Train Life - A Railway Simulator News

We just applied a small patch note to make your game sessions more pleasante during the holidays!

Special Christmas assets were added to each locomotive cabin so now cabin's driver can feel the spirit of Christmas days.

Added elements:

-locomotive driver is wearing Santa Claus cap
-colorful Christmas lamps hanging in locomotives cabins
-Christmas card with wishes for players
-typical Christmas decorations


On behalf of the all team here at Nacon and Simteract, we wish you a merry christmas! :)

Today's patch comes with some nice fixes regarding GPS issues that players have been having, though do note that additional tweaks are being worked on and tested. We recently released an updated roadmap, which you can read by clicking below:
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1330660/view/3122680206607558917
We know there were some concerns about the wording here, specifically since we have a "GPS overhaul" planned for Update 4 but there are some significant issues that players had with the GPS at the time of the post. While we may be planning a more significant overhaul later, bug fixes will continue to happen in-between that period. We definitely want the game to be playable, even if larger changes are planned later!



[h2]Changes & Fixes[/h2]

• Tracks & Railways
  • Fixed a blocked track near Dortmund Warehouse in Scenario 1
    
  • Fixed a blocked track near Dortmund Main in Scenario 1
• HUD
  • Fixed lingering event markers on HUD – We wanted to preserve the memories of all the broken-down locomotive spawning in your way
• Tablet
  • Fixed a problem with creating a GPS route when the starting point is close to a dead-end track
• Gameplay
  • Fixed events potentially blocking a junction at Dortmund Warehouse
• Level Art & Design
  • Fixed an incorrectly placed traffic spline overlapping with terrain and looking unnatural in Luxembourg Main – We were very close to turning this into an entirely different game
    
  • Fixed an improper speed limit set near the Hague Pumpjack diverting track
    
  • Tweaked sign placement near Amsterdam Main
    
  • Fixed a floating sign between Amsterdam and Dortmund City
• Sound
  • Temporarily turned off the screeching sound on turns – This will be brought back later, as bleeding ears is a top priority
• Stability & Performance
  • Fixed slow level streaming near Frankfurt

[h2]Update 2[/h2]
Lastly, but certainly not least, in case you missed it our 2nd major content update gets closer and closer with each passing day. Check out some screenshots, mock-ups, and information about what to expect as we venture East!
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1330660/view/3122679481842099160



[h2]Train Life Discord Server[/h2]
A small reminder that we do have a Discord server, which is super special because we have a ton of the team there to answer any questions or concerns you have!

Hi everyone!

Now that the 1st major Train Life update has been released, we believe it is time for an update on our roadmap.




In order to make Train Life the best it can be, we have decided to extend the duration of Early Access. Our initial plan was to release the game during the spring of 2022, but as quality remains our top priority, considering the current development stage and the very rich feedbacks you regularly share, we are now aiming at an official release date for Train Life in the summer of 2022.

To all our players: rest assured that we will continue updating and improving the game before reaching this point!

Last but not least, we are sincerely grateful to all our Early Access players. The main purpose of Early Access has always been to confront the game with its community and shape it together. Thanks to your feedback, the game has been considerably improved so far, and we would like to express our gratitude.

Therefore, the Orient Express content will be given for free to all players who boarded on Train Life during Early Access! The famous locomotive will be added to your account sometime around the official launch!

See you on the rails 😊

More performance fixes, as promised, and we found some time to help with Employee Drivers being lazy and tired all the time. We are considering physical forms of punishment for bad Employees, but we're not sure if PEGI or the ESRB would allow some of these ideas.



[h2]Additions[/h2]

• General
  Added Steam Cloud functionality
• Tracks & Railways
  • Added a bypass track at Amsterdam Main

[h2]Changes & Fixes[/h2]

• Tracks & Railways
  • Fixed a few issues with missing barriers in scenarios – We want to make it quite clear, there is NO escape
    
  • Fixed a few issues with blocked rails – That said, there should be some escape
• Gameplay
  • Slightly lowered the chance for broken-down locomotives to spawn – We just wanted you to feel superior to all the other drivers
    
  • Fixed a bug where Employees were unable to repeat tasks
    
  • Fixed a bug where contracts could be nuked if the player chose to pick it up via radio – We have safely disposed of the nuclear material from the radio, and don’t worry if your driver’s hand is glowing. Normal behaviour.
    
  • Increased Employee Driver max energy from 100 to 400 – We accidentally coded in narcolepsy. This was a bad idea.
    
  • Increased Employee Driver energy regeneration by 4x – Sleep is for the weak
    
  • Doubled Employee Driver energy regeneration perk values – Cue Sanic theme
• Level Art & Design
  • Added missing corridors in several places
• Sound
  • Fix for ambient sound not being present in various areas in the game.
• Language
  • Small translation updates
• Stability & Performance
  • Fixed significant FPS drops in multiple places in Europe
• Miscellaneous
  • Fixed render distance of signals – While low render distance does mean that signals are a sufficient ‘surprise mechanic’, we don’t consider this to be enjoyable gameplay

[h2]Developer Update & Future Content[/h2]
If you missed it, last week we posted a small update about how our first content update went, and what we're working on for the future. There are some juicy images in here that you won't want to miss, so check it out and let your eyes feast!
https://steamcommunity.com/games/1330660/announcements/detail/3122679481842099161

[h2]Train Life Discord Server[/h2]
A small reminder that we do have a Discord server, which is super special because we have a ton of the team there to answer any questions or concerns you have!

Hey everyone, given our first major content update for Train Life recently launched, we want to touch base with the community about how the launch went, what we’re working on, and what you can expect in the future.

Starting with Update 1, we want to address right away that, like many of you, we were not happy with the performance and stability issues. A last-minute attempted improvement to our car traffic system didn’t seem to improve it at all -- quite the opposite, in fact. We had hoped to identify and have this fixed before the weekend of launch, but luck was not on our side. We want to apologize for the frustration and anger this issue caused. We will be taking extra care to ensure that these things are more thoroughly tested, and that future hotfixes are not rushed without proper assurances of their stability. We have released another hotfix to address this most immediate performance concern and are continuing to make improvements throughout the Early Access period to ensure more stability. Expect the next hotfix to further address performance concerns from the new region! We would like to thank you for being patient on this fix, and hope that your journeys through the new region have been improved since the fix has gone live!



[h2]Eastern Europe[/h2]
Looking forward to the future, we want to talk about some things that are in the immediate pipeline and share with you what you can expect with our next content update. The largest addition is, by far, the new region. This includes many cities from Poland and Czechia.



Originally, I was only going to include 3 screenshots, but I was given many more and I thought they looked so awesome that I absolutely need to share them!





[h2]LeKo-DP2500[/h2]
Along with the new region we’d also like to share a new locomotive from the in-game company “Lechner-Koch”. This is the electric LeKo-DP2500 locomotive.


The LeKo-DP2500 Exterior, with its charming blue and yellow paint job!


The interior of the LeKo-DP2500; spacious, lots of windows, and very clean.



[h2]Service Center Overhaul[/h2]
Lastly, but certainly not least, many of you have long heard the rumours of a Service Center overhaul that would address the most common issues people had. On behalf of the team, I’d like to show off the wonderful work they’ve been doing to bring this integral hub to life!

Please note that these are mock-ups, and the final implementation will likely have modifications or improvements.


This is the new screen you’ll be greeted with when purchasing a new locomotive. Note that we want to take extra care to show you all the stats needed to make an informed purchase, and you absolutely will be able to see the locomotive rendered in the Service Center for you!


No longer will you be purchasing parts that don’t really provide you with much information, and feel free to show or hide parts that aren’t compatible with the locomotive you have chosen. Or if there are too many parts for you to deal with, sort the parts to give you what you’re looking for immediately.


Switching between locomotives you already own is much easier when you know which parts are installed, and how it compares to the locomotive you’re already driving!



[h2]But That's Not All![/h2]
We have a few smaller things to address and mention:

• Soon after release we talked about a public location where you could see the most immediate things being addressed in the next updates. We’re still working with out publisher on the best way to get this out to you, but it certainly hasn’t been forgotten!
  
• We’re still working out the kinds of improvements we want to bring to station gameplay, but plan to have more to share in the first quarter of next year.
  
• Some nice tutorial improvements should come very soon, with better onboarding and objective progression – for sure including more information about our signaling system.

[h2]A Final Note[/h2]
We’re looking forward to sharing more with you as release nears and, as always, you’re invited to join our Discord server and chat with us directly! We have a lot of love for all of you, especially the ferocity that you have with desiring Train Life to earn a top spot among the other train games available. We’re right there right with you, and while bumps along the road are inevitable, Early Access has so far been a fantastic experience for us as a studio! Thank you all for your support and dedication; we can’t wait to release our second major content update and see what you guys and gals think!