Hey everyone,
so many updates have been released on beta in the last few months – and now they've finally been crafted together in a wonderful composition. The Map & Spline Update is now finally available on the Main Branch!
A big thank you to all of you for reporting bugs and issues to us. Thanks to you and our passionate team we also have already resolved any major bugs that were reported in the past few days, which is why we're now ready to move the content of both updates out of the Beta Branch 🎉
Today's update contains lots of new content and improvements, like the new Driving UI and theodolites from the March Update, the new Mini- and Maximap from the Map Update and several improvements to the spline system from the Spline Update!
Let’s dive into the details of everything today's big update has in store for you!
The March Update 🔭
A fun new surveying tool!
Get useful and fun support with plotting out routes by using Theodolites, a surveying tool which displays the grades between one theodolite to another! Different colors indicate the height of the gradient, while you are in the construction mode. The tools start at 0% of a gradient with green and change their color to yellow and then red at a grade higher than 5%. Arrows additionally indicate the grade and direction between the theodolites. To remove them, you can always demolish the theodolites with the demolish tool!
Fly high!
Get up in the air with the newly added Flight Option and have a better view on things! The free fly mode is activated as soon as you activate rerailing or track laying.
Let’s go for a drive!
We also updated the Driving UI, making it visually more appealing and a better fit for the style of the game. There might still be some changes in future updates, though! 😉 In addition, automatic coupling is now finally here – and it will make your lifes much easier!
Also new to the game: The high speed Denver & Rio Grande Class 47 locomotive, the Pine Valley Engine House, the RGS #2 Rotary Snow Plow and more!
For more details on the added content with the March Update, have a look at the posting of the beta release:
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1696810/view/4107918632351663496?l=english
The Map Update🗺️
Geographic maps for maximised orientation!
Become ultimately organized with the new zoomable Maximap (M) which contains exact locations and a whole lot of useful information about facilities, industries, engines & vehicles, other players and more! On the right hand side of the map you will see a legend to help you extract the information you need in no time!
The new Minimap gives you an immediate overview by showing your geographic orientation and displaying the locations of objects and players in your close environment.
The Spline Update🪜
No mountain too high!
To enhance the fun and sufficiency in track laying, we have added several improvements around splines, including a new Spline System, which now lets you build tracks on hillsides much easier due to its new feature that automatically adjusts the grade of the track to the terrain you are building on.
Enhanced visual feedback!
You need more feedback about whether the track is usefully placeable in its current position? We have added a red and green color feedback feature to the splines you’re about to build to give a visual signal about the placeability of the track!
Perfect alignment!
Apart from that, you can now build parallel tracks by copying a track and placing the copy on its right or left side.
We have additionally added an arrow that shows the current alignment of the track preview, though if you want to build completely straight tracks, that is now possible by holding Ctrl. And yes, tracks now also snap to facilities, making it much easier to build a neat area!
If you want to learn more details about the content of the Map & Spline Update, you may want to check out the posting from its beta release on this past Monday:
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1696810/view/4159715736520232925?l=english
Go watch the latest DevVlog for even more details:
Have a look at our Prelaid maps!
If you want to start a new save game without starting on a blank map, starting with one of our Prelaid Maps could be a alternative for you. Get a headstart with preplaced facilities, industries, tracks and more! As a new player these may also give you a better orientation and first idea of how to start building your map.
Currently, these maps are not yet implemented into the game, which is why, for the time being, you can find them in This Folder which additionally contains graphical overviews of the industry chains!
In addition, we added two bug fixes compared to yesterday's beta build:
- Fixed an issue where password was not accepted (when setting a password now it will automatically be converted to lower case)
- Fixed an issue where client could not interact with certain couplers
Have fun with the new updates, now on the Main Branch! Your Railroads Online Team💘
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1696810/Railroads_Online/