Agreed - there are clues in the 455 that indicate it *might* be an old product, but recognising them as clues presupposes that a buyer is aware that TS2013 used to be RW2. This may not always be the case - especially if it was a Steam gift - and they can hardly be castigated for not knowing the ins and outs of the game's history and constant (pointless, imho) renaming. Even if they DID know TS2013 used to be RW, they cannot rightfully deduce whether this content is simply 'old', or whether it has already been updated in some way that renders it fully compatible. All they know is, it's for sale, and it's marked as requiring TS2013.
I looked at the Class 156 which also has XBOX controller problems, as I said, and noticed a similarly confusing set of conflicting information that only a relatively seasoned RW customer would grasp the full implications of:
(I've not done the screenshot thing - this is a text cut-and-paste- the original is here:
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/s ... ?t=2617613 )
Notice: This Downloadable Content requires the base game RailWorks in order to play.
Downloadable Content
Requires the base game Train Simulator 2013 on Steam in order to play.
Buy Railworks 2 Class 156 Add-On
See, even if the prospective buyer sees the reference to RailWorks/RailWorks2, any suspicions they might have will probably be wiped away by the TS2013 requirement in the middle, which appears in a huge purple box-out. "Ah, right, so it is for my game then," he'll think, and cough up.
There is a reference in the blurb which says:
**Please note that the Cab Control driver interface cannot be used to drive the Class 156
This is a reference that no recent TS2013 newbie will understand, I'm sure. Initially even I mistakenly assumed it referred to the RailDriver controller hardware
*, but then reasoned that even if it was a reference to the thing most of us seem to refer to as the HUD, this did not preclude the train from working with the XBOX controller, which has nothing to do with the HUD. Of course, it turned out I was wrong, and it won't work with the XBOX controller in the same way that the Class 455 won't (the brakes are 'digital' when using the XBOX controller, and go from 0% to 100% in one tiny press).
(*if you think I'm being a bit slack here, try typing 'cab control driver' into Google and you'll see it's an easy conclusion to draw: RailDriver comes up tops and on many search-results on that first page, whilst RW2's HUD doesn't appear at all! Even adding 'interface' to the search-term doesn't improve matters much more... the HUD does make an appearance in the results at least, but the top item and many others is still RailDriver's hardware!)
Looking back, there is no symbol to say that the Class 156 is controller compatible (which as you've shown, does appear on the Class 455's page - and thinking about it, do we even know if that means XBOX, or Raildriver controller? The logo looks generically 'gamepad-like', but the words don't actually
say XBOX). But anyway, absent information is not clear enough, imho. If the DLC doesn't work with a publicised feature of the game that the DLC is now considered a de facto part of (as evidenced by the removal by RSC of other incompatible DLC), then it should have a big red 'doesn't work with XBOX controller' badge, or something obvious.
As we've said, these badges/bullet-points are all a bit of a mish-mash anyway, and not generally to be trusted or taken at face value, because (as is immediately obvious) they're usually cobblers. I don't see what parts of the Class 455's content comes under the Steam Cloud badge, which wouldn't also be true on the Class 156 - but that badge is missing from the latter. Same with the Leaderboard and Achievements badges - these are really GAME features, not DLC features (I don't recall if the 455 has any career-scenarios, but it makes little difference really). Yes, the 156 was listed on Steam well before these features became part of the game, but that doesn't mean it the listing should be left to fester - especially whilst others are removed or updated. And a newbie won't know that... he'll assume, fairly understandably by what's been shown, that this is content for his TS2013 game that has been tested and is working fully. Or else it wouldn't be here for sale, and it wouldn't be flagged in the ways it has been.
IMHO the usual sales caveat of Errors and Omissions Excepted is fair enough when dealing with a product one can return or swap for another if it's found to come up short - but with downloadable online wares, subject to Steam's 'No Refunds' terms, it's a bit of a kick in the globules, potentially. I can see some folks getting very shirty, having spent twelve quid (bar a penny) and realised they bought something quite old (relatively speaking).
Having said that, imho both the 455 and 156 are excellent models/simulations, brilliantly executed in all other regards, and a lot of fun, providing you're prepared to skip the HUDs and go over to using full keyboard in Expert mode, and no XBOX controller. All that is fine. They're a great experience... but the point is, nowhere - absolutely nowhere - does it make that clear on the Point of Sales materials, and I think that needs attention from RSC as a matter of some urgency.
