If the licensing issues with Welsh marshes was overcome by the release of an unbranded version, can't the same be done with south wales coastal extension (Bristol to Swansea) and the extended north wales route as well?
Yes it can but DTG move at a different pace to Bossman Games, the people who did the Marshes route. There's also the possibility that DTG are going to obtain TfW licensing so would be able to rebrand properly rather than half way
You might end up with either trains in both ATW and TfW liveries or a duplicate route. If a TfW license was forthcoming the North Wales Coast could be redone now they have an Avanti licence for the 221 But then TfW will give the franchise back due to Covid-19 so they might not be interested in doing a License https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-54635421
You know with this licensing business, what have the train companies got to lose by saying sure, you can recreate our routes and liverys in your simulator?
I've often wondered the same thing. It's like BNSF not allowing their livery outside of north America... I mean.. why? Doesn't bother me, as I don't use any US stuff, but I know others are annoyed by this.
The TfW license looks like it's going to be ceded to the welsh government, which will make it easier to obtain and maintain licenses, so that's a good thing People posting hi def videos of their machinery crashing, running down people or just doing things they don't want to be seen doing. Other than that, they own the IP rights so can say what and when can and cannot be used, and that can include logos, fonts, colours, body shapes... even sounds
I know.. I was asking why. So inside North America and posting "hi def" videos of train crashes with BNSF is fine.... but outside is not fine. Suits being overly cautious... it's silly. It's like warnings on hot things that they are hot to prevent being sued by stupid people who fail to understand that hot things are hot. If only the world wasn't full of idiots... it woudl be so much nicer.
Sadly it is and we have to pay the price for it. MacDonalds in America have been sued by people who have spilt hot coffee on themselves. They would undoubtedly be the first to complain if their coffee wasn't hot enough! There seems to be no such thing as personal responsibility anymore, someone else is always to blame!
If you're thinking of the case I was thinking of, the coffee was literally boiling and accidently spilling it led to the person betting 3rd degree burns or something. IMO that's fairly solid grounds to sue them for providing a dangerous product.
The BNSF license is really complicated and I don't understand it fully, but part of the reason is the fact BNSF do more than trains.
The BNSF situation's simple, they don't own the BNSF trademark outside the US, therefor they can't license it outside of it as they have no right to do so. Sure I don't like it, but to me this is very easy to understand reasoning and I don't get why people have such a hard time with it. As for why they didn't care in the past I have no clue, my best guess is that new management is more conservative and don't want to take any chances with anything they aren't one hundred percent on.