Hey everyone,
A new demo update is out! As we wrote in our previous status report, this update is quite large, so let’s get onto the details. Like with our previous update, we’ve made a short devlog video describing the highlights. Dive in!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0kK1uF9flM
Camera stabilization:
Going over bumpy tracks feels much more natural now. This was tricky to do though - for the best results the game needed to adjust stabilization dynamically based on approximation of where the player is looking. The result turned out quite good. We explained more about how it works in the devlog - check it out!
Booklets (remade paperwork):
All paper-based information in the game has been remade. The new booklet style offers improved readability in VR, and by allowing any number of pages, it also decreases clutter. This will be crucial for future development of procedural missions, but also allowed us to make a far nicer tutorial and train yard maps.
New missions:
Missions have been remade from scratch, now having more relaxed deadlines, but still remaining challenging. With the improved map and yard signs (mentioned below), navigation is now more fun too (but not too simplified)! Walking outside still remains to be done however, which will make it easier to change switches when they are obstructed by cars. Mission progress is now auto-saved during the same play-session, meaning that in case you derailed after completing the first mission, you’ll be able to continue from there until you leave the game.
Signs & signals:
Demo railway has been equipped with speed signs, yard signs and signals. Signals currently don’t have any purpose, but being fully operational, they’ll be vital for adding NPC trains to the game later on.
New models:
Finished truss bridge
Added new hopper car
Remade railway model
UI & Controls:
We’ve redesigned the main menu, which now features several options and can be accessed with the menu button. New floating tooltips have also been added, aiding players when they are encouraged to look at a specific location (e.g. a button on the controller). Touchpad now has better visual and haptic feedback, and you can toggle-hold items by pressing grip button while holding them (or see options for an alternative way).
Audio:
Previous build had issues with sounds missing when starting the game sometimes. This has been fixed, along with missing reverb in tunnels. Environmental parameters have been tweaked, resulting in better audio immersion.
More notable highlights:
- No more trees popping when switching LODs
- Items in the cab are now affected by inertia
- Brake is now more responsive
- Derailed cars now blink on the coupler display
- Camera re-centering has been moved to options (or for experienced players: hold both menu buttons)
New physics (beta branch):
Finally, we have a big new work-in-progress feature: new train wheel physics. Once complete it will allow trains to tilt, flip, jump or otherwise detach from railway realistically. This is not included in the main demo build yet, but you can try the current version by switching to a beta branch (in Steam right click Derail Valley Demo, go to Properties and in the Betas tab choose “experimental”)!
There are many more small changes in this update. You can find them all listed in changelog.txt located in the game files.
With this update we’ve also made many under-the-hood changes and tests that are hard to show, but which were essential for us to determine exact steps we will take towards Early Access release of the game. We’ve described our new roadmap in our previous news post, so make sure to check that out if you missed it! In the meantime we’ll be working on a small update to integrate the new train physics in the demo, and from that point on focus solely on the release.
That's it for now! If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, either for the update or the devlog, let us know on the forum!