Hi Barry,
Greetings from the other side of the world. I'm 72 years young and middle aged really. You tend to get these senior moments now and again when you are all sixes and sevens. They blow away and there is a special satisfaction at our age when you know you can still create something that others can't. Just remember that while there may be 280,000+ Trainzers, only 3,000 or so use the forum actively. And many less are that special breed that make those magnificent trains and the virtual environment we call Trainz in which they remind us of the good old days.
I've enjoyed your contributions and creations for many years now. As an ex-Brit living in New Zealand I dont get overseas as much as I used to when in the Air Force. Trainz is a fascinating program,mindblowing one minute then frustrating the next. Never a dull moment. But it is people like you who think outside the square that push the boat out (pun intended). Some people seem to have forgotten that the future of Trainz at one time was to be an all embracing TRANSPORTATION system. How would trains have fared as a transporter if they couldn't transfer their passengers and cargo to ships, barges, planes, trucks, even rickshaws. I'm sure that much of the produce from NZ travels by multiple transportation modes.
Back to your creations. I lived by the River Thames and have many good memories of things called bridle paths and locks. Horses were used on roads to pull the brewery wagon and deliver milk, and by the river and canals those magnificent animals towed the barges. I always felt a twinge of regret when passing some of the canals that had fallen into disuse and neglect that more use wasn't made of them. With the price of petrol these days who knows how we will get our produce to market. Similarly, I travelled on many of the named steam trains as a youngster, and was invited into the cab by the friendly engine driver to gaze in awe at this fantastic machine. It's people like you that keep our memories alive.
I've got another fifty years or so to go before I leave this mortal coil and I hope that I'll still be enjoying Trainz then. I shall certainly still be enjoying your present and past creations, and I look forward to your future endeavours.
Hello Ian nice reading interesting posts on the forum. Its a pity that transportation got lost in the mists somewhere with the two seperate branches of Trainz that were planned originally. Although the wheel seems to have turned partly full circle now with trainz getting divided into the scenery creators and the train driving specialists, etc in the 2009/10 versions.
The appeal with trainz for me has been the scenery part and later creating content then developing into historical type sceneries. Canals would open up all the UK stretching over many 100s of miles and for my era of interest is probably the time before trains and horse drawn transport (just easier that way as regards content making).
However with the changes in trainz versions I seemed to get scuppered with one thing and another and abandoned the idea.
I thought classics would be the last type of series but maybe 2009/10 versions will fix what can be done more permanently with file types and what will work and what will not.
Regarding canals they could also be included simultaneously into the steam train era but for me that would be too complex but nice if others worked on the idea. Whether I ever upload to the DS again though is perhaps doubtful using tc3, with the changing demands and quality of future content required.
Nice chatting and thanks
Barry
