AnnouncingTrainz™ Simulator 2009 & Trainz™ Simulator X
- Thread starter Tony_Hilliam
- Start date
Wessex_Electric_Nutter
Active member
Err, I thought the bump mapping and specular highlight plug ins were released 4 years ago?
zatovisualworks
Veteran but blossoming
That's it, Tony! Trainz is alive and kicking hard! 
I think this is the kind of piece of news that we all were expecting from the CEO himself, as it has always been a custom in Trainz History.
I'm afraid those mourning about the Death of Trainz have to wait a long while yet. And I'm also afraid that trainzers' wives, husbands, girl and boyfriends, sons, daughters, relatives and friends in general are sending myriads of complaint messages to Tony... Matter: Why don't you close down Auran right now and let our beloved ones take care of us! :hehe:
Great news! Bye bye to TC and welcome back, you TRS.
The hello-goodbye side of Alberte :wave:
I think this is the kind of piece of news that we all were expecting from the CEO himself, as it has always been a custom in Trainz History.
I'm afraid those mourning about the Death of Trainz have to wait a long while yet.
And I'm also afraid that trainzers' wives, husbands, girl and boyfriends, sons, daughters, relatives and friends in general are sending myriads of complaint messages to Tony... Matter: Why don't you close down Auran right now and let our beloved ones take care of us! :hehe:Great news! Bye bye to TC and welcome back, you TRS.
The hello-goodbye side of Alberte :wave:
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PatrickTaylor89
New member
This is great news! As far as I'm concerned, Trainz is the best train sim on the market right now. From what I've seen of KRS and from what I've heard about MSTS2, I plan on sticking with TRS for a long time. It's nice to see that Trainz has a bright future!
One question: I'm looking forward to the new grid and texture features, but will existing routes (for example, from TRS2006) work within the new version?
Patrick
One question: I'm looking forward to the new grid and texture features, but will existing routes (for example, from TRS2006) work within the new version?
Patrick
Very good news and should give the competition a run for its money.
Quick question, as someone beavering away on a TRS2006 route, will there be backward compatibility for importation of existing content or is this seen as a fresh start?
Also please don't forget to work with creators of the many excellent utilities (e.g. HOG and Transdem) to ensure we continue to enjoy the benefits these little side programmes bring.
Very enthusiastic and uplifted by the emphasis on continued ease of content creation - one of the disappointments of KRS with its Blueprints and XML files is that it moved further into the realms of the coder and scripter than the average content creator with a bit of railway knowledge is necessarily comfortable with. MSTS2 is even more of an unknown quantity (given that the FSX game engine it's based on has not exactly spurred anything like the add-ons FS2004 had).
Thank you, Auran. (And, please, no "Blueprints" or "Track Rules"!!).
Quick question, as someone beavering away on a TRS2006 route, will there be backward compatibility for importation of existing content or is this seen as a fresh start?
Also please don't forget to work with creators of the many excellent utilities (e.g. HOG and Transdem) to ensure we continue to enjoy the benefits these little side programmes bring.
Very enthusiastic and uplifted by the emphasis on continued ease of content creation - one of the disappointments of KRS with its Blueprints and XML files is that it moved further into the realms of the coder and scripter than the average content creator with a bit of railway knowledge is necessarily comfortable with. MSTS2 is even more of an unknown quantity (given that the FSX game engine it's based on has not exactly spurred anything like the add-ons FS2004 had).
Thank you, Auran. (And, please, no "Blueprints" or "Track Rules"!!).
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amigacooke
Well-known member
One of the functions I do like in KRS is the ability to utilise DEM data to create 'real life' terrain within the programme. That would be very handy in Trainz as far as I'm concerned.
Welcome back Auran!
I know you were always there in the background and listening in and feeling the hurt. Sounds like the healing has begun!
Glad to know that there is a written vision for the future and hope I will be able to keep up with the pace!
I have one minor concern - I really want to see this improvement but.... When you talk of decreasing the grid from 10m to 5m, how is this going to affect our current layouts? Will there be some kind of conversion utility we can use which will look at the old grid and replace the ground textures for us, or are we going to have to re-texture the entire layout? I really have only one layout as of now (and not really complete) but it has over 4000 miles of trackage and want it to take advantage of all new improvements!
I did mention it is a minor concern. For all the improvements I will gladly spend the hours converting manually if I have too but it would be nice......
Thank you for the announcements and rest assured, as soon as you place a "pre-order available" posting, I'll be one of the first to sign up. Any chance I can do it now? !!!!!
Brian
I know you were always there in the background and listening in and feeling the hurt. Sounds like the healing has begun!
Glad to know that there is a written vision for the future and hope I will be able to keep up with the pace!
I have one minor concern - I really want to see this improvement but.... When you talk of decreasing the grid from 10m to 5m, how is this going to affect our current layouts? Will there be some kind of conversion utility we can use which will look at the old grid and replace the ground textures for us, or are we going to have to re-texture the entire layout? I really have only one layout as of now (and not really complete) but it has over 4000 miles of trackage and want it to take advantage of all new improvements!
I did mention it is a minor concern. For all the improvements I will gladly spend the hours converting manually if I have too but it would be nice......
Thank you for the announcements and rest assured, as soon as you place a "pre-order available" posting, I'll be one of the first to sign up. Any chance I can do it now? !!!!!
Brian
I'm glad to see the series continuing on 
Will the ability to replace/repair a broken knuckle be in the new games? I remember countless times were I wished I could repair them.
Are C44-9W's, ES44DC's, and all the other big name engines going to be built in, or are you guys still planning on letting the community create those?
P.S I hope that CN will get included
Will the ability to replace/repair a broken knuckle be in the new games? I remember countless times were I wished I could repair them.
Are C44-9W's, ES44DC's, and all the other big name engines going to be built in, or are you guys still planning on letting the community create those?
P.S I hope that CN will get included
Tony_Hilliam
Trainz Plus - enjoy Trainz from just 20 cents a da
Some more quick answers:
Vern - backwards compatibility is paramount. Our goal is that you can import a 2006 map (probably any version) seamlessly. From there it will be a matter of adding more detailed baseboards or updating existing ones. The challenge will be along the baseboard join and fixing this work is in progress right now so people will get to play with it in July.
HOG and Transdem are important and I like what I see with google earth. Support for these utilities is our goal although the cooler stuff (like making it really easy) is likely to have to wait until 2010.
Borg - 3rd party content is king. Our task is to ensure it is easy to do and it works well. Trainzdev.com will help a lot in that regard. Fixing broken knuckles sounds like a job for a rule (anyone?)
Vern - backwards compatibility is paramount. Our goal is that you can import a 2006 map (probably any version) seamlessly. From there it will be a matter of adding more detailed baseboards or updating existing ones. The challenge will be along the baseboard join and fixing this work is in progress right now so people will get to play with it in July.
HOG and Transdem are important and I like what I see with google earth. Support for these utilities is our goal although the cooler stuff (like making it really easy) is likely to have to wait until 2010.
Borg - 3rd party content is king. Our task is to ensure it is easy to do and it works well. Trainzdev.com will help a lot in that regard. Fixing broken knuckles sounds like a job for a rule (anyone?)
Hello
Good Script Tony Hilliam.:Y: :clap: :Y:
And a big Welcome back to the original Trainz Lead Programmer, Chris “windwalkr“ Bergmann.
Helpdesk back on?
Trainz Community Support back on.
soon maybe daily DLS updates.
A new Exciting Tour, Trainz future is brighter then ever with TRS 2009 and TRS X.
Barry will be able to drive boats soon in TRS 2009: Tony's sneak preview of TRS 2009 features > http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showthread.php?t=26861
Regards
Ahsan
EDIT those of yous who have missed Tony's post, errors happen:hehe:
Hello
Tony Hilliam has confirmed that the 23/08/2008 is a data entry error TC3 should be released this month.
http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showpost.php?p=286604&postcount=32
Regards
Ahsan
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good news, thanks for it Mr.Hilliam,
I only have one wish - better grafic. That's it.
Please don't cancel DCC-Mode - I play model railroad with Trainz.
I can do both with it - drive (real train) and play (modell railroad) - and that is best of Trainz.
With KRS I can only drive, no trafic, no fun (for me) -
In Trainz I can make my own little world and give it a live.
The point on the "i" were for me - it runs under Linux (WINE). But that's only a very little wish.
I only have one wish - better grafic. That's it.
Please don't cancel DCC-Mode - I play model railroad with Trainz.
Please make Trainz not to a KRS from Auran.
Trainz have so many functions, I love it all.
I can do both with it - drive (real train) and play (modell railroad) - and that is best of Trainz.
With KRS I can only drive, no trafic, no fun (for me) -
In Trainz I can make my own little world and give it a live.
The point on the "i" were for me - it runs under Linux (WINE). But that's only a very little wish.
doesn't it seem like they've been desperately seeking a market, from the very beginning? they have one -- here we are.
if i were auran marketing i'd look very carefully at the flight sim data available -- look at the FS forums and what they talk about and look at their sales figures -- and, look at FS apps which aren't msfs and have failed.
let "my pretty rail simulator" keep the drive in the country market and market Trainz as an engineering CAD-CAM with fun additions -- the prestige of the cad-cam thing would flavor the app and promote good-will. the idea that you can use this program to create imaginary worlds out of your own reality has to be worked harder -- people think trains are "choo-choos" and serious world builders think Trainz is about train driving and scenery. it is and it isn't, and it's so much more than MST. besides, isn't the next MST supposed to be only for DX10 -- that's the "X" that would crumb up the "X" in Trainz-X -- people mistaking it for something else -- polly the parrot in gold foil.
the market... dad's play nintendo with their kids, and build their own private worlds in trainz.
Priority: market railroads -- shortlines and shortline operations -- macho logging and the loading of sulfates -- umm, basically, just look at what the europeans are doing with trainz -- making it an active interface for the imagination. how about, let the Trainz concept be driven -- as it actually has been -- by the third party genius creators of content and grow the app out of what is possible with railroads? the app isn't "fly over the alps" or "UFO boxcar" or "rebel without a fireman theft auto".
if i were auran marketing i'd look very carefully at the flight sim data available -- look at the FS forums and what they talk about and look at their sales figures -- and, look at FS apps which aren't msfs and have failed.
let "my pretty rail simulator" keep the drive in the country market and market Trainz as an engineering CAD-CAM with fun additions -- the prestige of the cad-cam thing would flavor the app and promote good-will. the idea that you can use this program to create imaginary worlds out of your own reality has to be worked harder -- people think trains are "choo-choos" and serious world builders think Trainz is about train driving and scenery. it is and it isn't, and it's so much more than MST. besides, isn't the next MST supposed to be only for DX10 -- that's the "X" that would crumb up the "X" in Trainz-X -- people mistaking it for something else -- polly the parrot in gold foil.
the market... dad's play nintendo with their kids, and build their own private worlds in trainz.
Priority: market railroads -- shortlines and shortline operations -- macho logging and the loading of sulfates -- umm, basically, just look at what the europeans are doing with trainz -- making it an active interface for the imagination. how about, let the Trainz concept be driven -- as it actually has been -- by the third party genius creators of content and grow the app out of what is possible with railroads? the app isn't "fly over the alps" or "UFO boxcar" or "rebel without a fireman theft auto".
Good Luck Auran and especially the Trainz team. I hope that your dreams are fulfilled. I'll be lurking around
Regards
Axe
P.S I too would like a different title than Trainz Simulator X. It is too close to FSX. I wouldn't think an easy way to win MSTS fans.
MichaelWhiteley
British Rail!
I found a bug where when you were in a tram and went into notch one the tram wouldn't make any sound becuase notch one uses the same sound as when the tram is not moving and when (e.g motorman1066 trams) don't move they don't make any sound. So when they go into notch one no sound is being produced and sounds daft will this be fixed?
Cheers,
Mike
Cheers,
Mike
this is metaphysical and metaphoric, right? has it to do with "american idol"?
Brilliant news indeed :wave: and seems Auran is back and listens.
I like these statements above:
Exactly, Trainz offers much more than just virtual railroading, and that's why I love it.
Well, some other wishes would be banks in curves, animated junctions (best way: some functionality that helps to create your own), possibility of bending standard junctions into curves (may sounds strange, but it will be possible in ZUSI3 for example).
From a personal developer/virtual world builder - not just route builder - standpoint, I'd suggest not to focus to much on interactive, networking features or a huge amount of new content but improvements within surveyor (what about layers?, locking positioned objects?), controlling tools to adapt real (just European?) world of operations with path controls, virtual switch boxes etc. (it's not the loco driver who decides where to go And, I'm on the same wavelength with 'techni' in regards of the DCC mode And - yes, don't create another KRS with just lots of promises and nice rendered screens....
It also would be a very good idea if Auran would look into the OpenSource scene - for example to officially support the efforts which has been started to build a Blender Exporter for Trainz by some community members. In regards of content creation, I'd love to see, that Auran starts an initiative to motivate people to put their works under CreativeCommons or GPL licenses, which probably would help 3D starters to get into 3D development and help to improve existing or to create new things - without the need to ask around for approval all the time, just to do even a simple repaint, not to mention to get the sources at all.
Finally some thoughts on product releases. Again from a route builder only perspective - with strong focus on a dedicated location and time frame - it would be nice to buy a developers version, just a plain program without any built-in or whatever content, just a straight forward tool to start projects from scratch. What about that?
Looking forward to TC3 first, but I'm now curious what comes next...
Kindest regards - Dirk
I like these statements above:
Exactly, Trainz offers much more than just virtual railroading, and that's why I love it.
There are many, many European 3D enthusiasts who create marvelous content for TRS - unfortunately not all post their stuff to the DLS. Anyway, from my perspective some functionality of current versions is to much focused on US/Australian railroad technology. Especially I'm thinking about the entire signaling/route controlling and the way the AI works - both a pain if you look into realistic European operations. Currently this can be only accomplished somehow using external rules or often just by using strange workarounds... Ah, not to mention the high beam if you switch the lights on locos on.
Well, some other wishes would be banks in curves, animated junctions (best way: some functionality that helps to create your own), possibility of bending standard junctions into curves (may sounds strange, but it will be possible in ZUSI3 for example).
From a personal developer/virtual world builder - not just route builder - standpoint, I'd suggest not to focus to much on interactive, networking features or a huge amount of new content but improvements within surveyor (what about layers?, locking positioned objects?), controlling tools to adapt real (just European?) world of operations with path controls, virtual switch boxes etc. (it's not the loco driver who decides where to go
And, I'm on the same wavelength with 'techni' in regards of the DCC mode And - yes, don't create another KRS with just lots of promises and nice rendered screens....It also would be a very good idea if Auran would look into the OpenSource scene - for example to officially support the efforts which has been started to build a Blender Exporter for Trainz by some community members. In regards of content creation, I'd love to see, that Auran starts an initiative to motivate people to put their works under CreativeCommons or GPL licenses, which probably would help 3D starters to get into 3D development and help to improve existing or to create new things - without the need to ask around for approval all the time, just to do even a simple repaint, not to mention to get the sources at all.
Finally some thoughts on product releases. Again from a route builder only perspective - with strong focus on a dedicated location and time frame - it would be nice to buy a developers version, just a plain program without any built-in or whatever content, just a straight forward tool to start projects from scratch. What about that?
Looking forward to TC3 first, but I'm now curious what comes next...
Kindest regards - Dirk
Doesn't seem that way to me...what indicators led you to believe there was desperation in their marketing strategies?
Not a good marketing strategy....FS forums are populated by those who already have an interest in flight sims and had purchased at least one...people wouldn't normally go to a FS forum first and then get interested in flight sims.....and sales figures are irrelevant. There are more FS people out there than train sim people....that's just the way it is. It makes more sense to market an app to fill the needs of those who are interested in trains and train sims in the first place than trying to find a way to get people interested in train sims. And what's the point of looking at fs apps that failed to compete with msfs..? Trainz has held it's own against MSTS for years...maybe non-ms flight sims should look at Trainz..
Just a paragraph with no known meaning...
This is the target market?....really, what do you base this on?
Actually, this is where your marketing strategy falls flat....your priority doesn't take into consideration the total needs of the available market....instead it focuses on what would be primarily a USA venue. There are many who aren't interested in that aspect of railroading. And, sorry, but the rest is just rhetorical gobbily-gook..
