Trainz Content Creator's Buy Out

I tired to come up with a way to keep the things we love to use relevant however it seems my plans were half baked. This does not mean I have given up but it will serve as a learning experience for later when I try again. Upon reflection I would like to know what method of asset preservation one attempt to use other than personal means to get the concept to work. If anyone has any constructive ideas feel free to post them here.

It's a decent idea, so keep with it. The issue is, finding assets worth buying and getting people to pitch in. I would, for example, pitch in for Connie's locos. That said, you'll probably have to first do some polling as to what people would pay for, set just a few goals, and perhaps hold your nose and accept KickStarter's fees.

I sympathise.

Certainly, the internet makes very it easy for individuals to falsify identities.

[EDIT] This matter has been resolved amicably.

Mr. Pware,

Please feel free to message me.

EDIT: All resolved and in good standing


Cheers mate,

I feel that it's time I should comment on this. This sounds like a good idea, to ensure that content that has become vaporware can be acquired by another person and have it available for those who never got it when it was available. There are only three problems with this: having the content that was payware be freeware, the possibility that there is no way to contact the original creator, and whether or not the creator decides to have his content be available again. If the content was available as payware in the past, it should be available as payware. If it is somehow is unable to be contacted, (i.e. they died, they have changed the E-Mail shown as the 'contact-email' included in the config file, there is no 'contact-email' listed in the config file, they have no E-Mail, no one on the Forums have his E-Mail, etc.) then the possibility that the content created by that creator will be unavailable forever. However, if by some luck that the creator is able to be contacted, then they have the right to decide whether or not to allow their content to become available again. These three problems might cause this proposal to succeed or fail.

I disagree.

Jordan, I believe that if the former creator approved of it being freeware, then why shouldn't it be? Much like when JR decommissioned their old SD40s, the creators may want to follow a similar route. If they aren't trying to make money off of it anymore, then why force people to pay?

In fact this has already happened. Some older payware assets have been released on the DLS as freeware by the original creators.

It is possible that some of those who originally paid for those assets may have been upset by this but I do not recall ever seeing any negative posts on the matter. If so, then these people would have had the advantages of being able to use the assets before the "rest of us" and, like all early adopters of newer technology, have paid extra for the privilege - I have certainly "been there, done that".

I can never understand why some people continue to believe that because an asset creator cannot be contacted and has not posted in the forums for some time (and that time is often very flexible in its duration) then their content is now "open source" and can be copied, edited (or not) and then reposted on the DLS under a new KUID.

If someone buys something as soon as it is released, they get the glory of being the first person with the new toy. They get the pain of having to pay for the glory. It is like buying a car, if you get the current model year, you pay full price, if you get one that is 'new' ie never owned by anyone else, but of last years model (over stock) then you can knock off 20-40% of the sticker price.

I have paid for things that in time became freeware, I did not really mind, I did not buy them to have something exclusive, I bought them to use them when I paid. If they became 'free' later, I basically paid for the early use of them.

Now on a different note: There much be lots of us like me who are digital packrats and have a ton of old CDP's all over their hard drive(s). Is anyone ever thought about coming up with a vault / ftp system where all the CDP's could be stored and catalogued? Sort of like DSL but not as 'Open'. More like a long term repository for when things die and vanish, at least the intellectual property will live on after the website has passed on.

Just a thought