Summer Sale Encore

We are now approaching the end of the summer sale so as an 'encore', we have introduced an all new discount code which applies to the scenario multipack only!

For the remainder of the sale, simply use the code SUMMERENCORE when buying the scenario multipack to receive a massive 50% discount!

This offer ends on the stroke of midnight BST on June 30^th/July 1^st.

http://www.dpsimulation.org.uk/dpsstore/

DPSimulation Summer Sale - Ends Soon

There are now only a few days of the Steam Summer Sale remaining and that means only a few days left for the DPSimulation sale too!

Until midnight BST on June 30^th, simply use the code STEAMSUMMER in your basket to receive a 20% discount on your order and remember, all proceeds from these packs go towards funding our ever expanding library of content.

Visit the store now by clicking this link.

http://www.dpsimulation.org.uk/dpsstore/

DPSimulation - Website Overhaul

I am currently in the process of overhauling the DPSimulation website to make pages clearer to understand and navigate. This overhaul will be noticeable in several ways.

Previously for instance, any information was always given in a messy text format, which as it grew made things very unclear. These have now been replaced by a box format, with relevant images to grab your attention, hopefully giving you more of the information you require at first glance.

Secondly, many pages now have reached a stage where there is so much content, it was taking an age to scroll down to find what you needed. Although I had already taken steps to modify the layout to categorise between Locomotives, DMU's, EMU's etc, I have now taken it a step further and added anchors in order for you to instantly click and find the category you want.

These changes have primarily been added so far to the main landing page, and the reskin page of Richard Fletcher, so feel free to take a look and let me know what you think. Now I have settled on a format, all pages will receive updates in the coming days. No disruption should be noticeable during this upgrade, and all pages should continue to function as normal.

http://www.dpsimulation.org.uk/

Two New Scenarios Uploaded

I have just uploaded two all new scenarios to teh DPSimulation website courtesy of two authors, Phil Teare (pjt1974) and Peter Hill (Lighthousepoet).

Phil brings us a scenario on 'East Coast Mainline: North East' entitled '1M78 York to Middlesbrough', putting you in charge of a pair of Class 170 DMU's due to a failure of the booked Class 185.

http://www.dpsimulation.org.uk/scenariosecmlne.html

Peter brings us a scenario on 'WCML Over Shap' entitled '1L60 Carlisle to Glasgow Central', putting you in charge of a Class 156 DMU making it's way north towards Glasgow via Dumfries.

http://www.dpsimulation.org.uk/shap.html

Both require a moderate amount of payware/reskins, so make sure to take a note of the included documentation to see what is needed.

Thanks to both authors for providing this content for upload at DPSimulation.

Buying DLC - Download Troubleshooting

As the Steam sale is currently in full swing, many people will be buying several items of DLC. However, you may find that despite buying the items, they don't actually download, depending on what you were doing on Steam at the time. After buying four items of DLC last night, it happened to me as it has done in the past during busy sale periods.

Previously, a Steam restart sometimes would cure this but in most cases, a cache verify would be required which is both time consuming and will overwrite modifications you have made to certain files, such as sound packs. Since a recent Steam update, this process is no longer needed, and here is how it is done.......

Open the Steam client and click on 'Library' at the top left, and select 'All Games'. On the list on the left hand side, right click Train Simulator 2014 and select 'Properties'. In the new window that has appeared, click on the 'DLC' tab which will then list all of the packages you own.

Scroll down this list until you find what you have recently purchased and it will have a tick in the box, along with the state on the right showing as 'Installed', even though you know it isn't. As per the screenshot below, untick this box and then close the little window.

Steam will then go into a process of validating your install, which will take a few seconds, then the Train Simulator 2014 status will go back to 'Ready To Play'. Follow the steps above once again to being up your list of DLC, and this time tick the box before closing the small window again. This will then force Steam into downloading your purchased content and will usually take a process of Update Queued>Installing>Ready To Play.

It seems that this process has to be done separately (it seemed the case for me anyway) for each piece of DLC, so don't go unticking all of your recently purchased boxes, just do them one at a time. It is slightly time consuming, but nowhere near on the scale or inconvenience that a cache verify would present.

This new feature also means that you can remove different items of DLC from your install completely, thus freeing up room on your hard drive. For instance, a route you no longer play any more, or a route you received as part of a bundle, but never intended to use. You must be careful though, as removing a route from the list will also remove the assets associated with it, which might be required for any third party routes you have downloaded. Cajon Pass for instance, seems to remove the legacy US assets along with it and these are required for many third party routes such as WCML North. Just be careful to only remove what you know won't affect anything else.

As ever, if you have any further questions, either comment below or get in contact with DPSimulation via the 'Contact Us' form on the website by clicking here.

Bumper Friday - Part 2

In the second and final part of today's bumper upload of content, we have several 'Slam Door' EMU uploads from Richard Fletcher. I'll take a deep breath before typing this, .......

Class 421 Connex Repaint Pack - Included are Connex South Central, Connex South Eastern (branded Connex), Connex livery without branding and an all-over grey livery. All variants require the Class 421 pack, available from Steam.

Class 421 South Central Repaint - Requires the Class 421 pack, available from Steam.

Class 421 South West Trains Repaint – Also included is a Class 422 (4BIG) TRSB car to enable formation of a 'pseudo-BEP' formation if desired. Requires the Class 421 pack, available from Steam along with the Class 422 pack should you want to use the TRSB car.

Class 423 – Connex Repaint Pack - Included are Connex South Central, Connex South Eastern, Connex and livery without branding. All variants require the Class 423 pack, available from Steam.

Class 423 - South Central/Southern Repaint - Requires the Class 421 pack, available from Steam.

Class 423 - South West Trains Repaint - Requires the Class 421 pack, available from Steam.

Finally, and this is very important, all of these repaints were created with the Armstrong Powerhouse Class 421/422/423 sound pack installed so this IS required. This pack is recommended, not only to ensure correct audio, but chiefly to enhance your TS experience when using these repaints.

They can all be downloaded from the dedicated Richard Fletcher page by clicking here.

Bumper Friday - Part 1

In the first part of today's bumper upload of content, we have three DMU uploads from Mungo Design.

Two are repaints of the Class 150 DMU in both 'Arriva Trains Wales Refurb' and 'WMPTE Centrol' liveries. Both obviously require the Class 150 DMU add-on from Steam which at the time of writing is only £4.79 in the Steam sale.

Finally, we have a reskin of the recently released Class 121 'Bubble Car' in BR Blue livery. Requiring the original NSE version from Steam, this is also in the sale priced at £7.19.

They can all be downloaded from the dedicated Mungo Design page by clicking here.

DPSimulation Summer Sale

That time of the year has arrived yet again and the Steam Summer Sale is upon us! To celebrate, we are going to run a sale as well, for the same amount of time!

Many of you may have been holding on until the sale to buy new content in the Steam sale, and with several scenario packs available for Steam based routes, pick up a bargain today and make them even more enjoyable!

Until midnight BST on June 30^th, simply use the code STEAMSUMMER in your basket to receive a 20% discount on your order and remember, all proceeds from these packs go towards funding our ever expanding library of content.

Visit the store now by clicking this link.

East Coast Mainline: North East - More Custom Assets

Following on from the recent blog post about the custom assets at Teesside Airport, I decided to move on to something a bit more complicated.

TSGN Class 319 Released

I have just uploaded another reskin to the DPSimulation website, courtesy of Richard Fletcher.

A Class 319 in 'Thameslink Southern Great Northern' livery, this repaint requires you to own the FCC Class 319 pack from Steam.

As ever, this new reskin can be downloaded from the dedicated page by clicking here.

East Coast Mainline: North East - Custom Assets

Those who have been following progress of the route will know that the workshop version has been signed off, and my concentration focused on starting to produce and implement custom assets which will be added to the next version which will be available on the DPSimulation website.

As an example of how this will take shape, and how different the route will look with these assets, here are a selection of screenshots taken in the route. The first shot shows Teesside Airport Railway Station, as seen in the current version of the route, built with only the assets available to me at the time. The following shots show just how different the station looks, with the addition of two all new custom platforms, footbridge, waiting shelter and signage.

Before

After

Vulcan Productions - Content Now At DPSimulation

Following a discussion yesterday with Cameron from Vulcan Productions, I am pleased to announce that I will now be hosting their content in order to preserve it due to the possible closure of their site. All content has been transferred in it's current state, so if you had visited Vulcan previously, there is no need to download the content again.

Content includes several Class 37** & Class 47 packs along with several coaching stock packs, a Class 150 BR Sprinter pack and a fantastic Colas Rail Class 66 pack.

Thanks to Cameron and all at Vulcan Productions who contributed to this fantastic content, and a big thankyou for them for coming to me in order to keep this content available.

All content is available on the all new dedicated Vulcan Production page which can be found by following this link.

**All Class 37 packs require the now discontinued RSC 'Class 37 Pack 01' so these will unfortunately only be available to users who originally owned this pack.

FGW Plain Blue Class 150 Reskin

I have just uploaded another new reskin to the DPSimulation website, courtesy of Richard Fletcher.

A Class 150 in 'FGW Plain Blue' livery, this repaint is perfect for the recently released Barnstaple to Exeter line and of course requires the Class 150 pack from Steam.

Download it now by following this link.

Barnstaple to Exeter - Released!

I am extremely pleased to announce the release of an all new and completely free route, created by Devon Labuschagne and initially exclusive to DPSimulation!

The Barnstaple to Exeter line is a freeware route created in Train Simulator 2014. This real life representation of the route is based on the line from Barnstaple to Exeter, better known as the Tarka line.

The Barnstaple to Exeter route (better known as the Tarka Line), runs from the North Devon town of Barnstaple to the mainline station of Exeter St David's. In this route for Train Simulator 2014 the line is covered in full from Barnstaple to Exeter St David's as well as the nearby stations of Exeter Central and St James Park. A route map depicting the route can be found in the manual. Requirements for this route have been kept at a minimum, with the vast majority of assets included in the package. However, you will require the Riviera Line from Steam and the European Loco & Asset Pack which is also available from Steam. Users who owned the program prior to Train Simulator 2012 will already own this, it is also included with many popular routes such as WCML North & WCML Over Shap along with many others.

Six scenarios are included with the route and all use the above Riviera Line and European Loco & Asset pack. Quick Drive is also fully enabled on the route from several start points to enable you to drive any steam or diesel train of your choice.

Many members of the community helped contribute towards this fantastic route and details of these contributions can be found in the user manual.

This fantastic route can be downloaded** by following this link.

**As some users have previously experienced issues downloading large files from DPSimulation, further instructions are on the download page on how to potentially solve this issue. Also, an alternative Mediafire link has been provided but DPSimulation does not take any responsibility for adverts or popups from this external website.

BR Blue Pre TOPS Class 27 Pack 2 Released!

I have just uploaded another new reskin pack of the recently released Class 27 locomotive to the DPSimulation website, courtesy of Richard Fletcher.

In a different variation of BR Blue Pre-TOPS livery, this pack again has both plough and non-plough variations included due to the inclusion of the DPSimulation custom plough set. Further to this, there are also physics changes to both variations due to them feeling overpowered.

As ever, these new reskins can be downloaded from the dedicated page by clicking here.

BR Blue Pre TOPS Class 27 Released!

I have just uploaded a new reskin of the recently released Class 27 locomotive to the DPSimulation website, courtesy of Richard Fletcher.

In BR Blue Pre-TOPS livery, this pack has both plough and non-plough variations included due to the inclusion of the DPSimulation custom plough set. Further to this, there are also physics changes to both variations due to them feeling overpowered.

As ever, these new reskins can be downloaded from the dedicated page by clicking here.

DPSimulation Friday 13th Sale!

Don't feel unlucky on Friday 13^th, visit the DPSimulation Store now to pick up a bargain on one, or all of our scenario packs.

All individual scenario packs have 13% off their listed price but if you want to buy the multipack, use the code 'FRIDAY13' to receive all current DPSimulation scenario packs for only £6.99!

This offer ends at 9am BST tomorrow morning, Saturday 14^th June.

Visit the DPSimulation store now by clicking here.

East Coast Main Line North East - Final Workshop Update Available

I have now uploaded the final ever workshop version of East Coast Main Line: North East but there is an unfortunate twist, nobody will receive an automatic upgrade as it has uploaded as a separate workshop upload. This caused no end of problems by still only downloading the old version of the route, even if subscribed to the new one. This means that everyone who wants the final version must now subscribe to the new version.

The new version still uses the old content folder, so when you subscribe it should automatically update your current version of the route to the final version and add the new trackwork at Tees and York Yards, as well as the extension to Heaton Depot.

An unfortunate side effect is that this now resets all route votes to '0' and means I don't have the requisite amount to make the route final, therefore I cannot upload the opening scenario and others cannot either. May I therefore appeal to you to rate/vote on the route workshop screen, so I can get the required votes as soon as possible and make the route final.

Also, as there are nearly 3500 subscribers that will be expecting an automatic update and won't receive it, many will not see this post so can I also ask you to share this information on any pages/forums that you frequent.

Thanks for your understanding and patience on this, the whole finalisation process has been less than ideal and probably vindicates my reasoning for wanting to move East Coast Main Line: North East development away from it altogether.

The route is located on the workshop page linked below. Alternatively, the workshop is accessible from within Train Simulator 2014.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=269482608

East Coast Mainline: North East – Announcement 2 of 2

In the previous announcement, I discussed the ceasing of updates to East Coast Mainline: North East, and the complete removal of the 'Early Access' version. This does not mean that development of the route will cease, not at all, things are just going to get a bit more exciting.

Following the removal of the 'Early Access' version of the route from the Steam Workshop, I will then start the process of modifying that version ready for an upload to the DPSimulation website. Initially, it will be available only to those who have the 'Early Access', most likely by way of access to a specially created page behind a password. This allows those who had obtained 'Early Access' to take a look at the new version of the route, complete with custom content, and allow me to have the installation process throughly tested before it is made available to everyone.

As well as the initial introduction of custom content to the route, this new version will also include a further track and scenery update to an as yet un-named, but well requested location. Custom content will include noticeable lineside structures such as the already seen Newport Bridge, station improvements by way of replacement and new clutter and replacement/new station signage plus much, much more.

Making this move will mean that development of the route will become much easier for me as I progress. Currently, the process of trying to make the route look prototypical whilst using a limited pool of assets has become more difficult mile by mile, especially as I start to add new stations. Having the ability to use custom content will allow me to simply create an object as and when I need it and then the objects can be simply added to the next update for users to download.

If you aren't asleep by now, thankyou for reading this and I hope I have explained my reasoning enough for you to understand why this is a step that has to be taken. The restrictive practice currently in place does not work as I intended it to, and taking a new direction will allow me to develop the route into something that I had a vision for when I first took on the project.

East Coast Mainline: North East - Announcement 1 of 2

East Coast Main Line: North East – Announcement 1 of 2

As of Monday 9^th June, I will no longer be updating any version of East Coast Main Line: North East on the Steam Workshop. There are several factors that have influenced this decision:

Although the original concept behind the use of the Steam Workshop for routes was good, it hasn't quite worked out as I had hoped it would and there are many flaws which don't quite work for me. The whole process is supposed to provide an easy way of updating the route, which the subscriber should then receive automatically, but it doesn't often work this way. In fact, the subscription of my workshop routes easily provides the most support requests to DPSimulation, often numbering several per day. As the userbase of the route increases, these requests are only going to increase.

Steam Workshop routes cannot have scenarios uploaded unless the route is finalised. If the route is finalised, the route cannot be updated, meaning I am stuck between a rock and hard place. I also receive quite a lot of requests for the route to be finalised in order to allow scenarios, and it's become quite a tedious process having to explain myself each time. I have looked at ways to get around this, by locking development a version of the route, finalising it and then creating a new version, but you would then end up with several different versions of the route and it all becomes confusing and fragmented.

The Steam Workshop does not support custom assets in any way. It is a hard enough job to try and replicate a real world route but as time goes on, it becomes harder and harder, especially with a limited asset pool available. This is especially relevant when it comes to stations, there may be incorrect fencing, seating, clutter and not to mention the lack of signage at new stations.

My plan now is to focus on making the current Steam Workshop version as 'final' as possible before next Monday. This will include porting over the Heaton Depot extension and adding track to Tyne Yard, Thornaby Yard and the yard at York. This will mean that the Steam Workshop version of the route will have the boundaries set in stone, and will no longer be extended. These boundaries will be York to Newcastle including the yards, Darlington to Saltburn including Thornaby Yard and Heaton Depot, north of Newcastle. This is still a vast expansion on the original Newcastle to York route and hopefully scenarios will start to materialise on the Steam Workshop once made final.

The plan immediately following this finalisation will be to prepare for the removal of the 'Early Access' version from the Steam Workshop, as this is being discontinued completely. This choice will be made more clear in the second part of this announcement.

SP08 - Scenario Pack Released!

I am very pleased to announce the release of my latest scenario pack, SP08.

This scenario pack comprises of five scenarios, all based on the 'WCML Over Shap' route available from Steam. Set in 1990, the pack covers the Class 37, Class 47, Class 31, Mk3 DVT and Class 156 and custom reskins have been created specifically for this pack. The scenarios offer varying and challenging operations and give nearly five hours of further driving on this fantastic route.

Although the scenarios represent a challenge, and require you to be vigilant for much of the time, the pack has not only been created for that purpose. Weather, season and time settings have been specifically chosen to allow you to explore the route in all of it's beauty, from dawn breaking at Morecambe to a beautiful sunset as you descend Shap.

Created using real timetables where appropriate, this scenario pack features the following in order to give an engaging and realistic experience.

Prototypical consists

Prototypical passing AI

Adverse Signals & AI Interaction

Adverse Weather Conditions

Temporary Speed Restrictions

This scenario pack is again priced at only £1.99, a price point which has been chosen to offer excellent value for money in order to help subsidise site costs at the ever expanding DPSimulation website. The pack can be viewed and purchased by following this link, which contains screenshots, a full list of requirements and a full description of each scenario in order to provide you with all the information needed before making a purchase.

This release has also been added to the [DPS-ALL] scenario pack, which allows users to purchase all current available packs in one go, for a lower price.

DPSimulation Giveaway - Jolly Rover

Today's prize is a Steam redeemable copy of 'Jolly Rover' worth £6.99. http://store.steampowered.com/app/58200/

For your chance to win, first make sure you 'like' the DPSimulation Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/DPSimulation/168343873210326 .

Then, reply to the Facebook post with a short tale about your favourite TS2014 route and why.

The winner will be announced tomorrow, so get thinking, and don't forget to share and tell your friends!

This giveaway is limited to ONE entry per person. 

 

New Class 365 Reskins Released

Two further Class 365 reskins have been released on the DPSimulation website courtesy of Richard Fletcher, and these are absolutely fantastic.

Operated by First Capital Connect, these two branding liveries advertise the counties of Norfolk and Hertfordshire and have been painstakingly recreated to represent the prototype as closely as possible. Both reskins require you to own the ECML South (London to Peterborough) route add-on, available from Steam.

Because of the complicated nature of these reskins, some further file editing is required to get the full effect. Please read the included documentation with each reskin for full instructions on how to do this.

The reskins can be downloaded from the dedicated page by clicking here.

DPSimulation Giveaway - Adventure Park

Today's giveaway prize is a Steam redeemable copy of 'Adventure Park' worth £22.99. http://store.steampowered.com/app/256050/

For your chance to win, first make sure you 'like' the DPSimulation Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/DPSimulation/168343873210326 Then, reply to this post with a short tale about your favourite TS2014 rolling stock and why.

The winner will be announced tomorrow, so get thinking, and don't forget to share and tell your friends!

This giveaway is limited to ONE entry per person. 

 

 

DPSimulation Giveaway - Rise Of Flight

Today's giveaway prize is a Steam redeemable copy of 'Rise Of Flight: Channel Battles Edition' worth £29.99. http://store.steampowered.com/app/244050/

For your chance to win, first make sure you 'like' the DPSimulation Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/DPSimulation/168343873210326 Then, reply to the giveaway post with a short description of your ideal scenario pack. Who knows, the best ideas may eventually go into production!

The winner will be announced tomorrow, so start coming up with some wonderful ideas, and don't forget to share and tell your friends!

This giveaway is limited to ONE entry per person.

DPSimulation - Summer Giveaways!

It's the 1^st of June, the weather is lovely (here anyway) so summer is effectively here. What better way to start than by having the first of many free summer giveaways!

Today's prize is a Steam redeemable copy of 'Warehouse and Logistics Simulator' worth £11.99. http://store.steampowered.com/app/273940/

For your chance to win, first make sure you 'like' the DPSimulation Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/DPSimulation/168343873210326 . Then, reply to the giveaway post on that page with your best screenshot of a Richard Fletcher repaint, there are plenty for you to choose from at http://www.dpsimulation.org.uk/rf72reskins.html

The winner will be announced tomorrow, so grab your screenshots now and don't forget to share and tell your friends!