Where are you Auran Folks

[jjanmarine3]

It is ok being in the middle of the bunch , I leave the headaches to the big bug guns and when they have sorted out the bugs in trainz I can dl without too much fuss.
Thank heavens though for the guys who are prepared to always sit with all the headaches and make it easier for us - it is those guys who keep trainz going and a big thanks to them all.
I have more than enough stuff to play with in the meantime while I wait for new stuff to clear.

 

[Razor01]

I think I should clarify something. My install went fine, just took 7 hours including the new fresh install of trainz 2012 first, the hotfix install went fine, all that is good.

It's the lack of things working correctly after the install that has me frustrated once again.

Now, all this talk about 24/7. I'm not saying they have to fix all the bugs 24/7, but I think if you have a 24/7 anything (multiplayer game, online banking, corner store, gas station, etc.), you should have something in place to ensure that urgent matters are dealt with quickly (like down servers, cash registers not working, gas pumps not pumping, etc.)

At work, we have a computerized system that runs climate, irrigation, etc. When something goes amiss, an alarm goes out and there are particular people on call to deal with particular issues. That is something that should be set up as quickly as possible - it is a must, in my opinion, with something like Trainz that runs 24/7 in multiple countries in multiple timezones.

At the same time, this emergency on call person would send a quick note in announcements explaining what seems to be the problem and that it is being addressed as quickly as possible, expected uptime could be ?? time EST, PST, whatever. Then we can plan things a bit too and just come back when we think it may be fixed.

This is not a difficult thing to put in place and could save so much frustration. Because let's face it - things will happen, servers will crash, etc. - there just needs to be a plan to deal with these things quickly & ensure people know something about what's going on.

This is not very expensive and not very difficult to handle major issues such as the down server where no one can use the system.

I don't think this is an unreasonable request at all and should be addressed. It would go miles in customer satisfaction.

And just an aside, I know that the staff at Auran are working hard on fixes - this is kind of beside that work, or perhaps better said a different part of it that would keep down the negative chatter.

What do you think, Auran? Any possibilities here?

Regards,
Razor01

 

[frogpipe]

At work, we have a computerized system that runs climate, irrigation, etc. When something goes amiss, an alarm goes out and there are particular people on call to deal with particular issues.

And what is the contract for that I wonder? When they come out "on call" do they do it for free?

I guess when I read Consumer Reports, and they say a new car is full of problems and bugs reported by new owners, I should go right out and buy one to see for myself.

You might escape such derision by stating in your posts that you are simply re-publishing the opinions and experiences of others. I think in the case of a car, you wouldn't find it too hard to find those who would think that if YOU hadn't driven the car yourself then you don't REALLY know.

Don't get me wrong. We PAID for this, we have a RIGHT to voice our OPINION, but at the same time let's keep in mind, this software is for playing with trains, not operating life support on the International Space Station...

 

[Razor01]

Hey frogpipe,

They are just people on our staff that get an alarm on a phone. If it's a physical fix (like power outage, pipe rupture), one or two have to go in to work, if it's a computer glitch, it is usually fixed from a computer anywhere in the world or directly from their smartphone. Most things are a computer reset - 5 minutes and it's done.

The business I "drive" is my "car". I think I have every right to post what I think is a rather simple and inexpensive solution.

And as noted earlier in the post, I for one am willing to pay a monthly fee to have a better system - if it truly makes it better. I did that for another game for 5 years and was overall happy with the quality, uptime, service, etc. Not to say there were never any glitches, but the glitches that brought down servers & playtime were worked on quickly, information was posted online so we knew where things were at, etc. Not perfect, but quite good.

And to refer to your reference to it "only being a game". If you go to a movie, and the picture doesn't complete in any way, you would expect either a refund or a fix so you could finish watching it. I know, it's only a movie, not the international space station, but it is what you would expect for your $15.00 admission fee.

I don't pretend to know all the workings at Auran, but having been in business for about 28 years, I have some idea of what it takes to keep the business successful working with 4 countries and 6 time zones. I think my opinions could at least be considered by a "worldwide" company such as Auran. If I was in their position, I'd be talking about it at the highest level, whatever that is in their company. That is just good business.

My thoughts, for what they are worth.

Again, regards,

Razor01

 

[shaneturner12]

Don't forget though that N3V (Auran no longer exist) do not have a large multi-country operation as such - they simply distribute to multiple distributors/customers from Australia.

Another issue that comes into play here is the timezone difference. The servers are based in the US, whereas N3V are in Australia, and there is around 12-13 hours difference, which is sufficient to cause havoc if the issue crops up when people are asleep in Australia, or if there are any major weather issues in the US. Based on what I've read elsewhere, part of the issue may be to do with the company that hosts N3V's servers (N3V usually say it's not, but I've got a feeling it is) who have been known to have issues with reliability.

Shane

Shane

 

[boc61]

Based on what I've read elsewhere, part of the issue may be to do with the company that hosts N3V's servers (N3V usually say it's not, but I've got a feeling it is) who have been known to have issues with reliability.

The US Government hosts N3V's servers?

 

[shaneturner12]

No - it's actually a company called Softlayer, previously known as The Planet, who are based in Houston, Texas.

Shane

 

[mezzoprezzo]

"Houston, we have a problem!"

"Houston, we have a problem!" Please fix our DLS.

 

[clam1952]

The US Government hosts N3V's servers?

They are hosted by ThePlanet in Texas which is now part of Softlayer.

As I see it if we cant access properly depending on what the problem is it's quite likely that N3V can't either.

Edit got beaten to it twice! Forums a bit slow here as well at the moment.

 

[shaneturner12]

I like that one Casper... :hehe:

Shane

 

[BLACKWATCH]

"Houston, we have a problem!"

Good one Mezzo, maybe this sim is "rocket science" after all.

 

[Razor01]

Hi Shane,

We are not multi-country either - 1 location only.

But we deal with people all over Canada, the USA, Mexico, and places in Europe. We are not a large company, but we have systems in place to deal with things 24/7, because it's essential to our success. Not a big multi-national company here, just a regular small business that has to operate all over.

Hope that helps clarify things - I'm not sitting in an executive office at a big boardroom table with multiple-managers & such - our meetings initiate around a desk in the office as things come up that need immediate attention, although we do have a very small boardroom.

Regards,
Razor01

 

[shaneturner12]

It may well be that N3V do not have the resources to do that - bear in mind that Trainz is a fairly niche product, and as a result probably doesn't get that many sales. As stated above though, part of the problem is that N3V do not have their own servers in Australia - they rent them from a company in the US (name is in my previous post), and if the server is inaccessible to end users, it's probably inaccessible to N3V as well.

Shane

 

[JCitron]

I had a feeling the server was going to be down this weekend. There were problems all week with the services being spotty. They use Softlayer located in the Dallas, Texas area. This is an inexpensive company and I'll leave it at that. Without knowing the details how all this works, perhaps this is one of those things that needs a reboot often to make fresh brains. Then again if they do that, there will be complaints even if they posted a sticky that said "Every Monday at 00:01 AST, the DLS server will be rebooted" because no one reads these messages anyway. I say that from experience, having worked in IT for close to 25 years with 34 years in high tech industry.

Regarding the patch... I was one of those trail blazers and installed it. I have mixed feelings about it, but then again shame on me for not waiting. As has been mentioned, the more third-party content you have, the more problems you'll have because the errors are mostly third-party related due to the changes in the error-reporting. Missing thumbnails are the main problem with content, and the community is repairing the issue. Josef and Lothar at HP-Trainz for example, have already patched their install for Marias Pass-X. There were other blatant errors in a few tags which are now trapped and reported. The mode-tag being one I can recall offhand. As with any patch and updates there will be things that will pass by the beta testers and in-house testing. This happens even with the biggest companies including Adobe and Microsoft to name a couple. This is why we should report the errors and clearly. Don't say that something is just "broken" or "don't work". That helps a lot for the developers and techs to try to fix stuff. I say this from experience too when I was in field service depot repair. So report the error in a helpdesk message as well as the forums and include pictures, repeatable documentation and other evidence. This helps them duplicate the issue and hopefully come up with a hotfix. I did this with the merge issue we had with TS12. Unfortunately, this didn't get fixed right away and had to wait for this patch.

I agree that the communication could be better and have said this numerous times. We should have had a heads up on the patch and the caveats that came with it. This would have helped the third-party content creators such as Jointed Rail and HP-Trainz fix their content prior to patch release. The notice to the community in general would have help those such as myself with 10-years of content installed. We would have known that the thumbnails and other things that will break, and would become come an issue. We could have then, if we wanted to, repair our content ahead of time. Then again, this is all hindsight and we can say this again and again. Chris even said that better communication would have been better.

Just a few thoughts on this.

John

Edit:

Thanks to the post above mine, I added in the ISP.

Here's a link to a complaints website...

http://www.webhostingreviews.com/softlayer-reviews.htm

 

[wholbr]

Hi John, Shane and Everybody.

~snip~I agree that the communication could be better and have said this numerous times. We should have had a heads up on the patch and the caveats that came with it. This would have helped the third-party content creators such as Jointed Rail and HP-Trainz fix their content prior to patch release. The notice to the community in general would have help those such as myself with 10-years of content installed. We would have known that the thumbnails and other things that will break, and would become come an issue. We could have then, if we wanted to, repair our content ahead of time. Then again, this is all hindsight and we can say this again and again. Chris even said that better communication would have been better. Just a few thoughts on this. John~snip~

Once more John you have hit the nail right on the head with your posting. As someone who is hoping to have more leisure time at some time in the future to return to trainz, I have followed the various threads on the forum regarding Sp1 with some trepidation while travelling by rail in the course of my work this week.

I seem to remember that one of trainz biggest competitors also had problems last year with an upgrade when released. My own experience in that case was that all the third-party payware content producers where on hand on the main forums for several days after release to advise customers who had bought their software of the various remedies that where available to enable the content to work. In my case a class 142 I had purchased from AP-wagonz would not show up in any of these scenarios. I posted on the UK trains forum and within a few minutes somebody from the company advised me on how to restore the content to the game which only took a few minutes, and that’s how it should be

~snip~ I must disagree with those who feel that N3V should be operating 24/7 or close to that, as everyone needs a break sometimes,
Shane
P.S. If N3V did work 24/7, how much of an increase in price do you think there would be to buyers of Trainz software to cover the increased running costs? ~snip~

Shane, I respect all the work and help you voluntarily give to members of this forum who I am sure are most appreciative. However, you do not seem to realise what the world of work (especially in Britain) really is these days. In almost all companies you obtain yourself a position, a job description and a salary appropriate and proportionate to that job. You then work from there for whatever hours it takes to fulfil that job within the set salary you are given. If you feel you are working excessive hours to fulfil your duties, you then see your direct line manager who if he/she agrees that you are having to work excessive hours will either increase your salary or ensure you receive assistance to reduce your hours. The one thing that everyone is expected to ensure these days is that the customer(s) receives the best service possible in as quick a time as possible; everything else is subservient to that.

Sadly, the foregoing does not seem to apply to the retail industry worldwide, but they do however seem to be the most prominent people for placing pressure on their suppliers for exemplary standards of service which they do not provide themselves. As for working weekends, in my own company at the end of a very busy week approximately two thirds of the staff where in the office this morning (Saturday) finalising what we have done over the past five days and sorting out work for next week (all for no extra pay). It also gives everyone a good chance to talk to one another regarding any problems while the phones are not ringing. We all Went for a pint down the pub when we finished at lunchtime which makes for some time to socialise and have a laugh and joke about various situations that have happened over the last week And Smooth any ruffled feathers


The one thing you do not do in any company is to try to charge your customers extra for mistakes made by your own company.


Bill

 

[shaneturner12]

That would make sense. I do have a sense on working hours (as I've done some part-time work so far, but am looking for a full-time job), although things in Australia may be different (perhaps they have limits on working hours).

Shane

 

[BLACKWATCH]

The one thing that everyone is expected to ensure these days is that the customer(s) receives the best service possible in as quick a time as possible; everything else is subservient to that.

Sadly that is not my experience in the retail sector of the UK, try spending a day in the High St. stores in any large town or City or in the retail parks with the
likes of Currys, PC World, Halfords etc, all they seem to be taught is the art of the 'Pressure sell' & most of the sales personnel know sod-all about the stuff they sell.

 

[wholbr]

Hi Shane.
Thanks for the reply and I am sure with your attitude for work which you so often display on this forum it will not be long before you find a full-time job. If you ever gain any qualifications and experience in industrial safety then undoubtedly there would be several companies including my own which would only be too happy to give you a start.

All the best
Bill
NB: - Before anyone starts, we do not work for the ambulance chasing solicitors you see advertising on the television, but for employers and insurance companies being subject to claims or are looking for better safety within their organisations

 

[wholbr]

Hi Blackwatch

Sadly that is not my experience in the retail sector of the UK, try spending a day in the High St. stores in any large town or City or in the retail parks with the
likes of Currys, PC World, Halfords etc, all they seem to be taught is the art of the 'Pressure sell' & most of the sales personnel know sod-all about the stuff they sell.

Blackwatch,That is what I was referring to when I stated that good service was not the case in the retail industry worldwide. Therefore I very much agree with your comments regarding the UK. However, it must be remembered that the staff working in the stores you mentioned are very often poorly trained and poorly paid with their employers having an "if you don't like it get out" attitude, as we will soon get someone to replace you from the two and a half million unemployed.

I'm just glad I'm not starting out in the world of work today.
Bill

 

[shaneturner12]

Thankyou for your response and hopefully I do get one soon. The problem I've got at the moment is the lack of jobs that fit my qualifications (although not at degree level, my highest qualification is a HNC in Computing (General).

Shane