RAILGRADE News

Hello Everyone,

Since we released Update #6 we've had a ton of players both new and returning. I want to thank everyone who has played Update #6 and give a special thanks to those patient players who reported issues so we could fix them.

[h2]Update #6 Patch #1 ChangeLog[/h2]
This patch #1 to Update #6 fixes the following issues players reported:
Gameplay
Add upgrade tech for Uranium Mines and Centrifuges
Add 4 more upgrade levels for warehouses

Bugs
Fix pipes and lakes missing from campaign maps
Fix balance of micro and double docks
Fix main menu background music not respecting music volume
Fix missing localizations for new strings
Fix crash when placing warehouse in map editor
Fix demand/supply lines not rendering on long tracks
Fix uranium mines multiplying on deletion
Fix trains stuck on turnaround

[h2]Workshop Missions Highlights[/h2]
Since Update #6 the community mission designers have been on a hot streak! This week along has brought a ton of high quality new maps to the workshop. Please check it all out here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/1355090/workshop/

Starting with today's announcement I want to start highlighting workshop maps. These maps are not the only quality missions, but just a selection of what I think Railgrade players will enjoying playing.

A 5 Mission Mini-Campaign by momomomomomomo
"Welcome to my RG mini-campaign! You'll step into the shoes of employees at Japan's National Monster Defense Agency (NMDA)." Link to mission 1: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3222836782

Industrial Prankster by Snek
Snek has been an active member of the Railgrade discord and developed this story driven challlenge map with feedback from other mission designers on the discord. The mission represents what I hope to see a lot more of: missions with story, challenge, and campaign-like design. Link: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3219796239

Nuclear mayhem by Tram-Train
Tram-Train is another active member of the discord and his work in progress Nuclear Mayhem is another campaign-like stand alone story mission. I want to thank him for pushing the mission design community further and giving feedback to other designers. Link
: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3220117106

PS: Credit to 102_Ruby on the Railgrade Discord for this update's cover photo. He really pushed the limits on Railgrade's city growth!

Hello Administrators!

Thank you for reading and playing our game! My name is Daniel and I’m excited to show off our many new additions to Railgrade we’ve launched today in Update #6. Our goal this Update was to expand Sandbox mode and give it more choices and a high tier goal to work towards.

We’ve also implemented a couple super requested features you can leverage in both campaign and sandbox, so keep reading!


Nuclear Production Chain
Need an absolute ton of energy to catalyze your economy? Consider the Nuclear Powerplant production chain. These giant powerplants are expensive but produce energy using Centrifuge refined Uranium Ore.


Minimap
Now you see the entire map at once in Sandbox. Clicking on a position will pan your camera over to the destination. Industry, Resource Desposits, and Track are highlighted on the map.



Microdocks & Double Docks
In Sandbox export docks are limited in how much freight they can handle in a minute. Therefore we've added two new docks to allow you better optimization when picking a dock in your export chain.


Wait until full and Wait until empty Station Behaviour
Players have long requested the ability to tune the behaviour of trains at stations. Now you can!


Warehouses!
Next up, and perhaps our most requested feature: Warehouses! Use these to store excess freight or transfer freight between main lines and branch lines.


Check out the full change log below to see even more features & Fixes. Thank you for playing our game!

v6.0.56.1 Update #6 Features
Add Warehouse building for storing and transferring freight

Sandbox Features
Add Minimap to sandbox mode
Add Nuclear Powerplant
Add Uranium Mine & Ore
Add Centrifuge
Add Double sized Zeppelin Dock
Add Micro sized Zeppelin Dock

Gameplay
Increase the distance between lit-up arrows in the train path animation
Double max zoom distance in sandbox
Make max track count unlimited on PC
Add click & pan to overworld
Add optional stop and wait behavior for stations

UI
Add level name to pause screen
Move region save away from checkpoint store option in pause menu
Display researched status on tech tree as text
Add tech preselection in tech tree before research switching

Bugs
Fix negative profits locking deposits in the bank
Fix zooming being instant at low frame rates
Fix main menu background music not looping
Fix campaign maps being editable in map editor
Fix asynchronous asset loading crashing on some PCs
Fix music skipping mid song when menu sfx played
Fix achievements not unlocking on Mac
Fix crash in steam terraforming missions on Switch

Hello Everyone!

Thank you for so many players trying out our sandbox mode! And thank you for the feedback and bug reporting! This minor patch is meant to quickly address several issues players have raised, and features requested.

[h2]Sandbox Save File Deletion[/h2]



The headline for a number of players is you can now delete sandbox save files from within the save file list. Please be careful, as while there is a confirmation dialog once you delete a save it truly is deleted. Remember, you can always make new backup sandbox saves using pause menu's "Save to New File" action.


[h2]Bank is now Researchable & Buildable[/h2]



Next, by player request: the Bank is now a researchable tech. Select it from the tech tree as a tier 1 tech. Once unlocked you can purchase a single Bank for 512yen. Fear not, the Bank will instantly allow you to borrow the regular amount. That 512yen is merely the cost of the branch office, not the Bank's working capital.


Thank you for playing our game :)
Dainel
Lead Programmer on Railgrade


[h2]Change Log[/h2]
v5.1.55.2 Update #5 Patch #1
Gameplay

• Add Bank as unlockable in sandbox tech tree
  

UI

• Add deleting from sandbox save file list
  

Bugs

• Fix overly aggressive tree and track LODs on 512x512 sized maps
  
• Fix rocket related buildings not buildable in sandbox mode
  
• Fix christmas music using sfx and not music volume setting
  
• Fix background music occasionally resetting on menu opening
  
• Fix sandbox saves not being synced
  
• Fix crash on win11 caused by pak precaching
  
• Fix track refund money multiplication glitch
  

Hello Everyone!

Lead programmer on Railgrade, Daniel here with a Christmas surprise gift for our dear players!

Drum roll please….. *drum* *drum*

[h2]SANDBOX MODE is out now![/h2]



Sandbox mode is our promised Update #5 and brings a brand new long form play style to Railgrade. Everyone asked for it, and we listened! We’ve been hard at work these past two months since release to make the sandbox mode we think you are were all hoping for.

Let me walk you through the Sandbox experience. I hope you’ll see this Sandbox is full featured with everything players can expect from the factory automation genre.

First off, from the main menu is now a Sandbox mode. Just below the existing Campaign mode you’ll have two new options. Generating a new sandbox, and loading existing save.

[h3]Random Procedural Maps[/h3]
Generating a new sandbox allows you to tune a ton of parameters in our new random map generator. Each of the 5 biomes has a unique algoritmn and even unique tuning parameters. We’ve designed the gneeration parameters to be understandable. Instead of the traditional noise tuning, you can pick comprehensible choices like “Canyon Depth” on Savannah, or Valley flatness, as examples.




[h3]Multiple Save Slots[/h3]
Once you’ve generated a sandbox, you can freely save the map to a “Backup file”. This will generate a new save file which you can load at any time from the main menu. Or you can start multiple sandbox regions. On PC you can have an unlimited number of save files for the same sandbox region.



[h3]Research Centers[/h3]
Once you land on a sandbox you’ll need to survey the land and decide where to build your starter city! Yes that’s right, you build entire cities in sandbox mode. At start you get 1 free city, zeppelin dock, and research tower. You’ll need these to kickstart your economy. Over time you’ll want to invest into building new cities, and even Zeppelin docks. New in Sandbox mode the zeppelin docks are rate limited. Meaning you must decide what to export to best use your dock’s capacity. Special in sandbox mode is the Research Tower. These might computing complexes consume tiered resources to break the patent encryption on increasingly valuable techs.



[h3]Tech Tree[/h3]
Techs are now encrypted and must be researched for use on your sandbox region. Use the tech tree to determine what to research but watch out for the costs. Higher tiers of research require more complex inputs. Existing players of Railgrade will recognize the tiered inputs mechanic similar yet different from the city growth gameplay.



As you grow your economy and develop your sandbox region you will find Railgrade’s core gameplay has been expanded into a 20+ hour sandbox experience without losing the dynamic choices and gameplay first design. The whole team is proud of our extensive efforts these past months and we are excited for all the players who have given our humble train game a chance. Without your support we could not have made this happen.

Thank you for playing our game :)
Dainel
Lead Programmer on Railgrade



[h2]Change Log[/h2]
v5.0.54.1 Update #5
Features
• Add procedurally generated Sandbox Mode
• Add Research Tower for generating research
• Add tech tree in Sandbox Mode
• Make horizon curved
• Add support for multiple saves per sandbox region
• Add free buildings mechanic for use in sandbox starts

Gameplay
• Boost PC entity limit by 5x
• Make zeppelin export docks rate limited in sandbox mode
• Make deliveries to research towers not pay for freight
• Add deep lakes
• Add option to scale frequency of idle barks

UI
• Add procgen preview window to sandbox generate mode
• Add save selection menu for Sandbox saves
• Add lockout safety option to prevent accidental campaign restarts
• Add tech tree in sandbox mode
• Fix windows cursor at 200% DPI scaling, now scales on game start

Bugs
• Fix cursor on Mac appearing as four dots
• Fix water pump upgrade missing from map editor unlocks panel
• Prevent map editor placements outside map limits
• Fix Steam generated desktop icon being blurry
• Fix Region 22 Branch B showing unused retrograde quest

Greetings Administrators and Railroad Engineers,

RAILGRADE needs you! Yes you! To nominate Nakatani's finest music selection for the rightful Steam Award.



Remember the deep bass drop of the main menu? Remember the roar of victory!

Please consider nominating RAILGRADE for Steam Award's Best Soundtrack category.

Daniel
Lead Programmer on RAILGRADE