General Frustration with MRA

[Greenham]

I am a life GOLD user that is frustrated with MRA. When I first started using it, I found it very user friendly and the routing intuitive and comprehensive. I watched all of Serg's video's and became quite comfortable with all of the features.

You quickly learn though that the shortcoming of MRA isn't the app. It's the use of the maps that you produce. Specifically getting a well done map from MRA and into my Garmin device is not nearly as useful as the app.

Rather than work of the true foundation of the app (NAVIGATION) and getting shaping points, waypoints, POI to work with the worlds largest MFG of GPS hardware, the folks at MRA decided to spend their time creating a useless video feature.

Should you decide to try to get support good luck. I put a trouble ticket in with a duration problem. The MRA route would show a trip duration almost exactly 2x as long as the trip actually took. I even fell for the ALL in ONE trick. I bought a years worth of Navigation app. Bugs galore, oddities and just plain average at best.

Now they promise the "opening of the comono" and sharing with the users the future of the program. It said NOTHING. You said you are getting 100 new users a day @ $30 USD that's $3,000/day. $21,000/Week and over ONE MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR . This app and it's subsequent failure to translate to fully functional useable routes, at least on my Garmin Zumo 396.

I get and use the tracks/trip build to get them on the Zumo but that isn't using the feature rich capabilities of the unit.

So please... Stop with the excuses of workload and infrastructure. Stop with the development of ancillary non navigation related "features" and figure out how to make the app use ALL THE FEATURES OF GPS HARDWARE

[Stefan Hummelink]

@Greenham Hi Greenham, it seems you're not satisfied with MRA, far from it.

What I don't get is your problems or issues with the routes? You mention that making decent routes and getting them to you Garmin is troublesome? I don't get it since there are many users on this forum that so utilize Garmin devices and have no issues as for as I know.

Can you come up with examples or maybe even example routes that are causing you trouble?

By the way: MRA is a routeplanner which shall never facilitate all different specialty perks of hardware devices. Simply impossible to do so. What it does, is offer a platform for the user to create routes in 3 different routing algorithms (TomTom, Garmin and OSM). Go try that with Garmin Basecamp!

By the way: as for as I know, the shaping points and via points are now functioning for those GPS devices that use those! Note that only Garmin uses that functionality.

[Will Brooks]

Hi Greenham

What exactly is the issue with the mapping? I couldn't really work out what you are having problems with.

I too am a life Gold user and if anything I have found that MRA has improved and got better in that time. I had some frustration with the recent changes of icons, but that really was just I hadn't got used to them yet!

You suggest that, for you, MRA doesn't work well with Garmin devices for shaping points, waypoints and POIs.

All I can say is I have a Zumo XT and MRA works flawlessly with it. I can design a route and export it and with the recent update choose which points are Via points and which are Shaping points.

If you could be more specific about your issues, others may be able to help resolve them for you.

[Nick Carthew]

@StefanHummelink Shaping points and via points also work with MRA Navigation

[Stefan Hummelink]

@Nick-Carthew not yet in the Android version? I still see regular waypoints instead of shaping points (hands) in my Navigation app.
RP 1 and 72 are shaping points (hands) in my route but just regular WP in MRA Navigation...

But let's not highjack this thread with MRA Navigation posts . TS is concerned with Garmin hehe

[Drabslab]

@Greenham Boy, you seem very unhappy.

Strange, I am not the easiest customer around, certainly not when it comes to anything software related but I am very happy with MRA. I've driven around a large part of Europe on routes made with MRA (and using a TomTom GPS) and it never let me down so far.

I agree with the vidoeo feature. There is however no obligation to use it, so it is a small problem really and some other folks seem to like it a lot.
I also agree that their support can be improved (desperately trying to remain polite here) but diagree with some of your other comments.

First, you seem nto really acquainted with using the MRA routyeplanner. For instance, you are not making maps with MRA, you are making a route that afterwards you can download to your Garmin. When making a route you must take care that you are using the same map as your device is using. Using the TomTom map and then download to a Garmin is askign for trouble unless when you use the quite useful MRA "route comparison" feature.

For a company like MRA it is impossible to accomodate all the features and oddities of all GPS devices on the market. Other tools such as Basecamp have it easier in this respect because it only follows the development path of one GPS device producer. Still, Basecamp is not at all able to compete with MRA for features.

Finally, maybe you could document all these galoring bugs, oddities and other averages on this forum. Some folks here are quite helpfull and could point you towards solutions, and/or the development team could use them as inspiration to improve the software.

[MyRoute-app community]

Hi Greenham, you're clearly upset. That said I also find it rather hard to follow your entire train of thought throughout your argument, but I'll try to distill some of your comments, complaints and thoughts in a respectable and coherent response. If you decide to answer, I expect the same in return.

Your main point seems to be that MRA Navigation hasn't received enough attention. While that might have been true for a long time, that's no longer the case. Yes, the iOS version of the app suffers from occasional stutters but over the past few weeks we've deployed a major overhaul for the app that significantly improves stability and performance. The entire core of the app that handles Navigation was rewritten. In addition, shaping points, via points and POI's are being implemented as we speak. If you don't believe me: there's a closed beta testing group that's currently testing this version. If you want I could sign you up for it, but note that this will override your main MRA Navigation (stable) version. That's also the reason why our testing group isn't public.

As for MRA Video, we've said it several times and rehearsed it here as well: especially because people have massively turned out to tell us MRA Navigation and MRA Routeplanner should be our focus, we've shifted the main focus there. We remain committed to further expanding on the social features of MRA Video in the future though. MRA Routeplanner and MRA Navigation are our focus; I believe that this aligns with what you expect us to do.

Regarding your comment on shaping and via points not being available: perhaps you've not found them yet. You can now turn waypoints into either a shaping or via point that's compatible both with Garmin. As I said, an update for MRA Navigation is in the works.

Finally a very big accusation is that we're making one million dollars a year for every 100 users. That would be true if they were all members with an annual subscription. I'd like to point out that such accusations are very damaging for our reputation and would only be fair if they'd be based on facts. Note that this is not the case. Over 95% of MRA Routeplanner users is using the free of charge basic membership. In addition: a large portion of the GOLD members are lifetime members like yourself: this means a one-time payment. In addition, the growth we're so happy with is usually seasonal: that's the period where people start riding their bikes or cars. We share this with the community because we find it relevant to let you know that there is growth in the community.

Overall I'd invite you to share your thoughts with me on what could be communicated better and perhaps some thoughts of your own, as to what you thing is missing right now. We've got an entire Roadmap planned out full of features that were literally voted on by the community.

[Greenham]

HAHAHA II knew I would draw the anger of the flock when I posted this. And sure enough it's there as 6 of you took the time to tell me how wrong I am.

I'll admit that I may just be missing additional education about shaping and way points. I looked and looked through the forums and the FAQ's looking for the information. All I could find was a vague reference to the Garmin Zumo XT. I have a few dozen routes I did it MRA, yet when I import them into my Zumo 396 I don't get/see any shaping or waypoints. AGAIN I am willing to admit it may be me. I'm an IT guy by trade so technical tools can usually be figured out fairly quickly. I can't find how I get those shaping points/waypoints that ANNOUNCE the next turn.

I really don't care about the video feature and my point wasn't using it or not using it, it was the choice by MRA to dedicate resources to that rather than the core purpose of the tool ROUTE PLANNING.

All this has been interesting conversation, but I have opened tickets that seem to go to a black hole. That isn't a user error thats a company failure.

While I did use MRA Navigation I stopped using it/paying for it as I didn't see the value compared to an expensive Garmin device.

Finally, it shouldn't be much of a surprise to any of you that took the time to point out MY failures to understand I was less than excited. Hence the TITLE FRUSTRATED. Not unhappy. Not Mad. Frustrated... I remain so. But I will concede that the frustration may be more shared (me and MRA) than just MRA.

If one of you fine experts could point me to the ability to add/include shaping/waypoints to my Garmin Zumo 396 I would be most thankful

[Stefan Hummelink]

@Greenham "If one of you fine experts..." left me speechless for a second.

Addressing people, who were all willing to help you out from the getgo, in such a cynical manner and still expecting them to aid further, is just childish man... That's not how adult conversations play out... at least, not where I come from. No need to insult.

Nevertheless, here is one On-Topic response:
I see you mention "dozens of routes you already made" and it seems that you expect them to have shaping and via points automatically (after the launch of this functionality), which simply is not correct. You shall edit every existing route, and change the regular waypoints to viapoints through the waypoint menu if you need viapoints in that specific route. (Click the icon in the waypoint menu per waypoint that shall become viapoint).

I cannot assist you any further regarding the actual Garmin stuff, but only with general MRA matters.

[Drabslab]

@Greenham

This is a simple community of people who use the same tool to navigate and travel, share idea's and interesting routes, and where possible try to help one another. It works fairly well, and it is fairly unique that it is sponsored by a commercial endeavour that finds "community" really important.

It is very easy to take advantage of a constructive attitude. It is even more easy to misread answers and claim a "victory" for making people angry, even when hat supposed anger only exists in your own imagination.

Anyway, as an "IT guy by trade" it must be very easy for you to figure out the basics on your own. Good luck.

[Will Brooks]

@Greenham Ok so here's how you change between Via and Shaping points in MRA. Click on the route point to bring up the box then click on the 3 dots (more options) button and then click on the "Hand" button (4th button on the second row) to change a Shaping point (which will show as a bubble route point) into a Via point (shown as a hand route point) - See the attached picture in which RP6 is currently a shaping point and has the options box up ready to change to a Via point and RP7 is already set as a Via point. To change a Via point to a Shaping point is vice versa. Also remember that for a Garmin device to recognise shaping points you need to use GPX1.1 as GPX1.0 files do not support shaping points. Hope this helps.

[Greenham]

@Will-Brooks Thank you for the help.