How can I rekindle my interest?

Lewisner: Maybe you first need to answer this question. "What has caused me to loose interest in Trainz?" Looks like you have been around since the beginning of Trainz, which according to all our profiles, was 9 Nov 2006. Just kidding! I know I joined sometime in the last half of 2004 and many have been around a lot longer than that. And many of have come and gone since the original Trainz releases for a number of reasons. I have also been struggling with a loss of interest in Trainz since the post-2006 era. I love trains and once thought I'd build a 20x20 ft HO scale railroad. I drew the plan for it in 1980 and the room for it in 1998. I have acquired sever hundred items of rolling stock and HO scale vehicles, etc., since the 1970's. But, the cost and time of building such a large layout finally sunk in so my greatest accomplishment so far has been a 4x8 ft test layout. And, my wife took over my 20x20 ft room. So, I was really excited when I discovered TRS-2004 and could build a layout of any size I chose with little concern for cost. Then, along came the new and improved TRS-2006 that was advertised as the savior of the world but never lived up to the hype. Auran became N3V, 2006 was scrapped, and along came the new saviors of the world in the 2009-12 series. Every new release has had numerous problems and the "great creator's" solution is always to abandon the old versions and release another new version with more problems. That for me has been why my interest in Trainz is waning. Problems don't get fixed they just get abandoned and replaced with new problems. Most of my content and routes are in TRS-2006. 2006 works well for me even with its defects. A year ago I bought TS-2010. Three or four months ago I actually installed it. So far I've not gotten it to work well. I've installed it and the patches twice, run many EDR's, have had a ticket into N3V for a while now with no response, and am debating whether to simply back it up to a backup device and delete it. I'm not going to detail my 2010 problems here because there is a post on the TS-2010 section of the Forums detailing those. Right now I'm using TS-2010 to test new content for errors. If I like it I then backdate it to 2006 and install it in 2006. Now with TS-2012 and the new indexed meshes that cannot be backdated to 2006 it looks like the end of backdating is near. So, for me anyhow, my loss of interest can be attributed to increasing frustration. We spend so much time dealing with technical problems in Trainz that we fail to/cannot enjoy the product. And, there is more to life than Trainz (and technology, smart phones, etc.).

Well, got to go now. My wife is bugging to get the car loaded so we can go to my grandsons soccer games. Now, that too is more important than Trainz.
 
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I think it's important to have some end product to show for the work you put in. Many people, myself included, work away on various layouts that never seem to reach completion and you end up wondering what the point is. I too was beginning to lose interest earlier this year: over six years in Trainz and never uploaded or finished anything. Then I got inspired by Razor's small board layouts, enjoyed creating something containable and compact and ultimately uploaded my first route to the DLS. Working on this route also got me into serious texture editing and revision for the first time, so I've managed some further uploads. This experience has rejuvenated my interest in Trainz - there's nothing like seeing an end product for your hard work to maintain your enthusiasm for the game!

Paul
 
It is a problem that can hit anyone in any hobby lewisner and this came up a long time back and i put my bit in. When I decided to have a go at my first project (still to upload) it involved a whole tramway that was long closed and ran for nearly 140 mile around my home city and suburbs. From the start, i never envisaged doing it all bt i did even if it did take me nearly theree years! What I discoverd was that in building you culd hammer away for ages then get wearied and it was at such times i nearly threw the towel in. After that I in my case, split the city into different areas and worked more slowly but after bashing away and getting tired, I would leave it off for a while and then decide to do another quarter. This way I found i didn't get over-kill. Then iI mentioned a regular trainzer who had admitted starting and never fisnishing a project (no names!) so that spurred me on.

WhenIi had a break for a week or two I did have to keep it in the back of my mind because at such breaks then you can just stop. In the end I got there with break after break as I wanted a permanent recrod of the great system my city here in Glasgow once had in it's tramway. Okay,i t doesn't and will not work for everyone but off and on worked for me so just my thoughts.
 
Actually Ed (Euphod) sums up the very reason to use Trainz. It's an escape from the every day ills and other rotten things that can make our lives miserable. Right now I'm going through one of those myself. I almost lost my job last week because I've been sick and went in late. I an now on disability which I find demoralizing, not because it's something that only lazy people do, but for me it's because it'll be the first time I've actually gave in to something that's been bothering me for almost a decade! This bloody PD got me instead of me keeping control of it! Last week my manager was going to fire me! When I got home last Thursday, the first thing I did was to fire up Trainz and work on my Gloucester Electric Terminal Railroad. I stewed for awhile while I placed some new trolley poles. Thank you Paul for making those awesome poles and wires! After awhile I forgot about work as I continued for another 3 hours placing my trolley poles. Eventually I replaced a few older, TRS2004 or earlier buildings with new ones, and even added another line side industry while I was at it.

Now Lewis. I do understand what you are going through, though. I've been there myself as I said. Try dipping your toe into the Trainz puddle a little bit at a time with small projects and see what happens. I find that working on my big route of nearly 150 miles gets to be a drag as I slog down the track, signals, and landscaping. All of this goes on for mile after mile with almost no let up. The little project like this rebuild to be the best thing I could do right now.

John
 
Actually Ed (Euphod) sums up the very reason to use Trainz. It's an escape from the every day ills and other rotten things that can make our lives miserable.

Exactly right! I'm sorry for the troubles you are going through John, and I know how they can beat you down. Everyone has their own burden to shoulder, and I find that Trainz is a great way to set it down for awhile. If my only problem was lack of motivation in a hobby, then I would consider myself very blessed indeed!;)
 
Well I find Trainz a brilliant, well, find! When I first came aacross it by accident I realised that a non-tech like me could actually create routes and projects based on the real thing. When I am on occasion a bit poorly I pop into the computer room and vanish into my wee world. Relaxing as well as challenging. Even friends tend to ask how my present project is coming along. One day after a morning and afternoon all day on the Bench in Court, I felt a bit drained on getting home. No meetings that night so into Trainz and was as happy as Larry. This keeps my grey cells active and is a great tonic all round!
 
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