MuttsMooch
New member
I hope all goes well..
Last edited:
Auran in the News
- Thread starter Drucifer
- Start date
For those that enjoy Trainz, my personally suggestion is keep supporting Auran. Buy the latest version of Trainz AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, BUY from Auran directly. That way they get all of the money. Don't buy from walmart or EB Games etc. as they probably get 1/2 the money from the sale. Renew your First Class Ticket. Fifty dollars for TRS 2006 or $30 for TC is a pretty small sum out most our pockets for the amount of entertainment we all get out this software. I cannot take my family out to dinner for less than $40 dollars most of the time.
$50 a small amount!? I guess if you were richer than me then it would be.... (says the boy with less than $25 to his name)
oh and cowboy i got a solution to not spending $40 with your family....don't eat out
but all in all supporting Auran is a great idea. I always tell people who come in asking "where can I get TC or TRS2006" to get it at the Auran Online Store.
peter
I figure I have about $250.00 invested in Trainz, four versions of the game plus first class tickets. Looking at how much time I spend playing it I figure it works out to be between 4 cents and 6 cents US per hour. I can't think of anything else that even comes close to that cheap. Reading a good hard cover book would be about $2.50 plus per hour.
Of course that doesn't figure in the computer upgrades.......
Of course that doesn't figure in the computer upgrades.......
slave-driver
Sacramento Nothern Lives
Than again with the computer upgrades you can't realy call it needed. If you want the program to run better and /or faster then a computer upgrade will help but is NOT realy needed. Same goes for support programs like Photo Shop or 3Ds Max. If you purchased those to creat content that was a personal choice, not a necessity. Gimp and gmax are free. So looking at the cost of the actuall Trainz program compaired to the entertainment/enjoyment value it's quite inexpensive. If you look at any software company they do the same when a big project is concluded. Relocate who they can an lay off the rest. Like it was pointed out earlyer, Development teams are very expensive and the software companys ARE in the buisness to make money. So downsizing a devlopment team like that is no big suprise. So the best of luck to the ones being let go.
Bill
Bill
What I read is an article by a site (Angry Gamer) which is the National Enquirer of the gaming world...quoting a disgruntled ex-Auranite...being posted by a self proclaimed ex-Trainzer. This formula adds up to pretty much nothing in my opinion...
campbell5149
NS guy stuck a CSX town
i cant possibly see how in the hell auran can be having financial trouble. i've invested a good 150.00 in FCT's. I know that the rest of the community has contributed too. I dont know whether its true or not, but until somthin happens, i'm just gonna keep on trainzin
Well I suppose $50 dollars might be a lot to a young person but to the average adult I doubt if that is much. Even here in Gt Britain (and being a canny scot in Glasgow!) if it was £50 would still be cheap for the hours of sheer enjoyment never mind harmless escapism I can delve into!
I started with MTS and quickly realised that building a layout meanto almost being a technical expert. Then by sheer chance I came acorss Auran trainz and never looked back. I have bought my versions direct and I can say that if i didn't have Trainz especially with the rratic health situs I get it would be a poorer life for me. For the cost of buying this product it is a bargain with not just ruinning tranis and trams but being able to build routes without a mountain to climb. A DLS is thrown in at no charge and i think this is the best hobby for the price. Sure there are zilches there are in life but for goodness sake let's not be tempted into doom and glook. Personally I want to congratulate Auran okn what it has given to the average train sim community not just the experts. That is is it's biggest boon.
Now having said that I amgoing back to building my vast tramway system (built on historical fact) which I could never have doone anywhere else. It makes me happy, content at such a brilliant product. A positive minded Trainzer? Definitely and at such cheap cost to my pocket!
I started with MTS and quickly realised that building a layout meanto almost being a technical expert. Then by sheer chance I came acorss Auran trainz and never looked back. I have bought my versions direct and I can say that if i didn't have Trainz especially with the rratic health situs I get it would be a poorer life for me. For the cost of buying this product it is a bargain with not just ruinning tranis and trams but being able to build routes without a mountain to climb. A DLS is thrown in at no charge and i think this is the best hobby for the price. Sure there are zilches there are in life but for goodness sake let's not be tempted into doom and glook. Personally I want to congratulate Auran okn what it has given to the average train sim community not just the experts. That is is it's biggest boon.
Now having said that I amgoing back to building my vast tramway system (built on historical fact) which I could never have doone anywhere else. It makes me happy, content at such a brilliant product. A positive minded Trainzer? Definitely and at such cheap cost to my pocket!
johnwhelan
Well-known member
>
Here is the official comment from Auran CEO, Tony Hilliam:
Here is the official comment from Auran CEO, Tony Hilliam:
As I explained to the staff yesterday, whilst FURY has started off slower than expected, I still see a bright and long future ahead. However, that future will not include the full 60 man development team who have worked on FURY for the past year. The future will focus on a smaller, more agile core team of Fury developers. These are people who are incredibly passionate about the game and work until 4 in the morning to ensure they get things done.
Now that statement of 4 am is a concern. You can do it for a very short period of time but in the longer term productivity falls as mistakes creep in, basically because you need sleep and rest. I've also seen burnt out developers that can no longer work. The company might have done well out of them but society needs them to be productive over a longer period and their own quality of life after a burn out is not good.
From a customer point of view quality and reliabilty are important to me. I really don't want to purchase a product that has multiple mistakes or less than optimal code because the programmers were tired.
I'd like to think that the companies I deal with are responsible about the health of their employees and this is one issue that might persuade me to look at a different company's products.
Cheerio John
Now that statement of 4 am is a concern. You can do it for a very short period of time but in the longer term productivity falls as mistakes creep in, basically because you need sleep and rest. I've also seen burnt out developers that can no longer work. The company might have done well out of them but society needs them to be productive over a longer period and their own quality of life after a burn out is not good.
From a customer point of view quality and reliabilty are important to me. I really don't want to purchase a product that has multiple mistakes or less than optimal code because the programmers were tired.
I'd like to think that the companies I deal with are responsible about the health of their employees and this is one issue that might persuade me to look at a different company's products.
Cheerio John
I don't think it is worth getting hung up on the 4am statement. I'm sure they didn't work until then every day. Tony probably just used the example of a couple of people working very late one day to complete something on time to demonstrate their dedication. I'm pretty sure Auran doesn't tie their developers to their desk until the early hours habitually
Mike.
Mike.
johnwhelan
Well-known member
I would like to feel you are correct and his developers do not feel pressured to meet mangement statements like this, it's just working in the industry I've seen cases where yes the job got done but the team fell apart afterwards.
Cheerio John
Lance_Jago
Trainz Team
Mike is absolutely right. When it comes to crunch time there is always a few who seem to never leave their desks. Of course they then get a few days off when the pressure eases, so it works both ways
Trainz was no different for TRS2006 and TC where we put in quite a few weeks of late nights and early mornings and with Auran being a staff orientated company we were rewarded for our efforts.
And let's keep this in context, we're talking about the Fury dev team here which has only gone gold in the last few weeks, so that pressure will let up soon enough in time for Christmas when we'll all get a generous amount of time off.
Cheers.
Merscom’s Trainz Railwayz Rolls Over Rail Simulator
Last edited:
atsfrr3000
New member
I really don't think it was very fair of them to consider the amount of content available as a gauge of the two sims' success. Trainz has been around for almost 8 years now; Kuju's sim has been around for a few months. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that Kuju's gonna have less content.
Nonetheless, I'm not the least bit surprised that Trainz is outstripping Kuju's offering so far. It may be a different story, however, a few years down the road when Kuju has established its product in the marketplace.
Nonetheless, I'm not the least bit surprised that Trainz is outstripping Kuju's offering so far. It may be a different story, however, a few years down the road when Kuju has established its product in the marketplace.
WileeCoyote
Eatibus Almost Anythingus
If the product is good, they will buy it. And I think all of us can speak for that.
WileeCoyote
WileeCoyote
WileeCoyote
Eatibus Almost Anythingus
You are assuming they even get so far as to even establish themselves, so far they aren't really doing that very well. Sales in Germany have been so bad (in short: nobody is buying it) that the only company that had addons planned for it (BlueSky Interactive) has canceled them. It isn't doing any good here, for other countries I can't say...
WileeCoyote
atsfrr3000
New member
You are assuming they even get so far as to even establish themselves, so far they aren't really doing that very well. Sales in Germany have been so bad (in short: nobody is buying it) that the only company that had addons planned for it (BlueSky Interactive) has canceled them. It isn't doing any good here, for other countries I can't say...
WileeCoyote
Okay, true enough.
But my main point is still valid: it's not fair to compare the two's content available to judge which is the better product when one's been on the shelves for only a few months.