The Death Of The Suggestions Forum?

Discussion in 'Suggestions' started by jolojonasgames, Jun 27, 2022.

  1. jolojonasgames

    jolojonasgames Well-Known Member

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    Hi all, today I wanted to share my concern, opinion and theories about something that's been bugging me for a while. The suggestions forum seems to be dying out, with less suggestions being made overall, but most notably less interaction (and support) of the suggestions that are made, and the fact that that makes some people post suggestions in the PC forums instead.

    I started using the suggestions forums nearly two years ago now, at the time it was bustling with new and refreshing suggestions that often were very detailed and contained paragraphs of information and made it very clear why the route would be interesting. This no longer really feels like the case. Many of the new suggestions are just "I want route x with train x because it's very cool/my local route". The last active threads are only really active because someone dedicated to that suggestion (not always the original poster) keeps on finding ways to bump it (now I don't mind bumping per se if it serves a purpose because the route has become relevant or because someone wanted to suggest the same route but saw the suggestion, as it avoids duplicate threads and centralizes all information in one).

    The result of this is that I rarely look at the suggestion forums anymore and barely interact with it when I do, and it appears I'm not the only one doing this. The suggestions forums is no longer the place to get attention for a good idea or interesting route, as you'll just be drowned out by a one-week old account spamming the same sentence in 20 different threads. That's why some players have started finding creative ways of rephrasing suggestions so they can post them in the PC forums, or just blatently suggesting things in the PC forums, cluttering up the PC forums unnecessarily.

    So when and why did this happen? Well, I can't pinpoint exactly when it happened, but I'd say about a year ago it's decline had already started. As to why, well I can only theorize, but I feel the following points added to the phenomenon.

    1. lacking moderation
    The suggestions forums have been lacking in sufficient and appropriate moderation. It takes long for thread spammers to get banned, and their threads to be deleted. There also are no guidelines or at least tips for writing suggestions, allowing people to get away with just putting one sentence in a thread. There were also cases where very good and detailed threads with interesting discussions were locked because they had been silent for a while and a group of people restarted the discussion, with it being labeled as necrobumping. I realy don't feel like it's beneficial to lock threads with genuine and useful discussions, even if they had previously been silent for a while.

    2. (apperant) disinterest from DTG in the suggestions forums
    In the very beginning DTG employees would interact and comment more on suggestions, they also allowed more room for questions and discussions about suggestions and future possibilities on livestreams. Now on the one hand I understand this has happened, as it sometimes could generate false hopes among the playerbase, but it has given the suggestion forums a feeling of uselessness. This is not aided by DTG using 'put it in the suggestions forums' as a catchphrase. It might seem counterintuitive to think this generates disinterest in the forums at first, becaust DTG is literally telling you to become active there and that they'll look at your suggestions there. However, when it's used this often, and with little apperant DTG interaction with the forums (I'm not saying they don't read them, it just feels like they don't), it gives the feeling that it's just a quick thing they can say to get rid of you and make you live in the illusion of being heard, with the suggestion forums appearing like a ballot box, but being a trash can in fact.

    3. there are barely any cases of suggestions being made into actual routes
    Now this might be a little controversial, and I myself don't think it neccesarily can or should be changed just for the sake of keeping the suggestions forums alive, but I do think it's a factor in the suggestion forums decline. For the people, like me, that put a lot of time into (many) detailed suggestions it is a dissapointing feeling to see none of those suggestions see the light of day, and it generates disinterest after a while. Now there's a reason for this I think, because looking at on-stream comments it appears the suggestions may actually be looked at, and taken into consideration, but only as an indication of demand, and rarely as an anwser to DTG's percieved demands. I think it could really help in that regard if DTG makes a video or stream on the decision making process that goes into choosing some routes, using examples of forum suggestions that they used in that process.

    These are the main reasons I could come up with for now, but I'm curious on your thoughts on the suggestions forums state, the causes for it, and the suggestions forums future. I don't know where it is headed, maybe it will one day see a renaissance, maybe it will die off even further. I sure hope it once again becomes a place for interesting discussions, that may not neccesarily lead to the specific suggested routes being made, but at the very least to it becoming a reflection of demands and possibilities again.

    That being said, critical text over, enjoy a picture of a train :)

    [​IMG]
     
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  2. Jinoss17

    Jinoss17 Well-Known Member

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    What's the point of suggesting routes in other countries for example, knowing that the next route will be in the UK, Germany or USA and the next one and the next one again ...
     
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  3. byeo

    byeo Well-Known Member

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    I've suggested routes in the past and often come up with new suggestions which I spend time putting together with pictures and information to help it's cause. Only to then delete it and not post because "what's the point"..

    DTG have always said "stick it in the suggestion section of the forum" but I have a feeling it's there more because it's a good way for some people to create wishlists rather than to be used by DTG to actually get potential ideas for a new route. Has a suggestion from the forum actually been made? I've seen BML suggested way before it was announced but I'm talking about less obvious routes, Long Island Railroad, Cathcart Circle, East Coast Way, Darlington - Saltburn.

    I'm not suggesting every suggestion should be made, I understand the process they go through to select a route but my suggestion days are over as I feel like I'm wasting my time and the suggestion is falling of deaf ears.
     
    Last edited: Jun 27, 2022
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  4. Do dtg even take notice of suggestions?

    At a guess I would say they look at the best sellers on tsc and go from there.
     
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  5. theorganist

    theorganist Well-Known Member

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    I don't recall NTP, TVL, ECW, Cathcart or Crewe to Liverpool ever being available on TSC.

    BML was a regular suggestion on the forums, Bakerloo was apparently the most popular underground route requested, if I recall.

    I think to suggest they don't look a suggestions is not correct, I am sure some routes are pet projects but it would be extremely odd for them not to be looking to see what ideas aren't popular.
     
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  6. ARuscoe

    ARuscoe Well-Known Member

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    From what I've seen over the years:
    • Suggestions don't get turned into DLC, neither routes nor locos
    • DTG have stated they won't generally do countries outside of the big three for TSW (UK,US,DE)
    • Suggestions often are pretty much the same thing over and again - make this intercity route or that long route, or that route with the same services over and again
    • A fair amount of "suggestions" are newer forum members asking for their home route or their favourite route or loco in the fashion of "I would like this route, please make it"
    Because of the trend in the first one, and the difficulty of finding a capable, absorbing and engaging route with 45 miles or less of track I have pretty much stopped posting suggestions at all
     
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  7. AirbourneAlex

    AirbourneAlex Well-Known Member

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    Sometimes it feels not worthwhile making a detailed suggestion knowing that within a week it'll be buried under a page of one liner suggestions and never looked at again, especially when you've spent several hours researching and typing out all the info...

    As far as official feedback goes, as soon as anyone DTG related reply to a suggestion several people immediately jump to the conclusion and hype about that route being "looked at" i.e. it will be made. So replying to every thread would likely conjure more spam with people jumping on the boat with unnecessary hype.

    They probably do look at suggestions, just only a minority are likely sensible contenders. I imagine DTG have a long list of route they want to make first before needing inspiration in the suggestions forum, especially when we only get maybe 2 or 3 routes per year per nation.

    Some of DTG's content decisions are questionable (e.g. DLoGW) but sometimes (such as in the case of Cathcart) they'll surprise us with a good enjoyable route that was otherwise seldom requested. So I'll still have faith that DTG will bring us good content regardless of the suggestions thread.

    If anything the suggestions thread is just there to help gauge player's opinions, i.e. do people request more passenger or freight oriented routes in a certain region, what proportion of the suggestions are for historic content etc.
     
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  8. fabristunt

    fabristunt Well-Known Member

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    I think some of us are afraid of suggesting routes because of the eventuality DTG may go for them. I sure would love to see my local train line in TSW, but not with the current state of bugs, issues and screw ups.
    Rivet's Arosa is the closest line to me of those portrayed in TSW: I was very happy to have something local, for about 5 minutes, then it turned out to be [Removed - JD - language]

    There is no point in suggesting anything if DTG doesn't take that forum section into consideration, but suggesting something only for it to be halfassed might be even worse.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 28, 2022
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  9. Mich

    Mich Well-Known Member

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    You're cherry picking a bit though, for every unique pick like Sand Patch there's a obvious carry over from TS Classic like Great Western Express. Also just because a pick is "unique" doesn't mean it's not taking influence from popular sellers. For example I'd imagine East Coastway was probably picked in part because it was a quicker and easier alternative to doing the full Brighton Mainline.
     
    Last edited: Jun 27, 2022
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  10. OldVern

    OldVern Well-Known Member

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    I pretty much stopped posting ideas in there months ago. Pretty obvious to me DTG have a working list of projects they want to do covering several years in advance and only something totally iconic and outstanding is likely to get noticed. Their third party associates no doubt also have a shortlist of routes and traction they want to make. A discussion in the TSC forum earlier flagged a OSM style map showing all known payware routes for TSC. Not a single one in Norway or Sweden despite TSC being 15 years old. So the regular posters proposing Scandinavian routes for TSW are frankly most likely wasting their time.

    I also think posts in the Suggestions forum should be required to follow a specific format which includes certain basic information such as route length and the proposer should also state clearly what makes them think it would be a viable project for DTG or an associate to undertake. Finally posts should require moderator approval so the inarticulate one line spam never sees the light of day. N3V moderate any new posts to the Suggestions section on their forum so it shouldn’t be that hard for DTG to do likewise.
     
    Last edited: Jun 27, 2022
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  11. theorganist

    theorganist Well-Known Member

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    Which I suspect proves that no one is correct or incorrect. Some suggestions are probably taken from ideas raised on the forums some are probably from ideas from in house discussions, or someones pet project like SOS. Covid I believe also had an impact on some of the route choices. My point was that not every route is a throwback to TSC.

    I don't think it is correct to suggest that no notice is taken of the suggestions forums, likewise I don't think it is correct to suggest that every suggestion is given equal consideration or even any.
     
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  12. ARuscoe

    ARuscoe Well-Known Member

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    There are only so many decent routes to be able to make...
     
  13. stujoy

    stujoy Well-Known Member

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    Other than removing obvious spam and ‘own thread’ bumping by the New York kids (and others) by better moderation I don’t think there is much that can be done. I’m also not so sure people should pounce on any thread to demand a better quality suggestion by posting ‘more details please’ replies on one-liners. If the people suggesting routes haven’t made it clear what they want or don’t have access to information to post then it only keeps the bad threads coming back up as they try to please the quality police with hastily added Wikipedia copy and paste text about the early history of the routes and low resolution map images. It’s better if everyone ignores them. Moreover, if people want to improve the suggestions forum then posting good clear suggestions themselves will do that. Leave the bad quality ones to disappear and report any obvious spam.
     
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  14. jamesthepershing

    jamesthepershing Active Member

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    I'm sorry but that's complete rubbish. There are hundreds of routes in DTG's big three that would suit the conditions to be made into routes.
     
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  15. I'm happy just to wait and see what dtg come up with.

    Every route is awesome in one way or another.
     
  16. FD1003

    FD1003 Well-Known Member

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    I think the actual reason is that there are only so many routes to suggest before starting to get repetitive. Posting another thread about the NY metro won't make a difference.

    They have done that already, using the suggestion forum more like a compass to point to the right direction rather than choosing from routes suggested there.

    For example if they want to do another british modern, they might consider all this factors:
    • How well did our previous route sell, what sold most copies, and why?
    • What are our current capabilities, can we make the route justice? (we don't want another Bahnstrecke Riesa Dresden situation)
    Looking at the suggestion forums:
    • Is there more demand for 25kV or 3rd rail?
    • Do people want more of London, Scotland, or do they want something new?
    I think that's the basic explanation they gave on how they use the Suggestion forum.

    Honestly, it's been a while since I've started to tell myself that I am not their target audience, they don't care about me, and I think the same applies to a lot of forum members.
    And it's been long since I've lost hope for any first party add-on outside the US/GER/UK area.
     
    Last edited: Jun 27, 2022
  17. Purno

    Purno Well-Known Member

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    I find myself less active in the suggestions forum. Aside from me having only suggested 1 route myself, I have frequently voiced my support for other suggestion, as well as added my point of view for some not-so-ideal suggestions.

    But after a while, the suggestions really start to look alike. And somehow it feels like making suggestions has little impact on the decision making within DTG and third parties. There doesn't really seem to be any point to remain active in the suggestions forum.
     
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  18. tallboy7648

    tallboy7648 Well-Known Member

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    Number 3 is exactly what DTG do. DTG seem to use the suggestions forum more as a compass to what players may be interested in. It's similar to surveys. Multiplayer is the most suggested thing in this game. Players also want Dynamic Weather/events. 5 years in, we still don't have dynamic weather even though dynamic weather is a feature in Unreal engine.

    I remember seeing a suggestion for the harlem line but the user wanted the route to go to southeast. That would be 30 stations, 53 miles and a running time of around an hour and ten minutes which is similar running time on SEHS using the 395. Instead DTG make the route from North White Plains to Grand Central so even if there is a suggestion, DTG may not make the route that a player may want it to be.

    Another thing I noticed about some suggestions is that they seem similar. I've seen a couple suggestions asking for the MTA Metro-North Hudson and New Haven lines by different users many times and route extensions for routes like the Harlem Line to southeast, extensions of SEHS to Victoria, U.S freight routes that will just provide similar experiences to what is already available and southern U.K third rail routes.

    Do I think it has died, no. The answer is simple really. It's a suggestions forum. Key word is suggestions. A suggestion is just that. It's advice or an idea. Just because a player suggests that this route should be made doesn't mean DTG have to. A player is just advising DTG on what they would like to see in the game. Sure it may suck that some suggestions that a player puts their heart and soul into only for it not to come. But at the end of the day, DTG don't have to make it.
     
    Last edited: Jun 27, 2022
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  19. chieflongshin

    chieflongshin Well-Known Member

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    Personally for me I just think it’s a dumping ground for route requests.
    Suggestions to improve it

    • Better moderation, if there’s 30 ECML threads put them into a mega thread. People get bored putting +1 and a new threads up next week.
    • No DTG engagement, I guess to stop wild speculation or not show their hand. Route designers could ask about the route to intelligence gather for decision meetings.
    • Never hear anything whatsoever to say “this came as a result of this persons suggestions”, bit of a one sided relationship.

    To me, these are the people that have it right…..https://ideas.lego.com/ . I’d put it in suggestion forum but…….This is where moderated polls or some form of vote could be good to quantify how many people support an idea with the threads being pushed externally too

    How many times have we heard we listen to the community yet the two most requested routes for years WCML and ECML are wedged firmly in the purgatory between “we listen” and “if it’s not on the roadmap”

    Currently the suggestions forum is nothing more than a filing cabinet
     
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  20. Tank621

    Tank621 Well-Known Member

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    Well, I would make more suggestions but I've already made the ones I'm really interested in.

    Tbh, I just want an East Anglian route but suggestions for those aren't exactly rare and there are only really so many routes that make sense for East Anglia: GEML (Southend Branch or further East), WAML, LT&SR, Wherry Lines, Fen Line and the Sunshine Coast Line. I believe my most recent suggestion was for the line between Ipswich and Ely as an idea for a different suggestion for East Anglia. But yeah that's about it really.

    That being said I've never actually made my own GEML suggestion so... guess I'll do that now ;)
     
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  21. ARuscoe

    ARuscoe Well-Known Member

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    Oh? Name me say three more which you wouldn't need a heap of different locos, based on a smallish geographical region serving a major centre?
    The reason Paddington (mainline) is good for what they did is because it was served by one major provider in that era, and if you leave out the Heathrow services you can populate the whole line with essentially three trains, which in essence is what they did with a bit of 166 duplication to make up for the 165

    Just about any other major route would have had too much diversity of traction to make a good fist of the DLC, and remember this was the FIRST post release DLC so it had to be a pretty good one
     
  22. tallboy7648

    tallboy7648 Well-Known Member

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    Bakerloo wasn't the most popular suggestion for underground routes to be in the game. They weren't even originally gonna make the Bakerloo line either until they saw how difficult making the Piccadilly Line would be
     
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  23. Blacknred81

    Blacknred81 Well-Known Member

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    Yeah, I feel like there isn't a point to making new suggestions, whether that being because it'll get buried by a short sentence suggestion, or someone will post the same suggestion within a month with less details, the lack of a route actually being made into a DLC, or if it does, it'll be a disappointment due to cut content, or a representation that leaves alot to be desired.
     
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  24. dhekelian

    dhekelian Well-Known Member

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    For me I think the suggestion forums, especially post Rush Hour, is just a dumping ground for DTG. Which is a shame as I think if DTG worked with the community to get the most popular route people want. Obviously I suspect it would have to be in the 3 regions it does now and DTG would specify some sort of length.

    If they had asked the community what route people would want in their recent SOS release I think a different route would have been chosen.
     
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  25. tallboy7648

    tallboy7648 Well-Known Member

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    Honestly I think Liverpool-Crewe was chosen so they can give Paul Jackson a trip down memory lane
     
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  26. dhekelian

    dhekelian Well-Known Member

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    I think you're spot on. I think DTG has been drifting away from the community for a few months now which is a shame. Far be it for me to tell DTG how to run there company but they are missing a trick here.
     
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  27. theorganist

    theorganist Well-Known Member

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    Oh okay for some reason I thought it was!
     
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  28. euaningarfill

    euaningarfill Active Member

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    The way i see it is that the only way you are going to get any other country is third party but DTG chose to lock down the game so it is harder for that to happen
    People have suggested all kinds of routes but DTG release a hand full of routes a year so getting what is suggested is not going to happen
    And don't forget in the end whitch route is going to sell more and make money yes ecml and wcml but they are long routes so boluild time and making it applicable on all platforms would be difficult
     
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  29. driverwoods#1787

    driverwoods#1787 Well-Known Member

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    Good point and also the game uses 15kv 16.7hz AC German routes. If DTG wants to expand to a new country they need to be familiar on how the train protection system works. Does not Apply to Austrian OBB Routes because you can simply use PZB LZB Sifa new builds ETCS like the German routes. An example of ETCS German route SNL Schnellfahrstrecke Nürnberg Leipzig 310 km 190 mi
     
  30. Blartthaniel42

    Blartthaniel42 Well-Known Member

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    Well since everyone is giving their 2 cents, I guess I’ll give mine. Here are some of the general reasons I don’t really post in suggestions anymore.

    1. Community growth is slowing down.
    This is a pretty generic reason but the game has been out for almost 2 years now. Many of the people who wanted this game now have it and have been a part of the community for a while. On top of that, I feel that the forms are starting to feel a little less populated as well. Looking at the screenshot contest and livery designers pages on the form and you will see less interaction over time. Also, I do know that quite a few people have stepped away from the game and community due to their disappointment with what’s going on with DTG

    2. Many suggestions being made are inappropriate.
    By this I mean that many new members come in with a suggestion with absolutely 0 details on anything. Other things include people making suggestions for routes that are just insanely too long for TSW to handle, repeating a suggestion has already been said, and suggesting something that DTG has already said they will NOT do (e.i. route expansions or combining routes).

    3. Finding a viable route is hard
    I would love to see my local route be added into the game. The thing is it only sees 8 trains a day. Wouldn’t make a very thrilling timetable. I guess what I’m getting at is that not every route would work well in the game. This also includes copyrights, probably the biggest killer of route potential. If DTG or any third parties don’t have the rights to a railroad, you can bet that the suggestion will never be even considered.

    Say what you will about DTG and how they really don’t seem to react to the suggestions, but the three reasons above is why I personally stopped posting so much (I mean I knew DTG wasn’t going to pick routes out of the suggestions). I think it’s just to get a general idea of what people want.
     
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  31. CrazyDash

    CrazyDash Well-Known Member

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    I definitely do agree with this. I put a lot of time and effort into my suggestions. But for them to just get thrown under the rug by these halfassed suggestions that are only 1-2 sentences is just ridiculous. Makes me feel like nobody cares about mine or anybody's suggestions unless it's a route that everybody knows.
     
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  32. chieflongshin

    chieflongshin Well-Known Member

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    It needs a suggestions leaderboard post monthly or quarterly perhaps or again dialect on roadmap as to what DTG have picked up, following, reviewed, cut.
     
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  33. jamesthepershing

    jamesthepershing Active Member

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    Dresden - Bad Schandau (BR 143, 112, dostos)
    Another Tube line, such as the Piccadilly (which they had as an option instead of Bakerloo) (with the relevant tube stock)
    Berlin - Frankfurt (Oder) (Taurus, BR 143, dostos + possible new BR 152 & new freight stock?)

    And the list could go on...
     
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  34. OldVern

    OldVern Well-Known Member

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    Of course the suggestion forum isn’t just for route or train ideas. From time to time we see gameplay or interface ideas but again sadly these just get thrown under the bus, buried in the mediocre one liners and never publicly addressed by DTG.
     
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  35. ARuscoe

    ARuscoe Well-Known Member

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    Apologies. Would have to be british - ie a direct comparrison, I believe other lines in germany were developed at the same time and aren't being questionned. Not sure another tube line would be of any help as bakerloo was in the core pack.
     
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  36. Purno

    Purno Well-Known Member

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    I believe another tube line gets as much downvotes as it gets upvotes. Sure there are people who'd love to see another tube line, but I know I'm not the only one who has commented not being interested in another tunnel DLC.

    So, just because something gets suggested a few times, doesn't mean there's enough audience to make developing such a DLC profitable enough.
     
  37. ARuscoe

    ARuscoe Well-Known Member

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    Probably true, though I've never driven bakerloo, mainly due to the timetable not being busy and it seems to be a case of "accellerate, wait for it, brake!" rinse and repeat... I could be wrong
     
  38. byeo

    byeo Well-Known Member

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    Maybe the Suggestion Forum needs some guidelines for posts to be accepted or they get locked..?

    Essential Criteria

    • State where the route begins & ends as well as total length
    • What locos are to be included
    • Potential loco dlc which could come further down the line
    • What era is it to be set in
    • A brief description of the route, what stands out en-route/makes it interesting, it doesn't have to be an essay, but a paragraph minimum
    • Brief history of the line
    • Pictures of the route/stations/locos
    • Additional information is welcome

    Anything else we could add to this list..?

    I personally don't think that's much to ask from people and if suggestions fail to hit those markers then the thread is locked. This will then keep the thought-out suggestions to the top of the page and when people see them there's a good chance they'll give it a thumbs up if they like the suggestion. It'll be easier for DTG staff to view them too.

    Is this something which could be considered? DTG JD
     
    Last edited: Jun 28, 2022
  39. Jpantera

    Jpantera Well-Known Member

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    Liverpool to Crewe is a WCML line, steam may have not been asked for but certainly and era and traction type which was new.

    Merseyrail, WCML and ECML have been asked for so many times it's hard to tell if it's the same folk asking. TSW2 DLC is coming out at such a rate you would be more likely to get a job on these lines than see all of them in the game and no chance for full length.

    Expectations on the suggestion part of the forum are no where near realistic and it may help if DTG pointed that out some how....
     
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  40. DTG Alex

    DTG Alex Community Manager Staff Member

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    Hello everyone, I've spent this morning catching up on this thread and reading through all of your comments and whilst I am still new to the team, I do want to work on the suggestions forum, find ways to make it a better experience and utilise this part of the community more.

    So what I can say is this: I hear you all. I am raising this with the internal teams and looking into how we can realise some of the above suggestions made and possibly even working on transforming how we handle suggestions into a more engaging event.

    What I can't say is anything specific. Before mentioning anything we can do I need to talk to the team and understand how we can go about any changes that might be made. Sadly this comes with no guarentees or promises of change - I can't make promises or commitments that aren't certain, but what I will say is that my goal is to connect more deeply with the community, and finding new ways to accomodate for the most active and loyal players as well as discover more ways to get new players involved. This could be a great way of achieving that goal.

    So for all of you sharing your suggestions keep them coming for now, and when I can give more of an update I will let you all know.
    The passion of our community is what keeps us going so thank you all for sharing the feedback, we're on it. :)
     
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  41. simontreanor81

    simontreanor81 Well-Known Member

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    Maybe it needs to be broken up - new route suggestions, new stock suggestions, and gameplay/improvement suggestions.
     
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  42. OldVern

    OldVern Well-Known Member

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    As I noted earlier, why you think it would be commercially viable (in the case of a route or train DLC). Gameplay or interface enhancements - what advantage might it/they bring.
    +1.
     
  43. simontreanor81

    simontreanor81 Well-Known Member

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    Also maybe the suggestion process could be flipped. As well, as us suggesting stuff, when DTG (or others) are chooising routes, they could put it to the community.

    * What era would you prefer? Within reason
    * Which roling stock would you prioritise?
    * What's most important to you about this route?
    * Would you prefer branch A or branch B? Or another?
    * What do you think the proposal is lacking?

    Obviously they wouldn't be able to satisfy everyone and you'd still get unrealistic/contradictory suggestions but it'd be a good way of engaging with us
     
  44. ARuscoe

    ARuscoe Well-Known Member

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    DTG have done polls in the past (usually on a 3rd party site annually) and that's what Sam's main job was before "community", breaking down the data and feeding this into the DLC decision process.
     
  45. Purno

    Purno Well-Known Member

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    New routes & stock often come combined, so a split wouldn't be much of a help. I do agree the gameplay/improvement suggestions might deserve their own place, instead of getting lost between all the route/loco suggestions.

    What personally would help me browsing through suggestions, would be a prefix for countries, like the tech forum has prefixes for consoles/platforms. Although several route suggestions have recognizable names of which I can recognize or at least guess the language, there's also many similarities in names (for example US/UK/AUS all using English, or US towns being often named after European cities).

    They already did a few surveys asking our preferences. Altough it's unclear what happened with the results. What's also unclear is what actually came of the huge list of most-suggested routes DTG Protagonist made a few years back. What also doesn't help, is that while DTG primarly focuses on three countries, there's been plenty of stories of thrid parties having difficulties getting started (mainly because there is no public editor). I think I can state that pretty much everyone outside of the UK/US/DE feels left out by DTGs limited scope.
     
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  46. Purno

    Purno Well-Known Member

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    Actually, both DTG and Rivet did several polls.

    But it's very unclear (or un-transparent, if that's a word) how the community data feed actually influenced the DLC decision process.
     
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  47. FD1003

    FD1003 Well-Known Member

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    They'd never do it. Consider for how long the "german" and "american" route are remaining a secret. They are telling us what route they are developing once it's almost done. Same goes for the alleged class 484 (officially british loco DLC) from rivet
     
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  48. simontreanor81

    simontreanor81 Well-Known Member

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    Well that's the approach now, but there's no reason why it should change. The level of secrecy seems odd - you can reveal info without over-committing as they did with Riesa - Dresden
     
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  49. Jamy

    Jamy Well-Known Member

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    Shouldn't this be in the suggestions forum
     
  50. ARuscoe

    ARuscoe Well-Known Member

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    It's not odd to those of us who've been around these forums for a while. Unfortunately there's a segment of the community who like to vent their spleen at any comment made which may lead them to a certain opinion. An example was one of the German routes where it was mentioned on a stream where the start and end points were likely to be.
    This got turned into "This is where the route goes" and when that didn't quite happen... the venting started

    So DTG putting "german route" isn't an issue for me, so long as it morphs into "this is the definite start point", maybe "with this loco" and it develops over time. This means we get fed what is certain (shutting up the venters) whilst not revealing too much (feeding the venters)
     
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