User Poll at DCM (TS-Tools) Software

For those of you that have purchased TS-Tools, Pathfinder, or Routemaster to assist with the developement of your route, I would like to respectfully ask that you can let your feelings be known to the staff of DCM about the lack of progress on the completion of these 3 MSTS development products. The address to the site is http://www.ts-tools.com/ and is in the TS-Tools General Forum. I am now a very dissatisfied TS-Tools user, and a very happy Demex user. If you decide to vote, thank you, if not, thank you for at least considering to do so. I hope that this message does not brand me as a "troll", since it is kind of off topic, yet kind of on topic. I posted this here; I know that some of the developers use these products.Thank you once againI'm sorry...do the voices in my head bother you too?

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RE: User Poll at DCM (TS-Tools) Software, MarkMyers, Sep-21-03, 01:59 AM, (1) RE: User Poll at DCM (TS-Tools) Software, geoffmayo, Sep-21-03, 05:39 AM, (2) RE: User Poll at DCM (TS-Tools) Software, MarkMyers, Sep-21-03, 10:23 AM, (3) RE: User Poll at DCM (TS-Tools) Software, kevarc, Sep-21-03, 11:14 AM, (4) RE: User Poll at DCM (TS-Tools) Software, griffinmt, Sep-21-03, 11:19 AM, (5) RE: User Poll at DCM (TS-Tools) Software, MarkMyers, Sep-21-03, 12:00 PM, (6) RE: User Poll at DCM (TS-Tools) Software, MarkMyers, Sep-21-03, 01:37 PM, (7) RE: User Poll at DCM (TS-Tools) Software, MarkMyers, Sep-21-03, 08:07 PM, (8) RE: User Poll at DCM (TS-Tools) Software, MarkMyers, Sep-22-03, 09:28 PM, (9) RE: User Poll at DCM (TS-Tools) Software, rgarber, Sep-23-03, 06:08 PM, (10) RE: User Poll at DCM (TS-Tools) Software, fishcarver, Sep-23-03, 08:33 PM, (11) RE: User Poll at DCM (TS-Tools) Software, MarkMyers, Sep-23-03, 10:58 PM, (12) RE: User Poll at DCM (TS-Tools) Software, rgarber, Sep-23-03, 11:18 PM, (13) RE: User Poll at DCM (TS-Tools) Software, MarkMyers, Sep-24-03, 00:14 AM, (14)

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What is the problem - are they selling unfinished products?Geoff M.

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LAST EDITED ON Sep-21-03 AT 11:10 AM (EDT)

I don't know if this is an appropriate place to answer that, but here goes anyway. If you read this entire message, I hope that you (and others) will see that this is not just sour grapes. And anyone who feels I am not being fair to DCM, I would like to know that too. It's not that they are selling unfinished products (although they are), TS-Tools 2 & Pathfinder to name two, it's that they presold both at a discount, and have never finished either program. ignoring any inquiries as to the progress. I bought Pathfinder at a pre-release discount of $19.95, and it was released in November of 2002. With no functionality other than to display the route map. (Unregistered 2 routes, registered all routes). It is now September of 2003, and the program has not received one single update since being released. Features are on the menus, but ghosted out, and numerous attempts at just getting a progress report have gone answered. TS-Tools 2 is unfinished also, with no announced updates forthcoming. Users ask on the forums, when Pathfinder will be rendered even partially useful; the last statement by the author was on May 9th, 2002. They still sell TS-Tools II at $24.95, unfinished, and still sell Pathfinder for $24.95, even though it's same version released before the complaints started. The May 9th posting was in response to a user who angrily demanded when the program would be updated to be usable. At that time I gave the authors the benefit of the doubt in the public forum, and urged patience. Same with TS-Tools II. Some of the feature work, others don't, and no progress report or even a word from the authors. One user has posted asking why it DCM does not respond to requests for help. No response to that one either. The posters at TS-Tools.com have quit asking, or have given up. So I put up a poll to try to get the attention of the authors. 60% of the people that have answered checked the just feel ripped off. The others are split between just plain mad, and about to take some kind of legal action. Granted, the poll has no option to say "waiting patiently", but I did put it on the poll, and the polling software limited the questions to 4, it just did say it was limited that was the 5th question. This is not to taint the DCM software. TS-Tools 2 is an OK product (emphasis on OK). I own Demex too; it does things that TS-Tools does not. I only wish that I had just purchased Demex only, and skipped the DCM products. I would rather get my money returned, so that I could invest it in the products available from the author of Demex. The poll also is fair warning for people thinking of purchasing TS-Tools & Pathfinder based on the "host of planned features coming in the future". Pathfinder users (myself included)would appreciate just having the features they paid for finished. I'm hoping that the moderators here will anchor this for a while, and people can go to TS-Tools.com for themselves, and read the forums before they buy. I can't speak fro RouteMaster. I would not buy another DCM product, and would not take one now even if they paid me to do so.
Caveat Emptor.Edited for spell checking and for length.I'm sorry...do the voices in my head bother you too?

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I bought Pathfinder at the $25 price and have been sorely dissappointed. A lot of things had been promised and never delivered. It has a lot of promise and I wish hewould give the program to someone to finish. But I would not buy any others from them.Kevin Arceneaux
DEFAULT IS FOR DUMMIES
Cry havoc and Let slip the dogs of war.
Lone Wolf Activities Forum and Activity Packs are on www.3DTrains.com

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I have never looked at PathFinder, but just to indicate what it does do (as opposed to what it doesn't, can you post a screen shot of its output, perhaps even of the recent Chicago Stations route?Martyn T. Griffin
griffinmt@mindspring.com
http://www.geocities.com/tcmrrc/

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LAST EDITED ON Sep-21-03 AT 12:13 PM (EDT)

I don't have the Chicago stations route. (I did just download seaview 4 ) but here is the program as it is. Note all the ghosted out items. Right now all it does is display, and allow save a bitmap image of the route selected. but only the portion visible on the main window. Below is a capture from the download section of DCM. Check the release date... The capture of the program is from my registered version of it.
-----------------------
TsPathfinder Downloads


download TsPathfinder release 1.0


18 November 2002 845 Kb
This release fixes a few bugs from the preview release and includes some basic documentation. Further free upgrades will be released as new functionality is added. This software will install as a demo version, to upgrade it to the full version, order from either of the links below.

Order a TsPathfinder license for $24.95
---------------------------However, the only benefit from registering is that you can view more than two routes. There have been no other updates. If you look at the dates of the posts in DCM's user forums, this is a shareware author about to choke on his own broken promises, and unresponsiveness.I'm sorry...do the voices in my head bother you too?

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Bump

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One last bump, and I hope an anchor from the moderator. Fellow train simmers that have purchased software from DCM need to let their feelings be known there. And those that are contemplating it need to know what kind of of B******t they are in for.

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It's starting to look like DCM software may be on it's way out.I'm sorry...do the voices in my head bother you too?

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Here's a link that might help you. Posted on 8/22 the information in the post from Dave is within tolerances. It even addresses the Pathfinder issue. The TS-Tools forum at uktrainsim might better serve you for airing your discussion since most of the folks who use ts-tools go there for support.http://forums.atomic-systems.com/viewtopic.php?t=19082
Rich Garber

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Well said, Rich! Dave obviously has a lot on his plate these days: something big in the wind no doubt, given his delayed response to the mass of queries. I didn't have any prob getting an answer from him on the forum the other day. That said, handing over a small business from the owner to a managing partner is a tuff job at best.
I wish them well. They have done good work for our TS Community.
Hope this finds you well, & regards
Jim
Fishcarver"Rebuilding the Hudson Bayline like one eats a Polar Bear: one BYTE at a time."

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LAST EDITED ON Sep-23-03 AT 10:59 PM (EDT)

Tongue firmly embedded in cheek: I guess www.ts-tools.com was not the place to go for information on TS-Pathinder. Just seemed logical to me. Soon on one of the DCM forums (unknown which as of yet)will be the private discourse between Tony and I there, about what my complaint about Pathinder is. I hold you in very high regard, Rich. So I appreciate the link as a source of useful information, as Train-sim has also been. A TS-Tools forum on another site would not be the appropriate place to air an issue with Pathfinder. I bought, and use TS-Tools (1 and 2) and Demex both, as each seems to complement the other to a great degree. In a nutshell. My only complaint was that, having pre-purchased Pathfinder before it's release as 1.0 slightly over a year ago, I would have expected it's home website to have announcements, be responsive to inquries and at least a few minor updates to the software. If Dave could find the time to post at UK-Trainsim, he could have found the time to post in the Pathfinder forums of his creation, news about it's development, at the products home web site. Logic says that would be the best place to get current information about about DCM products. I realize Dave has a lot on his plate. A few moments worth of news there would have helped a great deal.I'm sorry...do the voices in my head bother you too?

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Mark,Don't take my link or post to mean I'm taking sides. I wasn't aware of the issues you raised. I only use the dem program for one fraction of the time I work on a route. After that, they are outta sight, and outta mind. My only purpose for posting the link was because there did seem to be some useful information at uktrainsim about some of things you were addressing. I think it's more popular at uktrainsim than the dcm forums because it's just more convienent. Most folks here use Demex if I'm not mistaken and you see alot of demex questions asked here. I'm sure there's a demex forum at the demex site. But, nothing meant at all by my post, just trying to inform.Rich Garber

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LAST EDITED ON Sep-24-03 AT 00:21 AM (EDT)

I understand. And I appreciate it. I am taking the link as I believe you meant it. As a resource. Please don't take my message as a flame, as it was not meant as such. Tony and I brought things to a conclusion that I felt was satisfactory as far as Pathfinder, but was extreme as far as TS-Tools. I hope that he does not take the contemplated steps as it's a very useful tool. By not being more specific about Pathfinder, I left myself open to misinterpretation. This was my own fault. Flaming is a bad thing. Intelligent discussion is a good thing. I read your first post carefully, did not feel like you were taking sides, nor did I feel attacked in any way. And tried to respond with a little humor, and fact as opposed to rhetoric. I appreciate your civility, and your willingness to be objective. As I said before, I hold you in very high regard. Your objectivity, and your intelligence are a few of the reasons why. Users like you result in a lot less flaming. And please take that as a well deserved compliment. I think that it may be time to let this thread die and float away, so that we can get back to what we like to do, which is design routes and share and enjoy them. Now that my move to New York State is done, I hope I can get the CalCoast back on ummm track. CheersI'm sorry...do the voices in my head bother you too?

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