Recent reviews by Dr_Trenchcoat

Out of the many games I have played, some for thousands of hours, there I few I look so fondly of as Return of the Obra Dinn. It burns briefly but ever so brightly.

DTM's Baldwin DR-6-4-20 has many excellent features but is not worth getting in it's current state. Here are the pros and cons.

Pros:
Modelling. The models are all well made with many small details
Interiors. Each coach has a well made interior and multiple passenger views
Couplers. The couplers have custom models, with type H's(I think) on all the coaches

Cons:(unfortunately there are a lot)
Physics. This is a big one, the brakepipe will not raise it's pressure above 90 psi, causing dragging brakes on the whole train
Headlights. The headlights are a bright white color when the prototype had incandescent lights.
Sounds. The sounds are quite poorly mixed, with both the horn and bell deafened by the prime mover.
Textures. The textures all have a very gloss appearance, it looks like a plastic model out of the box.
Missing textures. There are quite a few missing textures in the cab, the cab lights show missing textures when illuminated. some of the instrument dials are missing textures and the sand lamp also is missing. https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1742921898 https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1742921873

Overall the DR-6-4-20 has been a pretty major disappointment to me, it's easy to see this being a great DLC however the numerous issues clearly sink the product. I hope that updates down the line fix the DR-6-4-20 but until then I can by no means recommend this DLC.

This addon is in many ways perfect; great sounds, nice physics, etc... However it has one horrible problem, the lack of the TVM 430, when a addon is marketed as pro range, I would hope the addon would include all the safety systems of the real unit. Is it worth 10$? yes, however 20$ is far to much; I will probably refund this DLC and get it on sale and would hope anyone else does the same.

[Edit] I wrote this review when I was extremelly annoyed and do think the DLC deserves a fair amount of praise, just that I purchased it to get a ICE with TVM430 to run on the Kent High Speed and the LGV Marseille-Avignon.
[Edit]Please note the addon is not advertised as having the TVM 430 either

The EMD E8 exemplifies all that is wrong with DTS's north american products, from it's horrid sounds to it's braking issues. The E8 is exactly what we've come to expect from DTG, the sounds are identical to those of the Kuju F7s from years ago, the coaches are all reused, varying in origin from the Empire builder to the CZ. Rant over, pros and cons time.

Pro's:
Reskin potential. The E8 is likely to serve as an excellent basis for numerous reskins, from the Pennsy to the CB&Q.
Cab textures. The cab textures are fairly good, with few issues, it also (fairly) closely matches what photographs I've seen of real E8 cabs
Paintschemes. The quality of the locomotive paintschemes is nice, nuff said.
Opening cab doors. That's nice I suppose, not that it effects the sounds or anything

Cons
Sounds. Gee! what a surprise, reused sounds from kuju F-units really dont cut, who'da thunk.
Physics. The brakes are of they're standard horrible quality, and to add insult to injury, the cab includes a nonfunctional brake mode selecter switch to taunt you. otherwise it seems fine, I honestly cant really tell.
Coaches. The coaches are all reused, mostly from the California Zephyr addon, as well as a few from the Empire builder all those years ago, it certainly would have been nice to have all the coaches be of the same quality. also the only passenger view is from an ex-EB dome car... yippee.

Wrapping it up. As is normal, us americans get to take it up the bum, while I dont regret the purchase, I do not recommend this addon to anyone other than dedicated masochists bent on suffering while green with envy for the brits and germans.

P.S. sorry for the caustic attitude and poor grammer, finally getting a locomotive i've wanted for years only to (as expected) be let down tends to piss me off

Without a doubt one of the best if not the best british EMU, it's quality even surpasses that of AP/Waggonz addons.

Pros:
Functional TMS
Functional GSM-R
Functional CSR
The wheel slip simulation (spedo shows the slip)
Working passenger announcements (a bit quiet for my tastes, but that's just me)
Physics (dont know the actual 460 physics, but it feels right to me)
Sounds (once again dont know what the real 460 sounds like, but they seem nice.)
The best class 73 in TS (I would have paid $20 just for the 73)
AWS DVD DRA etc...

Cons:
Initially rather buggy (fixed by now)
Lack of versatility (London to Gatwick maybe brighton. the other juniper family EMUs have far more interesting traffic patterns)

Overall: 9.5/10
An excellent addon let down only by the nature of the real 460. If you like 3rd rail express services, get this addon now!

Is this addon worth the money: No
Is this route an excellent, well made GWR branchline: Yes

First some pros and cons:
Pros:
Excellent scenery
Historical accuracy
Operational value for a line of it's size

Cons:
Price
Rolling stock

My opinion of the GWR Malmesbury branch addon is very conflicted, on one hand the route's developer clearly spent a great deal of time ensuring he got things right, on the other hand, I can find routes on Railworks America three times the length with similar levels of detail. I find this route a joy to drive on, but the included rolling stock appears to be copied and pasted from the Riviera line DLC, given all this, I cannot in my right mind recommend purchasing this DLC at full price, however I also do not regret the purchase, and feel I will likely get hours of enjoyment in Free Roam.

Summary: The Malmesbury Branch is a well made addon that is overpriced for the amount of content included, if on sale for 5$, purchase it, otherwise you will be disapointed from the lack of content.

Another excellent addon by Virtual Railroads, however if you want a cab car, purchase the addon from the developer's website.
My one quibble with this addon is that the LZB and AFB seem to max out at 160km/h even if running in 200 or 280 km/h sections of track
(EDIT) Promptly fixed

In a haiku:

just reskins, dont buy
20 has broken horn and brake
physics are all wrong

Pros:
Overall appearance, the loco looks really nice with great coaches as well.
Momentum and weight, The loco drives really well, reallistic or not, it certainly felt like I would expect a Crocodile to feel
Features, really great in cab features, almost everything works in the cab
Coaches, the coaches are great as well, although they have a few texture flaws
Price, $10.99 for an almost pro level locomotive

Cons:
Some of the textures, the in cab textures look like plywood (I could not find a cab photo so I'm going off what I expect it to look like)
Animations, the Tap Changer(maybe) does not rotate when using the keyboard, only when clicked
Indusi, the indusi is grossly oversimplified
Scenarios, there are none

Overall:
Near perfect, I would certainly buy this again, and this is one of the few addons I feel is well priced.

I have for most of my life been a fan of both the TEE and the Class 103, however this addon seriously disapointed me.
Unlike most Steam DLC for TS, Steam does not have a free download for this locomotive's manual, as such, I looked to the manuals of other Vr products on steam, the steam manuals were identical to manuals downloaded fro the Vr website. As such, I downloaded the manual from the Vr website and expected it to represent the Steam product. I was SORELY disappointed on all fronts besides controls, this locomotive excelled, however the controls were sorely lacking for a 'Pro Range' product.

Overall message:
A great product on most fronts, this locomotive lacks the depth of controls expected in a Pro Range product. If you do not care about cold starts and other 'in cab' features, this locomotive is excellent then i recomend it, otherwise, don't buy.