Hi everyone!
Over the past several weeks, we've released 8 hotfixes that resolved the last remaining major bugs and more than doubled FPS in certain situations. With today's hefty hotfix just out, we're wrapping up and giving them all a collective title, - B99.5. For more detailed information on what's new, please see:
B99.5 Changelog
We'll release one final small hotfix next week, to ensure a smooth experience, and with that we're ending the B99 development. Currently, we don't foresee more updates in the near future. If, however, any notable issues arise beyond the domain of ultra-rare anomalies, we will address them ASAP.
Ultra rare -25% off for a limited period!
Today's release marks a significant milestone, so to celebrate it we've timed it with a Daily Deal special offer from Steam, followed by a -25% discount for the next two weeks! This is our first, special occasion discount, so make the best use of it, - as we do not plan on doing more sales in the foreseeable future.
Next up: B100
We are now fully shifting our focus to the next update, B100. While we're not ready to announce it yet, B100 will be a major update, diving deep into our "Foundation Part 4" phase plans, as outlined in our roadmap. It is a massive challenge overall, both technically and in terms of design.
In B100 we'll develop a more engaging gameplay loop, carry out necessary technical groundworks for the DLC content, add the remaining industries, cargo types and cars, make some overdue technical upgrades intended to make the game more future proof, and more - to be announced!
Why do all these things in a single update? In short, because they can be done in parallel while the longest one, the technical upgrades, is being carried out, - as illustrated below. In the coming weeks we'll update the roadmap too, with a more up-to-date ETA of the plans ahead.
The return of the long and quiet development cycle
Long
B100 is no joke, - it will take a long time to complete, likely up to the end of 2026, or even later.
We've had long pauses before with other major updates, - Overhauled, Simulator and B99. They all couldn't have been split into multiple parts, and took a very long time to do, - however, each ended up highly successful and a literal game-changer. We are confident that this time will be no different.
Quiet
Sharing the progress of B100 is going to be tricky. Over the years we've found that external pressure only affects the product quality negatively, and the less we say, the less there is premature hype, impatience and overblown expectations getting in the way.
We only better understand what something should be when it's already well into development, so it might be a long time before we are ready to reveal any concrete new information. We truly want this next release to be perfect, and the community patience along the way would be highly appreciated.
With B99.4 we were pressured to release it quickly, and as a result, the quality initially suffered - requiring extra months and stress post-launch to bring it up to our standards. Sometimes doing those finishing touches behind closed doors is in everyone's interest, and with B100, - we're sure of it!
Thank you for your continual support! We will now proceed to reinforce Derail Valley as the best train simulator game in the world, and in the meantime, we wish you a wonderful rest of the year!
-Slobodan