First, thank you for your support as we continue to build and improve Railroader! We're proud of the progress we've made already and excited about the work remaining as we continue to push toward "1.0"!
We've been working on Railroader 2024.6.0 for the past couple months and are happy to finally share some details on what's in it. Along with a number of smaller fixes and enhancements, there are a few significant enhancements/changes that I want to focus on:
Auto Engineer Waypoint Mode: This marks a huge step forward in helping you do more on your railroad. When in Waypoint Mode the Auto Engineer will navigate to the selected location (waypoint), setting switches on its way. It's great for switching a yard or performing a run-around, but it can also navigate across the map. It can't negotiate meets, however, so if you have multiple trains running in the same area, you'll need to plan accordingly, or use CTC. We've been loving using it while testing and can't wait for you to try it out.
Builder Photos have been added to the Atlantic Locomotive Works equipment catalog (window)! These add a lot to the browsing experience and we hope it will ease your next equipment purchasing decision.
Passengers could always be unloaded at stops that weren't their destination, but now they properly retain their origin and pay the full fare upon arrival there. Passengers also no longer have infinite patience: they must reach their destination within four game hours of boarding a train – otherwise they will make other arrangements. Please bear this in mind when planning your passenger routes.
In connection with the above, we have removed the time multiplier feature, so time in Railroader now progresses with real time. This sets us up for future plans, as well as simplifying an unnecessarily confusing aspect of the game. Remember that if you need time to pass you can always use the Wait button, or the /wait console command.
We've made a number of model enhancements, including aggregate loads in hoppers and gondolas, updates to several engines, and even a couple new buildings. More to come!
Finally, we've made some enhancements under the hood to networking that should make busy servers run more smoothly. For the full list of changes, please see below.
Availability
When will Railroader 2024.6.0 be available? We're trying something new and are releasing it today on an experimental branch. We want to gather early feedback on it before releasing it to everybody. Given the nature of this experimental branch, expect frequent updates! As such, if you play Railroader with mods, we recommend holding off on installing mods, or sticking with the public (default) release.
If you're ready to try out the experimental build, use your Steam client's Betas panel (under Properties) to select the experimental-2024.6 branch. Please post bug reports in the Discord #bug-reports channel, and make sure to use the "Experimental" tag.
This experimental branch is a bit of an experiment for us in itself, so we'll be evaluating how we want to run releases going forward.
2024.6.0 Release Notes (Experimental)
- The Atlantic Locomotive Works is pleased to announce that the latest catalog has been enhanced with photographs of their offerings.
- Added Auto Engineer Waypoint Mode: set a waypoint and the auto engineer will route itself to that location, lining switches along the way! Once "AE Waypoint" mode is selected, hit `Ctrl-G` to set the waypoint. Waypoint mode is great for switching moves and run-arounds, and can also run across the railroad
- but remember, Waypoint Mode doesn't negotiate meets, so make sure you plan ahead (or use CTC). For more, see the in-game Employee Timetable (`F1`).
- Passengers disembarking at a station that is not their destination now pay full fare upon reaching their destination. Previously they would only pay from the station they boarded at. (RR-167)
- Passengers now only wait 4 hours from the time they board their first train. After 4 hours they will disappear from stations and coaches. (RR-303)
- Added aggregate loads to hoppers and gondolas.
- Updated S-23, C-46, C-55, F-71, and SW1 models.
- Added two new buildings: new station at Dillsboro and small office structure at Dillsboro and Whittier. More to follow!
- Diesels: Updated notch-to-power mapping to more closely match EMD documentation. Diesels now produce 100% more power at notch 1.
- Added alert on startup to warn if there are no enabled interchanges; prevent disabling the last enabled interchange. (RR-557)
- Auto Engineer now posts notices for pitfalls such as handbrake applied or brake cylinders set that are outside the connected brake line. A status message is shown when charging the brake line.
- Removed time multiplier feature. (RR-579)
- Improved reliability of clicking on objects in low frame rate situations.
- Fixed Nantahala Talc & Limestone T1 to export limestone, not talc. Any existing cars for T1 that contain talc will be re-waybilled to an interchange. (RR-577)
- Standardized terminology in UI and ETT on "Auto Engineer" or "AE".
- Enhanced networking to better handle joining very large games. (RR-562)
- Fixed auto engineer not announcing stop for switch set against.
- Fixed auto engineer passenger stop ending too soon after pause. (RR-575)