Bill "styckx" has left the room

Not sure how many of you follow Styckx's blog, but he just announced that he has up and left RWA.
http://notch8.blogspot.com/2011/12/why-why-why.html

I can see Bill's point, but he is going about this all wrong. I am still roiling mad about this, but I will try to express myself in clear manner.

Who was it that helped me get into repaints (his tutorials are here in RWA)?
Bill

Who was it that showed of fantastic in game shots and made me think "I can make my route like that"?
Bill

Who was it that gave us a laugh when the thread needed it?
Bill

There are countless other things that Bill has done for us and more to the point, all of my work with the exception of the repaints for the RWA donationware (because I want to support this site) has been and will be freeware, but it all started with Bill. If he hadn't been there I may have been flailing around longer, which gets to my final point. Bill was here when someone (because I know he inspired others) in the community needed his talent, now he is complaining about "balance".

HEY BILL, YOU JUST TIPPED THE SCALES TO PAYWARE!

What Bill should have done is set up shop here and teach more people how to get into creating great freeware products. Instead of complaining about it, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

And here is where I put my money where my mouth is. I too am trying to bring this balance around, so I made my own blog site and put up tutorials of things that I felt would help people.

Finally:

Kali, GreatNortherner, SMMDigital, KCJones, MadMike, and I am sure that I am missing others I apologize. Thanks for teaching me how to repaint, weather, create models, script, AND HAVE FUN with trains.

Update (2012-07-20): Looks like Bill pulled everything... I dislike that. I also though he would do something like this and prepared for it. Here is his post in its entirety:

Why why why

I wanted to write why I am divorcing the U.S. community. Call it selfish if you want, but it is because of a minority taking advantage of a community despretely in need of an identity.

I'm going to skip story telling and get right to the point. The payware parade is disgusting. The U.S. community needs every bit of contributions for it to grow, attract new developers and succeed. More and more all I see is "pay me".

Lets role play here.. Pretend for a minute you are a new user, just got TS 2012 and want some new cool scenarios for HSC and in return you get pummeled with links and sales pitches to payware scenario packs.

Just like this guy: http://railworksamerica.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=4141

He was brutally attacked by money grabbing greed and for a community desperate for anything to make the U.S. market succeed it is disgusting to see this. I checked the RWA file library and there is ONE.. Not 10, 20, 30... ONE HSC scenario and it is only AI demo. Meanwhile 3 different payware vendors are pitching HSC scenario packs. So.. The best route RSC ever produced, the one route that had endless compliments and praise is immediately looked at as a cash cow for the same people who wanted a route like this. Nevermind giving back to the community at all.. Just hold out your hand and say "pay me".

How about a payware vendor selling a $6.00 scenario pack for another developers freeware route?  Yep one of those exists for Bay Of Quinte. It is a freeware route developed by a teenager. He gave it away for free and has been quoted numerous times that he never once intended to make a dime off it. So how the hell can anyone write up scenarios for it and have the balls to stick a price on them also? Disgusting. I don't even care if he gave you permission. Do you have no morals? You completely, miserably and utterly missed the entire point of why this was freeware in the first place.

Let us mosey on over to another popular route. The NEC. There are two entire scenarios on RWA for it.. And one of them is a god damn demo with the purpose of getting you to purchase a payware scenario pack. Which there are multiples of. So again. Buy the route, those capable of writing scenarios just think with their wallets and sell them.

Another guy who had a freeware route a year ago decided to add some lights to it, some new scenery, take down the free version and replace it with a newer one complete with a price tag. To no surprise he is also selling a payware scenario pack that costs more than the route he is selling.

The UK isn't without payware vendors either but the differences are many. LOOK AT THEIR FILE LIBRARY. It is brimming with freeware to your hearts delight. There is something called "balance" there. There is something called a true community who even though fight sometimes are ultimately striving to make the community grow and succeed as a whole and not just key indivuals trying to make a buck. There is a lot of wealth spreading. So if someone pitches a UK scenario pack it isn't as insulting since you actually have a choice. Hit the file library and grab a bunch of freebies or pay the vendor.

I repaint, so do others. By no means do I consider my repaints even good, or the holy Grail of repaints but I and others spend countless hours, 24+ hours on average painting these. And you know what? We are expected.. Not hopeful of. EXPECTED to give them away asap. More often than not we also get a laundry list of livery requests. Which I admittely usually dismissed or got so annoyed with seeing I just stopped repainting.

So.. In a new U.S. community who a few have loudly progressed into nickel and diming everyone I am leaving. I could site more examples but I really feel at this point my point has been made. It sucks for those I like talking to and those who enjoyed my work and that I helped with problems but I utterly refuse to contribute a single ounce more to the growing greed a select few who flooded my beloved homeland with greed and I am sorry.

Bill