I don't believe they have been flamed anywhere by anyone for announcing their plans in advance. They have however, had some very negative responses to those plans.
Exactly!
On these forums lately, if you say anything negative about T:ANE or this new one, no matter how concise, civil or valid the point, it seems to be called flaming or moaning, which isn't constructive at all.
Whenever there's a change or a thought about something new on the horizon even if it's two years from now, the community will go into full speculation and panic as though the world is about to end.
Have to disagree with you here John.
T:ANE had some unpopular aspects, such as DRM and the overdrive your hardware went into, and this caused people to worry about purchasing T:ANE. But looking back through the old posts when T:ANE was first announced, most features were what people wanted, and most people were excited by the prospect of what was to come.
And if you go back to 1.3 when Trainzscript was first being introduced, there were some people who were concerned about not being able to program, but most could see the potential a scripting language had for a Trainsim.
Again, when Rules and Commands were introduced, most people were excited by what could be created, especially by non-programmers.
Both were indeed huge milestones for Trainz.
But this latest feature-set seems to be something that might be good for N3V, but not something many people want.
The thought of a subscription-based Trainsim doesn't seem to have gone down too well, and the though that someone who doesn't want to build with others would still have to subscribe if they want to use routes created this way just adds to the concern.
Sure, it's a way off yet, and it's too early to see what they eventually implement, but T:ANE wasn't the greatest advertisement for trusting Tony, and I don't think people's genuine concerns about what they'll "really" be getting should be dismissed so easily.
As usual, this N3V pattern of releasing vague information causes fractures in the community.
Can people "opt-out" of this online surveyor and use the rest of Trainz Next for a one-off price?
Are they going to be forced to subscribe if they want to use the next version of Trainz?
Are they really going to have to subscribe if they want to use routes created online?
Maybe I'm alone in this thinking, and I'm sure not anywhere near as knowledgeable on railways as the majority of the people here, but for me, a Train Simulation should first and foremost be simulating the operations of a railway, and everything that involves.
It's clear when N3V sit around their table in the boardroom, the discussion isn't about realistic signalling or coupler strain or anything that gives a feeling of really driving a heavy train.
It's all about flash and bang graphics and the next gimmick or novelty they can come up with.
It's hard not to be worried about the direction Trainz is going when the latest feature seems to be aimed at such a small percentage of users.
Seriously, I'm just looking for a Train Sim that I can enjoy, without worrying about whether I'm online, or if I've remembered to renew my subscription.
While all the current companies making Trainsims are going down the DLC/DRM and now subscription path, maybe it's time for a new company to pop up and make a trainsim like Trainz used to be.
Something you can just boot up and have fun with.
Those people I would give plenty of my hard-earned to, no problem.
Smiley.
