The needs of the many...

[G.M.]

The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few (famous Spock quote)
I realize everything is important but with a small team,
it may be handy to prioritize what gets developed/worked on for TRS22


Scripts/AI
users: everyone
work: less timeouts, less obsoleting of much used functions
behind the scenes async, better working examples if you want different


Interfaces
users: everyone
work: mainmenu(my collection) topbar, driverlist, merge screen, driver minimap repair
better content store (filtering)


CM/Backups
users: everyone
work: easier user-friendly restore, clean up filtering
preview window (freedom to choose background color)


PBR/graphics issues
users: everyone
work: height difference between ground textures, nausea causing wobbling
artifacts in cabviews, zigzag shadows, speedtree flashing
support for 2 or 3 monitors


Passengers
users: everyone
work: kuid selection in kind region, so different sets can be chosen
animation, self-illumination(subtle)


New water
users: everyone
work: easier adjustment of colors not combined with environment, transparency,
only water where you want it, easier removal


Surveyor 2
users: only plus users, 50% ?
work: asset preview, undocking(leaves grey bars), font alignments
rulers, bulk asset/property replace, more subtle selection


Mac
users: 20% max
work: no idea (but probably took a lot of development time)


MPS
users: a hundred?
work: stability, removal of restrictions, good trainzchat interface(no login/logout spam)


Love TRS19 100240 as my base, bought TRS22+ to test and support n3v
good luck working on TRS22, no need to rush anything !
greetings GM

 

[RPearson]

The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few (famous Spock quote)


greetings GM

Or the one in that case. Spock's ultimate sacrifice.

I can't say I love TRS19 100240 but it is still the 19 version I go to 1st so it's my base too. I got PLUS for testing and to support n3v and my "good forever" copy of TRS22.
"Good luck working on TRS22, no need to rush anything !" - excellent advice!

Bob Pearson

 

[dundun92]

I would agree, G.M. I think you got the community priorities in the right order.

 

[rhban]

Well said, GM. Sometimes the love of gimmickry seems to overtake the requirements of an interesting game that doesn't take hours of learning before you can start anything interesting.

 

[Tony_Hilliam]

It's an interesting list and I appreciate the advice.

However, it's more of a wish list than a fully costed design and development schedule.

It fails to mention 1,000 other things - bug fixing, freight operations, content, night lighting, more detailed ground manipulation (and hundreds of other things - take a look at the Suggestions Forum).

The first point is basically "allow script writers to run scripts that never end and slow the game down like in TS12".

The list doesn't take into account costs to implement the various tasks, nor any detail how to do so - PBR for example, the option to overcome the edge cases is to turn it off. There isn't a [simple] technical solution.

What about revenue generation opportunities?

The point here is everyone's list is different. "Position of the driver image has been adjusted" is not a big selling point (and more to the point, the full design for Driver Commands was not implemented in TRES19 due to time constraints, so making some tweaks here and there isn't as good as implementing the full solution.

How long should we delay TRS22 release to do these things? Where's the money coming from?

 

[PGibbons]

I can never understand why Trainz ever crossed over to the 'dark side' of MAC and other platforms.
Keep it simple and stay with a well designed and engineered Windows version full stop !
PG

 

[Tony_Hilliam]

It all helps. Mobile & Mac wouldn't be worth building from scratch, but each new platform delivers more revenue than the cost to develop. Without those platforms, we'd need to get [much] more from our PC customers.

 

[danddhud]

But if it wasn't for the PC customers would you even think about the other platforms? I'm not trying to go round and round but?

 

[wreeder]

While I may sometime disagree with the focus of development, I have never doubted Tony's genius at keeping this company alive through some horrible business conditions around the world. He knows what he is doing and the Trainz community is blessed to have him at the throttle. Tony said the other day that they were able to hire 3 new programmers so that is great news for the future.

William

 

[Tony_Hilliam]

But if it wasn't for the PC customers would you even think about the the platforms? I'm not trying to go round and round but?

That's 100% correct. Without PC there is no Trainz, and without additional revenue streams (Mac, mobile, DLC), there is also no Trainz.

PC is the biggest market, but not big enough. Mac runs pretty much the same game code so there's not a huge amount of extra work to create a Mac build. (But it's a non-zero amount of work which is why Mac generally trail PC in the beta testing phase).

Mobile is further removed, but it's also a bigger market than Mac (and potentially far bigger if we ever devote the resources to making a "mass market" version).

 

[JAGG]

Will the trains be jumping on the crossings in TRS22 too? How the money making is measured? Short, mid, long term wise? Is the ignore list going to be shorten a little with new programmers coming?

 

[capdiamont]

If they didn’t have a Mac version I wouldn’t be paying for a plus version and I probably wouldn’t have known about and paid for the mobile versions, plus paying for the standalone versions. That said, I can’t beta test much as the version I have doesn’t match the PC version by many build numbers.

With the ASi Macs, they can run the same code base as the iOS version, so that should help to cut down on some of the costs.

 

[G.M.]

Hope this will not go to a discussion what platform is better


Think one of the best decisions was to bring it to mobile, a growing market
that not only brings in cash, but also a whole new generation of trainzers
Those will later buy the pc/mac version and become content creators
Matthias is doing an excellent job on mobile !


The whole point, is not a wishlist, but alert to not forget what basic parts need work
and which/how many users are affected by working on them.


I don't have to make a detailed cost analyses or schedule, I am a user


A few of the above list I already have working in TRS19 100240
and hardly cost development time.
Give me an hour with the interface designer on Discord and I'll share what i've done
example: enlarging the merge window


We can always have a working Trainz here (i have for 19 years),
TRS22 is the future but just icing on the cake for me.


If economy dictates to release TRS22 now, do so
the rest can be done with Service packs as usual
Trainz never stops (I hope)