco Add-On Bundle, we have included the stalwart of British modern freight, the BR Class 66, in a heavily weathered EWS livery, as is typical for these trains with dust and dirt blasted into the train’s wake, which also features additional in-cab equipment to control the RHTT jets. Top and tailed for easy movement around the network, the RHTT includes 4 different KFA Wagon variants containing the specialist equipment required to do the job.
Dual Tank with Generator
Dual Tank with Pump
Single Tank
Triple Tank
Please note, there is no simulated difference in rail adhesion with the RHTT in-game, the effect of spraying is a visual and audible effect only.
Trundle throughout Kent exploring Southeastern Highspeed at a much more leisurely pace, beating the challenging British weather and conducting the vital maintenance task at hand.
BR 182 in Dispolok yellow and Grey livery - New Add-On for Kassel and Würzburg
Bolstering the highspeed freight traffic that powers its way across the German hills between Kassel and Würzburg is the Dispolok BR 182. Nightly fast freight trains have been a common part of the timetable since the route opened, as such, a plethora of freight locomotives and stock have graced the route. The BR 182 was created around the turn of the century with the aim to become an adaptable template that could be altered to the purchasing company's specifications.
Unlike other BR 182 locomotives that ran across the German network, the Dispolok BR 182 was set up to be leased to other companies, as and when it was needed. As such, the Dispolok BR 182 in its Yellow and Grey livery was seen countrywide throughout the early Noughties.
In more recent years the livery would gradually become a rarer sight for Railfans, following the merger of Dispolok and MRCE. Upon the creation of a single, larger leasing company, the existing fleet was gradually repainted into the black MRCE livery we know today.
Jump in the cab of this staple of German freight, and as night falls, unleash the power of the Taurus!
F7A and F7B in Santa Fe Warbonnet livery – New Add-on for Cajon Pass
A true legend of American railroading blasts onto Train Sim World 3. The F7 is recognisable to railfans across the world, and the livery most synonymous with this famous loco is the striking Warbonnet livery. Dating back as far as the late 1940’s the iconic Santa Fe colours of Red, Yellow and Silver add a historic touch to this busy route. Railfans can reminisce back to the days of post-war traction and stainless steel rollingstock in style.
Despite its age, the F7 has an aggressive yet state-of-the-art design, appearing way ahead of its time, and became the most successful of its type, with over 2300 constructed. In the modern era, the F7’s power is dwarfed by its modern counterparts, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less exciting to hear its distinctive engine and see its striking livery at the head of a train. True nostalgia for any fan of American railroading!
Enjoy an entirely new driving experience across Cajon Pass, as you attempt to wrestle with heavy freight trains that are making their way across the route.
The Locos featured in the bundle will also have comprehensive training guides as part of the Training Center, giving you the freedom to learn how to drive them in a safe environment. With their ability to be added to the Training Center as part of the Scenario Planner feature you have the freedom to explore this popular additional route as you please.
As you can see there is something for everyone to enjoy with the first ever Train Sim World 3 Add- on. So, take to the tracks, beat the weather, enjoy a variety of new gameplay, and feel the power of some exciting new locomotives, with the brand-new Loco Add-On Bundle. Coming to Train Sim World 3 on October 4th
For those players who have played and enjoyed the New Journeys Add-On for Train Sim World 2, you will be pleased to hear that it will also be available for you to enjoy in Train Sim World 3 shortly. We are working on some final tweaks to give you a great experience, and you can expect an update on this shortly.
To get your first glimpse of the upcoming Loco Add-On Bundle be sure to watch the Railfan TV team this Thursday on Twitch and YouTube (Thursday, September 29th) at 19:00 pm UTC. Don't miss it!
