Train Life: A Railway Simulator news & patch notes

Hello Engineers! Thanks for taking the time in joining us once again in our weekly update regarding some of the things that we’re working on to improve Train Life. You all have been great in reporting bugs and giving us some great suggestion and we want to encourage to keep on doing your thing. Keep in mind, these are for PC only, if you’re on console and you’re wondering what’s going happening on that end, please join the official Train Life Discord channel. *Disclaimer: Take everything here with a grain of salt. These are things we are re-testing and doesn't mean that we will add all of these changes and fixes in the next patch, albeit, we'll try our best!

• Inconsistent snow behavior in Alpine regions (The snow appears abruptly and only after nearing Salzburg. In the case the player reverses and drives forward again – it disappears and does not trigger again until reaching Salzburg)
• Missing Key/Buttons prompts on the initial screen for the Orient Express scenarios (Basically, if you have an older save of Train Life and you updated to the newer version 1.10 the buttons on the right side of the screen are missing in the scenario)
• One string for steam locomotive instructions is either shortened/elongated in most languages when using a controller (In the controls section where the player is being explained what they all do in the OE scenario – the first line of instructions is either over extended or shortened hiding what the instructions say)
• Train Life crashes during the Paris - Vienna scenario
• In the tutorial – the task completes itself before user input.
• Passengers’ models clip through standard passenger wagons walls
• Contracts to Vienna was generated for players with no DLC access
• There have been reports of players getting these tasks when they don’t have the DLC installed. Which in short players without this DLC are not able to complete.
• When you browse through wagons in pick-up menu, when attaching a broken train, the trains mesh disappears.
• Train Derails when driving through the junction at London Main, despite driving at a low speed.
• The station are at Berlin Main Station is too small and players are not able to start scenarios on the tracks between the entrances and platforms.

You can expect the next patch to be implemented within the next couple of weeks and feel free to let us know your thoughts on this type of communication between the you, the player and us the studio. On that note, I wanted to thank you all for taking the time in reading this note, and make sure to follow Train Life on Twitter and join the official Discord channel as mentioned above. We do livestreams on our Twitch channel every Monday @ 7PM CEST where we face the questions you guys ask on our Discord channel head on! If this is something you’re interested in don’t hesitate to smack that follow button on Twitch! Take care everyone, Mike Simteract Community Manager

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Hello Engineers!

Welcome to patch 1.10! Your friendly neighborhood community manager Mike is here 😊 We’re pleased to announce that you’ll be able to experience the new HUD we teased over the last couple of months as well as some other gameplay and visual improvements to the game. With that out of the way, let's dive right in!

Changes & Fixes

Tracks & Railways

• Tweaked some issues with the placement of electric lines
• Fixed a problem with a blocked player movement at Service Center Innsbruck warehouse
• Fixed a problem with broken traffic lights at Main Brussels and near Paris Station
• We fixed a problem with the sudden stop of the train when high speed is reached, between Zurich Factory and Zurich Main – this was reported by a few players highlighting that the train came to an immediate halt due to the environment not loading in on time. You should not have this issue any more in this section of the map.
• Fixed a problem with a sharp connection angle between rails in Berlin region – this should fix derailing on these sections of the tracks.
• Fixing a problem with missing part of the tracks near Munich Refinery
• Fixed a problem with sudden stop of the train near Leipzig Main

HUD

• Now we can sort Cities table using controller
• Fixed bug where inverting camera axis was affecting map controls
• Fixed bug that was deleting GPS route after switching navigation mode
• HUD Overhaul – this has been a long-awaited feature since the launch of Train Life, and we are pleased to announce that it is here! Let us know what you think of the new features!

Gameplay

• Fixed GPS Bugs – this should have fixed the issue with navigation points being removed after the player arrives to one, among other bugs as well.
• Now Train cannot be reversed, and cabin cannot be changed during boarding

Scenarios

• Fixed a problem with missing a track section near Antwerp pumpjack during Brussels-Amsterdam scenario
• Fixed a problem with a redundant blockade near Strasbourg Main during scenario Paris-Vienna
• Better Orient Express steam release particles – when doing the OE scenario, you should now see that smoke is coming from the chimney.

Level Art & Design

• Fixed a problem with snow under the roof at Munich Station
• Fixed a problem with buildings on the tracks at Strasbourg Station
• Cleaning track zone from branches, grass, and ground
• Multiple minor art fixes

Language

• Fixed Translation bugs

We hope you will enjoy this update and we encourage the community to continue with the feedback. Make sure to follow Train Life on Twitter and join the official Train Life discord to speak with like-minded individuals as well as the Dev’s themselves! You can also join our weekly livestreams on the official Simteract Twitch channel where you can get your questions about the game answered live as well as stay up to date with the latest and greatest news for the game you all know and love. We will continue to keep you guys updated with the games upcoming hotfixes and patches on a weekly basis as we have been doing since the release of Train Life. Thank you all for sticking with us throughout this time and until next time, engineers! Signing out, Mike Simteract Community Manager

Greetings Engineers!

Welcome to another developer note written by yours truly, Mike! We have been rolling out the hotfixes left and right and we’re coming back to tell you what we’re working on next. So with that out of the way, here is a list of stuff that we’re currently working on either retesting or implementing in the next hotfix for Train Life.

• Engineers License achievement does not unlock after meeting the conditions
• Orient Express scenario durations are not adequate. We’re adjusting the usage of coal and water in these scenarios.
• Parts of tracks missing near Munich Refinery Station
• Scenario: Calais - London - GPS leads to wrong tracks in Calais.
• Redundant blockade near Strasbourg Main during Orient Express scenario Paris-Vienna
• Debug output displayed for "Next navigation mode" binding in PC controls
• Animation of rain inside the 'Munich main' station during gameplay
• Incorrect flag can be spotted at Lucerne Main

Also, we understand that this wasn’t communicated before, but we also wanted to talk about the change when it comes to the route planner. So when does the route planner work? Here is an explanation: Almost everything happens when the player is in passenger/postage mode and is boarding passengers on a passenger station or loading/unloading mail at a warehouse. You take the passengers and mail whose destination is on your GPS Route. If you want to do passenger/postage transport on a route, for example, A B C D, then you simply add those stations to your GPS - and then drive the route and perform station operations on passenger stations and warehouses accordingly. Passengers and postage don't behave like they do in the real world and don't use timetables, but they still assume you'll get them to their destination in a timely manner. They will leave the train at the first opportunity if their patience runs out (you took too long to get to the destination) or if their destination is no longer on the GPS Route (because you removed it).] We hope that explanation cleared some things up for you and in the meantime, we want you to keep the feedback coming! We encourage all players of Train Life to join our official Discord channel and provide feedback, suggestions and comments about the state of the game and how we can make it better for everyone! Thanks for taking the time in reading our note, until next time! Mike Simteract Community Manager

Hello everyone!

Welcome to Hotfix 1.03 for PC. We’re also releasing the Orient Express content for all PC players that took part in the Early Access for Train Life.In the meantime, we have some fixes for today's patch to get through, so without further ado, let's dive right in!

Changes & Fixes

Tracks & Railways

• Tweaked some issues with the placement of electric lines. Now you will not get shocked by the electrical lines.
• Cleaning track zone from branches, grass, ground. To do this, we developed a lawn mower as well as a hedge cutter in UE4.
• Fixed a problem with a broken traffic light near the Bremen Smeltery. No more traffic jams at the intersection.

Tablet

• Added additional highlights to active buttons. It should be easier to tell the difference regarding which selection you are making.
• Fixed a problem with saving force feedback option
• Updated translations. If you find any more translation errors, we encourage you to let us know!
• Fixed a problem with the Back button on a few screens.
• Fixed a problem with input configuration from older versions. This was reported by the community from people coming from the EA version to the 1.0 version of Train Life regarding the new navigation buttons, that well, were not working, that great to say the least. But now, everything should be fine.
• Fixed a problem with not updating immediately tooltips for GPS Mode Toggle after input rebinding.
• Added keyboard and gamepad controls for Show Hide HUD action.
• Fixed employee list to better show its content
• Fixed a bug with Cancel button in scenario start panel

Gameplay

• Improvement of train inertia.
• Fixed a wrong top speed of locomotives.
• Fixed the "Renowned Tourist" achievement. Players might have to revisit the stations once again to get the achievement.
• Fixed a bug with the number of passengers during boarding.

Scenarios

• Fixed GPS route in some scenarios.

Level Art & Design

• The switch near the Munich Factory has had its logic reversed.
• Part of the wood floating in the air near Hague Pumpjack is not floating anymore.

Stability & Performance

• Fixed a rare crash during a boarding passenger in the scenario "Paris – Strasbourg".

That about wraps it up folks! We hope you are enjoying the fixes that we are implementing throughout this time, and we hope the players enjoy the Orient Express content we added for all Early Access players! Make sure to follow Simteract and Nacon on all social media platforms and join our Discord channel so you don’t miss a beat when it comes to news and updates for the game. Until next time! Mike Simteract Community Manager

Hello everyone! Today our team is thrilled to announce that you can now take the controls of the legendary Orient-Express steam train operated by the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits and retrace its storied route, as the Orient-Express DLC is now available for purchase. https://store.steampowered.com/app/2052581/Train_Life__1920s_OrientExpress_Train/ Additionaly we want to remind our Early Access participants that this DLC has been added to your Steam account as a token of gratitude for your support during this essential part of the game's development. The 1920's ORIENT-EXPRESS TRAIN DLC contains:

• The Orient-Express train of the 1920s, operated by the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits
• The 231C Nord steam locomotive
• The historic route of the Orient-Express train, from Paris to Vienna
• 6 exclusive scenarios in which you are at the controls of the Orient-Express train
• 2 new cities: Strasbourg and Vienna

See you soon on the the railway! Benjamin Nacon Community Manager

Hello everyone! We’re back with our weekly update on what you can expect from the next hotfix for Train Life! Keep in mind, these bugs are currently being retested, which could likely mean that they will soon be fixed. However, not all decisions are final and everything is subject to change. Without beating around the bush too much, let's cut right to the chase.

• Player hotkeys for track interaction and navigation mode fail to work after transferring over to 1.0
• Active option highlight may not be clear for the player base
• Some text on the new map are not translated correctly to other languages
• Tracks covered in grass near Nuremberg Power Plant
• Players are unable to deliver goods after loading save data
• Some players are unable to switch navigation modes
• Floating wood near Hague Pumpjack
• Orient Express Content partially available before release

You can expect the next hotfix to be released on September 22nd. The same time Train Life is being released on consoles, yay! That about wraps it up for this week's update. Let us know what you think of these weekly updates and as always, we encourage the community to continue in providing feedback for the game using the official Train Life Discord channel as well as our social media! Until next time! Mike Simteract Community Manager

Hello Drivers!

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41001365/da1fa4d0d6ebe1813239538bc75a911829115804.png We’re coming back with another back-to-back patch for Hotfix 1.02! Joey is sick, so, I Mike, the all mighty community manager will be taking the reins of writing these patch notes this time around. Let’s all wish Joey to get well soon! Keeping in-line with our communication strategy with the community, we want to keep hot fixing the game on a weekly basis and improve the rocky launch of Train Life. With that out of the way, lets get into it.

Sounds

• Added a sound alarm for an occupied track. Another quality-of-life feature that we believe will further help the community with making sure they are dodging trains the correct way.

Settings

• Added an option to disable force feedback vibrations in control settings.

Changes & Fixes

Tracks & Railways

• Fixed a problem with a broken traffic light near the Bern Food Plant
• Tweaked some issues with the placement of electric a pole.

HUD

• Fixed a problem with player input of track action and switching navigation
• Removed the blocking signal notification from notification panel

Tablet

• Locomotives in Service Center now are sorted by unlock level
• Updated company logos, now they have bigger resolution
• Added more sound effects in UI elements
• Added confirmation pop up when escaping to main menu
• Fixed the track interaction controls prompt for inputs
• Removed non-existent cities from the start cities list

Gameplay

• Adjusted the default keybindings of the Navigation Mode selector
• Fixed a long-standing bug regarding electricity costs in electric locomotives, restoring a cost to using electric locomotives for the player
• Fixed a rare crash during game load
• Fixed a bug in Early Bird achievement. The player might have to complete any scenario again to unlock the achievment.
• Fixed the passenger wagon capacity perk which sometimes doesn't work after game load
• Fixed a problem with not saved properly camera and zoom inversion
• Fixed a problem with removing player's GPS route after adding a task for a hired driver
• Fixed a problem with two actions with the same bind input
• Fixed a rare bug with ghost contracts
• Fixed a problem with disappearing station the Zurich Main
• Fixed a snow appearance in some part of the game
• Updated an electricity cost calculation
• Fixed visibility of UI elements during second cinematic after skipping fifth tutorial
• Fixed a problem with delivery goods after loading save game on service center

Scenarios

• Fixed some text in Postage Scenario descriptions
• Switching GPS Map Mode is scenarios in disabled - the game change GPS Map Mode automatically

Language

• Updated translations

Miscellaneous

• Updated a game version number to 1.02

DEVELOPER NOTE: If any players encounter with not working navigation mode buttons such as ( , and . ) the players should remove input.ini file from C:\Users\\AppData\Local\TrainLife\Saved\Config\WindowsNoEditor and it should solve the issue. The Hotfix this time around, was a bit bigger than the last one and that’s because we’re monitoring all the feedback that is being sent by the community through our Discord channel as well as social media and later taking this information and executing changes to the bugs you guys find. We really appreciate all the effort you guys are putting into making Train Life a game you will be playing for years to come. Thanks once again from the Dev Team and next week, we will have some more news updates to share with you all. Best, Mike Simteract Community manager

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Hey, ladies and gents!

Joey here, Train Life’s Creative Lead and Lead Game Designer. As a team we are, of course, very happy for the release of our game, but we definitely wanted to talk to you formally (via this post) and informally (via Discord/Forums) about our game and what we’re focused on. I’m no business-focused developer, or from any marketing department, so I’d rather skip the buzzwords and be straight with all of you!

Bugs & Polish

We’ve got bugs, and we’ve certainly got some polishing to do. There’s no way to soften this one, so I just wanted to relay that it is the top priority of Simteract and our publisher, Nacon, to get these problems solved ASAP. We’re reading all of your criticism and feedback, whether it be from your reviews or your posts, and we’re very glad to see so much community involvement regarding this. Keep writing it, and we’ll do our best to address it! Our latest hotfix, just released, addresses the first of these issues. We’re already working on another one, and will be able to share more about the date as we progress with it.

Level of Simulation

Something we’ve struggled to communicate effectively from day 1 has been the intended level of simulation we’ve been aiming to achieve with Train Life. I don’t believe we’ve done this as well as we could have, and that fault can only be attributed to us. First and foremost, we are not a hardcore simulator, and never desired to be. Train Life is a casual-midcore simulator that takes a more arcade-like approach to vehicle physics, railway traffic, and rail laws. Train Life is inspired by games like Euro Truck Simulator and Transport Tycoon, focusing more on the management metagame (leveling cities and managing employees) and requiring a more consistent amount of player attention and input compared to what might be the case in reality. This has been our core desire for Train Life from the start, though I will reiterate that this was clearly not communicated as effectively as we would like, and I apologize for that. Going forward, we’d like to assure you that tweaks and changes to physics, traffic, or laws are not excluded from our plans, and we’ve certainly made many improvements to these over the course of Early Access. However, large overhauls to these systems are not likely to occur. We’d like Train Life to be playable and accessible by all audiences and ages, striking just the right balance between the feeling of driving on the rails and relaxing as you deliver some wagons!

Conclusion

In short, we’re not done with Train Life, but for the time being our priorities are fixing bugs, polishing, and improving the quality of Train Life’s gameplay. I know that waiting for the next hotfix can be frustrating, and some bug priorities aren’t as high on the list as others. Many of us have our Discords and Steam forums open all day, checking and relaying what you say, or even responding directly to you if time allows. It’s hard for us to get to everything, but we are definitely listening! Thank you for sticking with us and being honest about your thoughts! Without that, there’s no way we could ever realize Train Life’s full potential! If you have anything to say or ask, please feel free to join our Discord to talk directly to us; you can ping me with anything, and I’ll be sure to handle any topic, no matter how difficult! Additionally, following us on Twitter and Twitch can get you up to date with the latest info and streams. Thank you for all of the support over the last year, and this is definitely not the last you’ve heard about Train Life’s future! -Joey

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41001365/fe63bad0db6d144e33a585b4c152595a1e5bbc71.png It's been a hectic start as we're sure you all can agree, however, we're happy to bring you the first post-launch hotfix 1.01! Without further adeu, let's dive right in!

Changes & Fixes

• HUD
  • Fixed a problem with scenario saves always being first on the ‘load save’ list
  • Fixed a bug with problematic GPS routes via non-existing rails
  • Fixed the level up screen not appearing in some cases
• Tablet
  • Fixed the Production Tree image missing from the Codex
  • Fixed the player’s company logo being low resolution
• Gameplay
  • Fixed multiple problems in tutorials
  • Fixed issues with employee routes and map filters
  • Fixed the locomotive customization camera in some locomotives from blocking the view
  • Fixed the ‘Passenger Wagon Capacity’ perk resetting after reloading the game
• Scenarios
  • Fixed an issue preventing an objective in Scenario 7 from being completed
• Level Art & Design
  • Fixed some problems with asset clipping in the locomotive
  • Fixed some problems with disconnected and missing electric overhead lines
• Stability & Performance
  • Fixed career and save game limit resulting in massive save bloat – This will automatically cull (delete) save games past a limit of 20 per career, choosing the oldest first.
  • Fixed some situations that resulted in lag when saving
  • Fixed a fatal error crash when attempting to load save data
• Miscellaneous
  • Update the game version to 1.0, removing the “beta” watermark
  • Removed the game version watermark from the gameplay screen

That about wraps it up for this hotfix! There will be more to come, and just a reminder in case you missed the last developer blog, we will keep you guys updated regarding the transparency we want to keep with the community with weekly updates on addressing your issues and sharing some of the things we're working on so there are no surprises. Make sure to join the official Train Life Discord and follow Train Life on Twitter! Until next time! Mike Simteract Community Manager

Hello engineers!

We would like to start off by welcoming back all new and returning players to Train Life. As you all may already know, we have encountered a few bumps in the road when it comes to the full release, so we’re writing this blog to address your current concerns and what our action plan will be with the community moving forward. So let's cut to the chase.

Coming Soon - Hotfix 1.01

A few days after release, we’re planning a hotfix that will be addressing some immediate issues that we will take care of. We made a post about this in the community hub talking about some known issues and fixes moving forward. You can read about them here. The Hotfix will go live 100% this week (most likely tomorrow - 31/08/22) at around 6PM CEST!

Moving Forward

So we are planning on being more transparent with you guys in the coming weeks. Basically our plan is to update you more frequently on upcoming hotfixes before the next major content update is launched, which will include the new HUD as well as the Orient Express. For the time being, we wanted to share with you all the bugs and other fixes that our team is already aware of and are diligently working on implementing.

• Filters do not function properly using employee routes
• Level up screen not displayed after reaching a new level
• Inconsistency with loading in snow
• Players are unable to set GPS route while in pickup/dropoff area
• Setting route between Amienc and Munich makes the route invisible
• Small freezes during autosave
• Input key remapping after 1.0 launch
• Scenario save is always displayed as the newest save game and loaded through continue
• GPS does not clear last visited station during passenger/postage route
• Player company logo is displayed in low resolution
• Some text on the new map and GPS interface are not translated into other languages
• Names on Minimap and GPS overlap with one another
• Title displays build version
• Player avatar is visible in FPP
• Various graphical glitches with level art

This is all of the bugs and fixes that we will be working on in the coming days/weeks. As you can see there is much more work to be done in order to bring the game to an even better state post-launch so expect a lot more forum and discussions posts on Steam and Social Media on a weekly basis.

Thank you

We wanted to thank everyone for the valuable feedback they have given us throughout the entirety of Early Access as well as the beginning of the full launch. We want to encourage you all to continue to post your bug reports and feedback using the official Train Life Discord channel as well as the Steam Forums. Make sure to also follow Train Life on Twitter so stay up-to-date with the latest news and changes made to the game. Mike Simteract Community Manager

Hi engineers, Train Life officially launched yesterday after a challenging and exciting period of Early Access. We are aware that the game’s launch has brought some new issues, and we want to assure you that we are currently working on resolving them through a series of fixes as soon as possible. Here's a non-exhaustive list of fixes you can expect:

• Removal of the BETA watermark
• Fix of the "V" keyboard shortcut for when a player at a station to upload passengers
• Addition of the Production Tree to the codex
• Fix Driver Avatar Collision

Developer note: There have also been some of you reporting errors such as "LowLevelFatalError" and in this case we recommend reinstalling the game and verifying the integrity of your games files. The same goes for players trying to change controller inputs in the games menu. We are aiming at releasing a first post-launch update early next week (week of August 29). We are also invesigating other issues that you have reported us and might implement in either this nex update or upcoming ones. Thank you for your understanding, and support. Have fun on the railways!

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Patch #19 | FULL RELEASE + DAY 1 PATCH

Engineers! The time is nigh, Train Life 1.0 is here and it's time to talk about what you can expect today patch while playing the game. Before we get into that, I would like to welcome all new and returning players back to the game. As for those veterens who have stuck around for the entirety of Early Access, you guys are the real MVP's! Lets dive right in ladies and gentleman!

Additions

Features

• Added Codex tab to the Tablet - now you can learn about the game as your on the move.
• Added possibility of reverse train anywhere - No more reversing at Service Stations!
• Added new Map system and minimap - a long awaited feature, that will definitely make your life that much more easier.
• Added controller feedback support
• Added “Lucky Cargo Values” City Bonus

Scenarios

• Added Towing Scenarios
• Added Shunting Scenarios
• Added possibility to continue game in scenario after derailing

Sounds

• Added voice lines in the tutorials - We considered adding Joey's voice, but he's from Wisconsin, so yeah...
• New voice lines when contacting stations via the station communications panel

Miscellaneous

• Added animation to come cabin cusomization

Changes & Fixes

HUD

• Fixed access to radial menu during cutscenes
• Fixed a problem with subtitles in tutorial cutscenes
• Updated tutorials and scenarios by changing the way that tasks are displayed
• Updated radial menu icons

Tablet

• Fixed "new career" panel navigation
• Updated the position of tutorial widgets
• Fixed the displayed price of locomotive parts not being affected by the career customization multiplier
• Fixed the render opacity for the confirmation popup in the Escape Menu
• Fixed a missing button prompt in company management

Gameplay

• Fixed a lack of rain particles in some places
• Fixed a problem with refreshing the GPS when changing locomotive cabins
• Fixed a problem with the state of lights after game load
• Updated camera sensitivity settings
• Lowered the default wagon XP value of all cargo goods by ~50%
• Increased the default passenger/postage XP by 20%
• Lowered the default wagon cash value of all cargo goods by 25-33%
• Added a few more variants of NPC locomotives you can encounter during events
• Increased the starting number of wagons that start on production points at the start of a new game
• Increased the starting number of passengers and postage that start on main stations and warehouses at the start of a new game
• Increased the price of derailing and continuing from 10,000 to 50,000
• Increased the price of returning to the previous station from 5,000 to 10,000

Level Art & Design

• Fixed asset popping on scenario’s start

Stability & Performance

• Improvements to path searching in the map
• Improvement to the GPS system
• Fixed a problem with fps drops while scrolling the list of locomotives in the Service Center

Miscellaneous

• Fixed some gameplay settings not being saved
• Fixed a problem with skipping tutorials
• Fixed various smaller problems in tutorials
• Fixed various smaller problems in scenarios

Before we end here, I wanted to share a few words (it's actually a lot, but Joey is a little softy when it comes to these things) a word from our Lead Game Designer: "It’s a tremendously exciting day for game developers to release their game, which is usually the culmination of many years of challenging work. For Simteract, and the incredible team we’ve had working on Train Life, it’s no different. Allow me to take just a moment of your time, and then we can get back to gaming! First and foremost, I want to thank our community members who have been with us from the start, and the ones who are joining us on day one of our full release. While it’s easy to pinpoint the monetary support as a direct contribution to our artform, it would be remiss of me if I failed to mention your bug reports, criticism, and activity within our online communities. Early Access is a grueling, but crucial, phase of iteration, polish, and community involvement. I sincerely hope that we removed as many barriers as possible to aid the flow of information between you and us, the developers. Going forward as a studio, I can certainly promise the continued treatment of the community as an extension of the game’s development team. We look forward to the long-term fans and appeal that our games generate, as well as proving that, at our heart, Simteract aims for transparent and collaborative development with our community. To our team, our lovely group of quirky and talented men and women, I have nothing but pride thinking of how much we’ve grown and learned. Our combined mental forces can conquer even the mightiest of hurdles, and I could not ask for a better set of people to work with on a daily basis. Stand up proudly and wear a well-deserved smile when you think of where this game is now and where it began. Game development is certainly not an easy industry, but even on the toughest days I can rely on my team to put a smile on my face and encourage me onwards. Keep being your best selves, being honest, objective, and fun. Keep being the best friends I’ve ever had, and let’s make some great games together! Lastly, but absolutely not least, our friends and business partners at Nacon deserve a big spotlight as our publisher. We’re all in this industry together, and putting all of the puzzle pieces together can, at times, be stressful and hectic. Like any good marriage, communication is key. Thank you, Nacon, for showing us a ton of care, consideration, and understanding when it came to Train Life. Working with you has been an immense pleasure for us, and we’re looking forward to the future of our relationship with you! From all of us to you players, thank you for everything! <3 Joey Bougneit Creative Lead & Lead Game Designer" Thank you Joey, and thank you all for playing a huge part in this project. Mike Simteract Community Manager

Hello Engineers! Welcome to another developer blog for Train Life! As many of you know, Train Life is leaving Early Access on August 25th! In this blog, we wanted to talk a little bit about the things we have been working on leading up to the full release of the game and some insights that we may have not necessarily shared in the past. We’re going to be talking about everything from UX/UI design to the Orient Express. Let's dive right in!

The Player HUD

We tested the current HUD with the player-base and we came to the conclusion that there are a few changes that still need to be made. We re-organized practically all of the widgets and during that time, we made them look a little “lighter” Check out this screenshot. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41001365/223e01a233176ba9760f67fd99bec848d1777ceb.png Keep in mind, this isn’t the final version and could still be changed upon the full release of the game. We added a visual to show the player when there will be the next speed limitation to give the player some more time to react to speed changes among other changes that we will share in the post release patch notes. Please remember, it’s possible that the new HUD will be available to the player-base on the first major post-launch update.

Map Overhaul

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41001365/ead24c2a696be9cbd60be0782fcdc9d1d9e126f8.png The map overhaul is something that has been highly requested by the community and we agree, it was long overdue. We’re glad we can finally share some concepts that we are working on for the full release. Again, this could change upon the full release of the game so take everything with a grain of salt. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41001365/6706caf538153ad7b0318633e57d316fb793ae1c.png With the map overhaul, comes a variety of different changes. You’ll be able to manage your company's drivers, filter the icons that you see on the map where the player is going to be able to type in the icons and as well as the type of stations and stations with reserved contracts AFAIR, among other general improvements with the maps as a whole. We’re probably going to change the background a little bit and remove some signs.

MiniMap and GPS Improvements

The minimap is also going to get a facelift along with some more improvements. For example, the minimap will adjust its zoom levels based on the player's speed. We think this will be a welcome change that will help players be more aware of where they are without opening the full map. However, this doesn’t mean that the player won't have any control. The player will have manual control over the map zoom via new hotkey implementations. When it comes to the navigation in the minimap, performance and path finding have been significantly improved.

The Orient Express

The Orient Express is something that we’re super excited about players trying out. Just as a reminder, EVERYONE that took part in the Early Access version of Train Life, will get access to the Orient Express. However, not exactly at launch, but possibly about a month or two down the line during the first post-launch update. The Orient Express update will feature unique gameplay mechanics and a different HUD, to give players an experience playing Train Life like never before. We’re super excited, and we hope you are too! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41001365/360b4e177a5be0c0de6492a3f13de9816974fbaa.jpg

Choo Choo, leaving EA!

We are super proud of our team and the community as a whole for sticking with us through thick and thin throughout the entirety of Train Lifes Early Access. The community has played a key part in helping us improve the game over time, and we’re ecstatic that EA is coming to an end. However, this doesn’t mean it’s the end of the road for Train Life. Post launch, we’re planning on bringing more DLC content, more maps, trains, bits and bobs to help make your experience playing Train Life as EPIC as possible. Early access was the tip of the iceberg, and now we can all rejoice and finally play the game. Make sure to follow Simteract and Nacon on all social media channels including Twitch! This month, we are going to be at Gamescom in Cologne, Germany and we hope we can meet some of our fans there! If not, make sure to catch the livestream for Train Life where we will be doing some developer interviews on the launch of the game. We will share more information on when the livestream will happen towards the end of the month. See you in 1.0 Engineers! Mike Simteract Community Manager

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41001365/fbba5fc3431cf44a4b189363fc6eff224c609edf.png Hello Engineers, The Early Access journey has been a long one, yet it’s time to pull into the station. Gather your luggage and embark on a new journey: the official Release!

Train Life will officially launch on August 25th, at 6pm CEST.

Version 1.0 will be coming with our latest major update, full of new content that will be presented in a developer stream and a patch note shortly prior to the date.

A special note for our beloved Beta Testers:

First of all thank you for your support along the way. We are here today thanks to your detailed feedback, numerous bug reports, and your trust, buying our game at this early stage. For that we are eternally grateful, and we hope that you had a great time and that you will continue to enjoy Train Life. But because words are not enough to express our gratitude, we also have a few gifts! Every EA tester will receive three customization items which will be added to their game automatically on release day, at the same time as the launch update:

• A mini Golden locomotive
• A Droby Smoke dragon
• A Handcar

And later will also receive:

• The 1920’s Orient-Express train and the 231 C Nord steam locomotive

This legendary train will be available after release, and we can’t announce the exact date yet, but we are aiming for fall 2022. We want our EA Testers to feel special, also because we have another news to share: The price of Train Life will remain the same.

The release will come with its fair share of new content:

• The GPS system overhaul • Map feature redesign • New scenarios • Event system & new events • Final achievements • Vibration support • Full controler support • And more! Stay tuned for more news about Train Life and the release content in the coming days!

What’s next?

Some of you might be happy the game is finally releasing, and some might be concerned, wondering if the game is ready. We want to reassure all our players; leaving early access is not the end of the development. We want Train Life to have a long life and continue to plan a lot of content for the game, along with continuous support for bug fixes and other miscellaneous improvements. We also have major content scheduled to come after the release such as the Orient-Express train (free for all our Early Access Players). More information will come in due time. For now we are concentrating on bringing you the best release update on August 25th! Follow us on our different social media to be sure not to miss anything about Train Life: https://twitter.com/TrainLifeGame Discord: https://discord.gg/9YKRmm5d97 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TrainLifeGame/ See you onboard!

Big Announcement!

This is going to be an Epic stream. I am being joined by our Lead Game Designer, Joey (MaesterSilvio)! Join us @ 7PM CEST (RIGHT NOW!!!!!) on the official Nacon Twitch channel: http://twitch.tv/nacon

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Patch #18 - Build 25036

Hello Engineers, your community manager Mike is here! Joey is still recovering from his vacation and is lazily sitting in his home-made hammock wondering, what I am going to write in these patch notes. It's been a while since we launched Update 3 and while it was a success, we noticed that the community encountered some pretty strange issues which, we can address right now. So with that out of the way, lets dive right in.

Changes & Fixes

Tracks & Railways

• Fixed problem with some missing, redundant, and clipping sign and signals
• Fixed problem with the unfunctional bumper block at Szczecin Farm
• Fixed problem with tracks covered by snow under roof at the Zurich Main. Joey mentioned in the last patch notes that this was the winds problem. Well, I agree.
• Fix problem with tracks covered by snow in Bern’s tunnel
• Fixed problem with spawn frequency of a snow pile event. To be honest, too much snow doesn't sound so bad this summer.

Gameplay

• Fixed some problems with camera collision
• Fixed not counting postage missions as a city level up task for Liechtenstein
• Fixed not working switching train lights from older save versions. We know this was a huge pain in the butt for the community, and although we know it shouldn't of happened in the first place, we're glad we could alleviate the pain. It just took us a bit longer than your average pain medicine.
• Fixed the place of back wagon camera

Scenarios

• Fixed a few issues with tutorial objectives

Hate bugs, and need to rant about them?

We're here to listen, and fix them! You're all, as always, invited to join our Discord Server and chat with us directly! It's a great way to get more immediate feedback, or just watch me get banned for posting memes in general. You may also follow our Twitter, if you want to get 10 years of good luck, and our Twitch account if you want to join our Monday livestreams and tell me how good of a Train Life player I am! For major content updates you can find us streaming on Nacon's twitch channel, which you should follow as well to see gameplay and news of other Nacon games!

Hello Engineers!

Welcome to one of many more to come: Dev Blogs for Train Life! In this short read we will talk about how we create sound for our game! We feel that sound is not talked about enough, and it plays a crucial part in Train Life - in any video game, for that matter. With that in mind, let's get into it!

Placing Sound FX

Placing sound effects in a game seems like an easy task. The Sound Designer puts them as fixed-point sound sources on the levels and sound effects play when triggered (either once or until they are stopped). But it is a challenge when we have to face a huge map like Train Life has. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41001365/846bc92fbf1254b1a396bc65e15f431a26934107.png One of the first problems we encountered was the density of sound sources. In places where we wanted players to hear the constant sound (like forest ambiance), it was hard to decide how far the sources should be from each other, both in audial and optimization cases. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41001365/1a5f824cc10373e3886aaad57e193f5e8588c0e1.png Luckily, we came up with a tool to place sounds in special areas that can be modified by desginers.

Developing Tools

Once a player enters the area, the sound source glues itself to the player and follows them. After leaving the area, the source still follows the player but is limited to the area's border. This allowed us to easily create ambient sounds in huge spaces (like forests, cities, or plains), as well as in smaller places (like industries). {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41001365/a027effce3e9ded1f04bea8cc4628c77293cc232.png We developed a variation of this tool for randomized sounds that play once per time, like birds or sirens. The method of placing this tool is the same as for the previous one, but it works differently. It randomizes a location of where the sound should be played (whether on the border of the area or inside it) and designers can specify min-max values of how often the sounds should be spawned. But that's not all. You must have noticed that when you enter tunnels or bridges, sound changes a bit. We add reverb specific to those places or, in the case of tunnels, we mute some of the sounds. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41001365/7c7f145a307d57d19fcb234540d2ce1e30353677.png When implementing those effects, the sound designer's first thought might be placing collision boxes, triggering the effects on entering and removing on exiting. However, the change would be immediate, and we didn't want it in Train Life. That's why we created a special kind of collision box that changes the strength of the effect based on where you are in the collision box. Thanks to that, the effect is not independent of the trains' velocity.

Usage In-Game

Although those tools speed up the process significantly, it still takes a lot of time to place them. They make it easier to see what type of sound is where and what sound line or zone needs to be adjusted if a level changed, but an empty level, especially a detailed one, needs days to be considered completed. Nevertheless, they allow us to quickly create soundscapes in big areas, giving a solid background for places that need more detail. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41001365/bbb76f69854e0ca87f1e75b51cdaa11716a92a96.png A big shoutout to our sound designer Greg in writing this blog! We hope you all enjoyed this informational blog post and make sure to follow Train Life on Twitter and join the official Discord channel to stay up to date with the latest and greatest news from our teams. Until next time! Mike Train Life Community Manager

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Patch #17 - Build 24310

Hey everyone, Joey here! It's been far too long since we had the pleasure of bringing you the latest batch of fixes. First and foremost, we're really sorry about the extended delay here. As we're nearing larger milestones internally with the project, we recently had some goals that required 'all hands on deck', so to speak. Unfortunately, however, this had the consequence of delaying our PC patch that we had planned to have out much sooner. On the bright side, the scope of these internal milestones, which I sadly can't talk about just yet, resulted in many bug fixes as well as performance improvements. I can hint that they will lead to some really exciting bits of news in the near future though! As we start to shift from content development to polishing, a more stable and finished product will thankfully emerge from the other end. It's too soon to pour the whiskey just yet, but we can see the light at the end of the tunnel! I won't drone on further here though, because we both know you just want those juicy notes! Please enjoy our latest patch and let us know, either on Steam or on our Discord, if you have any issues with it!

Additions

• Features
  • Added a rear-view camera that you can switch to in order to see from the back of your wagons

Changes & Fixes

• Tracks & Railways
  • Fixed a problem with an absent track in Hamburg Main
  • Fixed a problem with 50km/h speed limit bypass tracks at Liechtenstein Grain Mill, Bern Main, and at Prague Warehouse – Not much of a bypass if you’re asked to drive slower than grandma going to buy lotto tickets
  • Fixed problem with blocked tracks in Cologne area, Dresden Pumpjack, and at the entrance of Szczecin Main
  • Fixed a problem with a missing entrance marker in Dortmund Steel Mill
  • Fixed a problem with snow covering rails in tunnels – I mean, I could have found some excuse for this, like maybe the wind blew it in or something
  • Fixed a problem with “blocking signals” at entrance of the Brussels Main
  • Fixed a problem with 80km/h speed limits set in Luxembourg Main and Basel Main
  • Fixed many instances of missing, redundant, disconnected, and clipping signs and signals
  • Fixed a problem with a dysfunctional bumper block at Calais Main
  • Fixed a problem with broken switches near the entrance of Dresden Main, Hamburg Main, and Cologne Main
  • Fixed a problem with the speed limit setup between Berlin Smeltery and Berlin Warehouse
  • Fixed some instances of missing entrances and track markers
• HUD/UI
  • Fixed a problem with notifications of Level Crossing being duplicated
  • Fixed the functionality of the coupling/decoupling icon in the locomotive's dashboard in scenario 10
  • Fixed some improper terms in gamepad joystick terminology
  • Fixed the headlight icon under the speedometer not reflecting the current state of lights after game load
  • Added a missing part of the Pickup Planner Keyboard Input Legend
  • Fixed exiting Career Options taking the user to the main menu
  • Made some visual changes to the main menu loading bar
  • Fixed showing XP and monetary rewards on scenario list screen which do not correspond with actual rewards received
  • Added missing control tooltips in main menu and escape menu
  • Fixed the missing Pizza Square icon in Locomotive Customization section of the Service Center – Just remember, do NOT buy the cursed pineapple pizza; we are unlikely to ever be friends and I've heard rumours that the game crashes more often for those that like pineapple pizza
  • Fixed using SPACE as control action's input
• Gameplay
  • Fixed an issue with stations only producing 1 contract per good type, now they will produce a maximum of 10 per good type – This can only be described as a major bug that I'm surprised wasn't noticed sooner, but we're really looking forward to how the community enjoys the intended contract gameplay!
  • Fixed an issue allowing players to enter service centers without applying the emergency brake first
  • Fixed an issue where the player could enter the pickup/dropoff minigame without applying the emergency brake first
  • Fixed a problem with postage deliveries not counting for Liechtenstein’s level up – We told them that if they don't let players level up then they can't receive all the junk they ordered off of Amazon
  • Fixed a problem with the money bonus from contracts being different than expected
  • Fixed a wrong time bonus multiplier with delivering an expired postage contract
  • Fixed receiving 2X rewards on completing a cargo 'Delivery' task – Wish it worked that way in real life
  • Fixed an issue with an objective in Tutorial 1 asking you to switch cabin
  • Fixed showing the wrong distance to the pickup track on cargo contracts
  • Fixed not gaining time and XP multipliers after completing passenger/postage deliveries
  • Fixed some bugs and made minor changes in Tutorial 3 and 4
  • Fixed an improper button prompt for increasing the throttle in objective 5 and 10 of the first tutorial
  • Fixed custom bankruptcy thresholds not being properly applied and saved on new careers
  • Fixed cargo contracts being labeled as “Delivery” completed in details screen
  • Fixed a problem with contracts finished on a save migrated from Update 2
  • Fixed some objective text in the third tutorial
• Scenarios
  • Fixed fog light penalty in scenario 'Leipzig-Nuremberg (Logs)'
  • Fixed improper completion time displayed after finishing Scenario 11
  • Fixed "Contract finished" objective in scenarios
  • Adjusted the estimated times of two scenarios – We know you like it fast, but nobody is THAT fast...not even me when they put the mulled wine on sale
• Level Art & Design
  • Fixed various problems with some missing, disconnected, and clipping electrical lines
  • Fixed a problem with redundant lampposts at Szczecin Main
  • Fixed a problem with missing passengers on the platforms of Hamburg Main
• Sound
  • Fixed a problem with the horn when the player opens the tablet – I'd still like to add a 1/10000 chance that when you honk the horn you hear a goose instead. We'll see what the future holds!
• Language
  • Fixed some missing translations
• Stability & Performance
  • Fixed a crash while re-entering decoupling mode after delivering a contract
  • Fixed a rare crash that occurred while leaving a Service Center
  • Fixed a common crash that occurred when trying to switch to a different tab from the Station Panel
• Miscellaneous
  • Fixed an issue with pickup and drop off tracks not appearing after loading save data created within the station
  • Improved the visual transition into and out of snowy regions – Minecraft-esque biome transitions definitely shouldn't be present in our game, as much as I love Minecraft

Hate bugs, and need to rant about them?

We're here to listen, and fix them! You're all, as always, invited to join our Discord Server and chat with us directly! It's a great way to get more immediate feedback, or just watch me get banned for posting memes in general. You may also follow our Twitter, if you want to get 10 years of good luck, and our Twitch account if you want to join our Monday livestreams and tell our Community Manager, Mike, that he's a bad player. For major content updates you can find us streaming on Nacon's twitch channel, which you should follow as well to see gameplay and news of other Nacon games!

While work on future major content is progressing steadily, we're also thinking about little details which could bring more life to the game world. Update 3 has just been released and this means that we are that much closer to bringing Train Life out of Early Access. With this in mind, we would like to ask the community the following question: Which animations you would like to see added to our locomotives and passangers on stations? We are also thinking about adding a codex into the Train Life upon the full release of the game. We wanted to ask you guys about what you think should be added into the in-game codex to provide some further explanation on certain game mechanics like maybe city leveling or the company managment aspect of Train Life. What would you like to have added to an in-game codex to help new and existing players better understand the Train Life and it's mechanics? Thanks for taking the time in sharing your thoughts! The Simteract and Nacon Team

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41001365/c2b0b070c6091c9683d413577f2086df1119737d.png

Patch #16 - Build 22489

Well, thankfully Mike is gone and I (Joey) am back. I hope he treated you well and included plenty of jokes in his post. If not, we shall certainly ensure he's punished swiftly and harshly. The sounds of my justice shall echo through the mountains, and all will know that Mike's lack of humour has been thoroughly destroyed. https://c.tenor.com/C2_5_xlMRyoAAAAd/dennis-reynolds-rage.gif *cough* ...so moving on! We have a new patch for you following our recent content update. We've been carefully monitoring the Discord and forums for any issues, just like my mom monitored me at night to make sure I didn't wake up and play games instead of sleeping. (Never worked, I always found ways to play games) While this first patch addresses many of the issues, we have more coming in another patch. It would also be nice to have a post-update dev blog, as is tradition; will have to find some time to write it. The best news, of course, is that with the return of Mike I'll be joining him on a livestream to talk about how things are going, answer any questions, and talk about the future of the game while trying not to say things that will get me in epic trouble. It's okay though, I've packed an emergency bag just in case I do say something terrible.

Changes & Fixes

• Tracks & Railways
  • Fixed missing markers on some service centers
  • Fixed a problem with 50km/h speed limit of Bypass of Bern Main
  • Fixed a problem with a clipping signal in Calais Smeltery -- It has been discovered that trains do not routinely drive through signals, which is good information
  • Fixed a problem with a blocked track at the Northern entrance to Innsbruck Main
  • Fixed a problem with missing bumper blocks at Poznan Main -- This was a pathetic attempt to get you to derail your train and we apologize for it
  • Fixed a problem with missing entrance points in Stuttgart, Reims, and Brno
• Tablet
  • Fixed a problem with controller button prompts on scenario ending screen
  • Fixed a bug with showing map when player tries go back to gameplay after using station panel
  • Fixed various input remapping issues
  • Updated cabin accessory icons -- Anyone able to purchase the gross, evil, and soul-crushing pineapple pizza yet?
  • Fixed GPS problem with setting route through station instead of bypass -- Don't worry, you'll still unlock stations by going through their bypass routes ;)
  • Fixed double displayed scenario reward on unplayed scenarios -- Double rewards? Unacceptable!
  • Fixed UI panel overlapping a tutorial cutscene
  • Updated OPTIONS and SHARE button icons
• Gameplay
  • Fixed a problem with camera after exiting service center -- We decided to service the camera too
  • Fixed a bug with a gap between locomotive and wagons after removed wagons in service center
  • Fixed a lack of light visual effects during daylight in the Newag locomotive -- This darkness required an exorcist, it was a very dramatic affair
  • Fixed the back cabin position of Newag locomotive
  • Fixed a problem with getting the fine “unauthorized access” in Nuremberg Station when using a bypass
• Level Art & Design
  • Fixed derailing between Poznan Smeltery and Gorzow FPP -- Only unintended derailing though, so don't go thinking you can joy-ride at max speed with wagons of steel sheets
  • Fixed lack of camera collision in tunnels between Zurich Warehouse and Zurich Iron Mine -- Despite what you may have seen in our game, in real life there is a lot of dirt if you could see into the walls of a tunnel
  • Adjusted the height of flying tracks near Bremen Coal Mine -- This 'adjustment' generally means we clipped the wings of the track
  • Adjusted the position of several trees placed too close to the tracks -- This is not indicative of a "Lumberjack Life" spinoff
  • Adjusted the position of corridors in several places
• Language
  • Added some missing localization texts
• Stability & Performance
  • Fixed performance issues near Calais Smeltery

That's All....For Now

We'll have plenty more for you in the coming weeks, both with regards to information but also with fixes and improvements. Keep your eyes peeled like a pineapple -- wait, you can peel a pineapple? I have never once heard the term 'peeling a pineapple'... Either way, pineapples are great, but don't put them on pizza. You will be subject to police investigation, put on a no-fly list, and your Steam account will be auctioned off on the black market. You have been warned.

Have questions or issues about the game?

You're all, as always, invited to join our Discord Server and chat with us directly! It's a great way to get more immediate feedback, or just send me memes. You may also follow our Twitter, if you want to tag Elon in some great screenshots of our game, and our Twitch account if you plan on joining us on Monday livestreams.

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It's been a long time coming, but it's finally here Engineers!

We're very proud to announce the 3rd major content update for Train Life! Talk is cheap, so lets get into the meat and potatoes of the update you've all been waiting for!

Patch Notes

We mentioned before on our socials and Discord that this update is going to be the biggest yet, and we weren't kidding! Buckle up, cause it's going to be a long one!

Additions

Features

• Station Gameplay Overhaul - A long time in the making, but we’ve made some significant adjustments to Station Gameplay. We’ve added a new Station Panel in the tablet, contract reservations, a brand spanking new cargo coupling/decoupling mode as well as an overhaul to the Radio Communication system.

Weather

• Now, you’ll be able to experience all the seasons in Train Life: Rain, Snow and Storms. Before you ask, there will be no rain in the tunnels and the rain drops that hit your windshield will interact with the wipers!

Customization

• As opposed to our April Fools post that our genius Community Manager made with the help of others, you can now customize your cabin with certain bits and bobs. You can now add the company colors to the exterior of your locomotives as well to even more, pimp out your train.
• Added new locomotive drivers – now, you don’t ONLY have to look at the bald head of Gerald (atleast that’s what we call him)
• Driver model in cabin according to player’s avatar – so when you pick an avatar when starting a new game, that avatar will now correctly correspond to the model in the cabin of your train. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41001365/1e49c8ef481aef7d848aa9eec6001dbe0ac6ed4a.png

Player and Track Improvements

• Added Track/Platform Number Signs and Track/Platform Directional Signs
• Added locomotives wheels animation
• Added automatic train parking on station's track
• Added Achievements – Now you can get that hit of dopamine when you complete tasks.
• Added job completion screen
• Added level up screen

Regions

• Added a new region: Alps. People living in warmer parts of our blue planet, will now get to experience snow for the first time 😊

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41001365/7fe36580ec15a99c9c7885085bface496f8f6d97.png Locomotives

• Added a new locomotive: Newag Griffin

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41001365/2be56465bcd927b392d806e46847528d68b39163.png Sounds

• More ambient sounds that add life to the surroundings: church bells, dogs barking, sirens in the cities.
• New horns for the locomotives. Now each brand of locomotives has its own unique horn sound. This is something that has been asked by the community since day 1 launch of EA. We're super stoked that we can finally deliver new horn sounds, thanks to our amazing sound designer, Greg, the sound guy.

Settings

• Inputs remapping
• Add player option of NPC trains spawn place

Changes And Fixes

Tracks & Railways – a lot of you have been letting us know about misplaced signs, signals and not having the option to bypass certain stations. So we did a deep dive, and fixed those to hopefully, deliver a more fluid and close-to-realistic experience as possible:

• Fixed blocked tracks
• Fixed misplaced Sign and Signals
• Fixed improper Speed Limit Signs
• Fixed z-fighting on tracks
• Redesigned railway-schemes to create easier-to-navigate junctions
• Added passthrough tracks to all stations
• The speed limit on all passthrough tracks has been increased to 80km/h
• Station Gameplay - Showing track for pickup and deliveries
• Fixed marker of NPC moving locomotive

HUD

• Fixed GPS route after loading save data

Tablet

• Service Center shows supported transportation modes for locomotives

Gameplay Since we launched the scenario system, a lot of you have been enjoying it, however, we know that it was missing a lot of stuff like rewards and stats. With update 3, we believe we gave the player more of a “carrot on a stick” per say, to go back and make scenarios great again.

• Scenario system update
• Scenarios now start on different times of day
• Scenarios now have rain and fog
• Scenarios that go through more than one country display all the countries on the list
• Changed some of the time estimates for scenarios
• Train station in scenarios should have more people on them
• Fixed missing/redundant scenario barriers
• Scenario system is part of career game
• Added Scenario level requirements
• Added Scenario total time play of scenario session
• Added Scenario reward to player career
• Added Scenario save in Load Main Menu

Difficulty

• Specific difficulty options can now be seen when choosing difficulty
• More difficulty presets
• Added Custom difficulty setting

Post Update 3 focus and beyond!

First of all, on behalf of Simteract and Nacon, we would like to thank the entire community for sticking it out through thick and thin throughout the development of Train Life. To us, Train Life is a work of passion. Passion that we want to bestow upon the gaming community and show people that they dont have to settle for nothing less when it comes to Train Simulation games. We are already hard at work with Update 4, and as usual will keep you guys on the up-and-up regarding that. Expect more fine tuning in Update 4, the release of the famous Orient Express, new shunting and towing scenarios, an overhaul of the GPS system and much more. Of course, our Lead Game Designer Joey will write the next blog for you all as we have a little bit of a secret as to who wrote this one. Hey guys, it's me, your community manager Mike ;)

Follow us on all the things

Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Twitch and of course Discord, is where you can get all of the latest and greatest information regarding the development of our game. You can also follow the development process on the official Train Life Trello and when Joey gets back from his vacation, you can even @ him with any questions, comments or concerns you may have on Discord among our other fantastic designers, QA testers and programmers. I (Mike) will be there as always :) Have fun in Update 3 everyone!

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41001365/9dbc01519ba42bcb00fd734e4e49a07fd3d9d7bf.png Join Mike and Maciej Litwin (Senior Game Designer) later today on our Twitch Channel or on Train Life Steam page to discover everything you need to know about our 3rd Major Update, coming on April 20th! You might leave with a free key 👀 See you at 7.40pm CEST!

Disclaimer: This was an April Fools joke and we will have a real Dev Blog post closer to Update 3! Hope you get a few good laughs from this one :)

Greetings, engineers!

Today’s blog post will have a lot of information that players have been expecting for Update 3. We understand that it has been quite some time between update 2 and 3, and we wanted to quell some of the communities' doubts and let you guys in on some things to expect for the next major content update. Without further ado, let us get into it.

Weather Updates

Starting off in Update 3, some things that players will expect right out of the box, is the new dynamic weather system. There will be a variety of liquids hitting your windshield ranging from rain, snow, and blood from hitting deer! We discussed briefly about adding hail, tornados, and other forms of dynamic weather, but we concluded that this would extend update 3 to sometime around next year. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41001365/7171f38fdf6bf6e15df3410d75d59861813d2feb.png

Regions and Borders

While we’re nearing completion of Update 3, we have already set our sight for the future and are thinking of Update 4. We call it “The Map Update”, and for a reason! First of all, we’re going to add borders and some geography – country borders, regional borders and water! You’ll no longer drive around an endless sea of grey-ish blue. But wait, that’s not all! Right now, as you’re reading this, Joey, our Lead Game Designer (known from classics such as TrainLife Stream and Fast and Furious 9) is in Wisconsin, doing research. Research for what? Oh... for the new regions to our game!! Update 4 will bring you Michigan, Wisconsin AND Chicago – first final areas of the game, replacing the placeholder European stations! We can hardly believe we have reached that point in the project, but it’s really happening. Hopefully we’ll get some photos from Joey soon, along with his report on the state of the famous Wisconsin cheese.

New Locomotive

A lot of you were excited to hear about finally having a new locomotive added. Our original idea was to add the Newag Grifin, but we decided to cater to the younger audience playing Train Life, and instead, we will add Joey the Tank Engine. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41001365/92eeb52237bffc82fc8c1c15cba9ab61aae5bcab.png

Train Customization

You asked for it, so we delivered. You will be able to customize your trains on the inside and out. Ranging from the type of graffiti you want on the side of your train and the hula hoop bobble head you want on the Saltzgetter dashboard. We hope you enjoy the wide range of customization options we added for you and feel free to send us some screenshots of how creative you guys are getting with personalizing your trains. The picture below is from our community manager, Mike, who really hit the nail on the head judging he is from Chicago! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41001365/a132fcedb33007f6732e78447796d2b90926637a.png

Radio Communication Rework

What more is there else to say? You are going to be talking with Morgan Freeman via radio communication. And yes, he was expensive, but we believe it was worth it.

New Team Members, New Ideas

And last but not least - after some consultation, and very rigorous interviews, we have made the decision to employ some of our mothers to be consultants for Train Life. The reason we made this decision is because we understand that they lived in an era where trains were more prevalent, and people rode trains more often (this is something that will help us improve upon the station gameplay that we cannot wait to show the community). Some of the responsibilities of our new team members are going to be as follows: Making sure we dress warmly, finish our meals, and give us life advice we did not ask for. Overall, we cannot wait to show the community all the new features we have in store for Update 3. Thanks for coming to our Ted Talk, see you in update 3!

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41001365/85ee48a5eaea5895927548ad2dc06e0c20fa321d.jpg Hello everyone! We hope this message finds you well! We wanted to start off by mentioning that we have a public Trello that is made for the community to follow along with the development of Early Access (and eventually the full game) of Train Life: A Railway Simulator. You can check it out here: https://trello.com/b/Qd8tnu03/train-life-early-access-roadmap In addition, after our recent patch #15, we implemented some performance changes that were a pain in the butt for you guys. So, we fixed it and we hope you’re enjoying the game even more this time around! Along with the performance change – we also gave you guys the ability to go load the game in a “Legacy Build” so that you can go back in time and play the game until we fix whatever is happening. However, this does come with its own set of caveats. When going into the Legacy version of Train Life, please be aware that your saved games MAY not be compatible with an older version of the game. This means that you will have to back up your save files to avoid file corruption and lose your progress. You can find all your saved games on Steam by following the link below and back them up accordingly: https://store.steampowered.com/account/remotestorage That’s about it for now! Thanks for playing our game and stay tuned for future patches and content updates by joining the official Train Life Discord server and joining our streams on Twitch every Monday @ 7PM CET for the most up-to-date news there is! See you on the tracks engineers!

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Patch #15 - Build 19517

Today's patch has the much anticipated performance stabilization fixes for our last patch. We apologize for it taking so long to get a hotfix out, but our internal tests showed drastically improved performance so we hope that you all experience similar results. Let us know how it plays! More information on Update 3 will hopefully arrive in the coming weeks, as we have lots of exciting stuff to share and show off!

Changes & Fixes

• Tracks & Railways
  • Fixed a few issues related to speed limits on sections near Gorzów, Dresden, and Prague
• Gameplay
  • Inverted the colouring on the chassis weight comparison – Down good, up bad. Now down green, not red. Now up red, not green. This makes me want to do a whole series of patch notes written like a caveman. Maybe one day…
  • Fixed an issue with cars randomly disappearing – Technically this was not auto theft because nobody reported them stolen
  • Fixed an issue where there were incorrect images for some train parts – I tried replacing them with memes, but the coders caught me
• Stability & Performance
  • Fixed an issue with culling volumes that were causing frequent FPS drops – No jokes on this one, let us know how your performance is!

Have questions or issues about the game?

You're all, as always, invited to join our Discord Server and chat with us directly! It's a great way to get more immediate feedback, or just watch me ping the QA team with your bugs. You may also follow our Twitter, if you want a break to the normal Twitter craziness, and our Twitch account if you like copy pasta or joining us on Monday livestreams (or both).

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Patch #14 - Build 19237

We've got some miscellaneous fixes for all of you today, with many more in the pipeline to accompany Update 3. We'll definitely have more to share as we get closer, as we'd like to write a pre-update dev blog like we did last time. Enjoy the fixes and let us know if there are any problems!

Changes & Fixes

• Tracks & Railways
  • Fixed multiple sign and signals issues
• Tablet
  • Fixed GPS route is not retained after loading save data
• Gameplay
  • Fixed an issue where the number of city bonuses may exceed the allocated slots – If you have this bug we won’t be removing the excess ones, and they’ll have to run out first before disappearing. Happy Valentines Day. :heart:
  • Fixed bug with U2 cities levelled up after save migration from U1 have no bonuses
  • Fixed a bug where picking up wagons while near a service center may result in the wagons being clipped into it – Tracks get cramped for space, but after some research we realized that this was not how wagons work
  • Fixed a bug where driving through the passthrough of a station doesn't unlock the station for employees – Station managers, like loving grandmothers, aren’t happy that you can ignore them completely and still get your birthday money, or in this case the station unlock. We told the station managers to deal with it, but please don’t say this to your grandparents.
• Level Art & Design
  • Adjusted height of flying passengers in Prague Main Station – Flying is dangerous, and it must be done safely and with regard to the passengers around you
  • Removed overlapping buildings in Prague Main Station – It turns out that Prague Main Station is not currently at Deus Ex levels of the future…..yet

Do you want our undivided attention?

So does my cat! You're all, as always, invited to join our Discord Server and share problems or issues directly with us! It's a great way to get more immediate feedback and answers, or just watch me ping the QA team until they complain that I do it too often. But I won't stop. You may also follow our Twitter, if you want a break to the normal Twitter craziness, and our Twitch account if you like channel points or joining us on Monday livestreams with Mike (or both).

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Patch #13 - Build 18977

While we had hoped to get a patch out earlier this week, today's patch has many more fixes than expected! Firstly, we'd like to apologize for not having a hotfix sooner. Making a build can often waste precious development time, as it requires all teams to coordinate on the notes, release, and testing of the game to ensure it passes QA. We made the decision on Monday/Tuesday to hold off on an early hotfix and aim for a Friday patch with more issues that were found after release. On behalf of the team I'd like to thank you for your patience and apologize for all of the issues you have identified and reported. We have more fixes on the way for various issues, and will probably aim for a patch next week if nothing more urgent is required.

Changes & Fixes

• Tracks & Railways
  • Fixed blocking signals not working in many instances
  • The blue light on blocking signals is now much brighter – We were initially aiming for ‘blinding sun’ levels of brightness, but after a few employees lost their sight, we decided against it
• HUD
  • Improved GPS routes on Employee Driver task map
  • Fixed problem where the NPC train marker constantly switches sides
• Tablet
  • Added icons and sorting options for showing supported transportation modes for locomotives in the Service Center
• Gameplay
  • Fixed Employee Drivers not making any money – They have been thoroughly educated that their work deserves reward, and more than that, you deserve most of it because you run the company
  • Fixed impossible to fulfill level requirements for Brno at level 1 to level 2 – This can be blamed entire on Joey, so if you didn’t like this bug being present, you have full permission to call Joey a dum-dum
  • Fixed impossible to fulfill level requirements for Prague at level 2 to level 3 – This one is definitely not Joey’s fault. Absolutely not. There’s just no way it could have been him again. Oh wait, hold on, I’m getting a note here that it was indeed Joey’s fault here too.
  • Fixed wipers being unable to turn off in the Lechner-Koch DP locomotive
  • Fixed inability to open the map tab in some scenarios
  • Fixed a bug where the chassis is misaligned with the bogies on both UIF locomotives in the Service Center
  • Fixed a bug where the number of city bonuses may exceed the allocated slots – Excessive bonuses will first need to expire before being fixed, so enjoy the gift!
  • Fixed an issue where the chosen difficulty preset resets to default after using "Continue Game" in the Main Menu – Non-default players rejoice!
  • Fixed a bug with random events when the player is driving in reverse
• Level Art & Design
  • Fixed sporadic passengers on scenario stations
  • Fixed flying cars near Szczecin – Cybertrain isn’t here just yet, but maybe one day
  • Added missing platforms on Leipzig Main station – Too many passengers were complaining, as usual
  • Adjusted position of overpass pillars placed in the middle of a track between Gliwice Main and Gliwice Warehouse
• Language
  • Added missing localization texts
• Stability & Performance
  • Fixed crash when changing Car Traffic Density setting while in-game – Turns out that a crash button in the options menu is not a good thing

Public Trello + Patch Times

On a few smaller notes, though certainly important in their own right, I'd like to give an update on our Public Trello we talked about at initial release and the dates of the patches we make here on Steam.

• Public Trello - We're in the very final stages of preparing the public Trello board for you guys to have a bit more information on upcoming features. We don't use Trello for project management in the team, so I wouldn't expect to see much dynamic movement over time here. We just wanted to give you a bit of a deeper glimpse at features and what they will entail. If you have any questions about the board when it goes live, please feel free to ask about them in our Discord and we'll do our best to answer them!
• Patch Times - A lot of our patches have been coming out on Friday, which is good for us as it coincides with our work sprints (AGILE term). However, this does come at a cost of not having much time to immediately respond to issues that may arise. We're going to try moving patches to be more often between Monday and Wednesday to give us more time respond to problems and push a hotfix later in that respective week.

Want to get our Community Manager to pester our dev team?

Me too! You're all, as always, invited to join our Discord Server and chat with us directly! It's a great way to get more immediate feedback, or just watch me ping the QA team with your bugs. You may also follow our Twitter, if you want a break to the normal Twitter craziness, and our Twitch account if you like copy pasta or joining us on Monday livestreams (or both).

More Content, Engineers!

On behalf of Simteract and Nacon I am very pleased to announce the release of our second major content update! Last week Friday we posted a dev blog preparing all of you for the biggest changes to our game with this patch. More can be read below, but I'll also summarize it for any new readers: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1330660/view/3117055056361031157

• Game Redownload & PAK Files
  • We've split up the game's files into multiple chunks, making future patches much lighter on both your internet usage and hard drive usage for the unpacking/patching phase. However, this will require you to redownload the game for Update 2. This process should be automatic on Steam's side.
• Unreal Engine Version
  • Shortly after Update 1's release we switched our engine version from 4.25 to 4.27. No issues have been noticed with this switch, and it provides us with better tools and more stability. That said, we will still be monitoring for potential engine bugs with the update.
• Antwerp City Leveling
  • We fixed a bug preventing the upgrading of Antwerp from level 2 to 3, but this will mean that your progress from level 2 to 3 will be reset.
• Weight Rework
  • We've adjusted the weight values of everything in our game to be more realistic, and then counter-adjusted our physics calculations to make it feel like before. This has been noticed to have about a ± 10% difference in feeling compared to before, which is within reasonable range for us. That said, without a doubt we will be watching closely and making balance adjustments in future patches if needed.

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Patchy Notes

I've got a nice list for you guys and gals here, but I was a bit pressed for time, so not as many jokes as I could normally achieve. I am greatly disappointed in myself, and beg your forgiveness.

Additions

• Features
  • Added a completely new Service Center – We’ve serviced our center to provide a better center of service for all of your Service Center servicing needs
• Regions
  • Eastern Europe
• Locomotives
  • Lechner-Koch DP2500 (and its upgraded variant, the DP3100) – This hardy electric locomotive from Austrian company Lechner-Koch is a solid upgrade to the FZ model
• Level Art/Design
  • Added new city elements (supermarkets, restaurants, gas stations)
• Scenarios
  • Added 1 Cargo Scenario – More will certainly follow in the future!
  • Added 3 Passenger scenarios
  • Added 2 Postage scenarios
• Sounds
  • Minor additions to electric engines – There is more variety in their sound now
  • Damaged engine sound, so you can hear that you are breaking the car, Samir
  • Added an air conditioning sound
  • Added some ‘Walkie Talkie’ sounds when contacting stations
  • Added a small signal for passenger boarding
• Tutorials
  • Revamped tutorials with better objective wording and pacing, as well as the addition of subobjectives – Note that it’s likely tutorials will receive changes in the future as other systems get adjusted, such as station gameplay
• Miscellaneous
  • Added a taskbar icon

Changes & Fixes

• Tracks & Railways
  • Added three new junctions: Berlin Farm/ Szczecin Refinery, Cologne Power Plant/ Cologne Factory, Hamburg Coal Mine/ Hamburg Factory
  • Redesigned railway schemes on passenger stations: Aachen, Amies, Brussels, Bern, Bassel, Brno, Bremen, Dortmund, Dresden, Gliwice, Hannover, Innsbruck, Lille, Luxemburg, Lichtenstein, Mannheim, Ostrava, Reims, Saarbrucken, Szczecin
  • Added bypass tracks at the Frankfurt Warehouse, Stuttgart Warehouse, and Cologne Main Station
  • Fixed many bugs related to rails and signals
  • Made visual improvements to switches and electric traction
  • Updated the model of blocking signals
• Tablet
  • Fixed a few UI navigation problems
• Gameplay
  • Adjusted all weights in-game to have realistic values
  • Slightly adjusted the performance of all train parts
  • Fixed some bugs related to scenario barriers
  • Fixed the behavior of animal events
  • Fixed some event spawn placement
  • Fixed an issue causing markers to be doubled
  • Fixed a contract generation bug
  • Fixed an incorrect Antwerp City upgrade requirement preventing progress to level 3
  • Fixed float inaccuracy of the 10% repair in the Service Center
  • Fixed a problem with adding wagons while touching the track end blockade while backwards
  • Switching your locomotive without changing cargo mode won’t remove contracts
• Level Art & Design
  • Various visual fixes (corridors fixes, adjusting object positions, etc...)
• Sound
  • Engine sound is not bound to one point anymore, it now follows the player’s camera and should be louder in the front bumper view
  • Fixed issues with wagon clicking not played correctly
  • Fixed annoying screeching sound on turns, it’s now louder the closer we get to derailment
• Language
  • Fixed various localization issues
• Stability & Performance
  • NPC locomotives are now less performance intensive
  • Adjusted the min/max spline draw distance
  • Track markers are now more optimized
  • Car traffic has been greatly optimized
  • The GPS system has received some foundational optimization
  • NPC passengers have been further optimized
  • Changed Minimap rendering method for better performance, and in preparation for future Map/GPS changes

Post-Update Focuses & Confessing My Love For You

As usual we're going to carefully monitor the launch and collect bugs as well as feedback. We expect there will be a hotfix this Friday, but if something needs a more immediate build, we will certainly respond. As for you, yes you. Go to the closest mirror and look at yourself, even if it's in a public place. Make a little kissy face at yourself, and then awkwardly pat your back for us. We love you, and want you to know how thankful we are of all the feedback and wishes you have for our game. We may only have a limited number of hours in a day to work on our game, but you all live rent free in our hearts. Thank you for all of the support, honest reviews, and hours you've put into our game. This is only our second major update, and we have a lot more planned for you this year. We hope you enjoy Update 2; keep your eyes peeled like onions, or bananas I guess, for Update 3! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/41001365/2ae87edce98b688fbcac355be271b7a2016c3237.jpg

Update 3

Speaking of that, I'm proud to say that update 3 is coming tomor-- No, I wish, but we are hard at work on Update 3 and I think it's safe to say you can expect another dev blog about it, similarly to what we did with teasing the new Service Center and locomotive. This is dependent on when we have this information available, and the features ready to show off. Take a look at the next section for links where you can follow us and talk with us!

Want to lurk while watching the devs annoy each other with pings?

You're all, as always, invited to join our Discord server and chat with us directly! You may also follow our Twitter, if you like blue birds, and our Twitch account if you like to spam chats or join us on Monday livestreams (or both).