I own only the old versions of Big Boy and Challenger steamlocos. Are they allowed to use in contest or I have to buy the new ones? I refuse to buy the new onesthem as I already owns the old. Or we who have the old ones should get the new ones for free!
Of course you're allowed to use the old ones. They have not been withdrawn from sale to my knowledge. Get the new ones for free? Consider the amount of work that went into these state-of-the-art, out of question technically best locos available in Train Simulation overall. Nah... Smokebox deserves that money. The work Mike Rennie's doing and the quality he delivers is just incredible and we should be happy to have him as a developer for the ole TS. Credit where credit is due. And as a side note. If you think in greater dimensions the "buy cheap / freebie" attitude is part of an economical cycle. It comes back to you one day - earning less money for your work. Because your boss can't pay you due to people not willing to spend money on the product your company makes. Then he tells you that you are too expensive and looks for cheap labour. It's already happening.
That's a pretty selfish attitude to have, Mike makes some of the best content on TSC, especially in the North America market, where quality addons are a rare occurrence. The work he puts into these models are worth the price of admission, and I can wait to see what he cooks up next.
If he want to make money why does he not make something that is not on Steam and DTG instead? He should understand that some people won't buy something that is already for sale. And am I not allowed to share my thoughts? Don't like when people try and dictate what to think and say.
You are allowed. So am I, that's what's called a discussion. Or did you just want to do a statement without replies? Btw, what I've quoted in bold is you dictating what Smokebox should think . He did not tell anyone to buy it - it's just an offer. It's there for the folks who want it. Simple as that.
And alot of people don't like the old RSC/DTG Challengers and Big Boy as they are dated models, and handle very unrealistic. Smokebox gives those players who want a more "Authentic" experience that chance with his offerings.
I just can say: "Smokebox" shows, what a talented designer/scripter is able to show up in TS classic. His new steam locomotives are top end products for TS classic. And he still shows the "potential" of this old software ! - the DTG designer never could show up with that quality! I am thankful that a designer like "Smokebox" has not given up on TS classic. So I support him; and don't shed a tear ... ...
Those other 2 that you mention are toys compared to the Smokebox ones. I have them too and have never driven them for years as they are at least 10 years old and technology has changed a lot since then. Just to prove how popular his locos are here is a video that I made in June last year of Big Boy with nearly 12,000 views. Railworks 2021 06 09 14 36 17 01 Smokebox Big Boy Steam WS scenario Billionaire Benefactor. - YouTube
Depends if you consider Smokeboxes content better than Searchlight Simulations, which is very hard to compare, both are very high quality, but they satisfy different tastes.
Yes, the quality of SSI's locomotives beats DTM's by a train length or more ... But SSI is very slow in releasing content for TSC, and aren't SSI sort of coming from Trainz' JointedRail with a large catalog? For TSW3, is there any chance of Mike Rennie's locomotives being released on that platform?
I'm pretty sure that the only products that originally came from Jointed Rail are the SD40-2s. The AC4400s and the rolling stock packs are in-house developments.
Beating DTM is not that hard to be honest. Their content is full of flaws. Searchlight may be slow, but the stuff they release is well tested and top quality Diesel, like Smokebox makes top quality Steamers. I just love the Searchlight/JR SD40-2.
The motivation to port stuff faster is highly dampened by DTM stuffing the content holes and ruining prospective sales of content as seen above with people not wanting to buy the "same thing" twice. Yes, our content speaks for itself, but the motivation factor is still something very real when you see someone shovel out content with little to no regard for quality of product. One could argue the audiences are different, but there's a lot more overlap than you would think. Despite the simulation level of details, our stuff is just as easy to jump in and drive as other content.
Now that's a statement! I think quality sells. At least I hope so. Really. Please keep doing what you're doing. I highly appreciate your work - and many others do. We've had enough of that "shovelware". But your post makes me realize that there is three sides to TSC, for the enthusiasts among us it's a simulation we love and defend (and get upset when encountering low quality stuff), for some it is just a game ("well it moves and has a nice horn, fair enough"), and for the rest it is a business, where sales revenue is top priority. So it's about finding the balance. I remember almost losing faith when that cheeky TheLocoShop "4-notch" NS SD70M got published by DTG - an apparent riddance of any quality standard, by a company founded by Mr. Paul Jackson, self-confessed Railway enthusiast. How does that go together?
There are many examples of multiple versions of the same content in TS. The HST, for example, has the original Kuju version and its derivatives, the AP EP version and the unrelated LNER HST. Newer versions almost always are vast improvements over the original. That LNER HST looks miles better than the Kuju and arguably AP HSTs. The newer Portsmouth Direct Line is night and day compared to the original, and the same applies to the old and new Challenger and Big Boy. These two locos, particularly the latter are very popular locomotives and the low quality of the originals will have turned people away but now they get significantly better trains to buy and use. The old ones have a place and I wouldn't want them withdrawn but I think Smokebox are more than entitled to make their new ones. Some are harder to justify, like the Ultimate Class 37 (which I believe has been cancelled), but not this one. Additionally DTG don't really have the right to give the new ones as free upgrades. They are Smokebox DLCs, not DTG. DTG have given free upgrades for their own stuff (such as when they bring back withdrawn content like North Wales Coastal) but even if they wanted to DTG would need to have a serious chat with Mr or Mrs Smokebox to do this sort of offer.
