More Content Manager Issues 3.7

[boleyd]

Right now I am trying to download a series of Ultra Rocks. First Class Ticket is valid. Getting 50kbs speed. Some items show a red bar in the download helper. Others show as obsolete in the main screen as they are downloaded. It is a total mess.

Is this database so old, and patched, that it is more of a liability than an asset? Is this a result of cleanup or the result of a change in an "over patched" system?

Killed the CM and restarted it. Most Ultra items are now marked as obsolete. There are a few with the DS designation. I tried to download and it became obsolete in place of the DS designation in the CM.

Why do I see almost all Ultra stuff as Obsolete?

I did not pay money to debug this stuff. The program is complex enough when everything is running as advertised. It is precisely that complexity of selection and operation that sets Trainz apart. If N3V intends to make the product more attractive to the gaming world (now officially a GAME) it will cost a lot of money. On its face Trainz is not an attractive product. It begins complex and continues as customers wade through routes, editors, assets(CM) and rules. When you finally get things looking and functioning as you intended, it is a very satisfying experience.

 

[RudeFX]

Many having same issue guess we all need to report to help desk and hope for fast fix.

RudeFX

 

[clam1952]

Nothing to do with 3.7 or SP1, it's the same in 49922 and 2010. Look at the server graph http://www.auran.com/planetauran/FTP_Status_Log.php I'm pretty sure that they are well aware there is a problem by now, although the silence is deafening.

 

[nfitzsimmons]

I've been getting the red bar issue for about a week. I wait until everything else downloads, highlight all the the red barred stuff and display in all in the main window. Exit from CMP, restart it, drag the stuff back into the download window and try again. Sometimes it takes two or three attemptsw, but eventually everything downloads. But sort of a PITA.

 

[boleyd]

Look, the CM thing has been around for a long time. It is probably safe to assume it has had many patches. That makes a mess. Recompiling does not remove the logical condition traps some clever changes create. At some point N3V needs to go to the bank and convince them to lend them the funds to do a proper upgrade of the graphics and the database. Even with the right financing a proper upgrade will take a long time. In the meantime the old junk has to be supported.

All that is pure speculation. Given the lack of candid interaction, the game companies have adopted, that is a good as anything else. Every attempt at change brings about some debacle which is usually an indication of messy, patched software. Assuming a dedicated staff, can you imagine what it is like to work there. Every time they try to fix something, or make process changes, there are a bunch of new problems. Unless the staff is incompetent you can't blame them. I see no way they can fix the current problems, and also keep fixing all the problems of the future.

I do not know where they are getting sustaining revenue to keep the trains running. Any new customer who checks the forums has a chance of walking away. Are they just grinding the product into the ground while avoiding the high cost of a proper fix? Who knows, but right now things ain't gettin no better.

 

[Vern]

It must be about three days now since the DLS went wonky. Normally it is sorted on the first working day so an explanation from N3V as to what is going wrong would be helpful, if only to re-assure their *customers* the whole operation isn't about to go belly up. Some sort of extension on the FCT's wouldn't go amiss if it just turns out to be an extended technical problem. Maybe the heatwave in the USA is affecting the area where the servers are located?

In the meantime I have reverted to TS2009 - plenty of built in content to keep me going, can use the older trees and foliage without them looking transparent and - best of all - I control what the draw distance does!