And the more posts I see, the more people I'm sure are going to be disappointed.
If you think the RS team can do all the things that you're asking with the limitations they've had so far, you are blind to the sheer economics of the issue. We all have a list a mile long of what we want from RS (and combining those lists for all of us makes it VERY long!), and so far from reading between the lines it's been very obvious that RS have been hamstrung by issues with access to the source code. That would appear to have changed now.
They have a very small team, and are trying to beat the code into the shape they need to take it forward. What kind of announcements do you expect for a release note that reads "Changed Dispatcher_Recall_Inverse function call to return all loco object information".
That's the kind of thing I expect has been happening in RS HQ. And as far as looking at the game, it's going to make zero difference to the user... for now!
However in 6 months time when they decide to introduce a function we're asking for they now have the code they require to execute it.
The bottom line is, RS2:RW is a code base refactor to allow future advancement. The new shaders, new locos and new routes are just eye candy to encourage buying the product (especially for those who aren't aware of this stuff like we are) and if you expect your train simming world to change upon it's release then start writing your 3 page posts of complaint now.. you're going to need them
The real meat of RS2 is under the covers. Ready for proper advancement.
Rather than complaining over RS2 I'd recommend encouraging it's purchase, because if it doens't make enough money to keep paying the wages at RS.com, then it all ends here. No more support, no more patches, no more nothing. There might be a purchasable game with a fantastic engine underneath waiting to be leveraged but with nobody to do that, it will be useless.
My biggest concern is not that RS2 won't be what I expect (as I've layed out above). My concern is that there won't be enough "public" sales, that the "I want my fixes/changes and I want them now" users won't buy it either, and RS.com will next be seen with a "Sorry, Out Of Business" sign on the door.
So that's the end of rail simming advancement for the foreseeable future then, unless you're happy with BVE or Trainz (in which case why care about RS anyway?).
Every other game in the world gets an "upgrade" or v2 that is nothing but eye candy and get's slammed for not sorting out the core game.
RS goes out of their way to NOT do this and from what we gather gets a hold on the core code and starts to get it in order to give us what we want in the future.. and get's slammed for it.
I'm reminded of Adam's, "damned if we do, damned if we don't" statement.
I'm also reminded of a complaint I heard at a preserved railway, "How come the ticket is so expensive! I can travel 4 miles on a normal train for much cheaper than this and they run more frequently!"
Well yeah, but you're rather missing the point! This is NOT a normal railway. It's a small team providing a niche experience as best they can. They can charge you less, or buckle to demand to run more trains, but in 2 years time when there's no railway here, don't complain about it!
RS is not your standard 4 million unit selling X-Box kill 'em all game from a publisher with money to burn and a design team in the hundreds. I suggest we stop treating it as such.
Now if RS2 isn't kicking some serious features from our wish lists about within a year of RS2's release you can all burn me at the stake and I'll happily step onto the pyre of my own free will. But I have faith that as long as they make enough money to stay in business we'll be seeing the fruits of all the "hidden" work soon enough
