RS Respond to Donner Pass Feedback

[MontanaRails]

Considering RSC did say Donner Pass was by "The Dockyard Works" and, it could be in bad taste to mock outsourcing (as from the perspective of a CEO), I have no reason to believe it was a joke. All things considered, I actually would be extremely surprised if this route was produced largely by RSC, and not a team in India. I support the statement from PapaXpress; this does happen all the time. Up until this point, I think its been somewhat unusual that most products were in house at RSC.

Outsourcing is something (like it or hate it) thats here for good. A friend who works at a company in the USA said that the little "made in the USA" stickers are actually produced in China. I also watched a show on Discovery Channel that asserted that most American Flags are made abroad. Things are no different with software.

[SMMDigital]

It's really insane to think RSC handed Railworks to a bunch of guys in India with a manual and a map and said "140 miles, in a few months and I just want to tell you both, good luck, we're all counting on you.". Seriously..

Don't shatter the illusion. I would much rather believe seven guys who barely speak English were putting this together in shack outside of Calcutta than to believe that the guys at RSC did this. C'mon, really? You think that the SAME people who gave us the highly praised Horseshoe Curve, which was almost flawless, did this jumbled mess just two months later? This has all the markings of a farmed out job that was rushed through customs to meet a deadline, and now the proper route builders are going to have to fix it. "Indians" may have been figurative, but this wasn't done by the in-house guys.

[styckx]

Considering RSC did say Donner Pass was by "The Dockyard Works"

The Dockyard is where RSC's offices are located.

[PapaXpress]

Guys, I am going to bow out of this thread for a bit. Not that anything wrong was said, but this is hitting close to home for me. All I can say is that I am glad I got out of that job and have the one I am in now.

I am looking forward to RSC's updates. Its good to see SP alive again.

[MontanaRails]

Downloading the first patch now. Regardless of what got them into the mess, they are addressing it pretty quickly! Gonna go check out the new detail.

[NDORFN]

Downloading the first patch now. Regardless of what got them into the mess, they are addressing it pretty quickly! Gonna go check out the new detail.

Patch?

[RiscIt]

Very glad to see the change log. More please.

Transparency nurtures trust. It also goes a lot further than just saying "we hear ya and we appreciate your feedback". To see those thoughts and concerns repeated BACK to the community actually means something more than a boiler plate PR response.

So... Thank you. Keep it up.

[bristolian]

Downloading the first patch now. Regardless of what got them into the mess, they are addressing it pretty quickly! Gonna go check out the new detail.

Hello,

Could you share the link, please?

[dcushing]

The patch was an automatic download the first time you start up Steam. The user shouldn't have to do anything. It is a good idea to verify the cache prior to playing donner Pass.

Duncan

[Csxgp38-2]

Darn, the main Commercial Row crossing in Reno still has improper buildings/a whole street missing! There should be a one way street and a coin casino between the big casino building and the tracks. It overwrited my changes, now I have to go back and re add that.... That's an important area, I have lots of Trains Magazine pictures from there.

[MontanaRails]

The patch was an automatic download the first time you start up Steam. The user shouldn't have to do anything. It is a good idea to verify the cache prior to playing donner Pass.

Duncan

Duncan is correct; just like everything else with TS2012, everything comes from steam. I just assumed people would understand it was a steam update because it has just been talked about a few posts back.

BTW, I had to verify cache. Not everything installed just by downloading the update. Not uncommon with steam, unfortunately.

[MontanaRails]

And the first patch/update did significantly (in my opinion) improve the route. The floating objects are mostly gone. All of the tunnel portals (I checked each one) are flawless now. Some of the snow shed entrances are still rotated backward so the wall's edge is transparent, but that's very easily fixed in the world editor. There is also considerably more detail in many places.

Good work, RSC, its coming together! Looking good!

[DonR]

Maybe I'm splitting hairs here, but TS2012 was software, Donner Pass is not.
With new software, there is a high probability of bugs in new slipping through the QA process because they are hard to reproduce.

Donner Pass is software, just not a stand alone package. QA is critical... and often NOT properly resourced by many many companies. We see it all the time.

I don't even begin to understand the pressures companies are under to release new products, but as a consumer... I'd be willing to wait for the higher quality.

Thanks,
Don.

[rninrvr]

I have not had a chance to run this route yet, but did the patch correct some of the drastic grade changes that were shown in screen grabs?

[MontanaRails]

I have not had a chance to run this route yet, but did the patch correct some of the drastic grade changes that were shown in screen grabs?

Short answer, no. Please read the post on the first page of this thread to see what was fixed. From what I understand, the gradient problems will be the last thing RSC fixes, and could take quite a bit of time.