Future DLC Announcement and a Poll

So the time has come to announce our intentions for next year.
The USATC S160 will be the next release, but after that we will be starting on a new schedule of building, which currently looks like this:

GWR Saint 4-6-0 with working TPO (Travelling Post Office)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GWR_2900_Class

If it all goes to plan, you will be able to pick up and drop off mail just like this!

LNER J21 0-6-0
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NER_Class_C1

GWR 42xx 2-8-0T
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GWR_4200_Class

LB&SCR A1 Terrier 0-6-0T
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LB%26SCR_A1_class

Obviously situations can change but this is the DLC that we hope to produce over the next year.


We would also appreciate your feedback at this time on how we publish DLC in the future.
Lately we have been thinking over the ups and downs of using DTG/Steam and would appreciate feedback from customers on how you would like to buy from us going forwards.

It really boils down to continuing to use Steam or to change to being able to buy directly (either from us or from an established DLC provider).

The advantages of Steam are:
Purchases and re-downloading are integrated with Train Simulator
DLC can be included in Workshop scenarios

The advantages of direct purchase are:
Much shorter QA times (releases could be up to 6 weeks sooner than they are currently)
No restriction on scenario types (Steam DLC is only allowed to come with career scenarios and only for 1 route which must also be on Steam)
Updates and fixes can be made and sent out within days rather than months (or at all!), as can additions and improvements
Joining forces with another DLC provider has the potential to create even better products

So with that in mind, if you would like to fill out this simple poll we would really appreciate it, thank you
[This poll is now closed - thank you for your responses]

BR (LNER) Peppercorn K1: Released on Steam!

Available now!

http://store.steampowered.com/app/325969

USATC S160: Tender

We're a bit short on time this week for long explanations, but the WIP images speak for themselves really as we have started to build the tender base model - as with the loco, there are quite a few variations of tender components and modifications.

Bogies

Creating the basic shape

Top starts to come together - despite looking quite simple it was surprisingly hard to model correctly

Adding detailing to the water lids and the tool box

Brackets, handles and the ladder. As with the loco there will be 3 coupling types and vacuum or air hoses, shown here are the air hoses with a USSR Wilson coupling

Front view

Work will continue with the tender, detailing the front end and creating the fittings and modifications.

Next week we are expecting the Peppercorn K1 to be released on Steam and on the Friday blog we plan to unveil our intended release line up for 2016!

In the meantime do take advantage of the sale prices on all of our existing DLC
http://store.steampowered.com/search/?developer=Victory%20Works

DLC on Sale!

It's sale time again for Train Simulator on Steam and all of Victory Works add-ons are included with 40% off until 30th September.
Click on any picture below to go to the Steam page, or click here to see all Victory Works DLC on Steam.

USATC S160: Snow and Electricity

Continuing on from last time, we have a few more options to show today.

First of all, the Alaska Railroad's variant which due to their inclement weather has a dirty great snow plough on the front. Also seen on this is the alternative location for the brake air compressor, mounted on the front plate rather than on the front of the smokebox.

Originally the S160's were not fitted with any kind of electrical equipment (and therefore no need for a generator) however these were added to many of them at the end of, or after, the war.
And just to make it fun for digital modellers in the future, the countries and localities all used different types and mounted them in different places!
We can't produce all of them, but here are half a dozen of the more common types/locations that will be available...

Top left of the firebox

In front of the chimney.

 

Behind the chimney (also seen here is the US specific option for a bell, and a taller chimney design).

 

Twin generators in front of the manifold (again a US bell can be seen, this time behind the sand box, and also an alternate whistle).

Note: We did forget to activate one of the 3 available types of safety valves when rendering this image *blush*

On the left hand running board, almost alongside the smokebox.

And finally on the right hand running board just in front of the cab.

We're not finished with options yet but it's about time to start something a little larger, so next time we hope to be able to show some images of the tender in progress.

USATC S160: So many options

This week we've been tidying up areas of the main model and starting to group parts together so we can create the many options needed to represent as many different countries as we can.

First up was the UK fitted vacuum brake with a standard hook.

Then we made the air brake system used by most every other country. To this we first added the US buckeye coupling components (the actual buckeye itself will be the standard TS model - hopefully with a retexture - so it will be compatible with existing US stock connections).

And finally we built the USSR Wilson coupling - which is also fully compatible with the later SA-3 coupling.

Next up is an optional wheel guard commonly used at the time in Europe, shown here with air brake pipes and a standard hook.

And then a USA style "cow catcher" wheel guard, shown here with air brakes, buckeye coupling gear and no buffers.

Finally a 3d Soviet Star as seen on USSR locomotives. Often the star was painted onto the smokebox door but some locomotives were lucky enough to receive cast versions.

Along with all of these parts we also made 5 different chimneys, 3 different whistles, an air brake cover, side window sun shades, a snow plough (as used by the Alaska Railroad) and 2 types of USA bells. And we're not done yet - not by a long way!
Suffice to say, we're hoping to cover as many options as we can so we can create as many authentic liveries as possible.

Peppercorn K1 Live Stream Preview and USATC S160: Model Progress, September 4th

So we are back in full swing after a refreshing break, and the first piece of news for you is that Dovetail Games will be doing a Live Stream preview of the Peppercorn K1 tonight at 5pm UK time.
http://www.twitch.tv/dovetailgames
I will try to be there in the chat to answer any tricky questions that Matt can't handle :-)

Also we are currently finalising the work schedule for next year and we plan to announce the 4 new locomotive add-ons we intend to release during 2016, later this month.

And of course, after quite a long delay we are finally getting back to work on the USATC S160! As some of you are probably now aware, we were approached in January by Dovetail Games in regards to their desire to build the 1950's Riviera line for the upcoming TS2016.
What started as a small involvement with us offering advice on areas to focus on, rolling stock to include and features to add (GWR ATC for example), then became a full-time involvement where we provided set up and additional scripting for all of the included tender locomotives, created the locomotive side of the water trough functionality (visuals and script) and built the Driver Assist system.
During this time the Wear Valley route was also released and so we had to complete the K1 locomotive as well.

But we are now focused on the S160 and intend to have it completed by the end of the year. And to that end, we've been adding more to it this week.

So last we left it, a lot of the detail under the boiler had been added but the frame still lacked a rear section.

As you can see from the images further down that rear section has been added. Also a lot of the cab has been detailed, including rivets - this is actually really useful for measurements when adding other nearby components and as we've said before can provide some relief from the more complex modelling.
The next component to tackle was the manifold. One of the features of the S160, typical of many austerity designs, is that many of the working parts that are usually covered with panelling are left open to save on time and materials, and the external manifold is typical of this.
There's a lot going on there!

Once this was in place we set about adding the injector equipment - the pipes and valves that allow the pushing of water from the tender into the locomotive's boiler.
The S160 was originally fitted with side injectors - the water enters via valves either side of the boiler. However later some of them were fitted with a more efficient top feeding system, and of course with all the pipework on show this means modelling 2 completely different set ups.

Side feed.

Top feed.

Also added after this were the side pipes that follow the running boards which include the brake pipes. The ends of these are noticeably missing at the moment as the next job is to model the 2 different brake versions that were fitted - the air brake and the UK vacuum brake which have different connections and locations.

We hope to get back to these weekly blog updates from now on, and do keep an eye out for the new product list coming later this month.

Also if you're interested in the Peppercorn K1 make sure you watch DTG's Live Stream later today.