Train Sim World®: Ruhr-Sieg Nord: Hagen - Finnentrop Route Add-On DLC

TLDR: Ruhr Sieg Nord is easily one of the best addons for Train Sim World. 8/10 Pros: Rolling Stock: The rolling stock included is very well modeled, with good sounds and detailing. There is a variety of freight cars included, along with two locomotives. The BR143 with its AFB-integrated tap changer is also a nice change from other modern locomotives, and is one of my favorites to operate in TSW. Service Mode: There is a good mix of operations on RSN. For passenger, there is a mix of RB and RE services operated by BR143s and Dosto cab cars, and freight trains can be hauled by both the BR143 and 185.2. Freights can also be hauled by other German locomotives such as the BR182 and BR155, provided those addons are installed. For freight trains, there are several types of services, including A-B freight runs, car exchanges, and locomotive moves. Scenery: The scenery is very well done. The areas along the track are vibrant and full of small details, with the tracks alternating prototypically between concrete and wooden ties. The stations are all well modeled, and the distant scenery is dense and full. Scenarios: The scenarios are very well done and story driven, and are actually different than regular service mode operations. They have a good progression in difficulty and are quite enjoyable to run. Cons: The main con with this route is the fact that the passenger service mode is fictitious. At the point the route is set, DB was no longer operating the represented trains on this route. Furthermore, this combination of passenger car and locomotive were never used on this route as well. If you can look past this inaccuracy, the route is otherwise great. There are also some flaws with the rolling stock, especially the BR143. Operation is simplified, and some aspects of locomotive setup are incorrect. The locomotive is missing its rundown feature (brings the taps down to 0 on command), which makes driving the locomotive rather unrealistic. The locomotive's dynamic brakes are also overpowered, and the locomotive is also underpowered at higher speeds. The 143 also does not have functional information displays, despite the coaches having functional displays. Summary: Overall, RSN represents a great addition to one's German route collection for TSW, and I highly recommend it. 8/10

Awesome DLC. The route is superb, the PZB/Sifa systems work as they should, the sounds are accurate. The best one so far, and the most rewarding one when you learn how to correctly operate the rolling stock with all systems enabled. Just a few bugs that need fixing : - The rain on the windows is messed up, it flows backwards - The draw distance of the rails / scenery - A few mistakes in the scenarios (missing commands) I would love to see added some head bobbing / correct camera shake, it would be way more immersive. I'd like to see more AI traffic and life around tracks. Other than that, perfect DLC, I hope the next ones will be as good as this one !

TSW - Ruhr-Sieg Nord route DLC ----- 8.5/10 ----- In my opinion the best route in TSW, better than MSB. I am going to explain why. This is a very "calm" route, with not too much traffic. You can stand at a random point along MSB and see a train each 5 minutes, here at least 15 minutes between 2 trains. Also, the scenery is very good. There are (almost) no empty, untextured hills (the ones that are present are not that noticable) and the stations look great. The two trains included (BR 143 and BR 185) are well replicated and drive great. Also the Doppelstockwagen is a nice addition. Rolling stock can be extended by the BR 182 and BR 155 both as a separate DLC, notice that both only operate freight on this route. All in all, a well made addition to TSW, and by far my favorite of all time :D

Stunning route with two exceptionally well made locos Now, Train simming isn't about landscapes in particular but it surely helps if there is a good looking environment, Ruhr-Sieg nord has got one. Superbly working PZB, great sounds, and physics. E.g. you feel the weight of the locos / typical fast acceleration of the 143 modelled perfectly. Issues I found during my first runs: train remains bright in one tunnel when approaching Hagen a vr2 shows expect 40 km/h meanwhile hp2 shows proceed with 30 km/h

This is by far the best dlc DTG have released so far for this game. The effort put into it really shows. First off, two highly detailed locos are included (DB 185 and 143) along with a dosto (cab car) to pair with the 143. Most buttons are functional in all the cabs and the engine room is accessible in the 143. The route itself is short, however very detailed. Little pathways are included alongside the track which lead to some bonus areas which didn’t have to be included. The PZB signaling is finally fixed (in comparison to RT), works really well and is fun to use once you learn it. The scenarios are also really well done, especially the freight ones. I would’ve liked to see more scenarios as a whole however, specifically maybe one or two more involving the 143 with a passenger service. Service mode works great and does its job as with the rest of the routes. Performance is definitely good in comparison to the other dlcs when they first launched. I get a solid 60 fps on average with my GTX 1080 running at 4K. The only issue I have with performance is at Hagen Hbf, where the fps does drop quite a bit. The only "downside" to this dlc is that the route is short. With only 7 passenger stops and normal speed limits (compared to WSR) it doesn’t take long to do a full length run. Overall, this is DTG's best dlc since the release of Great Western and maybe their best so far. It provides a generous amount of locos, 4 freight wagons, the dostos, and well written scenarios. I would highly recommend this addon.

You can tell a lot of effort was put into this route. It's simply amazing and i'm loving every second of it. Still need to learn to properly utilize the PZB system though. In due time. Needless to say, its got it's fair share of problems (nothing game breaking thus far). Still, finding it to be quite an enjoyable addition to the game. 9/10

I'm sick of spending money on Dovetail addons that have garbage horns. The horn on the cab car abruptly cuts out, and this is the case with 90% of their addons. Can we start caring about the horn editing a little more Dovetail?

Thanks to this DLC I'm a huge step closer to make the switch from TS to TSW. Ruhr-Sieg Nord contains as much content as GWE does, providing 3 locomotives (including the cab car), and both freight and passenger services. The route is curving through the mountains and is very scenic, with a few passenger stations and freight yards along the route. Speed limit is between 70 and 120 km/h, slopes mostly up to 0.8% for the main line, but occasionally 2% on yard entrances/exits. The only downsides I've encountered are; HUD still doesn't display speed restrictions given by signals. None of the 4 included scenarios use the BR143.

I've waited until the first base game update following the release of this DLC to make a review. DTG have a reputation of rushing out products - Rapid Transit was, and still is a buggy mess. When I heard RT was left dead in the water because PZB had been rebuilt for Ruhr Sieg Nord I was very disappointed, eventually however I decided to buy this for the Doppelstock and properly functioning PZB, on the condition that if DTG abandoned this DLC I'd not be buying anymore (until I know they've cleaned up their act). Painfully easy to find bugs were included at launch - as I'm a developer myself I expected a patch within a few days (It's a five minute change, plus a few hours at most of leaving the game compiling in the backgroud). After some waiting I asked the devs themselves why they'd been no patch; the response was that "steam charges for any updates pushed out". I thought this was unusual as my research suggests there is no fee, but I'm happy to give them the benefit of the doubt. The thing that has left me with a sour taste in my mouth, however, is that DTG have not only failed to fix basic bugs for the update alongsite the MTA DLC, they left the bugs in the re-release of RSN on other platforms. I don't like to whine, I simply wish to convey a message to DTG that their poor quality assurance and support is costing them customers, and ultimately money. I hope when 3rd Party Developers start releasing content they hold themselves to a far higher standard than DTG do to themselves - else the potential of TSW is greatly deminished.

This is definitely one of the best routes released so far. pros: -Alot of details, more then previous releases. -Reworked PZB, which works. -Better sounds then previous releases, but still not great. -Includes 2 well known locomotives(143 and 185.2) and they are very well represented. -Tunnel lighting, which works. -4 freight cars and dostos included, also very well done, ecxept for the sounds on the freight wagons. -Three different types of sleepers, wich fits in nicely. -The new models made with this route looks nice, and fits in with the overall feel to the route. -Service mode is good, better build up then other routes(for example: you can take the same freight services with different locomotives) but a bit few, which is the case in real life aswell. Cons: -Still some bugs, but not as bad as previous routes like RT or NEC. -Pretty short, but the area you get is very detailed atleast. -Few scenarios are included, they should have added more and not less then previous releases due to the lack of services included. This dlc sticks out in a positive way, and is definitely worth it if you like german trains. This dlc also offers something new for TSW like: first cab car, first german freight and first dobbeldecker passenger cars. So even if you only like UK or US it's worth taking a look.