Buying TS2012 in advance: piece of cake!

[OldProf]

Rumor squashing department: yes, current owners of TS2012 can now purchase TS2013 in advance. How do I know this? Simple! I walked through the process on Steam, stopping just short of the actual purchase, since I'm still not sure I want to do this.

Here's the final screen before actual purchase:



As usual, if you can't see the image clearly enough to read the text, just click on it.

You're welcome,

Tom Pallen

[SuperTux]

Allegedly it fails (or failed) after you purchase it with Steam e-mailing you canceling the purchase stating that you've already bought the item. That according to a poster on FB...I am waiting for the deluxe version so cannot verify it further than what you have.

[GaryG]

Did you mean pre-buying TS2013? If you tried buying TS2012, you probably do already have it.

I had no problem Friday evening pre-buying the next version (with the four dollar discount). I figure another couple new routes makes it a reasonable deal.

GaryG

[buzz456]

Did you mean pre-buying TS2013? If you tried buying TS2012, you probably do already have it.

I had no problem Friday evening pre-buying the next version (with the four dollar discount). I figure another couple new routes makes it a reasonable deal.

GaryG

Totally high-jacking the thread for a quick post, Gary done any more on the Cimarron? Can't remember the last time I ran a stock route. There are too many done by our third party guys.

Buzz

[OldProf]

Did you mean pre-buying TS2013? If you tried buying TS2012, you probably do already have it.

I had no problem Friday evening pre-buying the next version (with the four dollar discount). I figure another couple new routes makes it a reasonable deal.

GaryG

Thanks for posting this, Gary. As I stated, I went through the process of buying TS 2013 (can I make that any clearer?) up to the last step: the actual purchase, just to establish that it can be done. This pre-purchase looks like a good idea to me as well, since it includes the new U.S. route and at least one other new route for less than those routes will cost by themselves. I didn't go through with the purchase because I'm ... well, I'm not sure why, after all.

Tom Pallen

[NickF]

I went ahead and bought it, and the purchase seemed to go through OK.

[GaryG]

Reply to buzz456 - wrong Gary... I guess that makes your 'hijack' even worse than a real highjack ;-)

[buzz456]

Reply to buzz456 - wrong Gary... I guess that makes your 'hijack' even worse than a real highjack ;-)

[BillPeck]

Purchased and it is listed on my inventory at steam just awaiting 20 th

Also asked RSC support about the purchase
heres their reply
"All existing Train Simulator 2012 customers will be automatically upgraded to 2013 for free on the 20th september just as Railworks 2 users were upgraded to TS2012, existing users will not however get the new routes included with the game (London to Brighton, Sherman Hill) whereas as new buyers of the game will.


Existing 2012 users can purchase 2013 if they would like to also get the new included routes.

All content you have purchased for TS2012 will automatically be carried over to TS2013, you will not lose any downloaded content with the upgrade.


Regards


Rail Simulator Support"

[PapaXpress]

That still does not answer the question if San-Bar (and others) will still be included as part of the new user download of TS2013. In Derek's blog post he states:

New users will be able to obtain the old core content from Steam, more information on this to follow from RS.com

It sounds like we will need to wait until the 20th to find out what RSC is going to do.

[BigB700]

all previous content will be available for download for free if i recall the comment made on the issue in the podcast correctly. But to be truly fair I feel that as existing customers who have paid for the versions that came with the old routes must pay for the new core content then new users should have to pay for 2012 as well. kinda makes you think well dang if i had held off buying the game back when i did.... Or at least RSC should offer full 2013 spec versions of the old routes to previous users free of charge.

[fecrails]

That still does not answer the question if San-Bar (and others) will still be included as part of the new user download of TS2013.

This from Tuesdays Engine Driver blog:
New users who start off with TS2013 will be able to download asset packs containing old core assets, and of course the old TS2012 core routes will be available to buy as DLC.

So there you have the official word from RSC.

[OldProf]

all previous content will be available for download for free if i recall the comment made on the issue in the podcast correctly. But to be truly fair I feel that as existing customers who have paid for the versions that came with the old routes must pay for the new core content then new users should have to pay for 2012 as well. kinda makes you think well dang if i had held off buying the game back when i did.... Or at least RSC should offer full 2013 spec versions of the old routes to previous users free of charge.

RSC's statement about "old core" routes reads as follows:

What about the route I am building myself? What will happen to it when TS2013 comes out, will it still work if people no longer have the old ‘core’ routes that I am using to build it with?

Anybody who wants to run your route will be able to do so. Existing TS2012 users will still have the old ‘core’ assets, so they will be able to run any routes built using them. New users who start off with TS2013 will be able to download asset packs containing old core assets, and of course the old TS2012 core routes will be available to buy as DLC. We will have more information for content creators soon.

Whether those "asset packs containing old core assets" will be free or not is not clear, but the "old core" routes will obviously become payware DLC. This strikes me as odd in light of the fact that RSC has been providing free--and very welcome, in my opinion--upgrades of those routes to TS 2012 standards over recent months.

However, any non-RSC routes whose creators have incorporated RSC assets from versions of TS/RW previous to the 2013 upgrade will probably not run, or at least will not look right, on new installations of TS2013 until those asset packs become available.

Lest I have sown any further confusion, let me note in closing that current owners of TS2012 will not lose any of the legacy routes, assets, etc., when TS2013 comes down the Steam pipe on or slightly after 20 September. Again quoting RSC:

Anybody who already has TS2012 will receive all the new features totally free. However, existing TS2012 users will not get the new TS2013 routes and locomotives for free – they will retain all the routes and locomotives originally supplied with TS2012, and any DLC they have purchased. TS2012 users who want all the new content will find that the most cost-effective option is to simply buy a copy of TS2013.

[emphasis mine]

Tom Pallen

[glenn68]

Understand this, everything you have right now is yours. All the freeware and payware. Read the posts closely. The upgrade to TS 2013 is free of charge to existing owners on TS. The only parts that would have to be bought will be the new routes like Sherman Hill. All the old routes that came existing with the game is yours.
I am awaiting for the upgrade to 2013, then see what the forums says about Sherman Hill route before I purchase. The upgrade is going to be important since there is a mention of quad core use.


Glenn

[PapaXpress]

This has the potential to really hurt any new users who are just getting into RailWorks and content creators. There are a lot of freeware and payware routes that count on San-Bar to be present because it was considered to be "core assets", and for those of us that bundled "core assets" with our routes or repainted them and included the GEOs we are now in violation of RSCs policies, because they turned into a payware asset. I can also think of a few Britkit engines that alias sounds found in the Kuju folders, what will happen to them?

I can only hope that what we have in the Kuju US/UK folders today remain free (even if we have to download it), and its just San-Bar and the other routes and scenarios which are getting monetized.