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Thank You

Started by wgstewartjr, October 17, 2012, 05:42:20 PM

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wgstewartjr

I just wanted to say a massive Thank You to all of the Developers, Contributors, and Moderators to this amazing game.  I have been a Simutrans player for over ten years and come back about once a year to see what I can create with the most current build.  I just 'capped out' this year's city (with the exception of maybe adding a couple of subways) and as I placed my latest Monorail station, I though back to where this program was when was first exposed to it and where we are today. I am in awe to look back and see all of the development that has gone into this project... and all on everyone's free time. 

As an avid fan of Simcity, but getting frustrated with the restrictions and sluggish performance of Simcity 4, I still remember stumbling onto this game on a recommendation from Gamespot in 2003 and my first timid steps  placing a rail depot and assembling my first coal train.  From the days when we only had rails and roads and when a simple rail signal placed at the wrong location would crash the game to... today, when I can combine an airport with multiple runways, a monorail station, a rail station w/choose signal, a long-block signal, three freight stations with independent choose signals, and a subway station into one stop... I mean... it really is just incredible. 

So many things that were said could never be accomplished ten years ago... airplanes, multi-player, underground... and all of the additional tool we have at our disposal to creatively fix problems like choose stations, long signal blocks, trams, terrain tools, ship dock tools... and all SOOO stable!   I have about a thousand vehicles and 150 lines on a standard Pak64 starting map, with a couple of complex stops like I mentioned above and when I press fast forward, I still achieve Time x50 without the program crashing.  I am just a simple accountant, so maybe I don't really know what I am talking about with regards to the engine, but at least from this outsider's perspective.... it feels more polished than full retail releases that don't allow this amount of creativity with this amount stability and performance! 

The amount of content in the wide variety of different paks is also astonishing and represents many dedicated hours from passionate individuals.  Their efforts are clearly demonstrated when real world specs, entry dates, retirement dates, colors, shapes, etc, are coded (as realistic as possible) and then tested and opened to commentary to make sure the every pixel is appropriately aligned in all eight views for every single car that is produced.  Between, comic, hand-drawn, different regions, mars, etc...there is just an incredible amount of variety to the eyes.

The moderators of this board deserve a ton of credit as well because I believe they have set the tone for the culture that has allowed this community to thrive.  It is unsung work to perform the mechanical maintenance on this board, organize the vast amount of information in an efficient and effective manner, and police the tone of the conversation being had.  The fact that this is truly an international community makes this an even more difficult (solely because of different cultural norms and language translation) and an even greater achievement.  If ever the overall tone of the conversation had changed to bickering and demanding (easy to happen over typed messages) I'm sure the developers and contributors would have found a better use of their time long ago.  In the grand scheme of things, I feel this board has always remained civil with a spirit of cooperation and with eyes and ears looking for opportunities to make forward progress.   

It is truly a remarkable accomplishment and I hope all of the Developers, Contributors, and Moderators have been able to step back and, with a ton of pride, see everything they have achieved.  It is really a testament to their dedication and passion for this project.

Thanks again and I look forward to see what is accomplished in the next ten years. 

Sincerely,
Will

Markohs

 Wow, what a beautiful post! I agree on what you wrote.

This is a great community, and that includes of course the players. :)

Thanks for posting this!

IgorEliezer

Thank you and welcome. :D

Fabio

Welcome, wgstewartjr, and thanks for the nice words.

I hope to see you around more than just once a year, though ;)

mEGa

Wow, thank you very much !
It tempts to continue to contribute really !

Current projects in progress : improvements of few designed french paks

Sarlock

Wonderful thank you letter... it's nice to hear something from the fans who are quietly enjoying the game!  (I used to be one until I wanted to become an active part of the game)
Current projects: Pak128 Trees, blender graphics