TRS2022 - What's the Draw?

[Steaming101]

I've been perusing through the forums trying to find a good answer on this and I can't seem to find one, so I guess I'll have to ask it:
Compared to 2019 Platinum, what's the main selling point for buying 2022?

From my research, all the base game looks like for the most part is 2019 Platinum with controller support and bulk painting underneath splines. I recognize that the subscription includes Surveyor 2.0, but I'm not about to purchase that, primarily because I'm going to be paying near $70/yr for really only one feature of Trainz Plus that I would use; I really don't care for the other features. That would amount to paying for 90, 95% of the base game every year for only one feature I would actually use. Same applies with Gold Class, but more expensive; I'd really only use S2.0.

Speaking of 2.0, initially rolling it out for Plus & Gold Class only instead of being in the base game sort of makes sense. However, the emails included no suggestion that this is the case, which made learning the former fact a huge let-down. I'm not going to lie; being let down like that somewhat turned me off from 22. As well, this is a bit of a warning flag for others that I converse with on Discord; it's been theorized that Trainz could be going down the "games as a service" route.

So with that said, why should I invest in TRS2022?

 

[dundun92]

It has 6 new routes, 1000 new scenery items, a bunch of bug fixes, and MPS. Other then that, its pretty much the same. The graphics and performance specs are the same as 19, though I hear loading times are much faster.

 

[pware]

So with that said, why should I invest in TRS2022?

A very reasonable question. According to the blurb on the TRS22 link at the top of this page, TRS22 comes with:-

• The Unified Driver Surveyor interface - TRS19 Platinum already has the UDS feature (it was the reason I bought TRS19 Platinum instead of standard).
• Multiplayer Surveyor - not found in TRS19
• New Effect Layers and presets
• Paint under Spline tools - found in Trainz Plus
• New Camera Options - found in Trainz Plus

If you are moving up from T:ANE or TRS19 Standard, then those features could be enough to make the jump to TRS22 even without Surveyor 2.0 (which I admit is a "game changer" - literally).

A few months ago I switched from TRS19 Platinum to Trainz Plus and have not looked back. At the time of the switch there was very little difference that I could see between the two versions but the promise of regular updates and new features was enough to make me try it for at least a year. The arrival of Surveyor 2.0 in the latest Trainz Plus beta was an unexpected bonus.

I suppose it comes down to what you consider is important for your Trainz experience and, in particular, how you use Surveyor as most of the above are Surveyor tools. For me, I don't use Multiplayer in Driver and, apart from one example, have not co-cooperatively built a Route with another creator so Multiplayer Surveyor is not a factor. I do use effect layers (also found in T:ANE and all TRS19 versions) but have yet to try out the "save" feature. I have not yet tried the Paint under Spline tools.

Each user will make their own decisions based on their own needs, experiences and habits. I can see some "old Trainzers" really struggling with the Surveyor 2.0 interface and so some may prefer to stick with the original (now called "Classic") Surveyor, and a few have already posted along that line.

My opinions.

 

[chili46]

I've been wondering the same thing: should I buy it or not? I've got a lot of hours invested in routes, sessions, and custom assets for TRS19, so I would need to know if those are going to integrate into TRS22 seamlessly. That does appear to be questionable at this point. Also, given the fiasco of the latest SP4 update I'm not sure I want to try a "new" release just yet. Considering the initial cost ($$$) and potential for lots of bugs, I'll probably wait until the price comes down and the favorable reviews go up.

 

[Tony_Hilliam]

Both TRS19 SP5 and TRS22 are trainzbuild 500, and share the same underlying code base, so anything that runs in one version will run in the other. To siwtch from TRS19 to TRS22 all you would need to do is point your new install to your old local data folder, then when you start Trainz a db repair will run and you'll be up and running.

In terms of bugs, there are a few known issues in the current beta releases and these are mostly already fixed. I'd like to know which specific items you're referring to with the "fiasco" remark for SP4.

In terms of checking out the content, we've released a series of videos showcasing each of the included routes. There are plenty of favourable comments. And as for price, you're right that waiting will mean a lower price, but by then you'll be missing out on the new features in the next edition.

 

[pware]

Tony, may I suggest a very minor edit to your post ...

then when you start Trainz a db repair will ruin and you'll be up and running.

to

then when you start Trainz a db repair will run and you'll be up and running.

:hehe:

 

[Tony_Hilliam]

oops - thanks

 

[pware]

Also, given the fiasco of the latest SP4 update I'm not sure I want to try a "new" release just yet.

I have never had any problems with TRS19 SP4 that would rate as a "fiasco" - there have been a few very obscure issues that only I seem to have come across (or at least were not reported by others), all of which I have reported via the bug reporting page. I was able to do a detailed investigation of one such issue involving extremely long rulers (90kms or more) that assisted N3V QA to track down the problem. As a beta tester I considered that work to be part of "the job".

I'll probably wait until the price comes down and the favorable reviews go up.

Each of us will make purchasing decisions based on our needs and circumstances. I tend to ignore reviews as they are not based on my needs and circumstances.

 

[Vern]

It is very much an individual decision, but I will be waiting a few months until things are bedded in and the price drops a bit. I cannot really justify £55 for what is, by admission above, TRS19 with a few new features and some new routes which, while very nice, with the same old Trainz gameplay (no all day Timetable, no sequenced journey mode, doing your own route setting) are of limited interest. My route building now largely consists of model style layouts, so while I would like to try S20 at some point, not essential and it's not included in the standalone purchase either.

 

[chili46]

In terms of bugs, there are a few known issues in the current beta releases and these are mostly already fixed. I'd like to know which specific items you're referring to with the "fiasco" remark for SP4.

Fiasco is a general term that means things did not go as planned. I think you can agree that the SP4 release had some issues. So, are you saying that the issues were "planned"? I think not. I'm a strong fan of Trainz and have been since 2004. I am also a retired IT Engineering Specialist and know the value of thoroughly testing a program/application before it is released for general use. I honestly do not believe that SP4 was thoroughly vetted before it was released.

 

[dundun92]

Fiasco is a general term that means things did not go as planned. I think you can agree that the SP4 release had some issues. So, are you saying that the issues were "planned"? I think not. I'm a strong fan of Trainz and have been since 2004. I am also a retired IT Engineering Specialist and know the value of thoroughly testing a program/application before it is released for general use. I honestly do not believe that SP4 was thoroughly vetted before it was released.

Every patch/update will have some issues. Thats natural. I didn't see SP4 as a fiasco though. I personally haven't encountered many issues on my Steam builds.

 

[pware]

I ... know the value of thoroughly testing a program/application before it is released for general use. I honestly do not believe that SP4 was thoroughly vetted before it was released.

Which raises the question, how much testing is needed to reach the "thoroughly" tested level? How much time and resources would a "thorough" test take and would any amount of testing ever satisfy every user as being "thorough" enough? A significant part of the software development cycle, as you would well know, is product maintenance after the release for general use. This is where those bugs that were missed or issues that were never considered (such as my 90km rulers) because they were beyond common usage, are dealt with.

My thoughts.

 

[KotangaGirl]

With SP4, - which I have as a separate install and still use, - there were some odd bugs that were sometimes annoying, but nothing that I'd call a real game breaker. SP4 is certainly waaaaaay better than SP2 which was awful, - soooooo awful. With TRS22 though it does what it says on the tin and it's just plain nicer to play trains in and build things with. Yes it's presently a beta version, but it feels to me as if it's not going to take very much more polishing to get it to a retail general release version. I mainly model 19th century railways so modern DLC doesn't interest me much and it's having tools in surveyor that work nicely and do what I want that tick boxes for me and the good old 'classic' surveyor just seems to be working better now. I know Surveyor 2.0 is a big step forward, but with my disabilities it's too much of a learning curve for me so I'll be sticking to what I know.

 

[schweitzerdude]

I've been wondering the same thing: should I buy it or not? I've got a lot of hours invested in routes, sessions, and custom assets for TRS19, so I would need to know if those are going to integrate into TRS22 seamlessly. That does appear to be questionable at this point.

Here is my experience of moving a large complex route I made in TRS19 into TRS22: No problems at all so far, beyond the usual effort of having to download assets used in 19 that were not included in 22. But that goes fast since listing dependencies for the route makes it easy. This is no different than has been the case in the past.

The one frustration I have is that content for payware routes in 19 which were used in my personal route built in 19 cannot be downloaded into 22 as they will show as faulty, unless of course that content was also used in a payware route in 22. I believe this is not a new problem. I'll make the argument that if I buy 19 which includes payware assets, I should be able to use those assets in 22.

But to compensate for this, there is a lot of new content in 22 some of which will be useful in my personal route once I make the switch from 19 to 22 permanent for that route. To access this, be sure to d/l the built in TRS22 routes so those assets appear in CM.

 

[Tony_Hilliam]

I'll make the argument that if I buy 19 which includes payware assets, I should be able to use those assets in 22.

You can. Just install the TRS19 DLC items into TRS22.

You cannot import built-in or payware content via .cdp as it will be missing textures.

 

[schweitzerdude]

You can. Just install the TRS19 DLC items into TRS22.

You cannot import built-in or payware content via .cdp as it will be missing textures.

Thanks for the info Tony - I was hoping someone would tell me I was wrong. I'll give it a try.