Devlog 1: Road to Release

Train Metropolis has arrived at its first station. There is now a demo available on Steam. As well in this devlog I'll go into some of the plans for the full game.

[h2]Branch Line[/h2]

What you can expect from the demo:

The demo is set on an island and as such has a limited number of new districts that can be founded. As well it only has a subsection of the different district types that'll be available in the full game. As with the main game, the demo can be "won" by reaching an end goal, but it's possible to continue after that.

[h2]First Passengers[/h2]

The demo is now on Steam. I was thinking to do a playtest first, but due to the imminent arrival of the Steam NextFest (less than two weeks at time of writing), I figured might as well launch the demo now and get some feedback on it directly.

If you have any comments on the game difficulty or pacing, I would be super grateful to hear them. As well any thoughts on the train upgrades and how effective they are, whether there are any that are too powerful or weak, that'd be really helpful also. Plus if you find anything irritating or frustrating with the UI or gameplay, that will help me refine the game.

Use the Feedback Thread here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/955220/discussions/0/523083364935144975/

Or pop into the Crystalline Green Ltd. discord here: https://discord.gg/hYSbQwFQZQ

And if you find any bugs, please let me know in the Bug Thread here:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/955220/discussions/0/523083364935145233/



Train Metropolis will eventually feature far more districts than the demo has. I've yet to decide how many exactly, since they are quite time consuming to make. The aim is to have enough variety that players can feel like they're making a unique city and reaching the eventual goal in their own way.

Equally, the chain of which districts can be upgraded to which other ones will probably change between the demo and full release version. Right now, the demo is a bit too linear, and some of the upgrades, such as Farmland to Industrial aren't intuitive, since players need to simultaneously found a forest district and later a mining district. Equally these districts are kinda useless without an industrial district, so probably there'll be some extra logic for locking district founding and upgrading based on more than just district level.

[h2]Clickety Clack[/h2]

For those that are into the clicker part of Idle Clickers the plan is to add an upgrade chain that will make clicking more powerful. I have some ideas about how to theme this, probably something around either the "stations" being upgraded, or the train company itself.

[h2]Storied Journey[/h2]

I also have some ideas for how the story of Train Metropolis will develop, beyond just being fluff for the tutorial lady Jess to say. I'll need to see if what I have in mind meshes well with the rest of the game, but I'm a fan of adding just a bit of narrative to a game to give it some flavour and hoping to do that with Train Metropolis also.

[h2]Expanding To The Horizons[/h2]

Lastly, I want to implement a map that can be expanded indefinitely, adding further new land every time a district is founded, as well as occasional obstacles such as lakes and mountains that can't be built on.

[h2]Schedule[/h2]

Plan is to release Train Metropolis in March, though it depends somewhat on a). how long it takes to take on board feedback, b). how long the rest of the content, especially the additional districts, take to make, and c). how work goes on the other projects I have.

In the meantime, hope you enjoy the demo and please do get in contact if you have feedback!