Bidstack Advert Technology Implementation

Bidstack (https://www.bidstack.com/) is a company that provides technology for dynamic non-intrusive, immersive in-game advertising. It's a very cool, interesting and rapidly developing advertising technique that many developers are signing up for.

In November 2021 it was announced that Dovetail Games had signed a partnership with Bidstack (https://dovetailgames.com/news/dovetail-games-partners-with-bidstack).

This will be an amazing technology if incorporated into the train sim games properly. It will mean you will see real-world advertisements on things such as billboards at platforms in the game etc. It will also create an additional revenue stream at no cost to the player that could be used to further R&D into the game.

I was wondering, is there any news on how this implementation is going? We haven't heard/seen anything. Anybody have any thoughts etc.?

 

Think its on its way to train sim world 2

 

They can have it.

 

Just terrible. How can you call that amazing? Do I need an AdBlocker now for a game I paid for? If this is happening I'll quickly exchange the according assets...

 

Because they're not intrusive ads and this is a simulator which is simulating real world environments. I'm sure (ok, maybe more hope than certain) Dovetail will be smart enough to use this technology to increase the immersion of the simulator. It's not as if advertisements are out of place on railways, they're everywhere (at least in the UK).

 

In some cases I wouldn't mind these, but I think existing TS routes aren't exactly prepared for this.
There are some really funny ads (I'm sure many know the TS 2018 billboards on some routes) and of course the historical ones.
However, one awkward question is, what to do with screenshots. Especially if it's an ad I wouldn't want to shoot.
Not to mention personalisation. Partnering up for some funny train ads is one thing, but what if you want to shoot a specific setup, and it doesn't happen. Regardless, I can see it as an improvement if they provide a large collection of pictures to be used instead of the myriad of Welcome to the Big Apple every three inches.

 

Nah... dismissed.

 

This seems like a good idea, provided it's contemporary advertising on contemporary routes. I don't want to see billboards for air-sourced heat pumps in Riviera in the 50s.

 

I don't think it will happen in TS2022.
The Bilboards use a file which is pre-installed with the game.

 

"Fly anywhere in the world!" - Ad on GWML.

 

If they put it in TS2022 it would be 10 minute before someone modded it out again.

 

If they put it in then they should pay us to display their adverts!

 

I am fundamentally opposed to this in TSW but having left it on out of curiosity, think DTG have shot themselves in the foot TBH. For starters it’s hard to say which are the real adverts and which are the original static art. If you’re running at speed you can’t see them and even forward facing in the cab entering a station, only really in your peripheral vision. If you’re running a train out in a remote area, like Cane Creek in the USA then you won’t see them anyway!

 

I too hope that this won't happen, we have too many adverts already so we don't need more.
How would you replace this?

 

Just imagine if the only new update to the TS core will be for the sake of live adverts…..

 

I would also miss the humour injection you get every now & then, it's like an easter egg hunt looking for the hidden gems.

and also route specific themed adverts e.g. East Midlands Trains / Cross Country adverts on EMT / CC route station platforms,


I personally would not like to see them replaced with endless McDonalds, KFC, Tesco etc. ads dependent on who coughs up the most revenue.

 

See something?



Look closer...

 

Sorry to be negative, but this is a terrible idea, and I hope this fails miserably.

Who controls the editorial content, DTG or the third party? Are the ads being served dynamically in real time over the net, thus using up my internet bandwidth? Would I be able to report inappropriate ads? Most adverts are now based on personal and behavoural data and are using data brokers to compile horrendous huge profiles on their “users” - so are we to be mined while playing our games? Will our forum posts here now be scanned and combined with data from mysterious other sources to build a better advertising profile for us (I noticed the cookies warning appearing here a few months back - perhaps that goes some way to explain why they suddenly popped up?) Will the advertising be linked to our DTG Live accounts? There's so may questions like this that remain unanswered.

Also… there’s a certain charm in the way that so many of the billboards in TS are clearly *not* currently designed by a designer. You can look at them and smile, rather than a real-world advert leaving a sour taste in your mouth.

In-game real world advertising feels more like DTG risks falling into the category of being run by “tawdry businessmen” rather than ‘rail enthusiasts”, no matter how many times someone says the word “immersion” like it is a blinking magic spell.

29/30ths of my gaming is in TS Classic and TSW. Please DTG, don’t ruin it. Give us *some* respite from late capitalism!

 

20160626160350_1.jpg - that ad is nothing new, nothing special

 

The example adverts on Bidstack website are visually very simple. In most cases what's displayed is little more than the advertiser's logo or name. There's a lot about how users can be profiled so adverts appropriate to them are shown, so I don't suppose you'll be shown inappropriate adverts unless your browsing history suggests you have an interest in such material! I think this is especially true given the PEGI rating of the game, which Bidstack claims to respond to.

You might huff and puff, but are you really going to stop playing TS202X because you see a McDonalds or Sky logo?

As I said, provided they are era appropriate, I've got no concern about them (if they ever appear). In fact for me it would add to the longevity of routes if some of the visuals were dynamic and not repetitive.

Bring it on.

 

I certainly agree, like you said it's fun for looking for the easter egg billboards on routes, like for example here are 4 I found on the East Coast Main Line London-Peterborough route.




If you're interested, these 4 can be found at Peterborough station.

 

Besides, most of the time, you can ignore the ads. Depending on the camera angle used, you may not even see the ad. As for the cookies thing, all Web sites that have you logging in or that have you doing any kind of shopping or something that requires remembering data will have something about having cookies now; unfortunately, news sites also have it, and some go so far as to completely block something you want to read unless you agree to be tracked (it's kind of all right, I already block harsh cookies from the browser and I use Adblock on news sites anyway, so they're paying for absolutely nothing, joke's on them that I choose not to have 2/3 of my screen filled up by a pantyhose ad).

 

I don't know how this will stack up on my system but my security software automatically blocks adverts that lead to malicious sites and stuff so if I have this right. We will have live billboards and things at the stations etc with real life adverts instead of fictional ones? Well I think we should get a cut of the earnings then if we are being forced to have them. Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of seeing realistic billboards at stations and stuff as to be honest it adds a layer of realism but I like my privacy to a certain extent. When I am cruising about on TS2022. I don't really look at the ads too much anyway but here goes another question though. Can we that make our own routes also earn a commission from the advert revenue too? I think the community should get a reward for making things like routes and stuff from the ads in exchange for our time and efforts.

 

Good luck telling that to Google and Facebook.

 

I am banned from Facebook so I don't know how that will affect me with the game.

 

You are not logged in to Facebook, but I do not think that is used anyway.

 

Uhh that's not how advertising works, but it's worth a try, I'm going to invoice my local radio station and demand a percentage of their advertising revenue because I was in my car listening to my radio when those pesky ads came on and I was forced to listen to them, I wonder if I can get anything for seeing those billboards I drove past and inadvertently looked at too... Hmm.

 

The way it technically would work is having a new blueprint entry in an asset which would download a TgPcDx from the bidstack servers I guess.

It would be easy to remove this.

But then again, don't we get manipulated enough in the real world? Does DTG not make enough money already?

I say again: no monetarized adverts in payware! Other than the funny billboards or historical era-related stuff that should be left to the route builder's preference.

 

I found an ad on my car once. I inquired about my free pizza as an advertising fee.

Never saw that on my car again.

 

Don’t really see what the issue is so long as it’s optional. This is already implemented in TSW2 (PC Only). It immediately gives you the option to turn it off as soon as you launch the game for the first time. I don’t get any ads at all.

I’m also against advertising in games. But as long as it’s optional, I don’t have a problem with it. I already have other games that I know bidstack advertise in and they don’t give the option to turn it off, so at least DTG are giving the choice.

 

I wonder if the discussion here is even still relevant given it took place three years ago. We are surely at a different situation by now.