The Beginning of the End?

[mikemike]

You know, there's tons of content, lots of things to use to make new routes. I think it depends on what people what the program for. My main use, now, is to create a working HO layout for my home, a layout mapped out and proofed in the HO scale rail sim called "Trainz". I'm not using Trainz as a trip to the country, say, or even to drive a locomotive, per se, unless it's to drive a goods wagon over to a factory.

But, it's amazing the amount of content availabile and in fact. Try to find a decent 0-6-0 in model layout HO -- until this last couple of years you had to buy very-heavy-pay, pay-ware: brass locomotives, and with fire-box doors sticking out a scale foot and a half from the engine. But, I also like the operations part of Trainz, and the railroad part itself, and I remember when the first semaphores were uploaded, how wonderful that was. There have been several major moments like that for me with Trainz.

I have a Lenz system, DCC, and the Lenz guy, the owner, has been promising a major update to our hardware's OS, so that we can do more stuff...? But, it seems he's lost it by developing and marketing locomotives, and hasn't got around to pushing the software people to finish our update. That's kind of like how Trainz has always been -- the play for the company and developers isn't rail-yard operations, it's business model operations and product to consumer. We have to live with that ( but, we never want to give up making them think we want it all and now. )

yes, you are right. i do not remember the merger, however i did have the demo 2006 when it would have happened. and it was right about the time of the forum crashes too. one thing i might add, do you really except everyone to spell every word right? i misspelled 1-2 words in there... i mean ya i could have fixed it but i'm enjoying myself playing trainz as i type this. we live in an un-perfect world and nothing will change that unfortunatly. at least you can still read what i'm typing.

and to answer the question at the bottom of the post, yes. it is the beggining of the end. the less creators we have, the less stuff we have to give to n3v to put in our game, which in turn either means they wont release another one and go bankrupt, or they'll make there own content and put it in and still go bankrupt from employing hours.

 

[Leigha_gunzel]

While I never had a issue with the moderation of these forum, the point was brought up that there is a lack of moderation. Is there a real problem with this? Your thoughts?

Read the COC - I mean really read it (yes us school teachers are a pain) read all the stickies of each area and they have a look at all areas of the forums and apply what you learnt--- take a look in all area of the screenshots.

One guy got death threats and all ..... where is he now --- seems he got banned for speaking out and the abusers ---- still posting and abusing. No wonder out kids are taking guns to school and shoting each other, no wonder if the power that be turns a blind eye :'( :'(

 

[Thai1On]

I would like to speak from the point of view of a new person to Trainz. I myself have found this forum to be both very helpful and friendly. Trainz does have a steep learning curve and I have slowly learned how to fix a number of assets from the help of many on the forum.

Speaking of creators I have found them to be friendly and helpful also. One creator updated one of his creations to reflect a passenger terminal he made a few years ago to how it looked when it was built. We worked together and the result is stunning. I publicly thanked him and displayed his work on the route I'm working on.

I don't believe Trainz is coming to an end as much as I think it is evolving into it's next stage. This is a great hobby and I look forward to years of enjoyment with it.

Dave

 

[mikemike]

Are you practicing creative writing? This isn't in English, you know, it's in 'agitated bank-clerk', a perversion of English formed by business interests in the 18th century so that one factory-slave could report on paper what another factory-slave that day had formed in metal.

Read the COC - I mean really read it (yes us school teachers are a pain) read all the stickies of each area and they have a look at all areas of the forums and apply what you learnt--- take a look in all area of the screenshots.

One guy got death threats and all ..... where is he now --- seems he got banned for speaking out and the abusers ---- still posting and abusing. No wonder out kids are taking guns to school and shoting each other, no wonder if the power that be turns a blind eye :'( :'(

 

[LWVRR]

I don't believe Trainz is coming to an end as much as I think it is evolving into it's next stage. This is a great hobby and I look forward to years of enjoyment with it.

Dave

I hope your right. Trainz is a great hobby and I'd go nutz without it.

 

[narrowgauge]

Mikemike

Enough!

I expressed my personal opinion about what irritated me on the forum. I judged it to be on-topic for this particular thread. I named no names, did not list any posts, and did not imply that poor spelling was an indication of lack of education so I don't understand the reason for your posts.

Incidentally, I am not college educated. I am however a voracious reader and have been all my life.

I have to add this. Your posts seem to border on personal attacks, I suggest that you modify your approach.

Peter

 

[mikemike]

If I were really wealthy, like Bill Gates wealthy, I'd buy out Trainz and run it as a hobby, employing and paying money to all the creators and programmers, and building a Trainz which could run on the most extreme systems, and another which ran on a very basic one, and have good content developed for both, and not worry if I made money on it. Some might think that 'socialism', but I think it's good 18th century laissez faire folly, and out of That kind of fun came most of modern science... not to mention a lot of fun.

I hope your right. Trainz is a great hobby and I'd go nutz without it.

 

[davesnow]

I've noticed the big change here too since I joined back in early 2004. A big part of the change happened when the old forum went off the air. After that things got different. Then Auran went through the tough times in 2006 and 2007, I think that period was then. That really changed the feelings around here.

With the teathing problems of TRS2006, people started nay-saying everything that came afterwards, and in particular with TS2009 and its new flavor. TS2010 brought on the SpeedTree haters. Yeah there were and are problems with those things, but I found you have to work with them rather than fight them. They really are a lot better looking TS210 than the old flipboards, which have the alpha-channel problems. I happen to use certain trees that look the most realistic. Some really are weird, but then there are those that have a good shape to them. They are big, but you don't need as many as you needed before to fill in a forest. Anyway to these people TRS2006 is the bee's knees and everything else afterwards is trash. What happened to TRS2006 being the rotten pig in the poke? Wasn't that trash at first. I suppose everything is relative.

The other thing too we have to remember is forums do have a lifetime just like everything else. The members grow up, die off and new ones come on board. It's like they're part of a real community or a live being. Right now this forum is going through its mid-life crisis of sorts. A new crop of users are now joining with some of them getting the point and becoming good members, and others never getting with the program and will leave. No loss as far as I'm concerned these quitters are what they are, and will never put the work into anything they do.

These are the new gimmie pigs and demanders. This I attribute to the new generation that doesn't like to think, or work out problems themselves. I saw that last year when I went back to college for a year. It was the easiest and best time of my life, but for the young folks, they couldn't get out of their own way when it came to writing papers, or giving presentations! Heck, they had to be reminded how to write footnotes and references. I used to hear the complaints of how difficult it was to write a paper, and the papers were only 4-6 pages of actual paper with double-spaced type. The rest was a cover page, and references! Geeze, come on folks you really have to think and work! It only gets worse as you get older!

In my opinion, there are people here who will never be satisfied no matter what version comes out. These people come here to complain, and complain loudly if the program isn't like UTC or TRS2004 was. It never will be anymore. There's too much happening now with the program that make it a different world than we were used to. It's all about change. These people probably complain about everything in real life as well, and to be honest I would hate to support them in real life.

It's all about patience with the patients. You have to be nice no matter what. I just smile, grit my teeth and bare it because there's nothing much else I can do about it. At my work, I support over 450 users every day. This doesn't count the new hires, which are coming in on a monthly basis as well, making my work-life pretty hecktic. I'm nice to them, and they treat me well. At Christmas, I got more gift cards than I could handle for everything from Borders to Dunkin Donuts. You're nice and it pays off - really.

Yes there are the older folks too that have difficulties with computers. I can understand because this really is a new world for them. My dad for example, is going on 77 and uses a computer every day. He never had one before in his life, and is pretty lucky to have me around. There are probably hundreds of these folks out there who got a cheap computer from WalMart or BestBuy, thinking they could run a program like Trainz on it only to find that the program requires a more substantial machine. They read the requirements on the box, or website, but never really understand what they mean. The sales people at the stores don't help much. These elders ask them if the machine could do this and that, and they're told sure and sold a hunk of crap after being dumped with geek-speak, which is really confusing for someone who doesn't know anything about the hardware. I've seen this way too many times, and it raises the hackles on my neck every time.

John

I totally agree with what you've said on just about every point. I'm 64, but have had a computer since the Commodore 64! To run Trainz, I went with a Falcon Northwest unit. Runs Trainz pretty well, at least for me. I, too, like "the silly wavy trees" someone else called them. And I agree with what you said about some looking better than others. I use them because they definitely look better than the billboard trees.

And I'll echo what you said about the newer generation who don't like to think. Sheesh! What is gonna happen when they start running things? There are already a few who have moved into management positions at the company I retired from. They are so paranoid! They think the employees are the enemy, so they make up a bunch of grade-school rules for them to go by, and now morale is at an all time low.

I've just about given up trying to help anyone on these forums. Rarely a "Thank you" and most times I'm ignored. I don't know, maybe I'm on a lot of people's ignore list.

But anyhow, I agree with you on what you said.

Dave Snow

 

[mrscsi]

I hope your right. Trainz is a great hobby and I'd go nutz without it.

Well I haven't had a chance to open Trainz today, I have been working on putting in a new water filter and then of course since I AM a facebook savvy senior had to go check and play some games while I was there, then came in here and got caught up, then was ostracized for providing a little levity to such a serious study of human nature...

@Leigha_gunzel... So how was that Teach? "ostracized" now that's a $5.00 word...:hehe:

 

[mikemike]

we expressed our personal opinion on what annoyed us about your post? do you not see the symmetry, or are you anti-symmetric too?

Mikemike

Enough!

I expressed my personal opinion about what irritated me on the forum. I judged it to be on-topic for this particular thread. I named no names, did not list any posts, and did not imply that poor spelling was an indication of lack of education so I don't understand the reason for your posts.

Incidentally, I am not college educated. I am however a voracious reader and have been all my life.

I have to add this. Your posts seem to border on personal attacks, I suggest that you modify your approach.

Peter

 

[JCitron]

I would like to speak from the point of view of a new person to Trainz. I myself have found this forum to be both very helpful and friendly. Trainz does have a steep learning curve and I have slowly learned how to fix a number of assets from the help of many on the forum.

Speaking of creators I have found them to be friendly and helpful also. One creator updated one of his creations to reflect a passenger terminal he made a few years ago to how it looked when it was built. We worked together and the result is stunning. I publicly thanked him and displayed his work on the route I'm working on.

I don't believe Trainz is coming to an end as much as I think it is evolving into it's next stage. This is a great hobby and I look forward to years of enjoyment with it.

Dave

I like your philosophy, Dave. This is what makes the forums and community great. I don't think Trainz is coming to an end either. There are going to changes and rough times for some people just like everything else in life. Things are the same, but different, and we have to go with the changes in order to survive, otherwise we're left in the dust to the competition. In general people don't like change. It's upsetting to them, and they get very stressed over it. I'm different though. I enjoy going out into the world to taste and see what's different around me.

I too thank the creators, but sadly there's not enough of the thanking part. I'm always amazed at what can be done, and really the content has been getting better all the time. The pioneers set the path, and the new creators have followed the path and expanded the capabilities. This is just like the real world where towns were settled then new cities were built by the later generations.

Like the real world, there are always going to be those that take without a thank you, or being grateful in anyway. Perhaps this has to do with this being the internet environment, and they feel that no one will care since everyone is spread out all over the place. There's that void in communication, which for some people is very difficult because of the typing aspect of it. We just have to accept them the way they are and go on with life. They're not worth getting all stuck up over because there's nothing in the world that's going to change them, and we're too small and insignifigant to do so.

John

 

[mrscsi]

we expressed our personal opinion on what annoyed us about your post? do you not see the symmetry, or are you anti-symmetric too?

OOOOOOHHHHH I hear the CoC posse riding up...:hehe:

Since we are all here in group therapy coming clean about our pet peeves, mine would be people who ALWAYS are offended when you tell them the truth...

They claim it is a "personal attack" and hold out the CoC like a bible thumping preacher....

Some have even chastised me for expressing my opinion on MY own website...:hehe:

I won't name names but you know who you are don't you Retro... Oh snap...:hehe:

 

[Retro00064]

OOOOOOHHHHH I hear the CoC posse riding up...:hehe:

Since we are all here in group therapy coming clean about our pet peeves, mine would be people who ALWAYS are offended when you tell them the truth...

They claim it is a "personal attack" and hold out the CoC like a bible thumping preacher....

Some have even chastised me for expressing my opinion on MY own website...:hehe:

I won't name names but you know who you are don't you Retro... Oh snap...:hehe:

:hehe:

Well, if it is a rule, then it is a rule, and I can not help that. I can only help enforce it.

Regards.

 

[mrscsi]

:hehe:

Well, if it is a rule, then it is a rule, and I can not help that. I can only help enforce it.

Regards.

Well there is nothing in the COC that says I can not tell the truth...

That would just be your interpretation of it...

 

[LWVRR]

Are you guys done yet???


Ok heres what I got so far.

1. Too difficult to use or create
2. Constant upgrading for creating
3. Gimme Pigs
4. Lack of Creators
5. Unrealiable or Slow DL Station
6. Texting on Forums
7. Lack of "thank you" posts
8. Speedtrees
9. Lack of Compatability Mode (2012)
10.Lack of moderation on forums
11.Bad attidudes on forums

Sorry for any spelling issues...I'm going fast.
Please feel free to add to the list.

 

[mikemike]

awesome, but i couldn't read it, because i think you might have misspelled a word and it made me cranky and i'm very sensitive. yes, you dropped an apostrophe and it clanked when it hit the ground and i spilled my gin.

Are you guys done yet???


Ok heres what I got so far.

1. Too difficult to use or create
2. Constant upgrading for creating
3. Gimme Pigs
4. Lack of Creators
5. Unrealiable or Slow DL Station
6. Texting on Forums
7. Lack of "thank you" posts
8. Speedtrees
9. Lack of Compatability Mode (2012)
10.Lack of moderation on forums
11.Bad attidudes on forums

Sorry for any spelling issues...I'm going fast.
Please feel free to add to the list.

 

[Retro00064]

Is this a sub-listing of 11? Here is some thing that I have seen and experienced that I do not really agree with that much:

12. Content creators who will jump on so called "rivet counters" who point out something in the creator's model that makes it less prototypical, even at times when it would be an easy fix, calling such comments "critisism". Yea, it is critisism alright, but often (such as that which has come from me) with constructive intent, not with the intent of putting the creator or his model down.

Regards.

 

[mrscsi]

awesome, but i couldn't read it, because i think you might have misspelled a word and it made me cranky and i'm very sensitive. yes, you dropped an apostrophe and it clanked when it hit the ground and i spilled my gin.

I almost spilled my Johnny Walker Blue while reading this and if I had I would have been REALLY mad... Make that #13...

 

[mikemike]

But, that's their mania, their passion expressed. It's always going to be so, the way there'll always have to be a Beethoven ignoring the King of Swing. Non?

Is this a sub-listing of 11? Here is some thing that I have seen and experienced that I do not really agree with that much:

12. Content creators who will jump on so called "rivet counters" who point out something in the creator's model that makes it less prototypical, even at times when it would be an easy fix, calling such comments "critisism". Yea, it is critisism alright, but often (such as that which has come from me) with constructive intent, not with the intent of putting the creator or his model down.

Regards.

 

[LWVRR]

Is this a sub-listing of 11? Here is some thing that I have seen and experienced that I do not really agree with that much:

12. Content creators who will jump on so called "rivet counters" who point out something in the creator's model that makes it less prototypical, even at times when it would be an easy fix, calling such comments "critisism". Yea, it is critisism alright, but often (such as that which has come from me) with constructive intent, not with the intent of putting the creator or his model down.

Regards.

I can see both side of the coin on this issue. Nevertheless it's added to the list.