Trainz Plus Gold

[pware]

assets that can only be accessed for a sum of money

If you want the optional extras in a new car, the benefits offered by a club membership, to fly business class, etc , none of which are necessary, then you have to pay extra. You can buy the basic model car, not join the club, fly economy (and still arrive at the same time as the business class flyers) without the extra costs.

DLC assets are not vital for running Trainz (any version). You can buy Trainz (the retail version) and not have to spend any extra money.

There is a free (in the true sense of the word if you ignore the ISP and electricity charges) DLS full of routes, sessions, rolling stock and other assets that you can download.

So what exactly is your issue? Don't you want N3V to offer benefits (and increase their cash flow) for those who are prepared to pay extra?

 

[amigacooke]

So what exactly is your issue?

My issue in this particular case is the exclusive DLC is not free and should not be described as such, especially as it requires constant payment for access.

 

[rwk]

Yes, the DLC that is exclusive to Plus is, you have to keep paying a yearly subscription to continue using it or your access to it ends until you subscribe and pay again. It's DLC that you have to keep paying a yearly fee in order to keep using. If they would also make it available to non-Plus users, I would be fine with that. All non-Plus DLC you pay once and it's yours. This is almost like renting, how you rent an apartment and keep paying in order to stay there or paying for a hotel room. I want the RDC's but not if you have to pay for a Plus subscription. I'll settle for the free ones on the DLS by magicland and pweiser.

 

[JCitron]

You are a lot more lucky than we are in the states. No free healthcare here. All Obama did was mandate you had to buy insurance with co-pays and limits.

Correction. It was Joe Lieberman, who lobbied strongly for CIGNA, AETNA and all the other insurance companies in Connecticut for that. The initial plan was for something similar to what the rest of the world has. Gotta love the special interests especially those with lots of money.

Anyway... back to DLC.

 

[pware]

How about ...

"Included in your monthly/annual Gold subscription is unlimited access to all DLC as well as exclusive Gold member only DLC items - all for no additional charge while your subscription lasts"

... which, while it would cover all the bases, reads like it was written by the legal department instead of the marketing department who would no doubt replace it all with "Free" (which is easier to read) accompanied by a small * that leads to a very small font T&C in a difficult to access part of the web site.

After having written the above, somewhat satirical, passage I decided to search the Trainz Store site for the word "free".

It occurs multiple times when describing the new 3rd party PlantFactory software which is actually free (and is not from N3V) and is going to replace the current licensed SpeedTrees(tm) software.

It also occurs elsewhere (once only) to describe the limited MPS (MultiPlayer Surveyor) option that is available in TRS22 and TRS22PE while the full unlimited version is available only in Trainz Plus. You could argue that it not "free" as you have to purchase TRS22 to be able to use it - in the same way that you could argue that car air-conditioning is not free because you have to buy the car to get it.

 

[rwk]

Free could mean that there is no additional charge for it, but you have to buy something first in order to get it so it is not really free.

 

[pware]

You could use the same argument to say that the DLS is not actually "free" because you have to buy a copy of Trainz before you can use it.

So what exactly are we arguing over? The semantics of the word "free" or the fact that N3V want non-Gold members to pay for payware content?

 

[amigacooke]

So what exactly are we arguing over?

You’re arguing, I think the rest of us are agreeing that if you have to purchase something to get something else then it is not free.

I agree the term ‘free’ is often misused when ‘no additional cost’ is what is meant.

 

[pware]

Then the question I ask is where did this claim come from that N3V are using the word "free" to describe the extras that are available for Trainz Plus Gold membership?

I went back and looked at the Trainz Store site again, and in particular the Trainz Plus Gold section. Nowhere does it state that access to the DLC is "free" for Gold members, nor did it ever use the word "free" in relation to DLC, Trainz Plus standard or Trainz Plus Gold.

Some example - from the web site.

• "Full DLC Access (over $4000 worth of DLC value)"
• "Preview Pass to explore new DLC packages before they get released to retail"

Gold members can even purchase and keep DLC outright even if they cancel their subscription. This is despite already getting full access to it all.

• "25% off all DLC in the Trainz Store"
• "3x Trainz Rewards accumulate pointz to use on the Trainz Store!" (I don't know what that actually means)

 

[PortLineParker]

I think it was suggested in a previous post by someone but I agree, I can't see anywhere that N3V have marketed it as 'free' DLC. Despite what some think N3V do know what they're doing...

Cheers,

PLP

 

[wreeder]

"3x Trainz Rewards accumulate pointz to use on the Trainz Store!" (I don't know what that actually means)

Login in to the Trainz Store and on the right with be a orange button labelled Trainz Reward Pointz. Click on it and it will explain how to earn them and how to spend them.

 

[amigacooke]

Then the question I ask is where did this claim come from that N3V are using the word "free" to describe the extras that are available for Trainz Plus Gold membership?

Has anyone claimed that? I was replying to this post

A

Post in thread 'Trainz Plus Gold'

Aug 12, 2025

Free DLC is only available to gold subscription users.

DLC that you have to be paying for constantly if you want to use it is really stretching the definition of ‘free’.

• amigacooke

• 

 

[pware]

The first post, as you pointed out, that incorrectly used the term "free" when referring to DLC with Gold membership was

Free DLC is only available to gold subscription users.

The discussion then, unnecessarily due to the above error, went into semantics over the meaning of "free" with a following post

DLC that you have to be paying for constantly if you want to use it is really stretching the definition of ‘free’.

 

[wreeder]

This thread has devolved into the equivalent of your wife asking you if this dress make me look fat. There is no answer that will make everyone happy.

 

[JCitron]

This thread has devolved into the equivalent of your wife asking you if this dress make me look fat. There is no answer that will make everyone happy.

That's a loaded question. You know what happens if you answer the wrong way on that one!

 

[pware]

equivalent of your wife asking you if this dress make me look fat

The best answer I ever saw to that was in a TV ad for a chocolate flavoured milk, the brand was called "Dare" - a suitable name!

The husband replied with the brave words "No, but it takes attention away from your bum" after which he immediately takes a big gulp of the flavoured drink.

 

[itstypicalrailfanner]

The content is available in Trainz PE if you are currently subscribed to Plus.
The advantage of Plus is you get access to all the DLC as part of your subscription for $100 per year (roughly). If you were to purchase the DLC separately, you are talking about at least a thousand dollars if not much more. The advantage then is you own all the DLC no matter what.

As far as I know, you can access content you created, such as a route for example, but any content that came from packages is inaccessible. I may be mistaken and others can correct this.

Unfortunately, aside from Trainz plus also providing faster download speeds for the dls, it's just more of a nuisance since some dlc is locked behind Trainz plus, which still doesn't make any sense to me. It's kind of shady to lock dlc behind a subscription and not make it available for purchase. It's like if Microsoft locked a few random Train Sim World 5 dlc behind gamepass. I get that N3V is a small team of developers but making any dlc exclusive to a subscription (a.k.a locking content behind a subscription wall), just rubs people like me the wrong way. We should have the option to buy any and all Trainz dlc. If N3V Games want to increase the money they make, so they can keep improving and adding to Trainz, then the last thing they should even consider is making dlc exclusive to their Trainz Plus subscription. Trainz Plus does save money, but we should still have the option to buy Trainz Plus exclusive dlc, especially since the game is ridiculously DRM-heavy and the current state of gaming is proving DRM to be more harmful than helpful.

You don't even own the dlc, since all official dlc from the Trainz Store and Steam are plagued with DRM, even the game itself (except the physical copies of older Trainz games) is DRM-plagued. I have to say, I don't know how the hell N3V Games managed to make the game and official dlc insanely difficult to split open, but somehow, they did. It's impressive honestly. Especially when it comes to Trainz Plus, you don't own the dlc at all. It's no different from Netflix or DisneyPlus or Adobe Photoshop. You're pretty much renting the dlc, literally (in general you're renting the game and dlc any way since you don't actually own any Trainz stuff you buy, which includes any digital copy of any game from the franchise). Again, Trainz Plus isn't actually bad. In my opinion, it's worth the money. I just take issue with them locking certain dlc behind Trainz Plus. I hate to say this since DTG is nothing but scummy practice while N3V Games hasn't done anything out of line yet, but N3V Games should take a page from DTG's Rail Subscription book. Trainz Plus exclusive dlc like the Amtrak Superliner pack should still be purchasable. I'm fine with buying Trainz dlc individually just as I am fine with subscribing to Trainz Plus, however I prefer to buy dlc, not rent it.

 

[itstypicalrailfanner]

As I posted above, these are some of the "fringe benefits" of being a Trainz Plus or a Gold subscriber. There is nothing wrong with that and it is a part of life these days (e.g. my social club subscriptions). If it brings a steady revenue stream into N3V and keeps development going then I am all for it.

Will these subscription only DLC packages eventually become available for purchase by all Trainz users? Possibly, and I hope so, but by then I suspect that other "subscriber only" offerings will become available.

The problem with that mindset is that it shouldn't be the norm, especially when we're talking about dlc. DLC shouldn't be rented, it's supposed to be a one-time purchase. While I understand that N3V Games need the money to keep development going, it shouldn't involve locking access to certain dlc behind a subscription. It just rubs me and other users the wrong way. DTG don't do that with TSC or TSW. The Rail Subscription is similar to Trainz Plus standard, but the dlc is still purchasable. N3V Games should take that same page from the Rail Subscription book. It just comes off as favoritism. Trainz plus features are one thing, they'll be in the next Trainz release. Trainz Plus exclusive dlc rarely appears in a Trainz release outside of the subscription. We should still have the option of buying the exclusive dlc, instead of having to rent it. That option should always be on the table.

Just because it's a part of life, doesn't mean it should be. It shouldn't be a part of life. Everything shouldn't be exclusive to a subscription. It just seems all to similar to YouTube locking a video quality behind YouTube premium.

Even Zec said it's highly unlikely that Trainz Plus exclusive dlc will ever be purchasable by Trainz users. And that's a major problem. I'll even argue that it's a red flag. The option to purchase dlc, even if it's exclusive to Trainz Plus, should still be on the table. If not, then what's the point of allowing any dlc to be purchasable? They might as well just make all dlc Trainz Plus exclusive.

 

[itstypicalrailfanner]

Close enough for government work.

No extra cost once you subscribe sort of implies the "free" part

The implication is there, but you're still paying to access dlc. That's not free. That's a subscription, or Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, etc... would be saying the same thing about their subscriptions. When something is free, it costs nothing, it's up for grabs. It's like a gift. Someone buys something for you. It's free because you didn't buy it, it was provided to you without a price tag on it. I'm fine with the subscription itself, however no dlc should be locked behind the subscription. It just rubs people the wrong way.

 

[itstypicalrailfanner]

How about ...

"Included in your monthly/annual Gold subscription is unlimited access to all DLC as well as exclusive Gold member only DLC items - all for no additional charge while your subscription lasts"

... which, while it would cover all the bases, reads like it was written by the legal department instead of the marketing department who would no doubt replace it all with "Free" (which is easier to read) accompanied by a small * that leads to a very small font T&C in a difficult to access part of the web site.

After having written the above, somewhat satirical, passage I decided to search the Trainz Store site for the word "free".

It occurs multiple times when describing the new 3rd party PlantFactory software which is actually free (and is not from N3V) and is going to replace the current licensed SpeedTrees(tm) software.

It also occurs elsewhere (once only) to describe the limited MPS (MultiPlayer Surveyor) option that is available in TRS22 and TRS22PE while the full unlimited version is available only in Trainz Plus. You could argue that it not "free" as you have to purchase TRS22 to be able to use it - in the same way that you could argue that car air-conditioning is not free because you have to buy the car to get it.

Those are entirely different things though. You're grabbing at straws here. It's obvious you have to purchase a car to make use of the air conditioner in it. At the same time, you could purchase an air conditioner for your home and have free air conditioning. You also have to buy a laptop to play Trainz 22, which you also have to buy. That's acceptable because Trainz 22 is for PC and you need a PC to play it. You also need to purchase the game in order to download and play it. The same way you have to buy an Xbox Console or PC to play Halo MCC, which you also have to buy in order to actually play the game. None of this is the same as a paid subscription to access dlc or any other stuff (like tv shows and movies for example).

There's a fine line when it comes to "free." Anything from a subscription is never free, and Trainz Plus is no different. If you have to pay money monthly/yearly to access dlc, it's not free because you're paying for it. It's just an illusion that you're provided in the hopes that you're actually dumb enough to be convinced that paying an amount of money monthly/yearly to access something is free when it most certainly isn't. I'm not saying N3V Games are deceptive, I'm not saying N3V Games are out to get your wallet. Like many gamers, including Trainz owners, I'm just saying that there's a line between freeware and payware. The things you get from subscriptions are never free. You have to pay monthly/yearly to access those things.