The first big change in this update is that trains now slow down around tight corners. The second change is that weve stripped Appleberry Farm and its fields out of the Forgotten Valley scenario, in favour of a town called Hazelmere. Hazelmere has a similar, but improved (we hope!) version of the Appleberry Farm mechanic. The third big change is that potential passengers only spawn when there is track laid that would allow completion of their desired route.

On the music front, there are now melodies to play over the generated beeps on completion of contracts, as well as an update to the title track.

There was a lot of work on the core engine to make these changes, so this update is more likely than most to introduce new bugs. If you see anything, please let us know!

This update also marks the beginning of our path to Early Access. To that end well likely hold off on new mechanics until after Early Access, and look to focus more on bugs and playability issues. Also, well be starting a playtest of the Endless mode and other content that will not be part of the Steam Demo. This will be a Steam playtest with a smaller group of players who have given feedback in the past, so let us know if you are interested!

Some other smaller fixes:

• Fix for bug that would allow you to build a tunnel directly underneath another tunnel as long as they were in line
  
• Fix for a number of bugs with routing, specifically one where trains would do laps inside the station when they were unable to exit to a nonstop zone
  
• Fixed a bug where we were incorrectly quoting departures as arrivals in the town screen
  
• Added departures to the town screen
  
• Update to shore/sea art
  
• Significant performance improvements for large networks
  

Another minor version increase, another batch of bug fixes. Our focus is still on the new Endless mode, but weve ticked off a few bugs along the way, so were pushing 0.2.9 with those

We have:

• Fixed a bug where the top bar did not show in certain modes in the Desktop version
  
• Fixed a bug that could cause the train stuck warning to flash on and off
  
• Reduced zoom inertia when using QE keys
  
• Fixed a bug that could cause settings not to get upgraded and preserved
  
• Fixed a bug that could block deletion of an old save game in some cases
  
• Reduced an editing lag that happens with big networks. There is still more work to do here though as network sizes continue to grow
  
• Fixed a bug where clicking on trains was selecting a nearby, but incorrect, train
  Improved graphs on the mobile version, though again, there is still more work to be done on this
  
• Updated the SDL version from 2.0.22 to 2.28.0 - hopefully this will change nothing, but it may be the source of some curious bugs, so do let us know if that happens
  

Oops, 0.2.7 went out with a crash in the new tutorial section. This is a tiny patch to fix that!

The changes are fairly minor this week. Most notably weve swapped to a new map generator for the Challenge mode. The shapes are larger and more continuous, which looks better, and gives more variety for gameplay. Also, rather than evenly distributing fields across the whole map, they are grouped in certain areas.

Other than that, some more minor changes:

• Weve swapped the challenges to be Fortnightly rather than Weekly
  
• The late graph has been removed
  
• Weve expanded the tutorial to show some example uses of nonstop zones, oneway orders, and waypoints. This is following feedback from quite a few people that the tutorial often explained how to do something, but it rarely explained why you may want to
  

Despite the innocuous version number increase, in this update weve changed the way towns grow. It is a big change to how the game is balanced, and wed love to hear thoughts on it. The new system sets a clear target for on-time arrivals, and when the target is met, the town grows. We hope this gives clarity on what needs to be done for a town to grow, and adds an incentive to not keep passengers waiting too long. While doing this we also reworked the town information screens to make them easier to read with large numbers of towns. There is more detail about on this on our blog.

Other than the growth system work we have:

• Added images for the scenario chooser
  
• Added buttons to the town screens so you can cycle between them
  
• Added icons to the town screen to show what cargo is accepted by that stop
  
• Split the town screen and route information windows
  
• Sped up the mouse wheel on Windows
  
• Added icons to the contract window to make it clear when there is money to be collected
  
• Fix for mouse with scaled displays under Wayland
  
• Smoothed out the volume changes on background notes
  
• Fixed an issue where houses would spawn on stations far from a town centre
  

We're focusing on the new Endless mode right now, but weve made a bunch of fixes in the meantime:

• Weve removed the length limit for bridges, and the geographical restriction on Horseshoe Isle is enforced differently now
  
• Stations can be extended
  
• Weve made a number of UI improvements: there is text shown when there are no active contracts rather than ablank box; train warnings are replaced by a text warning when you are paused; toggle buttons have been altered to be more consistent; and there is a background colour change to indicate when a contract is active
  

We're largely working on the Endless Mode now. While that is not quite ready for playtesting, we have made fixes and tweaks that apply throughout all the modes of play. This is a bundle of those changes.

We've developed Neptunia's characteristic mechanics this week. You can now make more money by setting up routes to Neptunia, and doing so will encourage Neptunia itself to expand. However it will now do so at the cost of any nearby fields, which in turn limits your ability to make money out of fares to and from Appleberry Farm. We want there to be choices with who you serve and how, with payoffs either way.

Another significant change is that passengers no longer give up on journeys. It was difficult to communicate when and why this was happening, and it can be especially annoying when passengers gave up on their journey at a transfer station.

Other minor changes

• Fields don't just disappear, but are replaced by a destroyed field sprite when you build through them
  
• Removed an artefact on the desert map
  
• Clicking anywhere on a train service row expands it
  
• The top bar buttons now jump to the corresponding graphs
  
• Holding shift means you can WASD around the map a lot quicker
  

Another small update to get some fixes we made during the week out there. We have:

- Fixed a bug that allowed you to extend stations into town tiles, and sometimes crash when doing so
- Fixed some broken art tiles in Tipsy Tavern
- Fixed a crash that would happen if you deleted a station when a train was loading or unloading at that station

Savegames are broken by this update, so if you need a Steam branch to finish an old game, please let us know!

We are streaming as part of the Capitalism and Economy fest. It is pre-recorded so we can't answer questions live, but drop by our forums if there is anything you want to know!

This patch largely consists of bugfixes ahead of the Capitalism and Economy fest on Monday, but we also added a screenshot button to the highscore screen shown at the end of challenges

• Save slots are sorted now, with most recently accessed first
  
• We fixed a few bugs with the continue button that could occur after deleting slots
  
• We fixed a bug that would open the link discord screen when trying to start the Desert Dew challenge
  
• The buttons in the confirm dialogue have been properly aligned
  
• We fixed a bug where bridges and tunnels wouldn't destroy fields or other ornaments
  
• We fixed a bug where track draws wouldn't reliably destroy ornaments like fields
  
• We removed a special case that would stop you from collapsing a service in the trains window when there is only one left
  
• Adding to a new route, or jumping to the route from a train window, now scrolls it into view
  

This update adds music into Iron Roads just before 2023 ends.

We're taking a slightly unconventional approach to music and other than the menu screen music, nothing is authored. It is generated by the game, based on a ruleset that responds to your actions and those of your train network. As always, we intend to iterate this concept, and we'd love to hear your thoughts!

This update also reduces the challenge time from 7 in-game days to 5, and fixes a crash that could occasionally happen when booting. We'll be pushing a few more bugfixes early in the new year in preparation for an event, so do let us know if you notice anything that doesn't seem quite right.

We wanted to use this space to thank you all for your support, and we hope you all have a great 2024!

This is a larger update than normal, with a number of substantial changes:

• Thematic update We've made the map more reactive to how you play, with the choices you make affecting the environment and your passengers more, and we've reworked the backstory and mechanics around these
  
• Random map generation We can't be the only ones tired of playing the same scenarios over and over, so we have added a map generator. This will eventually support an Endless mode for free play, but for now it is only enabled in the new challenge mode
  
• Challenge mode This new mode gives you a finite amount of time on a fixed map to transport as many people as possible. There a high score board for the competitive, and you can even link your game with your Discord account to "claim" your score in the #highscores channel on our Discord!
  

• Many UI changes, including a reworked top bar to pack more information in a smaller space!
  
• Many tutorial updates, along with a new section to explain *non-stop* orders
  
• We've added inertial scroll, removed bridge and tunnel length caps, and added a switch to show/hide completed contracts
  

• A glitch causing town art to disappear and show blank stops
  
• An issue that would prevent saving if you transferred directly from tutorial to Forgotten Valley scenario
  
• A bug where the loading screen would not draw the game if it was booted in the background
  
• An exploit where you could build stations all the way across the map
  

The title says it all. Sorry this fell off our todo list a few times, but we got recently reminded of this and it is done now. Other than that 0.1.3 is a collection of bugfixes:

• The game sleeps when in the background
  
• We fixed a typo in the per unit profit task
  
• The warnings introduced in 0.1.2 are now dismissable, but they will reappear if they occur again
  
• We added an indicator that PNG export is happening, and then done
  
• We fixed a bug where the flowchart showed incorrectly
  
• We fixed a bug where a bridge could not be built over a station, but a station could be built under a bridge
  
• We fixed a bug where tunnels could not be built under existing stations
  
• We fixed a bug where drag delete perpendicular to a station would incorrectly delete the station
  
• We fixed a bug where it was impossible to draw oneway orders over stations
  
• We fixed a bug where it was impossible to draw oneway or nonstop orders on bridges over water
  
• We fixed a bug where stations could not be extended without the new draw overlapping the station
  

This update removes emails from the game and replaces them with the (similar, but different) concept of contracts. For this update we are experimenting with making a short video of us playing through and discussing the changes for those who are interested

[previewyoutube=AyUBIn83E50;full][/previewyoutube]

We've spelt out the reasons for this in detail in a blogpost, but the core problem was that the email system had led the scenarios in a more linear direction than we had hoped for. We want the game to present you with a range of possible, and optional, goals you can opt in and out of. Giving a player this choice frees us from keeping the difficulty down in all tasks. Even the humble Forgotten Valley scenario now has some challenging contracts.

We've also nipped and tucked the desert scenario to incorporate your feedback, added a warning when trains are locked up, and stopped trains from loading and unloading carriages that are not on a platform. We've also fixed some issues:

• Text no longer spills off the end of the email (now contracts) window
  
• Scroll in the email column is fixed
  
• Inconsistent escape handling should be more consistent now
  
• Nonstop zones that touch only at corners no longer act as one
  
• The desert factory shows a clearer warning when it pauses production
  

This update is a small collection of bugfixes:

• We fixed a bug that would stop you applying the nonstop order to tracks in some cases
  
• We fixed few issues that occur to trains the same length of a platform adjoining a nonstop zone when the train magically flips
  
• We fixed a bug where the previous day's profit/loss in the train info window could show question marks incorrectly
  
• We fixed some visual glitches when trains reroute
  
• We changed the draw order to stop nonstop orders so that they no longer get covered by the town background paint
  

This is our biggest update yet, and the first to introduce a new map and scenario! Rather than carrying passengers to and from work, this time you will haul cargo across the Santa Maria desert. We changed a lot about Iron Roads when adding cargo, so we'd love to hear how you get on as we will be iterating on this scenario with feedback! Screenshots of late game layouts would be particularly useful as we have changed the size of this map a few times during development, and we want to see how it is working out

Graphs and statistics were a common request in #feature-voting, and in this update you'll see the new graphs mode at the bottom of the screen. Our favourite tasks with Iron Roads tend to be optimisation type tasks, and graphs help visualise progress with those. Again we'll be iterating on these, so let us know your thoughts

Other than that, there are the many enhancements and bugfixes

• We've moved the tutorial elements of Forgotten Valley to the tutorial itself, and we've reworked Forgotten Valley's tasks. The infamously unpopular 1* waiting passengers task is gone, and been replaced with a longer, more graduated, series of tasks
  
• We've rotated out Horseshoe Isle as we can't put everything in the demo! It will return in revised form for Early Access. We plan to continue rotating scenarios like this during development
  
• We worked a lot on performance, so you should now be able to run more trains, on larger maps. Thanks a lot to all who sent save games for our debugging
  
• We've greatly expanded the tutorial
  
• We fixed an issue where trains would route improperly over crossroads
  
• We added a button to max out train length on the buy screen
  
• We fixed more bugs with zooming than I am comfortable admitting to!
  
• The task button is badged now when it is hidden and there are completed tasks to be collected
  
• We fixed a bug where it wouldn't allow you to set orders on a track when waypoints were selected in the construction menu
  
• We fixed a bug where you wouldn't be fully refunded when selling a bridge or tunnel
  
• We fixed the menu button so that it closes the menu when open
  
• We fixed an issue reported the wrong tooltip would show in some cases
  

This minor update is a collection of bugfixes, quality of life upgrades, art updates and balance changes.

Most importantly you can now buy tiles back from towns, or reserve countryside tiles, with the new buy land tool. This has been by far the most common feedback request, and most-voted item on our Discord. We might need to adjust the pricing of this, so we are interested to hear opinions on how this is working out for everyone!

Quality of Life changes:

• You can extend stations rather than deleting and rebuilding. Draw onto a station and it will be extended, charging you the difference
  
• The load game screen is now scrollable, and saves from old versions of IR can be purged
  
• We've added QE buttons for zoom in/out
  
• We increased task list font size
  

• a significant performance issue with non-stop zones
  
• an issue where passenger indicators on trains were a different colour to the train
  
• a bug where it pans when you zoom too far
  
• a bug where deleting a bridge/tunnel over/under the relics in Horsehoe would destroy them
  
• a bug where trains would sometimes not start a route without saving and reloading
  
• a bug introduced in 0.0.9 that made it impossible to delete save games
  
• a bug where some diagonal bridges were not deletable
  

Now that Steam NextFest is winding down, we'd like to share our plans for the next couple of months:

• Catch up with bugs We've pushed a lot of updates recently, and there are new and old issues to be cleared out
  
• Add the ability to reserve tiles, and buy back town tiles We worked on most of the serious QoL issues reported by you all so far, but this one is still on our to-do list, to be addressed shortly
  
• Optimisation As you've played for longer, larger and more complex layouts, have sometimes caused lag issues, so we need to take a little time to optimise Iron Roads
  
• Cargo Larger layouts will enable us to build the next scenario. A number of you have asked for cargo in the game, so that will be coming soon. Artistically we'd like to try a different biome, and we are interested in the deeper gameplay a large scenario with complex cargo networks would provide
  

No serious changes in this patch. We have fixed a bug where building and selling a station would leave you with more money than you started with. We also expanded the tutorial slightly after some feedback from the Next Fest, and we've slightly increased the starting funds to compensate for the maintenance cost introduced in 0.0.8.

Now that the Next Fest is underway, we'll likely have another small patch or two to fix bugs, optimise the game and allow for buying town tiles. However, our real effort will go towards 0.1.0, an update in which we hope to introduce cargo to the game in a new map, much larger than the Horseshoe scenario.

Join us as we play Iron Roads as part of the Steam Nest Fest: June 2023 edition

Join us as we play Iron Roads as part of the Steam Nest Fest: June 2023 edition

Join us as we play Iron Roads as part of the Steam Nest Fest: June 2023 edition

Join us as we play through the demo for Iron Roads during the Steam Next Fest: June 2023 edition!

Join us as we play through the demo for Iron Roads during the Steam Next Fest: June 2023 edition!

This update affects both the Demo and the main build for any testers with access to that

Many testers have rightly pointed out that money comes too easily, so we've added maintenance costs. Running a train will now cost money, so you have to carry enough passengers to break even on that service. This shouldn't be hard to achieve, but you will need to run the right number of trains rather than just spamming more now. Let us know how this goes!

Passengers left standing on a platform long enough will now leave in disgust. This is a minor penalty for long waiting times, and it avoids a huge backlog building up early game. You can find out how many passengers have left using the upgraded town info window. Also check out the new train info window. You can see the passage of time via a clock on the top right.

We made the demo public last week on Steam. A heartening number of people played, but we realised we needed a tutorial for players unfamiliar with the conventions of train games. We've expanded the tooltips, and as before these can be turned off in the settings. The tutorial can be ignored.

A few minor tweaks

• You cannot create a train with no carriages, and you cannot sell the final carriage without selling the train
  
• The fares in Horseshoe have been brought in line with the actual distance travelled around the map
  
• There is a delete indicator for click-to-delete and click-to-clear orders
  

• Fixed a crash when deleting off the screen
  
• If you try to click-delete occupied track, it shows an error and no longer works
  
• Allowed building onto a town tile that has track already on it (though we still need to add the tile purchase mechanic)
  
• Fixed an issue that caused Iron Roads to fail to boot if your Windows username had non-ASCII
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