Tracks - The Train Set Game News

Hello all!

I'm happy to announce that Tracks now has a release date: 20th September 2019.
Tracks will then leave early access and be available on PC and Xbox One.

https://youtu.be/VUbv6oIcVsM
That date will more or less mark the 2nd anniversary of Tracks entering early access so it seemed an appropriate time to aim for. Over the last 2 years Tracks has changed a lot and I wouldn't have been able to do it without all of your support and suggestions, so thank you!


It is always hard to call a game "finished", especially one like Tracks which has no end of features that could be added. But being in an eternal state of early access isn't good for a game, it limits a lot of what I can do in terms of platform support, planning, plus the fact that a lot of people are quite suspicious of early access in general.

I'm happy with the state the game. It is bigger than I ever imagined it would be and I'm proud of it. And when version 1.0 is released it'll be awesome.

This plan also means I can start to focus on some of the things I've been neglecting. As a lone programmer it can be hard to prioritise what to work on and in the past I've always chosen to add features over important back-end things like performance. Over the next few months a lot of things will improve massively.


No!
There are still at least 2 major content updates planned before that date, full of the usual mix of features and decorations. I also have no plans to "abandon" the game after that date, I'll keep adding whatever extra stuff is needed.

Once this release development rush is done I'll take stock of the situation, look at feedback and make any future plans/road maps public so you know what is going on.

So from me and everyone else who has been involved in the game so far, thank you for all the support, suggestions, and kind words. I hope you're enjoying the game now and will love all the great stuff coming soon!



https://store.steampowered.com/app/657240

ːfixː Re-enabled clicking on a Random House to generate a new size/colour
ːfixː Fixed Random Houses not always saving their size correctly
ːfixː Fixed Sailing Boats having water inside them when placed on a river piece
ːfixː Fixed Level Crossings not considering carriages as part of the train
ːfixː Fixed various issues with placing objects on top of blocks
ːfixː Adjustments to the default placement grid size of Pumpkins
ːfixː Adjustments to the textures of the Flower pot and Pumpkin

Hello all!

Sorry about the long gap between this update and the last one. The stuff in this update has been big job in terms of both the code and the art required. If you're ever wondering if the game is still being worked on be sure to check my Twitter where you'll see a steady stream of new stuff even if it isn't in the game quite yet!


This update introduces the first batch of what I'm calling track variants (if you can think of a nicer name let me know). These work just like the track pieces you're familiar with but with a bunch of new styles and features.

• Small Street
  
  A road with pavement perfect for a small town. Run some track across a road (or vice versa) to automatically make a level crossing.
  
  
  
• River
  
  A calm stream lined with bushes and rocks.
  
  
  
• River (blank)
  
  A plain river with a completely clear bank so you can decorate it yourself. With some clever placement you can also make a large lake with these.
  

Because these are so much wider than track pieces they don't quite match 1:1. The game will automatically place two straight pieces when needed to keep you aligned. This is intentional and hopefully not too troublesome. There also aren't up/down pieces yet.




Since Tracks doesn't have an 'end' there isn't really a good place to put the credits, so you can now see all the lovely people involved in making the game on the menu menu, just above the social media links.


When starting the game you'll now see a nice new splash screen.
Besides just looking pretty, this also acts as a controller picker designed to fix issues for people with multiple controllers or those who can't get theirs working. Press A on the controller you want to use and the game should now pick it as the main device.




ːromopolis_houseː Skyscraper
ːromopolis_houseː Apartment Block
ːromopolis_houseː Level Crossing (automatically placed at a crossing between track and road)
ːromopolis_houseː Watermill




Tracks now runs on the latest version of UE4.
This is the start of a major plan to improve the performance of Tracks, particularly in large towns. Updating the engine has a lot of pros but it can also introduce new issues, if you find any problems please report them in the forum!

Enjoy!

The old controls menu has been replaced with a brand new one with a nicer layout and proper descriptions for every entry. It also allows you to reassign keys for mouse/keyboard, with some new extra options to split up keys which do multiple things by default. So if for example you wanted a key specifically for resetting the train (without having to hold it) you can now set that.

• Field of view sliders to change the horizontal FoV for building and train driving.
  
  
  
  
• Resolution options
  
  
  
  

Along with the usual vehicle headlights, these also have a set of emergency lights which can be toggled in the same way (left click on the vehicle after placing it)

ːromopolis_houseː Police Car
ːromopolis_houseː Ambulance
ːromopolis_houseː Fire Engine



ːromopolis_houseː Police Officer
ːromopolis_houseː Paramedic
ːromopolis_houseː Firefighter
ːromopolis_houseː Doctor





ːfixː Improved the precision of track placement (may help prevent random derailments)
ːfixː The tutorial now highlights keybindings and important words
ːfixː Fixed creating invisible copies when placing multiple objects without moving
ːfixː Fixed being able to open build mode menus while transitioning to train mode
ːfixː Fixed trains being stopped by turntables on the level below them
ːfixː Added some missing LoD meshes
ːfixː The 'Controls' button now takes you to the appropriate menu depending on whether you're using keyboard/mouse or a controller
ːfixː Improved the behaviour of gamepad navigation in the graphics menu
ːfixː Fixed various issues caused by trying to close menus with gamepad B/Start
ːfixː Fixed gamepads sometimes choosing the wrong buttons on menus
ːfixː Made certain lists loop back to the start after going through all options with a gamepad
ːfixː Fixed certain passengers not having their hair colour randomised
ːfixː Improvements to main menu button designs
ːcsgoglobeː Added a missing description for Bedroom (Night) in other languages

ːfixː Fixed E not working
ːfixː Fixed fireworks never loading their high resolution textures
ːfixː Fixed the Christmas lights on the Bedroom table derailing the train

The Bedroom now has a matching Night scene full of Christmas decorations. I'm not sure if these decorations will stay all year round - happy to hear thoughts on that!






A constant shower of starry loveliness.
These are manually turned on and off by left clicking on the rocket.




A matching set of carriages for the gingerbread train, finally!




I've got a lot of things planned, some you might be expecting and some you're probably not!
Some frequently requested features which are nearly ready to release include:

• Roads - made with the same automatic building as track pieces
  
• Full set of emergency service vehicles and passengers
  
• Image importing so you can put your own pictures on certain objects
  
• Key rebinding

ːfixː The delete buttons in the Train menu now need to be held down for 1 second before they activate to prevent accidental pressing
ːfixː Improved the Firework (Trigger) visuals and added a unique thumbnail
ːfixː Fixed the gingerbread train button not working before opening Style Options once
ːfixː Made Passenger Carriage collision more accurate
ːfixː Fixed an issue if you play with a gamepad but use the keyboard to enter text for Signs
ːfixː Improvements to the lighting in Modern Apartment (NIght)
ːfixː A lot of back-end changes to how controls work in preparation for key rebinding, they should (hopefully) behave the same

ːcsgoglobeː Japanese has a new and improved font
ːcsgoglobeː Improved the layout of many pieces of translated text
ːcsgoglobeː Fixed some style inconsistencies for punctuation in various languages
ːcsgoglobeː The names of the Example save games are now properly translated