Version 1.9 is now ready for beta testing! Following the theme set in 1.7 and 1.8, this release focuses on a few core aspects of the game which haven't evolved in a long time and rebuilds them to be more capable, to give the game a better foundation.
New track system
The way tracks are edited and specially shaped hasn't changed in 3 years. Some new tools have appeared, some new capabilities were added like splitting and boundaries, but it's still the same system implemented back when the game was a prototype and I was focused on releasing with a deadline. It has been long overdue to review this system but it's such a core piece of the game, it had to be done carefully. I spend most of June researching computer curve design to find a new system, and this is the result:
The new track system is based on the Hobby spline, which is capable of approximating both circle arcs and clothoids, and gives good results when trying to approximate how railways look like. It brings a host of new features too: custom tangents on any track node, zero node branches, zero straight segment branches, track nodes are now part of the track, etc. And some more will be added in time.
Since every track of every save is changed by this new system, your track max speeds and line leg timings have changed too. Like I mentioned in the past, assume every new version of the game will change line timings, until the game is out of Early Access.
Late train boarding for pax
I always wanted to enable strict pax boarding for trains, so pax only board the exact train in their schedule, a not any train which happens to be on the same line+stop, but this breaks player saves which depend on pax being able to board late trains. So the solution to have both things is to make it official for pax to board (some) late trains, with a specific set of rules.
Basically pax will board late trains if the predicted train arrival is still before the departure time of their next train. If the next stop is the final stop, pax will accept late trains up to 3h.
N-track platforms
A very old limitation of the game has been lifted in 1.9: station platforms can now be composed of any number of tracks, starting at just 1:
Track+point line stops
And to completing the previous new feature, line stops are now always based on a exact point on the track, rather than some general direction on half of the platform. This means players now have full control on where trains stop on platforms on a per line per stop basis.
As always, check the devblogs for more in depth descriptions of these new features:
https://carloscarrasco.com/nimby-rails-may-2023/
https://carloscarrasco.com/nimby-rails-june-2023/