Point is, when I get it, I will buy it. Still, 70$ is a lot, especially when Tony's argument is more builtin, part of which is actually freeware. The Niddertalbahn for example was never intended to generate cash and never did so for the original creators. If there were anything that made this release REALLY special except for some more fancy graphics like at any release, such as the multiplayer surveyor, I wouldn't have a problem. The whole subscription idea was for the multiplayer suveyor. Now it's being rolled out without it. Just a wild guess, but could that whole surveyor feature thing have been a test to see how far people were prepared to go?
It looks like the plans changed from concept to implementation as they say in the software development world. I don't think it was an intentional slip, nor a way to rope on and deceive the users. The multiplayer surveyor is most likely going to be yet another thing to subscribe to when and if it ever comes out. I had the opportunity to test this in the Trainz Dev group about a year or more ago, and there was still a lot of work to do on it.
The initial price for the standalone TRS2019 is $70, but as Tony said it will go on sale from time to time and the price and bundles will change like they always have. The $70 version is no different than purchasing T:ANE or any other previous version of Trainz. The subscription model is for those that want to get into the betas and get all the DLC right off. With the traditional product, you have the opportunity to download/purchase what you want separately just as you do now with T:ANE.
The "model" you use is up to you and how you want to do it.