One has to wonder where is TS-x in all this?
That was originally the progression from TS2009 which was supposed to draw a line under the "legacy" versions and start afresh (at least that's how I interpreted it).
TS2010 Engineers Edition is much more than we planned to include in the original "TS2090 EE" concept, but it is not TSX.
Will TS2010 include some of the features which have been asked for over the years - such as the ability to position and lay tunnels at any angle, proper AI despatcher etc. - or is it just the core of TS2009 with a few tweaks and extra content.
It's a very polished version of the TS2009 codebase with some really shiny new features (layers, SpeedTree, seasonal assets.)
I ask the above as someone who is committed to using Trainz (well TRS2006 anyway) for route building but has in the past commented about Emperor's New Clothes etc. Otherwise I can see the comments from some of those less well disposed to Trainz, the inevitable comments about repackaging and reselling the same stuff, quick cash grab etc. Here we are again with the paint barely dry on TS2009, fairly pricey add-ons being waved under our nose such as S&C to get the TC3 content officially into TS2009 then along comes TS2010.
These products don't make themselves. Err too far on the budget side and we are "reselling the same stuff". Err too far on the other side and we are "overpriced". Personally, I'm very happy with what we've achieved in TS2010 but I guess that all depends on what you're looking for. I've already seen one forum post dismissing TS2010 because it doesn't include multiplayer
TS2009 provided some really amazing enhancements for content creation, and while it's taken a while for people to understand the changes we're starting to see some really amazing stuff (check out TNM's or Jankvis' foliage as an example.)
In TS2010, we're focusing on content and gameplay rather than technology upgrades. That doesn't mean we've skimped on features - a lot of internal development work has gone into TS2009 to support the new content - but now that we've achieved a certain technology level for TS2009 we're happy not to push that further until content creation has fully caught up. The TS2010 features are about "adding new things" rather than "replacing outdated old things".
From the route creator's point of view it potentially means more non standard set ups to cater for, unless TS2010 includes all the legacy stuff from TS2009 there are numerous permutations as to what people may actually own when it comes to needing content to run a third party route.
Compatibility with TS2009 is absolute.
Something tells me that those stupid animated trees are going to really destroy framerates.(The video that they posted seemed to be subtly lagging.)
There's a reason that it's called "SpeedTree". It isn't because it's slow
Yes, you put enough polygons on your screen and you'll eventually slow down. This is true of every version of Trainz, and always will be. But don't expect TS2010 to run notably slower than TS2009 on a similar scene.
The video was indeed lagging. Unfortunately the only machine that was available for taking the video (everybody else was busy) couldn't handle running alpha-quality software while capturing the video at the same time. It's a pre-release web video. Them's the breaks. I'm sure we'll get you something nicer to look at before release
I just hope that this version still has compatability mode, as there are quite a few assets that aren't actually erroneous, even though they are claimed to be in error. Even new payware stuff has these "errors."
Well, they are erroneous, otherwise there wouldn't be any error reported. The errors may or may not be serious, but that's a whole different discussion.
But yes, compatibility mode still exists for dealing with older assets.
chris
