A question to those WITHOUT a First Class Ticket

[frogpipe]

What's your normal download speed shown when using Content Manager to download assets?

I am ticketless for the first time, and I was seeing 7kb per sec.....

Slower then Molasses in January. Can't afford another ticket at the moment. :'(

 

[leksie]

Correct , that was also the speed when i had no FCT

It's unfortunality an example for "no money in this world"? Sorry!

 

[jjanmarine3]

mine does about the same, can live with it, I don't do very large downloads that often - never had a FCT so I just leave it to do it's thingy overnight .
Nice to have those cracking dl speeds though, I guess one gets spoilt.
Perhaps I will have to get a ticket now with my better system, don't have to shy away and suffer from the stutters freezes and all the other drawbacks any more.

 

[sniper297]

An answer from one WITH a first class ticket!

Had one expire last June, bought another recently, in between that's exactly what I got when I didn't get a busy signal - 4 to 6 kilobytes per second max. Scraped up the buckazoids and bought a 1 year when they were on sale because I just couldn't stand it.

 

[Robert2d6]

I have FCT, and just upgraded my DSL the other day, from 1.5 MBs to over 6 Mbs. Downloaded a freeware route and around 60 mbs of assets, yesterday, and the speed was incredible.

 

[nfitzsimmons]

I see between 4 and 6 kbps.

 

[JFDman]

I have to say, I'm actually extremely dissapointed in this.

I just bought Trainz 12 after a bit of an absence, and it's awesome... it's really moved forward in the years I've been away. I particularly like the fact that the program will tell you when some of the content is out of date, and allows you to download the updates from within the game... brilliant!

... or so I thought. The downloading speed is so slow, that I can't get ahead of the updates that show up. Even though I leave the updater on every night, I'm still at over 1000 content updates available (this is after two weeks of trying).

Now, bear in mind that I haven't downloaded a single piece of extra content - this is ALL updates from the original Trainz 2012 download. I find it very frustrating that I'm not really able to update a game that I paid for unless I pay even more money for a first class ticket, which I have very little interest in (for the time being at least - there's so much content to explore in Trainz that I can't see myself looking for external mods for a good while, if ever).

Why not make it so that if you're just updating the built-in content, from within the game, you can download at speeds a bit faster than the 1990s?

Anyway, still love the game, but feeling a bit frustrated.

(BTW - I can't download a single thing with the Content Manager. It verifies my CD key, and I can select files to update, but if I click on "download", nothing happens. And the "Downlad Helper" never has the size of the files - it always says 0kb. Very strange.)

 

[shaneturner12]

The reason the download speeds are slow is because the free server has very limited bandwidth, and by buying a First Class Ticket, you are helping to support N3V with their servers. In addition to this, you can download more than 100MB a day with a First Class Ticket.

As for the Content Manager side of things, you need to be running build 49922 or equivalent to download some of the content. In addition to this, downloading content updates requires extra steps when using Content Manager - see the thread in my signature for a link to my content update tutorial using Content Manager.

Shane

 

[cascaderailroad]

A FCT speed is great !

I have my Schnow shovel in hand, chomping at the bit, ready and waiting for the first snowflake to fall, so I can buy another FCT.

 

[oknotsen]

Without my FCT I was on a 5kb/sec speed and a 100mb/day limit.

(BTW - I can't download a single thing with the Content Manager. It verifies my CD key, and I can select files to update, but if I click on "download", nothing happens. And the "Downlad Helper" never has the size of the files - it always says 0kb. Very strange.)

As far as I know, without a FCT you can only download 1 item at a time. So if you are downloading updates and you try to start a download in content manager, it wont work.

I agree that (most of) the updates should and could be included in the downloadable version of 12.
It should not be so hard to update those downloadable files with the latest versions of the assets once a month. You will always keep a few updates, but at least it will be in the 2 diggit range instead of the current 1000+.

 

[frogpipe]

That's stupid.

If they were smart they'd give you a free 3 month FCT with a purchase. That way you could update the game to the latest version, latest content, and get good and used to the wonders of highspeed access. That would make happy customers since they don't get the experience of feeling like they got conned into and upsell, and when it expires they will be more likely to buy another then someone who has never experienced the high speed access.

Come on N3V it's Win/Win...

*wanders off shaking head, the phrase "kids these days...." can be heard repeatedly*

 

[JFDman]

The reason the download speeds are slow is because the free server has very limited bandwidth, and by buying a First Class Ticket, you are helping to support N3V with their servers. In addition to this, you can download more than 100MB a day with a First Class Ticket.

While I fully understand this, I guess my point was that for content that is built in Trainz 2012, it seems a bit... well, cheap and tacky that I'm not able to update the content (that I paid for) without purchasing an additional First Class Ticket. While I agree that the "free" extra content server should be limited in speed and capacity, there should be a seperate, non low-speed server for updates to content that is actually shipped with the game (and that is updated from within the game).

Again, I haven't downloaded a single piece of extra content.

This is the first time, in over 200 games purchased, that I'm being told that I need to pony up more money if I want to properly update my game... kinda nuts, IMHO!

Oh well. I guess I'll just deal with non-updated content, but the OCD part of me is going nuts!

 

[shaneturner12]

There's nothing preventing you from downloading the updates using the in-game Content Updates feature - it will take a while though.

A tip though - when you've clicked the Download All button, minimise that particular window (using the _ at the top of it), then you can continue working with Trainz whilst the updates are downloaded. If you want to check the progress, there will be a little button in the menu bar you can click.

Also, using the in-game Content Update feature will not affect the 100MB a day limit.

Shane

 

[JCitron]

While I fully understand this, I guess my point was that for content that is built in Trainz 2012, it seems a bit... well, cheap and tacky that I'm not able to update the content (that I paid for) without purchasing an additional First Class Ticket. While I agree that the "free" extra content server should be limited in speed and capacity, there should be a seperate, non low-speed server for updates to content that is actually shipped with the game (and that is updated from within the game).

I understand your frustration with this, and this has been the issue that many new users have complained about. This problem can't be avoided because content is forever being updated by community. Remember that even the content, included with the game, has been created by the community. The community meaning people like us. N3V would no sooner update the included content only to have new updates come out a week or a month later. They'd spend more, limited time, on the content updates than they do working on the bugs and new program versions that we want.



John

 

[Robert2d6]

I have to say, I'm actually extremely dissapointed in this.

I just bought Trainz 12 after a bit of an absence, and it's awesome... it's really moved forward in the years I've been away. I particularly like the fact that the program will tell you when some of the content is out of date, and allows you to download the updates from within the game... brilliant!

... or so I thought. The downloading speed is so slow, that I can't get ahead of the updates that show up. Even though I leave the updater on every night, I'm still at over 1000 content updates available (this is after two weeks of trying).

Now, bear in mind that I haven't downloaded a single piece of extra content - this is ALL updates from the original Trainz 2012 download. I find it very frustrating that I'm not really able to update a game that I paid for unless I pay even more money for a first class ticket, which I have very little interest in (for the time being at least - there's so much content to explore in Trainz that I can't see myself looking for external mods for a good while, if ever).




Why not make it so that if you're just updating the built-in content, from within the game, you can download at speeds a bit faster than the 1990s?

Anyway, still love the game, but feeling a bit frustrated.

(BTW - I can't download a single thing with the Content Manager. It verifies my CD key, and I can select files to update, but if I click on "download", nothing happens. And the "Downlad Helper" never has the size of the files - it always says 0kb. Very strange.)

Trust me, if you have any interest in getting serious with Trainz, and downloading the gigantic quantity of free routes, sessions, rolling stock, locos, and you don't feel like sitting in front of your PC for hours and hours and hours waiting for a few pieces of rolling stock or scenery to download, spend a few dollars and get the FCT, even if you only try it for a few months. For the price of a couple of cups of Starbucks, you will immediately see how valuable it is, and servers don't come free, somebody has to pay for it. http://www.simulatorcentral.com/index.php/first-class-ticket-90-day.html

For the couple of dollars I spent on the FCT, I get hundreds and hundreds of hours of entertainment and enjoyment, and I don't know of anything that is that inexpensive.

 

[JFDman]

There's nothing preventing you from downloading the updates using the in-game Content Updates feature - it will take a while though.

But that seems to be the problem though. The content download is so slow that I can't get ahead. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I'll start the updater, go to work, come back 8 hours later and it's managed to download one or two items. There's a couple of items that have just never managed to finish, even after more than 10 hours (some locomotives updates, for example). I'd like to be able to tell you what speed I'm actually getting, but there's no indication of that (or the size of the download you're requesting, which should REALLY be indicated). When I first installed Trainz two weeks ago, I had about 1050 updates outstanding. Now, even though I leave my Trainz running all night to update, I have over 1100 outstanding updates as of this morning.

I understand that there are limitations to the amount of free support they can give for addon content, but when they start including some of this content as part of their retail package, it's no longer addon content. It's now part of the Trainz package, and as a paying Trainz customer, I think I should be able to have that content updated without too much trouble.

Again, it's not the end of the world, but to a cynical person, it might appear that N3V is deliberately making the in-game update unworkable in an effort to sell more First Class Tickets. Good thing I'm not a cynical person

 

[Robert2d6]

But that seems to be the problem though. The content download is so slow that I can't get ahead. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I'll start the updater, go to work, come back 8 hours later and it's managed to download one or two items. There's a couple of items that have just never managed to finish, even after more than 10 hours (some locomotives updates, for example). I'd like to be able to tell you what speed I'm actually getting, but there's no indication of that (or the size of the download you're requesting, which should REALLY be indicated). When I first installed Trainz two weeks ago, I had about 1050 updates outstanding. Now, even though I leave my Trainz running all night to update, I have over 1100 outstanding updates as of this morning.

I understand that there are limitations to the amount of free support they can give for addon content, but when they start including some of this content as part of their retail package, it's no longer addon content. It's now part of the Trainz package, and as a paying Trainz customer, I think I should be able to have that content updated without too much trouble.

Again, it's not the end of the world, but to a cynical person, it might appear that N3V is deliberately making the in-game update unworkable in an effort to sell more First Class Tickets. Good thing I'm not a cynical person

Before I got an FCT, I would just let the updates run at night and just do a few at a time. No rush, everything worked fine without the updates. By the way, the latest N3V newsletter that came out today said there are going to be daily sales on the Sim Central website, and some of the sales are going to be for t he FCT.

 

[frogpipe]

I understand your frustration with this, and this has been the issue that many new users have complained about. This problem can't be avoided because content is forever being updated by community.

/snip/

John

Yes it can be avoided...

If they were smart they'd give you a free 3 month FCT with a purchase. That way you could update the game to the latest version, latest content, and get good and used to the wonders of highspeed access. That would make happy customers since they don't get the experience of feeling like they got conned into and upsell, and when it expires they will be more likely to buy another then someone who has never experienced the high speed access.

Come on N3V it's Win/Win...

*wanders off shaking head, the phrase "kids these days...." can be heard repeatedly*

That is how you avoid the frustration of it. Everyone expects to download updates for software these days, but when you have a 7kb cap on it and it needs updates "right out of the box", it's a bit like buying a new car and after the papers (and your life) are all signed away, you hop in to find that you still have to buy a steering wheel before you can drive away.

In fact expanding on the new car analogy, does a car dealer sell you a can with an empty gas tank? N3V should give them a free tank of gas (IE one free 3 month FCT)

"Make em happy - Get em hooked" IT"S GOOD MARKETING FOR GODS SAKE....

 

[sniper297]

"For the price of a couple of cups of Starbucks" I could buy a new car. :hehe:
The one time I tried the ingame content updates button I had a FCT, so I can't confirm what Shane is saying. Problem is that downloads all updates, including assets with Russian and Chinese characters that it took a long time stumbling over, and when it was done the game was so badly corrupted I had to reinstall it. Never tried that again.

 

[Robert2d6]

Yes it can be avoided...



That is how you avoid the frustration of it. Everyone expects to download updates for software these days, but when you have a 7kb cap on it and it needs updates "right out of the box", it's a bit like buying a new car and after the papers (and your life) are all signed away, you hop in to find that you still have to buy a steering wheel before you can drive away.

In fact expanding on the new car analogy, does a car dealer sell you a can with an empty gas tank? N3V should give them a free tank of gas (IE one free 3 month FCT)

"Make em happy - Get em hooked" IT"S GOOD MARKETING FOR GODS SAKE....

Somehow, I don't think you are getting it. The updates that pop up when you start the game, are not necessary for the game to operate correctly. Some people don't even bother with many of them, because they don't affect the routes that they are running. Someone has an engine, and they make some changes in the paint, and it gets an update. It's not like you are going to be missing tracks, or parts of routes or anything else.