Boring

KarenB

Banned
Is it just me or is this place getting boring? All the content creators seem to be chasing bugs in TANE, those who are left keep saying they think TANE is wonderful, or will be just as soon as the next patch is out.

It took them four service packs to get TRS2004 right, so why should TANE be different? When are we going to get some more pretty Welsh assets?

Luv Karen
 
The T:ANE program must be a daunting task to get operational, as it is a completely different engine than 09, 10, 12, and especially completely different from 04, 06

I still primarily use TRS2006, and plan on using 10, and 12 on my old desktop, now that ambient temps in my wintertime basement, is much better than summer time sweltering heat on my chips

I think that concentration on operation will be the next T:ANE SP ... rather than creating special assets like US, Welsh ... etc ...

I have noted increasing heated tempers of Community members, as they must be experiencing increased frustration with problems using T:ANE, and now that the Christmas rush is on ... tempers will be flaring
 
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Well I recently released a route (for TANE) and have a few other projects ticking over in TS12. Have kept beta testing of the next TANE patch at arms length but I also have a couple of MSTS and RW-TS projects I dip in to as the mood takes me so progress is slow.

As the OP only shows TS2009 registered you might well find it a struggle to see new content for this version. It is well outside N3V's lifecycle policy (ergo no uploads to the DLS) and in any event TS2010 pretty much did everything TS2009 did, but better and with more built in content. And of course, TS2010 is also technically obsolete according to the N3V policy. Only TANE and TS12 (for a few more months) are supported versions.
 
I have noted increasing heated tempers of Community members, as they must be experiencing increased frustration with problems using T:ANE, and now that the Christmas rush is on ... tempers will be flaring

On the contrary, the atmosphere around here and even in the larger Trainz community is now relatively peaceful...mellow even, as compared to just a couple months ago.

N3V is chipping away at TANE, nothing interesting to see here move along now.
 
Hi everybody.
Is it just me or is this place getting boring? All the content creators seem to be chasing bugs in TANE, those who are left keep saying they think TANE is wonderful, or will be just as soon as the next patch is out.

It took them four service packs to get TRS2004 right, so why should TANE be different? When are we going to get some more pretty Welsh assets?

Luv Karen

Karen, one of the reasons that this forum has become so quiet would be that the number of active members registered to it has now fallen to two thousand two hundred in total worldwide. At the time of the Kickstarter campaign launch we were informed that the active membership of this forum stood at six and a half thousand and therefore there has been a reduction in active membership of approximately two thirds. How N3V, collates “active members” I would not know, but obviously to any commercial company operating a forum so as to assist the sales of its products those figures are undoubtedly disastrous.

What is important in the above would be undoubtedly to assess the reasons why there has been such a drift of members away from the forum in the last two years and particularly in the last few months. In that respect, the launch of T:ane and the “furore of criticism” that accompanied it on this forum and others did little to encourage any further long-term interest of many who until that point had been strong supporters of the Trainz franchise.

Further to the above, I believe that over the months since the launch of the Kickstarter campaign, this forum has gradually become the embodiment of elitism of the worst kind. If long-standing forum members put themselves into the position of a person visiting this forum prior to or just after purchasing T:ane or any other N3V train simulator product, what would they see and experience in that first visit. They would witness a forum divided into sections two of which they are denied access to for reasons it would be undoubtedly difficult to judge why.

Our new prospective member would find that on one section they could raise a matter if he/she asks a selected member of that section to raise the question for them. Our new member or prospective buyer may then find that there are several other sections hidden and inaccessible to them as they do not hold the “privileged rights” necessary for access. Surely anyone who thinks on the foregoing must conclude that the present structure of the forum is hardly encouragement for prospective buyers to purchase or those who purchase and then visit to become engaged and post in this forum.

As stated, I believe this forum has become elitism at its very worst. In that it is driving many long-standing members away to engage new interests and hobbies while doing nothing to bring in new members to replace them.

Bill
 
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~snip~ As stated, I believe this forum has become elitism at its very worst. In that it is driving many long-standing members away to engage new interests and hobbies while doing nothing to bring in new members to replace them.

Bill
It's quite sad to see so many great contributors missing.

Gone are the regular appearances of new innovations, ideas on building, releases of great new routes and assets which provided inspiration for the development of Trainz. There are some exceptions, but most of the energy on the Forum now seems to be devoted to fixing broken bits of the application, often unsuccessfully, rather than how to use and make the most of a workable sim.

Hopefully not all of the creative remainder will beat a similar path to the TRexitZ.
 
It is tradgic mezzo, that the best times are over and Trainz looks to be on a greasy slippery slope towards the pits of hell. But friends were made and friends were lost, life goes on. I still haven't played Trainz much but I do feel sad the forum spirit is down. Like an old dog it is now whimpering along, gasping for fresh air an vitality. Cascade and you are still here, living the dream. Perhaps this was how it was meant to end? Kickstarter? Kickender?

Let's forget the disappointment, and instead of looking outwards to better, more forward moving and visually an technically impressive games, lets wallow in trainz content manager mud! For we are relentless in our faith. We are the ones who bare the genes to keep alive and pass on.
 
It's not all bad I suppose. The reason I've stopped creating content is because I've gone to university, how am I supposed to find time between drinking/sleeping/studying to build content. :p I joke, but sometimes it's just life.

However, there are a few recurring users here who do drive me up the wall. Primarily through being severely misinformed whilst trying to push this misinformation onto others, it's a little distressing.

Jack
 
One thing to keep in mind are the multiple versions that are still active. When TRS2004 was the new kid on the rails, most of the creators would be working in that with a few still working in previous versions. With each new version, the pattern repeats. As for the TS2009 of the OP, chances are there are few still working in that version. Those that opt to stay with a previous version have to know that the older it becomes, the fewer new assets will be made. Not a conspiracy, just how it works. Eventually the current version of T:ANE will also be old and new assets will be few and far between too.

Even if all previous versions were to be created for, the talent pool would have to be spread over more and more versions,unless the pool of creators also increases. With the creation of objects becoming increasingly more complex, that increase is not likely.

I think that many creators are either working behind the scenes or are taking a wait and see attitude until SP1 is released and proven stable.
 
One thing to keep in mind are the multiple versions that are still active. When TRS2004 was the new kid on the rails, most of the creators would be working in that with a few still working in previous versions. With each new version, the pattern repeats. As for the TS2009 of the OP, chances are there are few still working in that version. Those that opt to stay with a previous version have to know that the older it becomes, the fewer new assets will be made. Not a conspiracy, just how it works. Eventually the current version of T:ANE will also be old and new assets will be few and far between too.

Even if all previous versions were to be created for, the talent pool would have to be spread over more and more versions,unless the pool of creators also increases. With the creation of objects becoming increasingly more complex, that increase is not likely.

I think that many creators are either working behind the scenes or are taking a wait and see attitude until SP1 is released and proven stable.

I think TS2009 is still viable, the newer meshes can be dropped into a copy of the older config.txt file. Newer content is available on TPR and other Trainz sites. I'd like to think that everyone could afford a GTX980 and TANE but I don't think that's realistic.

The older versions still act as a feeder for the newer versions, it allows people to try the software out without making a huge financial commitment and even if you don't have lots of cash you can still have fun with the earlier versions of Trainz and content creation can be done with free software, plus it works, its reliable.

I think there is definitively a hold off effect at the moment as we wait for S&C, PLL, and a more consistent TANE and Bill's earlier comments about people drifting off and doing other things is probably accurate. I'm certainly not spending as much time with Trainz and content creation as I once did.

Perhaps if we were all to follow Jack's lead and go to university for three or four years it will all be better and more stable when we come back?

Not quite the boring thread I thought it might be from the title.

Cheerio John
 
Hi everybody.
Amigacooke, great to meet you on the forum again posting at #6 of this thread, as either you or I seem not to visit this place as often as we did for our good-natured jousts. Of course I would not dispute your figures with regard to the numbers of active members frequenting the forum over the years. However, it was a member of the N3V staff who informed us that at the time of the Kickstarter campaign that there were six and a half thousand active members. I guess that was just more of the insatiable hype that so pervaded the Kickstarter campaign much of which looks totally discredited and ridiculous now.

In regard to the above, one statement that the N3V management made during the Kickstarter campaign has always stuck with me, that being “the thousands of Kickstarter pledge makers will also be beta testers making T:ane the most bug free version of Trainz ever released” LOL.

Mezzoprezzo, in regard to your posting at #8 of this thread, I am sure many appreciate the efforts that the members of the Dev Forum and other sub-sections are making in trying to make the sim more credible and workable. The forgoing is especially credible after a large body of full-time and probably well-salaried staff failed so miserably in the eyes of many to live up to what had been promised in Kickstarter. I am afraid that “clearing up the mess” that others were paid not to make certainly does not fall within my personal make up, but I look up to those trying to carrying out those remedial tasks.

However, in the above having sections devoted to those tasks has made this forum very elitist and appear exclusive to prospective buyers of N3V products and new forum members as I stated in my posting at #5 of this thread. I would agree totally with you Mezzoprezzo that it is sad to see so many forum contributors drift away in recent months. This place to me and I am sure many others always seemed so vibrant with not only discussion regarding Trainz and its content but also great discussion on real rail matters.

There was also great humour in threads often held in the community section. Two I remember, was the thread which discussed the virtues (or lack of) of the rail mounted public convenience which I think you Mezzoprezzo made several great contributions to. The other thread I remember so well was the now famous “beer is brain food” thread started by Pfx which again I and so many others found hilarious throughout. As stated sadly so many who contributed to those great threads have now drifted away.

It was threads such as the above in this forum that made Trainz not just a hobby, but a great part of members lives. In the forgoing the forum also acted as free advertising for N3V by way of its welcoming nature to new users and perhaps more importantly prospective buyers of the company products.

However, that seems to have been lost now to be replaced by a sectionalized elitist status of the worst kind. Certainly it is not a great advertisement at this point in time for N3V products and the prospective purchasers who may visit here.

Bill
 
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First, I have been severely criticizing N3V for their cumbersome release and subsequent management of the project and its marketing. I continue to hold those views in a historical sense.

Now, I believe, we are on the cusp of T:ANE becoming a viable commercial product that can be enjoyed by a wide variety of customers. I am very encouraged that Tony has chosen to continue most or all (tough to accurately assess) of the functions that have made Trainz a premier train simulator. They have had success in squeezing the essence of the program onto a tablet screen. Once most issues are fixed I expect to see more attention paid to the human interface and the operation of the program itself. This will be done to enable new customers to quickly "get into T:ANE" without jumping through arcane hoops. This week promises to be a watershed period to see if there really is the level of improvement that permits all customers to enjoy running trains, creating assets or just messing around.

The DLS database, in my opinion, becomes very critical as a major support system for T:ANE. New customers may eventually look around the internet for more localized assets but initially they will depend upon the DLS. If routes, which might be extremely attractive, continue to use specialized assets scattered across the internet new customers may become discouraged. Perhaps some classification of the routes on the DLS to indicate that they are, or are not, 100% DLS supported would help.

Finally to Wales, and others. Maybe there are people, new or old-hands, who have the talent to make a few assets that are specific to Wales. Maybe an entry (shown on the DLS) to indicate the area of focus for an asset might be yet another assist to new customers. It is the new customers who will become the commercial support for the product. The experienced customers will become the support for the new customers offering help and high quality assets.
 
Hi everybody.
Boleyd, I feel your posting at #13 of this thread is subjective and hopeful thinking. I am sure that we all wish that the matters referred to prove to be corrected as in the "pave the way" you paint the future. However, there is an old adage which states that "the proof of the pudding is in the eating" so we all wait to see what transpires in the patch whenever it is released.

That stated, myself and I am sure many other long term Trainz supporters who have not purchased T:ane will continue to wait and read the reviews on this forum and others following the patch release and then decide on purchase based on those reviews. Until then I will continue to develop my new hobby "Arduino" with the thoughts that if the reviews for the patched T:ane are overwhelmingly positive perhaps (and again like many others I am sure) I may purchase and return to the Trainz fold.

For N3V their largest problem may well be in another old adage,that being "give a dog a bad name and it lasts forever". T:ane credibility hit the floor on its retail release day (May 15). Getting gamers and rail enthusiasts interested in the software again could prove to be a very large uphill struggle to say the least.

In the meantime it can be said that T:ane remains in intensive care reliant on ipad owners buying their mobile app version and content with sufficient financial impact so as to allow its Trainz pc counterpart to have any future at all.

Bill
 
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For N3V their largest problem may well be in another old adage,that being "give a dog a bad name and it lasts forever". T:ane credibility hit the floor on its retail release day (May 15). Getting gamers and rail enthusiasts interested in the software again could prove to be a very large uphill struggle to say the least Bill
Perhaps N3V should have poled the Community, beforehand, as to what to name their new game ... I think T:ANE sounds a bit to "Happy in the britch's" (and it is too hard to type) ... and if I went in for a job interview and told my employer of my hobbies, and that I played "TANE", he would raise his eyebrows, in wonderment, if I was a "Loon" ... Do you still push your Tainz around by hand, Whoo Whoo, Choo Choo, Ding Ding ? And as for stating that you use Trans-DEM, that also sounds a bit gender questionable.

Not that there's anything wrong wit' dat' !

It should have been something professional sounding, like: N3V Trainz Railwayz Railroad Simulator-The New Era

If you were painting a WWII B29 Super Fortress bomber, would you paint a gay bird on it's nose, and name it the "Lark" ?
 
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I'm with boleyd on this. Perhaps I have low expectations, but as someone who runs T:ANE in 4K resolution, with shadows and post processing, at what I regard as acceptable frame rates on a reasonably high spec laptop, I see a product that is maturing nicely. I guess I'm one of the 'privileged few', as part of Trainzdev, but the bulk of my time is spent using the retail build. Has my computer melted? No. Has T:ANE trashed my OS? No. Do I get occasional lock ups and infuriating database rebuilds? Yes. Not saying the product is perfect, but I'm absolutely certain that the N3V team are committed to fixing things as fast as resources allow.

With regard to new content, I've got a few things waiting in the wings that I'm waiting for T:ANE development to settle down before finalising.

R3
 
Personally, I'm waiting for a usable version of (Mac)TANE. I like what I've seen so far, but the FPS are too low at the moment.

I try not to post as much as formerly as it reduces the opportunities for my trolling, flaming, and disruptive behaviour.
 
KarenB

I definitely agree that the Forum has become boring. A few of my Trainz friends have made the same observation to me in private. I was going to speculate as to why it's like this now, but I'm too bored to even do that. Where is Euphod when we need him? He was always interesting.

.
 
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