AndyM77 wrote:A big assumption here -
I assume that the way it'll work will depend on Steam. Usually when a game gets discontinued on Steam it's removed from the sales page but is still available to those who have bought it to redownload / play as and when they please. The big assumption here is that when this happens updates for the game will no longer be allowed, unless it's something major which stops the game loading up in the first place. So I'd assume that once the new game (UE4 Train Simulator) is released the current TS20xx *whatever we finish on* will essentially be frozen, no more bug fixes, no more Steam based DLC. I'm not sure what happens to the Workshop for discontinued games..
I guess we'll find out when "It's done!"
Of course, lets throw something into the mix.. What if the new Fishing game shows DTG that the UE4 isn't up to running a Train Sim? What then? Maybe that's another discussion or just something to consider before we get too excited about a potentially new train simulator.
This question of what happens to a title which is supposedly discontinued can be answered by the darksider series. THQ went out of bussiness as a publisher but darksider remained on sale and purchasable and still is even though there technically isn't any support behind the actual title. Steam as far as I am aware has never removed discontinued games, they have only removed titles which were EA related so I'm not entirely sure where removal from sale part comes from.
Unlike EA who just pulls servers of titles they no longer support, aslong as its on steam it shouldn't be effected in anyway whatsoever, same with the workshop that will just remain around as long as DTG pays for server space which I don't see as a issue as they are still paying for railworks content to be hosted.
I also don't think its a matter of UE4 not being able to run a train simulator, UE4 is far than capable of doing so, the whole concept that the unreal engine is purely FPS engine is bogus for one. Its more down to the fact if DTG is actually capable of hgh quality programming which works correctly with a fairly new game engine and making it into a train simulator.
I don't want any backward compatibility with UE4 Train simulator, why? even though I've spent probably thousands of £ by now on the simulator with the various different DLCs I know if they try to backward tech the UE4 engine they will fudge it up. DTG haven't really given us anything new in the past few releases which are really incredibly innovation or super new. We have been given lights, rain on window and super elevation but in one way I still don't quite consider these innovation, I consider these features which should have been in a new engine 3 years ago but RSC back then decided to continue to shovel forward with the concept of backward compatibility and keep propping up the pit which was the old kuju code.
Quick drive could also be considered a new feature, but then its hybrid of what was available back in MSTS days, if anything DTG has been playing catchup for to long.
In a ideal world, DTG should have canned the current engine were on back at RW2 and developed TS20xx series with a full new engine, there were plenty available at the time to utilise and the hardware available at the time was moving into DX11 areas as standard. Instead by remaining on the Kuju codebase and engine with a graphics frontend facelift were stuck with a title which is incapable of using dual-core or multi-core tech properly or any of the more modern graphics technology like TXAA, ambient ossalation etc. which can barely get above 45fps sometimes on a high end i7 (which is what I'm currently using from a high end market gaming rig built this Feb)
What a UE4 train simulator needs to bring to the table is better graphics engine which utilises hardware in the past 4 years and effectively and not put reliance on the CPU but on the graphics card, better AI scripting and tech, better physics, better scenario editor aswell as world and consist editor, newer and more streamlined UI interface which doesn't look like you just loaded up a kids game. But most importantly, proper and correct simulation for rolling stock which is tied to the rolling stock and not reliant on the codebase to work correctly.
To reinterate on the last part as people are probably going huh? If rolling stock could have there own simulation scripting seperated from the main codebase it would allow for more customisation and accurate depiction of the real things. Imagine simulation being able to plug to spreadsheet data and correct performance charts or being different per every locomotive and not conform to a standard simulation set, this could equally extend to fireman operation on steam locos as a example. imagine a autofireman with intelligent AI programmed and scripted so that it knows when to correctly fill the boiler with water and not put to much onto the firemass and not completely nuke your boiler PSI with the injectors? Imagine if he was fully customisable and users could set varibles with drop down menus and slidebars and his behaviors were fully custom and edittable?
That is what is capable in a new engine and UE4 could do it, but the question falls on CAN DTG program it and make it work?
This is where my worry stems from, we are relying on a company who has not the best track record when it comes down to upgrading their engine or using the engine adequately. They may provide alot of new rolling stock and routes and the occasional new feature but underneath it all there has been a aweful lot of buggy releases and buggy new version upgrades which ended up breaking far more than they should do and could be equally blamed on the kuju engine just simply not being capable of doing it.
I come across as qutie skeptical and I'll admit I am and should adopt the whole "wait and see" policy, but its never been DTG who forwarded the simulator, it was always the 3rd party developers and being that promised bug fixes,upgrades and what not haven't been particularly met by the published it doesn't instill much confidence when they branch to other simulators and then spew PR talk with "imagine what the simulator could look like!" when they talk about a new engine.
DTG will have to bring up there game with a new train simulator on a new engine, enough improvements and new changes and not a over glorified eyecandy cinematic simulator to make it so people will move away from TS2014, otherwise they will fall flat on there face and it will be a repeat of what happened to MSFlight.
Although this is most likely due to GWFL requirements and the current 'Limbo' that it's in (was supposed to end July '14 but Microsoft saying that it's not being shut down just yet.. )