Hello everyone,
This week has brought together road building in Naumburg and streetcar tracks in Portland. Portland in particular is becoming more tangible as a city, with stops in Northwest, a depot beneath I-405 and signals that give it a distinct American character.
For this post, I have selected a fresh set of images and captured additional views in the game renderer. This time, there are cars and trams in the pictures too. Three animations show the ordinary traffic lights, the streetcar signals and the pedestrian displays.
Development status: 3 October 2026. The images come from different development branches. Arranged game scenes and model previews are labelled; they do not automatically represent the contents of the upcoming demo.
In Naumburg, streets, squares and paths to the stops are growing together. A connected paving design is taking shape around Markt, Topfmarkt and St. Wenzel. Forecourts, courtyards and green strips should help connect the neighbourhoods. Work also continues on Domplatz and the tram corridor.
Official aerial imagery provides the design reference for the ground layer. Vegetation, light paved areas and exposed ground are interpreted in a simplified form. Where trees or shadows hide the surface, the resulting areas remain an interpretation.
In the editor, roads can now be drawn as curves, connected to suitable existing roads and extended with additional turning lanes. At the same time, I am working on converting Naumburg's existing roads into editable road objects. Difficult curves and pavement edges have received further attention. The wider renewal and its final review in the game remain in progress.
The Portland pilot covers parts of Northwest and the Pearl District, continuing through Downtown to Portland State University. For the initial area, I am focusing on a smaller section around NW 23rd Avenue, Northrup, Marshall and Lovejoy.
Tracks, stops and roads sit close together here. The streetcar curves follow their actual shapes in the map data. Duplicate track drawings caused by additional substitute axes have been removed. This makes it easier to follow the tram around the street corners and through the block.
A new paused game scene captured on the server in the NW block. Cars and two existing compact trams were arranged on imported roads and tracks for this picture. It shows the game renderer; it is not evidence of a complete working transit service. Map data: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL 1.0.
Further east is the streetcar depot on Northrup. Its stabling tracks are connected to the actual mapped routes. I-405 runs above it, with separate carriageways, ramps and road markings. Simplified building envelopes give the workshop halls a recognisable shape.
Native development capture at the Northrup depot: arranged traffic on I-405, with tracks and halls below. Building dimensions, supports and heights are illustrative approximations. Map data: © OpenStreetMap contributors.
The vehicle layers at this location have also been revised. Traffic on the elevated road belongs on the bridge deck, while the appropriate structures should hide vehicles underneath. The new view makes that arrangement easier to see. The depot and road integration has received focused checks. Complete line operation and safe shunting still need their own reviews.
American streets have a different appearance. Yellow markings separate opposing directions, while white lines divide lanes travelling the same way. US traffic signs with mph values and matching signal models add to that character.
Ordinary traffic lights are available with vertical and horizontal heads. The first GIF shows both designs with red, green and yellow lights. The close view makes their housings and illuminated sections easy to see.
Animated model preview of the US traffic lights. Hold times are shortened for the presentation.
The streetcar receives its own local bar signals. They show stop, permission to proceed and flashing transition warnings. Their displays are controlled separately from the ordinary road signals.
Animated streetcar signal preview with shortened steady phases. The GIF shows signal models.
Pedestrian signals also receive their American displays: the white Walk figure, the orange hand and the flashing hand during the clearance interval. The third GIF shows the transitions between these states.
Hand/Walk model preview showing permission to cross, flashing clearance and stop. All three GIFs are asset previews; their shortened sequences are not recordings of operating traffic.
The signal models are connected to the existing control system. Selected reference junctions have dedicated pedestrian phases with waiting and clearance periods. At the two original NW curves, the pedestrian display remains on stop for now. The interaction with vehicles that are actually moving through and clearing the junctions will receive further checks.
Portland is also receiving its own building forms. Warehouses, lofts and residential buildings have distinct roofs and facades. Four landmark models represent Union Station, Pioneer Courthouse, the Portland Building and Big Pink.
Native render gallery of the four landmarks at several detail levels. Illustrative building models, rather than a capture of the full game map.
The larger Portland collection now contains 90 original models for residential neighbourhoods, Downtown, commercial areas, public facilities and street scenery. It also includes stylised Portland bridges and additional transit models. On its development branch, the collection is registered in the scenery catalogue and can be placed from there. This does not automatically fill the city with buildings; vehicles placed as scenery are not yet vehicles that can be bought or operated.
Model overview of new housing: Craftsman variants, duplexes, fourplexes and larger residential buildings. Rendered from the original model geometry; not yet a built-up game scene.
An initial model collection adds a US midibus, a three-section streetcar, an SUV and three Craftsman houses. The new streetcar can already be viewed in the studio. This collection is still being integrated into the game; the trams in the NW picture above come from the existing fleet.
Studio preview of the new three-section streetcar model; registration in the runtime catalogue is still pending.
Work on stops continues beyond Portland as well. Bus lines can receive preferred stopping bays and permitted alternatives, configured separately for each direction. Multiple bays at a bus station appear as one public station.
Walking route searches take additional connection points and permitted detours into account. The first moving cyclists use explicitly created cycling corridors. An imported walking and cycling network is being developed for Portland. This does not yet amount to a fully connected network across the whole city.
In the vehicle studio, work has included the fronts and destination displays of H12 and H18, and the pantograph base of T15. A classic six-axle articulated tram expands the tram selection. LED, flip-dot and roller displays can be compared in the preview.
Buses have an initial audio package with propulsion, rolling noise, air brakes and doors. These self-generated placeholder sounds still need tuning against actual gameplay. Vehicle lighting and roadworks that close lanes or channel traffic through a narrow section are also being developed. Another Portland branch adds regional police, ambulance and fire responses; its overall review remains open.
Terrain views with relief, contours and a profile inspector are being developed for Naumburg and Portland. In Portland, connected track and path sections can now be viewed as a continuous terrain profile. The image shows the profile along the NW track block.
Terrain profile of the connected NW track block. Map data: © OpenStreetMap contributors; elevation source: USGS 3DEP. Estimated ground heights, rather than surveyed road elevations.
This view helps explain height differences beneath roads and tracks. The values initially describe the ground. Independently confirmed road and bridge elevations, a complete tilted world view and gradient physics remain further steps.
In parallel, unchanged road, pedestrian and scenery geometry is being reused more extensively. This reduces repeated preparation when panning and zooming. Focused checks and measurements show progress in specific areas; longer sessions with dense traffic still need to be measured.
The Naumburg demo and its store presence were submitted to Valve for review in late September. The intended date is 14 October 2026; final approval depends on that review process. The demo has its own development snapshot. Later work shown in this post therefore does not automatically form part of its contents.
Next, Naumburg's difficult road sections and the interaction between the new tools will take priority. In Portland, I want to keep checking the prepared streetcar area, depot, ramps and signals under actual line operation. The test pause has ended, and focused server checks are running again.
What would you like to see in more detail next time: a trip through Naumburg, the Portland depot or the new vehicle models? Let me know in the comments.
See you in the next dev diary!