Trainz newsletter

K

kaygee46

New member
For some reason I haven't received a newsletter since December last year. I'm still subscribed, and I haven't changed my email address. I emailed Trainz about a week ago but haven't had a reply.

Is anyone else missing the newsletter?
 
Yep!

Yep, you betcher.... me too, and as well and also...

Nowt, zilch, nothing zero!

Was this since the upheaval at Auran? Can't remember.

Angela
 
Haven't had one either, don't think there will be any now. they were supposed to be posted on Auran's Announcement Forum, but that hasn't happened. Not enough staff I suppose. Could have let us know instead of silencio! lights on nobody home!
:sleep:

​
 
Do they ever?

willblunden said:
Haven't had one either, don't think there will be any now. they were supposed to be posted on Auran's Announcement Forum, but that hasn't happened. Not enough staff I suppose. Could have let us know instead of silencio! lights on nobody home!

:sleep:​
Click to expand...

Do they ever let their fans know what's going on nowadays? Not that I have noticed....

Angela
 
You just wait until TC3 is ready to be released.

There'll be Newsletters and forum posts, and an Auran presence on here that hasn't been seen since.....er, well the last release I suppose. :D

Auran will call you when they need you. :hehe:

Smiley.
 
angelah said:
Do they ever let their fans know what's going on nowadays? Not that I have noticed....

Angela
Click to expand...

I suspect they might be about to give up given it costs money to run the forums, the DLS runs at a loss even with the First Class Tickets, and the TC sales could be better. At the end of the day they are supposed to be commercial, if there were higher TC and First Class ticket sales then with more cash around I think you might see more information.

Cheerio John
 
Agreed John.

My inbox has been empty from things about Trainz for months.
Not that I used to read them anyway.:p :o

Cheers,
Adam
 
DLS running at a loss?

johnwhelan said:
I suspect they might be about to give up given it costs money to run the forums, the DLS runs at a loss even with the First Class Tickets, and the TC sales could be better. At the end of the day they are supposed to be commercial, if there were higher TC and First Class ticket sales then with more cash around I think you might see more information.

How do you know the DLS runs at a loss? Where's the proof of that? People have bought Auran's software and FCT's, what more are they supposed to do, send donations? There were some comments by one Auran staffer that too much support had been given to Trainz customers in the past, and that people still using TRS2004 were ex customers even if they bought FCT's. Another problem was that people, I suppose route builders were using too much custom content and this is causing too much use of DLS. These posts are in the DLS forum.
I would have thought that most of Auran's problems stemmed from their monetary losses over Fury. I've bought every version of TRS from UTC through to TC, but I don't think that gives me more or less rights than anyone else. If Auran wants to limit the amount of 3rd party content in routes they should do so, and perhaps return the maximum upload to 20mb. Instead of making rather insulting comment on forums.
Click to expand...
 
Sourdough said:
Proof?:hehe:..... When have the kings and queens of whine ever needed proof for their facts? :cool:
Click to expand...
I'm disappointed in you Sourface.
You've been around here long enough to know that Auran has publicly stated that both the DS and Trainz run at a loss.
I'm not including any of the Trainz Classics in this, because I haven't been around here much, but I know that they've said as much about Trainz, TRS2004 and TRS2006, and they've said it here on their forums.

Personally, with TC being specific to areas of interest, I doubt that it's bucked the trend somehow.

Smiley.
 
Auran losing money?

I've not been a Trainzer all that long, but I have been and am in business successfully. Auran's method of doing business mystifies me. It's not just the rabbit-like proliferation of confusingly different versions of Trainz, but also the way they seem to reject the aftermarket. The DLS, e.g., is a steal right now, only because Auran does not seem to want to profit from it.

I bought my FCT for US$10 for an entire year. It should be 12 times that. That would make it comparable to the cost of a couple of decent plastic HO scale locos nowadays. True, some would drop out, but I don't think it would be as many as Auran might fear, and even if 11 out of 12 quit, which is doubtful, they would still generate as much revenue as they are now. If only 10 out of 12 quit, they would double the revenue, and there would be enough bandwidth available that the DLS would not be trashed every weekend. Anyone with a job who is interested in the hobby would be willing to cough up US$10 per month, and, being a parent myself, if I knew my kid was absorbed in Trainz in preference to Internet porn and violence saturated role playing games, I'd be delighted to spring for the kid's ticket.

I want Trainz to stay cheap as much as anyone, but I want it to stay more. Rather than descending into a sort of genteel poverty, maybe Auran should try to make money from the hobby they have done as much as anyone to create.

Just my opinion.:)

Bernie
 
willblunden said:
johnwhelan said:
I suspect they might be about to give up given it costs money to run the forums, the DLS runs at a loss even with the First Class Tickets, and the TC sales could be better. At the end of the day they are supposed to be commercial, if there were higher TC and First Class ticket sales then with more cash around I think you might see more information.

How do you know the DLS runs at a loss? Where's the proof of that? People have bought Auran's software and FCT's, what more are they supposed to do, send donations? There were some comments by one Auran staffer that too much support had been given to Trainz customers in the past, and that people still using TRS2004 were ex customers even if they bought FCT's. Another problem was that people, I suppose route builders were using too much custom content and this is causing too much use of DLS. These posts are in the DLS forum.
I would have thought that most of Auran's problems stemmed from their monetary losses over Fury. I've bought every version of TRS from UTC through to TC, but I don't think that gives me more or less rights than anyone else. If Auran wants to limit the amount of 3rd party content in routes they should do so, and perhaps return the maximum upload to 20mb. Instead of making rather insulting comment on forums.
Click to expand...

Are you saying that the forums bring in money some how? Or that the DLS doesn't run at a loss? On the DLS I will concede that it does depend how much you assign of the purchase price to running the DLS. Considering probably 80% of Trainz purchasers never download anything from the DLS it would be reasonable to maximise the the portion of the price at 20% of Auran's income which is about 15% of the retail purchase price. $10 at Walmart so 15% of $2 makes it about 30 cents per copy sold retail and for that you get unlimited free access to the DLS and all the income is being assigned to the DLS nothing for programming, or support, or newsletters. There are people around who openly boast of the amount they have downloaded from the DLS without purchasing a first class ticket. At least one person making comments here has not purchased TC and promotes TRS2004. OK but accept if you want Trainz to continue Auran has to get money from somewhere.

Basically if a few more people purchased First Class tickets that might go some way to balancing the books on the DLS. The forum is probably part of the cost of doing business but I don't think it makes any money.

I did not say that Auran runs at a loss, but sending out newsletters, running the forum and the DLS may not be seen as being their core busines and if ever they get a financial manager with a short term view they may well be cut back which is roughly what we are seeing at the moment. Remember there is no long term if there is no short term. Fury basically has messed things up and removed some financial cushion and Auran needs cash at the moment.

A few more First Class ticket sales and a few copies of TC might make the difference, it would also save me having to get things beta tested on TRS2006, and TRS2004 besides TC which I create on. Hopefully TC3 will generate some sales.

My personal view is the DLS and the forum differentiate Trainz from the pack at the moment. MSTS2 is coming with Directx 10, almost certainly compressed textures and I suspect something other than GMAX to create in. GMAX has a learning curve, some one else who is creating content but stronger on the scripting side recently emailed me that they thought "It's the the most manual, backwards program I have ever used." All they were trying to do was lower an existing object then export. I'm working with some one else who I've walked through the export process over Skype a number of times and they are still having difficulties.

If we can get something better to create in and keep the forums and DLS going then I think Trainz has a future. If not it may not.

Cheerio John
Click to expand...
 
Auran used the Trainz franchise to create a huge community here over the years, and they did it well.
I think they were quite happy for the profit margins to be wafer thin because they were looking at the bigger picture, and the plans that they had for this large captive audience.
It must have had a positive effect on the sales of their other projects over the years, and it didn't hurt their standing in the overall software market either I imagine.

Ok, they put most of their eggs in the basket when it came to Fury, and it didn't turn out as they'd planned, but they still have this huge community to build on again.

In my opinion, and I do like to give my opinion :hehe:, I think it's time Auran stopped spending pennies on Trainz, and tried to get some of that Australian Government money to spend on a Train Simulator that will finally bring in the profits that Trainz deserves.
I don't think this Trainz Classics thing is going to do that somehow.
I think it's another example of adding 3-5% to the code base, and selling it again.

We're either building the community up for another big non-Trainz project, a big project that is finally for us Trainz fans, or it's a Trainz swansong.

Less hype, more substance please. :wave:

Smiley.
 
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Why on Earth would a politician commit a portion of the Australian treasury to subsidize a computer program unless he could buy enough votes by doing so to swing an election in his favor? Are there enough Australian Trainzers to do so? It all comes down to dollars and cents and Auran's courage of their convictions. I think there is untapped money out there that could make Trainz pay its own way, and, of course, we are all assuming it is not paying its own way already. Auran may view its DLS and forum as intangible assets of a value far outweighing the expense of keeping them open.

The solution to Auran's problems, which only the directors really know, lies with Auran, not a government.

Bernie :)
 
bl4882 said:
The solution to Auran's problems, which only the directors really know, lies with Auran, not a government.
Click to expand...
Maybe you're not aware of it, but Auran did get a substantial grant from the Australian Government towards Fury (Millions of AUS$), which is why I mentioned it.

Smiley.
 
Smileyman said:
Maybe you're not aware of it, but Auran did get a substantial grant from the Australian Government towards Fury (Millions of AUS$), which is why I mentioned it.

Smiley.
Click to expand...

Plus the $AU 2Mil they received for the jet engine several years ago , probally unlikely they get anymore .

BN
 
Jet engine? That sounds interesting. Do you have time to elaborate? I'd like to hear it. What did Auran have to do with jet engines?

Bernie:)
 
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