Thursday 19 June 2014

WSR Members Edition Insider Review - by Daniel Kerr

Welcome to a Insider Review of the recently published West Somerset Railway Member's Edition from steam guru Steam Sounds Supreme.
  The West Somerset ME version is a much enhanced version of the currently available Member's edition available on the steam workshop by David Seward, who is a resident trainee guard and ticket inspector on the preserved railway. Being a local resident one could only assume that David would have a keen insight into how the railway should look in its digital representation and found it solely lacking and thus the Member's Edition was born.

  Now anyone who has used the Steam Workshop knows of the vast limitations imposed upon a route developer, you are limited by the DLC published and used by Dovetail Games thus the decision was taken to partner up with Steam Sounds Supreme and create a truly near accurate representation of the route in digital format.

  Matt Walmsley, owner of Steam Sounds Supreme, has created routes in the past which include the well recieved Great Central Railway and current projects of the Seven Valley Railway so an ideally suited developer to deal with the modification of the WSR M.E.


West Somerset Railway in Brief:

  The WSR began operation in 1862 between Taunton and Watchet later to be extended to include the seaside town of Minehead in 1874 by the Minehead Railway. It was designed and used as a single track line and over its life required sigificant improvement leading up to the twentieth century due to the increased tourism traffic which was seen on the line. The line's ownership eventually became that of the Great Western Railway and later when the big four were merged into British Railways then became a BR tourist line. British Railways eventually closed the line by 1971 but a movement was already in progress to change the line into a hertiage line and just 5 years later it re-opened to the public in 1976 as the hertiage line you see today.

  WSR is one of the longest hertiage lines available in standard guage in Britian at 20.5miles long and on special occasions this goes to 22.5miles with the inclusion of Norton Fitzwarren where there is available connection to Network Rail.

What has Changed with the WSR E.M.E?

  A great deal of detail and tender loving care has gone into the new edition of the West Somerset Railway with overall enchancements including new ambient sounds where appropriate, new under bridge sounds and appropriate crossing sounds. Sounds are not the only department in which the route has been enchanced. Crossings have recieved repeaters and bells, point rodding as been provided in most parts of the line, appropriate and correct adjustments to terrain and cuttings have been made. 

 But this is not all, Crossing warning signs, AWS warning signs and nessessary deforestation have been done in the route to bring it into a more realistic look aswell as the route in general recieving a subtle echo system which was first pioneered as doable on the Maerdy Branch by Meshtools.

Further to the above the following additions have been made to the various spots on the Railway:

Norton Fitzwarren 
  • Pylons added. 
  • Ballast heap.
Bishops Lydeard
  • Loco compound added
Crowcombe
  • Deep cutting on approach
  • Demo broad gauge track on platform
  • Old dock platform
Williton
  • Yard details added
  • Speed limits adjusted
Watchet
  • Filled empty space behind platform
  • Added car park
Washford
  • SDJR Trust site completely rebuilt
  • Track layout changed
  • Small narrow gauge railway put in
  • Deep cutting
Blue Anchor
  • Station now in a proper cutting
  • Caravan site extended
  • Bungalows brought closer to the track
  • Footpath along beach added
Dunster
  • Extra non-passenger platforms added
  • Footpath to crossing
Minehead
  • Seaward way level crossing rebuilt with extra detail
  • Footpath to town added
  • Coal digger for coal fuel point
  • Reworked loco yard
  As you can see a great deal of additional changes have been made to enhance the route and bring it into a true digital representation of the route and it with both thanks and gratitude to all those involved that we are be presented with a outstanding and much needed enhancement to the route.

GWR "Mogul" 9351 by Kris Harding:

  But that is not all which has been added to the already superior enhanced version of the member edition. In association with Kris Harding who was brought on by David Seward we have the controversial conversion of the Large Prairies 5139 into a "Mogul" class GWR 2-6-0 a design which never officially ran on GWR metals and never made it beyond drawing board to in the preserved era this new build was created.

  Kris has gone to the efforts to recreate this locomotive in the simulator and what a sight it is to behold and you will be able to see some various in-game shots at the end of this review. The locomotive in question has a distinctive flair to it, having the looks of a Mogul class not to dissimilar to other Moguls from other companies having the smaller driver wheels and the partial looks of the Large Prairies. 

  For one of Kris's first creations for the simulator the attention to detail is quite outstanding on the locomotive, this includes but not limited to full rivets across most of the locomotive, correctly shaped and modeled safety valve, detailed buffer beam with number and appropriate included pipework and buffers, detailed handrails as well and running board with great detail upon the cylinders and connection rods. Further to this boiler and smokebox are shaped closely to that of the real thing and the cab end is especially well detailed giving a much needed Mogul like profile. 

  Detail is not solely limited to the model work, livery and application of both the GWR lettering, the cab side numbering and the buffer beam number are equally as good and further to this a fully working light system which includes both the front of the locomotive and the tender as fully operable and configurable on-the-fly via keyboard controls.

  Further to on-the-fly keyboard controls which are controlled via the ctrl+1-4 and ctrl+shift+1-4 there is included appropriate lamps which range from oil lit, to red to high intensity light which is seen on modern rolling stock. 

  Further to these additions is a host of headboards which are provided both on the smokebox as well as the tender these include the following:

- The Qauntock Belle
- Dunster Castle Express
- Santa Special
- Santa Express
- Somset Coast Express
- Steam Engineman Course


  Also brought as a additional enhancement to the already superb model is Steam Sounds Supreme's Sounds which feature all the sounds you know and love as well as the wonderful scripting and smoke effects which have been a staple of SSS releases.

  Words cannot do full justice to both the West Somerset Enhanced Member's Edition and the included 9351 Mogul, the effort and attention to detail done by all included parties has taken what was to some a lacklusting attempt at a preserved railway in the simulator and fully changed it to be something that just bit better and that little bit closer to blurring the boundaries between reality and digital format.

  I hope you have enjoyed this Insider Review of the WSR E.M.E and will enjoy the following in-game shots of 9351 and a few highlights of the changes at Minehead.

Monday 16 June 2014

West Somerset Railway Members Edition - Part 3

                               A Trip Along The Line

We continue our journey along the West Somerset Railway.


Williton to Washford

Watch and listen as 9351 continues it's journey from Norton Fitzwarren to Minehead. We pick up the train once again at Williton, having dropped down from Crowcombe Heathfield.


The pylons loom large as 9351 waits to depart Williton
Looking from Williton platform 2 in the Minehead direction
At Doniford Halt, looking back towards Williton. The cutting is new.
Watchet and the weather has closed in. Note the new bank behind the platform.

Next: Washford to Minehead........................................

Tuesday 3 June 2014

A New Type of Pack

Great Central Railway Gala Scenario Pack

With a number of our projects in limbo, I made the decision to work on a new type of project - a steam gala scenario pack. 
Visiting LMS 8F 8274 passes the 'Cambrian' on the GCR's double track
  This is an idea I had quite some time ago, long before SSS came into being. In the past however, there weren't the appropriate loco's, with great sounds, that I would enjoy driving. You see, first and foremost, I wanted to make this for my own enjoyment. But what fun is there to be had if the loco's didn't sound like they should! So, this project has started and stalled many times since the first version of the GCR was released.

Inspiration to Try Again

  It occurred to me just how many loco's we have enhanced with new sounds and more, over the past year. So, with a small lull in sound production, I decided to go for it again and this time make it a special gala showcasing as many Steam Sounds Supreme enhanced locomotives as possible. I didn't want to just haphazardly write scenario's with the usual passenger trains and the token TPO run like before. No! I decided to really push the boat out for this one. I put the word out that I was looking for a GCR gala timetable, featuring all movements throughout a gala day. I am very grateful to Will Stevenson who obliged with a copy of the timetable from last years Autumn steam gala. I decided to limit the number of loco's to 10. So now came the task of choosing which ones to use......................................

The Locomotives

Instead of getting too bogged down with what would be authentic, I went for what a felt would best showcase our sound work. So, here's a list of loco's running at the gala, and I'm sure you'll agree, it's a pretty good lineup:
  • LMS 8F 8274(Coutesy of the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Railway)
  • LMS 7F 13809(Courtesy of the Midland Railway)
  • GWR Pannier as LT.99(Courtesy of Buckinghamshire Railway Centre)
  • LMS 4F 44422(Courtesy of the Nene Valley Railway)
  • GWR Manor 7821 Ditcheat Manor(Courtesy of the West Somerset Railway)
  • GWR Hall 4953 Pitchford Hall(Courtesy of the Epping & Ongar Railway)
  • BR Standard 4 4-6-0 75014(Courtesy of the Paignton and Dartmouth Rly)
  • SR Bulleid Light Pacific 34081 92 Squadron(Courtesy of the NVR)
  • LMS 8F 48624(Resident)
  • LMS Black 5 45407(Courtesy of Ian Riley)
Each loco has been assigned a duty number and letter. They are listed above in order from 1(A) - 10(J). In the scenario pack, you'll get to drive each loco listed. Each loco duty will have a set of chained scenario's to take you through the day. As you work through each duty, you notice lots of crossovers from other duties you have undertaken, now being performed by the AI. All making the most immersive set of scenario's ever created for the Great Central Railway.

The Timetable

The final release of the complete scenario pack may well contain as many as 60 scenario's. Some will be very short to provide a link between different events of the day. As previously mentioned, the timetable will be a completely authentic gala timetable, beefed up slightly to accommodate the 10 loco's. Take a look at page 1 of 4. Here you'll see the process of re-writing the timetable for our use:
 Believe me, it gets more complicated as the day goes on!!

Duty 1

So, to whet your appetite for what is in store, duty 1 is complete and here are a few screenshots of loco A in action, and the other loco movements that loco A interacts with:
8274 and 13809 run light to swithland
The pair cross Swithland reservoir
  Having run light to Swithland sidings, the 8F heads off light engine, down to Rothley. The 7F collects the hoppers from the siding and takes these down to Rothley(handled in duty 2), where the 8F is waiting to take over.
The 8F now takes over the Hoppers in Rothley Brooke and begins the journey to Loughborough
The journey to Loughborough, passing trains en route and enjoying the views, whilst keeping to the busy timetable.

Passing the 'Cambrian'
The Guards View
Passing Through Quorn & Woodhouse
The Standard and Bulleid are moving off ready to back onto the 0945 departure for Leicester North
Arrival at Loughborough Down Loop
Around 20 minutes later, our loco has taken water and run round. Meanwhile, the Pannier is handling station pilot duties.
LT liveried Pannier LT99(7715) shunts the dining set
Reversing the dining set into the siding
The shunting work is complete and our 8F now has the signal to depart with the Hoppers once again. 

Departure from Loughborough
Passing through Quorn & Woodhouse
The guards view at Kinchley Lane
Passing through swithland as the 4F is moving forwards onto the minerals
We now jump forwards to the mid-late afternoon. We now have a passenger duty. 
Ready to depart Rothley with the 1645 Loughborough to Leicester North service
The final part of duty 1 involves the night diner returning from Leicester. A good old blast through the night!! All these scenario's are chained. They blend from one into the other. Next you can do it all again, with the 7F!!

More soon.......................................