Revision as of 13:43, 29 April 2015

Auran typically maintain support for major product releases for four years from the initial release date. This is known as the "end-of-support" date for the product. Support includes the following areas:

• Product-specific information, downloads, and utilities on the Auran web site.
• Product assistance through the Auran Helpdesk.
• Maintenance of product-specific forums.
• Access to the Download Station.
• Access to upload content to the Download Station
• Access to the iTrainz network.
• Access to other product-specific network services.

After the end-of-support date for a given product release, some or all of the above services may be immediately withdrawn at Auran's discretion. Any services which remain active may be withdrawn at any time thereafter. Users are encouraged to upgrade to a more recent version of Trainz to maintain support.

End-of-support Dates

The following end-of-support dates are formally acknowledged.

Q&A

Q: Will the named products continue to operate after the listed end-of-support date?

A: We will do nothing specific to prevent the products from operating. However, if they were to stop working for some reason (for example, they were found to be incompatible with the latest Windows Operating System) we would not take any steps to resolve the issue. Additionally, any product features which rely on server support (for example, in-game Download Station access or iTrainz) may cease functioning correctly.

Q: Can I still access the Download Station after the end-of-support date?

A: Access granted to you by the unsupported product may be terminated. If you have purchased access through other means (newer products, First Class Ticket, etc.) then your access will continue thanks to these products.

Q: Can I still access the Download Station from within Trainz, Trainz Helper, or Content Manager after the end-of-support date?

A: Access to our servers from an unsupported product is not guaranteed, regardless of your level of Download Station access. You may need to download the content separately and then manually move it into the unsupported Trainz installation.

Q: Will the Download Station continue to host content for Trainz editions beyond their end-of-support date?

A: We will not immediately remove older content from the Download Station, as newer editions of Trainz can still use this content.

Q: Will I be able to upload old-format content to the Download Station?

A: New uploads to the Download Station must be in a format no older than our oldest supported product. Attempts to upload content with a trainz-build number lower than our oldest supported product will be rejected. This ensures that legacy formats are cleanly phased out over time.

Q: Will my Lifetime First Class Ticket continue to operate if all my registered products are beyond their end-of-support date?

A: Yes, we will ensure that all users who have a right to Download Station access can continue to download content. The specific techniques required to download content may change. At the current time, we offer support for using an FCT with the DLS web site to manually download content. We do not offer support for using an FCT with Content Manager (or similar) in an unsupported product. We do not offer support for installing manually-downloaded content into an unsupported product.

Q: I recently bought a copy of an unsupported product. Will you give support?

A: No. We will not sell products which are nearing the end-of-support date. It may be possible to purchase such a product from a third party through a bargain-bin outlet or similar, however we can not offer support for these products. We expect that the product will continue to operate as normal, and hope that you enjoy your experience with the product will be sufficiently enjoyable that you'll decide to upgrade to one of our supported products.

Q: My only Trainz product will shortly become unsupported. Will my forum access be removed?

A: No. We're not in the business of kicking our loyal users out of the community. We really think it would be beneficial if you upgraded to a supported version of Trainz, but that's a decision that you'll have to make. The product-specific forum may be removed, but your overall forum access will remain valid.

Q: Will the Download Station website be removed?

A: The Download Station website is not tied to a specific product. Our plans for this website are not affected by the end-of-support for any specific Trainz product. Your access to the Download Station is conditional upon having a supported product or other form of access such as a First Class Ticket. We expect to continue support and development of our web services indefinitely, although the exact form of these services may change over time.