A knight on a white horse MAY save Trainz..?

[aardvark1]

With all the complaints about everything wrong with the current Trainz (DLS, Content Uploads, lack of Customer Service, lack of input from the Trainz Team), etc, etc.

Perhaps a glimmer of hope can be extracted from the post below by.... Greg Lane... and may offer some comfort regarding for the future of Trainz.

Below is a link to the complete post by Greg Lane.

http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showpost.php?p=555239&postcount=67

Below is an edited version of the complete post.

......snip.....

It is very humbling to see so many of the people that I know still here on these forums after so many years. Who knows what will happen in the future... suffice to say I still chat to the people at Auran

Best wishes to you all.

Greg Lane

...........................................................................................

We can only hope that this may lead to a change for the better.

Regards to all,

 

[Winglessbird]

With all the complaints about everything wrong with the current Trainz (DLS, Content Uploads, lack of Customer Service, lack of input from the Trainz Team), etc, etc.

Perhaps a glimmer of hope can be extracted from the post below by.... Greg Lane... and may offer some comfort regarding for the future of Trainz.

Below is a link to the complete post by Greg Lane.

http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showpost.php?p=555239&postcount=67

Below is an edited version of the complete post.


[Perhaps a glimmer of hope can be extracted from the post below by.... Greg Lane... and may offer some comfort regarding for the future of Trainz.]



...........................................................................................

We can only hope that this may lead to a change for the better.

Regards to all,

Hi All,
If only!! I have just been hunting the web and see that N3V/slash/Auran no longer distribute their own products.This is done by a company also on the Gold Coast called aie.allinteractive.com.au.Perhaps this is where its all falling apart in regards to people not getting their disc's,or them arriving way late.

All we need is for someone to pop up their head like Greg used to and say "This is whats happening".Hell thats not too much to ask, surely.
Rusti:wave:

 

[Euphod]

If wishes were horses, the world would be covered in ....

 

[epicmek]

Time to come clean.

Hi all and especially Auran.

I look in on the forum nearly every day as a bit of light relief from day to day routine matters. Since the delayed release of TR2010 I have noticed a gradual deterioration in the "temperature" of posts regarding Auran's performance. Forums are a useful tool in getting a "straw poll" view of how things are shaping up. The impression I have of the perception is all is not well and the situation is deteriorating rapidly.

If the custodians of the Trainz family of products is having difficulties that is not particularly earth shattering. Many companies over the last year or so have found trading difficult and that is also no surprise given the collapse of the finance sector. If my suspicions are correct there are people out here that could possibly help. I myself have acted as a consultant to nurse companies through difficult times and there are probably many more customers of Trainz with similar or better experience that are willing to help.

Before any cure is attempted, if one is needed, the first action is for an acceptance that there is a problem. The time is now right for somebody in the Trainz organisation to come out and categorically say that there is no problem or there is and outline what it is. To do nothing is to let the rumours gather pace until they become a self fulfilling prophesy.

Come on Auran you owe your loyal customers some sort of statement be it good or bad. I know it can be difficult to acknowledge problems as I have seen it from many top executives. It can seem like “rabbits caught in the headlamps” with not knowing which way to turn or which way to run. The smartest move is to come clean and hopefully when you do it will all be good news and we can all get back to enjoying your product.

To loose Trainz for the many people who enjoy its creativity and challenges because of a lack of candour would be senseless.

Kindest regards.

Martin

 

[seeseeme]

Thanks aardvark, I would have missed that if you had not posted. It is nice to see Greg dropping in and saying "Hi" is some small way.

Craig

 

[WindWalkr]

The time is now right for somebody in the Trainz organisation to come out and categorically say that there is no problem or there is and outline what it is.

There is no problem. It's just the latest forum fad. It probably comes as no surprise to most of you if I point out that Trainz is no great money-spinner, but this is as it always has been and with the ongoing support of our community we've managed to not just keep the project afloat, but keep it bobbing along merrily.

In case people are wondering what we've been working on, I'll summarise quickly. Most of this is already known:

* TinyTrainz - It's a great little project, but not the massive resource-sink that some people on here seem to think.

* TS2010 SP2 - The usual raft of enhancements, localisation support, and so on.

* TS2009 SP3 - This has been finished for a while and we've been waiting on localizations. Expect to see this very shortly.

* TS2009 SP4 - A little further away, this is a major update that brings full compatibility with the latest TS2010 content and route formats to the holdouts

* DLS content parsing - This system is going through a major overhaul to make the DLS a lot more user-friendly and prepare for future capabilities.

* Content pack updates - The content packs are being updated to improve TS2010 compatibility and address a few minor problems.

* Future development - Of course we've always got work aimed at our future products. These things don't make themselves..

kind regards,

chris

 

[hert]

There is no problem. It's just the latest forum fad. It probably comes as no surprise to most of you if I point out that Trainz is no great money-spinner, but this is as it always has been and with the ongoing support of our community we've managed to not just keep the project afloat, but keep it bobbing along merrily.

In case people are wondering what we've been working on, I'll summarise quickly. Most of this is already known:

* TinyTrainz - It's a great little project, but not the massive resource-sink that some people on here seem to think.

* TS2010 SP2 - The usual raft of enhancements, localisation support, and so on.

* TS2009 SP3 - This has been finished for a while and we've been waiting on localizations. Expect to see this very shortly.

* TS2009 SP4 - A little further away, this is a major update that brings full compatibility with the latest TS2010 content and route formats to the holdouts

* DLS content parsing - This system is going through a major overhaul to make the DLS a lot more user-friendly and prepare for future capabilities.

* Content pack updates - The content packs are being updated to improve TS2010 compatibility and address a few minor problems.

* Future development - Of course we've always got work aimed at our future products. These things don't make themselves..

kind regards,

chris

Thanks Chris for the updates. Even tho this wont quiet any of the uproar.:hehe::hehe:

hert:wave:

 

[martinvk]

Just what the doctor ordered. Great to read that there is lots of activity behind the scenes. Now if only the neigh-sayers would tone it down. The way some describe TS2010 and the DLS you would think the the whole place was about to fall off the cliff. I guess all the satisfied people are too busy enjoying their Trainz. :hehe:

It may be bad policy to reveal too early what's in an SP in case circumstances force changes but any chance of a hint as to what TS2010 SP2 is planning to fix?

 

[Winglessbird]

Hi All,
If only!! I have just been hunting the web and see that N3V/slash/Auran no longer distribute their own products.This is done by a company also on the Gold Coast called aie.allinteractive.com.au.Perhaps this is where its all falling apart in regards to people not getting their disc's,or them arriving way late.

All we need is for someone to pop up their head like Greg used to and say "This is whats happening".Hell thats not too much to ask, surely.
Rusti:wave:

Well we got a response,and a good one at that.As Perry Mason used to say "I rest my case"

Rusti

 

[motorbreath]

The only thing I want to know is if future versions will ever be fully compatible with older content. I spent $20 for a brand new TRS06 a few years ago. Spending $50 for 2010 is no big deal, but the hundreds of dollars I have spent on payware is no good, or faulty unless you use compatibility mode, which is not as good as native mode (so I think). Or if I somehow manually try to fix it all. And my trees would be replaced with Smurf trees.

 

[WindWalkr]

The only thing I want to know is if future versions will ever be fully compatible with older content. I spent $20 for a brand new TRS06 a few years ago. Spending $50 for 2010 is no big deal, but the hundreds of dollars I have spent on payware is no good, or faulty unless you use compatibility mode, which is not as good as native mode (so I think). Or if I somehow manually try to fix it all. And my trees would be replaced with Smurf trees.

To a fairly large extent, each version of Trainz is fully compatible with correctly formed older content. There are specific exceptions, and we've made mistakes from time to time, but we've put a lot of effort into this in TS2009 and TS2010 - Compatibility Mode is just one sign of this.

When third-party pay-ware content is faulty, you will need to talk to the creators in question about the possibility of updates. Auran obviously cannot make guarantees about content created by third parties. We do improve our error checking from time to time, and this means that content errors that were less noticeable in the past may be flagged in newer versions of the game. For this reason, we allow Compatibility Mode to load content that is flagged as faulty.

hope this helps clarify the situation,

chris

 

[amigacooke]

Come on Auran you owe your loyal customers some sort of statement be it good or bad. I know it can be difficult to acknowledge problems as I have seen it from many top executives. It can seem like “rabbits caught in the headlamps” with not knowing which way to turn or which way to run. The smartest move is to come clean and hopefully when you do it will all be good news and we can all get back to enjoying your product.

I'm slightly bemused by this. Just because someone posts 'I think there is a problem', it doesn't mean there is a problem.

My controversial opinion is that not all opinions are equal, informed opinion is more valuable. For example, I could give my opinion on the England football team, but Fabio Cappello's opinion is far more valuable, because he actually has some basis in knowledge.

If Auran are quiet, it may mean they are getting on with the coding rather than wasting time patting us on the head like children and saying 'don't worry, it's all OK.'

 

[epicmek]

Thanks Chris

Short, sweet and to the point. Hopefully that will take the temperature down and we can all get back to moaning about our new favored topic.

I'll start. The weather here in Europe is sh. . . .

Cheers

Martin

 

[Winglessbird]

I'm slightly bemused by this. Just because someone posts 'I think there is a problem', it doesn't mean there is a problem.

My controversial opinion is that not all opinions are equal, informed opinion is more valuable. For example, I could give my opinion on the England football team, but Fabio Cappello's opinion is far more valuable, because he actually has some basis in knowledge.

If Auran are quiet, it may mean they are getting on with the coding rather than wasting time patting us on the head like children and saying 'don't worry, it's all OK.'

If you are trying to make a point which I believe you are,what is your point?I personally cant see it. A lot of people were/are not happy with Auran's obvious lack of communication to the faithful users in recent times so the forums was/is the place to have your say.Chris has come out of the Auran Xmas hangover and said what is and isn't happening.(Sorry Chris,my aussie humour).So the matter is resolved at this point of time.

We have been patted on the head and told all is well,BUT it took a lot of bitching to get an answer.If you cant see that, then I guess your English football will have to suffice. PS.Who is Fabio Cappello? seriously!!.

Rusti:hehe:

 

[Euphod]

"neigh-sayers"

Wow! Two horse references in one thread!

 

[Winglessbird]

Wow! Two horse references in one thread!

Did either of them win,or were they also rans!! sheesh rans runs rons,who cares??

Rusti

 

[amigacooke]

A lot of people were/are not happy with Auran's obvious lack of communication to the faithful users in recent times so the forums was/is the place to have your say.Chris has come out of the Auran Xmas hangover and said what is and isn't happening.(Sorry Chris,my aussie humour).So the matter is resolved at this point of time.

Chris had posted 16 times between Christmas and his post in this thread. Auran participation is there, but there is none so blind as those who will not see.

 

[epicmek]

God down under

SNIP
If you cant see that, then I guess your English football will have to suffice. PS.Who is Fabio Cappello? seriously!!.
Rusti:hehe:

If you don't like English football send Robbie Fowler back . . . Liverpool could do with him right now.

Arsenal fan

 

[Smileyman]

If Auran are quiet, it may mean they are getting on with the coding rather than wasting time patting us on the head like children and saying 'don't worry, it's all OK.'

They are a business, and as such, regardless of economic climate, should leave no stone unturned.
Leaving the forum to fester the way they do is not good business sense.

Let's not forget that they have a Blog.
Why isn't this used once a week to update people?
It may not be full of interesting facts, and may only comment on little insignificant things most of the time, but it makes good sense.

Is there anyone on here who used to view Peter Molyneux's webcasts from Lionhead's offices while they were creating Black & White 2? (or was it Fable?)
Great fun, and a great example of what you can do without hardly any expense to get the game talked about.

I'm not saying Auran should do this, but why not use the blog to promote Trainz?
Smarten the Blog up to fit in with this forum's look, link to it from the top of this forum, and have the staff take it in turns to post once a week on what they've been up to.
Add to this an occasional photograph from the offices and you have a community that's interested in what's going on.

It's not rocket science.
If there's an investment of time and money required that will possibly help promote Trainz, then it needs to be discusssed and decided before anything happens.
But if there's virtually no investment of time and money required that would possibly help promote Trainz, then you do it!
It's a no-brainer.

Let's see how feasible it is:
Do Auran have access to a digital camera?
Do they have computers with Internet access?
Do they have staff?
Could one of those staff spare 5 minutes of their time once a week?
Do they have a Blog?

Answers on a postcard.

And I don't think anyone needs telling that Chris has a presence on these boards.
It's been mentioned in other threads.
But it's not a great presence compared to past years.
And some of those posts were "We're still here" posts, so not the best interaction.

Anyway, if Auran decide not to promote Trainz as well as they could on their tight budget, then that's their decision.
I know if I was an investor, I'd wonder why they weren't doing at least as much as they could.



Smiley.

 

[amigacooke]

Answers on a postcard.

I seem to remember that when Auran posted their plans they were taken apart with a tooth comb and generally caused more trouble rather than less.

And when they didn't leave the forums to fester, that brought up cries of 'censorship' and 'over moderation'. I guess its the usual damned if you do damned if you don't situation.