Developer Log 9 - All aboard for the Next Fest Demo!
Hello everyone!
We’re excited to announce that we’ll be bringing back Railroad Corporation 2’s demo for Steam’s Next Fest this June! This isn’t just any demo – it’s packed with exciting updates and new features that are sure to refine your strategies. Starting on June 10th and running until June 17th, you can dive into the next chapter of Railroad Corporation and get a taste of what’s to come.
Exclusive Demo Content
In the Steam Next Fest demo, your mission is to set up your network and deliver one of three final products. This hands-on experience will give you a glimpse into the core mechanics, as well as the enhancements shaping this sequel. Whether you're expanding your corporation or cultivating cities, there's something for every tycoon in this demo.
Electrification Era & Expanded Railroad Building:
Experience new electrification mechanics and research the cutting-edge electro-locomotive.
Build intricate networks with crossings, tunnels, and bridges, enhancing city connectivity like never before.
Improve track efficiency with signaling mechanics and semaphores.
Headquarters & Department Management:
Strategically choose a city for your headquarters and decide on the best locations for train stations.
Manage your Research Department to hire scientists for new locomotive development and a Geology Department to explore resources and establish settlements.
Staff & Operational Insights:
Hire specialized geology and research department staff to tackle more challenging tasks while providing minor benefits to your overall operations.
Use updated reporting tools for better insights into your railroad operations.
As you explore the Next Fest demo in June, some features will be locked in the demo until the feature is ready to be implemented for release. These include the multiplayer mode, certain departments, and other locomotives. Nevertheless, the Next Fest demo allows you to delve into the core mechanics, such as building railroads, bridges, tunnels, and slopes, acquiring locomotives, establishing your office, managing its departments and staff, constructing train stations, controlling production facilities, and transporting cargo.
Don’t miss out on this opportunity to explore Railroad Corporation 2. Join the community during Steam’s Next Fest by wishlisting and following us on Steam. If you encounter any bugs or wish to share feedback or innovative ideas during your gameplay, please feel free to communicate with us through the in-game feedback button, Steam’s discussion page, or our Discord channel.
Thank you for being with us on this exciting journey!
We’re back with another blog today and we’d like to showcase a small but crucial new addition to Railroad Corporation 2: Company Reports!
Company reports offer a comprehensive overview of your corporation's performance. Let's delve into each tab of the reports section to understand their significance.
Overview
Starting with the Overview Tab, this tab serves as the control hub for your corporation. It presents key information at a glance, including your current cash reserves and outstanding debt. You'll also find a summary of your property holdings, such as buildings and locomotives, essential assets for expanding your operations. Additionally, the overview tab offers insights into the extent of your railway network, showcasing the mileage of tracks you've laid out. Furthermore, you'll have access to details about the manager you've hired, including their specialty and costs.
Balance Sheet
In the Balance Sheet tab, you'll dive deeper into the financial health of your corporation. It provides a breakdown of your assets and liabilities, allowing you to assess your company's overall worth. By comparing year-to-date figures with historical data, you can track the trajectory of your financial standing and identify trends that may impact your strategic decisions.
Profit and Loss
The Profit and Loss tab is where you monitor the financial performance of your corporation in detail. It records your revenue from various sources, including raw material purchases and sales, and transportation income. Simultaneously, it tracks your expenditures, such as operating costs, maintenance expenses, and employee wages. By analyzing these figures over different time frames, you gain a comprehensive understanding of your company's profitability and operational efficiency.
Transaction Log
The Transaction Log tab acts as a ledger, providing a comprehensive record of all your financial transactions. Every purchase and sale within your corporation, from acquiring new locomotives to selling surplus resources, is documented here. The log uses a color-coded system to differentiate between income-generating activities (highlighted in green) and expenses (highlighted in red), enabling you to quickly assess the financial impact of each transaction.
Graphs
In the Graphs tab, you'll find visual representations of your corporation's financial performance. The Net Profit graph illustrates the trend of your profits over time, allowing you to identify periods of growth or decline.
Meanwhile, the Asset Balance graph tracks the total value of your company's assets, providing insights into your wealth accumulation and asset allocation strategies. These graphs offer intuitive visualizations that complement the detailed numerical data presented in other sections of the Company Reports.
That concludes today's update! We hope you find these company reports valuable as you step into the world of Railroad Corporation 2. Let us know what you think about this update on Steam’s Discussion Board, or Discord, and stay tuned for more updates!
Thank you for your ongoing support and enthusiasm!
Developer Log 7 - Implementing New Special View Modes
Hello everyone!
In this developer log, we're excited to introduce one of the new features that were inspired by your community feedback: Special View Modes!
This feature will bring you enhanced tools to keep an overview and organise your railroad tracks effortlessly. This will let you pinpoint exact areas where on your tracks still require electrification, as well as identify areas for track optimization with greater ease.
Electrification View
During the Alpha Demo, we noticed that some players had encountered some challenges when attempting to electrify entire railroad networks. In response, we've developed a special view mode specifically tailored to help players identify segments of the track that have not yet been electrified. So, in case you’ve missed a certain segment of the track, the electrification view will have your back.
Railroad track with a small segment without electricity.
Blue highlights the electrified railroad track, while red highlights railroad tracks without electricity.
Moreover, we’ve added in a new status for electrical locomotives: they will now be able to alert you when it cannot reach its destination because there isn't a fully electrified path available.
Height View
In addition to this electrification view mode, a special height mode has been implemented. This makes it easier to check elevation on your railroad layout and see where a slope or a drop have been created.
Tracks highlighted in green denote ground-level tracks, while blue tracks signify those below ground level. Yellow tracks indicate the first level above ground, while red indicates the second level above ground, which is the highest level within Railroad Corporation 2. So, if your train seems to be moving unusually slowly, you can use the height view to see if the train’s slowness is caused by a change in elevation.
And that concludes our update for today! We're making steady progress on Railroad Corporation 2, and we're eager to share more of the game with you soon! For those who missed the alpha demo, don't worry – there will be another opportunity for you to try it out later.
Thank you for your continued support and enthusiasm, let us know what you think on Steam’s Discussion Board, or in Discord, and stay tuned for more updates!
Developer Log 6b: Thank you for playing the Alpha Demo!
Hi Everyone!
As Steam's Capitalism & Economy Fest comes to an end, we want to thank each one of you who participated in trying out the Alpha Demo! Your valuable feedback, bug reports, and suggestions for the game have been immensely appreciated, and we hope you’ve enjoyed the demo!
As we close the Alpha Demo, we are committed to utilizing the insights gathered to improve and make Railroad Corporation 2 even better. If you have any other cool ideas or feedback that you’d like to share, feel free to drop it at the discussion board, or in Discord.
Rest assured, there will be another opportunity in the near future for you to play the demo once again. So stay tuned for more exciting developments as we continue to build and enhance the world of Railroad Corporation 2!
It's been almost 2 days since we've released the Alpha Demo, and we've been receiving bug reports, feedback, and suggestions pouring in from both the Steam discussion board and Discord.
We'd like to personally thank you all of your for your support and valuable comments! We have carefully considered all inputs received. Your feedback is incredibly invaluable to us, and we encourage you to continue sharing your thoughts, not matter how big or small, as the alpha demo will remain available available up to the 15th of January!
With this, we'd like to release a small update based on your feedback that aims at addressing and enhancing minor issues that are relatively straightforward and quick to fix.
Changelog 0.5.5712:
Quests are now completed during game pause.
Locomotive engine and ambient sounds have been tuned.
Tech details button is now functions in a train dialog.
Goal hints are now properly managed, incase the objective is completed earlier than requested.
Cargo weight is now properly shown in a cargo bar.
Letters and goals hints are hidden when a locomotive technical details scene is active.
Edited the Buy Locomotive button look on Train stations.
Added a hint to a train condition bar showing current mileage and age.
Station facilities tooltips fixed.
Train station scale is reduced in cities.
16:10 resolution monitors the game will now be switched to 16:9.
Trains pathfinding improvements.
Local trading UI improvements.
Other minor UI fixes & improvements.
If you haven't seen any specific changes mentioned for an issue you brought to our attention, it's likely that further investigation is needed, or that we're currently working on it, and will provide a solution soon.
Thank you all for your passion and contributions to improving the Alpha Demo! We deeply appreciate your support and look forward to continuing this journey with you!
Developer Log 6a: The Alpha Demo is Now Available!
Hello everyone!
The first Alpha Demo of Railroad Corporation 2 is now available for play during Steam’s Capitalism and Economy Festival from January 8th to January 15th!
In this Alpha Demo, your objective is to unlock all 4 available locomotives by upgrading your depot. And throughout this journey, you'll have the chance to immerse yourself in the core mechanics of this singleplayer mission, including:
Choose your starting location and establish your office in a city of your choice.
Build train stations in cities you need to reach.
Manage your own production facilities.
Construct railroads, bridges, tunnels, and slopes.
Placing semaphores to organise train directions.
Transporting cargo inbetween cities.
Keep in mind that this is a very early alpha version, so you may encounter bugs and unanticipated experiences. Thus, we encourage you to report any issues, share your feedback, and any cool ideas you'd like us to consider for the game at our discussion board, or in our Discord. Nevertheless, despite its early stage, we want to offer you a glimpse into what Railroad Corporation 2 has in store!
We hope you’ll thoroughly enjoy the Alpha Demo just as much as we enjoyed creating this experience for all of you!
Thank you for being a part of this exciting journey, and stay tuned for more exciting developments as we continue to build and enhance the world of Railroad Corporation 2!
As we usher in 2024 with enthusiasm, we are delighted to participate in Steam’s Capitalism and Economy Festival, taking place from January 8th to January 15th, to celebrate all things tycoon and capitalism!
Following the announcement of Railroad Corporation 2 in 2021, we are thrilled to reveal that we will finally be launching the first-ever alpha demo during this festival.
The first alpha demo offers a deep dive into the core mechanics of the game. You will have the opportunity to engage in activities such as building railroads, bridges, tunnels, and slopes, acquiring locomotives, establishing your office, constructing train stations, managing production facilities, and transporting cargo. While other features will be present in the game, they will remain locked until their implementation upon release.
In essence, this demo provides a glimpse into the intricate operations required to run your Railroad Corporation in this long-awaited sequel. We sincerely hope you find this experience enjoyable! Should you encounter any bugs or wish to share feedback or innovative ideas during your gameplay, please feel free to communicate with us through the in-game feedback button, Steam’s discussion page, or our Discord channel.
Thank you for being a part of this exciting journey!
Developer Log 5 - Development Process behind Steam Locomotive’s Exhaust
Hello everyone!
We are back with another developer deep-dive, we delve into the intriguing subject of "Steam locomotive exhaust." The color and intensity of locomotive exhaust can vary significantly, prompting us to explore the factors influencing these variations. Our aim is to portray the railroad environment in a realistic manner within the constraints of our capabilities.
Locomotive exhausts comprise two main components, namely smoke and steam, blended in varying proportions. Smoke originates from the combustion of wood, coal, or oil, the widely adopted fuels during the game's time period. Beyond impurities, the combustion products include carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and carbon itself. Of these, carbon dioxide is deemed the most “useful” due to its superior thermal energy output during the transformation of carbon from the fuel.
Carbon monoxide, on the other hand, arises when there is insufficient oxygen in the combustion chamber. This not only results in a partial waste of thermal energy but also poses a health hazard, earning it the non-scientific term "choke gas". Pure carbon represents wasted fuel, unable to find its air particle and contributing to the black color of smoke.
A perfectly burnt fuel under ideal conditions should yield invisible smoke, while white smoke may indicate the presence of water in the burnt fuel. Now, turning our attention to steam, it serves as a medium for transporting the thermal energy generated by the combustion of fuel in the locomotive's firebox to the pistons.
The process involves burning fuel in the combustion chamber, heating water in the locomotive, and creating steam through boiling. This steam then powers the locomotive's pistons, turning its wheels. The color of steam is consistently white, and it is released from the smokestack when the locomotive is in motion.
Examining the interplay between smoke and steam, we observe that the exhaust's color can range from white to black. A lighter color indicates more steam release and/or better fuel combustion, while a darker color signifies less steam release and/or inferior fuel combustion. Additionally, the exhaust's transparency, not previously discussed, depends on external weather conditions, primarily air temperature and humidity.
To better illustrate these concepts, we have provided links to YouTube videos showcasing actual locomotive exhaust phenomena:
Analyzing provided examples, such as those in the given YouTube links, we not only witness changes in color but also variations in transparency. In brief, the transparency of exhaust is influenced by external factors, with dry summer days making it challenging to observe any exhaust, while wet and cold winter or autumn days facilitate clearer visibility due to steam condensation in the air.
And that’s all for our deep-dive into today’s blog! We hope you found this exploration of steam locomotive exhaust both informative and engaging. Stay tuned for more news and any announcements, and join our Discord if there are any specific topics you’d like us to cover!
Developer Log 4 - Designing Locomotives in Railroad Corporation 2
Hello everyone!
We’re back again with another dev log today, and we’ll be covering the core feature in the game: Locomotives in Railroad Corporation 2.
If you've been with us since Railroad Corporation 1, you're likely familiar with the concept: you’ll need to purchase locomotives, each consisting of a single engine, to transport goods and carriages from one city to the next. Initially, only a small handful of locomotive models are available, but as you progress and complete research, new and advanced models unlock for you to add to your arsenal.
Now, in Railroad Corporation 2, we propel ourselves ahead in time, embracing innovations that pave the way for the emergence of new locomotives. As highlighted on the store page, the game primarily unfolds in the early 20th century, an era marked by the advent of electrification, which influenced the locomotives during this time.
In Railroad Corporation 2, our aim is to bring realism closer towards Railroad Corporation 2, and the in-game design of locomotives is no exception. Each locomotive model is heavily inspired and crafted based on schematics and properties sourced from reliable online references. Thus, we'd like to provide a walkthrough from schematics to the in-game model, using a locomotive example that we showcased in our last dev log that’ll be featured in Railroad Corporation 2: the 4-8-0 Mastodon steam locomotive!
Firstly, all locomotives within the game are based on design schematics found in online sources or handbooks, which serve as the starting point for the locomotive's design, capturing its details and specifications. Taking the 4-8-0 Mastodon steam locomotive as an example, its design blueprint was drawn from The Norfolk & Western Handbook by Wallace and Wiley, as well as inspired from other online sources.
Wikimedia Commons - A. Bucher: Das Eisenbahnwesen auf der Weltausstellung in Brüssel 1910. in Polytechnisches Journal, S. 344, Fig. 143
Wikimedia Commons - 1922 Locomotive Cyclopedia of American Practice
Next, our development team translates the blueprints into a fully realized 3D model, ensuring the dimensions and the core elements are reflected in-game. With the 4-8-0 Mastodon, the visual design of this locomotive is based on the Norfolk and Western M Class, a steam-powered behemoth crafted between 1906 and 1907 by Baldwin Locomotive Works and ALCO-Richmond Works.
Lastly, the technicalities and characteristics are programmed onto each of the locomotives based on their real-life counterpart’s statistics, which reflects how each type of locomotive will behave in-game, which includes details such as train power, tractive effort, maximum speed, locomotive mass, as well as its behavior on road slopes or turn curves, etc.
These properties collectively constitute a wealth of information that you must consider when evaluating each locomotive, aiding them in making informed decisions about the most suitable choice for various in-game situations:
Top speed
Max pulling mass
Acceleration
Reliability rate
Rated mileage
Service life
Fuel conversion efficiency
In addition, there are other technical properties showcased in-game in how locomotives would react to different environments, as well as how each type of carriage would affect the performance of the locomotive in the form of graphic charts comparison.
For example, the in-game graph below depicts how the nominal speed of a 4-8-0 Mastodon decreases based on both the slope of the terrain it traverses and the weight of its cargo.
Armed with this information, you can effectively assess which locomotives align with your current requirements. Considerations such as the cargo's weight are essential, as well as factors like the characteristics of the locomotive’s itinerary. Whether you're dealing with short, direct tracks within a local agglomeration or a long-distance route traversing mountains with numerous curves, bridges, and slopes, evaluating locomotives in light of these details becomes crucial for optimal decision-making.
By incorporating these details, we aim to provide you with an immersive experience that stays true to its realism as you navigate the challenges of Railroad Corporation 2.
And that wraps up today’s dev log. Thanks for your continued support, and stay tuned for more exciting developments as we continue to refine and enhance the world of Railroad Corporation 2!
Developer Log 3 - Where we've been, and what lies ahead
Hello everyone!
It’s been a while since our last dev log, and after a period of silence, we’re now at the stage in the development process with Railroad Corporation 2 where we can start to showcase some of the cool new features within and how it's coming along!
But first, we understand that many of you have been eagerly awaiting updates, and we appreciate your patience and support during this time. The lack of communication was primarily due to a few challenging circumstances we faced in the past years. Our team encountered difficulties because of the ongoing war in Ukraine. It forced us to abandon our previous office, set up a new workflow, and get back into restoring the processes of development.
Otherwise, our team has been hard at work on the development of Railroad Corporation 2. We’ve been focused on improving familiar features you all know and love from its predecessor, while also adding brand-new elements to bring fresh challenges to the gameplay experience. While we can’t get into specific details yet in today’s dev blog, here is a cool in-game scene that we’ll be talking about soon:
We’re excited to finally share our progress with you and will be providing regular updates from now on. The vision for Railroad Corporation 2 remains steadfast: introducing railroad electrification and paving the way for the new age of trains. You’ll be empowered to expand your railroad business across the region, evolving your track networks and locomotives to transport goods and passengers, all while outpacing the competition.
Thank you for your understanding and patience. We can't wait to embark on this exciting journey with you, and we truly appreciate your continued enthusiasm and support. Stay tuned for more updates, and if you haven’t already, join our Discord to connect with fellow rail enthusiasts, share your ideas, and stay updated on the latest developments. Let’s make Railroad Corporation 2 an unforgettable experience together!
And while you wait, we’re curious: which locomotives do you think are coming to Railroad Corporation 2?
