TRZ2009 - what do YOU think?

Well guys, what do you think thus far ...?

It's open beta so basically the whole planet has it ... there's no secrets!
So what do you like about it or is it the same old same stuff...

spill the beans ....

Ishie

It's a mixed reaction from me Ish.

The major stumbling block for me is CM2, and the "unable to commit" error, and I'm finally not the only one getting it.
If we put that aside, and assume that it will be fixed then we're left with a decent review of it from me.

Pros:

• Nice GUI
  
• Great draw distance.
  
• Bump maps look good.
  
• Search improvements in surveyor for assets (although we need a category called "industry")
  
• I'm not bothered about the increased grid size where landscaping is concerned, as you can get good results if you take your time with the 10m grid, but I do like the finer texturing you get with the smaller grid.
  

Cons:

• There's going to be some really wasteful assets when people are encouraged to model without poly limits. (take a look at the TS2009 track that comes with TS2009). Such a waste of polys, and when the public start releasing ridiculously high poly items that could look and work just as well at a fraction of the size, I'll find myself downloading from the DS even less than I currently do. The art of "crafting" will be lost for good.
  
• Try manipulating the ground on a baseboard set at 5m grid. It crawls to a halt every time you try to raise or lower any part of the 5m ground (this must be a beta bug surely).
  
• Online Browser. Don't need it. Won't use it. Don't see the big deal (but then I'm not selling anything through it. lol )
  
• We were promised a land smooth tool in the early announcements, but I can't see it in there.
  
• Sound is still pretty naff when it comes to certain loco horns. We've needed volume controls in-game for different aspects of the game for a very long time now, and once again it's been ignored.
  
• There's a chance that Modula City will be included with TS2009! Seriously, I can't think of anything worse. At least I'll be able to disable it all in CM2.
  

Smiley.

EDIT: Thread moved from Team Area to General Public Forum.

Hey Brian,

Pros:

I really like the "Search improvements in surveyor for assets (although we need a category called "industry")" ....

The color scheme!

(Yeah i notice that too ....I kept typing industry and nothing really came up. Most of your point hit the mark.)

Cons:

Too much contents:
They should have only a few items from each category, however, focusing more on the industries, and the interactive of industries, etc.

Ishie

I think I would like the Draw Distances and Smaller grids while I'm building routes, but other than that I won't buy it. Well why should I buy it, everybody who signed up to Aurans Dev website has it free of charge (What improvements are they going to make in less than a month or are we going to have another Kuju Railsim ). Also that modula city addon is going to be released by the end of the month, whats that going to ship as, a Trainz Classics like it was promised or as a TRS2009 add on? The graphics seem better than Trainz 2009 anyway.

So I don't think I'll buy it

Jamie

Hey Brian,

It seems TRS09 re-introduced scenarios, would a 3 versions of stopgap be in any preliminary planning?

Ishie

I won't go into great detail but what ticked me off the most was the buggy CMP and broken directional sound in 06', these are fixed for the most part, there still is some volume levels to address for sound, Beta 2 improved it, they say a service pack will take care of the remainder.

I like most of the features and performance gains, I don't like all the old content included but I'll disable it!

Long story short I liked it enough to pre-order the DVD, and look forward to starting a new route when it comes.

My 2 cents,

Lorin

Honestly, I careless for the routes and sessions ... I feel this version could had 5 routes at most ... I guess I am saying hat since I only work on Desert Route, etc ...

I don't mind the content especially now that the search filter makes it easy to fine what you are looking for....

I'm preordering as well...

I am glad I never bought the class series -- I have always though that product was simply to milk people of money.... Now I am getting all of those pieces with TR09!

Ishie

Yeah, I feel I got gyped by buying TC 1 & 2. I did use it and got my money's worth, but felt quite disappointed. It currently collects dust on my computer but once in a while I get an itch to drive a tram in a semi-realistic city or drive a commuter train in the deserts of New York.

I wish I had known how to beta test or develop the game as I would have liked to have helped for free. I don't feel that's fair to people who've stuck with the series for a long time.

I'm tempted to go with this but I fear CM. Plus, will my computer even run things well? Further, there are several editions of this game and that also troubles me. It should be simple like '04.

I am still undecided but I think I'll wait until all the bugs get worked out, all the orders get shipped out and I know exactly what it can do and can't (and my computer is faster). That and when the price drops.

Only time will tell...

I personally would like to see improved sounds, no rain in tunnels, more terrain sculpting options and multiplayer...perhaps in TRS X.

BTW, what OS does this 09 work with? I still run Win 2k



Gisa ^^

Hi Guys & Gals,

So far - so good.

There are some items I would like to see changed or added, but these are already mentioned in the 'Bugs Section', so as a late-comer to the Beta it would be pointless to mention them again. Reading the Auran Forum, most of these seemed to have been corrected anyhow.

I'm having a bit of trouble with the 'Search Facility' but I think this is due to my download, and I'm currently working on this to correct it. I'm also running an independent background monitoring program, checking the use of computer resources Etc, and so far its handled everything I've thrown at it, I've even tried things that would certainly crash 04/06 (past experience). Which leads me to the question. Have they modified or changed the engine ?

I have only tried 'dummy routes', keeping my own route in 06, until the final release, and GP has released his TransDem update.

Anyway, that's my findings. Looking forward to the final issue and patches.

Nice thread Ish.

Gisa I found a vast improvement in the sound quality. About waterproof tunnels, they are already available on the DS. Author; Andi06. I used them when constructing the Severn Tunnel. Longest underwater tunnel in the UK, until the Channel Tunnel.

Cheers All
Pete.

Hi Scorpio,


TY for the info. I didn't know about AJ's tunnels either? Still, rain shouldn't go under bridges either but nothing's perfect.

Maybe you can help me. I'm trying to determine if this will work under windows 2000. I can't seem to find out anywhere the specs... and I am thinking of getting it and want to get the 20% engineers edition discount thingy.



Gisa ^^

Hey Mark,

TR09 should run well under win2000 ,,, I have winxp and it run superb, concerning my barebone desktop is quite a few years old -- I do have over 1000memory installed, however.

I am not going to buy EE, unless it's cheap... In many ways Auran could have charge 60 - 70$ and include everything, but I understand and like their strategy. I will wait for the price o drop with EE ... I am very patient person, so I could easily wait to get EE by this time next year!

The last trainz product I bought was TRS07 .. it's been a while ...

Lastly hopefully, Auran will finally tackled the multi player options, so I can invite all of you to take a spin in my Desert Route, .. given you guys job duties to select from ...

Ishie

gisa wrote:

Hi Scorpio,


TY for the info. I didn't know about AJ's tunnels either? Still, rain shouldn't go under bridges either but nothing's perfect.

Maybe you can help me. I'm trying to determine if this will work under windows 2000. I can't seem to find out anywhere the specs... and I am thinking of getting it and want to get the 20% engineers edition discount thingy.



Gisa ^^

Hi Gisa,

Ish has already answered your question re: 2000.
As a point of interest I have noticed on the DS a short program for controlling the weather. I have forgot the details but as soon as I've finished here I'll have a look and get back to you.

I seem to recall you place an invisible object on your track before and after tunnels, bridges and covered stations Etc, this switches the weather (rain) off . On the exiting side it switches the weather back to what it was.

I did use it in 04, but following my old computer components getting fried following a nearby lightning strike I lost everything. Anyway getting off track.

As soon as I find the info I'll get back to you via this thread.

Cheers
Pete.

PS: Before someone lectures me about 'Surge Protectors' I had one fitted. I'm glad to say, because the 'Surge' got through before the protector kicked in, the manufacturer covered the cost of the new components and labour.

Hi Guys,


Actually, looking on the 2009 website, it said minimum specs were win XP service pack 2. I've asked on the auran forums about this and will hopefully find out soon enough!

About the surge...all I can say is wow. Nice of them to reimburse you though!

I had a HD crash on me which was covered under warranty, but they would not pay for the costs to retrieve my data on it and retrieving the data on it meant voiding the warranty. Lovely catch 22 they have...needless to say, I spread my important data around and am wary of Samsung HD's...



Gisa ^^

gisa wrote:

Hi Guys,
*snip*About the surge...all I can say is wow. Nice of them to reimburse you though!

I had a HD crash on me which was covered under warranty, but they would not pay for the costs to retrieve my data on it and retrieving the data on it meant voiding the warranty. Lovely catch 22 they have...needless to say, I spread my important data around and am wary of Samsung HD's...



Gisa ^^

I learned the hard way a long time ago to backup backup backup, I also fell victim to a failed drive and lost everything, and I make sure all my electronics run through a quality surge protector.

Last spring a surge protector saved my game rig I just installed a new 600watt power supply a few weeks prior to that, man was I lucky!

my 2 cents,

Lorin

Well Guys ... I just pre ordered TRS09 -- DVD version ... came to 40 bucks .... 10 dollars for shipping and handling damn it!!

Ishie

Ya that shipping is pricey, beats putting it in a bottle with a cork and throwing in the ocean I guess!



Lorin

lornyk5 wrote:

Ya that shipping is pricey, beats putting it in a bottle with a cork and throwing in the ocean I guess!



Lorin

Indeed my friend!!

Hi Gisa.
First an apology; I haven't had a chance to look through the DS yet, but I haven't forgotten.

About SP2: I enquired about this on the Auran Forum. One post, the preferred specs recommended SP2, I was a little worried over this as I thought they may be problems running under SP3, the latest update. Glad to report the problem was cleared up, although it apparently runs better with SP3.

Hi Ish,
You should live in the UK. Shipping Zero, 2009 Zero.?????
Actually, my oldest son bought it for me for a birthday present . So I don't know the shipping cost. .


Hi Lorin,

Just a quickie on the surge. It was a powerful one. knocked out the whole street for over an hour. Apearantly the lightning strike directly hit the nearby transformer, sending a huge surge through the cables. Unfortunately, although the surge protector company paid for the repairs, I did lose all my saved data. Since then I've bought 10 re-writable DVDs and I use them often. Like you rightly said we all learn the hard way .

Cheers All
Pete.

Ishie wrote:

It seems TRS09 re-introduced scenarios, would a 3 versions of stopgap be in any preliminary planning?

I don't know how I missed this post of yours Ish, although I have had to skim a lot of threads on all the forums because of time limits (Life huh).

Anyway, I haven't seen any mention of Scenarios coming back, and I've been quite active over at the Dev forum, and I'm using the Beta (except for CM2).
Where did you hear this?
Last thing I heard from Auran was them saying that they had no intention of going back to scenarios, and with that, Larry from over at Razorback threw his toys out of his pram and asked them to delete his account over there.

I think Mike over at TPR has scenarios covered anyway.
He's back on the scene, and it's looking good with SCS probably being compatible with TS2009.

I still haven't finished the Sessionario Technique that I was talking about a while back.

It works well, and I really should get a sample version out so that you can see what I mean.

Too many projects, and not enough time.