As he should. Dovetail have made a huge mess on all fronts over the last couple of years and this is another consequence of their incompetence
Oh, I didn't take you as meaning that at all, I was merely pointing out that we all needn't expect any responses from him, so the fact he's limited in his ability to should be irrelevant.
What's not smart of him? He's actively avoided talking about it here. He made his statement elsewhere, and when people have taken it upon themselves to discuss it here, he's kept out of the drama and actively said he doesn't want to stir the pot, and that's why he has not commented on it. He's been nothing but professional, in the circumstances.
It doesn’t matter he posts things on the internet wherever he wants, and it clearly leaks out. It wasn’t on a private company location but in public. If I were to pull something like that with my loyal employer, I’d be out the door within a few hours. I fear that might be the case for him as well. I honestly hope not, because he’s very good at his job, but openly throwing your employer under the bus is simply not okay. No matter where he posts it, the point remains the same.
I mean, he literally said he's quitting, and this is his last job, so... Not really relevant. What, is it gonna hurt his chances of future employment with the other big competitor in the realistic train simulation market?
I mean, there's not even a need to take a side. He's clearly burnt out from the workload when it comes to a major load-bearing part of northeastern US route design. DTG want to keep delivering such routes, obviously, they clearly are a major seller, but that's not compatible with him continuing to contribute as much as he is doing so. If DTG want to keep making them, then I hope they took note and had people training based on what he was doing. If they didn't, we'll see as soon as future routes come along. It is what it is.
DTG isn't my employer. I am a contractor performing a specific function on a project. I get no benefits such as health insurance, retirement plan, etc. I talked about this after everything transpired, not before.
Sorry, what is it that legitimizes doing that? Nothing, right? For me this whole story is closed its okay you have choose for it and its DTG that will take action if needed.
What don’t you get. He owes dtg nothing and quite frankly, having understood the situation I’m surprised he’s even sticking around for Stamford
If I was putting in more work in terms of quality, passion, care and attention and was being treated the same then I would. People who are good at their jobs and have a passion for what they do are the most important people in every industry. Look at TSG, JT, DTG Liam, Joes work, Adam at SHG, its not by chance these people stick out as gold to the community. And Brandon is the same. Respect is also a street that goes both ways between management and the people below.
“Openly throwing your employer under the bus” is objectively a good thing when said employer treats their employees (or in this case contractors) like LOVE. Remember the ATS scandal from last year? I doubt it’s as bad as that, but no employee should feel obliged to back up a company that has mistreated them - and why Jesper is so hell bent on defending DTG is beyond reason.
Indeed, it's the fact that only a minority of the devs at DTG it appears (Joe, Liam, formerly Adam) are willing to invest this kind of passion - which equals time - into their projects (something which seems to be standard at the better third parties like TSG and Just Trains), that probably underlies the continual corner-cutting we see in DTG routes since around, roughly, 2022.* So much so that they can't be arsed to vary a bloody livery to make it appropriate! "Too much time!" Then work longer. Software development is not and has never been a 9 to 5 job, any more than any other profession. Clock-watchers are not professionals. When I was in practice, I'm pretty sure the only week I ever worked just forty hours was the three-day Thanksgiving week. So I don't blame Brandon for getting fed up. *Early symptoms were the omission of the third track from Sherman Hill, and not originating Peak Forest at Derby which of course it should have.
You said you were done on the matter a few posts ago why are you still citing an argument then. If you said something is done then leave it at that and stop trying to cause an argument.
not if it was a good employer no that wouldn’t be good, otherwise… why should someone be silent or in any way benefit a bad employer. What’s their to hide from the truth… no employee or otherwise person associated with a business should stay silent to protect a bad employers reputation, they should be free to talk about their experience.
Yea so unfortunately this entire thread aged like milk, knowing Brandon's remarks regarding the Metro-Rivals development team in the TSC discord several months ago: https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/dtg-direct-summer-2026.99013/#post-1139489 This does make me want to bring up however, with the announcement that we are getting the NJT Bergen Line later on in the TSW7 cycle, I've noticed that there quite literally has been a lack of mentioning you-know-who regarding the signaling. Are all of us in here content with how the signaling on the route will fare out, knowing the signaling problems that NYT had?
The signals on NYT are different and more complex. For the Bergen Line, DTG already have Hoboken, and Brandon left his notes/documentation with DTG as well. So at least there's that.
I mean, I'd have a go at DTG management over Metro Rivals, knowing that people were set up to fail like that. It's one thing to do a silly side project you know only exists as a write-off for purposes of upskilling devs, it's another to take people on with false hope that you know you're gonna lay off before anything ever finishes.
Yeah it's really unfortunate of the outcome of that whole situation, and for that record management in that area really needs to be restructured considering people poured their efforts into making the game look good despite there being no target audience for MR at all. Still doesn't make Brandon's comments okay whatsoever.
Regardless of whoever will be in charge of implementing signals for the Bergen County Line, I already shared my thoughts on what we should expect for the new route here. I would tend to agree that the BCL's signals are "simpler" than the Trenton route's since the BCL still uses fixed wayside signals between interlockings between Suffern and Hoboken (think NORAC rule 261 instead of 562), so knowing where to place the signals and what they look like should be more straightforward. As for cab signaling, it should also be pretty straightforward since, like Morristown, it should be the 4-aspect system (Clear, Approach Limited, Approach, Restricting) with proper conformity between wayside and cab signal aspects*. Though just like Morristown, my understanding is that cabs can drop from Approach to Restricting midway through signal blocks when approaching a Restricting/Stop and Proceed/Stop Signal. If they can get cab to fixed signal conformity right and not do weird things like showing diverging signal aspects on straight interlocking routes or vice versa, then it will already be a step up in accuracy compared with the Trenton route. *Small caveat: I believe NJT uses forced cab signal drops in certain areas of the BCL to provide double enforcement of civil speed restrictions similar to the drops used on the Morristown route at Denville, Roseville Ave, Newark and Harrison, and the Lower Hack Lift Bridge. Though unless if DTG has the specific knowledge of these drop locations and what they drop to, I doubt they will implement them unfortunately.
I do have my doubts when it comes to the future of U.S content just based on signaling alone. Brandon was a good programmer and he leave’s a big hole in future entrees. Here’s hoping Bergen line is good..
Btw, as I stated in another thread, he mainly provided references and did very little coding on ACSES. Any issues with signaling of US content is mainly due to the core framework, of which it is still bugged. But yes, here's hoping Bergen Line will be good.
Also wanted to add to this that I didn't get a chance to in my previous reply so I figured I'd add a new one here. It was clear from Brandon's comments that he wasn't going after the higher-ups and management at DTG though, rather the people who were actually pouring their heart and soul into making Metro-Rivals good in-spite of it's doomed fate, which just adds a whole other level of disrespect towards the wrong people that didn't deserve it, and gives me hope that he never comes back, even if he was given the slightest chance to return. I've said it in another thread, and I'll say it here. This whole discourse surrounding him getting booted from the DTG beta team was mainly just rooted out of anger and ego considering the fact that a couple of the DTG devs have basically stated that he wasn't the person he made himself out to be, things like calling projects early in development "slop" for no reason whatsoever (of which he has openly admitted to doing himself). I'll never forget when he basically said that "woke culture" justified his behavior for doing so.
He thought he was bigger than the team, I suspect partly because of the misplaced 'adoration' he received from places like this: "Celebrity is a mask that eats into the face". You don't want - or need - people like that.
