Train Simulator 2013 - What Next?

Following the release of scenario pack 03, I thought it would be a good time to let you know of what plans are afoot for upcoming projects.

First, you may have noticed the WIP shots of an upcoming route project and some have correctly guessed on forums what the project is. It is indeed a scenery extension on the Edinburgh to Glasgow route and phase 1 will take provide scenery between Larbert and Stirling where the infrastructure was already in place. This also means that from a distribution point of view, I am only providing the scenery and other relevant tiles which can be easily placed into your E&G install and therefore does not compromise any secure files in accordance with the RSC EULA. It is hoped that this extension, after testing, will be available within the next 1-2 weeks.

Also, the scenario packs will continue. Following the release of pack 03 yesterday, the combination of all three packs have now surpassed 8000 downloads and I have seen them mentioned and praised on various websites, some even in Russia and China! Many people out there who create scenarios will know that at times scenario creation can be very rewarding but equally frustrating and I am immensely proud to be able to produce these packs for the community. With 20 scenarios and over 20 hours of driving from these three packs so far, I am hoping that people are enjoying them and also hoping that by being free, the myth is being dispelled that you can only obtain quality content for TS2013 if you pay for it.

Originally, the plan for pack 04 was to base it entirely on sleeper operations, something I feel that has not been fully utilised as yet. Sleeper operations allow a wide variety of different routes and traction to be used, especially if you create in the 1980's period when there were several more sleeper services running. As it stands, the sleeper pack could be held back and released as pack 05, this entirely depends on the upcoming Class 90 from Waggonz which will obviously plays quite a large role in the sleeper operations. Depending on the timescale for release of this product and depending on when the route above is released, another interim scenario pack may be developed.

Also, as Edinburgh to Glasgow would feature prominently in any sleeper based pack and given that the E&G pack contains a centre headcode Class 37, you can expect to see reskins for this particular Class 37 appear on my website over the coming weeks. This is a step I feel I am having to take due to the original payware Class 37 pack being no longer available.