I've joined the dark side (TRS22) - My Thoughts

[Smileyman]

My girlfriend offered to get me TRS22, as a present, and it's nowhere near my birthday, but I resisted...for a few days.

I've said recently that there were a couple of things that would make me consider getting TRS22.
These were:

Updated EIT and MCM assets
Mainly just for stability and possibly extra features.
The problem is, with all the paths I've entered into many Towers, and all the Mission Codes I've set up so far, I haven't been brave enough to update to the TRS22 versions.
Is there no way of transferring all that data over?

A Layers pane that stayed visible
This is something I've wanted for so long in Trainz.
For me, there is nothing more irritating in Trainz that having to open the tab to change layers, and then re-open the previous tab to carry on with what you were doing, then re-open the layers tab to change layers, etc.
Ugghh.
So, it's great to have the layers tab in view, but...I find the whole Surveyor 2 UI to be a bit cluttered, messy, so I'm not really happy about the layers pane.
I think it's the collapsible categories.
It makes it just too wordy for muscle memory to grasp, at least for now.

Bug fixes
When I came back to Trainz about a month ago, I couldn't believe that the bug with the cabin_muffle tag was still there in TRS19.
If you went into the cab using the number buttons, the muffle didn't work, and you were treated to the full volume of the engine, but if you went into the cab from another cab, using Ctrl+- and Ctrl+=, the muffle worked...until you went outside for a nice exterior view and then went back in, where you had to switch to another cab and then back just to get it working.
To think that I had to upgrade to get a fix for something so simple that didn't get fixed in 5 service packs for TRS19.

So, I now have TRS22, and I have some compliments and some gripes.

The Good
There are a lot of good features in Surveyor 2.
The scrapbook is excellent. I can see me using this extensively.
I also really like the fact that you can select multiple things and move them all at the same time.
Moveable windows so we can put things were we want them (welcome to the 21st Century N3V!)
And a few other things that I can't remember right now, I'm sure.

The Bad
Let's start with the compass!
Was it really necessary to have the compass directions so small and white, without any black outline to help when working over light-coloured terrain?
That wouldn't have been so bad if they'd used different coloured lines for each direction, so that even if the letters themselves were hardly visible, we could have worked out which way North was by the colour of the line (like in TRS19).
Form over function.

Also, not having collapsible windows for all the tools means endless scrolling looking for the right section.
And why do we have two lists of assets?
Genuine question.
I know they can be used together for asset replacement, but that's about it.
It's like having a Content Manager window open, filtering, and then having to open another Content Manager window to see the results.
Why not just have the filtering above the asset list?
Needless waste of screen real estate.

On the subject of asset replacement...mass replacement of objects is a feature that has been part of Trainz for a long time, now gone (except for a certain area around you)....unless you have Trainz Plus. (Have I got that right?)

Also, the location bookmarks are gone.
These things are a Godsend.
They still seem to be in the classic Surveyor (haven't checked if they work) but not in S2.
Apparently, and I think it was Tony who said this in another thread, there is going to be another way to zoom from location to location using a different method, coming soon...to Trainz Plus.
Maybe it's already happened. Can't remember the date of that post.

So that's 2 features that have almost always been in Trainz, taken out and put back in behind the subscription paywall.
Couldn't make this stuff up.
Correct me if I'm wrong (seriously, do. I'm still working my way through the game.)

BR Class 47, which came with a route that came with the game, is a very nice update, with a nice cab.
The 47 is one of my favourite locos, and one of the reasons that I accepted the gift of TRS22...but the engine sounds are sooo quiet.
I'm going to look at the engine asset for it, and up the volume on the wavs, but it's a packaged file, so who knows what errors I'll encounter.

The UGLY!
Surveyor 2, whichever mode you're in, is so sluggish and choppy!
I don't know why (well, I do).
It's not a hardware thing, as my GPU and CPU don't touch more than 50% and stay cool during driving tests of the built-in routes, and I have 32gb of very fast Ram and an M.2 SSD drive that has over a TB of space on it, and is top speed too. And TRS22 is installed on the root drive, so that's not it.
Surveyor in TRS19 was as smooth as a peach, no matter how much was on the screen.

Of course, putting Vsync on half fixed it mostly, but that limits me to 30fps (no thanks), and disabling Vsync alone meant over 200fps (I don't want that) with massive tearing.
The answer, for anyone experiencing the same thing, is to disable Vsync and get RivaTuner to limit the fps and also RivaTuner to fix the tearing using their excellent sync scanline feature.
Surveyor then runs smoothly, but it's one of only a few games that I've had to do this to over the years.

THE QUESTION
I have to ask.
After all the hype, the UDS leaves me cold.
Maybe it's because I haven't got the hang of it yet, or maybe it's because it doesn't do what I expected it to do.
To put it short (after this looong post, I know), what I need to do, often, is to test why the AI isn't doing what I expect it to do, and I'm sure that most of you do the same, often.
I was doing this today, trying to work out why the EIT and MCM didn't let the driver of a train into one of my stations.
Turns out it was 50% me, and 50% MCM having a burp.
But to test all this, to find the answer, I had to change the rule in the session and take a look at it again, and again, and again, until I finally worked out what it was.

I thought that I would be able to change the session, test it, change it again, test it again, without having to go back to the menu and reload the session. That's what the hype was about, wasn't it?

Am I missing something?
Again, genuine question.
I know that there's a way to reset the rules in a session, but
'is there a way to reset everything, so it's like you just loaded it'? <--- At last, the question!

From my experience, it seems like there's no way to just restart the session from within S2.
I even found a post from someone saying the same thing, although that might have been an old post, and it's something you can do now. I don't know.

I'm hoping I've missed something, otherwise to test my AI problems, I have to exit to menu, reload, change the session, try it out, and repeat, just like in TRS19, which would make UDS pretty pointless for me, and nothing more than an unfinished proof-of-concept.

Well done if you got this far.
Now I'd like to talk about.........only kidding.

Have a good one!

 

[ajrf]

For VSync there's a "fast" mode that erases the tearing (if you have a Nvidia card).

 

[JimDep]

My girlfriend offered to get me TRS22, as a present, and it's nowhere near my birthday, but I resisted...for a few days.

I've said recently that there were a couple of things that would make me consider getting TRS22.
These were:

Updated EIT and MCM assets
Mainly just for stability and possibly extra features.
The problem is, with all the paths I've entered into many Towers, and all the Mission Codes I've set up so far, I haven't been brave enough to update to the TRS22 versions.
Is there no way of transferring all that data over?

A Layers pane that stayed visible
This is something I've wanted for so long in Trainz.
For me, there is nothing more irritating in Trainz that having to open the tab to change layers, and then re-open the previous tab to carry on with what you were doing, then re-open the layers tab to change layers, etc.
Ugghh.
So, it's great to have the layers tab in view, but...I find the whole Surveyor 2 UI to be a bit cluttered, messy, so I'm not really happy about the layers pane.
I think it's the collapsible categories.
It makes it just too wordy for muscle memory to grasp, at least for now.

Bug fixes
When I came back to Trainz about a month ago, I couldn't believe that the bug with the cabin_muffle tag was still there in TRS19.
If you went into the cab using the number buttons, the muffle didn't work, and you were treated to the full volume of the engine, but if you went into the cab from another cab, using Ctrl+- and Ctrl+=, the muffle worked...until you went outside for a nice exterior view and then went back in, where you had to switch to another cab and then back just to get it working.
To think that I had to upgrade to get a fix for something so simple that didn't get fixed in 5 service packs for TRS19.

So, I now have TRS22, and I have some compliments and some gripes.

The Good
There are a lot of good features in Surveyor 2.
The scrapbook is excellent. I can see me using this extensively.
I also really like the fact that you can select multiple things and move them all at the same time.
Moveable windows so we can put things were we want them (welcome to the 21st Century N3V!)
And a few other things that I can't remember right now, I'm sure.

The Bad
Let's start with the compass!
Was it really necessary to have the compass directions so small and white, without any black outline to help when working over light-coloured terrain?
That wouldn't have been so bad if they'd used different coloured lines for each direction, so that even if the letters themselves were hardly visible, we could have worked out which way North was by the colour of the line (like in TRS19).
Form over function.

Also, not having collapsible windows for all the tools means endless scrolling looking for the right section.
And why do we have two lists of assets?
Genuine question.
I know they can be used together for asset replacement, but that's about it.
It's like having a Content Manager window open, filtering, and then having to open another Content Manager window to see the results.
Why not just have the filtering above the asset list?
Needless waste of screen real estate.

On the subject of asset replacement...mass replacement of objects is a feature that has been part of Trainz for a long time, now gone (except for a certain area around you)....unless you have Trainz Plus. (Have I got that right?)

Also, the location bookmarks are gone.
These things are a Godsend.
They still seem to be in the classic Surveyor (haven't checked if they work) but not in S2.
Apparently, and I think it was Tony who said this in another thread, there is going to be another way to zoom from location to location using a different method, coming soon...to Trainz Plus.
Maybe it's already happened. Can't remember the date of that post.

So that's 2 features that have almost always been in Trainz, taken out and put back in behind the subscription paywall.
Couldn't make this stuff up.
Correct me if I'm wrong (seriously, do. I'm still working my way through the game.)

BR Class 47, which came with a route that came with the game, is a very nice update, with a nice cab.
The 47 is one of my favourite locos, and one of the reasons that I accepted the gift of TRS22...but the engine sounds are sooo quiet.
I'm going to look at the engine asset for it, and up the volume on the wavs, but it's a packaged file, so who knows what errors I'll encounter.

The UGLY!
Surveyor 2, whichever mode you're in, is so sluggish and choppy!
I don't know why (well, I do).
It's not a hardware thing, as my GPU and CPU don't touch more than 50% and stay cool during driving tests of the built-in routes, and I have 32gb of very fast Ram and an M.2 SSD drive that has over a TB of space on it, and is top speed too. And TRS22 is installed on the root drive, so that's not it.
Surveyor in TRS19 was as smooth as a peach, no matter how much was on the screen.

Of course, putting Vsync on half fixed it mostly, but that limits me to 30fps (no thanks), and disabling Vsync alone meant over 200fps (I don't want that) with massive tearing.
The answer, for anyone experiencing the same thing, is to disable Vsync and get RivaTuner to limit the fps and also RivaTuner to fix the tearing using their excellent sync scanline feature.
Surveyor then runs smoothly, but it's one of only a few games that I've had to do this to over the years.

THE QUESTION
I have to ask.
After all the hype, the UDS leaves me cold.
Maybe it's because I haven't got the hang of it yet, or maybe it's because it doesn't do what I expected it to do.
To put it short (after this looong post, I know), what I need to do, often, is to test why the AI isn't doing what I expect it to do, and I'm sure that most of you do the same, often.
I was doing this today, trying to work out why the EIT and MCM didn't let the driver of a train into one of my stations.
Turns out it was 50% me, and 50% MCM having a burp.
But to test all this, to find the answer, I had to change the rule in the session and take a look at it again, and again, and again, until I finally worked out what it was.

I thought that I would be able to change the session, test it, change it again, test it again, without having to go back to the menu and reload the session. That's what the hype was about, wasn't it?

Am I missing something?
Again, genuine question.
I know that there's a way to reset the rules in a session, but
'is there a way to reset everything, so it's like you just loaded it'? <--- At last, the question!

From my experience, it seems like there's no way to just restart the session from within S2.
I even found a post from someone saying the same thing, although that might have been an old post, and it's something you can do now. I don't know.

I'm hoping I've missed something, otherwise to test my AI problems, I have to exit to menu, reload, change the session, try it out, and repeat, just like in TRS19, which would make UDS pretty pointless for me, and nothing more than an unfinished proof-of-concept.

Well done if you got this far.
Now I'd like to talk about.........only kidding.

Have a good one!

You should marry her.

 

[Smileyman]

You should marry her.

Shhh!

 

[JimDep]

Shhh!

Sorry, pal. I didn't even think that she might read these forums !

 

[KotangaGirl]

I've never used UDS. Far too confusing to use and great for losing anything you've done in surveyor if you save in the wrong place which is really easy to do.

 

[pware]

I've never used UDS. Far too confusing to use and great for losing anything you've done in surveyor if you save in the wrong place which is really easy to do.

Like all new things there is a learning curve. I find the UDS, which first appeared in TRS19PE, to be a very useful and frequently used "debugging" tool when testing sessions. Its ability to stop a session at any point, fix a problem, and then continue on from that point has saved me countless hours.

Before the UDS if you noticed an issue with a session then you had to drop out of Driver back to the main menu screen, thus losing your current "state of play", load the route and session into Surveyor, fix the issue, save, exit Surveyor and then restart the session in Driver, from the very beginning. A bit tough if you were 3 hours into a 4+ hour session. If the problem was with the route only - e.g. a tree blocking the tracks - you could ignore it, continue on and come back to fix it later (if you could remember exactly where the issue was). From experience a problem with the session may not be as easy to ignore.

The main rule with the UDS is that all rolling stock has to be in a session, not in the route. I appreciate that this is not everyone's way of working but that is the way I have always worked. It allows me to create multiple sessions, each with different rolling stock or the same rolling stock in different configurations and/or positions.

As for saving things in the wrong place (route or session layer) that has been an issue since layers were first introduced into Trainz. My tactic there is to lock the layers that you are not editing. So if I am in the UDS to repair a session issue, I hit the Lock Route Layers button before I start any editing. If it is a route layer that need editing, I lock the session layers (alas, there is no single button for that).

Prior to Surveyor 2.0 you could not tell which layer is the active layer, where new assets will be automatically added, without having to open the Layers Tool which stopped you using the other tools. In S20 the Layers Palette, which is normally always open without stopping other tools from working, displays that information on the screen. Not a perfect solution but it is similar to other programs I use where I sometimes add objects to the wrong layer or wonder why something is not being deleted.

My thoughts and observations.

 

[pware]

Let's start with the compass!

I recall the arguments over the size, shape and design of the compass. A few years back a user created and submitted a design that was a real "work of art", a wonder to behold. The users response was very negative, too big, too "ornate", so N3V settled on the minimalist and unimaginative (IMHO) design we now have. It is functional but your point about the legibility of the compass letters is a valid one. Perhaps a dark/black outline or background around the white letters?

I know they can be used together for asset replacement, but that's about it.
It's like having a Content Manager window open, filtering, and then having to open another Content Manager window to see the results.

I find the Filter Palette, by itself, to be very useful. It allows you to restrict the assets you can select in a scene to specific types. See the Trainz Wiki at How_to_Use_S20_Palettes#The_Filter_Palette. Used with the Assets Palette searching and selecting become even easier. I use the Filter Palette docked above the Assets Palette and both undocked from the side panels.

Also, the location bookmarks are gone.
These things are a Godsend.
They still seem to be in the classic Surveyor (haven't checked if they work) but not in S2.

I am 50/50 on that issue. I did use the bookmarks in the earlier versions of Trainz and they were useful but, for some reason, my use of them trailed off before they disappeared in S20. I cannot say that I really miss them.

 

[KotangaGirl]

Like all new things there is a learning curve. I find the UDS, which first appeared in TRS19PE, to be a very useful and frequently used "debugging" tool when testing sessions. Its ability to stop a session at any point, fix a problem, and then continue on from that point has saved me countless hours.

Yes I know, that was the context UDS was sold under. Developing severe type 1 narcolepsy messed up some of the cognitive processes in my brain so I find that UDS has too many steps to remember and be aware of. From comments at the time when UDS was released there seem to be plenty of others who were having much the same trouble with it.
I know how to manage layers in sessions and in the route when working in Classic Surveyor so that's all I need. And yes I do know how frustrating it can be to have to start off a session from scratch again after making repairs and adjustments, but at least I know I'm not going to break anything else along the way.

I recall the arguments over the size, shape and design of the compass. A few years back a user created and submitted a design that was a real "work of art", a wonder to behold.

It's still there in TRS19 and I love it. The minimalist horror that N3V replaced it with in TRS22 is an abomination.

 

[OddRails]

I like the minimalist compass design better than the artsy version.
But it would be nice if at least north would be more visible. If the north segment was a seperate color from the other three directions one wouldn't have to read the letters. But perhaps one might want to see what colors would work with color blind folks. I'm not afflicted, but my father was.

I like UDS, but never use it on a session that has value to me.
Thanks @pware, it isn't unusual for me to have trains in the route and session layers, especially on a new route. I'll pay more attention to that.

 

[jaredvazquez012]

I've used UDS quite extensively while I was testing out the sessions I created for my Plains Forest Overhaul route, and I found it to be incredibly useful to find whatever I needed to fix in the sessions, but I do understand how daunting it seems to use as that was my experience with it after purchasing TRS22PE back in December 2023. I will admit, after I purchased TRS19PE a few months ago just to look at the tree branches moving in the wind again (and eventually for running trains on routes developed on TANE and TRS19 that no longer perform well with the SP6 patch for TRS22PE), I kind of like how its compass looks, though I don't mind the minimalist one TRS22 has.

 

[jd_james]

I recently built a whole new computer and got TRS22 on a recent steam sale after being on TANE all these years. Honestly, I don't really see any significant upgrade other than slightly better graphics. The one bug that is still on TRS22 that goes back since at least TRS09 is the random cutting in and out of tracksounds. Quite frankly I find it unacceptable that this 15 year old bug has not been fixed. TRS22 is all eye candy and new paint over the wall full of cracks.

 

[Smileyman]

The one bug that is still on TRS22 that goes back since at least TRS09 is the random cutting in and out of tracksounds. Quite frankly I find it unacceptable that this 15 year old bug has not been fixed.

Yeah, as pleased as I was that the cabin muffle bug had been fixed, it did irk me to find that engine sounds still cut out for a fraction of a second every now and then.
Not as often, I think, but it's still there.

TRS22 is all eye candy and new paint over the wall full of cracks.

Yep, pretty much.
There are some good new ideas in there, which probably came from the community via suggestions, but the whole thing is trying to look professional, but without professional attention given to the basic things that should have been fixed a long time ago.

While some things are very useful, like the scrapbook and multi-select/copy/duplicate, too many things now take more clicks to get done.
For instance, unless I'm missing something (and I could be), having finished laying the track for a branch-line and a few stations, I set up EIT and MCM to control all the entries and exits of said area.
Setting up the paths for Enhanced Interlocking Towers changes the default directions for the junctions.
That's not a problem.
I like to have the default directions of all my junctions set so that they keep the trains on the mainlines, and one of my favourite things to do after setting up a large amount of paths is run around Surveyor, with the 'change junction direction' button selected, clicking the junctions if needed as I run up and down the newly-pathed track. It's fun and satisfying.

So, as far as I can tell, in Surveyor 2 I would have to select every junction I want to change, right-click, and select one of the menu options to change the direction, and then look for the next junction to change and do it all again.
The method I mention above that I've used for years I do all in one smooth move, zoomed in close to the track like I'm riding a train, quickly deciding if I need to change the junction or not, clicking it if I do, whilst still moving down the line scanning for the next junction.

I'm afraid there is an element of 'The Emperor's New Clothes' about TRS22.
Some people blanket-defend TRS22/S2 either because they have a financial investment in TRS22 or Trainz in general, or because they've invested a lot of time and money into it, and are embarrassed to admit that it's not that great.
I prefer to listen to the people on these forums who, like me, are quick to point out and give credit to the good points of TRS22, and aren't afraid to say what needs to be said when it comes to it's problems.
Sycophancy does not make software better. It just gets in the way and muddies the water.

Finally, I feel that those in charge of the decision-making at N3V are focusing on areas that I personally don't see as important (or at least they have from TRS2019 to TRS2022).
After 20+ years, we should have AI that just drives and obeys signals and speed, and nothing more, and a 'fat' controller who takes charge of all the pathing.
We should also have sound that emulates loco engines without cutting out, and sounds like it's accelerating when at higher speeds, rather than just staying at the same tone once it reaches a certain point (I often have to check my speed to make sure I'm accelerating because the sound isn't making it seem like it).

PBR textures, clutter FX, HD terrain, etc., etc., all very well, but fix the game first.
Let's not pretend that TRS22/Trainz Plus is the 'be all and end all'.
It's lacking intuitive design, and still suffering from legacy bugs that should've have been squashed a looong time ago.

And while we're at it, poly-counts and LODs should be enforced not just advised, and older content should only be able to be used in a secondary 'legacy' mode, where warnings are given about the poor performance it could cause. That's the only way this game will be able to move on to a 'new era'.

Over the last few days, I've spent most of my Trainz time in Classic Surveyor mode, only popping into S2 mode for the occasional useful, but clumsily-designed feature, and then it's straight back into classic where things are much more productive.

Oh, and Arsenal are in the Champion's League final and are top of the Premier League....just saying!

 

[johnarran]

For instance, unless I'm missing something (and I could be), having finished laying the track for a branch-line and a few stations, I set up EIT and MCM to control all the entries and exits of said area.
Setting up the paths for Enhanced Interlocking Towers changes the default directions for the junctions.
That's not a problem.
I like to have the default directions of all my junctions set so that they keep the trains on the mainlines, and one of my favourite things to do after setting up a large amount of paths is run around Surveyor, with the 'change junction direction' button selected, clicking the junctions if needed as I run up and down the newly-pathed track. It's fun and satisfying.

So, as far as I can tell, in Surveyor 2 I would have to select every junction I want to change, right-click, and select one of the menu options to change the direction, and then look for the next junction to change and do it all again.

There is an option with EIT to reset the junctions back to their default positions. Also make sure to set up your EITs in a session and beware of using UDS as it changes the session status flag. I have a base EIT session with all paths set the way I want them and then use this base session as a starting point for all other sessions.

ITs have been out for a long time now yet it takes a 3rd party to improve them. Hats off to Pierre Thumbs down to N$V.

 

[Smileyman]

Yeah, I have it set to reset the junctions to their original positions when the path completes.
I think that's what you were saying.

What I was talking about was that the act of setting up the paths in the towers sets the junctions to the direction that the path uses, and after setting up several paths, the default directions of the junctions are not what they were when I went into the tower.
Like I said though, that's not a problem, as in Classic Surveyor it's a breeze to set the defaults to what I want them.
Unless you mean there's an option in IETs to not change the defaults while setting up paths?

ITs have been out for a long time now yet it takes a 3rd party to improve them. Hats off to Pierre Thumbs down to N$V.

Definitely!
For me, having AI trains driving reliably with EITs and MCM making sure that everything works is a game-changer.
It's easily my favourite thing about Trainz, and it's something I've wanted from the beginning.
I currently have about 10-11 trains testing different areas of one part of my route, and each train doing what it should.
And when I move on to another area nearby to check the work I've just done with EITs and MCM, and I throw a couple of trains there to test it out, they sometimes interact with the trains I've already set up, and it's amazing to watch them sort themselves out without any problems.
(I had 6 trains waiting to leave Newport Station and 3 waiting to come in as a test the other day, and enjoyed a few minutes just watching as Pierre's system flawlessly sorted them all out).

Pierre, you're a star!

 

[hiawathamr]

You'll soon have another dark side to join - TRS2026 when it comes out later this year (according to N3V anyway)
It'll be an interesting version if what they're sharing are finished from start to end.

cheers

 

[Smileyman]

You'll soon have another dark side to join - TRS2026 when it comes out later this year (according to N3V anyway)
It'll be an interesting version if what they're sharing are finished from start to end.

cheers

I thought that was just a myth.
In the month I've been back, I've seen a post where someone mentioned TRS2026 as a thing, and another post in a different thread (maybe a different forum) saying that it's not true and never going to happen.

Did N3V announce such a thing?

 

[hiawathamr]

I will be hontest, we don't know exactly if it'll be called TRS26 or if it'll be TRS27 but according to a teaser that N3V shared on the 12/23/2025 newsletter, it listed TRS26 which most of us are assuming it'll be released sometime this year.
Here is a link to a pic of it if you didn't received the newsletter - https://forums.auran.com/threads/tainz-railroad-simulator-2026.182914/post-2073175

I like to say, it'll come soon(TM)

cheers

 

[derznovich]

I will be hontest, we don't know exactly if it'll be called TRS26 or if it'll be TRS27 but according to a teaser that N3V shared on the 12/23/2025 newsletter, it listed TRS26 which most of us are assuming it'll be released sometime this year.
Here is a link to a pic of it if you didn't received the newsletter - https://forums.auran.com/threads/tainz-railroad-simulator-2026.182914/post-2073175

I like to say, it'll come soon(TM)

cheers

I'm generally excited about many of the new features. I'm a big fan of Trainz22, Surveyor2, and I used HD terrain on my Wallace Branch. But one surprising thing the newsletter doesn't mention is whether the big terrain gap between HD and non-HD terrain would be addressed. I wonder if nobody ever gave them any feedback on that.

 

[Smileyman]

Thanks for the link to the newsletter image.
Interesting thread to read too.

There's nothing in that list that grabs me unfortunately.
It seems N3V still seem obsessed on making everything look pretty.
I think they fell so far behind in terms of visuals, not just in Train-Sims but in general software development, that they are now full speed ahead on adding visuals that should have been in the game many years ago (Look how long it took before we got rid of vertex lighting!).

Is there no-one at N3V that says "Let's get the game running well, and fix the bugs that have been annoying people for years first, and then concentrate on visuals!".
No, of course there isn't.
Just fixing bugs would be seen more as a service pack by the community, wouldn't sell well, and wouldn't make them a profit, so I understand why they can't just do that.
But they've gone too far the other way.
It should be split down the middle, fixing long-standing bugs and adding new features/content.

Instead, we get all these fancy bells and whistles, and still suffer with engine sounds cutting out, a ridiculously poor AI system, terrible night driving because of limitations on splines that have been there for years, etc.
And who thought those animated driver avatars was a good idea???????
I mean, talk about a completely pointless waste of time and money!
What exactly do they add to the game?

Luckily I'm the sort of person that doesn't need to have the latest version of a game.
I can quite happily wait months or even years to see if a game has problems or is disappointing, or if it really shines in some areas.
So I can wait and watch, and decide over time if it's for me.

Forward+ lighting is a good thing, but most of the 'new' features are not for me (TLR, HDRI skybox, Derailment Physics, New UI )

And then I read a couple of things on that list that made me laugh out loud purely because it sums up their obsessive beautification of a game badly in need of fixing:
Glass Refraction!
Heat Haze Refraction!

You know, many's the time I've been playing Trainz, and I've thought to myself "There's something missing from this sim. It just doesn't do it for me. Something's not right.....Wait! I know what it is! Refraction! That's what it needs!!!".

Yes, those effects are all lovely, and when I'm playing GTA, Transport Fever 2, or a multitude of other games then I think "Yeah! Nice touch!".
But if that game wasn't working as well as it should, then I wouldn't care about that effect.
These things should be the icing on the cake, not the main sponge, especially where a simulation is concerned!

And if a comment by someone on their YouTube video is true, implying that N3V intend to remove Classic Surveyor from Trainz at some point, and that 'some point' ends up being TRS2026, then it's a no from me.
Even if I get used to using S2, which I will, there are still several areas that Classic Surveyor does better; more efficiently; more intuitively, and forcing me to do something the long way round is not a great sales pitch.

I think it comes down to very few people at N3V (if any) actively using Trainz every day as a hobby.
Some of the decisions made make me think that some of them have never played Trainz at all.

{rant} {rant} {rant}