WHL South from DTG and Milepost Simulations

[donny]

Would of been an instant purchase had it gone to Queen Street as it doesn't it's not even a sale purchase for me.

+1 for that,

Personally I think Helensburgh is a terrible choice for ending the route, even Dumbarton would've swayed me. Gutted that we have missed out on an 80s version of eastfield and Cowlairs carriage sheds. Maybe if someone builds an extension to Glasgow I'll buy it, I'd have had a go at extending it myself but sadly my skills in the route editor are non existent

[almark]

I think that has to be where some are missing the point,the amount of time it would've taken to make the section to Glasgow would've probably been quite large,as a huge fan of Highland Lines personally I'm not bothered about Glasgow,I've got it in other routes,I'd much rather have the WHL section.

[37114]

Would of been an instant purchase had it gone to Queen Street as it doesn't it's not even a sale purchase for me.

You can can kind of understand why it doesn't run into Queen Street though. Think of the work involved with placing the OHLE along the North Clyde Line and scenery once in Glasgow.

True but I can't help but think it would of sold a lot more had it done so. 1980's Eastfield and Cowlairs would be worth £25 alone for me!

[rosschris10]

I think that has to be where some are missing the point,the amount of time it would've taken to make the section to Glasgow would've probably been quite large,as a huge fan of Highland Lines personally I'm not bothered about Glasgow,I've got it in other routes,I'd much rather have the WHL section.

quite and then if they did extend it to glasgow it would have been "why cant the extend the arglye lines to drumgeloch then if they dont that it would have been why dont the extend the line from Drumgeloch to Edinburgh

you can never please some people

[deltic009]

Would of been an instant purchase had it gone to Queen Street as it doesn't it's not even a sale purchase for me.

+1 for that,

Personally I think Helensburgh is a terrible choice for ending the route, even Dumbarton would've swayed me. Gutted that we have missed out on an 80s version of eastfield and Cowlairs carriage sheds. Maybe if someone builds an extension to Glasgow I'll buy it, I'd have had a go at extending it myself but sadly my skills in the route editor are non existent

The other WHL ended at Spean Bridge, can't say that's any better. This has far more potential for extensions via workshop or elsewhere and has been a larger undertaking than many other routes in mileage terms.

[tluamiani1]

Would of been an instant purchase had it gone to Queen Street as it doesn't it's not even a sale purchase for me.

You can can kind of understand why it doesn't run into Queen Street though. Think of the work involved with placing the OHLE along the North Clyde Line and scenery once in Glasgow.

Yep, I can vouch for that!

[almark]

I'm not really in a position to do a review,but here's my thoughts on the route.

Firstly,for me it's a great route,98 miles is no easy task,add to that areas that are not well covered by google/photographers,and the fact that the route is also set 30+ years ago mean that finding resources and putting them to work is not something to be envied,that I can assure anyone who questions it.

With regards to the track,it's pretty much spot on,gradients seem bang on from what I've seen,trackwork is also neat etc.

The signalling and speed limits also seem accurate.

Regarding the scenery itself,whilst the route is very well portrayed and is 100% a good representation (which makes it more than good enough for me),I do think that some work could've been put into scaling trees,as currently all the trees are the same size,not a major issue,but it's one of those little things that I think could've added to the route even more. My only real concern is the scenery in some fields (Leaving Crianlarich towards Tyndrum Upper is my prime example so far),it's a little bland,some shrubs/bushes/animals could've really added to some sections,even if it were just grass laid on the valley floor.

I know how hard the Highland sections are to add scenery to (I found that when I did Kyle) but I would question the use of gorse bushes around Rannoch and Corrour,that does seem a little bit out of place to be (brutally) honest,maybe some bracken/grass would've been a better idea,but again it's a very hard area to add scenery to,not much you can add when there's not really anything there in reality!

My thoughts on people saying the route should've gone to Glasgow,now I'm speaking from a personal point of view here (I don't know the situation surrounding DTG/Milepost addons) but I simply couldn't pitch to build the WHL with Glasgow if I were trying to make it,to do the Helensburgh-Glasgow section (for me) would take at least 3-5 months,3-5 months that may mean the dev's would've had to wait longer to make any earnings on their hard work. Also time constraints may come into it,there may be no pressure on a freeware dev to release a route (I can't think of a situation where there would be),but if you're running a commercial project you have to draw the line somewhere if you ever want to make a profit,I can imagine that completing the route to Glasgow would've cost someone a lot more money,and then there's all the assets that would've needed building (and paying for) on top of that.

Note: The last paragraph is pure speculation (like most things on forums ).


Overall a great route and representation in my eyes,speaking from a personal point of view.


Cheers,
Mark

[davep]

Well, I've bought it and had a very quick drive from Helensburgh Upper
but had to stop because my tea is ready to eat.
Not going to comment (yet) about it, as I got shot down in flames when I
commented on the Weardale & Teesdale route, so I'll let someone else
get shot down this time.

[pjt1974]

I think for me it'll be a 'Friday night with a few beers inside me, oh what the hell, I'll buy it' route just like many of the North American routes I've bought.

[callum1122334455]

I think for me it'll be a 'Friday night with a few beers inside me, oh what the hell, I'll buy it' route just like many of the North American routes I've bought.

I've been there too. The curiosity is a killer.

[davep]

Well, I've had a run from Helensburgh to Crianlarich and I've got to say....

The route is quite basic - almost on par with the old JT's Bristol-Exeter route.

The first thing I noticed was a lack of lineside fencing in quite a few places, and
I don't mean just a small gap.

The signal arms at first looked a wee bit too short but I wondered if it may be the
perspective I was looking at them from (the drivers cab). However, the signals
are basic - a signal arm with a black blob for the signal lamp just stuck on a white post.
No representation of balance weights, no signal ladders, the posts are just stuck
in the ground. Poor.

The tunnel mouth looked as if it was cut from a slab of black marble. No detail what-so-ever.
The same goes for a skew-overbridge - but this time it was grey marble, inside and out.
On other bridges, the brickwork looked as if it was a piece of brickpaper stuck on - flat with no detail.
On some metal bridges, it was basically a slab of green metal - though these do have the slightest
amount of relief.

Whilst there are trees, and plenty of them, there is a distinct lack of other vegetation - no flowers,
no small bushes, no weeds. In places there are swathes of green with the odd tree planted in it.
Very basic I'm afraid.

Then there is the matter of the ballast shoulders. In some places it is tens of feet deep, at or near
vertical. I would very much doubt if ballast would be done like that. I did think it would look better
if the gradient part was earth or green coloured (nearly everything else is green) but it seems the
ballast texture has just been spread all the way down.

I noticed some bridge parapets ending before the ground has risen up - only by a foot or two admittedly,
but none-the-less, it looks wrong.

At one intermediate station, where I had to wait for an opposing train, I 'got out' of the cab and had a
look at the station. Between the building and the platform edge was just one coach-door width (my
train was standing with the doors open - hence how I could judge). Now I'm almost positive, that in
real life, this distance would be quite a bit greater.

The greatest thing I noticed though, and dislike immensely, is the seemingly random shadows/reflections on the
cab windscreen of trees - even when you are in a treeless patch! Looked like I was driving through very thick
cobwebs or with a shattered windscreen.

Fortunately, there are no (incorrect) advance warning signs for speed restrictions.
On the other hand, the modern version of the whistle boards are used (black 'W' in a grey-bordered white circle)
but these obviously were made for the route as the 'W' sits up near the top of the circle and not in the centre.

So. All-in-all, pretty basic and fairly poor.

I will keep the route - probably had it longer than the 2 hours allowed for a refund anyway - but doubtful
I'll play it very often.

Off to don my bullet-proof vest now....

[callum1122334455]

^ That's why I'm holding back a bit. I wasn't blown away by the twitch preview or the WIP shots anyway.

Shame Thomson didn't do the route like they did the first WHL.

[davep]

Just applied for a refund.

[daveme]

One issue I have got is when I create a free roam scenario and use either the RCS centre head code 37 or another KUJU 37 and set is as a drivable loco, start the activity and click the loco to drive it the sim crashes to desktop. but the 37 model that comes with this route works fine?

All in all an acceptable route, good FPS on a modest system but it's no WCML Midlands quality. The VDA's are a bit small when next to the Fastline simulations version but the other stock - although recycled is OK!

[deltic009]

Best of luck with your refund application, Personally speaking I think it's not perfect but is a superb looking route. I may try to flesh out scenery in places, but the roller coaster gradients keep you on your toes for the brakes or the throttle. Despite the lack of AP sounds it's nice to see much better engine simulation on the included class 37 locomotives - no longer sitting in amp depressions waiting for some slack.

Haven't explored fully but it's a nice addon for certain.