Next Update
Hello again, everyone! I am glad to see people enjoying the new update. Scenarios might be one of the most well received additions so far, seeing how engaging it has been for problem solvers and new players alike. Now I would like to talk about the next update and some future content. Finally, it's clear which problems need solving, and that gives some confidence in which steps we should take.
Roadmap
The next update will increase the locomotives count from 5 to 11 which will change mid-late game progression. New decorations will also be added, with system improvements. And two of our biggest offenders will be addressed - the UI and Tutorial. The tutorial will be rewritten fully with many more bite-size pieces that will introduce mechanics and advanced systems much better. UI will have more than just a facelift. A new design will unclutter the screen and make the user experience more enjoyable overall. More on that in the next post.
After that, further updates will feature electricity - power plants, power poles, electric tracks and trains. It will bring new benefits to the workforce. Outer world and events will be introduced together with trading. And of course the Tutorial and UI will be constantly improved based on player feedback. Our goal is to release 1.0 this year with a big free content addition next year, but I am getting a bit ahead of myself.
Now about work that is already done.
Decorations
Let us start with the new and improved decoration system. The current decoration system is quite easy to abuse by planting some trees or parks at the edge of settlement limits. However, this doesn't make settlements more attractive visually. The change I am working on fixes that. Now, decorations themselves will have a very small attractiveness bonus. However, if those decorations are adjacent to residences, then the bonus will increase accordingly. Other decorations such as parks will have a road range and residences having a park in range will increase attractiveness more. Lastly, some adjacent decorations will provide a rest bonus as well. This will influence how settlements are designed and for what purpose. With some content addition, settlements should be much more pleasant to look at. This however will break income in some saves that rely heavily upon spamming tree decorations.
SDF10
Next, here are a few new locomotives. The first new locomotive is a steam double fairlie. SDF10 matches ST20 performance for the most part, but the biggest benefit is that it can go both forwards and backwards.
DMU10
Diesel multi-unit will allow you to transfer more passengers per trip offering great short distance performance.
DT30
And finally, DT30 offers the best overall diesel locomotive performance with great acceleration, corner speed and braking distance.
Next time I will share our plans and work regarding UI. Until then!
