Yesterday's stream with Adam was very informative. He was describing his new team which will be dedicated to fixing and adding new features to older content. This is a very good thing as it will ease the pressure of the main dev team go back to the older dlcs.
Yes, Adam's team are going to be very busy fixing old problems and adding in features we are seeing in newer routes. Was good to hear this is in the pipeline, can't wait to see the final results.
Yes, he is a producer with some programming skills. I think the idea is that he will make his own team under his control that will not take resources from the core team, which is a good thing in the long run (IMHO).
Although a new route, I wonder if they will go back and visit the Bakerloo line at some point and where the track is just scenery, whether they will lay actual track there and path it so AI can use parts of the WCML - we could use the Class 66 freight to liven things up somewhat.
That is cool I will need to watch it back as I missed it unfortunately. I'm somewhat hoping that may mean we'll get working PIS displays on the older routes, like GWE, if they are going to be implementing some new features to the old routes. If so, that would be really cool
Honestly I had mixed feelings watching the stream - something between 'is this a Aprils fools joke?' and 'yes. Yes! YESSS!' - something like my favorite football team scored Seriously I think this is a smart move and the investment in the team is likely to get paid out. A solid product quality over all offered DLCs and taking care even years after release is just a standalone idea which suits niche markets like Train Sims very well. And Adam seems to be a very good choice as the team leader. With the economical consequences of the last months there is a high possibility for some skilled workers on the market as well. Good luck for the recruiting process! And Adam (or somebody else from DTG), if there's something what we as a community can do for you to help you and your team please let us know. You have some great ambitions which surely many people are willing to support.
I did chuckle when there was all this talk of all the marvellous stuff the team were going to do and then Sam asked how many people were in the team and Adam answered that it was just him. Great television moment. I’m glad there is someone doing this vital work now and look forward to the improvements it brings.
It was a surprise to see this Adam, it sounds like he has a lot of experience with DTG and TSW and Train simulators in general which is a good thing as we need someone who understands the game and understands what someone is wanting from the experience. Very smart of DTG to make a team that focuses mainly on bug fixes/updates to already released routes. With the obvious lack of this team in TSW. I would argue it was one of the biggest issues with TSW. The creation of this team is following what DTG have tried to do since the announcement of TSW2 and that is to communicate, fix issues with the game and to make sure older content stays on the same quality level of new routes. This will no doubt create a better platform for us as time goes on!
It was a surprise to see this Adam, it sounds like he has a lot of experience with DTG and TSW and Train simulators in general which is a good thing as we need someone who understands the game and understands what someone is wanting from the experience. Very smart of DTG to make a team that focuses mainly on bug fixes/updates to already released routes. With the obvious lack of this team in TSW. I would argue it was one of the biggest issues with TSW. The creation of this team is following what DTG have tried to do since the announcement of TSW2 and that is to communicate, fix issues with the game and to make sure older content stays on the same quality level of new routes. This will no doubt create a better platform for us as time goes on!
Bringing old content up to modern standards is definitely one of the things this game is sorely missing. But what then worries me is how they go on to talk about the matter of sequel updates. I'm completely onboard with the idea of looking at Train Sim World 2 as just another bundle, but I have a number of issues with this approach. First and foremost is the question of "preserved" content. Is the intention, then, that Train Sim World content is going to be preserved throughout all future sequels? If yes, then did it really need to be a separate product in the first place? If no, then immediately we have a problem of community segregation. At best, I think this will be very confusing when, in a few years from now we have say, Train Sim Worlds 1, 2 and 3, where each is essentially the same game but includes content from the previous games, and with a few new features each. I guess the main argument for doing it this way is it allows you to drop content that can't reasonably be upgraded to the new version (ie NEC), because obviously it would be unacceptable to render existing content unplayable via an update, but is it worth it? Also, it seems that you keep answering the question of whether Train Sim World 1 is getting abandoned with no, you will still be able to play it. I don't think anyone is worrying about the game getting removed from their library, but rather whether you will keep fixing bugs in it, to which, as far as I've understood, the answer is no. In this regard, NEC is most definitely being abandoned, and the rest of TSW1 also, if you're not interested in the TSW2 bundle. (which is why I strongly feel that TSW2 is a core systems update more than a bundle)
So, Adam definitely shot for the stars with his opening move, so I'm here with my fun-police hat on to drag some reality into the equation. While he might be flying solo right now, one of the things that appealed about this role (I paraphrasing Adam here) is the sense that more could always have been done with our releases. Not being under the same time constraint to make things better as the regular release teams means that polish can come first. We're recruiting for this team both internally and externally so it should fill out within a month or two, and Adam isn't incapable of making some changes on himself. The priority list is going to be: 1 - The game is playable where the players meet or exceed minimum specifications (regardless of platform) 2 - Scenarios and services can be completed providing the player hasn't made an error 3 - Achievements can be earned 4 - The most efficient ways to increase game quality Even with the full team present there is a finite amount that can be achieved, however the top three priorities will always come first. We'll detail what the team is focusing on using the roadmap, and time will tell how quickly this team can make a noticeable impact for players.
Sam, I liked this stream but I if I could give an unsolicited advice, I think some improvements on testing is also necessary. I heard there is a large testing team, but I have seen bugs in game that are most likely not dependent on specific hardware issues, that should have been noticed. I really wonder if DTG has at least structured testing procedures in place, e.g. testing the save function for a new route, checking if settings are persistent and effectively working. Doing at least some checks on safety systems (I need some further testing, but I think AWS is broken at ECW) and so on.I also believe (advised that before) a public bug reporting system may be helpful. Now too many bugs are reported to the support team, which is pointless and a waste of money. Well I hope the roadmap is a good starting point here, but it would be good to know which bugs there are where no work will be done.
I think there are enough bug reports. At least I filed quite a few of them, but none of them got fixed (in TSW1). It is not a matter of getting more testers / Q&A. What they need is more people fixing all the things reported. I know this is easier said than done because of time / budget constraints. Take the "save" button problems as an example. I'm sure they know about it because it has been there for years and it comes back to the forums again and again. If they do not fix it is because they can't for whatever reason, not because they don't know about it.
Arguably, I'd swap number 4 with number 3. I don't know about anyone else but game quality is more of an importance to me compared to achievements being earnt, as I don't give a cr*p about achievements. *Insert selfish wishlist here*
No. Trophies and Achievements need to pop when they are supposed to for every player. There are too many problems with Trophies not popping at the right time and this is a very basic issue for the development team to get right. People, including myself, have spent hours working to earn a trophy only for it to fail and that’s just not cricket.
Steady - that was a stated "selfish" choice, and it makes complete sense for anyone who doesn't chase achievements. However, for anyone who invests time and effort into gaining trophies or achievements that they are actually earnable is a pretty big deal.
I don't care much about achievements, but I agree that any achievements implemented would need to be achievable. But I wouldn't mind if didn't have any achievements at all. I guess it's all OK if it isn't costing to many resources, but I'd agree that game quality would be more important.