So here's the scoop. First of TOPSIG is on the rocks and I might kill it. But Not for good. If I kill TOPSIG I would start VOPSIG, or Virtual Operations Special Interest Group. VOPSIG would cover more then just Trainz, but other train sims such as Run8 and maybe Open Rails, and any thing else that might come down the road. The name Trainz in TOPSIG I think limits it too much to just one sim, and I would feel awkward telling people in Run8 or another sim to join a TOPSIG session. But before I do that, I need to know if there would be any interest in a multi sim operating group.
Second, the Saginaw Sub. Work has come to a crawl, for a number of reasons. Ive been busy with TOPSIG, and other organizations and with work. But I still press on with this route. But as of late my interest in Trainz has weaned a little, and I have been lacking motivation to work on it at all.
The MP community is partly to blame for my lack of interest. It seams to me that a few years ago every one and their brother wanted multiplayer. There where at least one thread started once a month saying that we needed MP. There was a 50+ some page long discussion about it where ideas and votes for it where thrown in. But now that we have it, there are hardly any people playing it. If I am going to take the time to host a session for even a day, I would like to know that people will join. As it stands, last TOPSIG session I had one person show up. The one before that, I had 3 people over 2 days. Last time I was on UMR, there where only 2 other players in the session, not counting the host.
Now I know its winter, many of the people who had joined my sessions in the summer are in school and unable to devote much time to the computer. But I still feel like there should be more people jumping up and down at a chance to run a session.
Ive also had a few problems with people who have joined sessions. From people joining and causing problems, to people not understanding instructions. And even people not bothering to ask how some thing works, just look at it and assume its broken and write it off as a fail.
The other thing that the MP community has done to irritate me is the rampant hijacking of threads. I might make a post about how I am going to host a session. Only to have 3 people pop in and say they tried to download it but some asset is missing. Or come in and say that they will be hosting their own session on some other route. "Excuse me, but get your own damn soap box and stand on that street corner over there! This is my soap box and my street!"
Ive had d few people so far as go to insult me because they broke the rules. Simple rule, follow the speed limit. Simple rule, park your train off the main if your leaving. Some one came in to one of my sessions, got a train up to 130mph, then left with the train still going at 130. I then proceeded to ban them the next time they joined for braking the rules, causing problems, and risking rail road equipment. They got bent out of shape and began to insult me.
All those things there, in the last five paragraphs, have lead to a very decreased interest in Trainz for me. I still fond Trainz fun, but can't find the motivation to do any thing in it right now. Maybe Im just in a rut, or a dry spell. Or maybe some thing needs to happen in or with Trainz to get me more involved.
Second, the Saginaw Sub. Work has come to a crawl, for a number of reasons. Ive been busy with TOPSIG, and other organizations and with work. But I still press on with this route. But as of late my interest in Trainz has weaned a little, and I have been lacking motivation to work on it at all.
The MP community is partly to blame for my lack of interest. It seams to me that a few years ago every one and their brother wanted multiplayer. There where at least one thread started once a month saying that we needed MP. There was a 50+ some page long discussion about it where ideas and votes for it where thrown in. But now that we have it, there are hardly any people playing it. If I am going to take the time to host a session for even a day, I would like to know that people will join. As it stands, last TOPSIG session I had one person show up. The one before that, I had 3 people over 2 days. Last time I was on UMR, there where only 2 other players in the session, not counting the host.
Now I know its winter, many of the people who had joined my sessions in the summer are in school and unable to devote much time to the computer. But I still feel like there should be more people jumping up and down at a chance to run a session.
Ive also had a few problems with people who have joined sessions. From people joining and causing problems, to people not understanding instructions. And even people not bothering to ask how some thing works, just look at it and assume its broken and write it off as a fail.
The other thing that the MP community has done to irritate me is the rampant hijacking of threads. I might make a post about how I am going to host a session. Only to have 3 people pop in and say they tried to download it but some asset is missing. Or come in and say that they will be hosting their own session on some other route. "Excuse me, but get your own damn soap box and stand on that street corner over there! This is my soap box and my street!"
Ive had d few people so far as go to insult me because they broke the rules. Simple rule, follow the speed limit. Simple rule, park your train off the main if your leaving. Some one came in to one of my sessions, got a train up to 130mph, then left with the train still going at 130. I then proceeded to ban them the next time they joined for braking the rules, causing problems, and risking rail road equipment. They got bent out of shape and began to insult me.
All those things there, in the last five paragraphs, have lead to a very decreased interest in Trainz for me. I still fond Trainz fun, but can't find the motivation to do any thing in it right now. Maybe Im just in a rut, or a dry spell. Or maybe some thing needs to happen in or with Trainz to get me more involved.