Article: M/M, TWOR, E2, TANE, Kickstarter Nov 13
- Thread starter Tony_Hilliam
- Start date
Tony_Hilliam
Trainz Plus - enjoy Trainz from just 20 cents a da
HUH? I can remember when I understood everything about Trainz.
Hi SuperFudd - please let us know which bits your understand and which you don't - we'd like to make sure we are getting the correct message across.
We may not answer all questions straight away, but we are preparing an FAQ guide so these questions help us get a headstart on creating the answers.
Hi Tony, - Thanks for the reply. As you can see I am still stuck in 2009. What I have read here about T2 all sounds GREAT!. I am looking forward to finding out what it will all mean when it becomes a product. I am sure the gung ho true blue Mensa type Trainz fanatics, who I truly admire by the way, understand most of it but, for the sake of the bottom line, please keep the rest of us in mind. :wave:
shaneturner12
Tutorial Creator
dpgibbons - it's not wise to jump to conclusions. Anything could happen.
Shane
Shane
Tony_Hilliam
Trainz Plus - enjoy Trainz from just 20 cents a da
Actually Shane dpgibbons raises a valid concern for this type of funding.
However we don't really need to make it clear since Kickstarter spells it all out very clearly during the pledge process.
What we do need to do is provide a Risk Statement which identifies the risks involved in completing the project such as delays due to unforeseen events, key staff being run over by buses and so on.
As with all risk versus reward scenarios, it is up to each individual to weigh everything up and make their own decision. We are embarking on this project as we believe this is the best possible way to provide the best possible product in the shortest time frame possible. If our community support the project we will be able to hire staff, add features that otherwise would not be included and even include the community in the design phases.
If there are too many skeptics and fence sitters, then we may struggle to reach our goal, but if we reach our goal, we are confident we can deliver all pledge rewards.
We can also look back to 2001 when people first pre-ordered Trainz Community Edition, and then each year since we have accepted pre-orders and delivered the products. For some companies who are embarking on totally new ventures, there is most likely a higher risk factor in not delivering a complete project/product, but I'm sure we don't fall in that category
shaneturner12
Tutorial Creator
Fair enough. If I understand Kickstarter correctly though, funds are dependent on having enough pledges anyway.
One question though. If there are major changes that affect third-party tool creators, are they likely to be notified of said changes so they can bring their tools up to the new standards?
Shane
One question though. If there are major changes that affect third-party tool creators, are they likely to be notified of said changes so they can bring their tools up to the new standards?
Shane
I have been sitting and watching the Trainz Forum and not saying anything over the last number of months and i think that people need to place a bit of faith with the N3V Trainz Crew.
It dosen't matter what has happend in the past good or bad, it is time to look to the future of our hobby our game our pass time becacause at the end of the day Trainz is ours.
So we should support it as much as possible big or small.
This is what we have all been waiting for, this is the dream we have all wanted for so long, how often is it that our dreams can come true,
Even thou i myself have been sarcastic at time NV3, N3V will have my full support on this venture as i can see it to be the rebirth of Trainz at a hole new totally exciting level. A new name for Trainz TS 14 The Crossing or The CrossRoads
steve123
It dosen't matter what has happend in the past good or bad, it is time to look to the future of our hobby our game our pass time becacause at the end of the day Trainz is ours.
So we should support it as much as possible big or small.
This is what we have all been waiting for, this is the dream we have all wanted for so long, how often is it that our dreams can come true,
Even thou i myself have been sarcastic at time NV3, N3V will have my full support on this venture as i can see it to be the rebirth of Trainz at a hole new totally exciting level. A new name for Trainz TS 14 The Crossing or The CrossRoads
steve123
PortlandBill
Member
Why do I feel totally underwhelmed by this announcement? I mainly "lurk" here preferring to listen to the comments of other enthusiasts. I am not interested in multiplayer or toy games "This is the best route everrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! you mst ply it!!!!!!!!!!!". I am interested in railway operations particularly how the railways developed to deliver freight and passengers on time given the terrain over which the trains had to run and the limitations of engines and freight capacity and how that in turn developed over time. I am quite happy to use the existing and (to me) very good TS12 Sp1 HF3 and I would like to see even more of the bugs ironed out. Your announcements to me seem to be pure marketing hype. Why should I fund development of Trainz if you cannot provide improvements to route development? Where are the announcements about better support to terrain generation including using DEM data, historic mapping, Google Earth etc? Is there going to be a clearer separation between routes and sessions so that the two are not confused? Will there be better documentation support for developers and users? Will there be better tools to select the object that you want to place on the route or in the scenario? Will there be ways of developing sessions/scenarios so that text could be used as a "language" rather than having to drag icons about? Without these types of fundamental tools all future aspirations will remain just that.
I really do not wish to sound negative. It is obvious a lot of thought and effort has gone into this launch and I am sure I will continue to support you but to me if YOU N3V provide the right tools then the community will produce the quality assets and the product will thrive. All the best wishes for your launch,
I really do not wish to sound negative. It is obvious a lot of thought and effort has gone into this launch and I am sure I will continue to support you but to me if YOU N3V provide the right tools then the community will produce the quality assets and the product will thrive. All the best wishes for your launch,
Tony_Hilliam
Trainz Plus - enjoy Trainz from just 20 cents a da
Hi Bill. Thanks for lurking, and thanks also for bringing another viewpoint. Trainz is used in many different ways by many different people and it is to be expected that our announcements so far won't appeal to everyone.
However, I personally feel a brand new engine with new graphics features and totally revamped underlying architecture is far from "hype". Making things look more realistic and perform better may not be your cup of tea, but we see these as necessities in order to be competitive in tomorrow's market. We have therefore given these systems priority in our implementation plan.
I also understand that pretty graphics doesn't change the behaviour or feel of the trains. This is why we also included in our core feature set a major update to the physics systems and graphical tools to monitor and tweak those settings in real-time. This will deliver greater realism in the driving experience.
We are always limited to the number of features that can be added in any given time frame by funding/staffing. Our strategy is to bring each system into the "next generation" over time, beginning with the graphics and physics. This gives us a modern and robust platform upon which to expand. From there we can continue adding features for route builders, for drivers, for multiplayer fans and so on.
I can see from your wishlist, a bias (which you are perfectly entitled to have) towards route creation. The good news is that pretty much all the features you describe appear on what we call our "Stretch Goal" List. These features will be implemented once we have completed the Initial Goal features.
What is a Stretch Goal? If there is sufficient support in our Kickstarter project, and we exceed our Initial Goal target, then additional funds unlock "Stretch Goals". Development of these Stretch Goal features will then be accelerated by using those additional funds to expand our team. We currently have 25 features (or feature sets) on our Stetch Goal list including prototypical operations, DEM data, documentation, session building and so on. The full list will be released within the next week.
I'll even give followers of this thread a sneak peek at the next image to be revealed... our Four Track Plan. More detail to follow, so stay tuned.
amigacooke
Well-known member
Tony, a nice straight question. Will there be any stretch goals for non-PC platforms?
The news as it stands is great for PC users, but for others with the vague promise of future integration, it's not so good. Mac users have been waiting a long, long time for an update, so goodness knows when these sorts of improvements will make it to OSX or other platforms
The news as it stands is great for PC users, but for others with the vague promise of future integration, it's not so good. Mac users have been waiting a long, long time for an update, so goodness knows when these sorts of improvements will make it to OSX or other platforms
Tony_Hilliam
Trainz Plus - enjoy Trainz from just 20 cents a da
Tony, a nice straight question. Will there be any stretch goals for non-PC platforms?
The news as it stands is great for PC users, but for others with the vague promise of future integration, it's not so good. Mac users have been waiting a long, long time for an update, so goodness knows when these sorts of improvements will make it to OSX or other platforms
Stretch Goals do indeed include love for non-PC fans. And with a new version of Mac coming out very soon, some would argue they are the lucky ones since they won't have as long to wait (not saying they are correct, just saying
).DmitriSkif
New member
Sounds nice! New game engine is the most needed improvement. I donate some money to support project! But add a new sound engine too please.
amigacooke
Well-known member
Hmm, I'll take your word for that.
Good news about the stretch goals, thanks for the info.
