Train Sim World Winter Survey

Discussion in 'Dovetail Live Article Discussion' started by DTG Alex, Dec 19, 2022.

  1. DTG Alex

    DTG Alex Community Manager Staff Member

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    [​IMG]


    Welcome to the Train Sim World Winter Survey 2022-23. Veteran players of Train Sim World will be familiar with our surveys which we run from time to time in order to get a better understanding of our players.

    The survey for Train Sim World is an important part of the development process. In any given week we get information from a broad range of sources about where we're doing well and where there's room for improvement. This information comes from an eclectic range of sources; from the individual platforms and within the game itself we'll get the raw numbers of who is playing what and for how long. This gives us a solid understanding of which routes, timetables, trains and services are particularly resonating with players. Obviously, this data skews heavily toward the latest releases and routes that are included in the core game, but we're on the lookout for anomalous or outlying stats that tell us where something is going right or wrong.

    Next, obviously enough are the sales figures for new add-on releases. This gives us a broad indication of how appealing an individual release might be, and then in subsequent sales or other discount periods we can build further understanding of the add-on. Maybe it didn't quite appeal enough to be snapped up at release, maybe early feedback led to a sense of "wait and see" from players. By paying attention to this information we can improve the types and ranges of add-ons we release in the future because, obviously, we want to make the routes and trains that you're most interested in playing.

    Feedback and suggestions add a critical additional piece of this puzzle. You're definitely not backward in telling us what you think, and this level of insight can go a long way to explain why the raw numbers we get from other sources are the way they are. Whether you're commenting on a live stream, getting in touch via social media or submitting an in-depth route suggestion on the forums the quality of explanation you give for individual opinion gives us clear insight into what's exciting you and what's leaving you a little underwhelmed.

    This is where the survey comes in.

    It allows us to get comments from more players who typically leave their opinions via the forums or social media while simultaneously matching those opinions to the platform data we get independently. We're also then able to ask bigger, more wide-ranging questions to get a stronger understanding of which way we should take the franchise in the future. Creative tools and the Training Center are just two of the features that have been introduced as a direct result of your survey responses in the past. The survey enables us to tie all those other pieces of information together so that we can make the smartest possible choices when looking into the longer term of Train Sim World.

    Simply put, it's your best opportunity to tell us where we should go next.

    Take this winter's Train Sim World survey
     
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  2. toffski#8424

    toffski#8424 Member

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    Showing an error when clicking the link at the moment!
     
  3. DTG Alex

    DTG Alex Community Manager Staff Member

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    This should now be working :)
     
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  4. toffski#8424

    toffski#8424 Member

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    Lovely, all done!
     
  5. Bradley

    Bradley Well-Known Member

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    Done it, still yawn when I see multiplayer…
     
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  6. meridian#2659

    meridian#2659 Well-Known Member

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    My prefered feature is a livery manager, where we finally can activate paints in routes / allow routes for certain paints.

    Just not wanna uninstall the class 37 euro phoenix livery all the time when i play tees valley line.
     
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  7. nepclassof84

    nepclassof84 Well-Known Member

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    Survey taken. Nicely done. Gave some detailed feedback and preferences
     
  8. jolojonasgames

    jolojonasgames Well-Known Member

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    Always nice to see the survey again. I think this survey asks a lot of good questions, hopefully it'll help steer development going forwards. I expect some things like a full on editor for (new) routes, rolling stock, timetables and consists to come out of the survey as quite popularly demanded. I'm also curious what the survey will say about new countries, the Netherlands in particular, and if they actually take some of the suggested routes forward into developement.
     
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  9. Quentin

    Quentin Well-Known Member

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    Good survey. Assuming we can get to a point at which saved games can be reliably resumed, I'd like to see (easy) the ability to have separate saved states for separate routes, so I can play one route, save the game and then play a different route and save that without overwriting the earlier save. Ideally, I'd like to be able to save the same route at different points (as was possible in MSTS), but that would require a new interface to select between saves at different times. I don't know if the size of 'saves' (? ~3MB) might be a limiting factor.
     
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  10. solicitr

    solicitr Well-Known Member

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    Dunno about consoles, but there's no reason why a PC shouldn't have unlimited saves-- like just about every other game out there.

    3MB is nothing- that's less than one pop song in .mp3
     
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  11. rjeeves#3580

    rjeeves#3580 Active Member

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    I'll be doing the survey in a min. By the way best and most accurate quote in any article
    "You're definitely not backward in telling us what you think"
     
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  12. SteveRail

    SteveRail Well-Known Member

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  13. SonicScott91

    SonicScott91 Well-Known Member

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    Not keen that future steam locomotive content is it's own question as if it doesn't get a lot of decent answers, it gives me the idea that DTG will do less steam than everything else which would be a terrible outcome!

    Regardless of this survey, future steam content should get equal output to that of diesel and electric traction. There needs to be a balance of historic/modern content.
     
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  14. WVUadam

    WVUadam Well-Known Member

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    Would be interesting if you published the results of these surveys. So can see how many people completed the survey.
     
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  15. jörgen Näslund

    jörgen Näslund Well-Known Member

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    Please order these potential features in order of desirability (top of the list is most desirable)
    Is it 1 or it is 10 the most desirable. I get confused of this.
     
  16. rjeeves#3580

    rjeeves#3580 Active Member

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    I don't think it will be published in full as it becomes secret corporate info (that other developers could use). Sam has given select answers on streams before (lists of requested routes, VR bottom of the list ect...)
     
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  17. Mr JMB

    Mr JMB Well-Known Member

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    The fact that the steam loco question is there like that certainly suggests they aren't working on anything more. Sadly, I had to give SoS a poor rating given that is how it performs at the time I took the survey. If they fix that route up properly then steam might get a better opinion, give the proper physics and manual fireman mode and things might be very different. You would have thought that it would be a high priority to get the first steam route right, however from the first previews it was clear it was a WIP even at launch and had been shoved out of the door after taking enough development time up.
     
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  18. Mr JMB

    Mr JMB Well-Known Member

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    the order is 1 the most desirable to 10 the least, if you click on the three lines on the left it will order them after you have entered the numbers.
     
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  19. Dave Mel

    Dave Mel Well-Known Member

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    Done it
     
  20. rjeeves#3580

    rjeeves#3580 Active Member

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    on Q21 should that be "Amount of non-player train traffic"
    I've never hear of rain traffic?!
     
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  21. yardem

    yardem Well-Known Member

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    Is there anything coming out of this? What exactly happened after the previous surveys?
     
  22. solicitr

    solicitr Well-Known Member

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    Trust me, TSW3 has a LOT of rain traffic!
     
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  23. TimTri

    TimTri Well-Known Member

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    Cool survey, always love doing these each winter!
     
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  24. jolojonasgames

    jolojonasgames Well-Known Member

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    They don't tell us exactly what they take from the surveys, but you see that the type of routes DTG releases over time do respond to community demands, with the surveys being one of the best ways to gather data on these demands. Take Bremen-Oldenburg for example. It's a clear response to the demand for a route without Dostos and with older stock created from scratch. New operators like RailPool and PRESS could also be seen as a consequence of community demand. In addition to that, in some of the Kassel - Würzburg streams, they mentioned that the reason for a long high speed route was community feedback and the demand for a route where you could go fast for a longer period of time. I assume this feedback was partially taken from the surveys. SoS is also partiallly a creation of community demand.

    It would be interesting to see how DTG uses (or has used) specific feedback points and route suggestions, and takes (or taken) them into their decision making process on new routes and features, but they've never given us that exact insight with actual examples (which I do think would be interesting to see).
     
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  25. ApollonJustice

    ApollonJustice Well-Known Member

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  26. grdaniel48

    grdaniel48 Well-Known Member

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    As to question 13: "Do not own or no opinion"

    So can you make your opinion, even you do not own?
    Or if you do not own, is mandatory you can not opinion?
     
  27. chieflongshin

    chieflongshin Well-Known Member

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    Well, this is a wonderful treat. Great opportunity for everyone to request ECML and WCML for the 5th year in a row ;)
     
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  28. rennekton#1349

    rennekton#1349 Well-Known Member

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    It's either or. You either don't own the game or you don't have an opinion whether you own the game or not.
     
  29. aeronautic237

    aeronautic237 Well-Known Member

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    I will feel bad for DTG Matt/TrainSimMatt if VR comes last again!

    Yes that was lowest on the list for me too, but I know how much he loves it, and how much it will add to the game, but I don't own one, so it wouldn't really affect me.
     
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  30. Jpantera

    Jpantera Well-Known Member

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    Yep, also more Privatised TOC style ops which have little or no chance of being licensed and more super hard to drive one handled traction. I have of course have asked for the West Highland line and more older stuff, plus dynamic signalling.
     
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  31. antony.henley

    antony.henley Well-Known Member

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    It was a long and distinguished list to choose from but I went with Eastleigh - Poole :D

    Hentis
     
  32. antony.henley

    antony.henley Well-Known Member

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    Multiplayer came last for me.

    Hentis
     
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  33. breblimator

    breblimator Guest

    I hope we will see the scores \o/
     
  34. DTG Protagonist

    DTG Protagonist Has left the building Staff Member

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    You won't ever get the full results because they have significant value, not just in their own right but as guidance for anyone wondering how we might shape the future of the game. I will however take my usual approach of dropping interesting information out there for you on a regular basis.

    On the subject of VR it will always come last because unless someone has already invested in the hardware the level of interest is restricted. It's a valid question however since we can track how player appetite has changed since we last surveyed. More interesting however will be the choice between the full editor and multiplayer. That's the titanic showdown in the future features list (I'm betting on multiplayer, and yes I will let you know the winner).
     
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  35. bljohansson#4171

    bljohansson#4171 Active Member

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    Meanwhile I'd live in TSW if they added VR, and DTG would get unlimited access to my wallet. The gap between VR enthusiasts and others feels so...absolute.
     
  36. Disintegration7

    Disintegration7 Well-Known Member

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    Always appreciate the opportunity to provide feedback. Wish there had been a chance to provide commentary on the route ratings in addition to a score. E.g. i rated Birmingham as "good" rather than "excellent" due to the lack of layers/AI traffic.

    I did, indeed, put VR last (sorry true believers). Just not something i'm interested in.

    Surprised myself by putting multiplayer ahead of full editor, but honestly i've been impressed by the implementation in SimRail and the thought of tinkering in an editor TSC-style (but harder).....yeah, no thanks.

    I actually rated "more AI traffic" ahead of "more drivable services", which surprised me, but when i think of how few i actually drive out of the total, i realized that i guess i value AI traffic higher.
     
  37. rennekton#1349

    rennekton#1349 Well-Known Member

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    Unless they implement vr poorly of course. Lots of stuff could happen.
     
  38. Crosstie

    Crosstie Well-Known Member

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    Well, as you've said yourself quite recently, this " titanic showdown " is always a foregone conclusion. So not that " interesting " after all.

    Not wishing to be divisive, I wonder what the result would be if you asked PC players and console players separately. Or maybe you already do that.

    Anyway, knowing DTG's policy on the full editor and multiplayer makes voting for either akin to whistling Dixie, as we say in these parts. So maybe they should be excluded from the survey.

    Of course, there are editorial options other than a full editor. I hope they're being considered. I would love to be able to really make my own scenarios ( for my personal use only, of course. )
     
    Last edited: Dec 19, 2022
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  39. FredElliott

    FredElliott Well-Known Member

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    Opening the bidding at a fiver and a chip butty (a proper northern one, not the guff you southerners pretend are "chips")
     
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  40. Callum B.

    Callum B. Well-Known Member

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    I'd like to say this here as there wasn't a question specifically regarding this, but even though I do not currently own VR equipment, if TSW ever gained VR support it is almost guaranteed that I will buy the hardware to take advantage of it. There aren't enough VR games that appeal to me to want in on the club, but I absolutely do see the appeal for first person driving/flying simulations. So I did actually put VR higher on my list than perhaps the average, despite not owning a VR headset myself.

    Cheers
     
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  41. Crosstie

    Crosstie Well-Known Member

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    While you're doing that, would you put in a good word for better night lighting, realistic US headlights, rush hour passengers and a proper scenario editor.

    Save me doing the survey myself.
    Thanks. ;)
     
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  42. Pinguinie

    Pinguinie Active Member

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    Und wieder... MP in der Umfrage und dann heißt es wieder, Nö, brauchen wir nicht
    Was für ein Quatsch.

    And again... MP in the survey and then it says again, nope, we don't need it What nonsense.

    I already know why I don't buy anything from DTG anymore...
     
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  43. WVUadam

    WVUadam Well-Known Member

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    Listing a full scale editor is bit disingenuous. If people vote for it how are you going allow access to an editor when its due to licensing we haven't got one and only available via partner program.
     
  44. DTG Protagonist

    DTG Protagonist Has left the building Staff Member

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    Not at all. We're measuring the level of interest, nothing more. If something garners a high level of interest it's far more likely to be something that is pursued than if nobody is keen. The survey is about what you as players most desire. It's then down to us to take that under advisement and either make it happen or not, all the while knowing it'd be very popular.
     
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  45. rennekton#1349

    rennekton#1349 Well-Known Member

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    I've done it with better night lighting so there you go.
     
  46. Michael Newbury

    Michael Newbury Well-Known Member

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    Completed the survey
     
  47. MLP Derick

    MLP Derick Well-Known Member

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    The full editor was something I wasn't expecting to see on the survey whether it will see the light of day will be determined by the collected data
     
  48. BLRy

    BLRy Well-Known Member

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    Completed. I did not like the trick question. Best answer is "both".
    Left you some detailed ideas at the end. Cheers!
     
  49. chieflongshin

    chieflongshin Well-Known Member

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    Without being the idiot in the room is this accurate based on the high level of interest in certain routes or is that simply a development cost thing why what players have desired for years has not surfaced (unless of course it's a bubbling unconfirmed product)

    I think the editor is a bit of weird question too. I can only see it applicable to a small cross section.
    If that cross section is reviewed collectively across all platforms then an even smaller one. I assume that result will be measured across pc players only?
     
  50. OldVern

    OldVern Well-Known Member

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    I thought the same until trying the SimRail playtest. Was on a server last night with a few big names from here and it was good fun.

    I thought the pricing question was a bit loaded too, no option to disagree with the recent hike other than to accept a drop in quality, which to some extent we have seen with the price rise and the release of two quite short routes.
     
    Last edited: Dec 20, 2022
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