Hello, I have just requested another refund on yet another terrible Dovetail Games product. I am not even looking for support anymore. I just want to inform you that I have never, in my 25+ years purchasing digital content, have come across such con artists as this bunch. Each and every product Dovetail Games releases comes with a plethora of bugs that are never fixed. You guys just keep spitting out half-baked stuff, ripping off your users who put their trust in you (feed you, pretty much). Such a disgusting way of doing business. Let's see what is the case with the TGV Reseau + Duplex DLC, this fine-looking, officially (SNCF) branded high-speed trainset. The product was released in December 2018, more than a year ago. The overall user review is "mostly negative" on Steam. Many of those reviews list the issue with the pantographs that reach way above the overhead wires. The issue is also discussed here on these forums. No matter which "pantograph tension" is selected in the cab, the pantographs are above the wire (tested only at Marseilles St. Charles station) on classic lines. Have not even bothered checking what is the situation like on the LGV section as this is already a no-go for me. How can a product be released with such an obvious bug, with the pantograph - pretty much the first thing a real train enthusiast will look at - going above the source of power? I tell you how: out of pure ignorance, laziness, disrespect towards users. Out of greed, this crazy rush for profit, not caring about anything else than the revenue. It makes me happy that the flight simulation genre repelled this mosquito. There isn't a single Dovetail Games DLC without bugs resulting from their own laziness, lack of care. But if there is no love for what you are doing, no passion, no enthusiasm, then don't do it at all. At this point, Dovetail Games no longer seems to care. In the good old days, although bugs were very much present (which is normal as long as there is an effort to fix them), there were efforts made - within a reasonable time - trying to get them sorted. Not anymore. Every week (pretty much) there is a new product being announced, old stuff, however, are never fixed. The newcomers no longer have a unique personality anymore, each is just a price tag, a "product" in the store that ceased to be a "Route, a "Train" or whatever else that deserves the capital letter, and is nothing else than a smartly marketed item so that we spend more of our hard-earned money. Every aspect of the game is about making a profit. The user interfaces with the quick in-game store access, even the users' screenshots as the loading screen, are all there to hint to our subconscious to buy, buy, buy. If only a fraction of the effort was spent on fixing old bugs... Dovetail Games (well, way before the name "Dovetail Games" was picked) used to develop nice things. I remember when the Sherman Hill and the old NEC routes were developed, I guess it was back in 2012 or so, many months passed with simple screenshots as teasers, the upcoming route(s) or whatever the team was working on was given a fair deal of attention, love and care, and one could feel something truly amazing is about to come. Something that was built with love and passion. Not anymore. One after the other they appear, lacking personality, rushed, full of errors, mistakes, dozens of issues, more bugs than one can count. Research is not made, there is an obvious lack of knowledge in many areas when it comes to technical aspects. If you are unsure, ask, do more thorough research and especially, do listen to feedback because users often know things you do not. From a relatively fine developer team a long time ago, from one that at least tried hard - although often with numerous mistakes but at least with a drive to get them right - Dovetail Games has become the brand of guaranteed bugs, inaccuracies, the team that delivers nothing but utter thrash, on every single occasion. Lack of quality, precision, not doing research properly, not testing release candidates properly, just releasing them. The only aspect which I still find acceptable is the visuals but it may change seeing how Dovetail Games loves to cut corners. I am wondering when shall they start to simplify the visual and modelling bit too, selling Minecraft-like stuff. The pantographs of the TGV Reseau, as Dovetail Games imagined it. Why do we have overhead wires then? What is the point? If trains can travel with the pantograph scratching nothing but the pale blue sky, then why to waste development time by adding hundreds of miles of gantries and wire? Let's just raise the pantograph into the mid-air and hooray, let's run! Perhaps you could recommend this practice to SNCF themselves, maybe they will demolish all their existing trackside infrastructure, after the grand research made by the experts (scientists?) at Dovetail Games, revealing that the TGV can operate with the pantograph way over the wire, sucking in electricity from the air. Congratulations, great job again!
It was mentioned in this thread and reported to DTG in December 2018 https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/ts19-réseau-renaissance.14205/ Peter
