TRS19 Official Release - What will your review say?

philskene said:

Phil --

Don't think of TRS19 as "another incremental advance". There are a goodly number of us who honestly think it's more of a great leap forward. It's significantly better. When I compare my videos made in T:ANE with those from TRS19 I cringe at how primitive T:ANE now seems. Check for yourself -- youtube / philskene.

This is but one example. You could never ever get these effects out of T:ANE.

Phil

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Always enjoy your videos Phil. I have a G-scale model railway in my basement, and appreciate your model layouts.

The original Trainz totally blew me out. I had been previously playing around in MSTS, but the ease of route building in Trainz was a revelation. Since then I have always enjoyed each (and every!) new Trainz release. But none has had that same impact as Trainz 1.3. Hence my use of the term "incremental" for subsequent Trainz improvements. I do not mean that as a criticism. I am grateful that NV3 are around to continue to "incrementally" move Trainz forward. As for TRS2019.... I am excited by the possibility of improving near track detail (PBR), and adding 3d to the crops which are a feature of my route. If it does turn out to be a great leap forward I will be here on the forums enthusiastically confirming that !!!

Also have to explain that the "incremental changes" line was an attempt at humour directed at Tony, who made a comment related to that following an earlier thread response of mine. I suspect he thought me guilty of "damming with faint praise". That was never my intention.

The same problem occurs in the movie industry with sequels. How much better than the original does the sequel have to be to be considered "worthy" or even "just as good"? There are few movie sequels that I would consider to be significantly better than the original, quite a few I would label as "just as good" and a fair few as "worse". In my opinion (and going well off topic as well as off planet here) the Star Wars Prequels were not as good as the originals and the latest Star Wars releases (the Sequels) were worse - even though in the progression Originals -> Prequals -> Sequels I can see obvious and significant improvements in the CGI and related technologies.

I do consider some of the changes in TRS19 to be a significant leap over TANE, some changes are incremental (but still welcome) improvements, but a few things have not changed (and that is both good and bad).

davesnow said:

If I don't ask I won't know.

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Thumbs up to that! For someone like me, (not an expert on railroading AND NEW to ANY railroad sim) there is a lot to grasp. Even if I knew American railroads I find that I must now learn all about European railroads. I wondered what a "sleeper" was for a good while (saw it mentioned in a post) until I learned. And that's just one item out of many, many, and many like "Procedural Track" and a so many others. For that longest time I wondered what "T:ANE" was... could not find an answer... but then in one moment, it struck me and I had to laugh. When you don't know... you don't know...

This is the best Trainz ever. I love the graphic and all. Some of the best routes and sessions and more will be sure to come.

If you like trains, like to watch, ride, or drive them then this is the one to get.

Want to build your on route, plenty of resources available so dive right in. Oh and the community is willing and able to help along the way.

I'd hate to bump again, but I figured I'd write another review, now that I've had time to mess with TRS19.

The new lighting effects look beautiful on routes built in and for TRS19, but I've found that on older routes, especially Marias Pass X 4.5, the lighting is way too overpowering, causing textures to wash-out. I know this is an easy fix with the environment tools, but to some novice players, this could be a turn-off.

I've noticed some built-in and DLC routes have issues with missing or faulty dependencies. I've found that the missing assets are all on the DLS (how they got left out is beyond me), and the faulty ones all have issues with the ".TEXTURE" files usually used on built-in assets, but running them through Images2TGA supplies a quick and easy fix, but again, this could be a turn-off to novice players or those new to content editing. This could just be some weird glitch on my end.

On the positive; Like I said before, the graphics are amazing (unless you're running legacy content), the new features are awesome, the selection of built in content is the best I've seen in Trainz (and I've been here along time), and the re-introduction of "railyard" is a huge plus. I also like how you can now build consists in the Quick Drive sessions.

I sure the negatives I laid out will be fixed with the final release or later updates.

Right now, I give TRS19 a C.

Matt

What Railyard ? Are you refering to the "My Collection" view menu ?
->
You can't rotate camera and zoom in/out...
You can't play the horn, lights and hear the engine sound...

What happened to the old good Railyard ? -> It was where I inspected all detail of each locomotive/car, test the horn, lights and so on.... and give a closer look with the camera zoom, and rotation....

Now in My Colleciton you cannot do this... the camera is static and cannot make zoom/rotate, and play horn, or see the detail of a bogey, for example....

Now, if I want to "inspect" / give a closer look to any rollingstock item we must open Content Manager, and choose "Preview Asset"... but this don't give me any sound..

Personally I loved the old railyard, like a true depot building, with shaft under rails, and so on....

Is it possible to improve the "My Collection" view menu, at least with those camera functions ?
Note: If we have a 3D rendered model around grass and trees, but cannot Zoom, and cannot rotate camera to view back of the 3D model, that's the SAME as a static screenshot.... please improve that...

Diesel_Power:

What happened to the old good Railyard ?​

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It has been replaced by the even more capable Asset Preview function in Content Manager.
Use the Ctrl+Shift+ R key combination after highlighting the asset you wish to view, or use your mouse to (Right-click/ select) Open..., Asset Preview.
This built-in 3D viewer allows you to view many more assets beyond mere locomotives and rolling-stock and to see the performance specs and seasonal aspects of the asset in question where applicable.
Sound is limited in Asset Preview, but is present for objects that have sound attachments.

davesnow said:

What is PBR content?

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It is in the Trainz Wiki
Physically Based Rendering (PBR)

Diesel_Power said:

Personally I loved the old railyard, like a true depot building, with shaft under rails, and so on....

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Create a route on a single baseboard with a roundhouse, multiple tracks, and whatever scenery you want. Does a much better job than the old Railyard and is customised to your personal preference.

SailorDan

Create a route on a single baseboard with a roundhouse, multiple tracks, and whatever scenery you want. Does a much better job than the old Railyard and is customised to your personal preference​

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Agree wholeheartedly with this! I have several such "assets evaluation and testing" proving-ground routes on my production machine.

After reviewing the RC for a couple days I have to say, great simulator, the best one to date in the Trainz series but before this game gets a real release, better get the routes that come with it fixed because a lot of them now look like Rushed work, lots of floating Track, Floating Roads, Floating People, Floatin Clocks etc. I already posted a lot in the threads about the routes in question and I hope these things get fixed because a lot of people will judge the game on the routes that come with it. Same thing goes for Locomotives and Rolling Stock that comes with it, lots of fixes to be done before I would say it's ready for release. Once these things gets fixed up then i say go and release this beauty.

Tony,

There's lots to love about TRS 19 and also lots to complain about.
I know that TRS 19 is an incredibly complex program and has been in the making for a very long time.
I think that if you release the official version too soon (within the next month or so), you will have many disappointed users. There's too much to fix yet.
I encourage you to be patient and not release too soon.

Thanks,
Al

For months I've been testing and finding faults in TRS19 and while many bugs have been squished, there are always more if you dig a bit. While everyone has their favourite bugs that if only those were gone, the game could be released, but in the real world, is that possible? How long should we wait, when is too soon? That's got to be one of the hardest decisions a game producer has to make, too early and too many bugs, too late and the market has moved on to the next great thing.

martinvk said:

For months I've been testing and finding faults in TRS19 and while many bugs have been squished, there are always more if you dig a bit. While everyone has their favourite bugs that if only those were gone, the game could be released, but in the real world, is that possible? How long should we wait, when is too soon? That's got to be one of the hardest decisions a game producer has to make, too early and too many bugs, too late and the market has moved on to the next great thing.

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I worked in the software industry for many years and I truly understand the dilemma of when to ship a product. However I've experienced some bugs in TRS 19 that are show-stoppers. For example, selecting File>Visit Test Track from my Trainz/Mac menu, causes shuddering of windows and a complete system lock-up requiring a reboot.
I'm not sure who Trainz main competitors are, but I don't believe that a solid, stable release in 5-6 months would hurt the company.

My 2 cents.
-Al

Hobo_Al said:

I worked in the software industry for many years and I truly understand the dilemma of when to ship a product. However I've experienced some bugs in TRS 19 that are show-stoppers. For example, selecting File>Visit Test Track from my Trainz/Mac menu, causes shuddering of windows and a complete system lock-up requiring a reboot.
I'm not sure who Trainz main competitors are, but I don't believe that a solid, stable release in 5-6 months would hurt the company.

My 2 cents.
-Al

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Hi al. You are the first person to report this particular issue in the latest version. Are you sure you are running 98509? There were some Test Track issues fixed recently, so if you are at 98302 then you will need to update to the latest version.

You mention showstopper bugs plural, and "There's too much to fix yet" but these things aren't fixable unless we know what they are. (And if you are on the older build, then retest in the latest build as these issues may be fixed).

Please use our bug reporting form here to submit any other reports: https://n3vgames.typeform.com/to/xRdryu

Tony_Hilliam said:

Hi al. You are the first person to report this particular issue in the latest version. Are you sure you are running 98509? There were some Test Track issues fixed recently, so if you are at 98302 then you will need to update to the latest version.

You mention showstopper bugs plural, and "There's too much to fix yet" but these things aren't fixable unless we know what they are. (And if you are on the older build, then retest in the latest build as these issues may be fixed).

Please use our bug reporting form here to submit any other reports: https://n3vgames.typeform.com/to/xRdryu

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Tony, yes I am on 98509. I have reported another major issue to the site you mention above - red blocks appearing instead of correct windows until I resize the window .
I truly appreciate your hands-on following of developments. I will continue to report any other issues which I consider to be"show-stoppers".

Am I wrong to consider, at this point in time, the considerable lack of built-in routes and sessions as a show-stopper?

Thank you,
-Al

Tony, yes I am on 98509.
>> hmm.. can you please provide your crash report so the dev guys can take a look.

I have reported another major issue to the site you mention above - red blocks appearing instead of correct windows until I resize the window .
>> again, this hasn't been reported by anyone else.

I truly appreciate your hands-on following of developments. I will continue to report any other issues which I consider to be"show-stoppers".
>> thanks very much

Am I wrong to consider, at this point in time, the considerable lack of built-in routes and sessions as a show-stopper?
>> Have you downloaded and installed the 5 additional builtin routes?
(See trs19.trainzportal.com for the full list)

If not, then click File > Download purchased items then click Start Trainz. They will appear to download

Include your OS version and graphics card spec in your reports as there may be something in that combination causing your system to behave differently to others.

Tony_Hilliam said:

Tony, yes I am on 98509.
>> hmm.. can you please provide your crash report so the dev guys can take a look.

I have reported another major issue to the site you mention above - red blocks appearing instead of correct windows until I resize the window .
>> again, this hasn't been reported by anyone else.

I truly appreciate your hands-on following of developments. I will continue to report any other issues which I consider to be"show-stoppers".
>> thanks very much

Am I wrong to consider, at this point in time, the considerable lack of built-in routes and sessions as a show-stopper?
>> Have you downloaded and installed the 5 additional builtin routes?
(See trs19.trainzportal.com for the full list)

If not, then click File > Download purchased items then click Start Trainz. They will appear to download

Include your OS version and graphics card spec in your reports as there may be something in that combination causing your system to behave differently to others.

Click to expand...

The built-in routes I have are:
Canadian Rocky Mountains
Content Samples #1
Cornish Mainline and Branches
ECML Edinburgh-Dundee
Kickstarter County 2
Niddertalbahn
Sebino Lake, Italy (1980s)

Are there more? I seem to remember that when I bought Trainz for Mac, it came with 40+ routes.

Thanks,
Al

Hobo_Al said:

The built-in routes I have are:
Canadian Rocky Mountains
Content Samples #1
Cornish Mainline and Branches
ECML Edinburgh-Dundee
Kickstarter County 2
Niddertalbahn
Sebino Lake, Italy (1980s)

Are there more? I seem to remember that when I bought Trainz for Mac, it came with 40+ routes.

Thanks,
Al

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That's all the builtin routes.

Those 40+ would be all the pre-2009 builtin routes, so they are all available on the DLS now as well. If you have purchased TANE, you would have the 4 standard + 4 deluxe + a whole bunch more for Platinum Edition.

Each route is several thousand man hours in the making, so they should really be sold at $100 each (or more). It's a shame the market isn't ready for that.

Tony_Hilliam said:

It's a shame the market isn't ready for that.

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... or my bank balance!