Patch or not to patch?

stouthm

Get over it
I haven't installed any of the recent patches. Been waiting for most of the bugs to be exterminated. The game is running good right now so I really don't want to have to start fixing things. Is it worth the trouble to installed the automatic patch? Is the game that much better? Like I stated, I'm not having any major problems as of now but if the majority think it's worth the effort I will install the patches. Besides turning off my anti virus are there any more things I should know? Thanks in advance.
 
If the game is running well, read the patch notes and see if any of the fixes are something that concern you. Then read the bugs thread so you can see what problems you may encounter if you do patch. If you feel it's worth it for you then go for. If not, leave it alone for now.

If you do decide to patch, back up your content, uninstall the game, making sure you get every file and reinstall cleanly. Download SP 1, it's a big file. Turn off your AV and install it before going to bed, it can take all night to install. Don't touch your computer during this process. Once SP 1 is in, don't start the game, reboot. Install HF1 using the same procedure. Again, reboot without starting the game. Repeat for HF2 and 3. Once it's all patched, reimport your content, open CM and do an Extended Databse Repair. Then you can start the game and deal with any errors that SP1 may have caused, which it will. Good luck.
 
I haven't installed any of the recent patches. Been waiting for most of the bugs to be exterminated. The game is running good right now so I really don't want to have to start fixing things. Is it worth the trouble to installed the automatic patch? Is the game that much better? Like I stated, I'm not having any major problems as of now but if the majority think it's worth the effort I will install the patches. Besides turning off my anti virus are there any more things I should know? Thanks in advance.

I won't because of the new DRM, which requires periodic reauthorization in order for you to be able to use the DLC you paid for, although it doesn't presently apply to the game itself (although I strongly suspect SP1 is a beta patch for some larger system, much as TS2010 had the MP beta. Just my 2 pennies.) I would like to upgrade because the merge bug is fixed as well as some spline bugs. Some people say the lighting is a bit better, though I can't see the difference. Apart from that, I haven't seen anything that really wowwed me. YMMV.

As always, it's a good idea to make a copy of your current installation, just in case things don't work out.
 
If you have enough extra disk space (30gb or so + your existing content), I would suggest installing a second copy of TS12 and patching it. Drive a couple of the built-in routes and if you like what you see, copy your existing content over to the patched version and see what happens. Whatever you decide, back up your existing TS12 content so you can go back to the unpatched version if you need to.
 
I'd say get enough free space to back up the original userdata folder, external drive or free space, another partition, whatever works. Then, like mentioned, install it as a second copy, do not import anything yet, turn off antivirus, patch it, reboot, hotfix, reboot, hotfix, reboot, hotfix, reboot. Check the patched version, see if it is fine. Then, import the backup copy. Reboot, and then run a quick database repair if you cannot open the imported content. Reboot if repaired. Now, see what warnings or errors, if any are there. I went through it, cleaned up stuff, and get better performance, worth the effort to me.


Paul
 
I'd suggest keeping one installation of plain TS12. Then create a second (you can have multiple installations of TS12) and patch the second.

I find no benefit in the patched version. But lots of woes.
 
I won't because of the new DRM, which requires periodic reauthorization in order for you to be able to use the DLC you paid for, although it doesn't presently apply to the game itself (although I strongly suspect SP1 is a beta patch for some larger system, much as TS2010 had the MP beta. Just my 2 pennies.) I would like to upgrade because the merge bug is fixed as well as some spline bugs. Some people say the lighting is a bit better, though I can't see the difference. Apart from that, I haven't seen anything that really wowwed me. YMMV.

As always, it's a good idea to make a copy of your current installation, just in case things don't work out.

Okay.

I patched, once I had all of my assets fixed, my game runs a dream, plus I think I get slightly better performance because of the other little niggles that I did fix

Jamie
 
Okay.

I patched, once I had all of my assets fixed, my game runs a dream, plus I think I get slightly better performance because of the other little niggles that I did fix

Jamie

That's just it: Once you get the little things fixed, the game runs pretty well regardless of patch, provided you have decent hardware. That's exactly why N3V keeps updating the content creation guidelines, keeps running DLS Cleanups, and so on. It's not to make people miserable, but to tweak the game so it runs better. Users do the same by tweaking the game on their end.
 
I won't because of the new DRM, which requires periodic reauthorization in order for you to be able to use the DLC you paid for
Are you sure about this? As Zec said may require, not does require and he did say he hadn't checked, which infers he didn't really know. It may well happen in the future at some point, I strongly suspect it's not happened yet though.

This may be useful to know.
I actually installed the DLC on a second copy of SP1 by simply copying the packages folder from my main copy via my network to another PC ran a QDR all working fine and solves the need to re-download problem for a reinstall.
 
Harry,

I would upgrade and left and right fix some 3rd party kuids if they bother the route of preference.
I did tons of them and makes the rout better so does 58414 makes the route give better response.

Follow others users posts here update a copy if you can different drive.

Roy
 
The only problem I have with TS12 SP1 HF3 is that I can't delete baseboards in map view anymore. However, in Zec's words (Zec being a N3V person) "because it wasn't stable, and could be inaccurate"

Jamie
 
Are you sure about this? As Zec said may require, not does require and he did say he hadn't checked, which infers he didn't really know. It may well happen in the future at some point, I strongly suspect it's not happened yet though.

This may be useful to know.
I actually installed the DLC on a second copy of SP1 by simply copying the packages folder from my main copy via my network to another PC ran a QDR all working fine and solves the need to re-download problem for a reinstall.

Yes, Chris (WindWalkr) confirmed it in the last statement in this post:

http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showthread.php?102418-TRS2010-vs-TRS2012&p=1160600#post1160600

As I'm sure you're aware, it costs a lot of money, time, development cost, server cost, bandwidth, etc. to develop any kind of activation/authorization system; the fact that they've put this much in it already is why I suspect that SP1 is a beta of a larger system that will be implemented down the road. If so, N3V is playing it smart, unlike EA Games did with SimCity a few months back. It makes sense that they're implementing a "occasional" authentication system right now, and only applying it to DLC at the moment, and as a patch instead of a full product: They're taking things slowly. EA didn't do that and it cost them big time.
 
I don't like fixing things either. The reason I dove into the patch is that I was away from Trainz for a long time, I skipped everything between 04 and 12. I only had 12 for a couple of weeks so I figured I had nothing to lose by patching. I had no legacy content to worry about. I don't blame people who are leery considering that years of work may be at risk. It's sort of how I was when 06 came out. I had 04 working nicely and didn't want to mess with it.
 
If you are happy with what you have don't fix it. :D

I've spent hundreds of hours since SP1 came out installing, reinstalling, testing, fixing, and generally struggling with TS12 on two systems (one a brand new "gaming" computer). I just finished patching up to 58414 on two installations on the new system (about 48 hours) and did some comparisions. On all installations of TS12SP1 58414 on both systems I found problems with missing/invisible railcars that worked fine in 49922, missing trees that worked fine in 49922, increased stuttering not to mention all the older content that was marked as faulty. (I tested by looking at the TS12 built in routes.)

Bottom line IMO; If you have a kick butt top end computer upgrade by all means, assuming you have the time and bandwidth to work through all the rebuilding and fixing. If you have an average PC that is performing well with 49922 why bother? I have not seen any compelling reason to update other than the merge fix. This Service Pack did not fix much and did introduce several new problems. It is much more of a marketing patch rather than a performance/repair patch IMO.

As my Daddy used to say, "If it ain't broke don't fix it."

Edit: HF3 did improve things substantially but did not bring performance of SP1 up to the level of 49922 on my systems.
 
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Agreed. I actually like fixing content, but there comes a point when you spend more time fixing stuff than enjoying the game. I have other reasons for why I won't patch, but that's a factor as well.
 
Yes, Chris (WindWalkr) confirmed it in the last statement in this post:

http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showthread.php?102418-TRS2010-vs-TRS2012&p=1160600#post1160600

As I'm sure you're aware, it costs a lot of money, time, development cost, server cost, bandwidth, etc. to develop any kind of activation/authorization system; the fact that they've put this much in it already is why I suspect that SP1 is a beta of a larger system that will be implemented down the road. If so, N3V is playing it smart, unlike EA Games did with SimCity a few months back. It makes sense that they're implementing a "occasional" authentication system right now, and only applying it to DLC at the moment, and as a patch instead of a full product: They're taking things slowly. EA didn't do that and it cost them big time.

Ahh, somehow I missed that one, could have been worse I suppose if they had opted for Steam only distribution.
 
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