Development Update: Fixes, Feedback, and the Road Ahead
[h3]Dreamers, Conductors, and all you who follow the RailGod,[/h3][p]It has been a while since we've published an official update on what we're doing, what we've been doing, and what our plans are, so it's time for us to break the (mini) silence and go over all of this with you.[/p][h2]
Teasers[/h2][p]Let’s start this news blast with a teaser to soothe your nerves, yes, we have been working on the game, and yes, an update is just around the corner![/p][p]Interest? Here are some teasers, just make sure to read on to get all of the details.
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[/p][p][/p][h2]The Story So Far[/h2][p]On May 7th, we launched Early Access, and since then, we've been focused on all of you - our players - listening to everything you've had to say about the game. The feedback was immense, and thanks to you, we were able to update the game multiple times with bug fixes, balancing fixes, new features, and more. [/p][p]
To put the number of suggestions/requests that we received into figures, between our Discord and Steam, we had over 200 different ideas/suggestions in the short period since the game launched.[/p][p]
It's always been our desire to respond to everyone individually, something that we're very proud to have (mostly) been able to do, and looking back, it was a truly fun and intense period.[/p][p]
If you want a recap of the hotfixes and patches, check them out here:[/p][p]Hotfix 1[/p][p]Hotfix 2[/p][p]Hotfix 3[/p][p]Hotfix 4[/p][p]Hotfix 5[/p][p]
And our latest update was a bigger one:[/p][p]Patch 1[/p][p]
A note from our text writer:[/p][p]I want to thank everyone who commented and encouraged me to write the patch notes in the stylized version. It started out as a small experiment, and I was unsure whether or not anyone would actually enjoy it, so seeing people pick up on the references and directly comment on the way that it's written is really fun, so thank you!!
[/p][p]If you look at the dates that we released the updates, you'll notice that we pushed out an update pretty much every day for a week after the launch (and we did push out a few silent updates as well when more serious situations arose). The best part was that it was not just bug fixes; new features made their way to the game as well.[/p][p]
With that said, we did notice something important. Though the steady stream of hotfixes and patches was great in reinforcing the view that we were here, active, and listening to our community, the rate at which we pushed these updates out was unsustainable. Some of our community members noted that sometimes, bugs that we fixed in a previous update would return with the next update.[/p][p]
Luckily, these were usually minor issues (magnifying glass icon, we're looking at you), but it gave us pause to think. So, after much debate, we decided to shift our focus away from daily updates to releasing larger updates but spread out a bit more.[/p][p]
We decided that this was the best course of action as, by the time the first major patch was released, the game was a lot more stable, and the new features that we added fixed the major quality-of-life issues that were reported.
[hr][/hr][h2]The Plan Going Forward[/h2]Our plan going forward is simple:
[hr][/hr][h2]Playtest - What to Expect[/h2]Let's not beat around the bush here. The two main features of the test server are:
Check out these fun teasers!
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Because these two features are extremely important to the game, we need to properly test them, and that is where the playtest comes in!
The Playtest will begin on June 19, 21:00 CET, and we will share all of the information about the playtest/how it works/how you can get it/what we need, on that date, so keep your eyes on us!
[hr][/hr][h2]In-Game Information[/h2]Probably one of the biggest areas of the game that we need to improve is the information given to the players when in-game. We’ve heard you all and we’ve been hard at work re-designing the in-game compendium so that it is a true information source for everything that you need.
[h2]Thank you to our Community[/h2]We want to end this news blast with a big thank you to everyone in our community. The feedback that you’ve given us has been fantastic, and we hope that the work that we put into the game to update and improve it will show you that we’ve listened to you all.
And perhaps most importantly, to all the players who jumped in to help others, to those who essentially covered for us when it comes to making sure that players knew what to get, where to get, and how to play, and enjoy the game, you are the best. You’ve directly helped the game to grow and be a success, so we cannot thank you enough![/p]
Teasers[/h2][p]Let’s start this news blast with a teaser to soothe your nerves, yes, we have been working on the game, and yes, an update is just around the corner![/p][p]Interest? Here are some teasers, just make sure to read on to get all of the details.
To put the number of suggestions/requests that we received into figures, between our Discord and Steam, we had over 200 different ideas/suggestions in the short period since the game launched.[/p][p]
It's always been our desire to respond to everyone individually, something that we're very proud to have (mostly) been able to do, and looking back, it was a truly fun and intense period.[/p][p]
If you want a recap of the hotfixes and patches, check them out here:[/p][p]Hotfix 1[/p][p]Hotfix 2[/p][p]Hotfix 3[/p][p]Hotfix 4[/p][p]Hotfix 5[/p][p]
And our latest update was a bigger one:[/p][p]Patch 1[/p][p]
A note from our text writer:[/p][p]I want to thank everyone who commented and encouraged me to write the patch notes in the stylized version. It started out as a small experiment, and I was unsure whether or not anyone would actually enjoy it, so seeing people pick up on the references and directly comment on the way that it's written is really fun, so thank you!!
[/p][p]If you look at the dates that we released the updates, you'll notice that we pushed out an update pretty much every day for a week after the launch (and we did push out a few silent updates as well when more serious situations arose). The best part was that it was not just bug fixes; new features made their way to the game as well.[/p][p]
With that said, we did notice something important. Though the steady stream of hotfixes and patches was great in reinforcing the view that we were here, active, and listening to our community, the rate at which we pushed these updates out was unsustainable. Some of our community members noted that sometimes, bugs that we fixed in a previous update would return with the next update.[/p][p]
Luckily, these were usually minor issues (magnifying glass icon, we're looking at you), but it gave us pause to think. So, after much debate, we decided to shift our focus away from daily updates to releasing larger updates but spread out a bit more.[/p][p]
We decided that this was the best course of action as, by the time the first major patch was released, the game was a lot more stable, and the new features that we added fixed the major quality-of-life issues that were reported.
[hr][/hr][h2]The Plan Going Forward[/h2]Our plan going forward is simple:
- [p] Larger updates[/p]
- [p] More content per update[/p]
- [p] More time spent per update[/p]
- [p] More news from us, so you don't have any more "silent" times.[/p]
- [p] Better testing to improve the quality
[/p]
[hr][/hr][h2]Playtest - What to Expect[/h2]Let's not beat around the bush here. The two main features of the test server are:
- [p] Gamepad Support
[/p] - [p] An all-new Building/Construction System
[/p]
Check out these fun teasers!
Because these two features are extremely important to the game, we need to properly test them, and that is where the playtest comes in!
The Playtest will begin on June 19, 21:00 CET, and we will share all of the information about the playtest/how it works/how you can get it/what we need, on that date, so keep your eyes on us!
[hr][/hr][h2]In-Game Information[/h2]Probably one of the biggest areas of the game that we need to improve is the information given to the players when in-game. We’ve heard you all and we’ve been hard at work re-designing the in-game compendium so that it is a true information source for everything that you need.
[h2]Thank you to our Community[/h2]We want to end this news blast with a big thank you to everyone in our community. The feedback that you’ve given us has been fantastic, and we hope that the work that we put into the game to update and improve it will show you that we’ve listened to you all.
And perhaps most importantly, to all the players who jumped in to help others, to those who essentially covered for us when it comes to making sure that players knew what to get, where to get, and how to play, and enjoy the game, you are the best. You’ve directly helped the game to grow and be a success, so we cannot thank you enough![/p]