Major Gameplay Update

The gameplay update is finally here! This update brings more goal-oriented gameplay mechanisms and several quality-of-life improvements.

Let's look at all the new features in this update:

Career mode

The new career mode offers an alternative to the individual runs, providing more continuity and balance between player choice and randomisation. Pick any route and start with the easiest runs, working your way up to the more prestigious ones as you gain experience points from successfully completed runs.

Steam achievements

A total of 21 achievements wait for unlocking. Some of them are meant to expose you to different styles of playing and experiencing the simulator, in ways that might not be immediately obvious.

Tandem driver mode

Locomotives and powered units in the same formation that can't be multi-unit controlled from the leading vehicle now have tandem drivers.

The role of a tandem driver is to help accelerating the train whereas braking is still handled by the leading driver. You can choose to play as the tandem driver on services that have multiple drivers, otherwise they'll be operated by AI.

Guard mode

You can play as a goods train guard, operating the handbrake to keep the troublesome trucks in check.

Detailed scoring system

The scoring system has been revised to be more accurate and easier to understand. New penalties have been added to encourage prototypical driving that minimises wear and tear. The HUD has a new helper option that shows penalties live during the run for instant feedback.

User profiles and statistics

The game now supports one or more user profiles per Steam account. Statistics like miles driven and average score per train type are recorded for each profile. Old profiles will be imported automatically from the scoreboard of the old version.

Derailments

Trains now derail when negotiating curves too fast. The derailment threshold speed depends on the curve radius and the length of the fixed wheelbase of the vehicle. Once the train has derailed the run ends and cannot be recovered.

Derailments can be enabled or disabled in the route editor per route. Old routes have derailments disabled by default as they may have sharp corners where the train would always derail, even when running within the speed limit.

Timetable mashups

It's now possible to layer different traffic patterns for a single run by selecting multiple timetables, for example, to create a mega busy timetable where nothing runs on time.

User interface

Main menu

The new main menu system is more consistent, discoverable and easier to use than the old one. It's navigable with arrow keys and gamepad instead of being mouse only. The visual style is not final and will be improved in some other update in the future.

Map view

A simple top-down map view similar to other train sims has been added. The main purpose is to visualize the path for complex reversing manoeuvres that previously were explained in text only. The default key for accessing the map is 9. Hold down right mouse button and use WASDEQ keys or the mouse to zoom and move around.

Improved controls

Cab controls can now be operated with the mouse wheel and gamepad triggers. The operating principle of simple controls has been changed to be more intuitive: instead of selecting the target acceleration/deceleration, simple controls now set the target amount of power or brake directly.

New HUD

The new HUD looks better and presents data in a clearer way. The visual style is not final and will be improved