[James Ross]

sergio, on 17 November 2018 - 04:28 AM, said:

Why not migrating OR to steam, since this game dont have any content when downloaded we could use steam workshop for this purpose (like dovetail train simulator).
We could get mutch more users interacting and developing more content.
For me this game seams like "garry's mod" but for trains. When i play this game i always experiment new content (trains and routes).

We certainly need a better story for people to get content; to that end, we have a Publishing and Downloading Content blueprint (proposal) in the works and, as others have noticed, some content partner promotions on the Open Rails homepage (they both include OR 1.3).

EricF, on 01 December 2018 - 05:39 AM, said:

As for Steam, I don't know if it's a good fit for ORTS or not. Given that train simulators are a rather niche hobby, Steam may not offer much of an advantage in promotion of Open Rails, while costing in terms of distribution on the platform.

My understanding is that there is only a $100 fee to set things up. If we thought that it was a good fit, I'd be more than happy to donate $100 towards Open Rails to put it on Steam. However, I tend to agree that it isn't a great fit.

EricF, on 01 December 2018 - 05:39 AM, said:

What might work better is a means to integrate an optional content distribution system that's tied to the Open Rails website -- or perhaps even better -- a distribution platform definition that's open source and can be built upon by anyone. Make publication of content easy, using a website and RSS. Open Rails would need an internal RSS client and appropriate programming/scripts to handle placing files correctly into their proper folders and making them available to the sim. (Note -- It's not going to happen overnight, especially not until Open Rails file formats are formally defined -- that's still very much a work in progress as the sim moves beyond MSTS.)

I think you've basically described the entire plan we have with the Publishing and Downloading Content blueprint (unfortunately the discussion has been private so far), although I think we're planning to use JSON instead of RSS. Where possible, I am pushing to reuse existing standards, such as SoftwareApplication from Schema.org.

EricF, on 01 December 2018 - 05:39 AM, said:

Allowing multiple sources won't solve the fragmentation problem, but Steam won't solve that either. Yes, Steam has its distribution channel for games and Steam Workshop for game mods, but moddable games can take on mods from outside the Steam ecosystem -- so fragmentation of content sources remains. Look at Euro / American Truck Simulator. Mods are available from many sources beyond Steam, and many modders simply don't want to work within the perceived limits of the Steam Workshop system.

This gets towards the problems I foresee with putting Open Rails on Steam: if you take advantage of any Steam/Steamworks features (cloud sync for saved games, mods, etc.) you still have to support the non-Steam way of doing things, unless you are only on Steam (which is an even worse idea AFAICT).

We simply don't have the resources to take advantage of Steam features while still supporting non-Steam users IMO, which makes Steam less attractive.

EricF, on 01 December 2018 - 05:39 AM, said:

In the end, many distribution points and a common interface inside the Open Rails launcher might be the most workable compromise. At most, the Open Rails volunteers could curate promotion links to content creator's distribution sources in the interface, which would probably just echo a similar page on the ORTS website. It would be up to to the individual user to link or subscribe to the individual source(s).

Chris will correct me if I've got this wrong, but the current plan is that the Open Rails website will be programmed with a list of all content providers, free and paid, which will be aggregated for the website and menu to display. The website and menu would show a clear indication of which content is free vs paid, with filtering to show only free or paid.

No curation of individual items, but we would be in control of which content providers are included. There is also the option in the future of promoting individual content (new releases, seasonal favourites, etc.) if we wanted.

[Hobo]

I don't see a problem with the present OR setup .
I visit TS every day and there are those who ask about OR and there is always someone that gives them the download location and answers just about all questions that are asked about OR .
The people asking are interested in trains and a train simulator not just a " game " .There are some who complain that they can't get information from Elvas about OR but if they are genuinely interested in OR then I imagine that they might actually read the Manual .
Ts has a section for OR where they can ask and get a reply and any needed help . There are many members there that recommend OR to the " first timers " and show them the way to install and what is required etc .
If a Product text is created then I'm quite sure " Simmers " will distribute it to their individual haunts .
I don't think that a lot of them realize they can also access The OR section at Elvas without being a member .
You might be surprised by the number of people using OR at the present time .

[lineman]

here, here Hobo!!

[James Ross]

Hobo, on 01 December 2018 - 02:21 PM, said:

You might be surprised by the number of people using OR at the present time .

We have around 15,000 unique IPs per month doing update checks, excluding any that occur within 24 hours of a download from the same IP. It's hard to know for sure how many people we have using Open Rails (there's no tracking built-in, just the update checks, so it's all guesswork) but that's one number.

[ebnertra000]

I doubt that number would include everyone, as my OR-running computer isn't on the internet, and therefore can't check for updates. I suspect I'm not alone in this regard

[jdgremsjr]

Why would anyone take a great open source project like Open Rails and screw it up with steam. Steam is the total opposite of Open Source. I hate steam with a passion and the reason why I abandoned TS after 2016. again I'm against all SaaS even though most big companies are going that way. I want control of the software I use and want it one my own system without being bogged down by restrictions, Whether it be DRM or otherwise. It is just a terrible, terrible idea for Open Rails.

[shadowmane]

I don't know. An online mode using the Open Rails website seems pretty tempting. The problem, again, would be getting someone to do the upkeep. Then there would be content syncing to deal with.

[R H Steele]

James Ross, on 02 December 2018 - 07:04 AM, said:

We have around 15,000 unique IPs per month doing update checks, excluding any that occur within 24 hours of a download from the same IP. It's hard to know for sure how many people we have using Open Rails (there's no tracking built-in, just the update checks, so it's all guesswork) but that's one number.

I have been using OR since spring of 2013 and never once have used the update feature,so I probably have never been counted. There probably are many users like myself.

[cjakeman]

shadowmane, on 31 December 2018 - 08:37 AM, said:

An online mode using the Open Rails website seems pretty tempting. The problem, again, would be getting someone to do the upkeep. Then there would be content syncing to deal with.

We have a project on the go which uses the Open Rails website to maintain a list of content sources. This content may be free or commercial but must be packaged in a simple way which allows the Open Rails simulator to present a catalogue of content and install a chosen item on command. Think of it like the Apple AppStore or Google PlayStore but without adverts or DRM.

[James Ross]

R H Steele, on 31 December 2018 - 08:47 AM, said:

I have been using OR since spring of 2013 and never once have used the update feature,so I probably have never been counted. There probably are many users like myself.

I personally doubt it's a significant proportion of all Open Rails users, but like I said in the post: it's guesswork, as we cannot ever know for sure.