Hello everyone,
Today we would like to share an important update regarding the BR Class 90 Electric Freight Loco, addressing the feedback surrounding its launch, and outlining what you can expect next from our teams at Dovetail Games and Alan Thomson Simulation (ATS).
Firstly, we want to apologise for the quality of the add-on on its release. We know how highly anticipated this iconic piece of UK freight traction was, and the launch build fell far short of the quality and standards you should expect. There were clear missteps in both our communication and development processes during the final stages before release, and both teams take full ownership of our respective parts in that.
Our teams wanted to take some time to align internally before coming out with our plans moving forward, letting the development progress, so we could confidently detail what changes will be on the way, and hopefully showing that we have listened, understood, and acted on the feedback shared.
Over the last few weeks, both our groups have worked closely together to correct critical errors, clear out background issues, and implement performance optimisations. A comprehensive update is now currently undergoing rigorous QA testing before we can share this with you. It is planned to release within the first half of June, alongside our next core update, and we will share the exact date as soon as the builds are locked into that schedule or update you all if anything changes.
Here is exactly what has been fixed, adjusted, and overhauled for this upcoming update:
Safety Systems & Controller Bindings (AWS/TPWS/DSD): The safety system controller binding fix was originally due to be included in the launch build. However, when investigating this further, the fix brought to light deeper errors within the underlying safety system coding. Resolving this properly required a complete, ground-up rewrite of the safety systems. With invaluable help and technical support from DTG, ATS have successfully rewritten this code to ensure the AWS, TPWS, and DSD systems are now functioning exactly as intended. They can be acknowledged via standard controller keybinds without requiring a keyboard workaround or awkward in-cab crosshair clicking on consoles. Additionally, safety system statuses will now be correctly retained during cab changes, eliminating the need to reset them manually.
Overhauled Speed Set System: We have completely overhauled the Speed Set system. The original implementation has been removed and rebuilt from the ground up to utilise DTG’s core Simugraph framework with minimal code intervention, ensuring it now functions reliably in line with expected behaviour.
Tandem Operations & Brake Logic: We have re-coded the direction and power logic for tandem driving following DTG’s specific technical recommendations.
Fixed the DSD issue that caused an unrecoverable brake dump.
Fixed the parking brake logic so they can no longer be engaged or released while the train is moving.
Audio Adjustments & Loop Overhauls: We heard your feedback regarding the cab audio environment loud and clear. The windscreen wiper audio and the prominent, short cab HVAC loops have been completely overhauled with new assets. We have also fine-tuned the volume levels and balances to iron out jarring sound transitions. The audio is now in a much more stable place, but because sound is highly subjective, we welcome specific feedback regarding volume levels or bass/treble balance once the update is live so we can fine-tune further if needed.
Testing & Optimisation: We have cleaned up the core code to improve overall performance, implementing critical code corrections to maximise frame-rate stability and eliminate background errors. These fixes have been thoroughly tested across solo, x2, x3, and loaded freight configurations to ensure the locomotive behaves reliably under normal operating conditions.
Areas Beyond the Scope of This Update
Bringing you a meaningful update also means being upfront about what we couldn't include in this specific June update. We want to be clear on where we stand with two major areas of community feedback:
Timetable & AI Integration: We know there is a strong desire to see the Class 90 fully integrated into wider AI layers and other routes. While we are actively working on plans to bring the Class 90 to the Manchester Airport Commuter (MAC) route in the future, timetable engineering and wider AI integration are completely outside the scope of this particular stability update.
Locomotive Textures: During development, the visual textures of the Class 90 were heavily optimised to strictly prevent the well-known "blurred textures" issue from occurring. Reading your feedback, we realise this optimisation went too far into the "safe zone," resulting in a loss of visual fidelity. We are currently working closely with DTG to find a happy medium that restores crispness without breaking console stability.
In the meantime: We will be hosting a texture mod on the ATS website for PC players to download if they wish. Please note that this is a temporary workaround and we do not consider it a permanent solution. Because this workaround cannot help our console community, our ultimate goal remains finding a proper, balanced texture update that can be deployed safely to both PC and console platforms alike.
Moving Forward & Lessons Learned
Both DTG and ATS remain fully committed to hearing your additional feedback following this update and ensuring that any remaining areas are identified and worked into subsequent updates if required.
Whilst this development has been challenging for both ourselves and DTG - learning the finer details of Simugraph and Unreal Engine have been steps on this journey, and DTG have been reviewing the available documentation support and processes they can offer new developers - we believe the lessons we've learnt will make our future projects together stronger. We look forward both future improvements and Add-ons with all the above in mind.
Thank you all for sharing your feedback, for holding us to account, and for your patience while we work to make this add-on right. We will keep you updated with additional communication as soon as the build is ready for deployment.