I think this is a very fair point. Let's see what happens when new DLC comes along, but if it's only available for Gold members (with no product lifecycle management) then this is very quickly going to develop into a two-tier community with a (small?) minority having access to all the goodies and everyone else using 20 year old models that don't look terribly good in the latest game environment. (I exaggerate, but you know what I mean.)
I agree with you 100 percent on this Paul. Such an environment is disastrous and will only lead to a mass exodus from the game if pushed far enough. If Subscriptions were required, I guarantee you that more than half of Trainz's userbase would up and leave.
I purchased Trainz 22 Platinum Edition because it promised me access to the above aforementioned DLC. The Tornado, 43 HST and Class 11s were all provided through the Platinum Edition bundle I purchased, and it was a fantastic way to acquire the DLC I wanted to for a flat price along with the new game - I have no problems with that.
Imagine my surprise when I woke up and I discovered that
NONE of the DLC I paid for was accessible anymore. It all reads "Payware Not Active" as if I hadn't paid for the thing to begin with - and the Tornado DLC disappeared entirely! I've already reached out to the Trainz Error department, but it's been two weeks with no response to my ticket. I have heard rumors of other people having the same issue and I have little hope it will ever be resolved. I will most likely have to repurchase all the DLC once the new Trainz version comes out and it is considered obsolete as I assume is the plan if the content has been on the Store for
2 Years and the lifespan of each Trainz game is about
3.
THIS is the reason people are against Plus Subscriptions. I shouldn't have to wonder if my content I pay for will be there when I get home or if it's magically disappeared because I didn't turn on autopay in regard to my account. These kinds of things work well for a FPS Shooter with Season Passes or a Battle Royal game with infinite skins and weapons, but for a simulator game it's going to rub people the wrong way entirely. I'd much rather shell hundreds of dollars away to Joesph and Barney because I will at least OWN my content from them when all's said and done, they aren't going to take it away just because I don't pay them monthly for it.
Trainz Users like to own their games AND the content that's in them. That's why JointedRail, K&L and Darlington Works have been so popular. Renting Content is never going to be acceptable to the majority of them and that will kill Trainz in the long run. It's killing Railworks, it killed Ubisoft and it will kill this too. Just remember how long it took for everybody to accept TRS19 and the shift to PBR. It's going to be an uphill battle no matter how you slice it.