Railroader 2024.4.0 has arrived! There's a lot in this update, including some important changes you'll want to know about. Let's get into it!
[h2]New Chuff and Crash Fix[/h2]
With this version we introduce a completely rebuilt chuff sound which smoothly matches the speed of the engine. It even changes with the cutoff/reverser setting, as well as between engines. We plan to further develop this in the future, but we're thrilled to finally share it with you. Farewell to that awkward transition around 11mph!
Additionally, this version fixes a crash that has been affecting some players. This crash is recognizable by the error code "0x887a0005" in the log, but it's important to note that there may be other issues lurking which crash with this same error code. If you encounter a crash with this new version, please try to get a sense of how frequently it occurs and if it is improved by using different quality settings before reporting it. Thank you!
[h2]Wear & Tear[/h2]
Maintenance is a huge part of running a railroad. With 2024.4.0, we're bringing some significant changes to equipment wear and maintenance. This has three components: regular wear & tear, overhauls, and repair parts.
Since launch, equipment has taken damage from hard coupling, derailments, and taking curves too fast. Now, every mile on the road will take its toll on your cars and engines, and engines will take more wear the harder they're run. You'll see a minimum of 5% damage every 100 miles.
A well-crewed repair shop will be able to keep your engines in good condition if you keep them in the roundhouse or shed when they're not on duty, but over time the miles have a deeper impact that routine maintenance can't address, limiting the shop's ability to fully repair equipment. However, performing an
Overhaul (by setting a specific Overhaul repair destination) will instruct the shop crew to take time for those deeper repairs, bringing your equipment back to top condition. We recommend an overhaul every 1,000 miles.
Shop crews now consume
Repair Parts when performing repairs. You'll need to manage your supply of repair parts in your engine service facilities. They can be purchased using company-owned box cars, just like coal or diesel fuel.
Lastly for wear & tear, shops now employ
crews rather than individual workers. Wages have been increased accordingly. Additionally, you can disable wear & tear in Company settings.
[h2]Passenger Network and Reputation[/h2]
We've made a couple changes to how your Passenger Reputation is calculated which we think you'll like. For those of you updating with existing saves, note that these changes will result in Railroader forgetting any passenger stops you've made on that day, prior to upgrading.
The good news is that your passenger network reputation now only includes stations which have been served in the past ten days. This means that if you don't want to provide passenger service for a particular section of the railroad, you can simply never serve it.
Additionally, equipment condition no longer affects passenger fares. Instead, it drives a new passenger equipment reputation score.
[h2]Map Window Enhancements[/h2]
The map now displays switch positions, as well as a button to allow throwing any switch from the map! This can be disabled in Company settings.
Also: the map can now be resized using the control in the lower right corner. (We've also added resize controls to a number of other windows!)
The map no longer automatically centers on your position when being opened. A "locate me" button has been added, should you want to center the map on your position.
[h2]Redesigned HUD[/h2]
The on-screen selected engine controls have been redesigned, and you can now choose between Manual, AI Road, and AI Yard modes within the HUD, as well as perform AI commands, without needing to open the inspector!
[h2]Other UI Changes[/h2]
There's a new way to close windows: the Backspace key. This took us some getting used to, but we love being able to open the pause menu and save the game without having to close all of the windows first.
You can recall the last selected engine with X, or cycle between favorited engines using Shift-X. Remember that engines can be favorited in the Engine Roster window.
If you'd prefer to toggle mouse look by clicking the right mouse button (rather than the default of holding right mouse), you can select that in Preferences.
[h2]Operational Updates[/h2]
- Cars loaded by off-railroad industries (such as Coal, Diesel Fuel, and Repair Parts for the player railroad) now take cars away while they are being filled. Cars are returned after 24 hours have passed.
- Whittier Saw Mill now takes gondola cars for wood chip export.
- Added second repair track behind the Bryson roundhouse.
- AI Engineer now resumes track speed after passing Restricting or Approach signals in certain conditions.
See the complete release notes in-game for more!