Dynamic Billboards

Discussion in 'TSW General Discussion' started by johnbirch#4603, Mar 19, 2022.

  1. johnbirch#4603

    johnbirch#4603 Active Member

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    As feedback is being invited on these could I say...
    • In theory - great idea - variety, something new every time you use a route!

    • In practice - disappointing. The Coke advert in particular is one you would NEVER SEE on the Underground. It is an advert aimed at gamers, and is clearly designed to be a banner. It is pretty much an immersion breaker because it is so unrealistic.
    My concern is that because the ads are coming from an in-game advertiser, this is inevitable. ATM the original ads are MUCH better
     
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  2. stevewa

    stevewa New Member

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    Also the privacy policy comes up in the Steam browser in Dark Mode and is illegible.
     
  3. OldVern

    OldVern Well-Known Member

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    Well out of interest I left them switched on, even though in principle I object.

    In truth the concept is pretty pathetic and laughable as:
    1. It's impossible to tell which are the real ads and which are fictional or original static artwork.
    2. Driving from the cab view you get at best a quick oblique view, even less if passing a station or other location at speed.
    3. If you're driving a US freight route like Cane Creek, then you aren't even going to see any.

    Another half baked notion from the EA playbook DTG seem to be following.
    Kind of reminds me back in the day when those of us with web sites had a go at putting advertising banners on there and got sweet fanny adams for our trouble as only a complete moron would actually click them.
    I just hope that the pitiful amount of money DTG make off this actually gets invested back in the game.
     
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  4. Mich

    Mich Well-Known Member

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    I never got those who were going "Oh wow, these will add so much immersion!" when it was announced. At least personally barely even notice the billboards and ads we already have, it's kind of hard to notices tiny posters or even billboards when you've gotta pay mind to other things. Replacing a fake ad for a real Coca Cola ad isn't gonna add anything for me when I don't even notice the regular ads. Likewise I'd question how much a advertiser is gonna benefit if the current ad placements aren't popping out to me as is.

    Beyond that I don't see how having random ads add anything to the sim beyond making more money. Working with actual rail companies makes plenty of sense for DTG, as they can use those partnership to get access to real world locations and loco. Which in turn means things like getting sound recordings, or better photo references. There's very tangible benefits from DTG getting these partnerships which benefit TSW beyond advert money.
     
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  5. Rybnicki

    Rybnicki Well-Known Member

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    If it improves Dovetail's ability to make new content, or helps keep the price of DLC down, I'm happy to accept them, though will miss the fictional ones made by the team. I'd want them to be up front about that, though, and a statement to that effect would be the point at which I turned them on.

    Don't underestimate the popularity of things like this, though. Plenty of requests in Euro Truck forums for mods inserting IRL companies rather than the default obvious parodies. Don't understand it myself, but people like their brands.
     
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  6. OldVern

    OldVern Well-Known Member

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    There's a world of difference between licencing real world brands that are part of the core gameplay and ads which are intended to persuade the player to go and spend money on something unrelated, like tooth rotting Coca Cola!
     
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  7. btom

    btom Member

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    you guys who seem to be complaining about the billboard ads why not do what I did, and go into TSW2 settings and turn the ads off, bingo, no more complaints
     
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  8. hyperlord

    hyperlord Well-Known Member

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    I was looking into my DNS queries and blocked server.bidstack.com from being resolved
     
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  9. Inkar

    Inkar Well-Known Member

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    I have the bidstack ads enabled, but I haven't seen any yet (tried in BKL several times).
    Maybe it doesn't work properly?
     
  10. mariussoare_84

    mariussoare_84 Well-Known Member

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    I would assume that the amount of money they make from these ads is very small.
    For one, the amount of impressions is low and two one can't interact with them as in to generate leads and sales for the advertiser.
    Unless they have some sort of special deal with advertisers, normally when an advertiser gets no sales from a source of traffic for an extended period of time it stops targeting that source.

    On the other hand, this seems to be a hybrid concept by using billboards like in the real world, with which the viewer can't interact, but placed in a digital online environment where ads are interactive and can be interacted with.

    To have some form of success or at least to increase visibility, they should consider placing them on roof tops like big billboards in the real world or on fields next to the tracks, somewhere where the players can actually see them.
     
  11. davidh0501

    davidh0501 Well-Known Member

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    They have to be there in game, as billboards are pervasive in everyday life, but not overdone or out of context.
    Any financial inducement would mean they would end up being inappropriately sized or placed for maximum impact.

    Frankly I’m happy with imaginary ones.
    Who wouldn’t appreciate an ad for “Colonel Failure’s School for Wayward Girls” …
     
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  12. Hobbykraftfahrer

    Hobbykraftfahrer New Member

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    Same here. I have only seen the fake billboards yet. I tried Bakerloo and Köln-Aachen.
     
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  13. OldVern

    OldVern Well-Known Member

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    You don’t see them in Tees Yard either… :love::love::love:
     
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  14. Scorpion71

    Scorpion71 Well-Known Member

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    Exactly. As long as there is an option to turn off something you don't like, I don't see a problem
     
  15. stujoy

    stujoy Well-Known Member

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    Skip forwards a few months to when routes are being made with suspiciously high numbers of billboards scattered all over the place.
     
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  16. OldVern

    OldVern Well-Known Member

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    When it also extends to the lineside and next to bridges etc. Or in the middle of nowhere on Cane Creek or Sherman Hill!
     
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  17. TimTri

    TimTri Well-Known Member

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    Can anybody share some pictures of these dynamic billboards? I‘ve only seen a blurry one with some kind of Nivea ad, very curious about what else there may be. Am on console, thus unable to see them in-game myself yet. ;)
     
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  18. Clumsy Pacer

    Clumsy Pacer Well-Known Member

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    I've only seen the Coca Cola one, and it was only once or twice, mixed in with the others.
    I really don't get why people are hating on it tho, and continue hating on it after not turning it off.
    Here's the Coca-Cola one.
    20220319203453_1.jpg


    This is what they're using, and it's used in quite a few big games by the looks of it. https://www.bidstack.com/
    Clearly it's working.
     
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  19. TimTri

    TimTri Well-Known Member

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    Wow, that gaming ad indeed looks out of place. Don‘t know how to precisely describe it, but it kinda feels like it‘s targeted at the gamer playing the route instead of the passengers traveling on it. Obviously makes sense from a marketing standpoint, but breaks the immersion a bit for us. I‘m sure we‘ll get more realistic ads down the line, this is just the beginning.
     
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  20. stujoy

    stujoy Well-Known Member

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    I can see why people are saying it isn’t appropriate or at all fitting with the route as it clearly a gaming ad not a public place billboard ad. Thankfully I’m not afflicted yet as I’m on console and there is (for now) the opt out option for everyone else.
     
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  21. mariussoare_84

    mariussoare_84 Well-Known Member

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    In the tunnels they can implement the wall advertising with some really cool effects and ads:



    My main gripe is with how they verify the advertisers and what products are allowed. Malvertising is the easiest way to get to someone´s device without hacking it.
     
  22. Dinosbacsi

    Dinosbacsi Well-Known Member

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  23. Tigert1966

    Tigert1966 Well-Known Member

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    For what it’s worth my feedback is that I don’t like it for much the same reason as others have stated already. The adverts seem inappropriate. (I don’t agree with advertising of sugary drinks to children, which are likely to be the target of these ads, at least in other games, to be good practice anyway but that’s just my opinion)

    However they can be switched off and as long as it remains that way, I’m fine with it. There must me be some benefit to DTG. I don’t buy the added immersion argument.
     
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  24. Crosstie

    Crosstie Well-Known Member

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    I will switch them off for the reasons given above, especially since some of them may be misplaced or inappropriate.
    But I just wonder how long DTG will enable the switch off option, given that they are supposedly a revenue source.
    When and if they become inescapable, there'll be another kind of discussion.
    Watch this space.
    ( By the way, DTG, I've never liked soda pop and nothing will persuade me to drink it.) ;)
     
    Last edited: Mar 20, 2022
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  25. tallboy7648

    tallboy7648 Well-Known Member

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    Well a simple solution in my opinion would be to simply turn them off. I think DTG should do a better job ot putting proper ads in the right places and not just slap them anywhere as some ads that are placed wouldn't be there in real life thus killing immersion. I do agree that kids should not be seeing adverts of soda in stations on this game but then again other games do just that.

    I don't think DTG would be making that much money off this or perhaps they aren't at all. Who knows. But at least you can turn them off.

    I thought these ads would be a good thing that would add immersion. But after seeing feedback, perhaps I'll have it switched off since some are not appropriate on some routes until they add proper ads that you would actually see on routes. The problem is really that they are just out of place for certain routes. The idea is good but the execution is poor
     
    Last edited: Mar 20, 2022
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  26. Dinosbacsi

    Dinosbacsi Well-Known Member

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    I think the added immersion is a good argument, as there are many mods for the game that add real life adverts onto route (like my Sherman Hill mod or the Boston Sprinter mod that adds Netflix and McDonald's ads, for example). To me the only problem is if they are really out of place. But other than that, I think they're a good concept. Though I have to agree, I also like the original DTG fake-ads, as there are some good ones.
     
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  27. nockwurst

    nockwurst Well-Known Member

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    Two years from now we will still be waiting for preservation updates cause they’re trying to insert real ads.
     
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  28. tallboy7648

    tallboy7648 Well-Known Member

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    I think if dtg didn't give players a turn off option for the long term, there would be many complaints so it would be in their best interest to give players the option
     
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  29. tallboy7648

    tallboy7648 Well-Known Member

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    Heck it might be a decade before real ads are an option for all dlcs
     
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  30. Clumsy Pacer

    Clumsy Pacer Well-Known Member

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    I really don't see why people are hellbent that the turn it off option will be removed. To remove it would be simply dumb, and I really don't think the option has much, if any, effect on revenue.
     
    Last edited: Mar 20, 2022
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  31. tallboy7648

    tallboy7648 Well-Known Member

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    Exactly so I don't see that happening
     
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  32. CK95

    CK95 Well-Known Member

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    I must say, whilst I was seeing the benefit of IRL advertisement, what they’ve implemented is basically the worst version of advertisement.

    All this achieves is uniting more of the playerbase in being against this addition.
     
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  33. tallboy7648

    tallboy7648 Well-Known Member

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    I hope dtg won't be arrogant (which seems they like to do) and tell players to just turn them off but add ads that are appropriate for a individual route. The problem is that they are just adding ads wherever they want instead of adding proper ads that you would find on a route.
     
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  34. mariussoare_84

    mariussoare_84 Well-Known Member

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    As an observation, the Coca Cola logo written with black text is for their no-sugar/zero version. I agree that minors might not know this but the point is that they are not advertising anything against the laws that protect minors.

    Xiaomi presents itself as a tech company that happens to produce mobile phones. Xiaomi displays ads in multiple sections of the phone´s OS but that to can be turned off albeit it´s not your regular on/off switch. This is how they come with lower prices compared to other manufacturers while offering top of the tree processors, screens and ultra-fast charging.

    The path is already set by others, it depends on DTG how well they do it.
    In the end, ads are like art, subjective.

    I used to go to ad design festivals and conferences to watch how the best of the industry compete through creativity, humor and innovation to create high quality spots.
     
  35. chieflongshin

    chieflongshin Well-Known Member

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    I won’t lose my ship until I’m gaming and I get 2 x 15second adverts coming up, one about a monkey in Somalia, and the second adverting a cheap grime song. “YouGames” :mad::mad:
     
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  36. btom

    btom Member

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    What amazes me is some people commenting on billboards that they see in a game when the game is actually about driving a train instead of a game looking at billboards
     
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  37. LastTrainToClarksville

    LastTrainToClarksville Well-Known Member

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    It's clearly time for a modified version of one of Abraham Lincoln's more famous statements: You can please some of the people all of the time and you can please all of the people some of the time, but DTG seldom pleases any forum members at any time.

    Ah, well, if it keeps the kiddies occupied . . .
     
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  38. OldVern

    OldVern Well-Known Member

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    Artificial sweetener is known to be worse for you than sugar, consists of a rather nasty chemical. The intense fizziness is also detrimental to tooth enamel. So definitely not something IMHO they should be advertising in a game played by impressionable children.

    The only gassy drink I consume is beer and preferably when that gas has been arrived at via secondary fermentation in bottle or barrel (i.e. real ale).
     
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  39. tallboy7648

    tallboy7648 Well-Known Member

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    Well you do see billboards when stopping at a station or driving along a line so your statement shouldn't amaze you frankly
     
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  40. Monder

    Monder Well-Known Member

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    This one would actually fit pretty well on SKA. When GamesCom is in Köln, gaming ads are all over the stations in the region. On the Bakerloo line... a bit off, true.
     
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  41. mariussoare_84

    mariussoare_84 Well-Known Member

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    I agree with you 100%. This is why I always drink them with sugar, there is nothing better than mother nature. ;)
     
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  42. bpbill96

    bpbill96 New Member

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    I brew my own ale, the main ingredients are water and sugar, along with a smattering of barley, hops and yeast.
     
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  43. OldVern

    OldVern Well-Known Member

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    I used to but after a few disasters with leaking barrels, plus most of the homebrew shops closed down I abandoned it. But there was nothing quite like getting a good malty boil going with the hops in the pan to fill the house with that brewery aroma.

    And I apologise for taking the thread completely OT, albeit in a warm and yummy manner!
     
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  44. stujoy

    stujoy Well-Known Member

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    Diet Coke £2.39 for 2 litres - requires enormous advertising budget to maintain market status. Advertised in TSW.
    Lidl’s own diet cola 39p for 2 litres - advertises itself with those prices (and tastes better). Not advertised in TSW.
    Beer is probably worse for you than any cola drink, even the stuff with artificial sweeteners or corn syrup in it instead of traditional sugar. It won’t be advertised in TSW.
    Capitalism is one of those things that simultaneously enriches and enslaves us, like the TSW forum :D
     
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  45. mariussoare_84

    mariussoare_84 Well-Known Member

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    Opinions are just like arses, everybody has one.

    I can´t wait for the moment when crypto ads drop. Who knows, maybe they are easily digested than Coke since about Coke we´ve been told non-stop it´s bad so it must be true.

    The developer tries to find ways to not raise the end product price for us but we still somehow find ways to complain because the product we love has not appeared but instead another one which we (must) hate.
    Decency, where are you!?
     
  46. Clumsy Pacer

    Clumsy Pacer Well-Known Member

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    From a quick Google of the system they're using; the only mention of cryptocurrency or NFTs I've found are in links to other things on the respective websites. I don't think they'll start entering deals with cryptocurrency people.
     
  47. redrev1917

    redrev1917 Well-Known Member

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    Theres an option to turn it off if you dont like them, personally I have zero issues with them. Anything unintrusive which keeps the cost of DLC down while at the same time ensuring the long term future of the game has my support.
     
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  48. DB628

    DB628 Well-Known Member

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    Make it for console
     
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  49. WVUadam

    WVUadam Well-Known Member

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    This revenue stream of advertised ads will not keep dlc at a cheaper price point.
     
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  50. heyitspopcorn

    heyitspopcorn Well-Known Member

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    In-game advertising should not be a substitute for parenting. Maybe times have changed, but I certainly was not primarily responsible for deciding what we bought at the supermarket when I was a child.
     
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