Auran in the News

For those that enjoy Trainz, my personally suggestion is keep supporting Auran. Buy the latest version of Trainz AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, BUY from Auran directly. That way they get all of the money. Don't buy from walmart or EB Games etc. as they probably get 1/2 the money from the sale. Renew your First Class Ticket. Fifty dollars for TRS 2006 or $30 for TC is a pretty small sum out most our pockets for the amount of entertainment we all get out this software. I cannot take my family out to dinner for less than $40 dollars most of the time.
 
For those that enjoy Trainz, my personally suggestion is keep supporting Auran. Buy the latest version of Trainz AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, BUY from Auran directly. That way they get all of the money. Don't buy from walmart or EB Games etc. as they probably get 1/2 the money from the sale. Renew your First Class Ticket. Fifty dollars for TRS 2006 or $30 for TC is a pretty small sum out most our pockets for the amount of entertainment we all get out this software. I cannot take my family out to dinner for less than $40 dollars most of the time.

$50 a small amount!? I guess if you were richer than me then it would be.... (says the boy with less than $25 to his name)

oh and cowboy i got a solution to not spending $40 with your family....don't eat out :p

but all in all supporting Auran is a great idea. I always tell people who come in asking "where can I get TC or TRS2006" to get it at the Auran Online Store.


peter
 
I figure I have about $250.00 invested in Trainz, four versions of the game plus first class tickets. Looking at how much time I spend playing it I figure it works out to be between 4 cents and 6 cents US per hour. I can't think of anything else that even comes close to that cheap. Reading a good hard cover book would be about $2.50 plus per hour.

Of course that doesn't figure in the computer upgrades.......:cool:
 
Than again with the computer upgrades you can't realy call it needed. If you want the program to run better and /or faster then a computer upgrade will help but is NOT realy needed. Same goes for support programs like Photo Shop or 3Ds Max. If you purchased those to creat content that was a personal choice, not a necessity. Gimp and gmax are free. So looking at the cost of the actuall Trainz program compaired to the entertainment/enjoyment value it's quite inexpensive. If you look at any software company they do the same when a big project is concluded. Relocate who they can an lay off the rest. Like it was pointed out earlyer, Development teams are very expensive and the software companys ARE in the buisness to make money. So downsizing a devlopment team like that is no big suprise. So the best of luck to the ones being let go.

Bill
 
Read both stories. They seem to be the same except you get it from two different points of view. Like most things, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle.
What I read is an article by a site (Angry Gamer) which is the National Enquirer of the gaming world...quoting a disgruntled ex-Auranite...being posted by a self proclaimed ex-Trainzer. This formula adds up to pretty much nothing in my opinion...:cool:
 
Well, in my opinion Drew just laid out both sides without expressing support for either. Regardless of his motivations he brought to light at least two articles that most members would not have seen, and I'm glad, at least for trivia's sake.
Ed:wave:
 
i cant possibly see how in the hell auran can be having financial trouble. i've invested a good 150.00 in FCT's. I know that the rest of the community has contributed too. I dont know whether its true or not, but until somthin happens, i'm just gonna keep on trainzin :cool:
 
Well I suppose $50 dollars might be a lot to a young person but to the average adult I doubt if that is much. Even here in Gt Britain (and being a canny scot in Glasgow!) if it was £50 would still be cheap for the hours of sheer enjoyment never mind harmless escapism I can delve into!

I started with MTS and quickly realised that building a layout meanto almost being a technical expert. Then by sheer chance I came acorss Auran trainz and never looked back. I have bought my versions direct and I can say that if i didn't have Trainz especially with the rratic health situs I get it would be a poorer life for me. For the cost of buying this product it is a bargain with not just ruinning tranis and trams but being able to build routes without a mountain to climb. A DLS is thrown in at no charge and i think this is the best hobby for the price. Sure there are zilches there are in life but for goodness sake let's not be tempted into doom and glook. Personally I want to congratulate Auran okn what it has given to the average train sim community not just the experts. That is is it's biggest boon.

Now having said that I amgoing back to building my vast tramway system (built on historical fact) which I could never have doone anywhere else. It makes me happy, content at such a brilliant product. A positive minded Trainzer? Definitely and at such cheap cost to my pocket!
 
>
Here is the official comment from Auran CEO, Tony Hilliam:
As I explained to the staff yesterday, whilst FURY has started off slower than expected, I still see a bright and long future ahead. However, that future will not include the full 60 man development team who have worked on FURY for the past year. The future will focus on a smaller, more agile core team of Fury developers. These are people who are incredibly passionate about the game and work until 4 in the morning to ensure they get things done.

Now that statement of 4 am is a concern. You can do it for a very short period of time but in the longer term productivity falls as mistakes creep in, basically because you need sleep and rest. I've also seen burnt out developers that can no longer work. The company might have done well out of them but society needs them to be productive over a longer period and their own quality of life after a burn out is not good.

From a customer point of view quality and reliabilty are important to me. I really don't want to purchase a product that has multiple mistakes or less than optimal code because the programmers were tired.

I'd like to think that the companies I deal with are responsible about the health of their employees and this is one issue that might persuade me to look at a different company's products.

Cheerio John


 
I don't think it is worth getting hung up on the 4am statement. I'm sure they didn't work until then every day. Tony probably just used the example of a couple of people working very late one day to complete something on time to demonstrate their dedication. I'm pretty sure Auran doesn't tie their developers to their desk until the early hours habitually

Mike.
 
I don't think it is worth getting hung up on the 4am statement. I'm sure they didn't work until then every day. Tony probably just used the example of a couple of people working very late one day to complete something on time to demonstrate their dedication. I'm pretty sure Auran doesn't tie their developers to their desk until the early hours habitually

Mike.

I would like to feel you are correct and his developers do not feel pressured to meet mangement statements like this, it's just working in the industry I've seen cases where yes the job got done but the team fell apart afterwards.

Cheerio John
 
I don't think it is worth getting hung up on the 4am statement. I'm sure they didn't work until then every day. Tony probably just used the example of a couple of people working very late one day to complete something on time to demonstrate their dedication. I'm pretty sure Auran doesn't tie their developers to their desk until the early hours habitually

Mike.

Mike is absolutely right. When it comes to crunch time there is always a few who seem to never leave their desks. Of course they then get a few days off when the pressure eases, so it works both ways ;)

Trainz was no different for TRS2006 and TC where we put in quite a few weeks of late nights and early mornings and with Auran being a staff orientated company we were rewarded for our efforts.

And let's keep this in context, we're talking about the Fury dev team here which has only gone gold in the last few weeks, so that pressure will let up soon enough in time for Christmas when we'll all get a generous amount of time off.

Cheers.
 
> These are people who are incredibly passionate about the game and work until 4 in the morning to ensure they get things done.

They might have been playing the game till then looking for an obscure bug, that is working too :)
 
Merscom’s Trainz Railwayz Rolls Over Rail Simulator
Analysis shows game outpaces upcoming train sim

CHAPEL HILL – Merscom today announced that initial holiday sales of its just released Trainz Railwayz game have greatly exceeded expectations and it has had to ship thousands of units a week to retailers to keep up with demand. Merscom’s product group also upwardly revised sales estimates based on these initial results and an analysis of the upcoming Rail Simulator, which Electronic Arts will be distributing in North America in Q1 2008.

In virtually every key feature, Trainz Railwayz provides greater value (based on the features listed for Rail Simulator at railsimulator.com):



  • 50 activities in Trainz Railwayz, only 15 scenarios in Rail Simulator
  • 10 routes in Trainz Railwayz, 4 in Rail Simulator
  • Trainz Railwayz has over 50,000 assets available for free download, Rail Simulator currently has less than 150 currently available
  • Additional games included in the package
  • Trainz Railwayz is available for the current holiday season; EA will be distributing Rail Simulator in 2008
  • $19.99 SRP for Trainz Railwayz versus $39.99 for Rail Simulator

“As a small publisher, we’ve always given our customers something more in order to compete. We always strive to give our customers a great product at a fair price,” said Merscom Chief Customer Officer, Lloyd Melnick, “but even I was surprised at how superior our game is to Rail Simulator. It has prompted me to revise our projections upward significantly.”

About Merscom
Merscom is a global publisher of computer and video games that distributes games through multiple channels, multiple platforms and multiple revenue models. Merscom's channels include retail distribution in the US and Europe, online sale through major portals worldwide and games on Microsoft® Xbox Live® Arcade. Merscom publishes games from leading casual game developers, including Auran Games, Sandlot Games, Reflexive Entertainment, Absolutist and Pi-Eye Games. Merscom publishes on multiple platforms including PC, console and handheld. Merscom produces entertaining products for gamers of all ages and guarantees all customers a great experience with its “Fun Guarantee.” For more information visit www.merscom.com.

 
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I really don't think it was very fair of them to consider the amount of content available as a gauge of the two sims' success. Trainz has been around for almost 8 years now; Kuju's sim has been around for a few months. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that Kuju's gonna have less content.

Nonetheless, I'm not the least bit surprised that Trainz is outstripping Kuju's offering so far. It may be a different story, however, a few years down the road when Kuju has established its product in the marketplace.
 
...may be a different story, however, a few years down the road when Kuju has established its product in the marketplace.

You are assuming they even get so far as to even establish themselves, so far they aren't really doing that very well. Sales in Germany have been so bad (in short: nobody is buying it) that the only company that had addons planned for it (BlueSky Interactive) has canceled them. It isn't doing any good here, for other countries I can't say...

WileeCoyote:D
 
You are assuming they even get so far as to even establish themselves, so far they aren't really doing that very well. Sales in Germany have been so bad (in short: nobody is buying it) that the only company that had addons planned for it (BlueSky Interactive) has canceled them. It isn't doing any good here, for other countries I can't say...

WileeCoyote:D

Okay, true enough.

But my main point is still valid: it's not fair to compare the two's content available to judge which is the better product when one's been on the shelves for only a few months.
 
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