Notice to all visitors and members of the Train-Sim.Com message forums: If you plan on using a signature banner in your posts, we would like to remind you that there is a maximum size for banners. That maximum is 450 pixels wide by 120 pixels high, and not to exceed 25k. Your compliance is appreciated. FORUM RULES Problems? There are two common reasons for problems with logging in and posting messages. The first is that you are running a firewall that prevents your messages from being sent to the server. The other is that you have cookies disabled; the DCForum software requires cookies to work properly.
I just found the program today...looks very interesting, but I'm stuck. I've downloaded a couple of yards, but just can't seem to figure out how to get any trains to appear or how to get anything to move. I'm also struggling with the whole 'registration' process. Any help would be appreciated!
That's not exactly true.After reading through the entire website, I have not found a single mention of how to actually change a switch. I had to dig for twenty minutes to figure out how to manipulate things, as well. The instruction manual shows outdated screen grabs, and there is no obvious link to a page that shows the basic controls used in the yard, which could be considered the main game window.All of this is understandable, of course, given that this is a beta. However, it's not so understandable when someone asks for help and they get pointed to the un-helpful website. There needs to be a "Controls" page that simply lists the keyboard shortcuts and controls used to do all of the primary functions of the game. I for one would appreciate a compiled list of all controls as soon as possible.- David C in CA
Ok, I'll do a keystroke summary page, something I've been meaning to do for a while. The first question in the FAQ answers his question. I just posted the screen grabs last night, so they can't be outdated. Come to think of it, they are screenshots of the NEXT version. Maybe that's why they look different? By the way, you flip a switch by clicking on it. You must be the first person to not figure that one out! Lol Cheers and thanks for posting. KingJPW
That sounds great!Another thing that would help us is a more prominent link to these forums - say, on the homepage. Right now one naturally assumes that the "Forum" link on the left of the MSN community page would be the forum; I didn't find this forum until digging through the FAQ.Jim, if you get that keystroke summary together and you want the help, I would be willing to help you write the documentation for the game. I am a professional author (I write computer game strategy guides, among other things!), and would be happy to help you "professionalize" the documentation. Hopefully that would help you concentrate on code. All I would need would be at least terse references to all game functions.Regards, David
Let's get the game in a more finalized form first before working on the professional documentation. Things are still changing on a daily basis. One of the reasons I didn't spen too much time on the website is because I figured that people who truly had an interest in the game (like yourself) would either 'figure it out' or ask questions. In fact, in an earlier post someone wrote that Yard Duty had '...excellent instructions anyone can read', so I figured I was on solid groud... for the time being, anyway.Thanks, Jim
I flatly disagree, sorry! The documentation is inadequate, even for a beta. The point of a beta is to get useful feedback on the features and elements you have coded. If you have not documented what the game's features are for your beta testers, you make an already-difficult process truly excruciating.I don't mean to be hard on you, but if your policy is to "let people ask questions," then when they do, you cannot simply point someone to the instructions that you admit above are inadequate. Whoever posted that you have excellent instructions certainly isn't delving very deep into the program, as I believe I am. I am continually finding things that I'd wished I'd known about sooner. Here I point out that I am a professional in the computer game industry, and I have been paid to perform beta testing for companies large and small, from small publishers like Shrapnel to the largest ones like Electronic Arts. I have been involved in game development for about 12 years now, and I have several times reached the point with Yard Duty where I had to evaluate whether or not I wanted to bother to continue to "figure it out," becuase of the lack of documentation. Of course, I am here, so obviously the game is worth struggling for. However, you might have lost someone less interested or less experienced.I (and the many rest of your beta testers, I would think) am limited on the amount of time I can spend on the project. We are already making a contribution to the effort by spending time on an unfinished game, and trying to be helpful to your development process. In return of course, we get the enjoyment of the game in its current state, and the promise of free play when the game is "released". However, expecting us to not only contribute to testing, but also to "figure it out" just to get to that point is a chore that I do not beleive needs to be endured. Simply documenting your work not only shows off what you have done, but also gets your potential testers up to speed quickly, so that more time can be spent on actual testing instead of being wasted figuring out your interface or "discovering" features that could have simply been pointed out from the beginning.When I said professional documentation, I meant professional-quality beta instructions, not "final documentation". Even beta instructions can be professional grade. If the game was better documented, we might gain a larger pool of testers. I don't know if you are tracking downloads, but I suspect that every person that downlaods the game does not go on to meaningfully contribute to testing. That would be an indication that people gave up before they figured it out, as you say. That is not a good indicator of whether or not they "truly had an interest," it is more a measure of how easy the game is to figure out.I happen to think that you have an excellent start on a great concept, and the game is very good. There are bugs, but you seem to be very good at identifying and eliminating them. I believe if you documented your features for us so we could concentrate on testing instead of figuring out the game, you would have happier beta testers, a larger pool of talent, and more trains on the server.I do hope you post that keyboard command summary and expand the interface summaries. We do need them. Remember, it all seems easier and more intuitive from your side of the table, because you designed the thing.Thanks very much, and keep up the good work Jim! David
It's funny, but it really is hard to disagree with anything you have said... You know, it really is true that it is hard to document something that one has conceived from scratch. My point of view is so warped because this game is my brainchild and it's hard for me to stand in the shoes of someone who is just seeing the game for the first time. In fact, I spent about an hour with my dad, who is a railfan himself, teaching him how the game works and he would still ask 'silly' questions. And for some reason he still hasn't really played it.Anyway, you should feel free to work on the text of more in-depth documentation. Maybe you want to send me text files that I could incorporate into the website, for example? I'm open to ideas and it should be obvious by now that I don't reject your ideas and won't refuse your hard work.Thanks, JimYard Duty - Getting Better All The Time!
