Branding and brand values. Marketing isn't DTG problem, delivering on promises is the issue and that impacts brand values of the company because it cheapens and undermines the brand itself by showing an ability or lack there of to deliver on said promises.
Matt saying DTG do not make money on patches is not entirely true imo. If a customer sees a route being released but is buggy will probably hold off buying it but if TG applied a patch (so long as it fixed the bugs) he would buy it so DTG will get a sale. DTG might not be directly earning money off the patch but they will be off the route being fixed. If they don't fix it cause the route needs a patch then DTG will be making losses on the route not being sold which seems a bit daft no?
The reality is DTG are operating the exact same way for fifteen years now (except for the TSW roadmap thing and increased PR). It just works. They have the monopoly, and manage to create a level of addiction and anticipation so that people, although once bitten, continue to purchase their DLC, well knowing it will have issues, some of them serious (I've played three random LIRR2 services, never managing to get into NY Penn. Always a string of trains jammed and deadlocked). The system works for them. They know that. We know that.
So that's it? They have a system and that is that? There is always room for improvement and who knows if DTG actually fixed buggy routes they might increase their sales no? Looking after customers this way is also a well proven successful 'system'. imo DTG should give it a try.
What they "should" do is in fact their management's decision. It may be unpopular even within the DTG staff. Only numbers matter. If low effort and untested DLC sells, a CEO might decide to continue walking that path. DTG have a monopoly and no competition on the market they're serving. You cannot go and say "I'll buy my WCML from company xyz if I don't like DTG's product." What a few people demand on their forums, can also be considered as the Pareto minority 20% who'll complain anyway, no matter what. Why put more effort into it if it doesn't factually increase sales? We've seen the engagement of MAX1319 , posting in the feedback threads and filing bugs to the Jira system - unfortunately for american content only. Not his job, but appreciated - that's what the Community Managers are getting paid for imho. The WCMLS feedback thread(s) - noone knows if these issues are known to anyone in the team. Some higher up could decide to put all effort into the next project, and leave the DLC as is. All you can do is be aware of how it all works, and never buy "in hope". Thinking in terms of should've, could've, would've can lead to depressions - if you're not in the position to think that way, as a project manager for example. As an end user, you'd better accept the facts and use your power to vote with your wallet. Analyze DTG and you'll find they have not and they won't ever change. Only change is they now have to report to Focus/PulluP yearly, because Mr Jackson chose to retire and sell his company.
In a TSC thread, one of the old DTG devs told about how ridiculously little time he had been given to make the scenery for a very long route in the early RailWorks days (basically you're getting the route with terrain and laid track from the team/person responsible for that (track laying can only be done by one person simultaneously due to TSC track data being one single file "tracks.bin", whereas scenery tiles can be distributed to teams), and get assigned a set of tiles you have to decorate within a set timeframe. If you look closely at some TSC routes, you can even tell that a specific area was done by another person, running out of time and being less detailed. I had myself thinking "someone must've called in sick here") That route eventually got a rework, because it was just too bad. So I'm not saying we shouldn't be giving feedback, just not getting attached too much is my advice. I've been there, didn't do me any good.
Yet another issue. 1Y55 1655 EUS-BHM should cross DF-DS at Ledburn but instead is left on DF to call at Leighton & Bletchley. and unless I’m missing something DTG seems to be very quiet on the issues.
Think they don't want to admit the issues. Like I said in my post, communication when things go wrong is the only way of keeping your community onside. The silence shows you everything you need to know about how they view us as customers.
The state wcml is in really doesn't bother me. The way I see it, the route is basically a template, dtg have created template. The community will turn it into a route worth having.
Only for PC users, that's not the biggest customer base for TSW, the console market doesn't deserve a poor version of the route, especially considering some of the previous offerings.
What do you mean TSW6? DTG are already finished that because they realise people will buy it regardless of what state it is in, TSW6 will just be a box of zeros and ones and the community has to put it together. You wouldn't reward your dog for doing something in house, so why would you with TSW? Same principle, they won't learn, so god help TSW6.
It's not ideal for console players no. But it's always been the same right back to the railworks days, before console was even on the radar.
That attitude is really backwards. So you're in theory saying console users shouldn't have the game at all?
Saw this while scrolling through the old x, not entirely sure who “Movies Games and Tech” are but I don’t think I’ve ever seen this reviewer in my 18 years of living
Basically I'm saying that these substandard routes are no surprise to me. Nor do I care. Mods have always made the game what it can and should be.
I was actually replying to another post at the time. Don't know what happened here! The forum is also bugged.
Clearly a paid for review.... I did chuckle at the "Brilliant Audio" pro part, especially when I saw the review was of the Xbox Series X version.
I certainly hope not. They didn’t have enough time to do TSW4 just one year after TSW3. As a result we got issues unsolved the entire year, along with the big flashy suspension feature basically not launching until they EOL’d TSW4. Now they’ve done the same again & tried to cram TSW5 in a year after TSW4 & the lack of time they had to develop it is glaringly obvious. Now we have a situation where TSW5 needs serious updates as the content is so rough & that will take time away from TSW6 which they’ll be looking to release to the same timescale. Unless they bring more staff in, it’s time they started losing with TSW3 & aren’t going to get back by TSW6.
Absolutely, they are running their business exactly like a day of disruption on the mainline in the UK, you have a delay at the start of the day and its exacerbated beyond recovery by the mid afternoon. They are best dropping their yearly release schedule at this present time and focusing on fixing and updating all their previous routes, and then move on to TSW6 once they've completed those tasks. With the move to the free upgrade, I genuinely thought they were going to do away with the yearly release cycle and just work on core updates and fixes and release them when they were ready, with DLC's complimenting new releases with new features and fixes.
Huh, odd they didn't mention this in the quote lol "- Some early teething issues that need ironing out"
Right, Umm not had this before on WCML. This is Nearing Kenton So between Harrow and Kenton it is. God knows how this has happened....
Ahaha. Honestly mate, F knows why their is some Passenger Spawn Point their.... It is so bad! Like things like this don't look good on a Company Image! It can ruin it.
I was driving a Pendolino and a passenger stepped off a platform and into the path of my train... We all know nothing can happen. But it give me a small heart attack!
Just done 1A42./ Arrived into Euston. Service dont leave till 1731 after arriving in for 1428, It should change into 1G31 but no stays at the platform for 3 hours for 1H72 service back to Manchester. I mean, that is just me going on RTT and getting the facts. Again I will repeat myself, where did they get these timetables from? Awful awful Job at the timetable as a whole, and again I will say disgraceful
It does to me too! It is stupid mate. Really is and it is worst when suicides are very much getting more common now on the railway.
You've got no idea. It's been steadily increasing and we aren't even in "peak suicide" season on the railway yet!