Just in time for our Free Weekend, here's a hotfix that resolves some of the most annoying issues. Another updates are in the works so please keep the reports coming!
Patch notes for build: 0.6.0.0.3
Fixed an issue causing coachesto disappear (coaches bought before November 13 are back again, coaches bought between November 13 and this hotfix are gone)
Trees are back on Pine Valley, they should be removed again for hosts (clients still see them, next fix is in work)
Fixed some issues with blurry graphics
Fixed loading lumber to Gregg Sugar cane stake flat is twisted (across instead of lengthwise)
Fixed Groundwork Ballast I with no rail have sharp ends
Fixed an invisible wall at coalmine back
Fixe Freight Depot and Logging Camp cause collision
Fixed that both Clients and Hosts lose money and game XP when using the respawn button
Fixed clients opening the buy menu causing the game to crash
Fixed that Lake Valley world border has shrunken down
Fixed cactus shiny texture at sunset/sunrise
Fixed stock car name and numbers not showing correctly
Fixed some marker lights and head lamps have had their led’s installed back on them
We hope you have a wonderful weekend ahead of you. Happy Railroading! 🚂
Your Railroads Online Team
FREE WEEKEND plus 30% DISCOUNT
Play the game for free!🚂
A Free Weekend is coming on November 16th 7PM CET, ending on November 20th 7PM CET! Play Railroads Online completely for free in this limited time frame and get a 30% discount on the game untill November 21st 7PM CET!
Play the new Tutorial & Wiki Update assuring you a successful start at the game and explore the brand new placeable Wheat Farm!
Try before you buy: Decide in a relaxed manner if you want to buy the game, without any risks!
Gather all your friends and try out the game for free together!🔥
Hello, and welcome to another Railroads Online update. In the patch notes below you will find an in-game wiki, tutorial, new industry, and a few other changes we have made!
For a quick overview, we also created a video for you:
Of course, we have also been hard at work in testing some backend stuff to improve the game and we will share more about those changes at a later time when we feel that the changes are in a good place and ready for release to the public.
A Free Weekend is approaching!
To celebrate the update, Railroads Online will be completely free-to-play from November 16, 10 AM Pacific to November 20, 10 AM Pacific. In addition, the game will be discounted for everyone who wants to join us on board!
Create your very own world or meet up with other railroaders in a multiplayer session for up to 16 players!
(Yes, multiplayer is also free.)
Do you have some friends who are ready to serve the valley? You should definitely make sure they're aware of the Free Weekend and ready for a fun time! 👀
Patch notes for build: 0.6.0.0.3
New Content & Adjustments
Added an in-game Wiki
Press 'H' to bring up the wiki guide
The wiki has information on everything Railroads has to offer.
The wiki will be updated whenever we add new things to the game
Added an in-game Tutorial
Can be accessed from the main menu
Guides players on how to play the game
Intended for new and returning players
Added a new industry: Wheat Farm
This is a placeable industry
You can get started by picking up seed bags at the freight depot
Farm outputs straw bales and grain
Rest of the chain will be added in December
Added an in-game clock and date
Can be seen by pressing 'P'
Clock speed is bound to the players day cycles
Increased speeds for Montezuma and Eureka
Montezuma now reaches up to 22 mph
Eureka now reaches up to 30 mph
More loco speed increases will come later along with fuel type changes
Adjusted the gameplay menu
Made it a bit better to understand
Added dynamic weather
Note: Weather settings are now saved after a game load and after closing the gameplay menu
Added a requested setting mouse sensitivity
Can be found under the controls menu under camera sensitivity
Improved game load times
On your first save load after the update it will be slow
Once you save the game the new changes will be applied so when you load again you will load much faster
Saves load in about 8 seconds
Added better lighting
If you stare at the sun (we do not recommend this) you will now see lens flare
Starter locomotive Montezuma now has a headlight
Note: This is only applied to new lake valley saves
Added the ability to delete saves while in a game
Note: This can’t be done from the game menu, only while you are in a save
Bug Fixes
Fixed the items duplication issue
Spawn area Water towers and telegraph offices can now be deleted, they do not come back after save load
Tenmile sander control is now the correct way
In multiplayer, locomotives will not lose their bells or whistle cords
Stub switch is now symmetrical, rails now line up properly on both branches of the switch
The client draw distance setting is now fixed, still does not save after menu is closed and reopened
Pretty short list this time around, however the next update in December is just around the corner. Keep an eye out for that! We hope that you have a wonderful week and we can’t wait to see what kinds of builds you guys make with the wheat farm.
The Tutorial & Wiki Update is coming on November 13 – alongside a FREE WEEKEND!
Dear Community,
with so much new content launching and so many new players joining us, our next step will be to make the game more approachable. That's why we're incredibly excited to share that The Tutorial & Wiki Update will officially launch on November 13, 2023! 🎉
Initially, these two updates were meant to be separate releases, but as we made some nice progress, we were ultimately able to merge and combine them. In the end, we think that's for the better, as they go hand-in-hand so very well! :)
The new tutorial
Getting to know the rules of a huge sandbox experience like Railroads Online can always turn out to be a challenge. For a while now, we heard from newer players that they wish for more beginner's guidance – while experienced players expressed the need for a quick way to look up important information.
A set of fully interactive tutorials will welcome you in the main menu, each teaching you one important aspect of the game – no matter if it's about driving a locomotive, laying tracks or operating facilities.
The new wiki
Don't need a full-blown tutorial but still have a question? The brand-new in-game wiki will provide you with everything you need to know!
Definitions, statistics, historical details, what goes where, handy tips, and more are all available here. No need to search the web anymore!
A secret new industry
You heard it correctly! But as we're still two weeks away from the update, we want to keep it... somewhat of a secret. Still, we'll just keep this little teaser inside this article and let you guess. Hehe.
It's Halloween!
We hope you have some sweets and carved pumpkins prepared! 👻🎃 We're hosting a little Screenshot Contest over on our Socials, so if you took a ~spooooky~ screenshot in the past or are about to take one... send them to us or upload them here on Steam into the Community Hub. We'll highlight our favorites next week! 🎉
FREE WEEKEND FOR EVERYONE!
A new tutorial, a new wiki, a new industry... there's never been a better time to try out Railroads Online! And to make sure everyone can do just that, Railroads Online will be completely free-to-play from November 16, 10 AM Pacific to November 20, 10 AM Pacific.
Create your very own world or meet up with other railroaders in a multiplayer session for up to 16 players! Have some friends who are interested? Make sure they're aware of the Free Weekend and ready for a fun time! 👀
Psht: Someone even told me of a little discount...
Until then, see you all on November 13 when The Tutorial & Wiki Update finally launches!
below the patch notes for the hotfix build verison 0.5.9.9.7 for the main and beta branch.
Added: Pre-placed industries to the map LakeValley when starting a new game Added: Objects and props can be rotated in step sizes from 1, 10, 50 or 100 degrees Added: Montezuma and Betsy spawn with headlights when starting a new game on LakeValley Fixed bug: Industries / depot does not pay out players in some cases Fixed bug: Telegraph office door is blocking the players Fixed bug: Cactus glowing at sunrise / sunset Fixed bug: 2d map is blurry when texture quality setting is lowered Fixed bug: Clients lose locomotive parts Fixed bug: Client vehicle view distance is set to default upon opening the gameplay UI Fixed bug: Engine sheds and telegraph officees are sunken in the ground when loading a game
Have a nice day!
Your Railroads Online Team
Railroads Online – 2 Year Anniversary Update
Dear Community,
Happy Anniversary! 🎉
It is time to officially celebrate the 2nd year anniversary of Railroads Online. This game would not be possible without our playerbase. So let’s all take the time to celebrate this moment!
For this occasion, we’ve prepared a special for you guys!
First we will go over all of the additions to the game and then we will round out the additions with some bug fixes. We hope you enjoy it! Happy Railroading!
Welcome to Lake Valley!
There’s a whole new world map waiting to be explored! A beautiful lake, a relentless desert, and mysterious swamps… Get exploring! We’re looking forward to seeing your wonderful creations!
Place all industries to your liking!
Something that many of you have been asking for. You can now place all industries freely on the map. This opens the opportunity for more interesting routes – get creative! Open the construction menu, click on “Industries”, select an industry building and the choice is yours!
New props
A brand-new church and a waiting shed have been added to decorate your map.
A new locomotive and a passenger car
We’ve added a coal fired Lima Locomotive Works 2-8-0 and a Denver, South Park & Pacific Railroads Passenger Coach.
Experience Lake Valley in our official map trailer:
The complete changelog can be found here:
Patch notes for build: 0.5.9.9.5
Added a new map Lake Valley!
This map is the same size as Pine Valley, keep in mind that this map has more playable space than Pine Valley thus making it feel way bigger!
An easter egg has been added to the map. Good hunting!
The saw tool also works on the rocks around the new map.
Features a pre-placed telegraph office at the start.
Added placeable industries
The host has the ability to now place industries
When placing industries the player is now in fly mode to fine tune where to place industries.
Limit has been set to 3 of each industry.
This also applies to Pine Valley (We have provided a blank map save for PineValley) Will be given out on Discord on launch of the update.
Added delete tool for industries
This is will be useable under the facilities delete filter
Note: Be careful, you could accidentally delete an industry
Added the Lima 2-8-0 Consolidation Locomotive
Has 2 paint schemes
Added D&RG Water Tower
Added Guston Depot
Added Waiting Shed
Has 7 paint schemes
Can be found in the props menu
Added Port Gamble Church
Added starter locomotive selection menu for Lake Valley. The host can pick one of three engines.
Betsy, Montezuma and Shay
Additionally two Gregg Logging Flats appear
Added DSP&P Coach
Coach has 5 paint schemes
Please note these coaches currently do not have any function attached to them; they are purely for RolePlay settings…. For Now.
Added a Mine Cart Prop
Found under the decorations menu
Added a new paint scheme for the Tenmile
Added a default name to auto saves
Default autosave name is now the date. This increases the amount of saves but prevents save overrides when there is no save name present
Added a brake sound for server and client when a player nearby is using a hand brake.
Added gameplay setting: Vehicle view distance for clients
Can be set to 100m (Default), 250m and 500m
In testing we did not see a performance loss. Your mileage may vary.
If you experience performance issues turn down the view distance.
We would recommend 250m as this gives the client an optimal view distance for engines and stock.
This only applies to engines and rolling stock, everything else still pops in for now.
This function must be set on the start of a server load as the settings are currently not saved.
Bug Fixes:
Fixed an issue where having no air in air compressors allowed you to brake engines
Engines that have air compressors now require you to have air in the compressor to gain brake function Note: compressors are set to off on start of a game load. This is a one time thing, be sure to turn the compressors back on then you are good to go.
Fixed 3 way switch gap
Fixed crude oil color
Adjusted wheel base of the Glenbrook
This has helped the tender become more stable on the rails
Fixed the white lights on tenders and locomotives
No longer has 1890’s standard LED installed
Fixed telegraph pole performance
Set draw distance for telegraph lines
Telegraph lines are now static objects to help save performance
Note Since we made the change from physics lines to static objects you may have to re-lay your telegraph poles as it caused issues with the change from physics to static.
Fixed telegraph office
Fixed bug where a additional telegraph pole was spawned when loading a game
Adjusted the way oil barrels spawn
Barrels now spawn over the cars as opposed to using the ramp
The ramp sometimes made the barrels not go into the cars. This has fixed the need to have the tracks be placed lower than the loading dock.
Optimized tree removal effect
Trees on the new map should be less prone to fly away
Added fall direction to vegetation
This only applies to the new map. If trees are stuck inside of buildings or ground work you still will see them fly away.
Made the new double password system more understandable for clients and hosts
Players should now have a better idea of where passwords go. Client Login login password and server password are optional. However we do recommend to set a server password.
Phew! Another patch down another round of content added and bugs fixed. We really hope you enjoy this update as there has been a lot of work put into this update to make sure we deliver a better product for you. If you run into any issues please reach out and we will make sure we get them reported and fixed as soon as we are able.
Have a great time with the new map and content, post some awesome screenshots and share them with us! We look forward to seeing what you all create!
Also don’t forget to check out our Early Access Roadmap on Trello to see what’s to come. Thank you for being a part of our journey!
It has come to our attention that some of our user sessions were compromised in the last few days. We understand the seriousness of this matter, and we want to assure you that we take the security and privacy of our community members very seriously. We want to sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and concern this issue may have caused you.
We've taken measures to identify and address this issue to prevent such incidents from happening in the future. See the patch notes below for our security patch.
We're sorry for any distress this incident has caused on your end and hope this security patch fixes this issue once and for all. We absolutely do not want you to feel unsafe in the world of Railroads Online! 🙏
Patch notes for build: 0.5.9.8.4
Added server password encryption
Added login password when hosting a server
The Server can set a login password when hosting a server
The Client must set this password in the server search menu before joining the server if the server has set a login password
When the Client tries to join and the login password is incorrect the connection is rejected and the Client is instantly kicked from the server
Explanation of the Login Password setting:
1. The Host sets a SERVER PASSWORD as usual (ABC).
2. The Host can also set a LOGIN PASSWORD (123).
3. The Host lets the client know those 2 passwords.
4. The Client will enter the LOGIN PASSWORD (123) in the Server Search menu in the field on top where is written: "Enter Server Join Password".
5. The Client clicks on "Join Server". If a SERVER PASSWORD is set, the client has to enter the SERVER PASSWORD (e.g. ABC) as usual.
The LOGIN PASSWORD is optional.
We hope you have a wonderful week ahead of you. Happy Railroading! 🚂
Your Railroads Online Team
A September Update
Dear Community,
Welcome to the lovely month of September! The end of the year is approaching, Autumn is just around the corner and even Christmas is coming sooner than you think (better prepare the gifts already!).
Today, we want to take the opportunity to announce our new development partner, our roadmap until mid of next year, and shine a light on our current team. Let’s dive right into it!
Welcome to the team, Black Sheep Studio!
Earlier this year, the fantastic French team at Black Sheep Studio took on the challenge to perform an extensive code review, going through the entire codebase of Railroads Online. And yes, they actually checked out every single line of code!
We felt right at home with Black Sheep which is why we now put the ink to paper and created a co-development partnership going forward! Our new friends will support the existing Railroads Online team from a technical perspective.
Speaking of the team…
Some of you repeatedly asked us how exactly the development process looks like currently and how big the team even is. We prepared a handy little graphic for you which hopefully answers a few questions:
As you can see, the entire team of Railroads Online consists of three different parties, all with their own unique roles and responsibilities.
These parties are:
The RO Development Team
Lead by Keume, they are from a development perspective responsible for everything content-related as they work on models, new features, research, and more. In addition they also manage the communication on Steam and Discord. Our moderators Goku, CaptainChooChoo, Kitsune and Sandy are happy to assist you in any matter and help with reporting bugs and feedback.
The astragon Entertainment Team
As a publisher, they organize marketing beats and host events like gamescom, tackle all communication efforts like public relations and social media, take care of sales, and also create stuff like announcements, screenshots and trailers. In addition, the producing team helps with guiding the project, backend works, localization and miscellaneous tasks. They are the direct contact between development and publishing and coordinate everything that has to do with builds, updates and QA together with the developers.
The Black Sheep Studio Team
Black Sheep Studio was founded in 2003 by veteran game developers and has been developing games of any style, any genre or complexity for more than 10 years; providing a wide range of services related to game development, such as complete game development from design to release, co-development or porting a game to another platform. They’ve cooperated with several well-known publishers in the past.
Black Sheep will be responsible for all technical work, stuff you can’t see at a glance. Their focus in the near future will be on refactoring while also providing programming assistance. In addition, they will improve the general UI of the game and take care of performance improvements and more at the same time.
Our new development roadmap
YES, it’s finally here! As our cooperation with Black Sheep begins, we have set up a little roadmap for ourselves which the teams will work on over the coming 9 months. Of course, even more stuff is planned and be assured that we’ll announce more about that once we can!
On the official Trello roadmap, we laid out seven big updates which are the following and are focused on quality of life and mechanics:
Anniversary Update
The Tutorial Update
The Wiki Update
The Map Update (feat. The UI Update)
The Spline Update
The Loading Screen Update
The Rights & Alerts Update
You can check out the Trello for more information as we have already put in a few bullet points as a sneak-peek 👀
However, this is not all! In parallel, we’ll introduce much needed bug fixing and performance optimization updates in both single and multiplayer – while also releasing new content pieces, including vehicles, industries, vegetation and even more surprises. More details about that will also be announced as soon as we can!
And that's it for today! Have a good time in the valley and never stop shaping the world of Railroads Online ❤
Your Railroads Online Team
(PS.: We're working on a patch for the password session issue and hope to be able to release it soon!)
Railroads Online – Beta Update 0.5.9.8
Patch: 0.5.9.8
Written by: Goku Dear community,
With Gamescom come and gone, it is now time for some more bug fixes and content. Below you will find the typical list of bugs we have been able to fix and some new goodies for you to add to your railroad.
Patch notes for build: 0.5.9.8.1 -Fixed bug where the player could delete industries.
Patch notes for build: 0.5.9.8
Fixed a bug where the helper UI would not disappear after looking at things. Switches, Couplers, Fireboxes, Cab interior. After some testing it now looks like the UI now goes away after a few seconds after looking at an object.
Fixed a bug where the pin inserting sound would continue to go off on client side.
Fixed a bug in testing where the demolish filter would reset to an empty state and not show rails, facilities, groundwork etc.
Fixed a bug where a player could not connect off of a coal tower. This bug was reported to us from a member off of the discord.
Fixed a bug where there was no sounds for the EBT hopper. Hopper now has sounds when using brakes and dropping in pins and links.
Fixed a bug where air compressors would lose air over time.
Fixed a bug where an uncoupling pin will stay in the coupler with the pin. When taking a pin out of a coupler the link does not stay in the other coupler that has the pin.
Fixed type 1 wooden trestle. The hitbox is no longer a solid object
Adjusted the lights in the locomotive facility. The light above the Locomotive or Rolling Stock you are buying has been brightened up a bit. Let us know if this needs to be adjusted more.
Added Content:
Added Version Control: When searching for a server the game displays the server version. If the version is equal you can see the Join button. If your game version is different you can still see the server but you can not join. This prevents you from accidentally joining games that are in another branch or do have another version, which caused a lot of crashes.
Added placeable props
New props menu -Rotate props with Num 2,4,6 and 8 (same as increase/decrease track radius and elevation). The rotations may be different based off of your key binds -Props include signs -Text sign (text can be set by the player) -Buildings (Western theme) -Decorations -Added platforms to the decorations menu, platforms look like the ones around spawn
-NOTE: Do not place props on rails or attach them to stock/engines as this can cause some weird hit box interactions that may send you into the RRO space program. -Props can be placed without having to go in and select the props menu again.
-Example you place one fence then you can keep placing fences until you cancel object placing.
Added wood rick as a placeable facility object. This facility object will provide plenty of wood to refill your tenders. It does auto refill but at a slow rate.
You can now rotate all placeable objects. This includes facilities. Rotate with Num 2 and 4 (same keys as increase/decrease track radius). The rotations may be different based off of your key binds.
Conclusion
Having placeable props is exciting and I hope to see all of your builds you guys come up with. We have decided to add in placeable structures because we wanted to not disrupt your already built railroads. This also allows for some awesome creative moments and makes every map unique and more controlled by the players. In the future, we may have pre-placed towns on new maps or just allow you to build what you want where you want, however this is a conversation for a different time.
For now we hope you enjoy some of the goodies we added and we look forward to bringing you more fixes and content. Below you will see some in-game shots of some of the props the team has been messing with.
That being said, there will be an additional information update posting for you next week, including some insights into the team of Railroads Online and a look at our... roadmap?!? 👀
We hope you have a wonderful day and remember to be kind and let your creativity run free. We look forward to sharing more with you when the time is right. Thank you for being patient with us! Much love!
Your Railroads Online Team!
Railroads Online – Beta Update 0.5.9.3
Patch: 0.5.9.3 Written by: Goku
Dear community,
Hello everyone, before we go over the patch notes we are here to chat about some things in regards to patches. It has come to our attention that when the game gets updates or patches there has been an outcry for better communication in the patch notes and things being missed from patches. Going forward we are going to have a different format that will allow us to list all of the bugs squashed, content added and just about anything else related to game updates. This should hopefully allow us to deliver the most accurate information to you guys. Now I don’t want to bore you with the ramblings of an old Saiyan.. Let’s just get right into it!!!!
Patch notes for build: 0.5.9.3
-Fixed an issue where the game is crashing when saving a huge save game while trains are moving.
-Fixed an issue where trains were sinking into the ground when traveling at low speeds, shunting and driving over turntables.
-Fixed a bug where engines would stop at low regulator settings. Notes: This one took a couple of test builds to figure out, thankfully the team found an adjustment for it. To fix this issue we adjusted physics settings for vehicle movement in general.
-Fixed an issue where it was no longer possible to re-rail things from the bottom of the log pond. Notes: Put on your scuba gear and get down there and fetch your engines and cars that more than likely rusted over by now!
-Fixed an issue where brakes were not releasing properly. Notes: This bug was known as the ghost brake bug in the community, this issue has been resolved. However it is important to note: There is a bug in UE version 5.0.3 where we are no longer able to set brakes at individual values either the brake is off or on at the moment, we are planning a UE version update that will hopefully fix this issue. Stay tuned for more on this bug.
-Fixed an issue where engines could not be properly re-railed onto turntables
-Fixed an issue when 3rd person driving and the UI would flash for certain things on the UI
-Fixed an issue where it was only possible to unload coal cars from one side at a coal tower. Notes: Praise the sun, you can now unload from both sides of the coal car not both sides of the coal tower.
-Fixed an issue where the firewood depot was not refilling log stacks back to full Notes: you should now see log stacks refill once you take logs from the piles.
-Fixed an issue when rerailing a locomotive or a car that it would hang in the air after a successful re-rail
-Fixed an issue where the couplers on the Shay “Grabs” cars and could not be uncoupled anymore. Notes: Fine, take your cars back. **sad shay noises**
-Fixed an issue when in first person the regulator could not be directly set from 0% to 100% or vice versa after using the locomotives ui and 3rd person driving
-Fixed an issue when loading a plantation car with a crane. Some cars would not be loaded with cargo. Notes: due to the small nature of the cars you still have to be precise when loading these little guys. Make sure you line up to the crane as best as you can!
-Fixed an issue where stock car lettering was not showing up in the buy menu.
Additions
-Changed the helper menus to now be under the mouse cursor for better visibility
-Added a mph speed readout to the locomotives 3rd person driving UI. In addition to this compressors and generators have been removed off of locomotives that never had them fitted.
-Moved buy track into locomotive factory building. The locomotive factory building replaces the buy track and even features lights for you night owls out there. The old preview track has been removed and an invisible wall taken down to allow for building rails in that area.
Alright, that is what to expect for patch notes going forward. We are also aware that this update does not cover everything that was reported but you can be sure that we are working on it.
To keep things organized we have two forums: If you encounter any bugs please use the RO-Steam bug forum: https://steamcommunity.com/app/1696810/discussions/1/
For feeback to the Beta-Branch please use the RO-Steam Beta-Branch feedback forum: https://steamcommunity.com/app/1696810/discussions/3/
Our moderators Capt. ChooChoo, Kitsune or Sandy will also assist you with that.
We hope you enjoy the new format, feedback is always appreciated.
