Over on the Steam forum (why no update here as well James?) DTG_James has posted the following: Steam post here
Hi Jay, I noticed that you posted several times on that thread on the Steam forums. Meanwhile, here on the official forums we're getting little-to-no input or interaction with any staff members. I realise you guys are busy but there's really no point in these forums existing if we're stuck talking amongst ourselves while Steam gets preferential treatment for information. There's several topics on these forums right now that couldn't benefit from staff input: https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/no-ge-logos-on-ac4400cw.2349/ - Surely you can clarify which licences you require to depict a locomotive, or give us a breakdown on how licensing works? https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/metro-north-hudson-line.2249/ - There's a sub-discussion in here coupled with speculation that DTG are deliberately focusing on shorter routes, can this be clarified? https://forums.dovetailgames.com/threads/worth-checking-out-dsd-beep-bug-and-tweaks-to-the-ini.2134/ - Can any input be given on this? I'm sure the developers have looked into it and it would be great to get a definitive answer as to whether this supposed relationship exists. In this day and age, gamers really appreciate being able to interact with the staff of their favourite game and allowing it to happen can build a strong close-knit community.
Sadly Jay has not seen fit to post where things are with the update on this forum. His Steam post can be seen here.
That comment of "I want to play what I paid for broken or not" is why I don't like the TSW Steam forums. That statement is just...insanse. I think nobody would honestly be happier having an update that is broken now and then fixed later. That would just create more outroar. Probably from the exact same people who claimed that they would be ok with that. It just goes against common sense...And that can describe a lot of what goes on in the Steam discussions...yet here which is official and more sedate, dev communication is 0. That also goes against common sense.
I wonder why there are no more beta patches to test for us and give feedback to DTG like in CSX before the GWE release?
It's a good thing that DTG decide not to release an update when a showstopper bug has been found, we can wait a bit longer. However, a bit more communication from DTG to their customers would be appreciated. Also, it would be nice to get some release notes. Since we're close to a release, the list must be pretty much final by now?
I'd wager they don't want to give us the release notes early in case they decide to remove something at the last minute, due to a tricky bug.
Frankly I can't imagine any circumstances in which a company would be foolish enough to publish release notes in advance of an actual patch. Last minute hitches can, and often do, occur and result in bits being withdrawn for further work. Giving a broad outline of what is hoped to be in a patch is somewhat justified but only if you're pretty confident that you can deliver. The key thing is to ensure that a patch doesn't make things any worse and to be honest the TSW team hasn't covered itself in glory on that front. I do have to wonder whether or not the QA team is more empowered than previously or is maybe being more thorough in QA or is maybe not being ignored as much or a combination of the foregoing. Perhaps they just have more time to carry out the QA function than previously. When the patch is eventually released we'll be able to judge whether it is better quality or the normal two steps forward and one step back. Naturally I'm hoping for the former and that this then becomes the norm.