To kick off 2026 I was looking for a new feature that was gameplay themed and gave people something new to do on their maps (and for multiplayer operations!).
The freight loading system is still quite "work in progress" and one of my top to-do list items for a future update was to finally add support for more interesting freight loads.
So you can now "fill" open freight wagons (like gondolas) with loads like coal, gravel and iron ore:
These work in exactly the same way as the log loaders already in the game!
Simply place the loader prop on a piece of track, then park an empty freight wagon under it and it will load automatically:
This update adds a new loader prop which you can use to load certain freight wagons with any material you want. Since materials like coal, ore, gravel, etc all pretty much look the same, all you need to do is change the color!
E.g. if you paint the coal pile prop white, then your can treat it like salt, or light yellow for sulfur:
The new "custom display models" of these coal loading wagons can also be created in the modding system!
Essentially you can now make a train mod display a custom 3D model when a chosen type of prop is loaded on to it (e.g. if a pile of ore is loaded, show this model. If a log is loaded, show this model).
You can also make the custom model change its position & scale based on how "full" the wagon is. Meaning that if the wagon has 1/8 coal props loaded, it will appear only slightly full, but if it has 8/8 coal props loaded, it will be full right up to the top!
Using the modding tools, you can fully customize all of these values!
Since you can now effectively make any model move/scale in any way you want, there's a lot of potential here for more creative ideas.
You can find a full guide with instructions on how to use freight loading features on your mods here:
This update also includes a bunch of smaller things:
Fixed the "Disable SteamVR" and "Re-enable SteamVR" launch options. These now work as intended and should prevent SteamVR from automatically launching again
"player X has joined/left" messages now appear in multiplayer chat when players join/leave
The map transfer process in multiplayer now automatically cancels if the player who is receiving the map disconnects during the transfer
The host can now quicksave their map file even while in multiplayer (which means you can effectively work on editing a map while other players are joining you, but they will not see the updated changes)
You can now open the server browser while already inside a multiplayer game. This is useful for viewing what your public server listing looks like after creating a server, and seeing what other servers are open. You can open the server browser from the chat menu
Cleaned up the server log file, it no longer includes some info that is not very helpful for server management
Fixed bug where roundhouse doors could not be clicked on when "Use items in miniature" setting is disabled
Fixed bug where the error log file would not log correctly after starting a server
Fixed bug where 2D menus would not behave correctly when a custom main menu location is used
Fixed a minor bug where waybills would "flash" enabled for one frame even when waybills are not visible
Fixed bug where certain maps would freeze when unloading packaged mod trains (when leaving the map)
Fixed bug where the multiplayer menu would not scale correctly when displaying it on a custom placed menu with a unique scale
The Christmas main menu is now back to normal
I'm incredibly excited for 2026, and I've got big plans for the game.
My main focus is going to be on improving the core stability of the game, with things like optimization, bug fixing and future-proofing.
I'm also going to be putting a lot of time towards improving the controls and the overall user experience. Rolling line has grown SO MUCH over it's 8 years of updates, and it's really in need of some cleaning up and smoothing out, especially for new users.
And of course new multiplayer features! Multiplayer has already massively changed how lots of people play the game, and has made me really see things in a new way. I'm very excited to add new features and customization to multiplayer.
But in the meantime, I hope everyone enjoys these new freight loading features!
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