What's Up with Auran? Answer is Here!

[meridious]

Whether I agree with it or not, I appreciate the post Rob.

If we ever get a complete version of Trainz again, I may consider buying it. Until that time, I do not see the need to purchase anything as I am quite happy with my version of 04. I purchased 06 on the pretense that it would be better than 04. Well for me and others it wasn't. For me, the biggest downfall was and still is CMP.

What everyone fails to see is that "support for Auran" is not just about the money. Sure, they need money to keep Trainz going. As would any company. Support also consists of things like ........

• Trying to help the new users whenever possible. This helps the remaining staff as they don't have to take the time to do it.
• Creating content that is compatible for different versions rather than just one. This doesn't force one to purchase a different version if they don't want it. Especially if they really like the content being put out.
• Spreading the word about Trainz and telling people to buy (No matter what the version) directly from Auran. As most of us know, they get more revenue this way.

Now the thing that bothers me and confuses me the most is the Fury. From everything I have read and seen, it failed miserably and that is being nice. Now it's free ? OK.........hmmmm. Maybe one of you smarter folks can clear this up for me. Why would I want to get a game that is free and then have to pay to basically use it ? Since it is an online game with a dedicated server (that costs money) and to use said server will cost you a modest fee. If you want to upgrade your character, it costs you money.

Doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.

 

[johnwhelan]

For the record, I haven't bought TC either (despite owning a copies of every incarnation of Trainz prior to it) and I've no plans to invest my hard earned money in TRS again until '09 appears. Does that make my opinions on TRS worthless, too?

Like it or not, John, Louise is as entitled to express her opinion as everyone else on these forums (including yourself). I feel I should also ask why you chose to attack Louise about her comments, given she certainly wasn't the only descenting voice on this thread and is only one voice in many who've expressed dissatisfaction over the recent Trainz releases.

If you are considering purchasing another version of Trainz then your input to the software is welcome. If its realistic and constructive it can be used to shape the direction. I suspect though that means you will be buying TC as that is probably all that will be offered.

Why am I getting ratty, probably because I've grown tired of people making unrealistic and unconstructive comments. I suspect its been building up inside me for some time inside and in particular Louise's post was written after Rob's post and seems to totally ignore reality. Her views or RANTS seem to have reached the point where dialogue does not seem to be possible, Yorkshire strangely enough is not the most important market place for Trainz there are bigger markets. Trainz is commercial, going by the interview three out of four purchasers never even connect to the DLS once.

Games publishing is a bit like film making, its a gamble, takes time to make and you pray you have a hit not a flop. You need deep pockets to be able to afford to gamble. A fair chunk of money went into Fury more than any profit Trainz has brought into the company and some people lost their jobs others lost their investment. It's time to move on, it's time to work out what Auran should be doing with Trainz in the future. Is its future the bargain bin at Walmart? It will be if it gets talked down too much and that I think will be a loss.

Cheerio John

 

[amigacooke]

Completely of topic but I do love Amiga OS. Could do with getting my old A600 out and having a play.

Rob

I always hoped Mac Trainz would be a stepping stone to AmiTrainz, but nooo, Auran were always hung up about making money or some such nonsense.

Curse them, curse them for ever my precious!

 

[Lacker]

Why would anyone spend one penny more on a program that is doomed? Auran can't even manage to complete their obligation concerning a contest they used to promote their product. Or even acknowledge that they have canceled the contest. Just give em some more money guys. They will love ya for it. Thanks, but no thanks!

How do you know it is doomed???? Have you seen the accounts or action plans?? Just because they have put the competition on the back burner, through lack of staff, it is no reason to write Trainz off.
Personally,the only criteria I will use when deciding to buy TC3,or not,is "Do I like it and will I get my monies worth of enjoyment out of it".
Regards Bruce

 

[electra]

If you are considering purchasing another version of Trainz then your input to the software is welcome. If its realistic and constructive it can be used to shape the direction. I suspect though that means you will be buying TC as that is probably all that will be offered.

If '09 doesn't come to pass or Auran were to sell TC 1,2 & 3 as a package at a heavy discount (for example, the same price as TRS2006), I may well do.

I've looked back over this thread, but seem to have lost the posting by Louise that said she was never going to buy another copy of TRS.

Why am I getting ratty, probably because I've grown tired of people making unrealistic and unconstructive comments. I suspect its been building up inside me for some time inside and in particular Louise's post was written after Rob's post and seems to totally ignore reality. Her views or RANTS seem to have reached the point where dialogue does not seem to be possible, Yorkshire strangely enough is not the most important market place for Trainz there are bigger markets. Trainz is commercial, going by the interview three out of four purchasers never even connect to the DLS once.

But, you laid into Louise about it when there were at least 2 other posters in this thread who expressed similar sentiments.

I've known Louise for 7 years - far longer than anyone on here. She can be stubborn at times (sorry Louise), but her mind can be changed with a well reasoned argument. Flaming her because you're fed up with the comments and opinions of a minority is only going to entrench her views, not change them.

 

[TrainMan12]

I don't understand why people bash Auran.

At this present point in time, Auran is a company with limited resources. It's not feasable to support several projects at once. If Auran believes the 'Fury' project is the most profitable, why wouldn't they choose to support it? This doesn't mean Trainz is completely ditched, it's just not the focus of the company RIGHT NOW. This isn't to say after they've satisfied the Fury customer base they may come back and further the Trainz project.
Trainz isn't in dire need of support, it is MUCH, MUCH more stable than MSTS. (Both sims have their pros and cons, and neither is 'better' than the other)

Do any of you have any ground to critisize Auran?

 

[johnwhelan]

If '09 doesn't come to pass or Auran were to sell TC 1,2 & 3 as a package at a heavy discount (for example, the same price as TRS2006), I may well do.

I've looked back over this thread, but seem to have lost the posting by Louise that said she was never going to buy another copy of TRS.


But, you laid into Louise about it when there were at least 2 other posters in this thread who expressed similar sentiments.

I've known Louise for 7 years - far longer than anyone on here. She can be stubborn at times (sorry Louise), but her mind can be changed with a well reasoned argument. Flaming her because you're fed up with the comments and opinions of a minority is only going to entrench her views, not change them.

Apols to the mods about this but I really do not like being accused of flaming some one. Therefore I'll go through the issues one at a time. Please edit this post if it seems to go to far.


Basically Louise is saying that unless Auran drops Fury she will not purchase anything else from Auran. "I do have more sense than you are clearly giving me credit for but if I am not happy where my money goes then I won't buy something or any of that companies products." "Trainz as a cash cow for Fury. so I will never buy another copy of Trainz not just TC until fury is DROPPED! "

Or did I misread this?

Auran have invested a few million dollars into Fury and currently it is bringing in some dollars. Possibly not enough to cover the development costs which have been written off but certainly enough to cover the servers etc. and there is hope it may bring in some additional cash.

Trainz is in the mature software phase this means that most copies no longer sells for premium dollar amounts and the volumes may well be down.

The comments are not person against Louise they are directed at the comments and demands she makes both in this thread and other threads.

Trainz basically depends on content creators which means the forums have to be positive in general because if it isn't then the content creators such as myself will drift to places where the tone is more pleasant and I'm being quite serious here. Tell us that "Auran is going down the tubes" gives the message that all content creators are wasting their time. I have some 500+ items on the DLS what you may not be aware of is the other 1,000 or so I have worked on but are under other people's names. I certainly do not appreciate being told the many hours I put into content creation is a waste of time.

I think also the other posts were before Rob's post and in some ways there is a sense of frustration because of a lack of information this I can accept. However I don't recall them using caps in bold in large type. This is behaviour and spelling I might expect of an eight year old. If you read her posts I fail to see any case being made only demands and attacks.

"Auran is going down down down down quicker than the titanic and I am afraid Tony Hilliam is responsable in my own personal opinion as he shoved money hand over fist into a project that everyone KNEW was going to fail. So because of that alot of good people lost their job at Auran. I think Greg Lane should come back and get Auranh back on track then the company could be bult back up and to how things used to be. When Greg stood down all the staff jumped ship does that not say anything about Tony's leadership skills?"

"everyone KNEW was going to fail" I disagree with this statement and many other people did as well showing their support with investment dollars.

Her arguments do not seem to be reasoned hence as I said there seems to be little point in attempting a dialogue. We have here a personal attack on Tony Hilliam which serves little purpose other than to alienate him and Auran when we need their cooperation to pull Trainz together. I think the expression is united we stand divide we fall, and at the moment that about sums it up.

In summation rather than drive a divide between Auran and its users, and give the message that content creators are wasting their time my personal preference is that she should take up more outdoor activities and get a little more exercise. That way she may feel less frustration and I could get on with creating models and getting Auran to enhance the game engine instead of being told I'm wasting my time.

I did wonder if she was being paid by another Railway / Railroad simulator to disrupt the Auran forums and make them less functional, but then it wouldn't be anything like that would it?

Cheerio John

 

[Scitimar]

Auran have invested a few million dollars into Fury and currently it is bringing in some dollars. Possibly not enough to cover the development costs which have been written off but certainly enough to cover the servers etc. and there is hope it may bring in some additional cash.


Cheerio John

Any chance at all that you'd like to explain how you know this ....... considering where you live and where I live we seem to have a different source of knowledge.

To be kind I think it's grossly inaccurate :hehe:

Sci

 

[meridious]

Actually, it's more like about 15+ million invested in Fury. It was all over the net some time ago. Now whether it's making any kind of money at all I can't say.

 

[electra]

I did wonder if she was being paid by another Railway / Railroad simulator to disrupt the Auran forums and make them less functional, but then it wouldn't be anything like that would it?

In a word, no. I originally suggested she get UTC (and used a voucher Auran gave every existing Trainz user to get her and another friend cheap copies of it), when she wasn't using any Train Sim at all.

 

[Natvander]

, I hate his plane

What's wrong with his plane??? Just because it's no bigger than a large mosquito, seems to be buffered by the slightest of winds and takes a rescue crew to get you out of the thing...

 

[johnwhelan]

Any chance at all that you'd like to explain how you know this ....... considering where you live and where I live we seem to have a different source of knowledge.

To be kind I think it's grossly inaccurate :hehe:

Sci

Well your pocket for a start, have a look how much your government put into Auran. The investment from many sources was in the millions and the details are available on the net.

If you missed this perhaps you should be talking to your politicians?

Cheerio John

 

[Joe_T]

Apols to the mods about this but I really do not like being accused of flaming some one. Therefore I'll go through the issues one at a time. Please edit this post if it seems to go to far.


Basically Louise is saying that unless Auran drops Fury she will not purchase anything else from Auran. "I do have more sense than you are clearly giving me credit for but if I am not happy where my money goes then I won't buy something or any of that companies products." "Trainz as a cash cow for Fury. so I will never buy another copy of Trainz not just TC until fury is DROPPED! "

Or did I misread this?

Auran have invested a few million dollars into Fury and currently it is bringing in some dollars. Possibly not enough to cover the development costs which have been written off but certainly enough to cover the servers etc. and there is hope it may bring in some additional cash.

Trainz is in the mature software phase this means that most copies no longer sells for premium dollar amounts and the volumes may well be down.

The comments are not person against Louise they are directed at the comments and demands she makes both in this thread and other threads.

Trainz basically depends on content creators which means the forums have to be positive in general because if it isn't then the content creators such as myself will drift to places where the tone is more pleasant and I'm being quite serious here. Tell us that "Auran is going down the tubes" gives the message that all content creators are wasting their time. I have some 500+ items on the DLS what you may not be aware of is the other 1,000 or so I have worked on but are under other people's names. I certainly do not appreciate being told the many hours I put into content creation is a waste of time.

I think also the other posts were before Rob's post and in some ways there is a sense of frustration because of a lack of information this I can accept. However I don't recall them using caps in bold in large type. This is behaviour and spelling I might expect of an eight year old. If you read her posts I fail to see any case being made only demands and attacks.

"Auran is going down down down down quicker than the titanic and I am afraid Tony Hilliam is responsable in my own personal opinion as he shoved money hand over fist into a project that everyone KNEW was going to fail. So because of that alot of good people lost their job at Auran. I think Greg Lane should come back and get Auranh back on track then the company could be bult back up and to how things used to be. When Greg stood down all the staff jumped ship does that not say anything about Tony's leadership skills?"

"everyone KNEW was going to fail" I disagree with this statement and many other people did as well showing their support with investment dollars.

Her arguments do not seem to be reasoned hence as I said there seems to be little point in attempting a dialogue. We have here a personal attack on Tony Hilliam which serves little purpose other than to alienate him and Auran when we need their cooperation to pull Trainz together. I think the expression is united we stand divide we fall, and at the moment that about sums it up.

In summation rather than drive a divide between Auran and its users, and give the message that content creators are wasting their time my personal preference is that she should take up more outdoor activities and get a little more exercise. That way she may feel less frustration and I could get on with creating models and getting Auran to enhance the game engine instead of being told I'm wasting my time.

I did wonder if she was being paid by another Railway / Railroad simulator to disrupt the Auran forums and make them less functional, but then it wouldn't be anything like that would it?

Cheerio John

I will agree with electra on this you did flame me ALSO you flamed people of Yorkshire all I can say is that the fact your biggest export from Canada is a class 66 which are so un-inspiaring its boing so need I say more on that situation.

Trust me John I wish I was paid atleast then I could afford to live but thats by the by. I have used 3 sims in the past, Railway 3d, BVE and Trainz out of all of them only 1 has everything in it I want and that is Trainz. I have owned 3 versions of Trainz. UTC, TRS 2004 & 2006, the latter of the 2 I have helped to promote by selling so if I was being paid to disrupte the forums I was moonlighting. I say things as I see them and not how people want me to see them. I may offend but I don't care if it something I am passionate about. I really hope Auran get back on track and start producing a decent version of Trainz again and once they dump Fury then people may consider going back. All you have to do is look at help desk, they are not even supporting TC1 & 2 atm! cause they havn't got the manpower but yet they can throw everything they got at Fury. So don't tell me I am not being supportive of Auran. I am just not being supportive of their current practice. If you have 2 products and one was failing fast and the other could make you cash which would you promote? I know what I would promote. ATM! Auran is trying to promote the product which is dead now can you see my reason behind why I am saying what I am? I really hope so.

 

[Rob]

OK, this discussion is growing a little tiresome. Electra, you are welcome to have your opinion but you are pushing the bounds of the Code of Conduct. Louise is quite capable of standing up for herself I have observed.

What the small Trainz community thinks about Fury is the last thing on Tony Hilliam's mind. I am pleased that many feel the need to alert Auran to their possible mistakes, but Tony has qualified advisors for that. What Tony does with what has essentially become his company is really up to him.

Basically, please don't use the Trainz Forum to take out your frustration with the decisions of the people who run Auran. They pay for this place where you all like to meet and vigorously discuss *Trainz*.

Yes Auran may have attracted 15 Million worth of investment toward Fury. Yes, investors throw that kind of money at mainstream genres. No, they don't throw that kind of money at train games.

"when you discover that you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount"

That nicely describes a few of the points I have been making.

Again I find it interesting how there is so much faith in certain members of the original Trainz team. I certainly don't remember the community being any less demanding or critical of Auran back then.

Further to say that there are no interesting ideas without Greg Lane etc is well frankly very amusing.

I work for Auran because I am a fan of the genre - I don't get rich working here. Whether Auran wants to invest heavily in Trainz or run it more modestly, is not really my business. If Auran is willing to keep another train sim title in the market, then I am for that.

I'm certainly not going to suggest they abandon Trainz because that is not what is best for the genre, the big picture.

What's more if Auran decides to continue on with smaller releases, well, again, that is their decision. They find the money to keep it all running. Some people will appreciate that Auran retains some kind of commitment to Trainz; heck some people might even like the new releases.

Nobody is forcing anyone to support Auran's business decisions. If members are really that dissatisfied with Auran and the existing team then I find it strange that they are still here.

I find it ill mannered that people take such delight in criticising Auran on the forums it provides them with. Of course, they are free to do so as long as it doesn't get out of hand.

I didn't know you had been in Greg's plane too, Nat. :hehe::wave:

~R~

 

[Klinger]

Im not even going to bother reading all the posts here, and after reading Rob's post, its not worth my time.

He is however correct in my opinion, you dont normally throw money at a train simulator, its not exactly a hot topic in the gaming world.....and I doubt it ever will be.


However, Rob, if I may ask one simple question. Should they drop trainz (god forbid) do you have any idea what would happen with the DLS and all the assets it contains? I'm not saying it will ever come down to that, I am just wondering. Is there any way that Auran could back up all, or even some of the data, or would it be up to those who play trainz to back up everything up and reupload it some where else. I would hate to see all the information and content that has been created lost. It would be a shame.

Anyway, I hope all goes well in the Future. I do understand how everyone here feels. In my long drawn out fight to save the SS United States, I know how it feels to look at a situation and feel like it is hopeless. But if I have learned anything from trying to save the Grand Old Lady, its that you always have to have hope. no matter how long she has to sit there and rust away, she survived longer then almost all ships from her Era, and for the foreseeable future, she will remain among the living.

 

[Natvander]

I didn't know you had been in Greg's plane too, Nat. :hehe::wave:

~R~

Originally he was going to teach me how to fly the bug, but the day we went up happened to be 45C with a gusty westerly expected in the afternoon. We spent the day finding thermals to gain elevation and then swoop down, find another thermal, swoop...

I brought my little digital camera (everything needs to be little in that thing!) and took some still pictures and video, but I seem to have misplaced them

 

[AJ_Fox]

He linked me a picture of it one night in chat. No offense Greg but it looked like a cross between an ultralite and an airplane.

Cheers as always

AJ

 

[Natvander]

He linked me a picture of it one night in chat. No offense Greg but it looked like a cross between an ultralite and an airplane.

Cheers as always

AJ

I believe it was registered as a "Prototype Ultralight". It was basically an oversized lawnmower motor strapped to an enclosed cockpit! In an emergency the cockpit was ejected from the rest of the plane and a parachute popped out of the back.

 

[Rob]

she survived longer then almost all ships from her Era, and for the foreseeable future, she will remain among the living.

Thanks, Klinger,

like many of us here I have done my share of helping to save rusting relics; and I realise you weren't calling Trainz that just yet, I think your quote about the Grand Old Lady is timely for Trainz.

Every little bit helps, and very slowly the work becomes more publicly recognised.

Every version of Trainz that Auran gets in front of people on shelves in stores is helping the genre. It pleases me no end how the genre has progressed; how large and ever passionate the communities have become.

By the late 90's, flightsims were commonplace on home computers Mac and PC. The train simming idea didn't even get the consideration of the bigger players for a long time. People petitioned etc, organised themselves into groups, generally tried to solve the problem.

So I am very happy to see now that we have such a selection to choose from. There's *almost* something for everyone. Eventually someone will be offering the sim that does all the things we like; but as much as I'd like to, I don't think that will be for some time yet. I really think you, me, we are all still very much pioneers at this early stage in the genre.

Really I just want to try and impress after getting involved in this; that there is no benefit for Trainz or any other sim in threads that turn out like this one. You are preaching to the converted.

We are all on the same side, we like train sims. Yeah I like this; he/she likes that; old grandfather George reckons such and such version/brand is the best.

Well I am glad to hear all of that as long is it's in a positive way. The hard work done here to explicitly compare and demonstrate dissatisfaction over a particular point doesn't benefit Trainz or the community.

Klinger, your question about the DLS is an interesting one isn't it? The data would be safe enough, the entire DLS is backed up all over the place. Whether Auran would be willing or permitted to turn over the source code for the existing DLS would depend on the reason for calling it a day.

If, just for example sake, Auran sold the IP to a competitor who would like to get rid of Trainz - then they'd probably be interested in converting as much of the existing community to their product and the terms would be appropriately restrictive I imagine.

Thankfully not *everyone* is dissatisfied with Auran, and there are enough interested parties to keep the Trainz nuisance going for now.

Cheers!

~R~

 

[Rob]

but the day we went up happened to be 45C with a gusty westerly

dejavu

You have to love the guy though really don't ya? The enthusiasm is worth bottling.

Yeah Greg gave me the stick for a while. But I gave it back. All I could think about was getting off that thing.

Yeah I took my camera too. I never used it.

Greg demonstrated the bodily effect of 4 gees winding around the Double Island coastline. Matter of fact I wasn't terribly impressed.

A photo of the chunda I promptly laid on Gympie Airport tarmac would've saved me some typing tonight.

I looked around at the verdant green landscape. Saw no sign of alternative transport back to my car; and conditioned myself to embark on the trip back.

Greg took another staff member up that afternoon, only he had the good sense to install some air sickness bags in the craft after my ascent. Lucky thing too because she let it rip mid take off I think. :hehe:

Talk to you soon, Nat :wave:,

~R~