Just came across this development video for a new train based sim/game, love the modelling of the steam locos and a different slant on the game genre:
Just saw the new video on their Steam page and i'm trying to keep expectations in check, but it's looking fantastic so far. Even with expanding the map, he says still on track for a 2023 release.
I'm really looking forward to this game. I know I shouldn't let my expectations get too high, but still looks fun. Looks like it's kind of a blend between Derail Valley and Railroads Online, at least from what I've gathered.
Definitely looking forward to this, looks very interesting. Just one little thing caught my eye, the way the ballast blends into the scenery and foliage is nice, something TSW still struggles with for some reason. Unity engine as well by the looks of it. Here's another taster video I stumbled across..
This is sort of catching my attention but I want to know if the steam loco operation and physics are going to be accurate. Watching the video clips it comes across as a first person style Transport Fever rather than all out simulation.
Schnauz is trying hard to play the game: and seems to like it. Game with a purpose, a business model and challenges, not some repetitive keep-the-timetable-use-the-cab-controls game like TSW. To me, it also seems the developer has a better grasp of US railroading than DTG with some nice touches like AI stopping for a lit fusee placed in the tracks.
It's nice but far less detailed than TSW. I am not sure I will like it. Probably Spirit of Steam will be a far better game in many ways. To me Railroader looks like Railroads on Line, but without track building and a far more advanced economy system. Railroads Online managed to blow the relationship with players almost completely and has massively banned the fan base. NOTE: Early access release is now December 7th on steam.
I'm definitely gonna buy the early access version to support the dev. He seems very passionate about the project. Is that December 7th date new? Last i saw it was the 15th.
IIRC, one of the same devs may be involved in Railroader that was involved in Railroads Online, but I don't know the whole story behind what happened with Railroads Online aside its (No pun intended) a massive train wreck..... Interesting to see how this plays out, a good selection of locos and rolling stock. Yes it isn't really a Train Sim 1st and formost, but its a different way to approach railroading as a game/
I see it as a cross between a steam era Run 8 and Transport Fever. As I refunded Hmmsim there should be enough in the kitty to grab this, assuming not an outrageous price.
Railroader CTC, with magnetic tabs, a necessary feature: Run8 also had a classic CTC panel for Bakersfield Sub in development, but the dev seems to have stopped its development. The CTC works allright, but isn't suitable for switching under dispatcher authority as switches cannot be unlocked to local operation IIRC Again, the Railroader devs seem to have a better grasp of US railroading theory and practice
Another gameplay run through: Kicking cars! CTC! Nice steam loco sights, sounds and physics! Smooth gameplay! Nice visuals! Correct AI whistle calls and behaviour! Business model with carrying passengers and transporting goods! Different whistle sounds! I am more and more inclined to buy the Early Access instead of yet another 'dead on delivery' TSW DLC on discount come X-Mass. So Railroader at the moment is a self contained open world railroading business/simulation game, a bit like Derail Valley. Whether there will ever be new maps, additional trains or an editor remains to be seen however, but so far I like what I see.
I'd honestly be very happy with a transition-era Derail Valley. Especially since it seems very easy to customize your railroad company using the in-game tools. I've always been helpless with livery editors (or anything else artistic tbh). Hopefully the economy is a little less grindy. In the November update, he mentioned there being smaller map sizes you can use if you don't want to manage the full 50+ mile mainline. I'm hopeful that it's viable to only run 1 or 2 locos on your line if you choose- i tend to lose interest in management/tycoon games after the early game. The CTC gameplay looks interesting to me too, i've never really tried any of the dispatcher games. Physics is the only big question mark for me- it all LOOKS good in the dev videos, but how does it feel to play? For me it's worth shelling out for early access to support a passionate dev who seems to really know the era.
If nothing else it will make a change from DTG style American operations where even the switching scenarios serve no real useful purpose.
Looks like this is not going to be particularly cheap for early access. Someone posted on another site the Dev Discord is quoting $30 for the US so we will be lucky if the UK price is £25 more like £27.
Still, if it represents value for money for your needs in playing railroading games? With early access there is always a risk the devs don't finish the game to the promised standards, as there are actually already a few other, older and perhaps more established games of this type and one has to differentiate and deliver to make his efforts stand out. Still, it's only two pizza's and a sixpack of lager. Schnauz has been playing and exploring some more, taking out a loan to buy a Consolidation: I've seen more nifty features like class lights you can rotate to show the colours needed. The caboose hasn't been tried yet, wonder if it has marker lights and you can change their colours too? There are other play thru videos on the YT, but I don't particularly want to see the host, nor his cat, nor reading a blended in commentary stream full of jokes and antics. Schnauz's accent is sufficient for me ;-)
Been watching a couple of Schaun thingumy bobs video clips and still a bit conflicted. Definitely seems more RRT than Run 8. Can’t really tell about the physics, though the steam effects look nice and better than TSW4. Looks like it could be very time consuming to get anything done and while I hate sandbox modes I’m also not keen on unrealistic financial restraints in this sort of game, where you are literally living hand to mouth for each scrap of revenue that comes in. Finally not impressed by the lack of visible passengers, both waiting for the train or actually sat in what was supposed to be a full carriage.
Did you watch Kerbo's preview of the tutorial (there's a link to it in the game's Steam forums)? You can do everything in first-person like TSW, and the one loco he drove seemed nicely modeled inside the cab, and the sounds seemed good except the dynamo sound was mixed too loudly. He only drove a couple miles total as the game was showing him how to top off coal and water, which also has a nice animation and hovering on the tender shows how much water/coal remain. He mentions a nice sense of size and weight to the train, and that it was noticable when he hit a gradient and had to increase power. The smoke also changed color a bit, but i'm certainly not a steam expert by any means to judge if it matched what the engine was doing. You can quill the whistles!! So, not conclusive evidence, but it seems to me they're taking the "train" side of the game fairly seriously. I hear your point about passengers, but tbh with how bad the implementation is in TSW, i'd rather there be none until/if they get it working properly. Anyway, i'm all-in just waiting for it to unlock.
Same here. Just finishing a quick scenario for the challenge then popping into Steam see what the “grip” is.
First impressions...great fun, smooth, physics feel nice, nice graphics and a playability value seems awesome so far (going by my limited time and the vids available). Only 20 mins in though, but so far so good...
I bought it and played it a bit. It is definitely a nice game, if you like American narrow gauge steam (and a bit of Diesel). It is a mix between economy and railroad operations. I think it is easier to make progress if you play with multiple persons. Graphics and physics cannot yet compete with TSW. The Rolling stock and landscape is far less detailed and looks more like TSC. The good news is that the reverser is working more or less like you expect for a steam engine. But stuff like blower, electors and so on are not modelled at all. The landscape is fictional as far as I know, so that also is a big difference. Despite this, it offers 3ft narrow gauge steam and I love that. We really should have that in TSW.
Yeah it doesn't seem like narrow gauge to me. Tbh though the default FOV is..weird...so maybe that caused confusion? There's a slider to change it at least. Edit: regarding the scenery- they did state it's still very much in-progress, so i'll reserve judgement for now. Performance has been great though for me (1080p high settings), and i don't have a powerful rig by any means lol.
Scenery I think is absolutely fine. Really feels like you're in a dense forest area at start, with nice looking undergrowth and tree assets. Excellent sounds as well.
I think it’s meant to be standard gauge. Not taken the plunge yet, waiting to see a few more early reviews. Just something holding me back from parting with £25 for it…
You can watch some gameplay. The gameplay above in this thread is quite good and representative on what to expect in single player mode. I am not a fan of multiplayer, but it looks better than some other games. The server owner can assign specific permissions to fellows, which reduces the risk of bad behaviour. He also can ban people.
Got myself a copy of the Early Access from my EoY allowance. There are live streams everywhere, including MP sessions, and the newer steam locomotives with piston valves have moving reverse gear and quill-able whistles. Hopefully for the devs. the initial sales are good and reception favourable, so they will keep developing.
I've played like 10 hours since launch already- it's very good! Haven't even expanded my mainline yet, but the gameplay loop is very compelling. So far at least, the economy isn't nearly as grindy as Derail Valley (which is probably the closest overall comparison). Breaking the gameplay into discrete days is really smart IMO. It provides a challenge without making the player feel like they have to rush to beat a real-time timer. DTG should absolutely steal the waybill system for their US freight gameplay- it probably would require a complete rebuild of the freight system, but IMO would be worth it. Get rid of (most) of the timetabled freights for the player, and have the system generate appropriate services based on the equipment you've picked (mainline loco, switcher, etc). Based on my experiences with free roam, the dispatcher should be able to handle it, especially if it's only the player train that's not following a timetable. It would give the player so much more freedom and maybe switching wouldn't be so underplayed? Maybe they could test it on a smaller route, or even the training center?
Well I folded and bought it - so far so good. Just started the tutorial rescuing the derailed loco. Cameras are a bit funky well at least the exterior one, getting it into an ideal position. It also looks as if there are no key commands for the loco controls, just the HUD or the actual levers. Physics, well probably Trainz DCC+ level but accepted that's not the primary purpose of the game. But it already feels compelling and I agree, DTG need to be looking at how they can adapt this or similar for TSW. Looking forward to doing more tomorrow.
Well got to admit, this is bringing a fair old smile to my face. Still working through the tutorial, just about to start the return trip to Whittier. Obviously it’s going to get more complex when the freight needs shifting and there will be a balance between moving that for the big money and the passengers who basically pay 50c each a mile for reputation. But yes, great, even in early access, can only get better.
Defiantly a fun take on trains in general, not as daunting as Run 8 to figure out. The switching is nice and you wont get the same routine every day. Also with the early game with the bridge rebuilding, you are given interesting situations in the town of Ela when you have to deal with the cars to the end of the line, Ela itself, and Passenger service if you chose to run a mix train.
going by the YT reviews, play throughs and session videos, the game seems to have hit a good start and is providing what players like in a game like this, also solving switching puzzles and trying to run a railroad, getting rich perhaps even.
Yes I figured it out afterwards. Something they could maybe add to the tutorial. According to posts on the Steam forum, they are looking at implementing key binding changes, so in my case would change the main ones to TSC/TSW equivalent and use the arrow keys for movement.
Have you found the CTC panel already? There is so much discover and learn in the small virtual world that is Railroader. Multiplayer sessions are starting to make an appearance on YT to look into how other play together, the reason why you have an avatar you can customise a little. Speaking of dispatching, for Run8 a free external dispatching program based on Wabtec has been released. It can be installed on a laptop independent of your gaming PC and dispatch the huge Run8 world over your home network.
Still working through the tutorial but think CTC will be essential once you have more than a couple of trains running. What I like is that you can very much run this at your own pace. The tutorial said to grab two or three contracts, I took one. I will have to look into that utility for Run 8. So much to do, so little time - even in retirement!
You end up with some interesting consists for sure lol! I've just done part 2 of rebuilding the bridge pasr Ela, so i'm excited to see what the next section of the line has in-store.
Yep, it definitely keeps me wanting to go back for more, very enjoyable and great playability value. A bit like Run8 but with more help. Playing Run 8 as a beginner is hard work!
Hopefully as development continues, we get more unique buildings for the various industries. Seeing this makes me think so, there's alot of industries which are just sidings in the grass atm.
