BigVern

Well that would be for the developer to focus on solutions, not problems. For starters, any trains behind the player which would never be seen again, needn't be spawned. So if you were (say) 25 miles on the approach to Katowice or Lodz then that would probably remove 80% of the trains anyway. The dispatcher presumably has the same code base whether running in MP or SP mode - if in doubt it gives the player train priority when it switches to SP. And as I said, no new trains would necessarily spawn, the main idea is for the player to finish their own run.

FAO Mods/Devs - any chance of an update when we are likely to see a fix to this rolled out, please?

I would hope the AI signaller could resolve the running of trains imported with the session, I just wouldn’t expect any fresh ones to spawn.

Update. Well I just found the loco on a 2300 tonne freight which it struggled to move with all the traction motors switched in, so definitely not advisable to operate the PMI in those circumstances. In fact I had a real job getting going from a signal check on a slight rising gradient and even started to roll back. In reality, what is the maximum permitted tonnage these locos can haul over the routes in game? I would suggest anything over 2000 tonnes they are going to struggle.

That’s not good, Mike. Surely should have been picked up during testing. Also seems to indicate the SimRail OLE/pantograph interface is fixed and doesn’t dynamically adjust height

While we know there are still many issues to be fixed with the single player save game, going forward a useful feature would be to save a snapshot of a multiplayer run you are doing, then later come back and load up to finish in single player. Obviously any player controlled trains and signalboxes would revert to AI. However this would be a great way of avoiding the frustration when real life or time intervenes and you have to exit MP still in the middle of a run.

True though on a short train I didn’t notice the loss of power. The only other downside to this, hopefully temporary, solution is that you lose some of the traction noise in the cab and for me the horns stopped working. However the occasional loss of 50 XP is a small price to pay for my aural sanity. Of course this is not the first time we have had this issue of realism versus compromise for useability. Over in TSW the older German electric locos -103, 110 and 111 have very loud traction fans which run continuously above Notch 8 or 9 and muffle all the other sounds. The developer claimed this was realistic but it does not make for a fun experience playing a game.

You sir are a saviour. I was about to refund it, but this has saved the day.

I didn't go back to it, just used the substitution pop up to replace the default loco in a SP scenario.

I didn’t notice that as not spent much time in external view. Apart from the thyristor buzzing sound it is a nice loco, but like many I really want to see a main line Polish diesel loco for the game, next.

Lowering the effects also reduces the sounds you want to hear like the traction motors and horn so not a solution. It also means going in and out of Settings every time you go back and forth between the 163 and another train. in this case realism should have been tempered with adjustments to the levels to offer a tolerable playing environment. This as I said could easily trigger tinnitus or similar in people who suffer from it, quite apart from the fact exposure to white noise for any length of time is not exactly healthy. At the end of the day, there are plenty of precedents for adjusting the sound heard in the cab - in TSW or TSC, locos like the Class 31, 45 and 47 give you the external “thrash” (stack talk) sound in the cab when in reality you would hardly hear any sound at all. Or in flight sims, you get the full roar of the jet engines when again the flight deck would be fairly quiet. So I’m not asking SimKol to remove the thyristor sound, just have a bit of consideration for players and make it slightly more pleasant for players and others who might be in the vicinity of the PC. And refund is not an option, as I’ve probably already exceeded two hours of play while evaluating the product.

If the thyristor sound level was reduced to about 25% of what it is now, then it would be tolerable. The developers also ought to have considered what the outcome of including a constant white noise effect like this could have on people with hearing issues, such as tinnitus. At the least the Steam description should be rewritten to include a warning that some people might find the effect uncomfortable. Or better still, as I suggested reduce the level or have it fade out as the loco gathers speed.

Thanks Mateusz, I will try that tip with the effects, though of course it will also affect sounds we might want to hear. Some of the Steam reviews are already suggesting the thyristors are somewhat louder in the cab than real life. So I still think the developers need to make it more of a background noise. The radio looks quite complex to operate, all the more reason why it needed more in depth in the tutorial. Edit: Well reducing Effects just changes all the loco sounds including the traction motors and horn so that's not a solution unfortunately.

Okay, purchased and had a quick drive. Note I initially loaded up the tutorial but couldn't get past the section which tells you to change radio channels. Tells you to do it, but doesn't actually show how. And using the keyboard shortcuts didn't do anything. There's no new scenarios in single player and while you can substitute on existing ones no point until the save game is working properly. So I was able to drop in a service on a MP server. Loco and cab look nice but good god, that awful constant buzzing noise when under power or braking is too insidious. It's like the constant torture of white sound. Maybe it is like that in real life but for the sim it is making driving unbearable. Please either reduce the level or mute it out altogether.

This is the problem we are all having. The Developers have not responded directly other than via the bot response and categorising the issue as “Open Sim”. Some additional info from them would be appreciated, particularly as they saw fit to push the feature into the main game even knowing after 16/01 it was broken.

Posted in MP but equally applicable to SP, I guess. Just wondered if anyone from the development or publisher team could post an update on progress with either of the above routes, which were mooted at one time to be in development. Not sure who was doing the German route but I believe Searchlight Simulations, who previously worked on content for DTG's Train Sim Classic, were involved with the American route. However it's all gone very quiet. Are these still regarded as "live" projects or have they fallen by the wayside (like the infamous Class 104 DMU for TSW did!)?

Bump. Any more news on these titles, please?

Good work Wocka. Hopefully the devs are looking into this urgently. Don’t want to be negative but it should never have been ported across to the main game when patently not working and this known since 16/01.

Yes this is quite disappointing in a way. The issues with the save game were reported after the 16/01 beta update broke things so rather surprised they carried through into the release candidate. We expect that kind of thing from DTG, not SimKol!

Sorry to post in English here but can confirm loading the save game still fails after the VD with pop up error box as described. And scenarios on Warsaw to Katowice still won’t save. Przepraszam, że piszę po angielsku, ale mogę potwierdzić, że wczytanie zapisu gry nadal kończy się niepowodzeniem po VD i wyskakuje okno z błędem, jak opisano. A scenariusze z Warszawy do Katowic nadal się nie zapisują.

Sorry to update/report, still getting this error message playing the main game latest version. The VD loads but the train fails with the Unable to load route or similar message. So it looks as if the save game is still broken in that respect.

Thank you kind Sir!

Driving the EN71 I somehow have light from the driver, as if pointing a flashlight or torch, reflecting back off the cab and windscreen. Any idea how I can get rid of this as I can't find anything listed in the key commands?

I think there may still be issues trying to save games on the original Warsaw to Katowice route scenarios. Tried to save a run and I didn’t get the Saved Successfully message in the box. When I went back to Main Menu then tried to load the save, there were none listed. Also worth noting that saves prior to the update don’t seem compatible with the latest version. Anyhow now running a scenario from the Lodz route and will see how that goes. Hopefully, any SP scenarios that come with the CD 163 will be save game compatible, regardless of which route stretch they are on.

Hopefully that means if we save a run this evening, can resume tomorrow. Not sure why a SP save wouldn’t be stored locally though.