Hey all,
Last December we wrote about getting funded for the Early Access development of Derail Valley. Since that day nearly all of our work involved various paperwork, hiring, getting an office, installing internet, buying furniture, assembling PCs, setting up software...
A few weeks ago we were finally done with most of it and dove back into development. It’s not just the two of us anymore - we are now a 4-member team, joined by a new artist and a programmer (Syberia and Forsaken Box on Discord, respectively). If you're a programmer in Belgrade, we still have one open position!
The steam locomotive is in the works
What's next?
Our immediate focus is on resuming regular updates to the beta version of the game and reaching the initial Early Access release as soon as possible. This also includes increasing awareness of the game, so you can expect us showing more of the game content as things get done.
Shunter dashboard has been redesigned to show all the needed information
Roadmap / what’s coming at launch:
As promised, here’s our roadmap for Derail Valley!
ROADMAP LINK
Note that it is a subject to change (in fact it’s likely to change a lot eventually, depending on circumstances), but it will give you an idea of what we’re aiming at, both for the initial release and the full release later down the line, given the available resources and timeframe.
Separated into several phases, the roadmap also shows our planned pricing level, which will be $15.99 at launch (or Steam-suggested equivalent in your country), increasing gradually up to $27.99 as more content and features get added during Early Access.
Let us know what you think about our roadmap! Feel free to discuss it on our forum, or Discord!
Beta status?
Beta has stagnated for some time, but now we’re focused again to releasing beta builds every week. As soon as some basic things get implemented (we are working on some terrain tech improvements), we will start expanding the beta team with our favorite testers from the now huge list of applicants.
If you’re planning on applying to beta now, take into account that due to a big backlog of already selected testers, we will be only accepting testers with exceptional motivation, communication skills, presence on Discord, and knowledge about trains or train sims.
The new WIP tanker car in the wild
When’s the release planned for?
The last months spent on the funding definitely took a toll on our release date, but it will pay off immensely in the months to come. While our full release is scheduled for 2019, the Early Access release will come notably earlier. We’ll let you know the date closer to release.
First we want to make sure the game is fun and playable, as well as having a proper awareness in the train sim and VR communities. Spreading the word of Derail Valley would greatly help us right now!
Thank you for the patience, and see you soon with more news!
Links: