FCT, is it worth the price?

A

Approach_Medium

Trainz Addict
I have had an FCT almost continuously for at least four years, but let it expire last month. I failed to take advantage of the sale ($19.95AUd) earlier in the year because I am questioning whether it is worth the cost.
I have been disappointed with most of the content I have found on DLS. There is way too much old, low-res junk that I have to sort through, and most of what I do find for TS10 or TS12 isn't what I am looking for.
Then, I have another issue: Should I have to pay for content that other TS players created and have uploaded for free? If I am paying N3V for the privilege of faster downloads (actually, I am unable to download anything without the FCT; it's just too painfully slow) and the creators have not received anything from N3V for their work, then what I am really paying for is the use of N3V faster servers, right?
I could just as easily go to a 3rd party website and download a lot of the content free, and at a much faster speed than regular (non-FCT) speed from N3V. How is it that these 3rd party websites can provide me with a decent download speed for free, while N3V has to charge me for a FCT?

FW
 
Approach_Medium said:
I have had an FCT almost continuously for at least four years, but let it expire last month. I failed to take advantage of the sale ($19.95AUd) earlier in the year because I am questioning whether it is worth the cost.
I have been disappointed with most of the content I have found on DLS. There is way too much old, low-res junk that I have to sort through, and most of what I do find for TS10 or TS12 isn't what I am looking for.
Then, I have another issue: Should I have to pay for content that other TS players created and have uploaded for free? If I am paying N3V for the privilege of faster downloads (actually, I am unable to download anything without the FCT; it's just too painfully slow) and the creators have not received anything from N3V for their work, then what I am really paying for is the use of N3V faster servers, right?
I could just as easily go to a 3rd party website and download a lot of the content free, and at a much faster speed than regular (non-FCT) speed from N3V. How is it that these 3rd party websites can provide me with a decent download speed for free, while N3V has to charge me for a FCT?

FW
Click to expand...

I like the FCT. It's fast, reliable, and inexpensive. But that's just me........
 
Approach_Medium said:
How is it that these 3rd party websites can provide me with a decent download speed for free, while N3V has to charge me for a FCT?
Click to expand...
Because they are paying hosting and bandwidth out of their own pocket, have loads of advertisement on their website or install a virus on your PC, or a combination of these 3.
At the end of the day, someone is paying for it.
 
It's a personal decision you would have to make, but I personally feel that buying a FCT is not just for increasing download speeds. It also helps finance the servers (which are rented) as well as having an unlimited download allowance (I managed to download just over 1GB with one yesterday).

Whilst third-party sites may give you the content for free, it does ask the question of where they can get the funds to afford to run the website (unless it's with a free webhost, which normally incurs extra restrictions).

Shane
 
Yes, it is. Now I am trying to DL the JK Junction kit, and it appears that I can no longer do it directly from Andy's website. Is this some sort of agreement cc's have made with N3V?
So I guess, in the end, I am just going to wait for the FCT to go on sale for $19.95, or perhaps purchase the 6-month sub for $17.95 and start downloading like mad, saving it all to HDD.
Maybe I'm just crying sour grapes here. After all; TS (N3V) is far better than that other train sim (what's it called again... ha ha) in this respect, and in so many other ways.

FW
 
oknotsen said:
Because they are paying hosting and bandwidth out of their own pocket, have loads of advertisement on their website or install a virus on your PC, or a combination of these 3.
At the end of the day, someone is paying for it.
Click to expand...

^THIS^

(ten characters)
 
Try is and see. For me I am always dl'ng something and having it done almost instantly is worth it. I always have to spend a little money on my entertainment so yea I think it is worth it.
 
I bought my lifetime FCT a few months ago when there was a 50% off sales. Result: I payed 60 AU$.
Now "lifetime" in my opinion is a bit more then the 9000 days that my Content Manager is telling me, but lets just say it will last 9000 days.
If I take that price and that number of days, I end up paying less then 0,67 AU$ cent per day. I think thats worth it.

Even if you have to pay full price, I think 1,33 AU$ cent per day is worth it.
 
BD1 said:
If you like downloading at super slow download speeds, and with a 100Mb daily cap, then a FCT may not be for you
Click to expand...

While you are downloading a 100MB file, you could always read a book like "War and Peace" :eek:
 
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It depends on what you want to do. I started without the FCT, and dl's were very slow. Got the FCT, and things picked up, a lot. Now, I'm using it quite a bit. In fact, I've noticed that most assets take longer to install on my machine than the dl takes!!! I like that! The only gripe I have is that theassets seem to have a bunch of errors that need to be fixed. Oh well, just having fun learning new stuff is the way I'm looking at it! And, it is proof that you can teach and old dog new tricks, I'm 61 now, feel like 23 in mind, 90 in body, and it sure is a bitch trying to remember how I fixed something the last time!!! LOL
So, guess the real answer is, it depends on what you want to do. It not be for everyone. Enjoy the game!
 
I rarely download anything from the DLS, but when I do, it takes only a few minutes to grab Dave's latest bunch of uploads, or a route I am anxious to see, or something I need for reskinning purposes.
The way I understand it is the FCT also allows for UPLOADING easier, and that's my main concern. So, while you are questioning spending a pittance for the ability to download free content from creators like me, I actually pay a premium to UPLOAD those items for others to enjoy, (or not... it's up to the individual).:cool:
 
OK. You have convinced me. I need to buy a new FCT, unless I just want to continue with only the content I already have.
I would enjoy DLS a lot more though, if the search filters worked better. But I think the problem is CC's using inacurate (or non-english) descriptions for content. It would be great if this could be "standardized"...
Then, this is not a perfect world...

FW
 
Complete waste of money for me. I bought one about 2 years ago and was not able to download a single item! No, not one. It would simply never function for me. I could download FOC items no problem before buying a 1st Class ticket ! e-mailed Auran to ask for help, never got a reply. Complete and utter waste of my money!

Update: I've just checked and it was actually in 2009 I bought it! It cost AUD 24.99 - whatever that was in £UK at the time it was too much to get nothing more than a reciept! Needless to say, I've never bought another (in fact it put me off Trainz for quite a while as I felt I'd been ripped off when they never even replied to my enquiry)
 
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Hi numenius,

Welcome to the forums.

The reason why some users seem to have trouble with First Class Tickets is that they fail to activate it properly (by clicking Activate on the Download Tickets page), or fail to clear the Download Helper list before activating the ticket.

Shane
 
I know some people sadly have had real problems trying to get FCTs to work, but luckily the one I bought back in 2010 (the one month one) did work for me eventually. I admit at first it didn't, but after patiently reviewing threads on the subject here on the forum, and doing the recommended routine for FCTs (reset Planet Auran name and password in CMP, cleared out content download pending list in CMP, and, most importantly, shutting down CMP, Trainz and even logging out of the Forum, and then waiting a certain length of time before trying again - in my case, at least half an hour), it worked like magic, at lightning speeds too.

So yeah, I'm really puzzled why some people continue to have nothing but trouble with FCTs when for the majority of users it works for. In any event, I definitely recommend it, especially for those who want to download complete routes, and not just single items, as downloading a route on the free server can easily make you hit the 100mb limit per day very quickly otherwise.
 
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