RailSimulator.com on Facebook

[ihavenonamenoreallyidont]

Utterly bewildering overreaction in this thread.

As for the Facebook comments: my entire extended family is active on there and it's a nice way to keep up with brief bits of news in addition to the usual calls etc. Oh, and I don't think a single one of them is under the age of 14. Hell, both my parents (mid/late 60s) are addicted to Farmville!

Dear me.

[AndyUK]

Andy I fail to see how giving more information out across the net can upset anyone, if anything I see users upsetting themselves....

Derek,

What I said was partly in jest but to get my take on it you really need to have read my previous post. Giving out info across the net doesn't upset me, and exposing RW to a wider audience can only be a good thing. However what I do find tedious is that there is no one place to go to get all the news and I would find it much more user friendly if one location was the place to go to get all the gen. Of course you could put all the items in several locations if that would help get the message across. Presumably the team don't post these snippets for nothing and their efforts are partly wasted if they don't reach as big an audience as they could.

That's it from me on the subject, it's only a minor irritation for me but one that 'gets to' several of your longer standing customers by the look of it.

Andy L

[OrpheusRocker]

I don't have a problem with good communication. Most, if not all, will be scooped up here anyway.
I do have a problem with mis-directed effort though.
I see the new proposed driving interface has had a facelift which is great but, attention to detail must still be focussed in the wrong places if I still see things like this in the existing product:


Andy

[rich0984]

I'd like to know if the new level crossings mentioned will interact with existing road networks available or a new road asset will be added, and if it will be a free update?

[karma99]

I think the problem is the actual information thus far hasn't fitted into appropriate places.

Some people want to know what's being built.
Some people want to see pretty pictures.
Some people want to know about the technical updates behind the scenes.
Some people want to know about the current biscuit level.
Some want all of the above or a combination of them.

Right now you take pot luck with RSC when you read Twitter, blog, website and now facebook as to which of these things you might find, or more importantly what you'll miss out on when you don't go on the the Great RSC Web Hunt every day.

Fortunately, UKTS pretty much reposts anything useful, so I think I'll ditch all of the official channels and just keep it here.
Easy solution

[AndiS]

Why not lean back and see what is released?

If you are bored, subscribe all this stuff and 10 more and fill your brain with tit bits about things that might come one day.

If you want hard facts about the development of RW, wait for the next update and see which of the features that are included in it actually do what you were hoping for.

I for one am definitely interested in improvements of the game core that improve the chances of signals to show meaningful aspects, and I am curious about these scripted scenarios, but I know for sure that they will not twitter details of the added system calls, and whether Adam spent a day with the signalling this week or next week or last week is not something I need to know.

In a way, I find it pretty sad that so many people expect the worst from everyone. E.g., RSC would distribute valuable information to selected subgroups, cutting out the rest of their supporters. Ding dong, wake up, bad dream is over! RSC have so many holes in the very public Wiki that you can be sure that if one of them finds time to write a piece of valuable information, then they will not hide it in obscure places.

Half of me would support the position that they should focus on improving the content, but it is a stupid position. There is production and there is marketing. You need the latter too, of the biscuits will run out. Facebook is known to be a cheap marketing channel, so why not take benefit of that. We all benefit from each person who happens to get across this favourite game of ours, just because he followed some interest of the "friends" of his "friends" out of boredom and suddenly, he gets onto our train.

[bigvern]

I have no time or use for "social networking" (as Websense at work describes them before blocking!) Facebook type sites. While accepting RS.com are using the available media, it is no substitute for a professionally written central web site with all the news, information and future plans in one place. A properly updated Wiki is of course another matter and a great resource which, IMHO, RS.com should be focusing on that in addition to their main site. YouTube - perhaps - has its uses as a means of hosting videos on the cheap but any worthwhile company should be budgeting for some form of media embedded in their own site.

Certainly amongst the older Daily Mail generation, as I am, Facebook is synonomous with unruly teens, texting, bullying and arranging "graff" meets to disfigure neighbourhood walls and fences. Not exactly the A list audience for train driving simulations...

[Acorncomputer]

Derek wrote

People don't like change, I don't like change, If I had my way i would still be living in my little dingy flat. As it is my wife dragged me away and forced me to live in a nice comfortable house.

That's it then. I think we should campaign for Mrs Siddle to be taken on by RS.com to organise the team into a more coordinated group.

[RSderek]

Yikes...

[AndiS]

Just form a group for that on Facebook. Maybe Mrs. Siddle is happy to have 1000 "friends". No, wait, only 1000 would be a complete failure, make that 10,000.

There are certainly dozens of Facebook groups of men getting organised by their wife, and I started none of them, believe me! I think such groups are for those among us, who are not allowed to form such a group in the pub. It's simply easier to join a group on Facebook without your wife noticing than going to to the pub. But while I may, I enjoy the latter.

By the same token, I do not share Vern's concerns about the Facebook audience. Not everyone in a pub is badly drunken and not everyone on Facebook raids the neighbourhood. There are masses of average persons who do something (whatever big or small) with this, because it currently is "the" thing. The phantom Cascade Game Foundry reportedly has 10,000 friends, not of whom caused any police intervention.

At the same time, I, like Vern, am a bit concerned about the perspective of a new mass of users focussing on playing trains in a very freelance mode. But it may well be my arrogance causing that. It also says that it does not matter if 1% or 0.1% of the users share my interest. So Facebook, gamers attracted at Steam, and people believing that there is no engine without PZB cannot really make things worse for me.

[USRailFan]

I still say Vern does have a point though, in that it would be an advantage if the officiale homepage was updated a bit more often with relevant info.

[Slammer423]

Why all the negativity Derek mentioned the HQ website will be reciving its well needed attention shortly and maybe they clever clogs at the webdesign can intergrate all the news from Facebook, Twitter and the like onto a nice clean page at RS.C HQ?

There are also members in all of the communitys forums out here in "Cyberspace" who post on the news anyway so theres not a big deal here?

[bigvern]

I don't think it's necessarily negativity, if I was "negative" about Railworks I wouldn't be planning and building routes for it or contributing on a forum. It's simply a desire to see a tidy, orderly presentation of information - after all can one but help think if there's no coherent and co-ordinated means of disseminating news and developments that might extend to direction of the product too?

[styckx]

One piece constructive criticism, any old one can start a discussion topic.

Fan created discussion topic asking about lights and various other features he wants

RailSimulator.com discussed Light, binding sites on the points and spline. on the RailSimulator.com discussion board.

Official topic started by you guys

RailSimulator.com discussed Level Crossings on the RailSimulator.com discussion board.

Problem? They both look like they were started by you guys. Be really nice if any discussion topics were just started by you guys only, and leave all the wish lists, and forum style topics kept at.. The various forums. Maybe direct them one or two of them?

[Basherz]

Why all the negativity Derek mentioned the HQ website will be reciving its well needed attention shortly and maybe they clever clogs at the webdesign can intergrate all the news from Facebook, Twitter and the like onto a nice clean page at RS.C HQ?

It's not negativity Dave, more a want and need to be able to glean all available information for the product from one place!!

I am by no means adverse to "them" spreading the word, as this is obviously advertising and presumably free, but there should be nothing I can't find already within thier site, or loathingly, Wiki, which still has not reached a completed state.