Dovetail Support

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Introduction
• Purchasing Train Sim World 5
• How to Download Train Sim World 5
• How to Download Compatible Content for Train Sim World 5
• First Time Startup
  • Signing in/registering for Dovetail Live
  • Creating a Profile
  • Importing a Profile
  • Privacy Policy/Bidstack Advertising Consent
  • Setting the difficulty level
• Settings
  • Accesibility
  • HUD Settings
  • Player Assists
• Graphical Settings (PC Only)
  • Recommended Graphical Settings
  • Intel Arc Graphics Cards
  • Shader Compilation & Traversal Stutter
  • Technical Issues
• Controls
  • Gamepad Controls
  • Keyboard Controls
  • (Main Menu > Settings > Controls > Keyboard Controls)
  • Raildriver Desktop Controller
  • Haptic Feedback
• Training Center
  • Tutorials
• To The Trains
  • Choose a Route
  • Quick Play
  • Rail Journeys
  • Train Depot
• Pause Menu Options
  • Options
  • HUD Guide
  • Control Guide
  • Overview
  • Map
  • Schedule
  • Help
  • Message Log
• Game Modes
  • Journey Mode
  • Timetable Mode
  • Conductor Mode
  • Scenarios
  • Free Roam Mode
• Creative Tools
  • Photo Mode
  • Livery Designer
  • Scenario Planner
  • Formation Designer
  • Creators Club - Online Sharing Hub
• Tips & Tricks
  • Fast Travel
  • Route Hopping
  • Digital Display Screens
  • Timetable Layer Control
  • Reset Physics Simulation Button
  • Mastery Rewards
• Gameplay Guides
• Community Video Guides
• PC Editor (beta)

Introduction

Whether you are a new or returning player, you may find this guide useful for explaining many of the unique features of Train Sim World 5. The guide is ordered to take you through the first steps of purchasing and downloading the game, through to exploring all the available features.

Purchasing Train Sim World 5

If you want to know your options before purchasing Train Sim World 5, please head over to the Train Sim World 5 FAQ. This section of the FAQ covers bundle configurations, discounts, prices, and Xbox Game Pass.

However, if you are still undecided and want to try before you buy, please have a look at the Free Starter Pack. If you have any further questions about the Free Starter Pack, please check out the Train Sim World 5 FAQ.

How to Download Train Sim World 5

To get started, you will need to download Train Sim World 5 and any add-ons your bundle entitles you to. Please use the link below for Download instructions.

• How to Download Train Sim World 5

How to Download Compatible Content for Train Sim World 5

To make the most of your add-on collection you will need to download the TSW 5 version of these add-ons, when they become available. Please use the link below for Download instructions. 

• How to Download Add-ons for Train Sim World 5 (English)
• How to Download Add-ons for Train Sim World 5 (German)

First Time Startup

This section will take you through the experience of starting the game for the first time and what to expect.

Signing in/registering for Dovetail Live

Creating a Dovetail Live account is entirely optional, but the image below shows just a few of the features you can enjoy by creating an account. If you wish to skip this step, simple select the on-screen prompt.

Creating a Profile

If this is your first time with Train Sim World 5, you will be asked to create a profile. You will be asked to select a character and enter a profile name. Choose wisely, as this cannot be changed at a later date. 

If you are having trouble creating a profile on PC, it possible the game is being blocking by Windows or an external application. To resolve these problems, please refer to How to Resolve Profile and Save Game Issues on PC

Importing a Profile

You will also have the option to import a profile from TSW 2-4. For all the details and instructions, please refer to: How to Transfer Your In-Game Profile

Privacy Policy/Bidstack Advertising Consent

On this screen, you will be required to agree to the privacy policies before you can play the game. However, seeing real-world advertisements in-game is optional. We would recommend that all players take the time to familiarise themselves with this information. In summary, only your region is used to provide you with locally relevant advertisment and no personally identifying information is shared with third-parties.

Setting the difficulty level

Next, you will be given the option to adjust the difficulty of the game. Once, you have told the game how experienced you are, it will automatically set the Player Assists, as below and direct you to the most appropriate starting point.

Beginner - You will start by learning the fundamentals at the Training Center and all player assists will be turned on.

Standard - You will be taken directly to Journey mode, where you will be able to choose a route and be taken through scenarios and introductions in an order curated by the developer. Player assists will be set to the Standard level.

Experienced - You will be taken directly to the main menu, where you can choose where to go next. All player assists will be turned off.

Settings

In this section, you will learn to configure the game to meet your needs. You may not know what settings you will prefer at first, but it would be recommended to familiarise yourself with the options available. For a more detailed explaination of every setting, please check out Train Sim World Settings Explained.

Accesibility

(Main Menu > Settings > Accessibility)

Colour Blind Mode/Strength

Don't leave that next signal to doubt, improve your visibility and immersion by changing the colours to suit your needs. We now support Deuteranope, Protanope, and Tritanope colour blind modes with a strength slider to fine tune the image. 

Lightning/Spark Effects

If you are sensitive to flashing lights, please be aware that you can disable both lighning and spark effects from the accessbility menu.

HUD Settings

(Main Menu > Settings > Accessibility > HUD Type)

These settings will allow you to change between three different HUD types depending on your gameplay style. Further customisation of the HUD is available under Settings > HUD & Gameplay.

Normal

The normal HUD will be familiar to vetern players. You will be given objective based information in the top left, score and track monitor in the top right. The speedometer will be flanked by your brake pressures on the left and gradient on the right.

Simple

The simple HUD does away with the "wings" on the speedometer to provide you with critical driving information. This mode would be recommended for new players.

Minimal

The minimal HUD condenses critical information into a slim bar in the top left to increase immersion.

Player Assists

(Main Menu > Settings > Player Assist)

Players assists are recommended for new players, but can also be used to make the game easier to play for those who are more experienced.

Auto Coupling can be a huge time saver for those who don't enjoy this aspect of train simulation. When enabled you will automatically couple with any rolling stock by gently bumping into it. This is instead of leaving the train and making sure the couplers are set correctly.

If you don't enjoy the complexity of shunting or just want an easier time, Automatic Set Manual Junctions will autimaitcally set junction/switches so you can get to where you are going without having to leave the cab or open a map. 

Graphical Settings (PC Only)

(Main Menu > Settings > Screen)

To get the best experience, we would recommend that players choose an appropriate Resolution and Graphical Preset for their PC. The table below will give you an idea of what settings you will need to use based on the hardware in your computer. To fine tune your graphical settings, please head over to our Settings Guide for an explanation of each setting.

Recommended Graphical Settings

We would recommend that players start with the following settings and adjust as necessary to meet a satisfactory performance target.

Intel Arc Graphics Cards

It is important to note that we do not officially support any Intel graphics card, whether that be integrated graphics or the new line of Intel Arc graphics cards. Integrated graphics are not suitable for gaming, and cannot be used with Train Sim World 5. Due to driver level issues Intel Arc cards have poor DirectX 11 compatibility, which is the API Train Sim World 5 runs on by default. However, Intel Arc owners may get a better experience by forcing the game to run in DirectX 12 mode. While this is not officially supported, it may help. Please refer to the article linked below for more information.

• Advice for Unsupported Intel Arc Graphics Cards

Shader Compilation & Traversal Stutter

Unfortunately, many games built on Unreal Engine 4 suffer from shader compilation stutter. This is most noticeable as pauses between frames, whenever something new is being rendered for the first time. This kind of stutter will occur on any PC hardware, so it cannot be eliminated with a hardware upgrade. 

However, you will find that a second run of the same content will be dramatically smoother. This is because the shader is cached when it first appears. This allows the game to reuse that data, which is much faster than compiling shaders on demand. The cache size is limited, so eventually it will be overwritten by new data. Furthermore, shaders will need to be recompiled if the game or your graphics card driver is updated.

This doesn't happen on consoles because the hardware inside a console is a known quantity and the shaders can be precompiled and shipped with the game. The different combinations of hardware inside a PC is impossible to predict, so shaders have to be compiled on demand.

New games built with this in mind have solved the problem by introducing a shader pre-compilation step. While this may sound like an ideal solution, we have found that it is unfortunately not feasible with Train Sim World. 

The idea of a shader pre-compilation step is to capture every asset in the game, in all possible configurations. Our use of dynamic lighting, snow, rain and other matieral effects make this much more difficult to achieve. A single pass of a route won't capture all possible configurations of an asset. This also means, we wouldn't be able to update routes without resetting the whole process.

Unreal Engine 5 games that have shader pre-compilation were shipped as one complete game, and infrequently updated. Whereas Train Sim World  is continually updated, and new DLC is added with new materials. To make shader pre-compilation work all these materials would need to exist in the base game, which would massively increase the size of the base game. All of this means that any change to the game would take up increasingly more storage space and require a significant amount of additional development time.

Another type of stutter that can momentarily freeze the game is related to World Origin Rebasing. This is a Unreal Engine feature that helps keep the precision of world geometry in very large open world. World Origin Rebasing is when a player travels a certain distance from the world origin, the world origin is reset to the player’s current position. This kind of stutter cannot be elimanted using shader pre-compliation and we have yet to find a suitable solution.

The code for shader pre-compilation is available in Unreal Engine 5, and has been backported to UE4 by some talanted developers. While this may work for stock Unreal Engine 4 games, Train Sim World is far from standard. Based on Unreal Engine 4, the game has seen over a 1000 customisations ranging from small tweaks to complete system rewrites to deliver Train Sim World as we know it. Furthermore, shader pre-compilation requires DirectX 12 which is not fully supported at this time. After many months of investigation, we have concluded that shader pre-compliation would be a huge task to undertake and is unlikely to produce the desired results. Therefore, this won't be an appropriate solution for Train Sim World.

Technical Issues

If you are experiencing crashes on PC, we would recommend that you start with our troubleshooting guide. However, if there are underlying issues with the hardware in your PC, you may need to reach out to your local computer specialist. Please use the following articles to narrow down the cause of these problems.

• Troubleshooting Crashes & Other Technical Issues Guide
• Intel 13th & 14th Gen CPUs Crashing on Unreal Engine Games
• Random Crashes Caused by Overheating/Power Failures

Controls

Gamepad Controls

(Main Menu > Settings > Controls > Gamepad Controls)

The default controller scheme is called "Immersion" which is depicted in the image below. This scheme makes best use of the limited number of buttons on a controller by introducing "modifiers". These are buttons which can be held while pressing another button to make it do something different. The full controller layout can be found in the settings menu. 

Modifiers

• Operations Shift - [Hold X/Square] covers AFB, PZB, and sanding.
• Camera Shift - [Click and Hold the Right Analogue Stick] covers Internal & External cameras, zooming and taking a screenshot.

Common Controls

• A/X - Interact
• Y/Triangle - Enter/Exit Seat
• Menu/Options  - Pause the Game
• View/Touchpad - In-Game Map
• Left Trigger/R2 [In Loco] - Increase Throttle
• Right Bumper/R1 [In Loco] - Decrease Throttle
• Left Trigger/L2 [In Loco] - Increase Brake
• Left Bumper/L1 [In Loco] - Decrease Brake
• Left Analogue Stick Up/Down [In Loco] - Zoom the camera
• Left/Right D-Pad [In Loco] - Open/Close the Left/Right Doors
• Hold B/Circle [In Loco] - Contact the Signaller/Request permission to proceed
• Click Right Analogue Stick [In Loco] - Swap between Internal/External camera
• Click and Hold the Right Analogue Stick + Hold Down on the D-Pad - Photo Mode

Keyboard Controls

(Main Menu > Settings > Controls > Keyboard Controls)

There are many keyboard bindings and you will learn much of these as you play the game. However, you can review these binding any any time by accessing the Settings menu. 

Common Controls

• W/S [In Loco] - Reverser Forwards/Backwards
• A/D [In Loco]  - Throttle Increase/Decrease
• Q [In Loco]  - Acknowledge Alerter
• Tab [In Loco]  - Contact the Signaller/Request permission to proceed
• 1 - First Person Camera
• 2 - Front/Rear Boom Camera
• 3 - Front/Rear Exterior Camera
• 8 - Free Camera
• 9 - In-Game Map
• Ctrl+0 - Return to the Cab
• Ctrl+F12 - Take a DTL Screenshot
• Esc - Pause the game
• Shift + F - Fast Travel Menu
• Shift + Space - Photo Mode

Raildriver Desktop Controller

(Main Menu > Settings > Controls > Advanced Controls)

The RailDriver Desktop Controller is designed to mimic the levers and buttons found with a train cab and can be used with any train in Train Sim World 5 on PC. To learn how to calibrate your RailDriver controller we would recommend trainsimulatordriver's tutorial videos.

Important: By default the Advanced Controls menu will show options for the 3 Training Center locos. To configure other locos you will need to load into a route and access them from the pause menu.

Haptic Feedback

(Main Menu > Settings > Controls > Gamepad Settings)

These settings can be used to adjust the intensity of haptic feedback.

Training Center

(Main Menu > Training Center)

• Start Journey - New begineers are recommended to start here. This will take you through the fundamental training modules in order.
• Tutorials - This section contains a variety of playable tutorials, video and written guides covering the basics of operating a train, advanced operations, signalling, creative tools and gameplay.
• Train Modules - Here you will find playable tutorials for any train in your collection.
• Explore On Foot - Explore the Training Center on foot to find hidden surprises or jump into one of the stabled locomotives and take it for a spin.

Tutorials

(Main Menu > Training Center > Tutorials)

There are playable tutorials available here, as well as a selection of video and written guides.

Fundamentals

• Navigation & Interaction
• Screen Elements
• Moving a Train - Part 1
• Passenger Operations
• Camera Controls
• Moving a Train - Part 2
• Chaning Ends - Multiple Units
• Railway Navigation
• Diesel Introduction
• Changing Ends - Locomotives
• Coupling and Uncoupling
• Control/Cab Cars
• Changing Ends  - Cab Cars
• Cruise Control

Steam Fundamentals

• Moving and Stopping
• Passenger Operations
• Refueling

To The Trains

This menu is where you will access the majority of your content through different game modes.

Choose a Route

This is the most effective way to access all the content included with a route add-on. Selecting Choose a Route, will give you four Game Mode to choose from.

• Journey Mode
• Timetable Mode
• Scenarios
• Free Roam Mode

Quick Play

If you are not sure what to play next, Quick Play can be an easy way to automatically select something based on how much time you have to spare. Quick Play will take it's selection from anything you have yet to complete. By default this will also include Training Modules, but this can be disabled under Settings > HUD & Gameplay.

Rail Journeys

For a complete description of Rail Journeys, please head over here.

Train Depot

The Train Depot will giveyou the option of 3 different Game Modes, then allow you select with loco you want to play that Game Mode with.

When using the Train Depot, it is important to remember that it will group variants of the same train. In the example below, selecting the 766.2 DBpbzfa DB, will show us two different variants of that loco. Variants will be displayed on the right-hand side of the screen under Official. If you are having trouble finding a specific loco, select the nearest match and check for variants.

Pause Menu Options

You can access the pause menu at any time during gameplay by pressing relevant key/button on your platform. While you have the pause menu open, you can swap between tabs to access different information and options.

Pause Menu Button/Key

• PC - Esc Key
• PlayStation - Options Button
• Xbox - Menu button

Options

• Main Menu
• Restart
• Settings
• Photo Mode
• Save
• Exit Game

HUD Guide

Get a quick reminder of what everything on the HUD does.

Control Guide

Not sure how to acknowledge a PZB warning? Use the control guide to lookup every button and key used in the game.

Overview

The overview provides an upcoming view of speed limit and gradient changes. This is also where you will find the physics reset button, if you get stuck while setting up a train.

Map

The map can be expanded by opening the full screen route map. From here you can view your location, objectives, signals, and switches. Tooltips will appear when you hover the cursor over something like another service. However, it is important to note that the simulation is paused and you cannot interact with switches from this map. For switch operation, please open the in-game map.

Schedule

The schedule logs completed objectives and what's coming up next.

Help

Access to all the resouces of the Training Center are just a few clicks away. Quickly, look up a signalling guide or jump to a tutorial.

Message Log

Review the message log to catch something you may have missed.

Game Modes

Journey Mode

(Main Menu > To The Trains > Rail Journeys)

Journey mode allow you to select a route then be taken on a guided experience which will take you through all the highlights of that route. This is a great option for beginners as it will start you off with training modules and steadily progress on to more complex challenges. Journey mode will remember which scenarios you have completed, so you can carry on when you left off next time regardless of progress made in other game modes.

Timetable Mode

{Main Menu > To The Trains > Choose a Route >Timetable)

Timetable Mode will allow you to select the locomotive and service of your choice on an authentic timetable. The available locomotives will be made up of those that came with the route, plus comptible locos from other add-ons. When a compatible loco adds services, we call this a "layer". Not all layers will be unique, as some services can be driven with multiple locomotives. We call this "substitution".

When you select a loco in Timetable Mode, you will see "Total Services Completed" on the right-hand side. This number indicates how many services you have completed with this loco across the entire game and not just the selected route.

You can also take advantage of our new Free Roam tools in Timetable mode to add/remove rolling stock and set paths. This could be used to make a service more challenging, remove an AI service in the way, or just to cause chaos! However, modifying a service may prevent you from completing it, if you happen to block another service.

Conductor Mode

(Main Menu > To The Trains > Choose a Route > Timetable)

Conductor mode is available on select locos and services in Timetable Mode. You can identify a supported service by the ticket icon next to the service details. Selecting a service with this icon, will give you the option to play as either a Driver or a Conductor.

When playing in Conductor Mode you will be guided through the first couple of stops. If you wish to disable the tutorial, you can turn this off under Settings > HUD & Gameplay.

During transit you will be clearing luggage from the isles by clicking on it and checking passenger tickets. Click on a marked passenger to check their ticket. Then, make sure the ticket date matches today's date and their destination is included in the list of upcoming stops. If everything is as it should be you can thank the passenger and move on.  If ticket isn't valid you may inform the passenger and they will depart at the next stop.

Conductor mode is currently available on the following launch routes and locos:

Scenarios

(Main Menu > To The Trains > Choose a Route > Scenarios)

Scenarios will take you on a unique experience where every aspect has been designed to tell a story. Battle the elements, breakdowns, delays, other challenging circumstances to test your mettle as a driver.

Free Roam Mode

(Main Menu > To The Trains > Choose a Route > Free Roam)

Start a Free Roam scenario on any route and use our tools to add/remove rolling stock and set paths. This mode will give you a blank canvas to create a service/timetable on the fly or just make the most imagintive consist you can think of.

To access the free roam tools, simply press the TAB key or the Left D-Pad Button on your controller. Then, select a train and press the X key or Y/Triangle button on your controller to spawn it. To set a path, open the in-game map with the 9 Key or the View/Touchpad button on your controller, then select your train and choose Set Path. The next step is to select a destination and the path will be automatically set.  However, you will not be available to set a path to a destination your loco cannot physically reach. For instance if you are driving a train that draws power from an overhead line, you cannot set a path to an area with no overhead power. 

Creative Tools

Photo Mode

(Pause Menu > Options > Photo Mode)

Open Photo Mode from the pause menu. Freeze the game and line up the perfect shot. Use the sliders and onscreen button prompts to adjust the image, then take the screenshot. After this you may save the shot or save and upload to Dovetail Live. 

When you are done, you can view and manage your photos from the Photo Gallery [Main Menu > Live > Photo Gallery]. 

Shortcuts for Photo Mode:

• Console - Click and Hold the Right Analogue Stick + Hold Down on the D-Pad
• PC - Shift + Space

Livery Designer

(Main Menu > Creators Club > Livery Designer)

You will start off by selecting a blank train and pressing Add New to create a new livery. You will be asked to provide a name, description and whether the livery will be activately used by AI trains in timetable mode or not. AI Livery Usage can be toggled at any time, with any livery. If enabled, the livery will be randomly assigned to compatible trains in Timetable Mode.

Once, inside the Livery Designer you will have an assortment of tools at your disposal to realise your creative ideas. To learn more about how the Livery Designer works, please check out one of our create a livery streams.

Scenario Planner

(Main Menu > Creators Club > Scenario Planner)

Create your own scenarios and timetables by combining multiple services, chaining paths and using custom weather settings. The path selection has been increased, giving you more options to play with. Tell a story with introductory text at the start of a scenario. Get immersed by adding AI driven services that spawn/despawn from off-world portals to create a sense of an interconnected network.

Formation Designer

(Main Menu > Creators Club > Formation Designer)

Create you own consists by combining locos and rolling stock. These formations can then be used in the Scenario Planner and Free Roam.

Creators Club - Online Sharing Hub

(Main Menu > Creators Club > Online Sharing Hub)

The Online Sharing Hub allows you to view and subscribe to player made scenarios and LIveries from around the world. A Dovetail Live account is required to access this area, but you can also use this space to upload and share your own creations. Once you upload a scenario or livery, it is safe in the Dovetail Cloud and an editable copy can be downloaded at any time, no matter what happens to your local save data. 

Players are limited to a total of 100 subscriptions, so attempting to go beyond this limit will prevent you from making any further subscriptions. You will also see a Required Content button on the subscription page which will tell you what add-ons are required to use the included content and whether you have it installed or not. 

Tips & Tricks

Fast Travel

Get about with ease by fast travelling to any station within a route without returning to the main menu. On any route, simply open the live map and click on a location to be teleported there. Alternatively, hit Shift + F or LB/L1 + Y/Triangle on a controller to bring up a list of fast travel locations.

Route Hopping

Route Hopping will let you jump to another route where two or more routes share common locations. This will allow you to continue your journey without returning to the main menu. Just activate the in-game marker on foot and select a location to be taken to another route. If you don’t own a compatible route the game will tell you what you need to jump there. Below, you'll find a comprehensive list of all route-hopping options coming to Train Sim World 5.

UK Content:

*Route Hopping will be coming to the Bakerloo Line as a post launch improvement.

US Content:

European Content:

Digital Display Screens

Modern trains often use digital displays to operate critical functions, but this can be fiddly to control. Our new interactive displays in Train Sim World 5 will allow you to fill the screen with the interactive display and prevent the camera from moving. Interaction with the display is done using a virtual cursor that can be moved using a controller, mouse or keyboard depending on what your platform supports. This feature will work with any locomotive using digital displays.

Timetable Layer Control

The new interface allows you to toggle timetable layers on/off, allowing players to tailor their experience. Don’t like seeing a particular loco on a route? Disable it! Performance on older machines may also benefit from running a quieter timetable.

Example (Kassel - Wurzburg):

Reset Physics Simulation Button

(Pause > Overview > Reset Simulation Physics)

Locomotives are complex machines and it is possible to get it in a state where it may be difficult to figure out why it isn't doing what you want it to do. Rather than checking hundreds of buttons and levers, we have simple answer to this problem. You can now reset the physics simulation using the dedicated button in the pause menu. This will reset your loco to the state in which it was found at the beginning of the scenario. This means you can use basic startup procedures to get yourself up and runnning again, rather than complex troubleshooting. You can find startup procedures for most locos in the Guides & Manuals available on the Dovetail Support Knowledge Base.

Mastery Rewards

(Main Menu > Live > Mastery Rewards)

Tier 1 Mastery Rewards can be something like extra decals for the Livery Designer. Tier 2 Mastery Rewards provide an "Overlay" for a route, which changes the appearance of a route in interesting and unique ways. You can toggle the appearance of an overlay from the same menu. To complete each tier you must earn progress towards Mastery Challenges, that require you to be signed into Dovetail Live.

Gameplay Guides

Our gameplay guide cover rolling stock, scenarios, achievements, frequently asked questions, and compatible content. Wherever possible we link to gameplay footage demonstrating how each scenario can be completed.

• San Bernardino Line Gameplay Guide
• WCML: London Euston - Milton Keynes Gameplay Guide
• Frankfurt - Fulda Gameplay Guide

Community Video Guides

Our community and ambassdors make many videos to help players get up to speed with Train Sim World 4.

• How To Import Your Profile (trainsimulatordriver)
• How To Calibrate Your Raildriver Controller (trainsimulatordriver)
• How to Drive with the RailDriver Controller (trainsimulatordriver)
• Formation Designer PC Tutorial (The British Ace)
• Formation Designer Console Tutorial (The British Ace)
• Free Roam Sandbox vs Free Roam in Timetable (trainsimulatordriver)
• Guard Mode on the Class 350 on WCML (trainsimulatordriver)
• How to Choose a Train To Drive On a Route (trainsimulatordriver)
• All Basic Fundamental Tutorials (NealTV8)

PC Editor (beta)

The Train Sim World 5 PC Editor (beta) is available from the Epic Games Store. You will be required to have an Epic Games account. Before you get started, please checkout the Train Sim World - PC Editor (beta) FAQ.