Very Poor Communication From Dtg

Hello everyone.
Firstly very disappointed with the communication in the last month from Dovetail Games. I seen everyone put their feedback in these forums and everyone done great to put it all together, but don't that tell you how shocking the release has been? Just been speaking to some friends about it and they say it ain't been the worse release ever, I though do have a different opinion on it. But anyways.
Us as a community love this game and as I have said in other threads we just want this game to be top notch but we don't seem to get that reaction from DTG it feels like. Does anyone agree?
It would of been nice if we have more communication. Starting off with 'We are very sorry about the release of TSW 5 as it was released well below expectation. We have been reading everyone's feedback and we at DTG want to thank you all for your feedback and communication to improve the game, we are working on improving the game and will be updating you occasionally'

Wouldn't that just be nice and know DTG have acknowledged it and sent us that type of message, It shouldn't be hard should it?

To not possibly get an update this week really does annoy me, but does this mean we will be getting a massive update soon or is it the case of us thinking what on earth have they been doing for the last month with all the feedback we have been giving?

I speak from passion and just want this game to be Top notch as no other train game is like Train Sim World!
Standards do seem to be dropping every release tho.
Thanks for reading!

 

Any reputable developer would have held their hands up and admit that they messed up, apologise, and promise us that they are fixing it, the latter DTG have said they are fixing it, however we was told by a community manager that a big update would be coming this week, which now it seems like it isnt, there has been zero communication regarding a delay.

TSW5 has been a disaster from start to finish!, but hey guys dont worry, the core games free!, aint no good being free if the game is fundamentally broken.

Sorry to say it but this current community team is next to useless!, gone are the days where Sam used to hold the devs to account and be on the communities side. There is so much disdain from the CMs its unbelivable, we have CMs who favour one discord over another, which i find downright rude and disgusting.

Things need to change.

 

You think their communication for TSW is bad, you should see the cold shoulder they've given the TSC forum community.

Before you say yeah well that's an old dead game, bare in mind that customers have spent and still are spending in some cases 1000's of pounds/euros/dollars and new (3rd party but sold by DTG) content is coming out regularly (more so than content for TSW in fact), not to mention we're supposedly mid beta build testing and awaiting patches, it's really bad form.

I tagged 6 or 7 staff members in one post asking for any communication let alone a game update not one had the decency to reply.

 

Like I said in the WCML thread, the community team appear to be more worried about policing things than doing what they are employed to do and interacting with the community and providing timely updates on products.

There seems to be a middle finger from DTG yesterday with the announcement of a new DLC rather than updating the community on fixing a broken product, or even acknowledging what's being resolved and worked on.

I know that one forum member from the Netherlands will be jumping in here saying that they still need to release DLC,'s etc, but again he'll defend them until he's blue in the face. I said that all DLC's should be temporarily delayed to allow for core updates and optimisations to be worked on, otherwise DLC is going to release into a broken product and give below designed results.

Sort it out DTG. Stop treating us like your bank manager.

 

Well we know Matt has been off on the sick but that shouldn’t cause everything to grind to a halt. There must be deputies and ‘XO’s” who can step in and fill the breach to keep things moving along. Do the programmers and artists working on fixing the routes (we hope) possess no initiative of their own and need to be given a prod to do even the simplest of tasks?

And without being cynical (actually I am), there seems no shortage of people when it comes to announcing the new £30 MBTA DLC, even before all the issues with TSW5 and its mostly sorry entourage of new content are sorted out.

 

watched the oct roadmap. Yest they also extended the time to get the free starter version of tsw5 till dec 31st .but it sounded like they hinted it could be even relooked at extending past that date..that extension could mean that it may take a while for them to sort out the issues with tsw5 .

 

Totally agree with you, it is still a game and a really good game because at least on their, get really long routes such as Euston to New Street WCML South (which everyone wanted for TSW) . But as you said, people still spending 1000s of it and believe me if I ever get the money to upgrade my PC and also upgrade Content on TSC for enhancement packs I would.
But it is a disgrace tagging that amount of staff asking for communication and none of them replied is really bad.
Complete Joke it is

 

Oh for sure what you have said is bang on Bryer, one little thing we say being brutally honest it gets deleted or edited. It is like we are living in Communist Russia or North Korea like wtf is this!
Middle Fingers from DTG Yesterday is a very good way to put it tbf mate. We got no idea what is going to happen. I certainly agree all DTG DLC's should be delayed for core updates and optimisations.
Everyone is very excited for the JT route I can't wait for that and we know if their is any bugs JT will fix them right away and not take a stupid amount of time to fix them or come with some lame excuse.

 

The thing is, you could see JT delay their DLC if the core issues aren't addressed before it's scheduled release as who wants to run the risk of damaging their brand image because a 1st party problem?

Yes JT could release it, but they won't throw DTG under the bus by saying issues with their route are being caused by problems with the core engine optimisations.

 

Tbh no clue Matt has been off sick at all.
As you said no excuse to grind everything to a halt. There has to be deputies, surely?
I am going to get worried now because if we don't get anything big come December then we are going to be left in the Rut to February is it when they take their very long Winter break and leave the game with stuff to be fixed, riddled with bugs and a bunch of LOVE! As that is what they do, did it last year as well didn't they? That was bloody painful ngl being left in the dark with TSW 4 riddled with bugs and nothing being done for ages!
You would hope the Programmers and Artists have there own initiative

 

True very true, shame JT can't have all profits on the DLC's they release as they deserve it.

 

Tbh Roadmap was very vague, like only a list of 3 or 4 issues on the Roadmap? Is that it? After all the feedback we have given that is the best they can do? Complete and utter joke mate.

 

To be fair, Matt is Executive Producer, I am sure he is spinning 1000 plates at all times, and there is no doubt that work continues whether he is in the building or not, its just how it's communicated to the community.

We have JD, Alex, Jamie, Jan and Harry who are the community team, they should be the ones giving (more) interaction with the community. I can't remember the last time I saw a post from JD, Jan seems to do alot of (necessary) moderation. Jamie I don't see on the forums and Harry I rarely see interact on the forums. Alex is most prominent on the forums from what I see, he also gets the most flack, and imo clearly does alot of prep work and presents very well on streams.

Maybe Matt should step back from the Community Interaction side, and use that time to help support and coach some of the development team more, and Alex be appointed as No.1 for Community Interaction (streams, forum posts but not moderation, and roadmaps)?

 

It will probably be the usual,, some things will get fixes ,,some will get fixed but break other things,,others wont get fixed at all.

 

They need (Edited - freedom of speech isn't allowed. Snow storm incoming, people far too easily offended) at all levels.

Communication has been sub par with the community over the raised issues, but don't forget they claim it's all read and considered.

Development - If something isn't ready, take the hit and delay the product to get it right. Leave it in the oven to bake a bit more instead of serving up a undercooked, alpha state product.

 

If anything, the whole management team needs some serious restructuring if this practice is really continuing.

Behaving like a dictator silencing peoples concerns and wanting accounted, sugar coating problems by announcing new DLC content just recently rather than fixing the soule core route. Surly that would be a priority for the games face? Yet alone, the talk on whether DTG will continue their relationship with Rivet games after this distatrous development.

It's a cycle repeating again, after NYT. There was a time they pretended nothing happened until all of a sudden 6 months later 'oh, there will be a timetable and bug fix update'. Sounds like alot of resemblance from this what we're seeing. Delay the DLC's until the core of the game is fixed.

Yes us fans like new content, but the majority of us like quality not quantity. If the management can't seem to acknowledge this, then I suggest handing the resignation slip.

 

Very well said!

 

This is very well Said as Bryer says!
Yorkshirelad

 

I hate writing posts like this, I don't enjoy it, but it be nice if the DTG show the same Passion we have as a community but I can't see it in my eyes.

 

They said the list is much larger. We won't know until they release it

 

Alright Renne, thanks for letting me know.
Only will believe it when I see it.

 

Temporarily delayed or however long that is wouldn't be enough time to solve the issues. A few weeks is barely anything and dtg can't delay for months or they don't have any budget to work with from selling dlc.

They probably don't have anything new to tell us. The community managers can only say what they are allowed to say and what they've been told. If they don't have any info, there's not much they can do

 

Just watching the Roadmap stream and did get to the bit where Alex does thank the community for the feedback. In Writing would be nice but nice to see a thank you.

 

Ah you are right watching the Roadmap stream and said their are tones of lines of changes for WCML

 

And during this time they congratulate themselves on Instagram with plenty of screenshots posts promoting their incredible bug free game...

 

You have to reflect that crashes and other worse things are the most on consoles! Not to say thats a lower point but on pc its nearly not there. Let me be clear i'm also not a fan of this kind of promotion. The same as the community things they have introduced last week i have written there thats not a fair step. They have to fix first before they can step in to community things.

 

Alex does seem well-prepared for live streams.
It seems to me, though, that Matt is always winging it. For instance the question came up of 350 suspension. This, I would assume, would be up there on the list of anticipated questions, for which he could have a good answer prepared. What do we get? I don't know, I'll ask the team tomorrow. What good is that here and now? Either it's genuine oversight or an easy skip tactic.
I think current and potential customers should be... ah what does it matter. It is what it is.

I'm stopping watching them I think as you don't really get much more than what's already in the roadmap article, and anythng important will find its way onto the forum anyway.

 

also saw on the stream the WCML over Schapp route by just trains is just over 100 miles nice long route for tsw but they skimp on the WCML milton keynes tsw 5 uk main release route and the Pendalino train not much RR to stretch its legs on.

 

The problem is we can clearly see a selective trend in the responses. A praising post will get a CM response pretty much within minutes, a constructive criticism... nada, maybe some moderation of too frustrated users. Just a couple of minutes back, we discussed the bleaching lighting of TSW in the new MBTA DLC thread. Everything looking oversaturated has been an issue for THREE ITERATIONS. It has been discussed in a plethora of various threads, and DTG staff pinged, but never have I seen it properly addressed. But when someone throws in three screenshots and says it looks stellar, instant approval.

 

With respect, why would you not thank a person who is praising your product/team/staff member? It'd be pretty rude not to really

 

I have to say that DTG Alex responded very thoroughly and professionally to my long comment about the unannounced restrictions regarding the layers at Frankfurt-Fulda on the Xbox Series S and my deep frustration about the constant crashes. I felt like he heard me. It's not all black and white. But I also understand the many frustrated comments about the current state of TSW 5 and the core routes. I also don't enjoy having spent 50 euros on Frankfurt-Fulda and the Flixtrain and now not being able to play with it since buying the real thing because the route keeps crashing. I just hope that these errors will be fixed, but I'm skeptical about the time frame. With Dresden - Riesa, it took until after the release of TSW 3 before the route stopped crashing shortly before Dresden Hbf. I hope that at least the promises made in the roadmap stream regarding an increase in the number of layers will be kept. That would make me feel better. But let's wait and see, the long-awaited first patch isn't even here yet, and I agree that communication isn't ideal at the moment.

 

Communication has been poor for years now ever since Sam left.

 

You know what would earn them more praise and thanks...?

 

Releasing a game and content that isn't fundamentally broken?

 

I think it's important to remember everyone here (players, customers, cash cows) want more than words, you really do treat us like we're stupid.

Also STILL no mention of TSC or acknowledgement of it yet you say "games" plural unless of course you just mean TSW 1,2,3,4,5,6 7 8 9 .

 

You told us last week a patch was coming this week. No patch. We're tired of excuses. Every time, every single time this happens.

 

A date was never confirmed, they just said that they hoped to have the update released by this weekend.

 

And bugger all communication to say otherwise. So again, I'm tired of all the excuses, it's not their money they are spending on buying these games.

 

No, they're spending considerably more to develop them in the first place.

Why does a "hopefully" need a followup to confirm that it's still "hopefully"?

 

Because when people are waiting for an improvement for the game they have paid money for, it usually helps to let people know if it's coming or been delayed. Communication helps.

 

Why do they need to make an announcement that it was delayed, when they haven’t given a set date for the release?

 

Why would they? They've already got our cash, we've been silly enough to fall for it all over again.

You know what? I'm genuinely cross with myself for falling for it again. I was looking through my PS5 library and I've had every TSW game, and I sat there wondering just why I'd fallen for it again as I had to download 30 + DLC's, while deleting 30+ DLC's for previous versions that I didn't need, only to not get the features that were promised.

But this will probably get censored, that they can do almost instantly

 

My god, how many times does it need explaining. Communication

Is

Important



Does that make it easier for you?

 

Quite possibly the worst retort ever on these forums, you're attempting to prove a point that DTG communicate with their forum community by posting screenshots of Discord...

 

THIS 100%! I find it disturbing that DTG does not even acknowledge this issue.

 

It is a time honoured tradition that DTG flat out ignore what they don't know how to fix, they are exceptionally good ostriches.

 

I have been asking them to come out and talk about the status for TSC for months... Even If they just make a short statement saying, they have abboned the game. I just want answers.