marmalade32
Active member
if anyone bashes this i will eat the walls
Newsletter using A.I. cover
- Thread starter marmalade32
- Start date
It doesn't look like the image was generated by an AI app to me. It looks like a Trainz screenshot that was enhance using AI. Most apps like Midjourney allow you to upload an image (like a photo of yourself) and then tell the app to place the subject of the image into an AI created world. Also, many image programs like Photoshop and Luminar Neo can use AI to enhance images. AI image creation at the moment is IMHO still very crude. For example, If I ask it to create an image of a Mazda 3 automobile it will search its memory(?) for an image of a Mazda 3 that it saw during training and reproduce it almost exactly. More copy and paste than artistic skill. This is seen by asking it to draw a car crash scene where the Mazda 3 is damaged and rests on its roof. You will get a useless mess of an image because while an human artist can imagine that scene based upon their experience of having seen a crash scene before and understands 3D space enough to draw the Mazda 3 upside down and with realistic damages, the AI cannot as it has no imagination. Or at least not yet.
Remember as a child attempting to draw something that you were looking at in your room? Your mind struggled to convert the 3D image into 2D on the paper. That is the state of AI image generation at the moment.
Remember as a child attempting to draw something that you were looking at in your room? Your mind struggled to convert the 3D image into 2D on the paper. That is the state of AI image generation at the moment.
This is most definitely NOT Trainz. The rails don't even curve with the locomotive, and the locomotive is also not even curving with itself. I'm also very certain that a locomotive of this type doesn't exist. Not to mention the weird artifacting going on to the right of the boiler.
Most (all?) of the AI generated images that have made headlines over the past year or so have taken hundreds of hours of development work by the human "creator". An initial request would be typed in, an image or multiple images would be generated and returned, one mage would be selected and the request would be refined with additional or amended parameters, new images would be generated, and so on until a final satisfactory image is created and accepted. It is not yet the case that you can type in a request such as "Hey, Matisse-AI, paint me a picture of a steam train moving through a forested area" and get an instant perfect image.
One day has passed and I am still very much baffeled by the use of AI to promote a train simulator game. Trainz has issues, I have made plenty of comments of it. But what does it say to you when the devs end up useing AI to promote their game instead of useing in game screen shots? Are they not proud of their works? Do they even care about Trainz? N3V has tens of thousands of screenshots to choose from by users in the screenshot subforum. ALL OF THEM are better than that AI image since ALL OF THEM are in game screenshots to give an accurate idea of what the game looks like to someone who may actually be interested to try out Trainz. They could have at least run a screenschot contest for this campaign and select a winner for some payware vouchers.
marmalade32
Active member
also please lock this MODS
Whoever /whatever did the artwork is a pretty poor artist , as I've said before the angles are wrong , the engine is going one way and the track another .unless the engine has an articulation of some sort it's almost impossible for the boiler and cab to line up .This is most definitely NOT Trainz. The rails don't even curve with the locomotive, and the locomotive is also not even curving with itself. I'm also very certain that a locomotive of this type doesn't exist. Not to mention the weird artifacting going on to the right of the boiler.
...and I see nothing wrong with that.
I cannot agree there. Stylized images are all around us in advertising, especially those depicting luxury train travel during the 1930s and 40s. A period which, I suspect, this image would represent.
All of this is a "storm in a teacup". A lot of steam over nothing.
My opinions.
Ok let's look at this from a consumer point of view. Say I know nothing about trainz, I buy the product based on the illustration and then discover that it actually doesn't look like that in game . Wouldn't I have a legitimate claim to being duped by false advertising ? Isn't NV3 confident enough in the quality of their product to actually use a still from the game in their advertising ?
It definitely gives a very different impression regarding what the game actually looks like , very , very different to the reality. It's not as if there aren't some highly realistic screenshots that could have been used that would actually be more impressive , because as I've said before, there are some very dodgy elements in the locomotive artwork . A very curious move by nv3 , commissioning artwork would be far more expensive than using a screenie, which is why I would think this is probably generated by an A1.
It's very easy to dismiss the affects of A1 , this casual acceptance of the tech just because it's available and may save businesses costs should also be countered considering its long term affects .
Overall, I generally find it unimpressive, because A1 is ultimately devoid of the creative spirit that humans possess.
I'd rather have an average illustration executed by a person than hand it over to an A1 , for one, the person needs the work , whereas the A1 is just another creation by a big tech company whose basic objective is bottom line profits, and who are often proving to be less than considerate of the affects of their products on the overall welfare of the society in which they operate.
It definitely gives a very different impression regarding what the game actually looks like , very , very different to the reality. It's not as if there aren't some highly realistic screenshots that could have been used that would actually be more impressive , because as I've said before, there are some very dodgy elements in the locomotive artwork . A very curious move by nv3 , commissioning artwork would be far more expensive than using a screenie, which is why I would think this is probably generated by an A1.
It's very easy to dismiss the affects of A1 , this casual acceptance of the tech just because it's available and may save businesses costs should also be countered considering its long term affects .
Overall, I generally find it unimpressive, because A1 is ultimately devoid of the creative spirit that humans possess.
I'd rather have an average illustration executed by a person than hand it over to an A1 , for one, the person needs the work , whereas the A1 is just another creation by a big tech company whose basic objective is bottom line profits, and who are often proving to be less than considerate of the affects of their products on the overall welfare of the society in which they operate.
As usual , I beg to differ, your analogy doesn't hold up, the 1930s rail posters were obviously stylised illustrations that were not attempting to be realistic and they weren't advertising a game, if I went on holiday to Cornwall, I would not expect Cornwall to look like a GWR art deco poster , there is an expectation by consumers that when you buy a game, what you see is what you get.
if I sold you a jigsaw with this illustration on and then, when you opened the box and found that the illustration bore little resemblance to the one on the box lid , wouldn't you be annoyed ? Feel somewhat peeved ? It is false advertising ,as what you see is NOT what you get.
In the grand scheme of things this isn't that important , but it is an example of dubious advertising practices that could mislead some people. ,
That would be a very cowardly thing to do. If anything I would like N3V adress it directly!
hiawathamr
DLC developer for Trainz
At the end of the day its another marketing tactic in the hopes to bring in more customers...
Cheers
Cheers
blueodessey
Well-known member
Ah Sir Dan Gavel, always the Sage of Advice, and I think you hit this nail on the head. AI is not always correct despite what is preached, not anywhere Human to say the least. Beneficial for some, but not all things.
In the worst case scenario, I am dating myself again, War Games, could definitely give some pause about AI.
The Twilight Zone, Sign ahead on the Road if you pay attention, past this point ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK.....You be the judge of what is ahead for Mankind.
True, but newsletters don't always remain within groups , if one person shares this with others who do not own the game, it could be misleading, but anyway, I just checked and they are using it on the main website https://www.auran.com/
Also given the demographic, since we all know this isn't a true representation of the game then why bother to create this graphic in the first place ?
Overall, it's a weird marketing strategy , as the cheapest ways of making the newsletter look good - using some of the amazing screenshots created by our users that look photo realistic , have been ignored in favour of a pretty dodgy illustration .
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its being used on the main website https://www.auran.com/
RailPilgrim
Wannabe Driver
It would seem that all this is a storm in a teacup.
How do we even know that the image was produced by AI. To me it looks like a stylized picture that could be produced in PAINT or GIMP or some other graphic program. I didn't see anything that said it was AI. Just someone X-ing that they THOUGHT it was AI generated. No positive proof of it at all.
Surely, if one was to look back at all the box covers and Manual covers, none of them are screenshots of the actual program but MAY have been before they were 'enhanced' for marketing. This would seem to be the same.
How do we even know that the image was produced by AI. To me it looks like a stylized picture that could be produced in PAINT or GIMP or some other graphic program. I didn't see anything that said it was AI. Just someone X-ing that they THOUGHT it was AI generated. No positive proof of it at all.
Surely, if one was to look back at all the box covers and Manual covers, none of them are screenshots of the actual program but MAY have been before they were 'enhanced' for marketing. This would seem to be the same.
This is done many times to illustrate, or give context, to a message. There is nothing wrong with it morally or legally. The picture is not of a boat that is being passed as a train, which would be deceptive. As we become used to AI, more or these will appear,, especially if no illustration is available or a copyright prevents using the real picture. Use Co-Pilot to understand the jargon and the logic of AI. I have been using it to decipher the 3 & 4 letter acronyms that are used casually by knowledgeable people as they describe various AI and other computing advances. Imagine tying together some large disparate computing systems to function as one virtual computer. Fascinating, enjoy the ride.