I have a too long experience in games vs piracy.
I´m think that piracy is not that hudge problem as some companies say.
I fully understand some actions when some people steal/play ilegal copy game.
Some have good reason some not.
If there is discovered good game protection as like Starforce players cry and try boycot game.
As i am older and see what games are maked and how most games have low quality im thinked this.

Make game protection as online protection – that mean make account and need connect to server. It works on online games, but not games that played singleplayer.

Piracy will be there from near gaming begining how raice players population.
I say that Piracy is natural force and it is on development team how understand and coexistence with this problem.

There is raising numbers when players buy game based on references and buyed rewievs. And those players are unhapy with purchase and like want money back. There isn´t time play – somoe find it on begin game play somoe after finish game.

Loot people use pirated versions for try. But it is bad if there are people that say why i pay for game when i have easily pirated version and nothing pay. This is realy bad thik and i hate those people. And make piracy serious problem.

I suggest example for this game and for all dew teams too:
1) Use implement some internal game monitor for all people that have active internet conection. And monitor how many game copies are ilegal and how many are legal.
It is realy good tool that say about your product how good it is in market and in eyes of players.
But do nothing against pirated versions. Sometimes some dews use ingame bugs that are occur in ilegal version game but sometimes there come error and that bug is in legal version too.
Any protections cost some extra money but Cracking teams able mostly realy quickly to evade and crack it.
Any tryes to stop pirates or punishment is not working and not bring you more solded copies. That is most false argument. It make only tense on market.

2) As i see market then realy good maked games not have any fear from pirates and most people buy their game and some buy later after ilegal version play.
Make game and mainly good game need hard work. It is also sad in this hardly damaged gaming industry, that good game not mean every time selling success. :/ And loot good games are still stay away after marketing masage those “AAA” titles. :/

3) Build and take much care on your comunity fans and if there are posibilities of moding then be help those moders. Make better forums for those moders and mods to be easily acessible and clearly find corect mods and see also good pictures and descriptions from these mods.
For every dev teams must be priority care about their fans, make pools, listen their complains (not all but loot, i know that some complains and ideas are out of normal mind and not bring to game better)
I´m still think that game fans if game is good never let developers drop down and help them in suporting their games.

4) Paying player for your game is not only money for you, but it is also parthner for you and for future.
If you bring him good game, fun, support, he might bring for you hard work a favor back later and for future.
Like exanple – Larian studios and Divinity Original Sin or Witcher 3 and preorder numbers.

About your game:

Sometimes i see that somoe thing this game is awesome, but in my eyes is only lack of knowledge or poor demands.
When i see gameplays and some mooded gameplays i wonder about many things.

1) You have relatively good game engine, but im think not fully use posibilities for this game.
2) I am fan of real railroads and seek game where i can have stations and stops like in real.
I mean Post/Passenger stations only, cargo stations and mixed stations.
I like if i able build in game station that have 6 pasenger tracks and 4 cargo. Or smal stations that have 5 tracks and one or two track for unload and load cargo that are blinded and only one way accessible.
3) There is need more crossroads option like x on double layed track. And that able on relatively small place from 2 track connection at one side to station with 7 tracks and end 2 track and single track end example for city train trafic coverage or for cargo.
4) I most like european traffic and mainly like have czech traffic, im think that czechs and germans are in trains most interested nation on the world. When i look on model trains.
Im think why not set some small financial reward for moders if they make whole car parks you pay them for theyir work after you check if all is ok and you can implement to game. That small financial reward is only for purpose that they try start work harder and make those complete mods faster and realy finish them and not leave at half work.
5) There i saw some terrain problems mainly in cities, i like see example when city is in hilly terrain, then able train station and track like higher and able build them in middle city and build street tunels under train tracks crossroads.
6) This game look be an eye candy, and then why not implement front train or vehicle camera and also back and some side wide view from wagon example choose middle wagon as pasenger and watch ride in train that have many stations and ride from one side map to another.

I still hope that you bring some of these ideas that i writed there and implement them in game. Than start work on example for Train fever 2. Or start work on Train fever 2 and bring more fun and candy eye for playrers and i am think you able be more success in sells that in Trainfever One.
Or in my opinion implement/add in this version trainfever special patch or call it Train fever complete.
And before implement speak with players, make voting pools and decide what and how implement additions into game and how many players agree or not agree. And when your work be done, then for all playres that already buyed your game then receive this for special small price and all other for full price as new game.

When i look on Facebook Trainstation i never imagine that it can reach half million playrers.
And that bring me things that there is still space for some good train game for facebook where you make free2play and players buy special currency or items in game.

Good luck.

“If the pirated game works perfectly well, why buy it? When I think back, I saw little incentive in buying games which I could just copy from a friend’s (copy of a friend’s copy of…) Why would I “want to own it” when I already do?”

For the exact same reason that Kickstarter works. Some people (I admit, not all, it seems) are aware that it takes money to develop the next game.

Personally, I buy games when can afford to do so. When I can’t, I acquire them through other means. My own personal money situation is always up and down, and I suspect there are many that are in similar situations, and you’re right, we wouldn’t have bought the game if it wasn’t available through other means. When your financial situation is down to deciding between Train Fever and surgery (yep, I’m American), there’s really no decision, is there? And when you can play Train Fever AND get your surgery, instead of simply not playing Train Fever, then well, that’s what you’re going to do. When choosing between situation A, where I get to play the game and the developer makes no money, or situation B, where I DON’T get to play the game and the developer makes no money, and those are the only possible situations, I’m going to chose B, and it has nothing to do with entitlement or greed or anything else. It’s just being rational.

Luckily, my own money situation has stabilized considerably, and I take pride in saying that I’ve been able to afford to buy quite a few games recently, mostly when on sale, and almost exclusively from independent developers. I bought Train Fever because I’ve been in love with Railroad Tycoon (most of them) from the original, which I played on a Tandy 1000 EX, and Train Fever seems to be the only game that is trying to continue that genre, which has so, so much promise in our current gaming age. To be honest, I haven’t even played Train Fever yet.

I don’t remember if I bought it on sale. I think I did because it went on sale while I was still all about Rebel Galaxy. But at the sub $30 price point, I’m going to buy a game if I can afford it and I really want to play it. I’m not going to wait on a sale, though I will put things on my wishlist that I know I will eventually want to play, in hopes of getting them on sale before I really get the strong urge to give it a try. If the game is one that’s not so centered in my preferred genres (such as TF), but it still looks interesting, then that price point drops to about $20.

All of that said, there are certain companies that I will not pay, period. EA is the big one, but Ubisoft is trying awfully hard to convince me to put them on that list. I’m not saying I won’t play their games, but I certainly wouldn’t pay much for them.

Then there are some developers that I will buy at full price (again, when I can afford it), just because of how awesome I perceive them to be. Stardock is one of those, as is CD Projekt RED. Your views on DRM just might put you on that list as well, though I guess that depends on how much I actually enjoy Train Fever!

But that works only on some games. If the pirated game works perfectly well, why buy it? When I think back, I saw little incentive in buying games which I could just copy from a friend’s (copy of a friend’s copy of…) Why would I “want to own it” when I already do?

Now, I certainly won’t advocate ever stricter DRM. But I think that this view looks at the issue with very rose-tinted glasses.

Borrowing a (bought) game from someone you know is something different. That’s not piracy. Yes, modern publishers want to prohibit lending and re-selling by binding games to accounts and similar measures, and they’re largely succeeding thanks to Steam. But it’s still not piracy. I see little reason why I should adopt that view.

Oh how cute of you. What if the game never receives the free weekend? What if you still didn’t save the money for the game? Modern solutions suck really bad.

With Steam you can have DRM free games with out using the client once it is installed depending on the dev.

If game is good, people will tell to others about that game, then people who can see advantage on Steam (updates, etc) would buy game. Even players who pirated could buy legal version, just to support developers.

Christian (commented before me), that he has turned into collector. I have noticed same from me, also I noticed several years ago that all pirates are really not “players” of games, they just collect many games because it is possible. I’m really sure that ‘collecting’ stuff is written into humans DNA (some like to collect music, stamps, games, programs). But all people has no money to do it.
If you look ‘standard’ pirate, I’m quite sure that person probably does not have steady income, but mostly those are students.

I have over 1500 games on my Steam account, 22 on uplay, about 100 on origin, about 50 on origin. I have bought hundreds of ‘bundles’ (humble bundle, etc). I have several hundreds of dual copies. I have even couple steam accounts so I could activate my secondary keys.

And yet, I play only some of those games. I have several hundreds of games that I haven’t played at all. I wish I could, but I know for sure that I don’t.

Best games are from developers who could understand their community. Loyal community will be really important asset that developers could have, those are players who will buy every DLC there is, they will provide new ideas how to evolve game to better. And they will tell all their friends that how great that game is.
(But even they could get angry if they are ignored and “molested”.. Like what happened on Payday 2)

I haven’t been playing Train Fever for long time, I was starting to replay it today. But I wanted to see what is situation (updates) in game now. It was delight to see that there has been updates, so developers has not forgotten this game, but it has future.
Also I did noticed that steam reviews was ‘mixed’, but reason seems to be quite price. Also problem is that so many reflects this game to ‘transport tycoon’ which is not all off.

I so much want to see this game to have future, probably as in Train Fever 2.

Same for me, I turned into a collector… more and more.
I used cracked versions of games when I was young, but since at leat 15 years I always buy my games. I love to use steam, with all it disadvantages, but it allows me to browse through my games without the need to go to all the boxes in a shelf.
Additional you can look into screenshots and videos to remember what a game is about, and you are always getting latest updates, workshop content, etc.

Regarding steam sales activities…
I believe you should participate in all sales activities. Many people just browse through the games which are on sale. Also on my whishlist I look only on that… sometimes just 10% discount pushes me to buy a game, just because I recognized the game only because of the discount.

We, my wife and myself, also sale digital products, and each Sale boost the numbers.

Regarding keeping Sales numbers up:
Most important: You must maintain your products, add new DLCs, new Updates, something. Keep the product site (especially Steam, but not only) alive and updated frequently. For me, it is an important argument to buy or not buy an older game. If I can see, that the game is well supported by the developer, I also buy older games.

Continue your good work.
All the best and thanks for the insides…
Christian

PS: I have a legal copy of the game.