Trainz Payware NEED feedback

[Johnk]

As American Connections has already pointed out, any payware provider can be listed free of charge on the Trainz Resources Directory. Many are listed as a matter of course and receive heaps of traffic for nothing. I really can't see why any content creator would pay to advertise on your site, then accept a diminished return for anything they sell when they can promote themselves on the forums or the TRD for nix.

Like others here, I find it astounding that you, as a new member have come up with such an equally astounding concept. To say it will be restricted to the UK is even more astounding.

Your idea does have some merit, but many on these forums will attest that the subject been kicked around for years. I for one have spent thousands of hours trying to work out how to best meet the needs of the Community without dragging commercialism into the equation. I think I almost have the answer, but I'm afraid it may make your payware site one of the shortest living web sites in history.

The difficulty I faced in setting up a concept like the one you propose, is obtaining the software that would guarantee the content providers weren't being ripped off.

 

[ekin1972]

May be its should be restricted to the UK, as it seems the Americans and Australians don't want it, or even like the idea.

 

[Wessex_Electric_Nutter]

Can I just say I have had trainz for 11 years. I was just offering the Trainz Community in the UK a easirer service, then serching google for hours.

Hi Ryan.

I think you may have a problem with the paywaree idea, the obstrution isn't payware creators, but the higher quality as it is usally found, freeware creators. Some like myself, pour hours and hours of time into work and we make a very high quality piece of work that rivals the expert.

As mentioned, hosting costs are also of an issue,but for me, I could pull several GB, but it wouldn't cost me a penny, thanks to my friends at a hosting company, who I know well, they host, I paid for the domain outright for 2 years (got to extend that... damm!) but you get the idea.
If I was to do it on paying (I almost did), I would need to know the following pieces of info:

• How much demand does my content attract?
• What the average size of my content?
• Whats the expected price people are willing to pay?
• Who should get the money back and how much will it cost me to hand back the money?
• Whats the ROI over a year?
• How much capital do I have to put in first?

etc,etc, etc.

Its a good idea to propose something like this, but webdesign (esp professional ones) aren't easy. You'll need to test, test and test again your site for every flaw, its going to take you months to impliment, if not years on your own, you may need to hire a design company (I was asked to do a site for someone recently, I didn't finish it,as she was very, very fussy, however,the client was not helpful.)

Stuff like the search engines (makes it look professional) may need lines and lines of code, plus it would probably consumme resources. Then it is luring the best of the best, people like me are happy as we are, we don't mind not charging anyone, at the end of the day, it is the experience that counts.

Then you got free and payware dependencies which you have to worry about. One object may require several dependencies, like Superscript, which you cannot incorperate into the product, which will cause technical support headaches.

There are plenty more to consider, I am not being negative, but thinking "how to deal with this,that and the other.", if we had a business plan detailing it, maybe we could get a better idea with what you are trying to achive.




By the way, Trainz hasn't existed for 11 years. I've been in the community for 9 and a half, as the forums opened in 2000.

 

[curnow981002]

Site Template is now up at trainzpayware.co.uk and shop is at shop.trainzpayware.co.uk and still have a long way to go but hopefully you can see the foundations are there.

I am bad sorry Trainz not for 11 years but since I was in year 11. Sorry all lol

Ryan

 

[curnow981002]

May be its should be restricted to the UK, as it seems the Americans and Australians don't want it, or even like the idea.

Agree 100% I dont understand I really don't LOL, i think the problem is the site they have quoted about are all mainly Overseas content are to be honest there is limted content for us in the UK so in other words (bugger the brits) lol.

Ryan

 

[Johnk]

Site Template is now up at trainzpayware.co.uk and shop is at shop.trainzpayware.co.uk and still have a long way to go but hopefully you can see the foundations are there.

I am bad sorry Trainz not for 11 years but since I was in year 11. Sorry all lol

Ryan

I visited your site and got a lovely little warning message in bright red and yellow telling me that your site is suspicious and that I should leave immediately. I took their advice, not that there was anything to look at anyway. I think you're right when you say you have a long way to go. Putting up a home page is one thing, backing it up with the infrastructure required to run a project like you propose is another. I think your predicted opening date may be optomistic. I also wonder if you've given any consideration to the bandwidth you'll require to meet the demands you anticipate?

 

[ekin1972]

The web site worked perfectly fine for me with no warning!

 

[john259]

lovely little warning message

Which browser was that in? I just tried both URL's in Firefox 3.6 and IE8, and no warnings appeared.

John

 

[ekin1972]

I tried it in Safari on my mac and also Firefox on my mac.

I've also tried it on my PC in IE8 and Firefox with no problems.

 

[paulhobbs]

Is it really a good idea to register a domain specifically for trainz payware and then offer freeware as well? You are also in desperate need of somebody to check your spelling and grammar, that doesn't make the right impression at all.


Still, as I'm excluded I don't really have to worry about it though.


Paul

 

[Johnk]

I used the latest version of FF, just installed it yesterday, along with AVG9 and Zone Alarm. Running Win 7. This is not a firefox or AVG warning I took this screenshot about 1 minute ago:

It looks more like a malware warning but it's not coming from my box. All other web sites are fine.

I just tried with IE and got the same message. I checked the Checkpoint site and they look legit enough. I clicked on the read more bit and discovered it's a warning from Zone Alarm. I've never used Zone Alarm before, but my normal firewall is a victim of Win 7's incompatibility issues.

 

[American_Connections]

Open mouth, insert foot!

...that doesn't make the right impression at all.
Still, as I'm excluded I don't really have to worry about it though.
Paul

This doesn't give a very good impression either. Hopefully I am miss understanding your point Paul.

 

[curnow981002]

I have done varied virus scans on the site and nothing is showing on it, the problem only seems to be on systems over seas, which the site is not supporting.

I am sorry for a few spelling errors

But I want to say I am not getting in to a world wide arrgument and start world war 3 but some comments are harsh! I thought at the end of the day we are all simmers but maybe I am wrong. From changing from MSTS who has such support worldwide between members to Trainz which is to be questioned.

All I wanted to do is it HELP and nothing more but its seems that maybe I have been waisting my time. Maybe the fact the UK members have been understanding and supportfull is because they know as well as I do it is so hard to get UK payware and there is bugger all out there compared to MSTS.

I just dont know what to do or say

 

[Johnk]

I wouldn't worry too much about the error message. Your hosting service probably isn't all that secure, thus throwing up an opportunity for Zone Alarm to make money from me. Fat chance!

I think you jut got off on the wrong foot. From what I can see, you haven't managed to convince many people here that your service will solve any of our problems. Instead, all it's doing is asking content creators who mostly have a marketing process established, to share their profits with you for no apparent gain. I think someone has already said it, but you're offering to set yourself up as a middleman where one isn't really needed.

I'm not 100% sure but I believe there are already one or more web already sites doing what you want to do, by offering facilities and payment gateways to content creators who don't have web sites of their own. if I thought there was a need for such a service, I could have it running inside 24 hours. As I said earlier, one of the things stopping me is the ability to ensure everyone gets paid. The other is, it really doesn't benefit anyone.

 

[john259]

it really doesn't benefit anyone.

If everything is tested and has all its dependencies, and if it puts a bit of pressure on Auran to improve DLS, then it will be of very considerable benefit. Three massive great "if"'s there though.

John

 

[Johnk]

So why not torrents then? I could have a Torrent database operating in 24 hours. I've thought and thought about it for 12 months, but I can't guarantee those three if's, nor could I guarantee that members of the community would continue to to seed the files once they downloaded them. If it worked, that would take an immediate strain off the DLS and possibly deprive Auran of their FCT income in the process.

If anyone is interested, put your hands up now and I'll start another thread. I have the infrastructure all set up for an immediate test run. We could be seeding torrents in 48 hours or less.

 

[tardis626]

I like the idea by the way, but expanding on what someone else hinted at:

How secure is it going to be?

Whats to stop me (or anyone else) typing something like trainzpayware.co.uk/shop/content/example.cmp into the address bar and downloding a file for free?


Oh and your HTML scripting isn't great either why do you put the code for a new paragraph whenever you need to go onto a new line?


Phil

(Your NEVER going to get in finnished for Feb 2010 like you say on the homepage. It takes months to create, test and improve a site before launch)
________
Avandia Problems

 

[john259]

From a purely technical point of view torrents are preferable for downloads of large popular files. I'm not so sure they are of much benefit when only a relatively small number of downloads of relatively small files are involved. There are also legal and moral complications of course.

John

 

[amigacooke]

I haven't found a freeware site that offers any significant advantage over the DLS yet.

 

[john259]

Whats to stop me (or anyone else) typing something like trainzpayware.co.uk/shop/content/example.cmp into the address bar and downloading a file for free?

There is software available to handle that problem, for example the InVision Download Manager system that RBR uses.

John