[previewyoutube=WCidD0TM7Q8;full][/previewyoutube] TLDR: The game now has official non-VR support for both keyboard+mouse and controller. It also runs on Steam Deck. For best Steam Deck performance, I recommend forcing it to use Proton instead of the native Linux build. This update started life as a content update adding some monorails
But then I made the mistake of testing the game on my Steam Deck. It ran well, but the controls were terrible because I had only added non-VR controls to quickly test changes without putting on my headset. I decided to take a crack at improving them and as everyone knows, if you give a mouse a cookie, they're going to want some milk. Adding non-VR support meant that I needed to add a more complete settings panel with input rebinding
I also felt like it was finally time to tear out the terrible "first time user experience" because it didn't really work and people mostly ignored it which meant adding a proper tutorial. Which was a long and painful process and made me put the update on hold multiple times.
There were also issues with multiplayer and there wasn't a great interface for that either, so I had to fix that as well. Multiplayer should be better in general. I also added support for different lobby types, you can set your game to public and people can join you via the "Join Game" button on your profile.
I also ended up making a bunch of minor tweaks to things and fixed some bugs. Then after all of that was done, I decided that the store art needed sprucing up so I made new key art, screenshots, and achievement icons.

Sorry it took so long, hopefully someone gets some enjoyment out of it.

The Locomancer has returned from the dead and brought some treats with him including...

Two new build spaces!

Attic

Backyard

Five new glove styles

Rubber, HEV, Crystal, Deco, and Skeletal

It's been 4 years since Locomancer was released and 2 years since it was last updated. In my mind the game has run out of steam which is why I am making the game free for it's 4th birthday. Starting February 28th the game will be free for everyone forever.

Don't forget to post your entries to the discussion thread: https://steamcommunity.com/app/490250/discussions/0/1841314700702089400/

Don't forget that you have one week left to submit an entry for the layout contest.

I guess unless people would like an extension. I don't want to rush people if they're still working on submissions.

There's still a week left for you to submit your layout to the contest. I'm also releasing an update that adds some new content and improves the models for a few things. I added a wooden train set inspired by that one popular brand for kids that I don't know if I can legally mention:
A set of marble run pieces including a flexible trough:
And the haunted house that I made for Halloween, but didn't actually release in time:
Also, I finally replaced the models for the spotlight and the vacuum cleaner (which is now mounted to the side of the toolbox):

Press the touchpad (or A button if available) to use the vacuum to suck up loose pieces or turn the turbo dial (or press the menu button) to suck up everything but tables and flexibles. I also made some of the flexible pieces easier to grab.

It's been two years since Locomancer was officially released. To celebrate it's on sale for the next week and I'm running a layout creation contest that you can read about HERE. Thank you to everyone who has played the game and especially to those who have given feedback that has helped me improve upon it. Also, if you haven't yet, there's no time like the present to leave a review for the game lunar2019grinningpig

This update adds a flexible bridge and a flexible elevated rail. It also tweaks how the old flexible track works (they all behave similar to the flexible tunnels). These new pieces can be found in the Track Extensions drawer. There are also some under the hood changes that I've been making in an attempt to get the game running well on Android, but ideally you shouldn't notice them though they may improve performance in some cases.

This update fixes a bug where tunnels placed at the border between two tables would not load from a save correctly.

Fixed bug that caused custom models to not be loaded from saves.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gq0pkkOh958 Locomancer now has TWO whole rooms to build in! I know, it's a little excessive, but I figured a little extra space couldn't hurt. The new room is under the sea themed...definitely not aping the style of a certain other submarine game. I actually built the room last December, but only just got around to adding the bits necessary for switching rooms. You select a room with a big lever and then teleport to it by entering its door. You can return to the start screen by opening and entering the door in each room.

The underwater room has some nice atmospheric fog.
Not every machine is going to be able to handle it, so I added a toggle inside the toolbox.
You can now adjust the game and music volume on the start screen using these levers.
I also added a new style of EMU.
Last, but not least, Locomancer officially supports Linux! I've been releasing builds for Linux for a while now, but hadn't made it official because there was a scene transition bug that prevented the Linux build from having the start screen. With the new multi-room setup it can finally support it without horrible GPU hangs, nice! While testing I did notice and odd degradation in performance despite the game not using more RAM/CPU/GPU, but I don't know if that's just my machine or not. Let me know if you run into this issue.

There have been a few static tunnels in the game for a while, but none of them were all that useful. This update builds on the flexible track from the last one to bring you flexible tunnels. These tunnels bend, twist, and cut holes through terrain.
They snap to tables but can also be placed on their own in a room.
They can even go through the room walls!
There are 4 variations that can be found in the Track Extensions drawer.
A known issue is that the ends of tunnels appear white when looking through them from certain positions. This is a result of the way they are implemented and cannot easily be fixed. This update also adds 4 sizes of redwood tree.

After two years of saying I wanted to, I've finally gotten around to adding deformable terrain.
Along with the terrain I've implemented flexible track that allows you to more easily built on the new terrain or just make interesting curves you couldn't before. This track can be manipulated by grabbing it by the endpoints and moving them around.
The deformable terrain comes in the form of a new table that once placed can be edited with the new terraforming tool.
When held near a deformable table, editable points will be highlighted within the tools radius.
Pressing and holding the trackpad (or A button on Oculus/WMR) will let you raise and lower the highlighted area.
You can adjust the range and falloff of the selected area with the dials on the end of the Terraformer's prongs. You can also paint this new terrain multiple colors allowing you to create snow topped mountains and green valleys.
In addition to these new flexible features, I've added two new locomotives:
As well as a light control signal block, a double-wide crossing guard, and a little trainarium.
Changes:

• Added deformable terrain and Terraformer tool
• Added flexible track
• Added Deco loco
• Added Punter loco
• Added light control signal block
• Added double-wide RR crossing guard
• Added bell to RR crossing guard
• Stopped bell and horn signal blocks pausing control sequences
• Added trainarium
• Rearranged locomotive inventory drawer

I've been wanting to add the ability to automate driving locomotives for a while. Originally, I had planned on adding a wiring system that let you connect sensors to various things, but the interface for that always seemed like it would be too complex both to implement and to use. Signal boxes and blocks are the solution that I came up with. Signal blocks can be attached to a signal box to create a sequence of actions that will be performed by locomotives when they pass through that signal box. Each block performs a single action which can be adjusted by turning their dials to the desired setting. If you have a sequence that you want to use in multiple places you can copy the stack or the signal box it's connected to. The available blocks are:

• Brake for setting the brake.
• Throttle for setting speed.
• Bell for ringing the bell (if there is one).
• Whistle for blowing the whistle or horn.
• Switch direction for changing directions at switches.
• Doors for opening/closing the left, right, middle, or all three sets of doors.
• Decouple for decoupling the front or back coupling.
• Wait for pausing between actions.

I've been wanting to add the ability to automate driving locomotives for a while. Originally, I had planned on adding a wiring system that let you connect sensors to various things, but the interface for that always seemed like it would be too complex both to implement and to use. Signal boxes and blocks are the solution that I came up with. Signal blocks can be attached to a signal box to create a sequence of actions that will be performed by locomotives when they pass through that signal box. Each block performs a single action which can be adjusted by turning their dials to the desired setting. If you have a sequence that you want to use in multiple places you can copy the stack or the signal box it's connected to. The available blocks are:

• Brake for setting the brake.
• Throttle for setting speed.
• Bell for ringing the bell (if there is one).
• Whistle for blowing the whistle or horn.
• Switch direction for changing directions at switches.
• Doors for opening/closing the left, right, middle, or all three sets of doors.
• Decouple for decoupling the front or back coupling.
• Wait for pausing between actions.

• Fixed paint tool, save camera, and fire extinguisher disappearing
• Fixed switch direction dial on control panel locking hand when no train is selected.
• Hid character model and grid when saving tool bench thumbnails

• Fixed paint tool, save camera, and fire extinguisher disappearing
• Fixed switch direction dial on control panel locking hand when no train is selected.
• Hid character model and grid when saving tool bench thumbnails

Locomancer was released one year ago today! To celebrate the game is 33% off for the next week. Thank you to everyone who has supported/played the game over the last year, it really means a lot to me!

Locomancer was released one year ago today! To celebrate the game is 33% off for the next week. Thank you to everyone who has supported/played the game over the last year, it really means a lot to me!

I just released a small update that fixes a couple bugs and improves the workshop export camera. You can now position the workshop camera before exporting to frame your model how you'd like it to look in the thumbnail. I fixed a coloring bug when importing obj models and another bug related to fbx models. I fixed some multiplayer bugs that caused syncing issues between players.

I just released a small update that fixes a couple bugs and improves the workshop export camera. You can now position the workshop camera before exporting to frame your model how you'd like it to look in the thumbnail. I fixed a coloring bug when importing obj models and another bug related to fbx models. I fixed some multiplayer bugs that caused syncing issues between players.

I just released a small content update that adds these new terrain pieces:

These pieces allow you to create hills, valleys, and canyons as well as various tunneled layouts. They come in two sizes full size (one square table) and half size (one quarter of a square table). I also added some new bridges two go along with this terrain:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjMl1NrHfLU This update adds multiplayer support in a beta state. It's functional, but there are still a few things that I need to clean up. To start a multiplayer game, make sure that you and your friends are in the game and past the starting scene (in the main room). For best results your friends' rooms should be cleared. Then, press the big green invite button next to the door:
This will open the Steam overlay with an invite dialog from which you can invite your friends. Your friends should receive an invite:
When they press the green button, they'll pop into your room and you can start building together. You can also load pre-existing layouts, although some may have minor glitches in your friends' games. PLEASE NOTE that currently anyone connected to your game can clear the room. In order to test multiplayer support, I added initial non-vr controls. They aren't great, but they are functional. This update also includes improved support for importing models created with Google Blocks. Drop model.obj and materials.mtl into a named folder in the models folder and you'll be able to import it. I also added a slider that allows you to adjust the vertical alignment of a model to ensure it won't clip into a table when placed:
Lastly, I added two sizes for quarter circle tables:
There's some more content that I've been working on, but I've postponed it in the interest of releasing this update. Change List:

• Added multiplayer support
• Added basic non-vr support
• Fixed being unable to hide the toolbox/control panel in certain situations
• Added round corner tables
• Fixed stopped railcars making running noises
• Added support for importing OBJ material colors
• Adjusted imported model scaling to allow more adjustment
• Added vertical alignment slider

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjMl1NrHfLU

I just pushed an update that adds three new steam engines and a coal tender.
They include a Big Boy (4-8-8-4), Challenger (4-6-6-4), and a Little Guy (4-6-4). A known issue is that painting is partially broken on the Little Guy.

This isn't a very large update for the game, but I think it's a pretty big deal for the community. Before I get in the details, I want to mention that this update adds another half hour of music with a country-western vibe by Nathan Boler. It's awesome. Up to this point it's been possible to share your layouts, but it required passing the save files around manually and making sure that wherever you stored them didn't re-compress them. This update adds support for the Steam Workshop allowing you to share your layouts and custom models easily with the community. To upload a layout, open the toolbox and press the "Show Workbench" button:
Open the scanner lid:
Grab a layout photo and drop it in the scanner:
Press the "Upload" button:
And wait for the upload to complete:
When it does, the workshop page for your layout will be opened in the overlay:
From here you can edit the title and description. You can also access this page outside of VR if you find typing with controllers annoying (I do). Once you're satisfied, share it with the community by changing its visibility to public. If you've never uploaded an item to the workshop, you'll need to accept Steam's workshop agreement before you can make your items public. If you're more interested in downloading new layouts, head over the workshop and start subscribing. I've uploaded four new layouts and hopefully the community will start adding to this collection. You can also upload and subscribe to custom models in much the same way. As for why I took so long to get this update out. I recently got a full time job and moved cities. This combination has left me kind of burnt out on development, but I knew that I needed to get this update out as it's an important one and the final feature that was in the game, but not fully functional. This is not to that say that I'm done working on Locomancer, there's still lots of stuff that I want to add, but it does mean that development is going to be (even) slower than it has in the past. Once things settle down I'll have a better idea of what that means. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this update, I'm really looking forward to seeing your layouts!

This is a minor patch/full release of the experimental update I released last week. I ended up adding a tiny panel with limited controls that can be summoned by pressing the menu button while riding a rideable. This panel allows you to change your rotation and ride scale while riding with a single controller. Combined change list:

• Room can now be rotated freely 360* using the room rotate dial on the toolbox or by holding both grip buttons and rotating controllers together
• Added control panel that can be summoned while riding
• Improved crossing semaphore behavior when saved in the down position
• Updated the rotary dumper
• Updated the turntable
• Fixed copies of flaming locos catching on fire when on rails
• Made it easier for some cars to enter the tunnels in the tunnel table (some still won't fit because they're just too big)
• Fixed issues related to custom models
• Re-added corgi

I got a request from a user for the ability to rotate the room arbitrarily to better fit their play space. You can rotate the room by holding both grip buttons and rotating the controllers around each other (instead of moving them closer or further apart). Before now when entering a rideable you would be rotated to match it. Now you'll continue facing in the same direction. You can rotate the playspace the same way as in build mode. However, if you're playing with one controller you won't be able to rotate while riding. I'm not sure how big of an issue this is, but to be on the safe side I've only pushed this to the experimental branch for now. Change list:

• Room can now be rotated freely 360* using the room rotate dial on the toolbox or by holding both grip buttons and rotating controllers together
• Improved crossing semaphore behavior when saved in the down position
• Updated the rotary dumper
• Updated the turntable
• Fixed copies of flaming locos catching on fire when on rails
• Made it easier for some cars to enter the tunnels in the tunnel table (some still won't fit because they're just too big)

The airbrush tool has been unwieldy and finicky for a long time now. It was awkward to hold and adjust the paint settings at the same time and painting some objects was hit or miss. This update improves the airbrush in a number of ways. First, it now has a floating base so that you can let go of it without it falling to the ground. Second, the new base is larger which means there is more room for the adjustment inputs, so instead of the tiny knobs on the old one, you now have large levers and dials. I've also improved the surface detection so that you're more likely to paint the section you intended. Finally, I added a mount for the airbrush to the side of the toolbox so that it is always within reach, you can unmount it by grabbing the handles or the body of the compressor and remount it by moving it close to the mount. I also made some performance/usability changes. The list of saved layouts can now be scrolled if you fill up the first page of saves. A slide will appear below them that works the same as in the inventory drawers. Hints will now go away if you ignore them for 2 minutes. They will reappear each time you start the game until you either hide them (button inside the toolbox lid) or go through all of them. There was potential for performance issues with the city streetlights so I turned their lights off by default. They can be toggled on and off by pointing and tapping the top of the light.
Finally, I added a placeable crossing semaphore that lowers and raises when railcars path through its triggers. The triggers can by moved independently of the semaphore allowing you to extend the trigger range. They can also be snapped by clicking the touchpad while holding one. There are still some issues with them, one being if you save a layout with a railcar in the middle of a semaphore and the car crosses a trigger, the semaphore will get stuck. List of changes:

• Added initial Linux support (not official until I work out all the issues)
• Fixed the save camera always rendering
• Made save list scrollable
• Remodeled the airbrush and improved its interface
• Fixed painting some surfaces being almost impossible (city building walls)
• Fixed manually ejecting from loco not turning off ride smoothing for that loco
• Auto disable hints after being ignored for two minutes
• Fixed bug where hand wiggle animation could cause fingers to bend too far forwards of backwards
• Fixed extinguisher foam stuttering
• Made streetlight lights toggleable
• Fixed missing collider on large diesel loco causeing it to freak out
• Added dynamic crossing semaphore
• Fixed not being able to slam the car horn with the palm of you hand (previosuly had to be poked)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Lk_7IfGFAs I just released a new content update that adds a bunch of new city scenery pieces as well as new slot car roads and a slot car sedan. This is probably the largest content update to date. An important detail is that because scenery is designed to rotate around the center of grid cells as opposed to the edges (like track), scenery doesn't line up with the ends of track pieces. I also made it easier to enter and exit rideables. Now when you point the teleport beam at a rideable, you'll teleport in where you are pointing. You can also teleport between rideables, for example from a station onto a train. Changes are as follows:

• Railcars now trigger switches when going over them (based on coupled loco switch direction)
• Added elevated rail platforms
• Added multiple city buildings
• Added roads
• Added slot car sedan
• Added sidewalks
• Made it so that track and roads can snap over each other (allows for street rails)
• Added placeable trash can
• Added placeable fire hydrant (twist the bolt on the top to turn on/off)
• Added placeable traffic light (point at and click trackpad to change color)
• Added placeable street light
• Added rideable city station blocks (single and double sided, can also be placed next to roads)
• Added example city layout
• Improved load time
• Improved teleporting into and between rideables (you can now teleport from one car to another or from a station onto a train)
• Added support for loading saves as the starting scene (place your own in the steamappscommonLocomancersavesstart folder)
• Fixed BART car doors not opening on the correct side
• Fixed bug where clicking the touchpad while grabbing the toolbox would trigger the extinguisher and camera

I just pushed a small patch to the default branch that makes the speed/smoothing changes standard. I also updated the demo with these changes.

The faster a train goes the more fun it is. This is a scientific fact. Also, the less bumpy the ride when said train is going fast the less vomit inducing. FACT. To make Locomancer reflect these facts I've been working on making locomotives go faster and bump less when you are riding them. In working on this I came to the conclusion that Unity/PhysX do not like wheels spinning very fast. So I removed wheels from the game. Up to this point the wheels have been physically simulated ones that actually propel the locomotives by rotating and pushing against the rails. Now, they still spin, but the spinning isn't actually what propels the locomotives, instead the wheels just apply a forward force. The advantage of this is that the wheels don't wobble all over the place which allows the locomotives to go faster without derailing (they still have a high chance of derailing at high speeds). I also added some smoothing to the locomotive cabs that functions similar to car shocks. The bumpiness experienced while riding around curves has been significantly reduced. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXsBnOV823E I've pushed these changes to the experimental branch as I'm not entirely sure that they won't break things. If you want to be a crash test dummy, please opt into the experimental branch in the betas section and report any issues you encounter. Also, gelatinous space cubes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_I1-Gc2WR9c Changes

• Removed wheels and replaced them with imposters
• Made locomotives speed up and slow down instead of immediately changing speed
• Added smoothing to locomotives when riding them
• Fixed bug related to couplings
• Added gelatinous cube to props
• Added flame thrower to props

I fixed a few minor issues, added some internal stat tracking (to be exposed later), and updated the demo to have the new room/gloves.

• Fixed mounted artillery car snapping to itself.
• Added remote control panel summon button to toolbox.
• Modified the tutorial to use new control panel summon button.
• Added item delete step to tutorial.
• Fixed potential issue with track placement during tutorial.
• Made the remote control panel available when not riding a locomotive (in a railcar or on a station platform). Point at a locomotive and press the menu button to summon.
• Added stat tracking (spawn counts, meters ridden, etc.).
• Fixed hidden eject handle in double porter locomotive.

Locomancer is now on sale! ːsteamhappyː https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YSNMhoha08

I've been working on polishing a bunch of stuff up. Teleportation was bound to trigger + grip, which was a really awkward combo. I decided to make it a first class interaction so now it's bound to the touchpad like other games with teleport.
I also added a shortcut to riding rideables allowing you teleport into them so you no longer need to point at them with the trigger and then click the touchpad. You can teleport within rideables, but you are limited to its bound to make it slightly more realistic. I brought back the full laser because it was too difficult to see where you were pointing with just the dot. It's now much easier to target distant objects. I finally modeled in-cab controls to replace all the placeholders. They are nice and shiny. I added a long overdue speedometer and a light switch so that you can toggle an engine's lights on and off. Engine lights now default to off for performance reasons (more lights on = worse performance).
At the same time I modified how engine throttle works. Now instead of speed increasing linearly it increases with a curve that uses more of the lever for slow speeds. This prevents you from instantly ramping up to max speed and crashing. The last obvious feature is that I added a mini tutorial when you first launch the game. It takes you through the major interactions in the game by highlighting the necessary controller buttons and physical objects you need to interact with. These can be disabled/reset with the "Toggle Hints" button inside the toolbox.
And the last change that is not obvious at all is that I moved the user data folder from the Steam folder to Users/[Windows Username]/Documents/My Games/Locomancer/. This makes it easier to find and allows for per-user settings/saves if you have multiple users on the same machine. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVca2nad5iU Also, the game officially comes out next week? ːtrainbowbarfː

I've replaced the old RC car style remote with a mock in-cab control panel remote. The new controller is nice because you don't have to keep holding it while you use it, it floats like the toolbox. It also has more space so all of the different controls fit on it. I also added a speedometer and a first person view camera which makes it easier to drive out of view locos. The new controller can be sommoned by pointing at a loco and pressing the menu button. Once summoned you can switch between all of the active locos. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7CBJtuMHW4

I pushed a small update today that improves the radio and adds 26 minutes of original music by Nathan Boler (http://www.nathanboler.com/): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waJ7yHwnIOg I also added a game volume dial to the toolbox and fixed the save delete bug.

I just released an updated toolbox that is more visually refined and hopefully easier to use. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0wS9aU7x6I I finally added a model for the save camera that opens and closes when you pick it up. I temporarily moved the vacuum, remote, and airbrush into a pull-out shelf on the right side of the toolbox. All three need to be improved so I didn't want to make any changes to accommodate their current designs. In addition to the toolbox, I added an alternate hand position that should more accurately reflect your hand position (especially with Oculus Touch). This can be toggled with a button inside the lid of the toolbox.

• Updated toolbox models
• Split inventory into multiple categories each with their own "drawer." Some are further divided into subcategories.
• Inventory page scroll is animated to make it more obvious when pages switch
• Updated all of the dials to use the new dial model
• Added alternate hand position
• Hands now become transparent when grabbing dynamic objects instead of disappearing completely
• Added red glow to items when deleting them using grip buttons, glow intensifies until object is deleted
• Added the ability to delete saves by gripping them the same way as other objects (but didn't check that they were actually being deleted so this is half broken ːconwayshrugː)

I just published three guides to get people started with creating and importing their own custom scenery. Tilt Brush is the easiest way for beginners to start creating content: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=850258456 For more advanced users here's a guide for Blender. Most of this should apply to other modeling software as well: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=849800564 And finally once you have your models: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=850285056

The S stands for scenery because you can finally import your own models into the game! Right now it's only static scenery because I haven't figured out a simple and intuitive way for players to attach wheels and the like. The fastest way to get your own content in the game is to paint something in Tilt Brush, export it, and drop the resulting .fbx file into the Locomancer/models folder. Here's a tree I painted:
The currently supported formats are .fbx and .obj. FBX is preferred as it supports vertex colors and object hierarchies, but OBJ is a more universal format. I'll post a more detailed guide to modelling for the game soon. I should have released an update before I started working on custom models because a lot of smaller things got stuck waiting on it. The next update is going to focus on bringing some much needed polish to parts of the game. Hopefully it will arrive sooner than this one did. Changes:

• Tweaked grabbing in an attempt to prevent grabbing track underneath the loco/car you were actually trying to grab
• Added wooden variants of the standard track pieces (no switches or tunnels)
• Added a new Halo inspired table that allows building on the inside and outside surfaces with limited building on the edges https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjni8nc5K1Y
• Added a number of Möbius strip rails that are self-contained tables https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hh9tRjF4J6E
• Modified how tables are assigned to prevent odd cases where pieces were stuck to tables they shouldn't have been
• Made the water paintable
• Fixed the cannon car constantly freaking out
• Added stationary mounted cannon
• Fixed bug where cannon shells leaving the room would cause tables to move
• Added new layout loading animation which mostly prevents the game dropping to the Steam VR environment https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPg_hul8qlo
• Added a vacuum which can be used to clean up loose pieces or--in turbo mode--can tear up the entire layout. Press the menu button or turn the dial to toggle turbo mode
• Fixed bug where saving a layout while at a lower build scale cause the resulting polaroid to be enormous
• Tweaked the wheel rolling sound so that it doesn't sound like every car has three axles
• Fix bug where switches would toggle when a loco/car went over them backwards
• Added model editing tool bench (can be summoned from the toolbox)
• Added support for importing .fbx files
• Added support for importing .obj files
• Added support for .fbx files exported from Tilt Brush
• Added support for saving/loading custom scenery pieces
• Added support for loading custom scenery from layouts
• Removed slot car section from inventory, it will return when more complete
• Moved save files to custom binary format to reduce size when including custom scenery
• Layouts are now saved in the background to (mostly) prevent the hang when saving
• Added support for saving modified versions of in-game scenery (painted/rotated)
• Added a new starting scene

I'm sorry to do this again so close to the schduled release date, but the game still isn't finished so I'm delaying it again. This is the last time and if I get everything I want to significantly earlier I'll release sooner. Thank you for your patience.

I found out about this by chance a few weeks ago and reached out to the editor to get a copy. The first one was sacrificed to the mail gods, but the second one arrived today.
Needless to say, I'm stoked that my first big solo project made it into a physical magazine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APTOKf6d9jc

• Powered engines will now catch on fire if they collide at high speed
• Powered engines will now explode if they collide at a higher speed
• Cars will decouple if they derail
• Vegetation and some wooden items can catch on fire when left near a fire for too long
• Explosions will immediately ignite flammables
• Added explosive barrel
• Added fire extinguisher that can be used to put out fires
• Added ability to teleport by holding the trigger and grip button and then releasing the grip button (I know this is awkward)
• Added rolling wheel sound (took long enough)
• Added snow covered trees
• Added snowman
  
• Added new props category to inventory, items in this section will be saved independently of tables
• Added Christmas tree, menorah, kinara, yule log, and festivus pole
  
• Added strikeable match
• Made water buoyant so that objects don't just sit on its surface (also extinguishes fire)
• Added boombox and three tapes with various music (see licenses file in game directory for sources)
• Added super sampling dial to toolbox that lets you set the minimum adaptive resolution (bit of a misnomer, but I think people are more familiar with super sampling)
• Updated the loading skybox for winter
• Updated start scene for winter
• Built a new winter themed example layout (seen in video above)
  

Today's update is another small one, but delivers some fun stuff and sets us up for a feature I'm looking forward to down the line. The biggest change is the addition of two new diesel shunter/switcher locomotives:
In addition to that, it's now possible to decouple the first and last cars in a train using the decouple controls:
Note that it is the first/last car so if you have a train of multiple cars you will need to pull these levers multiple times to decouple all of the cars from your locomotive. And here's a preview of that upcoming feature that I mentioned: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBQF5VXc4Wg The final version will likely be more subtle.

This update was suppose to be more of a content update, but I got sidetracked (npi) by technical stuff. The stuff that most people will be interested in is the addition of BART cars in three sizes and multiple-unit support. MU support means you can couple multiple engines in the same train and changing the throttle or brake force in one will change it for all of them. Then I got distracted implementing batching support which has the potential to improve performance in certain situations, but has yet to be proven. You can toggle batching from the toolbox. I'd love to hear if it makes the game run smoother for anyone.

• Added multiple-unit train support
• Added 3 sizes of cabbed and non-cabbed BART cars
• Added table with tunnel entrances so that trains can actually get underground
• Adjusted height of passenger car
• Added handles to boxcar doors and removed open lever (you can just pull them open now)
• Fixed up some holes in the trolley mesh
• Added toolbox hide button to toolbox (press the menu button to bring it back)
• Added support for static and dynamic batching to reduce draw calls
• Fixed pinch to zoom scaling to the wrong position when the room is rotated

• Added antialiasing to polaroids
• Fixed the powered minecart spawning with non-zero speed
• Fixed airbrush paint sampling getting the wrong paint values
• Fixed couplings not always detecting connected locos (connected loco controls brakes)
• Also made couplings less springy
• Made the turntable paintable

I took a break from code the last few days and finally got around to modeling a mining town. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yY4O-oG1NG0 I also modeled a new locomotive:
It comes in a short two axled version as well as a longer 3 axled one. Finally I added some experimental placeable water that behaves similar to tables. Lot's of water may have an adverse effect on performance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idW7NSWSnn8 The major change in this update is the addition of the ability to paint objects. Using the airbrush you can change the color, glossiness, metalness, and translucency of most (but not all) placeable objects. Paint is saved along with everything else. To change the current paint properties of the airbrush, grab and move the four sliders on the sides and back. The side sliders can be moved up and down as well as forward and back. The current paint can be previewed as a small jar on the top of the airbrush. Once you are happy with the paint, you can apply it by pointing the airbrush at an object and pressing the touchpad. You can also sample existing paints by pointing and pressing the menu button. In the misc section there is a new color palette that can be placed in the room and used to store paints by painting one of its 18 cubes. You can then sample these back later. You can place as many as you need (performance permitting).

• Added the airbrush which allows you to paint objects in a variety of colors and materials.
• Added paint support to majority of placeable objects.
• Added Jack O Lantern to workshop. Can also be placed on head if so desired.
• Added new model for remote control.
• Removed ride preview when already in a rideable.

The major change in this update is the addition of the ability to paint objects. Using the airbrush you can change the color, glossiness, metalness, and translucency of most (but not all) placeable objects. Some sub-pieces are not yet paintable, but will be in the future. Paint is saved along with everything else. To change the current paint properties of the airbrush, grab and move the four sliders on the sides and back. The side sliders can be moved up and down as well as forward and back. The current paint can be previewed as a small jar on the top of the airbrush. Once you are happy with the paint, you can apply it by pointing the airbrush at an object and pressing the touchpad. You can also sample existing paints by pointing and pressing the menu button. In the misc section there is a new color palette that can be placed in the room and used to store paints by painting one of its 18 cubes. You can then sample these back later. You can place as many as you need (performance permitting).

• Added the airbrush which allows you to paint objects in a variety of colors and materials.
• Added paint support to majority of placeable objects.
• Added Jack O Lantern to workshop. Can also be placed on head if so desired.
• Added new model for remote control.
• Removed ride preview when already in a rideable.

Featuring:

• Multiple locomotives including steam and diesel engines
  
• A variety of rail cars including a fully functional cannon car
  
• Straight track, curved track, inclined track, loop de loops, and more!
  
• Various pieces of scenery to add detail your layouts

• OS: Ubuntu 16.04+
• Processor: Intel i5-4590. AMD FX 8350 equivalent or better
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970. AMD Radeon R9 290 equivalent or better. Video Output: HDMI 1.4. DisplayPort 1.2 or newer
• Storage: 500 MB available space