What's that, over there?

srude

New member
Greetings;

The dust, for now, has settled. Not much discussion goes on about the merits and demerits of 2010 vs other versions.

And, meanwhile, Auran, has become a platform provider. Following that idea, the next Trainz release will be nothing more than a table-top with lines one it that might provide several default settings, i.e., 2.5 meters, 5 meters, 10 meters, 15 meters, etc, etc, etc.

There will be sound improvements!

Something new will happen with group-playing over the internet.

But what about the graphics? Oh, yes, the old Jet engine will still be there to power everything.

I believe that Auran ought to make the Trainz platform a public domain. The best and brightest among Trainzers would surely develop the platform into something wonderous, that won't have to worry about profits, investors, management, work-flow and all that coporate stuff.

Blender is a good example of what an open application can produce.

And, remember this--it is the users who have provided the content for 2009 and 2010. These faithful soldiers seem to be running out of steam, based on the content one finds for 2009 and 2010.

The next time you put your money down on another version of Trainz, consider what you are getting that the previous versions don't have. Are waving trees the heart and soul of railroading or is the throb of the engines pulling their load down the track . . .

By the way, what do those guys at Auran, think, when they shut their computers down at the end of the day and go home? For whom do they work, the customer, or, their boss?

That's my opinion.

Disagreements, welcome!

srude
 
I believe that Auran ought to make the Trainz platform a public domain. The best and brightest among Trainzers would surely develop the platform into something wonderous, that won't have to worry about profits, investors, management, work-flow and all that coporate stuff.

Blender is a good example of what an open application can produce.
srude
Have you looked at what is being done with OpenRails?
 
As I do not have the talent or the time to create my own rail sim I have to take the best out of the available offerings. I'm not really bothered by the politics of product creation, only by the outcome.
 
I'll continue on with what I enjoy, with or without the DLS. It is a shame these recent decisions have split the community the way it has. I just hope they don't affect the new comers, one camp on third party sites, one on the DLS, new guy in the middle. Could be frustrating when trying to learn the kuid system and adding CDP hunts and errors. May put off a lot of them.

But, I hope it doesn't bite Auran in some unforeseen way. Everyone has skipped a version or two, after trying 09, 10 is my skip. Never know what TR2011 or 2012 will offer though. I may not agree with the direction it's going but making Trainz public domain wouldn't be the answer.

Dave......
 
I'll continue on with what I enjoy, with or without the DLS. It is a shame these recent decisions have split the community the way it has. I just hope they don't affect the new comers, one camp on third party sites, one on the DLS, new guy in the middle. Could be frustrating when trying to learn the kuid system and adding CDP hunts and errors. May put off a lot of them.

But, I hope it doesn't bite Auran in some unforeseen way. Everyone has skipped a version or two, after trying 09, 10 is my skip. Never know what TR2011 or 2012 will offer though. I may not agree with the direction it's going but making Trainz public domain wouldn't be the answer.

Dave......

Hear hear, I have no idea what Kuid is, or means for me. I am confused, and the bunch of politics and trolling on the forums have made me scared to ask questions... so I skipped 9 and bought 2010, and im playing, building and having fun. Im not even going near third party stuff, not that I know how to add them anyway :)

I love 2010, its awesome. thats all that matters to me. *bounce*
 
Greetings;
Snip.....
And, remember this--it is the users who have provided the content for 2009 and 2010. These faithful soldiers seem to be running out of steam, based on the content one finds for 2009 and 2010.
....Unsnip

srude

Just speaking in my case, no, I have not run out of steam, on the contrary. Since modeling for the last 2 versions (TS09/10) is now more elaborate and time consuming due to the facts already rehashed time and time again here, this now takes a lot more time and effort to do.

Again in my case, a locomotive I am working on for the last 9 months or so, doing this with bump/normal mapping, new features and tags and more elaborate, hence making this better than one needed to do for the previous versions, will still take me, say, a couple of more months to finish it.

The way I want it to look is the best this can be at current state of creating as if I would model the same locomotive the old way (TRS04/06) this will defeat the purpose of having now TS10 with better graphics and features. What good would it do to create the same or similar cartoonish item for Trainz when one has a version of it now where one can do so much more then previous.

I have a feeling that a few/some or possibly quite a few content creators of previous versions are doing similar as I am doing, by having to spend more time now to create just one item in contrast for doing the same item for a previous version. For previous versions of Trainz one could create several items of content in the same time this takes now to do just one item and this was also much easier and simpler to do. Hence not that many items will get created now and uploaded in a similar time span as before happened with content for the older versions of TRS.

Also some of the current content creators for one or another reason do not wish to dive into the way new content has to be created and wish to remain to create at the level of what they did previous. Some other content creators might simply have given up creating as they feel AURAN/N3V is NOT giving content creators the support they should be getting for creating FREE content. Which in turn would help Trainz to get better and better with new and better content befitting the capabilities of the new versions of Trainz (if AURAN/N3V would give better content creating support).

You don't believe me? Well, just look at the way one needs now to access and get information to create the "new" way (which btw seems very slowly getting a bit better to peruse). Quite a few people have said there is no need to use all the new features to create current versions content. I disagree, why not take advantages of all the new features Trainz has now when creating, this in turn would produce better looking content than previous was possible to do and also would help to make Trainz to be still the best simulation there is around. Or we might as well stick to TRS04/06 and create only for these versions and remain in the "stone age" of creating for Trainz.

So you see, the reason new content for TS09/10 is only slowly appearing is manifold.

My thoughts.

VinnyBarb
 
KISS

...Im not even going near third party stuff, not that I know how to add them anyway :)
Often third party assets are as good or better than what can be found on Auran's DLS and some, not all, are easier to download from. My site uses the same CDP packing, yet everything is either all-in-one packs, or eazy to find from the menu. Many times with FTP, you have to download several things maybe three at a time at best. Even with the new system, often some dependancies get left out, and you never know where to find them. The Trainz Resources Directory is a good source to find quality material.
 
It is worth considering that marlonza may represent a significant proportion of those who buy Trainz and never venture beyond what is built in. There has been a contention that the vast amount of (excellent) additional content helps to sell Trainz. I wonder if that is actually the case for the majority of first time buyers?
 
On amiga's point there, my first foray into Trainz was with 06. For a long time I stuck with the built in content and activities and it was only by tinkering around, months later, that I discovered the DLS and all the wonders therein (a lesson in reading instructions perhaps?). I wasn't even aware it was out there before that point so I would say I got Trainz 06 for what was in the box.

As I started to modify built in routes and create some of my own, I found that a lot of the smaller details I like to see, such as signage, were only available on the DLS and I found it a very useful tool in helping in that respect.

I've moved on to TS09 now but I still find myself browsing all that great content on the DLS almost every time I use Trainz. Most of the content still stands up to scrutiny but it is only logical that as the platform evolves, some of the older content will start to look basic. However, it is still good to have it there as, if like myself, you don't have the time or skills to produce your own content, it can often be a more acceptable option to having nothing in it's place.

One partial solution, is to reskin existin content. Something I managed to get to grips with so that has given me a further avenue as it is far easier and quicker than actual content creation. I am now considering taking the plunge with GMAX but meantime, I can only applaud all those who have and still do spend many hours on the creation of new (and of course the older) content.
 
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I started with 06 but ended up buying 04 not long after. Never could get 06 and the service pack to work properly. Actually found TrainzObjects much better than CMP for me.

I spent a lot of time just using built in content. To many headaches chasing dependencies and fixing errors I knew little about at the time, drove me crazy. Didn't have a whole lot of time to fool with it as it was and spent to much time trying to get it all to work.

I'm into MSTS also and just about shelved Trainz all together. On a whim I picked up Trainz Railwayz and started to get back into it more. Was actually surprised how well 06 was with SP1 and TC were. Pretty stable. Probably would have given up on Trainz all together if it wasn't for that, came pretty close.

We won't talk about my foray into Railsimulator in between there for a bit.

Now, I pretty much build in 04 and operate in TC. Don't know why, just really like those two versions. 09 is alright I guess but it lacks that charm, for lack of a better term, that the older versions have. The tools are great but the newer content just doesn't do it for me. Hard to explain personal preference I guess.

I do wish Auran would get more involved in all this error correcting though. If I were starting out now I'm sure I would have shelved the program all together. Content and dependencies can be bewildering to someone new. Throw in which version, where is it all at, what does this error mean, why won't this show up......... Not very user friendly for a newbie.

Dave.....
 
Maybe so, or maybe I am just uninformed.
Either way, don't get me wrong, I am enjoying 2010 as it stands, but if I can figure out everything, ill be there one time. DLS sounds like a pain to me though, collecting all the stuff you want for ages, just to have a hard drive failure set you back to default...

Interesting thread nevertheless.
 
Either way, don't get me wrong, I am enjoying 2010 as it stands, but if I can figure out everything, ill be there one time. DLS sounds like a pain to me though, collecting all the stuff you want for ages, just to have a hard drive failure set you back to default...
There's something you can do about that, it's called a 'backup'...

Paul
 
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