Here's why I think so many people left Trainz recently

These comments come up quite regularly. I've been mostly dormant for the last few months since, in a moment of insanity, I packed my bags and moved a 1000 kilometres north. I've totally lost touch with what is happening with TS22 so am reverting to fixing assets for others which is my main Trainz activity. I do like to read through the forums, and the Discord channels, but don't comment as much as I did but I am most definitely still here.
 
A factor too with forum members leaving or becoming less active is that some of us are getting older and have health problems to go with that as well. I'm a lot less active here than I was due to my own health problems and I'm not doing much in the way of content creation now. I'm still interested in the hobby, but I just can't be as active as I once was.

Ain't that the truth, i come and go on a regular basis. De-activate my gold membership, no Trainz for a few weeks or months. Then come back to it and re-active the membership.
Been here since 2001, old red forum (IKB), but with old age and ill health the enthusiasm levels drop. And N3V have never been the easiest developers to have to deal with.
 
I'm at the other end of the time line from the youngin's dealing with school and such. Recently retired and discovered there is not more time in a day.

I was lucky to be creating in Trainz back when the process was much simpler. Compared to the gems being produced now, they were also much simpler to look at but I still remember fondly the thrill of seeing something I made actually work in my routes.

I know I've not been as active in the forums as I used to be but that is hardly a true measure of the level of Trainz activity on my computer.
 
But when you just shut down your site you screw people who failed to download things when the site was active, and people who download routes that used content from the now defunct site. They will end up with missing kuid's that can no longer be obtained normally through downloading. Wayback archive is hit or miss for downloading content from defunct sites. Sometimes the downloads work, sometimes they don't. And payware, if you didn't buy it when the site was active, you are screwed. Greencoast had some PRR steam locomotives that K&L doesn't have and their models looked good, with a shiny gloss. K&L has flat matte textures. Greencoast's WMSR 734 looked better than K&L's. And I didn't get it. Or, the LS&I 2-8-0's. It's like in the model railroading world when a product line or company goes belly up and you can't buy their products anymore. Is it acceptable to use the word screw in that way here? I know it is a milder term for a very vulgar word.
 
But when you just shut down your site you screw people who failed to download things when the site was active, and people who download routes that used content from the now defunct site.

I am not sure of the link between that post and the topic of this thread, but I agree with the sentiment. There is always that danger with 3rd party web sites. They can disappear as fast as they appear for a wide variety of reasons, and not all reasons are the fault of the site operator. In my earlier days I downloaded some rolling stock assets from 3rd party sites (and good assets they were) but none of those site now exist and their assets have disappeared with them. That is the risk of anything (assets, software, information) that is placed on the web.

A number of such sites have vanished in recent years. One that I know of uploaded all its unique assets to the DLS before it closed - a very generous act by the site operator and one that others should take note of.

On the other hand, the DLS has been with us since Trainz first appeared in 2002 - that's 20 years, more than a lifetime for the internet. Of course that is no guarantee of future survival but if the DLS goes then it probably means that N3V has gone :'( (or the DLS has been replaced by something far better:D).
 
Since the pandemic a lot of people have been less active , not just here, but on other forums , many of my Facebook friends have ceased using it , or post very infrequently. Don't know why this is the case, possibly people are tired, disillusioned, whatever. I've been posting less on my route progress as I get fewer responses , less active interest in what I'm doing , probably as it's the 19th century ng , which is a niche within a niche . Or possibly because it's just not all that great . :hehe:
in my opinion since we lost Norm hart the place hasn't been the same, he was constantly posting screenshots of all sorts of routes and assets which enlivened the forum considerably , as far, no one sprung up to take his place . posts on the forum may not necessarily indicate how many are using trainz , as people may just be busy using the app , not complaining about it :)
 
Last edited:
There's another thing to mention. For the most part, the people that frequent forums are usually those seeking help and rarely are those that just come to a forum to hang out. With the development of other platforms such as Discord, many people frequent there rather than the forums themselves.
 
I have produced a few routes to the DLS. Never do I expect any praise for doing so, mainly b/c I enjoy creating routes [both realistic and inventive]. A good detailed route takes months to complete, in some instances more than a year. If others enjoy what has been created that is good enough for me to continue making them.

Just my thoughts.
 
I've been hanging in with Trainz for almost 20 years now. I'll be 81 this July. My interest has waned, mostly because my ability to keep up with hardware requirements of the newer versions. Fixed income stinks, as anyone who has been or still is on can tell you. I do create once in a while, but most of the time I spend with Trainz is building routes. I enjoy doing this. However, lately I've slowed down. Along the way, I've also published two novels and gone into other fields of interest. 20 years is a long time work work at anything and interest must wane after so long. I might go for weeks without even taking a peek at the Forum. That doesn't mean I've given up, just backed off somewhat.

Bill
 
Bill, send me a PM with the names of your novels!
Not sure why this thread was resurrected because of SPAM, but I will celebrate 10 years with Trainz next month. Like Bill, I am cooling on it, mostly because old stuff doesn't seem to get fixed because new stuff is the priority. I understand that, but the new stuff brings in a slate of new problems that don't get fixed. Some problems have graduated from T:ANE to TRS19 to 22 without fixing. But it is not all N3V's fault, and I don't want to start a whine-fest. I am apparently too OCD to build a route. I have to spend hours to find every building or other asset, hoping to find just the right one each time. And I want to sort by version so I can check the newest stuff first, which of course I never find what I want until I am below 3.5. So progress is minimal given the time I want to spend on it. I think Trainz is a great concept, but after 10 years I am more of a forum skulker than anything else, although I do try to help others here.
 
Hey Bill. Nice to see you on here. I feel same way also. Slowing down. Being on a fixed income does not help. It certainly is not nice when the CEO of this company says that if one cannot afford $2 a day for a subscription, one should get out of this hobby. 20 Years of spending much cash to support a game, to be insulted, because I have limited finances.
It was great back in the TRS2004 days. Sure the game had many limitations but we did not know any better. Everything was new and once you bought a product, it was yours, no rental plans. Every new creation made by content creators who created for the love of sharing their creations.
Onto the Download station we inspected each new model, download it through the TDM...remember..Trainz Download Helper? Feel excited about seeing the downloaded stuff in game...Using it on layouts one was working on. The good old days..
I am now 65, a tad younger than yourself. Hope to be around as long as yourself. Cheerio matey Safe travels.
 
It certainly is not nice when the CEO of this company says that if one cannot afford $2 a day for a subscription, one should get out of this hobby.

Actually, what he said was ...

As for memberships being out of reach for some people I would say if you can't afford $2 a week then you need to find a cheaper hobby. Or perhaps you need to be a member for a month, cancel, take a break and save up for a month, and rejoin the next month.


20 Years of spending much cash to support a game, to be insulted, because I have limited finances.

... and you can continue to spend cash by buying the game outright - a new version every 3-4 years. That would certainly be cheaper than buying a subscription and thus better suited to those of us, myself included, who are on a fixed income.
 
I'd only note that the health of the UK content creation community is a cause for concern to me.

edh6 is turning out great content, but the content creation groups seem thin on the ground. This may be a false impression, my finger is most certainly not on the pulse as it once was.
 
I'm still around but just not as active in content creation as I use to be for me it's time and life, having switched gears to route building these days. I made some oddball models over the years not the most detailed out there but it works for my needs.
 
I suspect (and that is my unsupported impression only) that it is has become harder to create assets (i.e. buildings, rolling stock, especially trees, etc) that are of an "acceptable" standard to both Trainz and the community. I don't blame N3V for this as they have to ensure that visually the product keeps up with current standards. A common cause of problems in Trainz and a source of complaints in these forums is poorly built assets.

The issue of LODs in an asset, for example, is one area that is often raised. One well known creator has recently stated that he refuses to add them because of the extra work involved. This may be solved by a new trend in gaming software (N3V please take note) of building the ability to automatically generate the LODs into the game engine - but I shudder to think of the possible abnormalities that this may sometimes create.

What are the solutions - nothing simple or cheap that I can think of.


Howere
 
I'd only note that the health of the UK content creation community is a cause for concern to me.

edh6 is turning out great content, but the content creation groups seem thin on the ground. This may be a false impression, my finger is most certainly not on the pulse as it once was.

We're all getting older and slowing down. The change to new materials and Trainzmesh made a few of us in TCWW decide to stop creating anything since it's getting too darn challenging to make anything for what used to be a fun hobby. My own health problems as well as issues with getting anything accepted by the DLS upload system made me decide to stop making anything except assets strictly for my own use and even that is happening a lot less often than it used to.
I'm still playing Trainz, but very much on my own terms since I ignore most of the bright new sparkly stuff N3V is pushing out the door these days.
 
Last edited:
@pware,
Actually, what he said was ...


quote_icon.png
Originally Posted by Tony_Hilliam
As for memberships being out of reach for some people I would say if you can't afford $2 a week then you need to find a cheaper hobby. Or perhaps you need to be a member for a month, cancel, take a break and save up for a month, and rejoin the next month.



Are you kidding me? The old tomato or tomarto? thing? The gist of the insult is the same. A slap in the face to those of us who cannot afford the premium brand.
We know where you and N3V stand on corporate greed and the contemptuous attitude to those who do not have deep pockets. Gosh, being attacked for being insulted. Thanks pware. Now let me see, A$2 per day, roughly $56 per month, $672 per year. Hmmm, nah, not on my fixed income stream. Cannot afford. However, if I had money to burn and a cavalier attitude to that money, I most probably would take out a rental agreement. But in my financial circumstances, I cannot justify it. You capish?


Being in business many a year ago, I learnt quickly that one does not insult any one of your customers, in ANY way. One promotes goodwill just as one tries to make a profit. The goodwill pays for itself way down the track. A practise which is fast diminishing in the ever careless corporate enterprises who fail to acknowledge this basic tenet of business. Insulting those of us who can afford a little, not a lot, is not really the way to go. Shaking one's head side to side - being attacked for being poor.

Can't even reminisce without the attacks. Sorry HiBaller, did not mean to bring this negative atmoshere to this post. Had to defend myself, though. Regards.
 
Last edited:
@pware,
Actually, what he said was ...


quote_icon.png
Originally Posted by Tony_Hilliam
As for memberships being out of reach for some people I would say if you can't afford $2 a week then you need to find a cheaper hobby. Or perhaps you need to be a member for a month, cancel, take a break and save up for a month, and rejoin the next month.



Are you kidding me? The old tomato or tomarto? thing? The gist of the insult is the same. A slap in the face to those of us who cannot afford the premium brand.
We know where you and N3V stand on corporate greed and the contemptuous attitude to those who do not have deep pockets. Gosh, being attacked for being insulted. Thanks pware.
Being in business many a year ago, I learnt quickly that one does not insult any one of your customers, in ANY way. One promotes goodwill just as one tries to make a profit. The goodwill pays for itself way down the track. A practise which is fast diminishing in the ever careless corporate enterprises who fail to acknowledge this basic tenet of business.

Can't even reminisce without the attacks. Sorry HiBaller, did not mean to bring this negative poster to this post. Had to defend myself, though. Regards.

I’m not sure $2 a week is proving your corporate greed argument. Or your deep pocket argument.
Go and buy yourself TRS19 or 22 on special - that doesn’t cost you $2 a week. What’s actually great about N3V over most companies is they give you a choice.

d_doll’s original post (who by the way, is understandably banned after pirating payware and trolling full-time) is based on the fact that 2 groups shut down, one of which (CPS) ALL creators are still in the community, and greencoast, who left due to a Class I RR job eating into his hobby time. This whole thread has been based on unsubstantiated fact Upton unsubstantiated fact
 
Back
Top