steam vs box and 3rd party

[tomthetank924]

wondering if there is any advantage of getting trainz 2012 from steam network vs the boxed set from auran, as far as download add-ons and updates looking to purchase soon i'm using windows 7 , Thanks, Tom

 

[boc61]

I don't know anything about Steam, but people seem to be split vs whether it's good or evil. I always prefer having the discs so I always buy them if they are available. I bought the Anniversary Edition because it was on sale and come with some extra goodies. I think one bad thing about Steam, or good, depending on your point of view, is that you can't choose whether to install updates or not. With a hard copy version, you can download and install updates yourself.This would apply to "Official" N3V updates of course. 3rd party updates are done manually in either case.

 

[SharkNose]

Since boc61 and I have the same avatar , I thought I'd better chime in. I don't know much about Steam, but from what I've heard, you probably should avoid them like the plague! I also prefer having the discs. I ordered direct from Auran (N3V) and didn't mind the couple days to get it from the land down under. Support is much better using product direct from the producers and not distributors.

Andrew

 

[RRSignal]

Edit: RRSignal has no idea what he's talking about here, so i've removed his comment.

 

[tomthetank924]

thanks for the info i have steam for the train sim 2012 and got update for 2013 went pretty smooth although had 1 problem with the donner pass but was a easy fix. Thanks again to those helping with my questions. Tom

 

[klambert]

My advice is avoid steam at all costs, the olf fashioned way via disc in box is better.

 

[opus722]

Steam is usually good, but not for Trainz. Most of my game purchases of the past few years have been through Steam so I made the mistake of buying Trainz 2010 via Steam thinking it would be the same. The biggest problem is that the publishing company has to send updates to Steam in order for the game to be patched, but Auran/N3V never does this. To this day, Steam Trainz 2010 lacks any of service packs and I assume this practice continues with Trainz 12. To make matters worse you can't even manually patch it as the Steam version has a different build number. I'm not sure how the official DLC packs work with Steam either. Don't use your experience with any of the Railworks/Train Simulator games on Steam to compare with Trainz. Those games are designed to take advantage of everything Steam has to offer and, in fact, they only work through Steam. N3V treats Trainz on Steam like a redheaded step child that is an afterthought at best.

 

[shaneturner12]

From memory, it's only the TS2010 Steam version that never got a patch. The TS12 version has, and I don't know about the TS2009 version.

One of the issues you may come across with the Steam version is permissions, especially if using Windows Vista or later.

Shane

 

[opus722]

I just checked Trainz 12 on Steam and nothing is listed for product updates. That's not to say it couldn't have been updated without it being posted though. I couldn't find 2009 on there so I assume it is no longer sold through Steam.

 

[shaneturner12]

I am aware of at least one update that went through Steam, as listed on my Can I patch my version page on my site. From what I've gathered, SP1 has also been added to the TS12 Steam version as well, but I haven't found out the final build number for that yet.

Shane

 

[hhrhhr]

...I haven't found out the final build number for that yet.

 

[cascaderailroad]

My self ... I would highly recommend buying a non official 3rd party "Steam" version, so that you can save a few measly bucks, and get Steam DRM ... rather than buying an official N3V disc, from a reputable supplier. on N3V's Sim Central site .... cheeper is always better ... never buy an authorized official version, when you can get a "Knock Off" version.

Do you really think "Steam" would be advantagous ???