Railmaster next update

[Fireman_Ian]

The number will diminish as old age takes it's toll.

[HornbyRailMasterSupport]

Christmas shopping in August ... okay.

You can tell your wife that she can buy you the Pro-Pack upgrade for you for Christmas.

It will be released well before Warley.

There will also be an accompanying update to the hand-held app.

Just a little more patience.  We want to ensure it is right as a lot of sophisticated new features have gone into this update.

[RB51]

Well Dodge - that has to be one of the funniest posts I have read on here for a long time. And what a good "arm bender" - to get such a quick reponse from Hornby. And well done Hornby for joining in the fun. Look forward to more news as and when. R-

[Fishmanoz]

Hi HRMS, good topic to come in on. As the modeller said to his mate, the next upgrade to RM is coming. So is Christmas, replied his mate. 

You have a few month's wriggle room though,  good luck. 

[SHEDINGTON]

Oh well at least it wasn't Shortly

now been to doc's says I'm suffering CDS ..... Customer Disatifaction Syndrome ......2 Valium twice a day for eternity maybe longer and 6 weeks counciling, maybe it will help with the nervous twitch I've developed, also 6 sessions of  physiotherapy to get rid of the rounded shoulders and stoop, says it will help with my breathing 

He did suggest change of supplier(which resulted in the crash team attending) or  see a Solicitor one or the other ! 

Both options far tooooooooooooo expensive me thinks 

Wife almost completed Christmas shopping ..... I sitll haven't finished last years yet ! .... still nagging louder and Louder and LOUDER everyday ...." Well have you decided what you want for Christmas YET...!"     at which I end up a gibbering quivering wreck of blood and bone in the corner of the living room ,,,, "mmmmmmm Hornby havn't give us a DATE yet Darling....."                      pass me the Valium 

please except my apologise for not signing in on my first post it's me nerves

Dodge

Keep owt'os rowd

 

 

[Graskie]

Welcome to the forum, Shedington, but, unfortunately, by doing so, you could end up needing even more medication! Some of us are already mad, mad, mad, I say!

[Fishmanoz]

You may think Graskie sounds quite sane, but read his previous 4805 posts and you'll see what he means. 

[RDS]

Is the Pro-Pack being released at the same time as v1.56?

[Yelrow]

RDS, my indications are that  the voice control pack at approx £30, will be buyable through RM, once you have 1.56, and that it is iminent, john 

[gilbo2]

I would imagine that they are also holding back on the release to ensure that the additional hardware is available from China. No point releasing Voice Control and Loco detection software if the hardware is not available. It's good to see more supplies coming through though now, so hopefully soon.

[Yelrow]

Dgilbert, i dont think that loco detection is included in this release, only voice control. john

[gilbo2]

Oh OK, thanks for that John.

That's me not interested in the next release then ;-)

[HornbyRailMasterSupport]

Loco Detection is a separate issue to the next RailMaster 1.56 release.  Loco Detection software features have been built into RailMaster for some time in readiness for the availability of the Loco Detection system hardware.  The Loco Detection hardware, being unique in the way it works, must be patented and fully tested before release so we must wait for this aspect of the system to arrive.  Suffice to say that the only way the wide range of Loco Detection features could be incorporated in software that is on the market means these features have been tested with the relevant hardware and work.

The next RailMaster release (1.56) contains over 100 enhancements so to say "That's me not interested in the next release then" without knowing what is in it is a tad disigenuous.  Your RailMaster system will invite you to update to 1.56 which contains around 60 features free of charge to existing users, with around another 40 available to power users as part of the Pro-Pack optional upgrade.

Even those users who purchased the first iteration of RailMaster over three years ago are benefitting from free updates to the software.  We calculate over 250 enhancements and new features since the original release of 1.21.

[Michael_A]

If we continue to be criticised by Hornby for our open feedback, letting them know our views and frustrations, maybe it is time we left this forum and also took our custom elsewhere?

I am tired of the non customer focused responses on this forum from Hornby Support. Time to learn some customer service skills. A good response to the obvious frustration of CUSTOMERS might start, 'We appreciate your frustration', rather than criticising customers for voicing their frustration!

I appreciate they have their reputation and reputation of their (excellent) products to uphold, but belittling customers does nothing to promote a professional customer focussed business.

[gilbo2]

HRMS, we are all entitled to our opinioins and voice control is not a key driver for me to upgrade and to be fair was said tonge in cheek from my side anyway.

We know there are more features coming but you tend to be sensitive to those discussions ;-)

[walkingthedog]

Maybe they just don't want to let the cat out of the bag. 

Just suppose they list all the improvements that will be in the update and one of them doesn't work as well as it should. They could then hold that back and release the update without it and you would be none the wiser. 

If they tell you what is coming and then have to hold one item back you'll all start jumping up and down complaining, and don't say you won't because this forum is full of such threads. 

Hornby is the only model railway company in the UK that gives us a free forum. It's supposed to be for us to discuss things and it's only since the revamp that there is a place to contact Hornby with ideas. They are not a huge company employing thousands of staff, they make a lot of products, not just trains, just enjoy the hobby for heavens sake and keep your toys in the pram.

[RDS]

@HRMS

Thank you for your reply and further information about what is included / not included.

I was very disappointed to read the 2 rather negative replies to your latest post but I am sure that the more regular and established members on the forum appreciate the efforts your team are putting into RailMaster Support.  I know I do!

[gilbo2]

RDS, with respect you have missed what's happened here. The tone in the post almost instantly disengaged two customers and triggered the negative reaction. You only have to read some of my earlier posts praising RailMaster and its programming features to realise how quickly things can go wrong even for loyal customers in forums. The contribution of “regular” posters is not relevant in this discussion so please lets not create a “click” based on post counts, this will be damaging to forum.

 

So on a constructive note, what could have been written instead? I have reworded the same post below to ensure customer engagement without causing offence, whilst saying the same thing...

...

With the imminent* release of the next RailMaster release (1.56), it will contain over 100 enhancements, most of which are in addition to the new Voice Control system. This ensures that the RailMaster experience for all our customers will be dramatically enhanced. Your RailMaster system will invite you to update to 1.56 which contains around 60 features free of charge to existing users, with around another 40 available to power users as part of the Pro-Pack optional upgrade.

Users who purchased the first iteration of RailMaster over three years are also eligible for this free upgrade and option to purchase the Pro-Pack.

We are therefore confident that this upgrade will represent tremendous value to all our existing and new RailMaster users.

Loco Detection is also in the final phases of development and patent approval due to its unique design by Hornby. This will be released separately, later in the year.

* word quoted from another HRMS post last week.

.......

 

[Fishmanoz]

Just catching up on this exchange on Monday morning in Oz. May I add a couple of things:

- first, thanks again to HRMS for the very valuable contributions to this forum, we are all the better off for them. The exchange on recent topics has been excellent, from the technical understanding perspective particularly. This topic included. 

- we all remember that the hospital would run so much better if it weren't for the pesky patients. But we are all human and sometimes we get a little grumpy. Even if we are grumpy, it would be best not to forget that respect word IMHO - and keep the toys in the pram as WTD put it so well. 

Enough moralising, back to enjoying the hobby that brought us here in the first place. 

[Deltic_Malc]

I've got agree, I'm out i'm afraid. I'll spend more money on a competitor but at least i'll get the detection. Elink going on ebay, sorry to say.

[Michael_A]

Grr. I spent ages typing then got logged out! OK, here we go again....

RDS, as customers I think we are entitled to assume Hornby support their customers, which, in the main they do. And a customer is a customer, irrespective of how often they post on a forum.  When I were a lad there was a saying: The customer is always right.  While I don't actually agree fully with that sentiment, the customer should be held in high regard by a supplier.

Back on topic, I think we have to be patient and wait for the release. I think we can only decide then whether the additional functionality is what we want and, dependant on price, then decide whether we want to pay for it. Of course, like any software we shouldn’t have to pay for bug fixes, but I would hope Hornby wouldn't do that. Personally I would rather wait for the tasty ripe banana than buy a green one, that then has to be updated and fixed. We are often victims of products being released too soon, and I do feel a bit for Hornby here. First of all patenting does take an age, and then they are in a no win situation. If they release the product and it has bugs, then customers will not be happy, however, customers are still not happy at the wait. It is hard to get the right balance.

Deltic Malc, without bespoke standalone products, I didn't think anyone else did loco detection as an integral part of their DCC offering? And although we don’t know the price yet, I do expect Hornby’s price will be very competitive. Much as I hate to admit it, RailMaster and e-link is a bargain (Well, except for the fact you can only run it on one PC at a time without paying an extra 60 quid or so, I find that a bit frustrating, especially when you look at the cost of the RM/e-link package, but you can kind of see why)

[idlemarvel]

I'm prepared to wait.  There is no other product anywhere near the value / price performance that Hornby provide with RM and elink (less than £85 RRP).  No other manufacturer provides the whole picture (controller, decoders, computer interface, cab control, signal and point control, decoder programming, etc).  They may not be the best individually but collectively it's a pretty good setup.  Agreed if you want detection now you have to go elsewhere, but be prepared for a lot of "product integration", manual reading and googling to get things to work.  You may not like RM interface but it is the acme of user friendliness compared to some of the freeware offerings, I know I've tried.  The next release is not far away now, so enjoy the unBritish summer we're having and by the time the wind rain and snow comes it'll be here.  (Apologies to non-English readers!).

Cheers Dave

[Michael_A]

I think maybe I need to remeber that sometimes. For the money, it aint all that bad! I just wish sometimes they didnt build something in that doesnt actually work properly (see my post on speed calibration) Raises hopes and expectations, then dissapoints when it doesnt do what you expect. The new release it seems will fix that utilising loco detection, though it is a very lengthy process, an hour per loco.

[Augustus Caesar]

You know... since the dawn of time people have been griping about this not working and that not working... back in the days of mud laden valleys where all you could use to make a tool was either wood or stone I bet folk complained that the stone was too round or not squared off properly. Next thing they knew the maker or crafter of that stone was being sued for breach of contract...!

Nothing changes does it? Look, instead of worrying about when an update is going to arrive and how late it is it would be better to thank our lucky stars we have a company at all still in business that can produce these things for us. Yes, I know times are hard for Hornby (and us - yes!) but, if we were running this company and had the plethora of problems they have had then WE would be saying the same things as they are. Imminence is better than not at all. Waiting for a few extra weeks looking at the larger picture is really nothing. Distribution issues, manufacturer issues, shipping problems... so what. The company is small enough to not lose far too much of its investment in China or wherever but is large enough and clever enough to seek out new horizons when problems arise and not hang around like others do and then lose everything in the hope that things will get better.

I am not protecting Hornby, their name, reputation or stance on anything they post here but I am taking a broad view and one we really must all take and that is it will arrive when ready.

There is NO way on earth I would release a product that is not ready and nor would I bow to any pressure to release a date for it to go on sale when I have no idea if the product is patented or ready for purpose. The latter two are important issues for a company. If they sell and the item is not patented then others can copy or steal that idea for their own devices. If the product is not ready for purpose then they can be caught for hundreds if not thousands of pounds putting the item right. They cannot afford that and it is remiss of us to think they can. Software is written by 'experts' and they cost money... lots of it. Yes, Hornby'll have a say in what gets fixed for free if something goes wrong but the very nature of software development means that not all programs can be written and not have bugs in them.

Think about this one just for a brief moment... over the years that companies have written software for any PC, gaming machine, phone, tablet etc... how many of those programs, in percentage terms, do you think have been bug free?

Extremely few of them and probably far less than 5%. There is ALWAYS a bug in a program and it's just that ONE bug that causes ONE person to have a nightmare and others who will NEVER even come across it.

Let's wait and be patient... it is hard I know but it'll be worth it in the end. When I try and read into what Hornby have planned for future releases, and some of my reasoning is guesswork of course, I can see this hardware developing to higher elevations than we currently think... watch this space!!!

[RB51]

As someone who hardly comments on this subject and who is fed up reading short tempered posts about the release of this product's next enhancement - all I wanted to say this morning was HEAR HEAR Augustus Ceasar. R-