General North American 3rd Party News

Wait...
Did you just imply that DTG actually have QA???

 

They have, according the every manual to a DLC ..
but perhaps they are ghost employees, much like the diverse TSW teams might be just one and the same person wearing different caps at different times ....

We can hope the new owners, Focus Entertainment will balance quality versus cash flow better in the future.

 

I'm 90% sure DTG has paid QA (even if it's only one or two people) and they have a large (and leaky) volunteer beta team. I think it's fair to assume most of the issue lies with how DTG both rushes products through QA (for example on the WCMLS the scuttlebut at the time was that Euston station (the biggest on the route) was only finished the day before release) and likely ignores the bugs QA or beta testers point out before release. I've been a beta tester for both freeware and payware by other developers, and no matter how good your beta process is bugs will always slip through, but betas can squash most of them. That said QA and beta testing will only work well if you value them, if you don't care about the bugs being reported the testers will know and (especially with volunteer beta testers) will likely stop testing to the level you might hope.

I'm not and have never been a DTG beta tester, but their QA and beta process has always seemed very tacked on and ignored, and that goes extra for stuff that gets sped through beta like DTM stuff seems to. From other 3rd party payware devs I've talked to DTG generally spends about 6 months 'in beta' with very little to show for it, but somehow DTM stuff tends to go from DTM showing unfinished renders to DTG livestreams very quickly (see p42.) Maybe the ACU and the U25B taking longer means they're actually getting the scrutiny and bugfixes they need and deserve, or at least one can hope.

 

I don't like NS...


Lots more to go here but it runs.

 

More Milepost teasers.

 

TBTs SD70ACU was quietly released on the steam store....
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2288627/Train_Simulator_Norfolk_Southern_SD70ACU/

 

I have seen screenshots of both Searchlight Simulations and TBTs versions. I do prefer the SS pack for it's better detail and sounds. It is highly unusual that 2 developers would be producing virtually identical bundles for the same price and releasing them virtually at the same time. Disclaimer: I did purchase the SS bundle.

 

For those who still want to support mediocre cut-copy-paste development under the 'any DLC is better than no DLC' slogan ...

Better wait for the Searchlight Simulations model of the same locomotive in much better execution all around.

Thanks to Schnauz for not wasting my money on this one.

Edit: this is supposedly a complicated locomotive, requiring lots of scripting. Copy-pasted from elsewhere?

 

Update on where we're at with our ACU. After multiple requests to do so, we decided to make the Cab Signals work at least in CS-Only mode for operation over the Horseshoe Curve revamp available over on TSC.

We spent the last week making not only the locomotive scripting work with it, but also developing shell scripts to overlay the RCAP Safetrans that were used on the route. Unfortunately there is a lot of shortcomings with the functionality of the RCAP signals, but we made them work regardless. It gets worse though, when we took the locomotive off of the CS test track to HSC, we found that it isn't even tenable. The signals used are either the incorrect link amount for the type of control point (link 0s used where 5 links should be for example) or that the links themselves were directed for the entirely wrong direction of traffic. Couple this with broken track all around made it extremely frustrating overall

In short, we've wasted a weeks worth of time doing this. Out of frustration I went through and re-did a lot of the track work and fixed the signalling to as best match prototype as possible as well as adding buried signals for intermediate CS blocks. I may be compelled to release the fix for this if enough are interested and if someone explains how I could do it. I think it's only the tracks.bin that should be changed but I'm not 100% on this.

We've now shifted focus to making the CS work in CS-LSL mode for running on the OpenNEC. This would include positive enforcement of speed with accelerometer based timers but we need more documentation on how this system is displayed on EMDs FIRE screens since these don't have external LSL modules.

 

way too complicated for me for one. Pretty soon we'll have some AI bot running PTC on our simulator. Won't that be fun..................not.

 

You seem to complain alot ....

 

You seem more interested in what other people say that any facts presented. I am reminded of that old saying" Small minds talk about people, average minds talk about events, large minds talk about ideas."

 

He's always like this, no matter here, on Facebook, or on RWA.

 

[Removed - Alex: Insulting Language]

Has any of the US DLC of late been quality asserted, reviewed or heavens forbid criticized on RWA even?

Message boards and communities come and go, and only RWA's file store will be missed.

 

How long did it take for you to come up with this?

 

anthony.wood Thank you for the quality and trying to provide the prototypical realism in your products.This sets Searchlight Simulations apart from the rest. There are a dedicated group of individuals at RWA constantly producing great content to be used with all developers products. Despite the internal policies at RWA it still is one of the best places to find content and ask questions on any aspect of TSC.

 

It sucks to hear that signals on the route were borked and I'd love to see a signal upgrade for the route released, I believe the only thing required is the tracks.bin, but confirmation from an actual routebuilder is probably better. I'm pleased to hear you're making it work with openNEC signals though, doubt the NS ACUs run in the CSOR area but that'll be fun to run nonetheless.

As an addendum for the folks who think implementing cab signaling is for losers, just go play trainz in DCC mode, clearly that's what you actually want.

 

It’s not a TBT or DTM product so of course you’d complain about it

 

Appreciate the helpful and insightful comments. I'll ponder releasing the fixes. There's some deep rooted issues in the SMM/RCAP scripts that cause bad returns for the CS display which would require tweaking of those but we don't feel up to doing that. As of now you'll have compatibility with CS-Only (RCAP) and CS-LSL (OpenNEC) with the ability to select which in game as well as a total system cut out so you don't have to operate with them if you don't wish. Just don't tell the road foreman you're running cut out.

 

Just to throw this out there, I read today (a bit late) that the Searchlight Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern SD40s are relisted as "outdated" products for $14.99 (I presume USD). Which puts it in a much better spot compared to some locos on Steam. I hear they are also doing their own SD70ACU which will probably be deemed infinitely better than the TBT one.

This is not my opinion, but that of the buyers.

https://www.store.searchlight-simulations.com/products/jrsd40-2-up-bundle
https://www.store.searchlight-simulations.com/products/jrsd40-2-ns-bundle

 

They may be "outdated" but they are still better than most of the current products today.

 

I know this will make some of you happy. Because of repeated rude attacks on me personally I am out of here. [Removed - Alex: Insulting other users]

 

[Removed - Alex: Disrespectful Behaviour]

 

[Removed - Alex: Disrespectful Behaviour]

 

[Removed - Alex: Disrespectful Behaviour]

 

Diesel Workshop have announced SP&S/BN C425s. Got some good places to run them with a good amount of presence on the Gateway corridor on Feather River, as well as good patch job slop from various railroads across the midwest/east after BN purged them in the early 80s.


As a BN snob I can pick some things out like font issues and potentially some smaller details here and here I'll shoot them a messages about but they actually tend to listen to feedback.

 

*INTENSE DROOLING INTENSIFIES*

 

Napkins. Invest.

 

Forums are a place to share ideas, thoughts, and viewpoints in a civil manner. To use them as a hammer to attack and berate a member is not in the spirit of a forum. To drive people away is in a way censoring the discussion, to eliminate other points of view so all you hear is your own voices. All are entitled to their opinion. Opinions are neither right or wrong, nor need to be based in fact, they are a personal feeling or impression based on one's individual experience. Using this bully boy tactic of all ganging up and name calling and not respecting an opinion is childish behavior. This shows that there is a lack of civility pervasive in this forum and it is not a true forum in the sense of the word. Goodby as well.

 

Thing is, if we go to RWA and give constructive criticism over there, he would silence us in an instant.

Hell, he does it when we do it here or on Facebook.

When you cant give feedback without someone being a female dog about it, it becomes a problem.

 

What Blacknred said. When SS posted a picture of the ACU I tried to say it looked better than TBTs. Buzz censored in immediately. If he were willing to accept criticism on a DLC that isn’t searchlight, then we wouldn’t all hate him. But as is he’s made a total of 15 of 84 posts on this forum that weren’t trashing someone else’s opinions and is completely insufferable to try to reason with.

 

https://forums.dovetailgames.com/th...ican-3rd-party-news.42449/page-14#post-711850 if anyone is lazy to scroll up

 

It's rather ironic for someone to leave over a vague notion of being insulted, while also having a post history that consists of nothing other than insults. Nothing gained, nothing lost. Also, I'm looking quite forward to picking up the Diesel Workshop BN & SP&S C425s in the future. Hopefully I'll be able to commission him again for a C636 in the future. My last commission (the CN M420s) went very well and I'm grateful for his work.

 

At least RWA is still running but UKTS has gone down the gurgler.

 

It is actually still up.