Dogs Of War Vu

Sim/Strategy/War => Games Discussion => Topic started by: Asid on February 02, 2019, 03:42:05 PM

Title: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on February 02, 2019, 03:42:05 PM
(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steam/apps/588030/header.jpg?t=1548439303)

Drive trains with your own hands! Haul massive cargo between industries across an open railway network, and build your career as a train driver. Make your way through the harshest of railways in old, beaten up locomotives. Enjoy scenic routes and make sure to keep your train on the tracks!


Home page: Here (http://www.derailvalley.com/)
Steam: Here (https://store.steampowered.com/app/588030/Derail_Valley/)
Official forum: Here (https://steamcommunity.com/app/588030/discussions/)
Youtube: Here (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlKSbTZjKs5RISvtTI601qmwz6Uec9fwM)

Single-player

VR Support (not required)


Derail Valley - Early Access Trailer / Jan 18, 2019

https://youtu.be/CMQUoYLlONQ


About

Derail Valley is a highly immersive train driving simulator, letting you truly be in a train cab and operate controls with your own hands! Choose jobs and deliver a variety of cargo between industries in a vast open world, using a diesel-electric shunter or a heavy steam locomotive. Explore the beautiful landscape of 256 km² filled with railways, industries and maybe even some secrets!

Freely choose step-by-step jobs found in offices of every industry. They include (un)loading, shunting and hauling, involving dozens of cargo types modeled after a realistic industry chain. Use the hard-earned money to refuel and service locomotives, or even buy new ones! Finally, try to stay on the tracks!

Derail Valley Early Access is a major upgrade to the award-winning demo from 2016, being developed by a small team.


Features:

•   Built for VR from the ground up
•   Emergent simulation of a shunter & steam locomotive
•   256 km² open world
•   Procedural jobs driven by industry chain
•   Derailment physics
•   Locomotive maintenance & basic damage


Truly be there

(http://www.derailvalley.com/img/features/Presence.jpg)

Sit back and operate train controls with your own hands, just like in real life. Derail Valley was built from the ground up for VR, in every aspect, including controls, interface and optimization.


Living, breathing simulation

(http://www.derailvalley.com/img/features/SimulationSteam.jpg)

Feel the machine dynamically changing over time. Shovel coal and monitor the gauges. Derail Valley brings you the essence of two locomotives: a diesel-electric shunter and a heavy steam engine.


256 km2 of beautiful landscape

(http://www.derailvalley.com/img/features/LargeWorld.jpg)

Seamlessly move anywhere in the scenic world filled with relaxing forests, fields, mountains and lakes. Explore its railway network and industrial complexes - and you might even find some secrets.


Jobs created by industries

(http://www.derailvalley.com/img/features/Industry.jpg)

Transport over 30 different types of cargo between 15 industries, each offering countless shunting and freight haul jobs. Earn money and spend it on maintaining trains and buying new licenses.


Derail with style

(http://www.derailvalley.com/img/features/Derailment.jpg)

Trains can and will fall off the tracks when driven recklessly. Derailments are realistic and often surprisingly impressive. Locomotives can receive damage and even their windows might shatter!


Simple instructions

(http://www.derailvalley.com/img/features/Instructions.jpg)

Instructions are simple and clear. If you've got veteran skills your trips will be more efficient, but if not - no worries, simple step by step instructions will guide you as your skills develop.


Non-VR support:
For players who are not in position to use VR, we include rudimentary controls for playing on a regular flat-screen PC, using keyboard and mouse. For the best experience however, we highly recommend using a supported VR headset.


Free Demo:
Free demo is available, however note that it dates from mid-2017 and is no longer representative of the full game. Derail Valley has been almost entirely remade since, for it to support large worlds, walking outside, item handling, etc.


(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steam/apps/588030/ss_cf5b7c67d798a4a95240a737eef920a9f1c3b6a6.1920x1080.jpg?t=1548439303)

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steam/apps/588030/ss_d5ab5516aea196f59e0c9d6901aef34cc48aa9e9.1920x1080.jpg?t=1548439303)

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steam/apps/588030/ss_2992c2ac2393dba6c70c1c6cd42b2dea847aaeab.1920x1080.jpg?t=1548439303)

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steam/apps/588030/ss_4db522fe602ed9bfd8ba6c23b3d9c14d453fec1f.1920x1080.jpg?t=1548439303)

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steam/apps/588030/ss_4201c144b93e1d7b77482d25e537b178d4dbfd39.1920x1080.jpg?t=1548439303)

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steam/apps/588030/ss_2a9b7a453c8b93c3c3c4456d2108976a2613ac14.1920x1080.jpg?t=1548439303)

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steam/apps/588030/ss_e7aecf28a0f2880937d3ccd890220fbbc1ab45be.1920x1080.jpg?t=1548439303)






Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on February 05, 2019, 01:03:00 AM
Build #52 - Fixed random derailments, nonVR leaning & small bug fixes
4 Feb - Altfuture


Hi all,

Improved derailment:

As you know there have been some remaining quirks with derailments. We've done some changes to improve them. You should be able to pull all kinds of trains now, loaded or unloaded at reasonable speeds through turns.

Do note however that hard braking can cause a derailment due to train compression forces. Slowly engage your brake.

Wheel squeal sound cue has been reworked in order to fit the new derailment settings. When you hear a deep grind you should start worrying.

Non-VR lean and arrows:

This week we plan to do various improvements for non-VR. The first is the addition of lean, using Q and E keys. Another is inclusion of using arrows for movement, for left-handed players. There's more to come in a few days.

Fixed getting kicked out of shunter when leaning in VR:

Some of you noticed that sometimes you'd be thrown out of a shunter while in smooth locomotion. This was happening if you'd lean more than 30cm and is now fixed.

Always spawning shunter:

Previously we added a temporary feature that your last used train will spawn next to you if you respawned or loaded the game. This caused some confusion among players however, thinking that the shunter never spawns. We've now changed this so that shunter will always spawn regardless of your last used vehicle.

Small commonly reported bugs:

- Fixed brakes getting unapplied when pausing (also fixes runaway trains)
- Fixed service station sometimes not working
- Fixed essential items sometimes missing

Full changelog:

Derailment:

- Fixed cars derailing in turns seemingly randomly
- Updated derailment parameters and sound cue

Controls:

- Fixed leaning in shunter causing player to be pulled out
- NonVR: Added leaning (Q/E)
- NonVR: Arrow keys do same as WASD

Gameplay:

- Load game and respawn to nearest station will now always spawn a shunter (temp.)

Service station:

- Fixed being unable to refill a resource sometimes
- Fixed cash register buttons rarely not responding
- Fixed station remaining occupied after a serviced locomotive gets deleted

Vehicles:

- Fixed tender being too far from steam locomotive (WIP)
- Fixed brakes releasing when game unpaused / headset idle awake

Items:

- Fixed essential items missing after respawning to nearest station
Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on February 07, 2019, 12:02:15 AM
Build #53 - Graphics options
6 Feb - Altfuture


Hi all,

Today we're adding graphics options to Derail Valley. This should particularly help players running the game on lower-end GPUs, but also allows you to crank up graphics to higher than default.

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/3718e650a507d14303f1479ad40944da2ac3d486.jpg)

Based on some of our players' feedback, we have hence reduced the game's minimum requirements from GTX 1070 to GTX 760 for nonVR mode (1070 remains minimum for VR).

Note that graphics options are work in progress, and we are yet to add resolution options. We are working on adding them in the next few days. Important: default settings are the ones shown in the screenshot.

For some players CPU may still be the bottleneck. If graphics options don't help much please have in mind that we are also working on CPU optimizations that should be done by the end of the week! There are a few more changes in this build:

Full changelog:

Options:

- Added graphics options (WIP, no resolution yet)
- Added sound volume option

Controls:

- Added tilt to nonVR lean

Gameplay:

- Fixed cash register money duplication exploit

Debug:

- Output log now includes system info (CPU, GPU, RAM, etc.)
Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on February 09, 2019, 01:24:21 PM
Build #54 - Non-VR improvements & more
9 FEB - ALTFUTURE

Hey everyone,

Today we have a new build. First of all, it brings:

NonVR improvements:

- NonVR Resolution options (should work in 21:9 too)
- NonVR Teleporting
- NonVR Keyboard train controls
- NonVR Old Bob's garage vehicle
- NonVR Console command to disable HUD
- NonVR Press numbers to select item slot

Derailment fixes:

We did some further fixes to derailments too. This might eliminate "random derailments" altogether, but we're not sure until it's tested further.

Updated roadmap:

Today we've also radically updated our http://www.derailvalley.com/roadmap/. Check it out!

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/e49088b25b93f75073d1ccc7d45d95287329ef9d.jpg)

http://www.derailvalley.com/roadmap/

Early next week we will improve the looks of the HUD in nonVR. CPU optimizations didn't make it into this build, but should be in soon.

Full changelog:

Options:

- Added screen resolution option

Controls:

- NonVR: Added teleport (key F)
- NonVR: Added keyboard train controls
\ U/Y: Throttle
\ J/H: Reverser
\ M/N: Brake
- NonVR: Added slot selection via 0-9 keys
- Added item equip/unequip sounds (back)
- Updated controls booklet page for nonVR

Vehicles:

- Further improved derailment
- NonVR: Added secret rail vehicle (keyboard only)

Game:

- Reduced price of water
- Fixed a money duplication exploit
- Reduced job booklet spawn rotation randomness
- Disabled deleting cars when player is in car

Console:

- Added debug.toggleui command to hide/unhide UI
Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on February 13, 2019, 12:07:06 AM
Build #55 - Further nonVR & derailment improvements
12 FEB - ALTFUTURE


Hi all,

We've been working further on the most critical issues, mainly regarding nonVR and derailments. Soon, as things stabilize, we aim to move on to adding new features too (e.g. Hazmat jobs http://www.derailvalley.com/visibility/ ).

NonVR whistle, draft, better HUD and more:

Whistle rope and draft on the steam locomotive can now be used in nonVR. HUD has also been improved, as well as keyboard driving controls, now smooth.

Brake tweaks, reduced train compression:

In this build we haven't made direct improvements to derailment physics, but we did some changes to brakes that should reduce derailments caused by braking.

Namely, train brake handle now allows more precision at low application level, and on the locomotive itself brakes are significantly less powerful than before, causing less train compression. This will be further improved by dynamically adjusting brake power for specific car mass in future builds.

Thank you all for your continual feedback! We're reading it all. Some small fixes also made it to this build:

Full changelog:

Simulation:

- Made brakes less sensitive to light application
- Reduced locomotive braking power
- Further tweaked derailments

NonVR:

- Fixed switch remote not working properly since last build
- Improved HUD appearance (WIP)
- Made draft and whistle usable in nonVR
- Further improved keyboard train controls, now smooth
- G key now does weak throw, removed MMB throw
- Fixed switch remote aiming incorrectly

General:

- Slightly increased track “clearance” space, so that they’re not packed switch-to-switch
- Fixed job validator beeping infinitely when taking money in nonVR or using wallet in VR
- Cash register now returns money to wallet if player walks away from it
- Made water surfaces blue in the map
- Tweaked option names
Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on February 15, 2019, 12:29:11 AM
Build #56 - Steamer improvements, CPU optimization and more!
15 FEB - ALTFUTURE


Hey all!

10% CPU gain:

We've entirely rewritten the under-the-hood simulation that deals with how vehicles go on tracks, gaining around 10% of CPU usage improvement, as well as eliminating some of the former stuttering.

More CPU optimizations are in the plans.

Steamer fire, coal, water consumption:

Many of you asked for the consumption of steam engine to be reduced. Going about it we eventually found out that many players were continually overfilling both the firebox and the boiler. Overfilling however had a bug that caused consumption of resources even when they didn't contribute anything to an already full firebox/boiler.

Apart from that coal and fire were updated so that they will last much longer unattended. You will still need to shovel coal frequently however if you are using blower or draft, and want to maintain a very high temperature level.

Other notable fixes:

•   Shunter headlights now work, but are work in progress.
•   Leaning in VR causing mis-teleporting was fixed in this build.


Full changelog:

Performance:

- Rewritten simulation code which moves rail vehicles along the track
\ Reduced overall CPU usage ~10%
\ Should result in less stuttering

Steam locomotive:

- Fire and coal now last much longer on the final stretch of burning
- Fixed tender coal being consumed when adding coal to an already full firebox
- Fixed tender water being consumed when adding water to an already full boiler
- Shoveling in nonVR now requires firebox door to be opened
- Added wind sound for blower and draft effect
- Fire now automatically ignites when adding coal to a hot firebox
- Updated minimum firebox temperature from 0 C to 25 C
- Fixed whistle sounding off when entering steam locomotive
- Added back tender water hatch

Trains:

- Added headlights to shunter (WIP)
- Fixed uncoupled trains only applying brakes on the first car
- Fixed cars still showing coupled when deleted
- Fixed brakes staying active on cars, once uncoupling the second locomotive

Controls:

- Fixed leaning on a moving train in VR causing player to be teleported around

Jobs:

- Haul job payment now depends on train mass instead of car amount

Platform:

- Potentially fixed Oculus SDK supersampling unable to be set more than 100%

See you next week with more updates!
Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on February 19, 2019, 12:48:12 PM
Build #57 - Several bug fixes, better nonVR UI
18 FEB - ALTFUTURE


Quick patch - while we're working on some bigger improvements, we managed to squeeze in a few bug fixes and another CPU optimization for today.

Full changelog:

Performance:

- Further optimized CPU usage by not rendering various off-camera text elements

Controls:

- Fixed teleport imprecision/offset when used on moving trains
- Fixed reverser sometimes getting inverted and causing infinite acceleration as of #56

UI:

- Further improved nonVR HUD

Jobs:

- Fixed lack of available jobs as of #56

Debug:

- Pressing ‘i’ no longer activates spawn mode
Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on February 20, 2019, 02:02:16 PM
Build #58 - More bug fixes, slight performance improvements


Hey everyone,

Here are a few relatively urgent fixes for today. In parallel we're working on larger updates.

Full changelog:

Bug fixes:

- Fixed a bug that in large stations negatively impacted performance since #56
- Fixed cars sometimes spawning inside buffer stops
- Fixed leaning and crouch smoothing bug introduced in #57

Console:

- Added console commands for Oculus SDK adaptive resolution & render scale
- Oculus.AdaptiveResolutionEnabled
- Oculus.RenderScale

Other:

- Few minor memory allocation optimizations to reduce stutter
- Updated splash screen background color
Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on February 21, 2019, 12:25:36 AM
Build #59 - Various bug fixes, alternative keyboard controls
20 Feb - Altfuture   


More daily bug fixes!

Those of you with non-US keyboards will like to hear that now you can drive trains using keys F1-F6, in addition to former keys.

Full changelog:

NonVR HUD:

- Fixed HUD showing empty on game start, even if it isn't
- Respawned items don't show up in the inventory until selected again
- Fixed HUD getting broken if using debug.toggleui command as of build #57
- Minor HUD CPU usage optimization

Bug fixes:

- Fixed "Press F to enter" not appearing when aiming under shunter’s window
- Fixed lean/crouch being bugged after teleporting in some cases in nonVR
- Fixed error with deleting unused cars introduced in #58

NonVR controls:

- Added secondary locomotive keybinds:
\ F1/F2 - throttle release/apply
\ F3/F4 - brake release/apply
\ F5/F6 - reverser backward/forward
- Keyboard driving now fades control movement in/out

Hazardous Materials teaser:

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/e1112a71bff08b020a950beebd9aa5bc21bb66af.jpg)

In case you missed it on our Discord[discord.gg] and other social media, here's a teaser shot of some of the upcoming Hazardous Materials assets!
Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on February 24, 2019, 12:02:16 AM
Build #60 - Solid bridges & tunnels, track tweaks, Oculus performance
23 FEB - ALTFUTURE


Hey all,

Solid bridges & tunnels:

Since launch bridges and tunnel walls could be passed through, which was especially inconvenient when it led to falling under the world. This is now fixed and bridge tops and tunnels are now solid objects.

Railway and tunnel tweaks:

There have been some bumpy tracks and tunnels, that have been adjusted. As part of this the infamous Steel Mill grade was somewhat nerfed. We've also further reduced amount of trees and rocks on tracks.

Reverted Oculus supersampling max value:

Ever since build #56 Derail Valley allowed default Oculus adaptive resolution to be set over 1.0. For players running Oculus SDK version, unaware of its original setting, this created an impression that performance of the game dropped, whereas it was in fact doing higher supersampling. The default value is now back to 1, and if you want to force a higher value you can do so using a console command Oculus.RenderScale.

Slight roadmap update:

We've slightly updated our roadmap, and are currently working on savegame, item storage, hazmat jobs and more bug fixes: http://www.derailvalley.com/roadmap/

Full changelog:

World:

- Added bridge and tunnel colliders
- Fixed a faulty tunnel entrance on lake helix causing collision
- Fixed tunnel sticking out of terrain near Forest South, causing collision
- Further removed trees and rocks from track
- Somewhat reduced severity of grade south of Steel Mill
- Fixed lake helix track bumps
- Fixed Iron Ore Mine East track being named L05 instead of L08

Misc:

- Updated nonVR controls booklet page
- Added nonVR controls page to game files

Platform:

- Reverted max Oculus adaptive resolution default value from 2 to 1
\ Was causing performance drop to people unaware of its original setting (as of #56)
\ To force another value use console command Oculus.RenderScale
Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on February 28, 2019, 12:06:26 AM
Build #61 - Fixed unpause damage, potentially fixed "quit crash", Vive click-rotate
27 FEB - ALTFUTURE

Hey all,

Many of you experienced that when you come back to a long-paused game, it would smash the windows and cause maximum damage to your locomotive. That should now be fixed in this second attempt.

For those of you who have been experiencing crashes when quitting the game, or other kinds of crashes, this build might potentially fix those problems. We are not sure about it, so please let us know if you're still experiencing them (this doesn't count crashes caused by insufficient memory!).

If you're a Vive user, you no longer need to swipe to turn around. A new option in the Misc menu will allow you to click the touchpad to rotate or flip pages.

Full changelog:

Build #61 - February 27, 2019:

Bug fixes:

- Fixed unpausing still shaking/damaging trains

Controls:

- Added option to click touchpad to turn, on Vive

Misc:

- Potentially fixed quit crash and some other crashes (updated burst compiler, untested)
Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on March 07, 2019, 12:01:10 AM
We're now an 8-member team!
6 Mar - Altfuture

Hey all,

It's only been about a week since we posted that we're expanding the team for three new positions. In the meantime the positions have been filled, with the members already in the team and working today!

Altfuture is now an 8-member team, with the addition of:

- Community manager
- Programmer
- Junior assistant

You might like to know that we've actually met the first two in our Discord community[discordapp.com]
- Ivan and Nohus! Welcome guys!

This expansion will help us develop the game notably faster and reach even more players. Thank you everyone for making this possible!

See you very soon with another update!

P.S. Reached the Caboose goal:

Community unlock points are growing at an insane rate! We've passed the Caboose goal today! Estimate of adding it to the game - early May. See community unlocks http://www.derailvalley.com/visibility/ for more info.


(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/64872261bbedeeb41591e4f33e32701e7798d033.png)
Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on March 08, 2019, 12:09:43 AM
Build #62 - Item storage revamp!
7 MAR - ALTFUTURE

Hi everyone,

You've all experienced your inventory becoming full but being unable to get rid of items. This is no longer a problem!

https://youtu.be/1Ve-WmBc-QY



Item storage revamp:

Items you throw away will no longer come back to your inventory, but rather stay where you left them! If you go too far from items you own however, they'll become "lost". You are able to retrieve lost items at your own convenience in new "lost & found" sheds, found in every station.

If you leave items in a train cab, they'll stay there. If, however, you go too far from the locomotive and it despawns, your items will be transferred to a lost & found shed.

Apart from job booklets (support coming soon), all player-owned items are now saved at the locations you left them. Mind that this will be improved along with savegame improvements coming soon.

We have update videos now!

Our new community manager Ivan is doing a fantastic job creating new videos to accompany our updates! You'll be seeing those with every new update.

Full changelog:

Item storage system:

- Added Lost & Found sheds
\ Located at every station
\ Lost player-owned items will respawn in these sheds
\ To be considered lost, item needs to be 600m+ away from the player
\ Items will no longer respawn in player inventory
- Rail vehicles are now storage locations too
\ Items left in locomotives and cars will remain there
\ If a locomotive/car is deleted, items will be moved to Lost & Found
- Player-owned items are now saved at their real location, if not lost or in inventory
- Job Booklets and Job Reports are not yet being saved (coming soon)

Jobs:

- Fixed occasional bug with missing jobs in empty stations
- Fixed Food Factory schematic map saying S04 instead of I04
Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on March 09, 2019, 12:39:24 AM
Build #63 - Fixed missing essential items for some players
8 MAR - ALTFUTURE


As of the last build, some players experienced all their inventory items gone. With this fix, essential items should now be located at Lost & Found sheds.

Those of you affected - please let us know if it worked!

Full changelog:

Item storage:

- For players missing essential items, they will now respawn at lost & found sheds
- Minor graphical tweaks to shed
Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on March 14, 2019, 10:29:46 AM
Build #64 - Continual save-game!
13 MAR - ALTFUTURE


Hi guys,

Today we're adding a major save-game improvement that all of you have been waiting for!


https://youtu.be/Fpmy2Ecs5o4



Continual save-game:

Ever wished you could quit the game while on a job and continue later? Now you can!

Derail Valley now continually autosaves player position, rolling stock and ongoing jobs. When you load the game it will no longer move you to the nearest station, but rather let you continue from where you left off. Note however that fuel and damage states are not being saved yet, which remains to be added in a future update.

Other:

- Added console command to reset player position, in case you fell under the terrain
- Various item storage fixes

Full changelog:

Save-game:

- Saves player position
- Saves trains and their position
- Saves ongoing jobs and their progress
- Added console command “Debug.DeleteCarsAndJobsSaveData”
\ Flushes all current train and job save-game data in case of a bug

Item system:

- Fixed inventory order getting shuffled when reloading
- Fixed game starting without items for some players
- Fixed certain items sometimes missing for some players (may go to Lost & Found)
- Fixed duplicate wallet appearance (might need to find yours in Lost & Found shed)
- Fixed tutorial items able to render tutorial impossible to complete as of #62
- Fixed shop items not sharing the total available amount of each item
- Added colliders to Lost & Found shed, window tweak

Controls:

- Player position will be auto-fixed if falling under terrain, past the water level
\ Added console command “Player.MoveToLastGoodPosition” for manual recovery
- On Vive enabling option “touch-click” will now use click to turn pages too

Misc:

- Updated various 3rd party plugins (potential bug fixes and performance improvement)
Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on March 21, 2019, 11:28:22 AM
Build #66 - Fixed character drift, teleport to last loco and more!
20 MAR - ALTFUTURE


Hey all,

We've got several controls-related fixes today!

Fixed player character drifting in moving trains:

For nonVR players (or those playing using smooth locomotion in VR), your character will no longer drift and suddenly move when they are supposed to be standing still in moving vehicles. You should also no longer be pushed up the tender as easily if leaning in VR.

'Teleport to Last Loco' menu button:

Using a menu option, you can now teleport back to the last used locomotive. Later on when we add the caboose, it will provide an option to teleport to it as well, making it an essential tool to teleport back and forth between two ends of a train (or map, if strategically located?). This feature is still in experimental phase.

Other features (invert mouse):

Those of you who wished to invert mouse Y-axis can now do so with the console command debug.InvertMouseY and setting it to either 'true' or 'false'.

We've also fixed an issue from previous build where quitting the game while using smooth locomotion in VR would mess up player position on game load.

Full changelog:

Controls:

- Fixed nonVR player drifting when in moving vehicles
- Fixed player being nudged onto tender sometimes in steam locomotive
- Added “teleport to last loco” button to main menu (experimental)
- Added console command to invert mouse Y-axis
\ Debug.InvertMouseY (true/false)
- Fixed smooth locomotion save-state causing faulty game load as of #65

See you soon with another update!
Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on April 04, 2019, 12:13:16 AM
Build #67 - Shunter remote, fixed lost items and more!
3 APR @ 6:29PM   - ALTFUTURE


Hi everyone,

Today we’re adding one of the first community unlocks http://www.derailvalley.com/visibility/ , the Shunter Remote Controller! Thank you all for making it possible by spreading word about Derail Valley! There’s many more to come!

Shunter remote controller:

Many of you wished to be able to control the shunter remotely, and now you can! The shunter remote controller is an item that can be purchased in shops. It has buttons and joysticks that are all fully interactive in both VR and nonVR. In nonVR additionally it can be used with keyboard, featuring some new controls listed below.

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/eff6705fd3059741f1679e121535c43625755b35.png)

The remote runs on a battery that can be recharged by a solar-panel (it needs sunlight!). It is range limited to about 300m after which it gradually begins losing signal.

The remote can be used to drive two locomotives from the cab of one, until proper Multiple-Unit support is added in the future (which requires us to implement player-owned locomotives and upgrade system first). Needless to say, implementing the remote involved a lot of technical advancements that will be useful with future features.

Fixed lost items problems:

We are aware of all your problems with items since item storage was added. There have been some bugs or unfinished features that lead to items seemingly or literally disappearing. With this build that should no longer happen and you should always find your items either in your inventory or in the nearest Lost and Found shed.

In addition, dropped items will be easier to spot, as they are now getting highlighted if you empty-click in nonVR, or telegrab in VR.

New keyboard controls, VR item belt:

NonVR version got more train driving keyboard controls, such as horn, coupler, etc. These were necessary in order to make the shunter remote controller operable with keyboard only, but may also help some of you who map joystick peripherals to keyboard controls. Support for keyboard control configuration via .ini file is coming soon.

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/f677ccc1cba8d9827f95d7b59141bda38c814e75.jpg)

For VR we’ve added belt points, where you can store items. This makes it easy to, for example, carry a map or a shunter remote in front of you while keeping your hands free.

Old Bob summon button:

For those of you who have unlocked the Old Bob’s vehicle, you’ll be able to summon it at any point with a menu button. The menu will soon be slightly redesigned to accompany features like this with smaller button form.

--- Full changelog: ---

As usual, there are many more changes! Have a look at the full changelog:

Shunting remote:

- Is an item that can be purchased in shops
- Makes it possible to remotely control a shunter
- Features interactive joysticks and buttons (VR and nonVR)
- Can be used with keyboard controls in nonVR (when equipped)
- Features solar-powered battery mechanics
- Features limited wireless range with signal loss
- Includes various technical reworks and improvements to be used in future features

Controls:

- Added keyboard controls for all train commands
- Added belt item points (VR)
- You can place items to belt points for quick access
- Provides hands-free item interaction (useful for shunting remote)
- Fixed nonVR player being dragged by moving train if teleporting off of it
- Fixed camera flickering when teleporting in nonVR

Items:

- Hand-held items are now saved to inventory, rather than falling to world
- If inventory is full they are sent to L&F shed
- Reduced item spawning distance in L&F sheds to 50m
- Updated Player.GiveEssentialItems console command
- Now adds lost items to inventory if there’s space, else to L&F sheds

UI:

- Added menu button to refresh Lost & Found
- Added menu button to summon Old Bob’s vehicle (once unlocked)
- Added tooltips to menu
- Reworded many options
- Added highlighting nearby items (VR: telegrab press, nonVR: LMB click)
- Added build number to main menu

Railway:

- Fixed glitches with clipped shadows occurring on some parts of the railway
- Fixed railway LOD sometimes appearing (e.g. at Machine Factory)

Save-game:

- Fixed job loading errors, potentially causing other bugs

That’s it for now, see you next update!
Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on April 05, 2019, 12:15:39 PM
Build #68 - Key bindings, dumpsters, fixed tutorial bug and more!
4 APR @ 11:03PM   - ALTFUTURE


Hi everyone,

Earlier today we hotfixed a tutorial bug some of you were experiencing, introduced in last night’s update. In addition to that hotfix, we’re now also adding a few more features:

Configurable keyboard controls:

We added basic support for key remapping. It can be done either by editing keybindings.ini file located at Derail Valley\DerailValley_Data\SaveGameData or using console command “bind”, supporting multiple bindings per action. See changelog below for more details on how to remap keys.

Dumpsters and buying essential items:

Bought too many items? Not to worry, as now you can permanently delete them from every spawning again by throwing them away into yellow dumpsters. In addition, all previously “essential” items can now be purchased in shops, apart from wallet, the true essential item.

Shunter remote manual:

Some of you didn’t have enough information to deduct how to pair the remote. Now when you buy it you will also receive a short manual explaining just that and a few of its other details.

Apart from that we made a few more improvements to the game. See the full changelog below for more details:

--- Full changelog: ---

Build #68 - April 4, 2019:

Items:

- Fix broken tutorial due to item falling through ground (introduced last build)
- Added Item Dumpster
\ Dumpsters can be used to permanently delete your items
\ They can be found next to each lost and found shed
\ Purchase-able items tossed into the dumpster will be deleted if player moves 200m away
\ Job booklets tossed into the dumpster will be deleted immediately (same as trash bin)
- All previously “essential” items can now be bought in shops (except wallet)
- Player.GiveEssentialItems became Player.GiveWallet
\ Backup command in case there was a bug with the save-game that deleted the wallet
- Optimized world map, no longer calculating player position if 5m+ away from player

Shunting remote:

- Added shunter remote booklet manual
\ Buying the remote will now also issue the manual
- Fixed LED bars showing fully empty when there’s still slight control input

Controls:

- Editing keybindings using text editor:
\ Start game at least once to generate keybindings.ini file
\ Edit the file in text editor to remap keystroke(s)
\ The file is located at Derail Valley\DerailValley_Data\SaveGameData\
\ Supports multiple keys to be assigned to one action
\ The changes will apply at next game start
- Editing keybindings in-game using console commands:
\ “showbinds” to see all current key bindings for reference
\ “bind” followed by action and keystroke(s) (e.g. “bind moveForward W UpArrow“) to remap
\ Automatically updates keybindings.ini file
- Added steam whistle key control (default: num+)

World:

- Fixed floating L&F sheds at Sawmill and City SW

Shunter:

- Fixed levers jumping into place after a moment when entering the shunter
Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on April 06, 2019, 12:03:53 AM
Build #69 - Fixed steamer issues from last build
5 APR @ 3:26PM   - ALTFUTURE


Hi everyone,

Today's a quick one. Last night's fixes caused some errors in the steam locomotive making it unusable. This build fixes it. Enjoy!

Full changelog:

Steam locomotive:

- Fixed coal not being accepted into the firebox (introduced in last build)

Shunting remote:

- Made buttons easier to press in NonVR

Console:

- Player.GiveWallet command now forces wallet into inventory (or L&F if no room)
Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on April 11, 2019, 12:36:31 PM
Build #70 - Removed trees from tracks, non-physical shovel, better brakes & more!
10 Apr @ 9:52pm - Altfuture


Hi everyone,

We have several notable fixes today!

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/49330caf9eca3e0a155440a744a74a279cc7700b.jpg)

Removed vegetation from tracks:

All of it. Trees, as well as rocks, will no longer appear on tracks. Moreover, we’ve been able to gain quite a visual improvement too. With the new approach the gravel texture previously painted next to tracks to remove vegetation is no longer necessary. This brought a lot more track-side texture variety, and allowed us to bring vegetation closer to the tracks, making all environments feel more authentic.

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/7b2bad01950402bf770067ae1f3c9f610a818a6f.jpg)

In the future, once aged tracks are implemented, this will also allow us to make abandoned tracks somewhat more overgrown than others.

Fixed vegetation blinking:

One of the most obvious issues with the game was that, when transitioning to a new area vegetation would blink for a few frames. This made hangs a lot more noticeable than they really are. As of this build vegetation will no longer blink.

Non-physical shovel (VR):

We know that shovel in VR is often wonky. Until it’s reworked, there’s now a temporary setting in Misc submenu, that lets you interact with coal in a way that doesn’t involve physics. This means that lags or losing tracking will no longer launch your coal into orbit.

Braking cars no longer buckle:

Despite simulating train brake you’ve all experienced cars buckling and sometimes causing derailments in turns when braking. All the cars shared the same braking power, however their mass differed. Being heavier, some cars would push against the light ones as they had a harder time stopping.

Now, car brakes are automatically adjusted for car and cargo mass, ensuring that the entire train brakes with mostly the same force.

More bug fixes:

Many of you wrote to us about bugs with jobs stuck in inventory and loader levers not working. Both of those issues are now fixed.

Full changelog:

World:

- Removed vegetation and rocks from tracks
\ Removed need for gravel texture next to tracks (more natural track-side)
\ Allowed bringing vegetation closer to tracks
- Fixed vegetation flickering at terrain loading
- Fixed terrain bump at lake loop

Jobs:

- Fixed non interactable levers on load/refill machine (introduced recently)
- Fixed being unable to take out job booklets from inventory (introduced recently)

Steam locomotive:

- Added non-physical shovel option for VR, making coal stick to the shovel
\ Can be found in settings, under the Misc submenu
\ Can be switched on and off during gameplay

Cars:

- Brake strength now automatically adjusts for car mass (no more buckling)
Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on April 20, 2019, 11:44:05 PM
Build #72 - Loading screen, pocket watch, fixed starting underground and more!
19 Apr @ 7:02pm - Altfuture

Hi everyone, we have some exciting changes today!

Reworked game loading:

We reworked the way Derail Valley is being loaded, preventing issues such as falling through terrain at game start. It now shows a loading screen with progress percentage, completing all loading before you actually start playing. VR players: note that the loading screen will only appear on the monitor, not in the headset.

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/f4f54972f7fc2e2c1946339247c49c22e066e0c5.png)

Pocket watch:

You can now buy a watch in shops, letting you measure time, using either its stopwatch or timer functionality. This is useful when chasing your job time bonus! When used as a timer, the watch will ring when it counts down to zero, even if it’s in the inventory.

In VR the watch is placed a bit inconveniently high in the store, but note that in due time we will rework the shop layout.

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/e699cfa6e777338b453b52358d50d18978961c1d.png)

Other notable changes:

- Parked trains no longer slide on slopes
- Potentially made game playable on undefined controllers (e.g. Pimax with Vive)

Our focus is now on hazmat jobs and related improvements!

Full changelog:

Build #72 - April 19, 2019:

System:

- Reworked game loading
\ Now shows loading progress (screen only)
\ Fixes player falling through terrain when starting game
\ Smoother experience after game loads in

Items:

- Added pocket watch
\ Can be bought in shops
\ VR controls: Button - start/pause, Knob - set time
\ NonVR controls: LMB - start/pause, Scroll - set time
\ To use as stopwatch, start at zero time
\ To use as timer, start at set time
\ Alarm goes off when timer runs out
\ Works while in inventory too
\ Gets its status saved during play
- Save-game can now track item-specific states

Trains:

- Trains no longer slide when parked on a grade
- Increased coupler strength 50%

Controls:

- Potentially fixed undefined device controllers not working (e.g. Pimax with Vive wands)
- Fixed walk/run speeds in nonVR being increased in a recent build

Misc:

- Added pages about derailing and item storage to DV Guide
- Fixed crash when using teleport console commands while being on a vehicle
- Halved job validator cooldown
Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on April 26, 2019, 01:26:50 PM
Build #73 - Bug fixes, increased loco remote range
25 APR @ 9:22PM   - ALTFUTURE


Hi everyone,

While we’re heavily working on the upcoming big hazmat update, we'll try to release a few more bug fixing patches in the meantime, such as today's one:

Bug fixes:

We fixed an error that may have been the cause for VR bugs such as being unable to take items out of belt-points or items falling through ground. We also fixed the orientation of some items in VR being broken when held. Players in NonVR can now see the teleport gizmo once again.

Other tweaks:

- Increased shunter remote range and battery drainage
- In NonVR lighter lid now opens using the scroll wheel

This change comes with more items being moved to use the scroll wheel soon, as item selection will be reworked to function with keys 0-9.

--- Full changelog: ---

Bug fixes:

- Fixed an error potentially causing all belt and item -related problems in VR
- Fixed teleport gizmo not showing in NonVR
- Fixed pocket watch clock hands sometimes clipping into the watch body in NonVR
- Fixed some items having wrong orientation when picked up in VR
- Fixed some items having wrong orientation in belt in VR

Locomotive remote:

- Increased locomotive remote range
- Updated locomotive remote battery usage

Items:

- Lighter lid now opens and closes using the scroll wheel in NonVR
- Lighter is no longer guaranteed to light up on first try in NonVR
Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on May 04, 2019, 12:38:32 AM
Build #74 - Mouse-look, Number-key item equip, Fixed track joint sounds and more!
3 MAY @ 10:51PM   - ALTFUTURE


Hi all,

We've squeezed in more bug fixes and a few NonVR features this week, while working on the big hazmat update.

Mouse-look:

Press Left Alt and you can aim and interact with particular joysticks and buttons of items in hand. Many of you asked to be able to use the locomotive remote with your mouse, and now you can!

Mouse-look now also lets you view items while zoomed in (RMB), such as your map or your watch.

Number key item selection:

Pressing keyboard numbers 0-9 now automatically unequips your current item and equips another, like in most FPS games.

Other notable changes:

- Fixed missing track joint sounds
- Use mouse wheel to turn booklet pages (rebindable to keyboard)

--- Full changelog: ---

Controls:

- Added mouse-look feature to NonVR
\ Press ‘Left Alt’ to toggle on/off
\ Useful for operating items in hands using mouse, such as the loco remote
- Keys 0-9 now automatically equip items from the requested slots
- Booklet pages are now turned with the scroll wheel in NonVR
- Made scroll wheel controls bindable to keyboard (for those without the wheel)
- Updated item hover highlighting to highlight more sensible parts of items
- Fixed lighter lid being controllable with the scroll wheel when not held

Sounds:

- Fixed track joints not playing sound when crossed over by wheels
- Fixed pocket watch sounds sometimes being spatially incorrect

UI:

- Reworded “respawn” to “restart” in UI texts
- Updated job booklets to better format cargo names
Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on May 09, 2019, 12:18:36 AM
Build #75 - Bug fixes, NonVR inventory improvements and more!
8 MAY @ 6:28PM   - ALTFUTURE


Hey all,

We have a new round of bug fixes this week!

Fixed save-game player position corruption (VR):

Some VR players were getting their save-game corrupted. This could happen if you selected "restart at nearest station" while on a train. The game could then teleport away from the world and subsequently save this player position. The game could no longer load this position, effectively rendering the save-game corrupt. This is now fixed, and if you were affected, the game will now be able to fix your save-game and spawn you at tutorial depot.

Further NonVR inventory improvements:

You've surely at some point moved selection to an item, while already holding another item. Pressing Tab would then return your selection to original slot. This is now improved so that the game will auto-stash your current item to the first empty slot and automatically equip the newly selected one.

You may have noticed that with some items it's no longer possible to scroll through the inventory, because they use mouse wheel when equipped. This is now possible to override by holding Alt, which forces inventory scrolling.

Mouse-look can now be used in either toggle or hold modes, depending on how long you hold the Alt button pressed. Leaving the mouse-look range will now smoothly blend held item back into position.

These are the highlights for this update, but there are many more small fixes and improvements - make sure to read the full changelog below!

--- Full changelog: ---

Bug fixes:

- Fixed bug with “restart” button moving player into the sky in VR and corrupting savegame
\ Also prevented loading screen freeze at 71%, for affected players (savegame auto-fix)
- Fixed a bug that could prevent the game from starting on first launch after installation
- Fixed some booklets not being placeable in VR belt
- Fixed an error with VR belt
- Fixed loading screen background image not preserving aspect ratio when resizing window
- Fixed incorrect boxcar normal map export
- Fixed items not giving back scroll wheel focus when destroyed
- Fixed pocket watch alarm sound playing at the player's position even when the watch is somewhere else
- Fixed pocket watch crown and watch hands sometimes being misaligned
- Fixed low initial player position in tutorial

Controls:

- Alt-scroll now forces inventory scrolling
- Tab now unstashes selected inventory item even when you already hold an item
- Mouse-look can now be toggled with a single key press, or activated when holding the key
- Fixed steam whistle being activated when using locomotive remote horn using keyboard

Items:

- Items now animate into place when leaving mouse-look mode
- Improved lighter lid closing interaction with the fire
- Lighter fire can no longer be extinguished by clicking
- Increased the success chance of lighting the lighter
- Fixed map indicator sometimes spinning
- Added “job” suffix to job booklet item name

Misc:

- Updated DV Guide and Controls NonVR pages with latest info
- Reduced tender hatch spring resistance
Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on May 16, 2019, 12:24:14 PM
Build #76 - Stability fixes, cars cargo, bug fixes and more!
15 May @ 6:41pm - Altfuture


Hi everyone,

Today we have some notable stability improvements:

Stability & crash fixes:

Following some testing with the community over the past few weeks, we upgraded Derail Valley to Unity version 2018.3. For some players this could be major news, as reportedly it eliminates rare crashes during gameplay and removes the annoying crash dialog when quitting the game. Those with older-generation CPUs will be thrilled to know that Derail Valley no longer has a SSE4 requirement!

Apart from stability, the upgrade also brought slight performance and appearance boost to terrain rendering.

Cars cargo:

Loaded autorack are now filled with shiny new cars! Being the last cargo type missing a model, these little cars will bring a lot of color to the sight of Machine Factory and Harbor!

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/20c8e08ec5a14964aef6a649e0cdc791fc46a715.png)

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/d45775b6188b86ae7b304dfdd763294ddbfe9174.jpg)

As usual we made various more bug fixes for VR and NonVR! Some of them include no longer dropping items out of belt when grabbing them accidentally, no longer inventory getting bugged when taking money in VR, job booklets saving as regular inventory items, and lots more!

--- Full changelog: ---

Build #76 - May 15, 2019:

System:

- Upgraded Unity to 2018.3
\ Improved performance (terrain rendering optimization)
\ Removed SSE4 requirement (can be played on older CPUs, e.g. Phenom II)
\ Should fix crash when quitting game
\ Should fix rare in-game crashes for some players
\ Slightly Improved terrain graphics

Cargo:

- Added cars cargo models

Jobs:

- Job booklets are now saved as items, preserving inventory slots and job ID
- Fixed inventory bug in VR, caused by validating booklets or taking money
- Restart button now deletes all active job booklets (previously only from inventory)

Controls:

- Fixed colliders on loaded cars not working properly when teleporting onto them
- Fixed items easily falling from belt in VR when accidentally grabbed (e.g. loco remote)
- Fixed belt slot sometimes disappearing in VR
- Decreased locomotive remote battery consumption
- Fixed a bug when dropping an item during the mouse-look exit animation
- Fixed grabbed items having incorrect velocity when dropped after teleporting to a moving train
- Fixed Bob’s vehicle brakes not working (keyboard)
- Fixed a bug with shunter exhaust which could make player get stuck in the air if stepped on
Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on May 23, 2019, 12:10:47 AM
Build #77 - Fixed tunnels, various bug fixes
22 MAY @ 6:19PM   - ALTFUTURE


Hey all,

We've got more bug fixes this week! There are many more changes in progress, but they are mostly piling up for the big Hazmat update coming next month, so stay tuned!

Fixed impassable tunnels for good:

As "caved in" tunnels have been a recurring issue, we took the time to entirely rework how the game determines tunnel holes. This change should eliminate the possibility of trains hitting terrain in tunnel entrances, and also prevents visual glitches where holes would disappear, fully or partially.

There are still a rare few tunnels placed in such a way that terrain can be still seen in them (e.g. east of Harbor), but this will be fixed separately in the next world update and is now harmless.

Bug fixes, improvement to controls and performance:

We're continually working on bug fixes, and the goal is to reduce them to the absolute possible minimum by the time Hazmat update rolls out.

Notable highlights are that we fixed frequent CPU spikes in VR (actually caused by third party code, thanks for this video), as well as the bug in NonVR where items would drop out of hands and become unable to be picked up again, among other fixes.

--- Full changelog: ---

Railway:

- Reworked tunnel entrances
- Fixed tunnels missing holes sometimes (looking caved in)
- Fixed colliding with terrain at tunnel entrances sometimes
- Fixed tunnel holes being visible (terrain faces sticking out of tunnel walls)

Performance:

- Reduced CPU spikes in VR, caused by 3rd party code (console, VRTK)

Controls:

- Fixed being unable to teleport to shunter from its right cab side
- Fixed a bug where mouse-look could make held item untakeable
- Fixed mouse-look being usable during stashing/unstashing animations
- Fixed locomotive remote battery indicator showing as not charging

Misc:

- Fixed car ID plates having no spaces in cargo names
- Load machine now displays its corresponding track’s ID

Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on June 20, 2019, 05:19:20 PM
Build #78 - Optimized item spawning, alt-tab pause, many bug fixes
20 JUN @ 3:54PM   - ALTFUTURE

Hey everyone,

For many months now, we've been working on an upcoming major update, known as the "Hazmat update". In the last few weeks the whole team's been working on it exclusively, so the number of isolated fixes ready to release in the meantime was limited. Still, today we've accumulated enough of the fixes to constitute an in-between update.

Notable improvements:

Today's update mostly focuses on bug fixes, such as:

- Fixed the camera tilt bug
- Fixed VR belt points taking items when they shouldn't
- Optimized item spawning
- Alt-tab now pauses the game
- Pause stops the sounds too

Progress on the upcoming Hazmat update:

Despite being called "Hazmat" (short for Hazardous Materials cargo), the update will include a lot more. We grew the scope, so its primary mission would be to reach a stable version - as if we were releasing Derail Valley for the first time. Apart from explosions, the main improvements will include the overall fidelity and game-play improvements (more goals, more challenges, better tutorial). This will involve a complete coupler rework, speed signs, new licenses, among many more additions. We will have dedicated news posts for each feature subset, as we near the update release.

At this point, most of the core features for the Hazmat update are near completion. About two weeks ago we started testing them and are now doing optimizations and general polish. That's the current status, but note that this will take a while. There is no release date estimate yet.

In the meantime we are likely to release a few more smaller bug fixing updates, such as this one!

Full changelog:

Bug fixes:

- Fixed the recent bug with camera tilting while in a locomotive cab
- Fixed VR belt point getting stuck in grab mode
- Fixed sound playing when the game is paused
- Improved prevention of falling through ground when teleporting to steep slopes in VR

Misc:

- Optimized item spawning
- Game will now pause when switching windows (alt-tab)
- Controls booklet now dynamically adapts to current input device
- Fixed being unable to zoom with a booklet in hand in NonVR
- Extended remote controller battery life
- Command debug.toggleui now also disables in-game tooltips (NonVR)
- Shunter’s reverser can no longer be changed when throttle is applied, in NonVR
- Increased NonVR crosshair and interaction text font size on high-res screens (e.g. 4k)
Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on July 04, 2019, 11:36:03 PM
Build #79 - Valve Index support, bug fixes
3 JUL @ 6:37PM   - ALTFUTURE
Hi everyone,

Today we have another small update, while the major one is in progress.

Valve Index support:

For the SteamVR version of the game we added support for Valve Index, or namely its unique controllers. With Index you can grab and let go of items and levers in Derail Valley by physically squeezing or letting go of the controllers, which are attached to your hand by a clever strap system.

Apart from that, the behavior is mostly the same as with other kinds of VR controllers. We couldn't take advantage of finger tracking unfortunately, as this isn't supported by the third-party VR input system that Derail Valley is based on, yet.

Bug fixes:

We fixed some of the most pressing recent bugs, namely the locomotive remote being unusable in VR, and the cars appearing sunken through the rails.

Progress on the upcoming Hazmat update:

In case you missed it, we wrote a bit about the Hazmat update progress in our Build #78 news post. We're happy to say that we've solved some major obstacles since (got massive explosions working, made a notable performance improvement and got coupler & derailment overhaul working), and the update has been shaping up nicely, day by day.

Full changelog:

Controls:

- (SteamVR) Added support for Index controllers (legacy, no finger tracking)
- Fixed being able to get stuck moving in VR smooth locomotion, when no input was given

Bug fixes:

- Fixed locomotive remote joysticks being difficult to grab in VR
- Fixed some cars having bogies appearing off-tracks until touched with another car

Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on August 12, 2019, 02:51:36 PM
Status Report - Progress on the 'Hazmat' update
12 AUG @ 11:25AM   - ALTFUTURE

Hi everyone,

With the next update increasingly becoming a hot topic, a proper status report post is due. Technically, our statement didn't change much from the last Steam post, but it's time to reiterate. We frequently respond to questions about the progress on Discord[discordapp.com], but understandably not everyone can follow that.

As most of you know, for several months now all of the team has been working on the first upcoming major Derail Valley update, titled “Hazmat.” Due to notable code differences between the game versions, we stopped releasing small updates to the public version and are entirely focused on completing the Hazmat one instead.

The Hazmat update will be big, and despite its name, will include a lot more than just hazardous cargo. We’re treating this update as if we were releasing the game for the first time, except this time around we have a lot more time to properly address things than when the game was originally released. We'll make everything in it as ready as reasonably possible, before announcing the release date.

Knowing it would take a while, we weren't sharing many details about the update in order not to prematurely over-hype it. It is still too early to know the exact contents of the update which is why we've been quiet, but when it does get announced we’ll need half a dozen video updates just to showcase the highlights.

I'm glad to say that, even though there were some very tedious, difficult and risky hurdles to overcome, at this point most of them are behind us. The update is progressing very well and we’re doing internal test builds on a weekly basis. Almost all of the core features and changes are now complete and usable in-game. For a while now we’ve been in the phase of testing, resolving bug fixes and doing general polish and balancing.

Our primary focus with this update was about giving the game a focus on gameplay, with more goals to strive for as a player, and more challenges to overcome - however, to achieve that, we had to make a lot of changes to the game that would otherwise make it unfair. Therefore, we’ve entirely revamped how derailments work, how couplers work, how you retrieve items, we’ve added speed signs and made a ton of core improvements that are yet to be revealed. With Hazmat we aim to get Derail Valley to a state where we can focus on adding new content, rather than the bug fixing.

That concludes this status report. The release announcement will still take a while, but if things go according to plan, it should be the next post coming from us!

-Slobodan

Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on October 09, 2019, 11:57:53 PM
Status Report: 'Overhauled' will spill to 2020 + New Screenshots!
09/10/19

Hi everyone!

It’s been a few months since our last post, and with many of you asking about the progress lately, we decided we needed to make a new status update. In principle, our news hasn't changed much - the whole team is still working on the new major update every day, focusing mainly on bug-fixes and polish. The release date is still unknown, however we do realize that it’s time for some fresh information. Therefore, this time we’re excited to reveal some never-before-seen footage and screenshots of the stuff we’ve been working on!

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/43ea6f63ad9606b2208b3b35025cba3206ef1786.gif)

What used to be known as the ‘Hazmat’ update, we now call ‘Derail Valley: Overhauled’. With the new name we want to illustrate that almost every aspect of the game has been improved. The Hazmat cargo will only be a small part of it.

‘Overhauled’ is extremely important to us, as its success will define the future of Derail Valley. Despite the time pressure, we need to get things right the first time we launch it. This means that, given there’s still a lot of work to be done, we’ll need to stretch the update’s release into 2020. We didn’t originally plan for this, and technically could still rush to have the update released this year; however, that would leave us with two major problems:

1. We’d need to cut bug-fixes and polish in order to meet the deadline. This is what we needed to do with the original release, which left us with numerous issues that we can now afford to avoid.

2. We’d clash with AAA releases and the general press saturation that comes with the Christmas period. With the update being so important to us, we need to maximize the chance of having good press/influencer coverage when ‘Overhauled’ comes out.

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/8f505cec93e6026e89d76aa4bbf4fbac115a4e67.gif)

Needless to say, rest assured that we want the update released sooner than anyone else, but “when it’s ready” is simply the best approach we can take for everyone involved. The same is also why we don’t like revealing information too much in advance, but we understand the need to be in the loop.

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/5db231ec9be1c172ac93bd8e79f951360ce3ba0f.jpg)

Prior to the release we’ll have videos going into detail about what’s new, but knowing that you guys are thirsty for info, here's a list of some of the upcoming changes:

The complete overhaul of derailment, coupling, and brake simulation, major changes to UI, inventory, item retrieval and in-game economy, as well as a fully remade harbor complex. The update also includes the addition of Hazmat cargo and effects, worldwide railway signs, new licenses, military base, train status saving, damage detection and many related interfaces and gameplay features. One of the core goals with the update is to have a much more engaging career building gameplay, leaning towards the eventual 100+ hour playthrough mark. Apart from that there are numerous improvements to performance, VR controls, non-VR controls and many, many bug fixes, and we’re still not done.

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/ed8cd198603da12d44089aad5933ea1dc8097247.png)

With all that being said, we hope you guys understand why this took time. Once ‘Overhauled’ is out, we plan to go back to our regular weekly updates, just like we used to do before build #77. Please be patient a little more and we’ll do what we can to have the update ready for release as early next year as possible.

Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on February 21, 2020, 12:12:28 AM
Overhauled coming end of April 2020
Thu, 20 February 2020


Closed beta will begin early March, trailer early April

Hello engineers!

We know you’ve been eager for news about the next update! We’re happy to announce that Overhauled, the major update that we’ve been working on for nearly a year, will launch in late April 2020. The specific date will be announced early that month, along with the launch of a new trailer.

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/f1b209850d449ee3308e40daabe173aedc447f6c.jpg)

For anyone unfamiliar, the update overhauls a lot of systems and features under the hood and will improve most core issues, from unexpected derailments, janky controls and low performance, to things such as more engaging gameplay, adding new cargo types, and the eye-catching HAZMAT cargo.

Work on Overhauled started in April 2019, and since July, the entire team has been working exclusively on it, every working day. With roughly 6 years of man-hours done on it by the time of release, the update will be the biggest accomplishment of our team to date.

Closed beta starts early March

While doing the final touches, we will share the game to a closed group of testers in early March. The testers will be chosen among the most trust-worthy/active members on our Discord, where we’re active daily. We'll form a small team of testers with diverse hardware and controller types for both VR and NonVR.

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/fa2a03b7bf1ba9f406a5f39bebf6e1542919d41e.jpg)

Community Unlocks v3

With many changes coming to the game, we will also be revamping our online and social presence. The first to go live is our new Community Unlocks page.

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/57bf68f7f7856ae4b3c9a4f79ca8639d756b2dbf.jpg)

Many new rewards were added to it, making it the new official public roadmap for Derail Valley. Here you can see what our plans are for the game, and the order it will be done in.

As we stated in the past, after Overhauled we aim to go back to regular weekly updates. Many of the “in progress” tasks will be done with Overhauled or soon after, and we aim for the future rewards to be released with the same frequency as the new ones getting unlocked.

Please let us know what you think and keep in mind that, until the new points economy settles, it may be further adjusted.

Going to Train Jam & GDC

In March, Slobodan and Nenad will be attending the Train Jam, a yearly event in which indie developers gather in a rented Amtrak train to jam games while travelling from Chicago to San Francisco. After that we’ll attend GDC. We’d like to thank the Train Jam organizers and their sponsors for the generous help they provided for us to visit these events! If you’re in the SF area (or LA) in that period and would like to meet up, let us know!

That's all for today, see you soon with more news!

-Slobodan

Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on April 22, 2020, 11:56:38 PM
Derail Valley: Overhauled - New Trailer!
Tue, 21 April 2020

The major free update is coming on May 21, 2020
Hi everyone,

We’re excited to reveal the brand new trailer for Derail Valley: Overhauled - a major free update coming to Derail Valley, for PC and VR, on May 21, 2020.

https://youtu.be/f_XCdfc-Exk


The update will fix most of the game's current issues, on both platforms, revamp many of its existing systems, and add new content and features. We will have more in-depth videos about the update as we get closer to the release date.

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/1ba8df74b0e0bdd22ece2d2e4e5225ba0df49fba.jpg)

Due to a few remaining bugs, but mostly in order to catch some breath, we've pushed the release 3 weeks into May. Given the coronavirus situation and the very long development period behind us, this delay is relatively minor and we hope understandable. Don't worry though, we're not rebranding to Delay Very just yet.

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/a851249b9919eb4868f961edb4bbbec061b786f2.jpg)

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/ced326cbdd8eabe4f6a1d399247c11cdd969f9b1.jpg)

During the past two months our closed beta testing has been going very well and our awesome testers have helped us pinpoint and resolve a whole lot of issues. Apart from further testing, we'll use the available time to polish the update as much as possible by release.

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/1463b1948b59a6dec5c22065729e6bc66202c89e.jpg)

Finally, we'd like to thank you all for your patience while waiting on this enormous update. Going forward we expect to be able to go back to our regular weekly game updates after Overhauled.

That's all for today. Stay tuned for the in-depth videos about Overhauled coming closer to the release!

-Your DV Team


Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on May 16, 2020, 03:29:36 AM
Overhauled Video Series + Dev Support OST
Fri, May 15, 2020

Hi everyone,

We know you’re super eager to learn more about Derail Valley: Overhauled, our major free update coming on May 21 at 10am PST.

To that end we’ve created episodic video content, which will explain all the ins and outs of the update, one video per day, until the release!

https://youtu.be/PUW4fWUM40o


Today’s video is an intro to the series, and the remaining 5 will showcase very specific new features and content of the update. Stay tuned! To not miss the other videos, consider subscribing to our YouTube channel and hit the notification bell.

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steam/apps/1308910/header.jpg?t=1589561838)
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1308910/Derail_Valley_Dev_Support_OST/

At the same time, we’re launching our Dev Support OST - a collection of music we’ve made for Derail Valley’s trailers, as well as some extras. If you would like to further financially support our work on Derail Valley, this is the place! All revenue from the OST will go directly to development.

For those of you interested in backstory about each of the tracks, check out “view the quick reference” button at the store page’s sidebar.

And last but not least - influencers, please contact us for preview keys! We will contact many of you with preview keys in the following days, but if you never contacted us before, give it a go! Our email address can be found on our sites. We will be sending the keys next week to all influencers with relevant audiences (simulators or VR).

That’s it for now - stay tuned for a new video every day until release! See you on the 21st!


Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on May 21, 2020, 01:56:42 PM
Overhauled Changelog - Build #80
Thu, 21 May 2020

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steam/apps/588030/ss_243ef9ce6b60344b24ac60ddac2a60cc561e2314.1920x1080.jpg?t=1590019964)

Derail Valley: Overhauled - Build #80 will launch in less than 5 hours, at 17:00 UTC.


In the meantime you can browse the full changelog here:

Performance:

- Drastically optimized CPU load of parked cars (notable in stations)
- Drastically optimized CPU load when spawning trains or coming close to them
- Drastically optimized CPU impact of derailed cars
- Drastically optimized rendering of tracks, props, cars and cargo
- Removed hiccup at the moment of derailing
- Fixed items remaining active when distant
- Optimized various sound code
- Slightly optimized car cargo model rendering
- Fixed rare items getting duplicated when revisited
- Fixed non-physical shovel in VR killing performance

Graphics:

- Added V-Sync option (unlocks FPS)
- Added render path settings (forward vs. deferred)
- Added post processing effects (optional)
- Added SSAO (optional, deferred only)
- Added TAA (optional, nonVR only)
- Added experimental real-time reflections (optional)
- Improved lighting in offices
- Improved anti-aliasing on vegetation billboards (distant trees)

VR Controls:

- Added Oculus Quest support (via Link)
- Revamped controls on most controller types
- Revamped VR implementation
-- Fixed issues with room-scale and centered (formerly seated) play area types
-- Added adjustable player height setting
- Improved item handling
-- Added option so items stick to hand (default for all but Index, configurable)
-- It is now possible to move and turn while holding an item in hand
-- Trigger-click to use item in hand (trigger+up on Vive)
-- Trigger+axis to use or scroll the item in hand (e.g. page flipping)
-- Fixed items shaking when held
-- Fixed accidentally grabbing false items and sub-controls (priority system)
-- Removed excess haptic feedback (when touching an item in belt or the other hand)
-- Items now properly align to the hand when taken
- Smooth locomotion is now the default locomotion type (configurable)
- Telegrab is now a one-button action (hold grab to point, release to attract)
- Teleport button now works in all situations, no longer clashing with telegrab
-- This fixes being unable to move sometimes when using Index controllers
- Added smooth turn option (configurable turn speed)
- Added crouch and jump
-- Hold axis down to crouch, tap to jump
- Fixed snap turn math error that was offsetting the player from player collider over time
- Fixed trigger-press dropping held item
- Fixed items getting dropped when pulled quickly out of inventory
- Fixed controls booklet adapting to headset type, now adapts to controller type instead
-- This fixes Vive/Index combo users not seeing Index controls in the booklet
- Shovel is now non-physical by default (configurable)
- Fixed arc and vibration levels in Oculus VR mode to be consistent with the SteamVR version
- Added ControllerAnchors.json file (in SaveGameData)
-- Can be edited to tweak position and rotation of VR controller sphere and telegrab/UI beam

Non-VR Controls:

- Added mouse-wheel support for using train controls
- Added sitting toggle (default key X)
-- Useful for better visibility in some locomotives
- Improved hitboxes for using train controls with mouse
- Smoother lever movement when keyboard-controlled
- Added controls options
-- Mouse sensitivity, Invert Mouse Y axis, Toggle crosshair, See controls
- Improved camera transition when exiting item-interaction mode (Alt)
- Player moves slower when crouching (or sitting)
- Made all train controls remappable (steamer valves, draft, etc.)

Jobs & Cargo:

- Added Hazardous Materials jobs
-- Includes 15 hazmat cargo types (11 new)
-- Includes explosive, asphyxiating, corrosive, radioactive and other kinds
-- Includes some new cargo models
- Added 4 new vehicle cargo types
- Added deliveries of empty containers
- Added 16 contextual container liveries
-- Includes A/C model variant
- Much more diverse job chains and routes
- Notably increased amount of cars and jobs per station
- Renamed Empty Haul job type to Logistical Haul
-- Now also colored red, distinct from Freight Haul
- Revamped the job payment calculation for better balancing
-- Now also takes into account cargo value, damage risk, “boringness,” etc.
- Changed shunting train splitting to maximum of 3 tracks (was 5)
- Prevented being able to load/unload cars while they're moving
- Prevented being able to finish a job while the cars are moving
- Revamped the Industry Chain diagram
- Made small improvements to the job booklet design

Career & Economy:

- Revamped Licenses
-- Licenses can now be a requirement for already existing jobs
-- Some licenses now have a tier-based progression
-- Added Hazmat license (3 tiers)
-- Added Military license (3 tiers)
-- Added Concurrent Job license (2 tiers, now required to do concurrent jobs)
- Extended Longer Trains license to 2 tiers (and no longer affects general train length)
- Licenses you own now determine your time bonus and insurance copay (more below)
- Redesigned license graphics
- You can buy licenses only if you have no unpaid fees (more on that below)
- Added Career Manager machine
- Located in every office station
- Used to browse licenses and buy them
- Used to browse fees and pay them
- Added Fees
- Career Manager can print fee booklets, detailing damages and consumed resources
- Fees are tracked per job (cars included) or per locomotive
- Fees can also include environmental damage (from emissions or accidents)
- Player must repay all fees in order to buy or upgrade licenses
- Job reports now list relevant fees
- Added Insurance Copay
- Player only needs to pay the insurance copayment in order to clear all the fees
- Initially the copayment is small, but it gets bigger with every newly bought license
- Added difficulty settings (affects payment amount of newly generated jobs)
- Added repair-only stations to towns that didn’t have service before
- Adjusted prices of items
- Can’t enter military bases without the base license

Train Simulation:

- Revamped derailment physics
- Fixed all sorts of unexpected derailment occurrences
- Higher speeds are now safe to travel at
- Made rerailing possible (more info below)
- Revamped couplers
- Completely reworked coupler physics
- Brought coupled cars closer together
- Made buffers compressible
- Added fully functional chain couplers, with dangling physics
- Added damage simulation
- Added damage tracking of cars, cargo and the environment
- Added liquid and gas cargo leakage on damaged cars
- Liquids naturally flow and spread over terrain
- Added fire and explosions, which can damage their surroundings
- Added general chemical and chain reactions between reactive materials
- Revamped brake simulation
- Air is now realistically distributed throughout the entire train
- Brake system now takes time to fill up with air (i.e. big trains need multiple locos)
- Cars feature manual brake valves, and can be uncoupled without brakes applied
- Added fully functional air brake hoses, with dangling physics
- Shunter now generates air pressure only while the engine is running
- Steam locomotive now generates air brake pressure using steam pressure from boiler
- Braking now requires more planning and slamming is disincentivized
- Fixed bugs with braking when having multiple locomotives in a train
- Finished handcar simulation
- Increased steam locomotive power, reduced wheelslip
- Somewhat reduced shunter top speed
- Remade buffer models (better visual quality, more variety)
- Added independent brake to locomotives (more responsive than train brake)
- Buffer stops are now breakable
- Made steamer “Fire Out” valve work (if temp. under 100 deg)
- Fixed broken window shards flying in the opposite direction when colliding
- Temporarily removed locomotive headlights until they’re finished
- Added notches to shunter throttle lever
- Improved whistle rope grabbing
- Fixed bogies sometimes having weird rotation and gap after derailment

Trains:

- Added Diesel locomotive
- Can be acquired via license purchase
- High power but also high fuel consumption, for use with very heavy trains
- Added Nuclear Flask Carrier car
- Added a few new car skins
- Redesigned the car ID plate (now shows vehicle and cargo damage too)
- Fixed new cars spawning in front of job cars while shuffling cars outside of yards
- Trains now spawn around the middle of a yard track instead of against one end
- Spawned trains sharing the same track are now visually separated from one another
- Cars now have random orientation when spawning in yards
- Manually spawned (non-job) cars no longer despawn if they are coupled to a loco
- Fixed bad normal map shading direction on boxcars and tank cars
- Locomotives now despawn after 2 hours of no use

World & Tracks:

- Revamped all stations
- Added countless new props including roads, buildings, fences, vehicles, etc.
- Changed track layouts
- Revamped all yards to have a ladder layout
- Added turntables and roundhouses, where applicable
- Added passenger stations where applicable (for future use)
- Added service depots
- Added procedural sign generation
- Automatically creates speed and grade signs throughout the entire railway network
- Easily adaptable to potential new tracks and worlds in future
- Added a Military Base station (north)
- Added two Military Base sub-stations (MF and HB)
- Added player home location
- All lost items now respawn at home, in addition to Lost & Found sheds
- Switches can now be manually operated (click-based)
- Various track curve tweaks
- Fixed sharp terrain walls and floating tracks
- Fixed grass sticking through office floors and some platforms
- Fixed radar floating when viewed from distance
- Redesigned track ID signs
- Set fixed distance of track ID signs from track ends

UI:

- Revamped inventory (VR and non-VR)
- Hold inventory button to access, hover and let go to take/store a selected item
- Greater capacity
- Dynamic layout, shows only occupied slots
- New visual style (includes item icons and slot numbers in non-VR)
- Wrist-based slots for dropping items into inventory (VR)
- Fixed VR inventory buttons getting stuck sometimes
- Revamped teleporting (for VR and non-VR)
- Generally a lot more intuitive and precise
- Allows easier climbing on rooftop surfaces
- Allows climbing on flipped cars
- Fixed issues when teleporting through tunnel entrances
- Fixes many related bugs
- Revamped menu GUI
- Now more responsive, featuring new layout, graphics and sounds
- Includes links to DV support page, Discord, etc.
- Showing current headset/play mode at the bottom of main menu
- Clicking out of menu now closes it (non-VR)
- Improved VR belt
- Items can now be taken out of belt only from within the belt sphere
- Belt point positions can now be adjusted when grabbed with empty hands
- Improved visual feedback
- Fixed being unable to place an item to belt after briefly touching a VR inventory slot
- Item retrieving
- You can now retrieve essential items from the main menu
- They will be brought to your hands, no matter where they are
- Added VR loading screen (SteamVR only)
- Added a loading screen when teleporting via map (non-VR and SteamVR only)
- Item highlighting when clicking can now be turned off in the controls menu
- Crosshair now automatically fades out when mouse is inactive (configurable)
- Fixed sound pause lagging when opening menu

Items & Shops:

- Added Comms Radio
- Replaces Junction Remote and includes several modes:
- Switch mode - Throw a switch remotely, like before
- Rerail mode - Rerail a vehicle, for a fee
- Clear mode - Delete a vehicle, for a fee
- Crew mode - Spawn a handcar if unlocked, at no cost
- Spawn mode - Spawn any vehicle (replaces the old spawn tool, now also works in VR)
- Cargo mode - Add cargo to spawned vehicles
- Improved switch remote mode aiming precision
- Remade World Map
- Fast travel to any station or locomotive, for a fee
- Fast travel with your locomotive, at extra cost
- See other locomotives marked on the map
- Improved map indicator visuals
- Improved model
- Added Golden Shovel
- Very expensive, has extra capacity, stylish
- Revamped schematic maps
- Now includes markers for offices and service stations
- Fixed items not going back to Lost & Found shed if left on derailed cars
- Prevented many items from falling through terrain
- Reworked shops
- Shops are now dedicated buildings with item shelves
- Every shop now features items exclusive to that shop
- Remade cash register
- Improved service stations
- Fixed bugs when trying to service multiple locos
- Steam loco and tender now need to be serviced separately
- Increased servicing speed
- Updated service station resource icons (consistent style with cargo icons)
- Cash registers now issue receipts when completing purchase and service transactions
- Lost money now goes to Lost & Found
- Made the trash bin bigger and more massive

Save system:

- All locomotive states are now getting saved, including damage
- Backup now keeps the saves of at least 3 sessions, or up to 10 MB
- Made important items save as left on trains, when leaving the game (and not fall through)
- Reduced autosave to every 5 minutes
- Show notification banner when auto-saving
- Steam version now stores the save on the Steam cloud

Sound:

- Fixed numerous issues with sounds (rail joint spam, glitches on start, etc.)
- Fixed train wheels making rolling sounds when off-track
- Improved sound processing (improved EQs, filters, reverbs, side-chaining...)
- Fixed sound not changing to exterior when leaving the shunter sometimes
- Added new joint sounds when crossing over switches
- Added doppler effect to horns
- Fixed wheels sound having start-delay when stepping on a rail vehicle

Misc:

- Revamped tutorial
- Introduces VR controls on the controller, for beginners
- Includes new UI and various other systems
- Various tweaks and improvements
- Updated locomotive manuals
- Added Train Basics booklet
- Updated DV Guide booklet
- Revamped tunnel holes code to prevent sometimes hitting them as solid terrain
- Added free camera (for video filming)
-- Console command - Player.FreeCamToggle
-- WASD, ctrl, space - move
-- Mouse scroll - change speed
-- LMB/RMB - change FOV
-- Alt - orbit around aimed target
-- Num Enter - attach to a moving vehicle player is on
-- Step on a moving vehicle to load terrain as it goes
-- It is possible to stop time by pressing pause (Esc)
-- Pressing Q also stops time but it stops the moving trains too
- Loading screen in NonVR now shows high-res screenshots, picked at random
- Updated Oculus SDK to the latest version
- Fixed double-clicking Esc causing the player to teleport to the sky
- Alt+Tab no longer enables mouse-look when the latter is bound to Alt key
- Removed the “you derailed” popup as it’s no longer relevant
- Updated DV logo
- Reduced size of splash screen Altfuture logo
- Added option to prevent Alt+Tab from pausing the game (non-VR only)
- Fixed coal lumps not disappearing when thrown into firebox
- Increased sensitivity of locomotive remote joysticks
- Added sound alert for wheelslipping using locomotive remote
- Fixed wallet text overflowing to new line when too rich
- Fixed being able to bring up menu during loading


Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on May 22, 2020, 12:03:28 AM
Derail Valley: Overhauled Is Now Available
Thu, 21 May 2020

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/66f3e95329117434de2501aad6310c25060195de.png)

The biggest project we've ever done at Altfuture, the major update for Derail Valley, is here! Your game should automatically update.

If you previously used any mods, do a clean reinstall - uninstall, delete any remaining content in the game's folder and install the game again.

https://youtu.be/f_XCdfc-Exk


If you're wondering what's new in Overhauled, take a look at our In-Depth video series, diving into the ins and outs of the update. Alternatively you can see the full changelog in the above post

YouTube™ Video: Derail Valley: Overhauled - In-Depth [1/6] - Introduction
Views: 13,051
ENTER THE GIVEAWAY: https://discord.com/invite/45AmEzY BUY OUR MUSIC: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1308910/Derail_Valley_Dev_Support_OST/ HELP US ADD MORE CONTENT:...

This update is, of course, free. If you'd like to additionally support our work, please consider purchasing our all new soundtrack! All the revenue from it will go back to Derail Valley development.

Derail Valley Dev Support OST
15 May, 2020
By buying this album you directly support development of Derail Valley. Dev Support OST contains music we composed for Derail Valley's trailers, as well as some extra tracks made during the game's development.
£7.19
Add to Cart
Add to your Wishlist

We also have the new Altfuture Bundle available at a -25% discount - check it out!

Note that Derail Valley is still in Early Access, and things aren't perfect just yet. We're looking forward to your feedback. If any issues arise, we're on it. Please report them to us via Discord, Steam forums or email ( contact@derailvalley.com ).

We'd like to say a - massive thank you! - to our beta testers who've been breaking the game apart since early March. Without you it would've been very difficult to catch all bugs we've fixed in the meantime.

Final reminder - we've said it before, but to restate:
Previous saves will no longer work in Overhauled. All players start clean slate.

That's it for this update! Have fun!

-Altfuture

Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on June 06, 2020, 12:35:04 AM
Build #81 - Fixes to VR, Copay, Jobs & More!
Fri, 5 June 2020

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/6bdbecf2d84de597f32cec5e62ab72c61aaab4fd.png)


It's been two very busy weeks here at Altfuture, since the launch of Overhauled. After the release (which went really well - thank you all!), we've gone back to improving the game in short, regular, small updates.

Except, we forgot what a small update means. In Build #81, you'll see massive changes, all based on the feedback you've all provided. Thank you so much. Along with this post, we've quickly put together a video too, to cover the many changes in the update:

https://youtu.be/V63bSNhkpaA

As always, we strongly recommend you to go through the changelog to see what's new, as there are many small improvements that can't be shown in a video. Highlights:

•   Fixed numerous VR issues
•   Lowered the learning curve
•   Better clarified job information
•   Many more bug fixes and balancing (see changelog)

In regards to the learning curve changes, the focus was on better introducing the core game mechanics, and one step at a time. Please note that the changes are likely to make more sense to new players than those of you who already learned how to game's mechanics work.

Please note - This build will erase your currently ongoing jobs and locomotives, their fees, as well as junction states. Just fast travel to the nearest station and pick another locomotive/job to continue.

Full changelog:

Errors:

- Fixed “white terrains” bug
-- Potentially fixes some types of crashes on old GPUs
- Fixed NRE in tutorial (VR) if no controllers were turned on
- Fixed a rare OverflowException error
- Potentially fixed cars rarely spawning over existing cars
-- Should also fix the case of cars spawning damaged
- Fixed a case in which a car could get undespawnable along with items inside, until restart

VR Controls:

- Fixed bad item orientation/position for WMR, Index, Quest and Oculus SDK users
- Fixed issues with Vive wand controllers
- Fixed VR joystick drift issue
- Fixed it being difficult to teleport between cars in Teleport locomotion
- Fixed page flipping/player rotation not working on the right controller in some cases
- Potentially fixed problems with starting with only the left Index controller on
- Fixed undefined controller types being able to break the game
- Fixed teleporting getting disabled if having an undefined controller
- Potentially fixed NOLO controllers not working
- Made it possible to dial pocket watch with the holding hand in VR

Career & Licenses:

- Redesigned Career Manager dialog texts
-- Puts more focus on what you need to pay to clear all fees
- Reduced starting copay from $5k to $100.
- Added Shunting license
-- Costs $1k, serves to introduce player to the concept of working with occupied tracks
- Added Logistical Haul license
-- Costs $20k, serves to prevent beginners from taking logi jobs in early game
-- Requires having a CCUR1 license, as these shouldn’t be hauled alone
-- Increases time bonus deadline by 5%
- Added Manual Servicing license
-- Costs $20k, serves to prevent beginners from servicing manually while having low copay
-- This prevents players from wasting money on servicing in early game
- Buying licenses DE6 and SH282 now requires having a CCUR2 license
- Trying to buy a dependent license will now write the exact needed license at Career Manager
- Added Freight Haul license, auto-acquired on game start
- Greatly reduced cost of Military 2 license
- Rebalanced copay/time effects and prices of some licenses
- Made “print info” button green, on Career Manager

Jobs:

- Added warning messages to job reports explaining why the task isn’t complete
- Shunting job booklet now specifies how many pick-ups/drop-offs it involves
- Updated job payment calculation
-- Somewhat increased shunting job payment
-- Increased payments involving empty containers
-- Slightly decreased payments involving tank cars
- Increased track clearance so that trains look more like they’ll fit the tracks
-- Should prevent people from thinking there’s no space to fit their train, although there was
-- As a consequence, some trains will be shorter than they used to
- Added a button to Job Validator to respawn all existing job booklets
- Added 1 min tolerance to meeting the bonus time
- Fixed a minor bug that could prevent some jobs from getting generated

Servicing:

- Added service station range platforms
- Added service station train detector
-- Indicates with lights and sound whether a train is in range for servicing
-- Informs player if they need a license
- Moved City SW service station closer to exit, so it’s not blocked by a spawned loco
- Added diesel/oil/sand station at Food Factory

Trains:

- Fixed coupler chain hook drifting over time sometimes
- Teleporting to the steamer and shunter now puts you straight to the driver position
- Fixed steamer cab teleport gizmo showing up when leaning against the tender
- Made tender invulnerable until excessive damaging is fixed
- Updated steamer UV layout to make skin modding easier
-- Will break existing steamer skin mods
- Fixed being able to teleport onto invisible colliders on the sides of locomotives
- Fixed loco spawner requiring unnecessary 1.5m of clearance
-- Fixes steamer not spawning at IMW
- Made at least one shunter always spawn at the Harbor

Maps:

- Halved cost of fast travelling without the locomotive
- Removed minimum distance requirement to fast travel (was 200m)
- Added repair station blips to world map
- Added FF diesel station to world map
- Increased size of player home blip on world map
- Removed (obsolete) blips from office world maps
- Updated schematic maps
-- Added shop icon to overviews
-- Added missing service stations to overviews
-- Fixed wrong bearings in City SW
-- Fixed wrong track name in schematic map (HB-G O3 -> 3O)
- Prevented fast-travel with loco when derailed (was causing bugs)
- Fixed a rare fast-travel with loco edge case that could lead to breaking the game
- Fixed IMW office map “you are here” flag pointing at MF

World & Tracks:

- Beware: Junction save states will reset in this update
- Fixed wrong track names at IMW and CM
- Added a separate parking track at IME, freed the previously blocked service station
- Loosened the bypass turn at City SW
- Loosened the turn at Food Factory north exit
- Loosened turns on the route north of Sawmill

Tutorial:

- When the player derails or crashes for the first time, a “what now” message will pop up
- Fixed being able to do actual damage to the locomotive before leaving the tutorial area
- Player is now told to kill throttle when leaving the tutorial area, learning fuel conservation
- Added Train Basics pages about Fuel Conservation and Track Designations
- Improved tutorial loco blocker letting the player into the loco prematurely
- Fixed missing pointer in the “switch change” tutorial step
- Player is reminded to read Train Basics and DV Guide at the end of tutorial
- Reworded “Push” to “Hold” for certain VR joystick tutorial messages
- Added note on how to turn pages to the Controls booklet front cover
- Fixed Train Basics booklet having wrong page numbering

Misc:

- Fixed held items growing over time, sometimes (RIP shevel)
- Fixed getting stuck in loading screen when save file is corrupt
- Fixed UI text bugs on computers with non-English regional settings
- Fixed inverted collider warning log/console spam during game load
- Updated Unity Burst Compiler to 1.3.0
-- Could fix other potential errors/crashes

That's all for today's update. While #81 covers the bigger part of the issues you all reported so far with the previous build, there's lots more to come! Stay tuned!

-DV Team

Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on June 27, 2020, 01:24:40 AM
Build #82 - Fixes to RAM, Crashes & More!
Fri, 26 June 2020

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/0910643081837a4ef8ab70547679936f5fbc5eab.png)

When we released Overhauled a month ago, we soon identified stability and performance issues as needing our top attention. It took some time to crack them, and now we're starting to see the results.

In today's build we've fixed the abnormal RAM usage. As a result, Derail Valley should no longer suffer from certain crashes, and should require no more than 12 GB of RAM to play. The change is yet to be tested properly, so please let us know how build #82 works for you! The game previously used up to 20 GB of memory, requiring use of virtual memory to fit it all, but with this update that was reduced to the sane ~6 GB.
 
https://youtu.be/iZukJPUhkio


Apart from stability fixes, the update brings many small improvements too, as you can see in the video and the changelog below. Highlights:

•   Fixed abnormal RAM usage (now 12 GB or less required <- yet to confirm)
•   Fixed (all?) crashes
•   Interactive shunter doors
•   Option to use trigger for all train interactions in VR
•   Many newbie-friendly text/booklet updates


If you experience any new issues with this update, please let us know. Even if we can't always respond, we read all feedback. It helps us a ton to identify and prioritize issues. Thank you!

Next in line will be the performance fixes for the "loading area" and "spawning trains" stuttering. The solutions for both are almost done (massive reworks), and may come already next week!
Please note - This build will not have fire or liquid spills, due to the ongoing terrain system rework. This will be fixed in the next build.

Full changelog:

Stability:

- Reworked terrain loading
-- Fixes abnormal RAM usage
-- Should no longer cause crashes on PCs with 12 GB of RAM or more
-- Somewhat reduces stuttering when loading new areas (WIP)
-- Can cause vegetation NRE if player goes out of world bounds (WIP)

VR Controls:

- Added option that Trigger operates all train controls
-- If enabled then Grip only interacts with items
-- On by default for Index users (based on feedback)
-- Applies to all controllers except Vive wands
- Fixed left-hand item scrolling moving the player (e.g when page flipping)
- Fixed a bug where opening menu while hovering over a wrist orb could break the game
- Fixed a case where Comms Radio won’t work when taken out of the belt
- Fixed a bug where pageflipping could get stuck when not looked at, in VR
- Improved grab precision of Index controller (volume was too big)

NonVR Controls:

- Fixed item view mode (Alt) getting bugged when alt-tabbing
- Fixed some bugs with nonVR inventory when adding items to the last slot

Trains:

- Reworked shunter to have interactive doors
-- Maintains the same UV layout so the existing skin mods still work
- Minor optimization to diesel locomotive rendering

Career:

- Costs from manual servicing now add up to copay too
- Added Stats screen to Career Manager
-- Shows player stats including total copay and time bonus deadline effect
- Removed "manual servicing" hint screen if the fee is bigger than remaining copay
- Reworded “you only need to pay” when having a smaller fee than copay
- Tweaked wording on “job denied” printout
-- Explains that you only need to pay the fees you can afford, not all
- Fixed steam locomotive fee payment not putting out fire (causing ongoing env. fees)
- Fixed a rare case where a locomotive despawning during fee paying could break the game
- Updated DE6 license text to say it’s capable of loads up to 1400t

Items:

- Fixed Shop Item Scanner sometimes not spawning where it should
- Fixed loco remote not charging through DE6’s windows
- Updated inventory item representations of most booklets, to make them language-independent

Navigation:

- Added key page to Schematic Map
- Tweaks to Schematic Map (missing switches, etc.)
- Fixed being able to fast travel to a locomotive you don't have a license for

World & Tracks:

- Remodelled Iron Ore Mine chute area to be wider (prevents DE6 from clipping it in a corner)
-- Reworked tracks around it to fit
- Made IME service station tender-accessible when reached head first
- Replaced an empty/unused shop building with an unenterable scenery shop model
- Moved HB D yard slightly so both a shunter and a flatcar can fit into the merge track
- Fixed oil silos floating
- Fixed terrain going over tracks at a wye west of Harbor

Misc:

- Fixed user settings not getting saved until the player reopens the menu
- Fixed being able to fast-travel twice before the first one initiates, breaking the game
- NonVR Controls booklet now has a specific icon in inventory

Tutorial:

- Changed the "Save and Exit" button text to not say that during the tutorial
- Fixed UI option not updating when choosing some options in tutorial
- Updated DV Guide texts to better explain some things
- Tweaked nonVR “pick up the Comms Radio” prompt wording
- Tweaked steam locomotive manual (+ added “prerequisites” page)


That's all for today's update. We should have more performance improvements already next week. Stay tuned!

-DV Team


Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on July 01, 2020, 11:39:54 PM
Contest: Steam Locomotive Skinning Contest!
Tue, 30 June 2020

We're doing our first contest - the skinning of the SH282 steam locomotive! The contest will take part in 4 categories (art, idea, meme and overall) and it will include prizes!

https://youtu.be/6GiE9fq4bEg


Later on we will create an official steam locomotive skin as part of the game, inspired by the winning entry of the Overall category! The winner's name will be listed in a hidden in-game hall of fame list.

The contest starts NOW and will end on Sunday, July 19th, 23:59 UTC. You'll find exact rules and information on how to take part in our Discord community news post:

> CONTEST RULES & DETAILS <

We're excited to see the skin mods that comes out of this! Good luck to all the contestants!

https://discord.com/invite/Bdb5pwQ


Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on July 11, 2020, 01:11:30 PM
Build #83 - No More Stuttering!
Fri, 10 July 2020

The long-awaited performance improvement is here! As previously announced, build #83 fixes stuttering as well as freezes during gameplay, usually associated with the "loading area" and "spawning trains" onscreen messages.

The stutters should now be completely eliminated or drastically reduced (100 times?), depending on your hardware. This is true even when approaching the Harbor! This improvement involved a big rework of how cars are loaded to the game, as well as a total overhaul of how terrains are loaded and displayed.

https://youtu.be/gj5Gul7Ttb8


The massive terrain revamp has been an ongoing process for several weeks, aimed to solve several critical issues in one go. In the previous build it allowed us to drastically reduce RAM usage, today it fixes the stuttering and in the next build it will help us vastly improve visual quality of distant landscapes. Stay tuned for some pretty sights!

As always, this update brings you many more smaller improvements and bug fixes, all detailed in the changelog below:

Full Changelog:

Stability:

- Further terrain rework (WIP)
-- Eliminates stuttering when “loading area”
-- Increases terrain texture resolution in distant terrains
-- Fixes end of the world being visible (terrain prolongs outside of the world borders)
-- Reduces system complexity, allows easy world terrain updating
- Reworked car loading
-- Fixes stuttering caused by trains spawning when approaching stations
- Potentially fixed the ignition switches not starting the train for some players
- Fixed fast-travel with handcar crashing the game

VR:

- Fixed a bug sometimes making it impossible to teleport while moving
- Fixed a bug with Comms Radio getting dropped when used since build #82
- Potentially fixed a bug where grip binding could move to trigger after a while
- Fixed a bug causing Vive wands sticky item holding to behave like continuous
- Fixed inventory tooltip jittering if on a moving train

Career:

- Fixed a bug with jobs not spawning properly after fast-travel
- Prevented manual service tip screen from showing on fees smaller than $1k
- Inverted sorting order of fees so the smallest ones show first
- Fixed fast-travel with handcar charging extra for loco transport
- Reworded a few Career Manager lines

Trains:

- Fixed loaded trains having faulty mass in Freight Haul and Unloading jobs
-- They were almost twice lighter than they should be
- Reworked hopper car UV map and texture to be modder friendly
- Made locomotive windows harder to break
- Loosened the ignition rotary switches on DE2 and DE6 locomotives
- Fixed unused locos being able to despawn if part of an active train

Misc:

- Increased sunlight intensity
-- It was accidentally lower than normal since the Overhauled release
- Fixed Hazmat spills/fire being temporarily disabled since #82
- Fixed tank car leak orientations being wrong and their cracks invisible
- Fixed a bug in NonVR where tab+esc would make the handheld item flimsy


That's all for today's update! See you soon with another!

-DV Team

Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on July 21, 2020, 12:30:57 PM
Announcing the winners of the Steam Locomotive Skinning Contest!
Mon, 20 July 2020

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/50962b5621843948038a3b3a0ce9429504ccb10b.png)

Hi everyone!

We’re pleased to announce the winning entries of the Steam Locomotive Skinning contest! The community voting ended yesterday, with the following results:

Best Art:

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/f708e80fd0a85e5cb6b8b25ad40205d9f78ac967.jpg)


Best Idea:

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/9b983266476d56fb514d759d141c8063f4505327.jpg)


Best Meme:

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/37673501bfd5797ec47f181d8a54f76105933a46.jpg)

Due to the rule of a contestant being able to win with only one entry, we didn’t have a third-place winner in the meme category. That said, there are more great entries that deserve to be seen. Here are some honorable mentions of the entries that didn’t win:

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/2cd9d799db98706b5f9adbf069ec56f160dfbda0.jpg)

At the end, we at Altfuture have also chosen our favorite. The winner of the Best Overall category, even though they didn't win any of the community vote rewards, has clearly put a lot of creativity, effort, skill and detail into their entry, as well as its presentation. It is our favorite:

Best Overall:

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/2fbbb3415a4c6c7ccb86b078eacf124e0d08f560.jpg)

This skin will be used as inspiration for the new steamer skin that we'll officially create for the game in the future. This will likely come in the Steam Locomotive Improvements update, and will, of course, include creative modifications.

You can download these amazing skins, and many more, thanks to the modders who have generously made them available: https://www.nexusmods.com/derailvalley/mods/

Finally, we'd like to say big thanks to all the participants! You guys made this contest fun and so diverse! The winners will be handed their prizes shortly. We'd also like to invite everyone to join our Discord and congratulate the winners directly, in the #contest-discussion channel! There were even more entries submitted than shown here, so be sure to check them out!

That's all for today. See you soon with more news!

-DV Team

Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on August 08, 2020, 02:16:44 AM
Growing our team to 10 members!
Fri, 7 August 2020

It's been a long journey.

I want to say thank you for supporting us over the years, to each and every one of you who have bought our games (especially those of you who did it multiple times)! You’ve done a wonderful thing, helping us push VR and the train simulator genre forward. There’s so much more we want to do, and this is only the beginning.

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/2cc70ce3a37ca932666f7d0e8cfc9aa7b54a5844.jpg)

We faced countless challenges over the years, partly because we saw it necessary to remain truly independent. This allowed us, however, to make all decisions regarding design, business strategy and publishing ourselves, as developers who are in the trenches. We were able to innovate without friction, react quickly to feedback, adapt to new situations, communicate directly with our players, and lead Derail Valley in the best possible direction.

Overhauled, our recent major update, was the pinnacle of that effort. Released remotely from our homes in the midst of a worldwide lockdown, it ended up more successful than the game’s original launch! After years of struggle, we are finally where we always wanted to be: self-sufficient, tightly bonded with our players, able to grow, and still in full control over our games. This is not only a business milestone, but very much a personal one too.

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/4a4cd593826c6eca9b7ee94cefbcbf013a911e79.jpg)

We’re opening 4 new positions, to grow our team to 10 members (first time reaching the double digits!). We are looking for three highly experienced game developers / programmers, as well as an assisting developer, to join our team. Remote work is possible, depending on many factors. We’re looking for highly talented developers from Serbia primarily, but wherever you are, if you think you’d be a great fit, do get in touch — we will consider all applications. See the link above for details on the positions and how to apply.

Ever since we launched Derail Valley, we’ve kept its price low. The price was based on the rough shape the game was in at launch, to encourage early supporters. We've made massive improvements since, and as announced in the past, soon we will increase the price to represent the current quality and play-time it has to offer. The cost bump is still months away, as first we want to add a proper main menu with a save manager, a sandbox mode (ability to play without career) and many more smaller improvements. Stay tuned for a more detailed announcement about it as we get closer. The new price will only affect new buyers, of course.

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/31888a40db3d3df04d34384d5237c82be5d98fff.jpg)

Derail Valley will remain in Early Access after the price increase. There’s still so much more that we want (and need) to add! The Unlocks page is only a part of what’s planned, and we want to keep working on Derail Valley for years to come! We see this expansion of our team as essential in getting there timely. After the initial period of onboarding, I hope to see us churning out updates at a faster pace than ever, fortifying our goals of making Derail Valley the best train simulator in the world, as well as one of the best VR games.

Once again, all this wouldn’t be possible without your support, so in the name of the whole team — thank you! I hope this news makes you as excited for the future as we are! In the meantime, we’ve been cooking a new update slated to come out next week. Stay tuned!

-Slobodan


Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on August 15, 2020, 02:32:31 AM
Build #85 - Caboose, Fee Tolerance, Tutorial Extension & More!
Fri, 14 August 2020

(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/c491dc8d1fcdb633adb182119aa6e23c75e35fa5.png)

It's time for new content! This week we're introducing the caboose, a community unlock, as well as a few other much needed improvements. As always, you'll find more info in the video below:
 
https://youtu.be/e1vPcZfa13o


The caboose includes many new features, making it an essential tool for hauling and shunting long trains. Some of them include:
•   Loco Remote signal booster & fast-charger
•   EOT map marker
•   Instant jumping between caboose and locos in the same train
•   Mobile servicing (career manager)
•   Strong independent brake
•   Item storage, cupola & more!

(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/831a4f4b63b3a7445620c9a5d94970bf861e9f30.jpg)
 
We've added Fee Tolerance, a feature that helps with the fees being too restrictive. This time those of you further in the game won't have to pay for every small fee before taking a new job. Now the fee tolerance will move dynamically, in the range $5-50k, depending on your overall wealth.

The update also extends the tutorial, requiring the player to deliver the starting hopper car to the Steel Mill for maintenance, letting them know they can take other locomotives, and introducing them to taking new jobs.


(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/3f9becb6709870f0e6fe22bac18bf51e61f4dfa2.jpg)

As always, the update includes many more small improvements, which you'll find in the changelog below:
Full Changelog:

Trains:

- Added Caboose
-- Secret garage find, unlockable by buying a key
-- Boosts Loco Remote signal by additional 2km, when in 2km range
-- Features a fast battery charger for the Loco Remote
-- Visible on map (useful as end-of-train marker)
-- Contains its own Career Manager (allowing mobile or remote area servicing)
-- Allows free teleporting between it and the locos in the same train (“jump”)
-- Can be summoned using Comms Radio for $10k
-- Has its own independent brake
-- Has stronger brakes than other cars/locos
-- Can be used to store items
-- Doesn’t take damage (until locomotive ownership is added)
- Fixed a train spawning bug (solves the sometimes missing steamer at IMW)
- Oil no longer deteriorates from mileage, but only from engine RPM
- Fixed ISO tank support beam clipping into the tank

Career:

- Added dynamic Fee Tolerance
-- Job suspension will now tolerate fees depending on the % of your overall wealth
-- Your current Fee Tolerance can be see listed in Stats
- Added “press ‘print’ for details” line to Career Manager item listings

Navigation:

- Modified size of player/loco map blips
- Decreased brightness of map text and location blips
- Added target vehicle ID to fast-travel GUI

Tutorial:

- Extended tutorial
-- At the end instructs the player to deliver the hopper to the Steel Mill depot
-- Includes various new steps and checks (WIP)
-- Can save during the extension
- Added separate messages for when derailing and crashing for the first time
- Added “Fee Tolerance” page to DV Guide
- Corrected brake arrow orientation in Shunter manual
- Added “signal booster” and “charger” notes to Loco Remote manual
- Modified the Quit button description to say that you’ll lose progress (until saving is possible)

Stability:

- Attempted fix at game hanging on quit
- Slightly decreased RAM consumption (distant vehicles texture optimization)
- Slightly optimized steam locomotive interior rendering when outside
- Fixed error spam caused by engine smoke during paused game

VR Controls:

- Fixed telegrab sometimes causing hoses to get frozen in air
- Fixed item not dropping sometimes in “click” mode

Misc:

- Added a shop to City SW
-- Features a poster (more shop posters todo)
- Made rerailing gizmo autocorrect its orientation to best match target vehicle’s world orientation
-- Should prevent accidentally rerailing vehicles the wrong way
- Updated “Crew Vehicle” Comms Radio option, to allow Caboose summoning
-- Made Crew Vehicle options hidden while locked
- Fixed lean in nonVR allowing teleporting to forbidden areas
- Fixed “flood” effect when looking at bodies of water with shallow shore from distance
- Added signal boost light to Loco Remote
- Tweaked buffer stop LOD distance
- Fixed short glitchy sound playing when entering vehicles with sliding interactables
- Fixed DE6 loco having a duplicated audio script
- Renamed “RT Water Reflections” to “Real-time Reflections”
- Corrected default value description for Detail Level setting


That's all for today's update! See you next week with another!

-DV Team


Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on August 22, 2020, 12:58:00 AM
Build #86 - Gondola, Scrap Metal & More!
Fri, 21 August 2020

Today we're crossing off another one of the Community Unlocks - the Gondola car type! With it we're adding a new freight cargo too, Scrap Metal. As always, check out our weekly video for more information:

https://youtu.be/eZFIksWsbWA


Adding the gondola was one of the first steps towards expanding the industry chain, which we'll discuss more in the future. For now, the car's goal is to transport all the scrap metal from cities and towns to the Steel Mill, making town runs more diverse, shorter, and leading to a central location.

(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/0b57e5324131c3319949bf02b88dd41520ecc103.jpg)

We've also made it so that when jobs and trains are reset (whenever tracks are updated, like in this update), the game will conveniently move you to the nearest station that has a locomotive of the type you are licensed to use. It will also show a message to let you know what happened. Please let us know how that worked for you.

(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/3d82831283f8cb8d9c128a8f9e25d048584b8eb6.jpg)

Finally, we've improved the fast-travel loading times. Oh, and there's a jump ramp-ish at the Coal Mine. That's all for this week! See you soon with another update!

-DV Team

Full Changelog:

Stability:

- Drastically improved fast-travel loading times

Trains:

- Added Gondola car type
- Added colliders to Caboose buffers
- Added keyboard control to Caboose independent brake
- Fixed Nuclear Flask Carrier car getting stuck sometimes

Career:

- Added Scrap Metal freight type
-- Produced by cities/towns, delivered to Steel Mill in Gondola cars
- Improved player resetting after a tracks update
-- The game now moves the player to the nearest station with a loco you’re licenced for
-- A note informs the player of what happened
-- Remaining empty job items now get automatically removed from inventory

World:

- Modified Coal Mine track layout to loosen the loading track curve
- Attempted fix at OWN service station door collision, once more
- Tweaks to some tracks kinks
- Added CSW shop icon to world and schematic maps


Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on September 13, 2020, 01:16:46 PM
Build #87 - Multiple-Unit, Tutorial Fixes & More!
Sat, 12 September 2020

(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/7e270c51509501b0aadf476b04fff4e5cc97406a.png)

We're adding a long-requested feature today - Multiple-Unit Control! This powerful cable lets you connect multiple DE2 and DE6 locomotives together and operate them all from a single cab.

https://youtu.be/cUVihtYCSH0


As always the update includes many more fixes and improvements. Namely, tutorial fixes, crispier textures (Anisotropic Filtering Ultra setting), and many more. See the changelog below for more info:

(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/d67368cdf94f48d9b6742dd78bad52f48ea2296e.jpg)


Full Changelog:

Trains:

- Added Multiple-Unit Control
-- DE2 and DE6 locos now come equipped with an MU cable
-- When connected, locomotives will share all controls
-- Compatible with Loco Remote
-- Requires a new MU license to use
- Randomized timing of engine shut-off due to overheating

Tutorial:

- Added a step in tutorial extension that teaches the player to pay the fees
- Fixed a bug on tutorial extension restart that could spawn the shunter under the hopper
- Fixed errors when loading the tutorial in certain states causing it to become unplayable
- Fixed a bug with the “first crash” message able to appear multiple times, and too soon
- Modified the turntable step resolution criteria to be clearer
- Modified tutorial end criteria (prevented potential intentional game crash)
- Removed locomotive blocker from service depot (could cause temporary item loss)
- Fixed being asked to take out a Comms Radio when already holding it
- Fixed a case where the tutorial wouldn’t detect the player entering the loco
- Fixed missing belt points on save game load during tutorial extension (VR)

VR:

- Fixed player-camera misalignment caused by circular movement when smooth turning
- Fixed switching from room-scale to centered play type not updating the player height setting

Stability:

- Fixed game crashing of you put a brake hose in the inventory
- Fixed sound NRE on game quit
- Fixed various small bugs with code-reused cars (stuck hazmat fx, stuck sounds, etc.)
- Made a minor Gondola rendering optimization
- Reworked how terrains are loaded, slight optimization
-- Fixes bug with derailed trains falling through terrain

Misc:

- Added Anisotropic Filtering Ultra setting (sharper texture rendering)
- Fixed bad position of Gondola brake cocks
- Fixed visible terrain corners at the military base tunnel entrance
- Fixed loco spawning not working properly at IME (and potentially other locations)
- Fixed being able to take items through Career Manager when interacting with mouse
- No longer showing “press ‘print’ for details” on a “you have no fees” screen
- Fixed GF and FF service stations always drawing regardless of distance
- Fixed Reginald poster always drawing regardless of distance to player
- Made the VR centered play area mode popup take Trigger to begin
-- Can be cancelled by opening the menu
- Fixed sound not having interior effect when teleported to vehicles, sometimes
- Standardized code settings regarding VR haptic feedback
- Removed “shop” sign from gas stations
- Added quotes to license names in UI (nonVR)


Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on October 11, 2020, 01:25:21 AM
Derail Valley #88 - New Sign Generator & Many More Fixes!
Sat, 10 October 2020

(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/fa925c00386ab5ecf969216dd4a42a65ffa1af47.png)

Hi everyone!

Today's update is a bit of a surprise. We're working on some rather big features, and while that's cooking we decided to release what we have already, as a separate update. As always, Ivan laid out all the highlights a new video update!

https://youtu.be/a69SA0BDG-Y


With this update we're introducing the new, improved sign generator. Apart from reducing the clutter and turbulence of the speed limit signs, it helps indicate whether the next upcoming sign will have you accelerating or slowing down, among other things, all laid out in the updated Train Basics booklet.

(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/d5a9a6d5b227b4481500080c9ae1bffd97019e8b.png)

(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/50a1cf31bc1bc19d8f45891feaa39b42a2b73022.png)

Also improved are the vegetation rendering (less tree popping!), the Caboose being more permanent, the map graphics, controls for players using Windows MR headsets, and a lot more! As always, the full changelog is listed below.

That would be all for this week. Enjoy the update and have a great weekend!

-DV Team

Full changelog:

Stability:

- Fixed NRE in tutorial when approaching SM
- Fixed “skip tutorial” breaking the game since last build
- Fixed tutorial breaking if playing offset in seated/teleport mode in VR
- Guarded against a case of locomotives falling under the world and causing NaN
- Skip spawning of cars with corrupt world position in savegame
- Fixed infinite loading screen if Alt pressed during fast travel
- Fixed NRE when entering caboose while in roundhouse
- Fixed more rare benign errors related to item grabbing
- Potentially fixed a rare case where spamming inventory button in VR can freeze the menu
- Slightly decreased RAM consumption
-- Optimized textures of far buildings LOD
-- Reduced size of some booklet textures
- Fixed rare benign errors related to item grabbing
- Slightly optimized saving states during tutorial

Graphics:

- Fixed vegetation rendering
-- Fixed trees LOD fade effect being inverted and causing extra popping
-- Trees in distance no longer pop into existence, but smoothly fade in
-- Fixed distant trees flickering visibility while the player is moving, from certain angles
- Improved texture clarity of some booklets (particularly in VR)

VR:

- Added preliminary fixes for WMR joystick drift
-- Enable via Debug.WMRFix 1 and Debug.WMRFix 2
- Added sprint to WMR, activated by holding both joysticks up
- Fixed being able to open inventory during pause in VR

Trains:

- In case of reset tracks, Caboose will retain items left in it
- In case of reset tracks, Caboose will teleport with the player to the nearest station
-- Will happen if the Caboose was attached to the train you were last using
-- Will happen if the Caboose was within 1.5km of the player in the last session
-- Will happen in #87 -> #88 build transition
- Added charging sound to Caboose loco remote charger
- Fixed MU plugs not aligning properly when connected
- Fixed Handcar taking time to “refill air brakes” when just spawned
- Fixed Handcar brakes taking long to respond (sticky behavior)
- Fixed tender sometimes spawning uncoupled from the steam locomotive
- Prevented coupling to handcar (both auto-couple and via remote)

World & Tracks:

- Improved sign generator
-- Added speed ahead diff signs (shows on current sign if next limit is notably different)
-- Significantly reduced sign clutter and speed limit turbulence
-- Junction signs now display distance till actual junction (in km)
-- Changed junction sign color to white and red
-- Grade signs now display grade amount on them (in %)
-- Increased grade sign sensitivity
-- Updated Train Basics manual with new info on signs
- Fixed being unable to teleport into the Military Base tunnel
- Fixed various track kinks in stations
- Moved various trees off the tracks, in stations
- Increased LOD distance of signs text

Map:

- Updated world map
-- Remade the world texture in higher detail
-- Now features accurate track layout
-- Increased size of player blip
-- Player blip now draws on top of other blips
-- Increased brightness of map text
- Fast travelling with MU’d locos now takes all of them together
- Fixed fast travelling with multiple vehicles playing coupling sound on arrival

Misc:

- Teleporting off a vehicle while sitting in nonVR will now unsit the player
- Disabled Unity’s resolution dialog (previously started by ctrl + game start)
- Fixed inventory items not loading in tutorial extension on restart
- Fixed menu UI sounds having glitchy volume when used
- Improved clarity of scrap metal texture when looked at level
- Made Career Manager “copay paid” screen exit directly to item selection
- Stylized “boosted signal” to “sgnl boost” on loco remote for consistency
- Improved appearance and text of the “skip tutorial” prompt
- Fixed a village house having slightly offset shadows


Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on October 15, 2020, 02:19:16 AM
Hotfix for the rare case of players missing items/money
Wed, 14 October 2020

(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steam/apps/588030/ss_243ef9ce6b60344b24ac60ddac2a60cc561e2314.1920x1080.jpg?t=1590019964)

Please read further if you're affected

Thanks to your reports we've tracked down a bug that affected a small amount of players, where their items and/or money disappeared with the most recent build. This occurred to players who had a derailed caboose when their game updated. There's more to it, but in short, the derailed caboose would cause an error that would propagate to the rest of the saving process.

If you're affected (a few players)

(your items and/or money are missing since updating to #88, and you own the caboose)

Unfortunately you'll need to roll back to the save before #88, if you wish to retrieve the lost items/money. To do this, follow these steps:

1.   Update Derail Valley (restart Steam to make sure the hotfix is downloaded and applied)
2.   In Steam Library right click Derail Valley > Properties > Local Files > Browse Local Files...
3.   In the new window go to folders DerailValley_Data > SaveGameData
4.   Rename the file "savegame" to something else (e.g. "savegame-88-broken")
5.   Make a copy of the file "savegame_old_version5"
6.   Rename that copy to just "savegame"

This way you'll have replaced your current save with the latest working backup. Now you should be able to start the game, and it will continue where you left off in #87 without issues. Side note: in the future Derail Valley will feature a proper in-game save manager.

If you're not affected (most players)

(you have all your items/money, don't own the caboose, or you didn't update to #88 yet)

You can continue playing normally. This update won't affect you.

---

Despite thorough testing, both internally and with beta testers before releasing updates, this one slipped through. We're sorry for the inconvenience!


Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on October 30, 2020, 01:43:30 AM
Our plans, going into 2021
Thu, 29 October 2020

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/e5b1c092d794cc332ec6e66c2b3115bf1b16701c.png)

Hi everyone,

We wanted to give you a quick rundown on how things are going, and where we’re headed. Usually we don’t reveal a lot about what we’re working on, so that our priority shifting would remain agile. This time, however, it will take us longer than usual to show significant results, and we want to keep you informed.

We’re steering our focus toward more long-term development goals. For the next many months, our team will be working on these features, some of which are already in progress:

•   Day and night cycle
•   Dynamic weather
•   Improved simulation for diesel-electric and steam locos
•   Support for more locomotive types (for future use)
•   Basis for train mod support (for future use)
•   Save & user manager
•   Main Menu
•   Sandbox game mode
•   Language localization

We know you’re excited to have these things out as soon as possible, but there's still a long way to go. We’re already doing major changes to locomotive simulation, seeing how other future locomotive types and mod support will tie into it. We’re also deep into testing solutions for day and night cycles and weather changes. Regarding the save manager, main menu and sandbox mode, there’s quite a bit of work to be done too.

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/a27918c3a704d8f84c115a07418d162d8d7d98c6.jpg)

All those things will take a while to finish, around the same time actually. We’re slowly starting to see them all grow into a single, major update, coming sometime in 2021. There are no specifics on the date at this point, and there likely won’t be any until the update is almost done and ready to reveal. With this update we’ll probably also roll out the previously announced price increase for new buyers - but more on that later.

Until then, we’ll definitely have several smaller updates, but they won’t include any of the things listed above. We’ll also use this time to squeeze in a few days by the end of this year to release the long-awaited update of our former game, Switchcars.

Our team now counts five developers, three of which are dedicated programmers. We definitely want to speed up development, which is why we’re still hiring. Turns out, finding the right people for the job during the virus outbreak is hardly any fun.

With this news we wanted to set the right expectations for the next couple of updates. It will take us some time to release the stuff that really adds significant value. That said, rest assured that even though it’s not currently visible, our top effort is being put into Derail Valley on a daily basis. The game consistently gets better. Like with Overhauled, the wait will be worth it, and probably also shorter.

That's all for today, and we'll see you in a couple of weeks with another small game update!

-Slobodan


Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on December 20, 2020, 12:37:14 AM
Build #89 - Oculus Quest 2, HP Reverb G2, Shovel Rework, Footsteps & More!
Fri, 18 December 2020

(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steam/apps/588030/ss_243ef9ce6b60344b24ac60ddac2a60cc561e2314.1920x1080.jpg?t=1590019964)

Hi everyone!

While we work on the yet unnamed big 2021 update, we also want to include a couple of small updates in the meantime. Today we're launching the first one of them, the build #89! As always you can find more information in the video below:

https://youtu.be/uYnswR8n2Vw


The update makes various small improvements for both VR and nonVR players. The highlights are:

- Oculus Quest 2 support (via Oculus Link)
- HP Reverb G2 support
- Remade VR shovel behavior
- Footstep sounds
- FOV, Always Run and Cab Highlight settings (and sliders)
- Fixed crash on quit

Oh, and don't forget to check back next week for a humble surprise!

BUILD #89:

Stability:

- Fixed the hang on quit causing the “not responding” prompt to appear
- Fixed rare case where sounds could become permanently disabled in a session

VR:

- Added support for Oculus Quest 2 (via Oculus Link)
- Added support for HP Reverb G2
- Revamped shovel interaction
-- Allows twisting and using with both hands
-- Entirely rewritten code (for dual-handed item interaction in general)
-- Fixed visually adding coal on shovel from empty tender
-- Decreased amount of shoveling needed to fill up the firebox
-- Coal fling yet todo
- Items in hand can no longer bump into train controls (levers, valves...)
-- They still collide with solid objects however
- Fixed steamer rope not adhering to the “use trigger to interact” setting
- Belt orbs now only show directional gizmos when grabbed

Movement:

- Added footstep sounds
-- Includes 40 new sounds
-- Dynamically changes based on surface underneath
-- Applies to movement, teleporting and falling
- Improved headbob

GUI & Settings:

- Added sliders to menu GUI (yet to be added to all settings)
- Added “FOV” setting (vertical angle)
- Added “Always Run” setting
- Added “Cab Highlight” setting
- Mousewheel can now scroll through nonVR inventory slots while holding Tab
- Fixed “Press F to enter” appearing while looking at an item (e.g. map)
- Split VR and Graphics settings windows into two rows in VR menu
- Tidied up menu layout misalignments

Items:

- Loco remote charge speed no longer depends on sun direction
- Schematic map now sounds like a heavy book upon impact

Misc:

- Made minor schematic map corrections (IMW, IME)
- Slight physics collisions optimization
- Fixed ISO tank container using wrong LOD texture
- Updated Career Manager default screen text to “Please select:”
- Fixed bad character in a tutorial text message
- Derail log now also prints vehicle’s ID and job ID

-Your DV Team

Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on December 25, 2020, 01:34:28 AM
Build #90 - Snow, Snow, Snow & More!
Thu, 24 December 2020

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/609e0d975072d8cddc73ecaddad9245af05d9521.png)

Merry Christmas!
We have a very special update for you today! It's Christmas and snow fell upon the Valley. It will only stay like that for a limited time - about a month, - so make sure to make the best of it!

https://youtu.be/ZCsZR8JTlIo


2020 was a strange year, yet also the best one for Derail Valley so far. With your support and the release of Overhauled, we've had a blast further strengthening our goals — to make Derail Valley both the best train simulator in the world, and one of the best VR games. We are continually working on amazing things, many of which are yet to come in the major update in 2021 and after it https://steamcommunity.com/games/588030/announcements/detail/2916604285336974392

With today's update we wanted to give you all a massive thank you, and wrap up this dull year with something exciting. The snow doesn’t affect game mechanics as it is a purely aesthetic feature, but it does bring a whole new mood to the game. In order to keep the experience truly special, we will remove snow from the game in about a month, for at least until next Christmas. Make the best use of it in the following couple of weeks!

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/5a042b835fdb5f67b427c0216ccd67d5bfaf7f91.jpg)

Apart from introducing snow, the update adds a few more new things, such as new trash bins, station office beacons, expert shovel (a new item to buy!), and various other fixes.

(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/3956a9ddbb41dcaadb17cad9c317a336651b8c01.jpg)

With this update we're closing the year, and can't wait to see what the next one will bring! Until then, from all of us here at Altfuture, Happy Holidays!

-Your DV Team


Build 90:

World:

- Made the world snowy
-- Limited time only (till late January)
-- Features new snow textures and sounds
-- Adds Christmas trees to Station Offices
-- Contains new snow-themed loading screens
-- Derailed cars make sleigh bell sounds
- Added antenna beacons to all Station Offices (easier to spot)
- Fixed CSW not having a 30 kph sign
- Loosened a tight southbound entrance curve at SW
- Fixed OWN loops not having signs
- Fixed FF LP tracks having faulty name in built game
- Fixed IME service station platform not aligning with tracks
- Fixed phone pole in MF next to coal shed having offset LOD
- Fixed terrain ballast texture having flipped normals

VR:

- Belt point positions are now being saved
- Fixed bad item orientation in hand when using Oculus VR mode
- Fixed a bug with the first job booklet able to disappear when finishing tutorial
Career & Gameplay:
- Added Expert Shovel
-- Can be bought in a shop
-- Adds less coal than default shovel (for precise firebox control)
- Remade trash bins
-- Bigger, solid design
-- Now suggests that jobs can be thrown in
-- Fixed position, no longer an item
- Removed dash from Job Booklet track ID for consistency with track signs
- Fixed Job Denied page falling through Job Validator as of #89
- Fixed being unable to unlock garages as of #89
- Fixed Caboose Career Manager not working as of #89
- Fixed being unable to pick up money while holding wallet in nonVR
- Fixed items dropping out of hands if alt-tabbing during pause
- Reduced volume of footstep sounds

GUI & Settings:

- Added sliders to the rest of the options
- Made turntable key bindings configurable
-- Can only be used inside a turntable booth
-- Default keys: [ ]

Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on March 14, 2021, 08:14:16 PM
Build #91 - Boombox & More!
Fri, March 12, 2021

(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/1be29fae25a4ec2b55466c97d0fc68468476c8ee.png)

Hi everyone!

It’s been a couple of long months, but we’re back with a new update! This time, the snow has melted, and lovely music took its place! As always, Ivan accompanied this update with an awesome video:

https://youtu.be/Vw177ABbUX8


Boombox comes with a variety of music cassettes that you can buy in shops, as well as the ability to play radio. It can be customized to play your favorite online streaming radio stations, as well as playlists of your local music files! We strongly recommend you to read the new readme.pdf file before playing with it, located in the game installation's root folder.

With the boombox came the need to precisely place items in nonVR, which is another addition in this build. Placing items is done using the key 'R' and the mouse wheel.

(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/3ef6fdd8e76a6d98d65fe3d40b2dcc2f1ccc0477.jpg)

Having watched your videos and streams, we also acknowledged that rerailing should be made free at the early phase of the game, so we’ve made that change. Additionally, we’ve improved item belt orb slots in VR, booklet saving, fixed trains spawning in each other, and a lot more small things.

Finally, we’ve removed the snow as promised and it won’t be available at least until another Christmas. We know many of you would like us to keep it as an option, but technically that’s not possible right now. Maybe some other year in the future.

(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/345881789b4caee6464a2e2712af04cce6e726ef.jpg)

If you’ve been wondering about the status of the 2021 major update - it’s heavily in progress, but there’s still a LOT of work remaining to do before we can share anything. Until we have more information, we’ll have small updates coming out, such as today’s one.

We’re looking forward to hearing what you think about the new boombox and the rest of the changes! Have fun driving with your new companion!

P.S. While finishing up this update, we learned that the inventor of the cassette tape, Lou Ottens, had died yesterday at age 94. May this update be in his memory.

-DV Team


Build #91:

  Stability & Internal:

  - Attempted fix for trains that occasionally spawn inside other trains, causing unfair fees
  - Drastically improved automation of terrain build preparation process
  -- This speeds up internal workflow for build making and testing
  - Preferences optimization
  -- Increased preferences reading speed
  -- Added functionality to auto-upgrade preferences
  -- Made anisotropic filtering auto-upgrade to Ultra, if was on High in previous build
  -- Added versioning to preferences file
  - Updated Post Processing

  Items:

  - Added Boombox
  -- Can be bought in CitySW
  -- Features two modes, Radio and Cassette player
  -- Radio can play real life online radio stations (included https://simulatorradio.com/)
  -- Players can add or create radio stations (see readme.pdf for details)
  -- Radio features audible signal loss effect when going through tunnels
  -- Cassette player can play cassettes that can be bought in shops
  -- Some cassettes contain music, whereas others point to players’ local playlist folders
  -- Players can add their own music to those playlists (see readme.pdf for details)
  - Added item placing feature in nonVR
  -- Hold R while holding an item and aim at a surface to see item gizmo
  -- The gizmo will show warning color if aimed location clashes with another surface or item
  -- Use mouse scroll to rotate the gizmo
  -- Release R to place the item in place of the gizmo, at the aimed location
  - Booklets now save the page they were on
  - Fixed issues with Loco Remote
  -- Fixed nonVR mouse interaction not working with joysticks when ungrabbed
  -- Improved couple knob to react better to mousewheel
  -- Fixed item preview being offset in VR inventory
  - Fixed issues with Pocket Watch
  -- Fixed occasional scrolling  jam in nonVR
  -- Fixed wind knob chaotically colliding with the environment when held
  -- Fixed falling too slow
  - Fixed the inability to pick up the items remaining on the turntable control panel in nonVR
  - Item highlighting is now disabled by default in nonVR
  - Optimized shovel texture size

  VR:

  - Made improvements to belt orbs
  -- Their position is now saved
  -- Items stored in them are now saved too
  -- Orb rotation now snaps to 90 degree angles when in close proximity
  -- Rotation gizmo now appears when hovering over the orb
  - Improved controller anchors for Cosmos users (thanks Niko!)
  - Fixed draft lever (and DE6 windows) not working on some headsets
  - Fixed shovel in VR getting dropped when holding it a certain way and teleporting

  Career:

  - Rerailing is now free until buying licenses CCUR1 or LONG1
  - Improved randomness of destination input tracks in job generation
  - License printouts now list license dependencies
  - Removed the ability to click trash bin to delete job (throw it in instead)

  Tutorial:

  - Fixed taking money via wallet-click in tutorial breaking the tutorial
  - Tutorial now introduces the player to mouse-scroll train controls in nonVR
  - Fixed various rare bugs with reloading the game while in tutorial part 2 or skipping tutorial

  Misc:

  - Removed snow, at least until next Christmas
  - Improved interactable control aim precision in nonVR
  - Limited junction speed limit to 60 (was 70 before), to prevent unexpected derailments
  - Money left in cash registers, career managers, etc. is now returned to wallet on game quit
  - Fixed receipt not being able to flip pages
  - Fixed missing crosshair tooltip in nonVR if starting the game with Cab Highlight option off
  - Fixed nonVR inventory bugging out when retrieving items via pause menu
  - Improved tender water hatch to be easily grabbable in nonVR
  - Tweaked shape of controller tooltip background in VR
  - Added readme.pdf to game root folder

Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on August 20, 2021, 11:55:20 PM
Build #92 - New Vegetation & More!
Fri, 20 August 2021

(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/7cea6d54b5c16dfb1df573ea9d770ba086ed593c.png)

Hi everyone!

Recently we’ve announced our next major update, Derail Valley: Simulator. The feedback was phenomenal -- we’re close to 1000 likes on that post, almost three times the amount Overhauled had when it was announced. Thank you! This makes us incredibly excited for the future.

In the meantime, we’ve worked on an intermediate small update, #92. As always it’s got one prominent new feature, and this time -- it’s the all new vegetation!

https://youtu.be/3rksHgt_Mis


Vegetation in Derail Valley has always been lacking in fidelity, so in our common fashion we decided to give it an overhaul. Not only does this greatly improve the look of scenery but it also adds a few additional types of flora and makes cliffs look more natural. Along with the beautiful plants themselves, vegetation settings were changed too.

(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/6a23601e07b5ef9fcdf94d40ada675034ee68670.jpg)

Unchanged performance:

While the new vegetation looks better, we were extra cautious not to impact performance negatively, and also to provide even higher levels of fidelity for those who have the hardware for it.

Formerly, the vegetation was meant to be fully compatible with VR, even at the highest quality settings. However, modern hardware can do so much more in regular non-VR PC gameplay. Thus, we’ve done some renaming. What used to be Ultra High is now simply High, retaining the same frame rate as Ultra once had, but offering more lushness and detail. This is what we recommend as the maximum setting for VR.

(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/d3358f4635f38d988114aa38866d047253014f83.jpg)

The new Very High and Ultra High settings, on the other hand, take things to the higher level of fidelity by taking full advantage of your GPU. We’ve confirmed with our beta testers that non-VR players of build #92 with GTX 1080 Ti and higher can max out all graphics settings and play at stable 60 FPS.

If you had your vegetation set to Very High or Ultra High in a former build, it will automatically be rolled one step back to compensate for the new higher fidelity. Players with low-end hardware will also benefit from this update, as vegetation set to Mega Low and Very Low levels will now render faster than it used to. In that sense the new vegetation now covers a broader spectrum of performance for all kinds of hardware, and we will tweak it further as needed.

(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/c57e706482add63a8aa9d8af62f0c8afba335cb7.jpg)

Apart from revamping vegetation, we’ve also made some notable bug fixes and small improvements in this build. For example, we’ve added a new radio station - TruckersFM, we’ve improved the Boombox cassette file reading, we’ve fixed remaining cases where trains could get damaged unfairly, added a second row of cars to the job booklet for better clarity and made junctions highlight when aimed at -- to name a few. For the full listing, see the changelog below.

(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/001585acca239768652928983ece0909fb192f26.jpg)

Finally, in case you missed it, we’ve recently updated the Community Unlocks with more details and information. Be sure to check it out!

That’s all for this update! As always, we’ll keep you posted as we get closer to another release. We’re most active on Discord, so make sure to join our server!

-Your DV Team


Build #92 - August 20, 2021:

  Stability:

  - Fixed trains getting damaged on game load if a consist was compressed
  - Attempted fix at locos getting damaged very rarely when player spams teleport

  World:

  - Revamped vegetation
  -- All new trees, bushes, grass and rocks
  -- Added some additional types of flora
  -- Modified vegetation settings (auto-reduces by one level if Very High or Ultra High)
  -- Now defaults to High

  VR:

  - Fixed trigger and grip buttons getting swapped sometimes
  - Fixed HP Reverb G2 having bad beam angles
  - Fixed controllers being drawn behind menus
  - Fixed couplers and brake hoses not following the "item grab" setting principle
  - Fixed being able to feel map buttons during fast travel in OculusVR
  - Changed default setting for movement orientation to Headset
  - Fixed VR tutorial not pointing the correct inventory button on Vive Cosmos

  Misc:

  - Boombox improvements
  -- Added TruckersFM radio station
  -- Now can play .wav files
  -- Now can play .mp3 files with embedded album art
  -- Now can change volume with scroll or trigger+joystick when held
  -- No longer stutters when changing songs from HDD
  -- Fixed Boombox audio not ducking when overshadowed by explosions or horns
  -- Changed cassette item collision sound
  - Fixed several bugs that would prevent lost items from going to L&F
  - Fixed items being unreachable when in interaction collider (e.g. lighter on firebox sill)
  - Job booklets now show two rows of cars for better clarity, if train has over 10 cars
  - Added highlight to aimed junctions (can be disabled in settings)
  - Added item placing (R) to nonVR tutorial
  - Fixed item placer gizmo getting stuck on screen if pressing esc while placing
  - Fixed bad loco remote and world map orientation when item placing
  - Fixed Boombox volume not working properly when mouse-scrolling
  - Clearing the Caboose now moves it to depot together with items inside
  - Fixed player movement being choppy when going down the hills
  - Made the console key remappable (default ~)
  - Fixed items in Caboose dropping through the floor when in drawers
  - Made service station controls easier to use with mousewheel
  - Fixed being able to cause an empty inventory slot with wallet by a certain action
  - Fixed being able to squeeze into locked garages
  - Fixed Item hanging in the air if the game is paused during telegrab
  - Only show 'Press LMB to deposit' when a transaction requires money
  - Allowed banknotes and coins to be used in nonVR for transactions
  - Fixed clipping house floor in GF
  - Flipped loco spawner orientation in FM
  - Cleaned "missing script" log spam (OculusVR will still have some)
  - Cleaned "There are no audio listeners in scene" log spam
  - Fixed "Oxydizing" typo on a hazmat placard
  - Updated Readme.pdf

Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on August 24, 2021, 11:27:58 PM
(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/c252d91a448701756013e9c99a762efc4f52ef99.jpg)


Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on July 08, 2022, 12:01:27 AM
Simulator status update
Thu, 7 July 2022

(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/fef2efd471b00bc1127a32c5689989ef22f5bb8a.png)

Hi everyone,

Many of you are curious about how it’s going with our next major update, Simulator, so this post is intended to bring you up to date.


In the past five months since the previous post, there's been a lot of progress made on the update. It is currently in the final stages, and we are putting a lot of effort to release it as soon as possible. That said, there's still plenty of work left to do. We think we're about 3-5 months away from the release. Please understand that this is an estimate based on the current status, and it still may change.

It's been a very productive and busy period, which brought us significant improvements to graphics, UX, train simulation and bug fixes. Our team, which grew from six to nine members last year, has further solidified its coordination and workflow in the meantime, and has been hard at work continuously.

(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/cbe05a6a9b41140311c096addf3a9e15727192bf.png)

What made it difficult to share our progress more openly and establish a reliable release date is that, as we were developing Simulator, we were also cleaning up the project on the fly, which is a rather unpredictable process. As we explained in the previous post, we took this direction now because we see it as the most valuable course of action in the long run.

That is still part of the reason why we don't share more screenshots and videos about the update - it'll all be displayed when it's done. Another, bigger reason, is that with the release of Simulator, the price of Derail Valley for new buyers will be increased to $35.99. We want to delay the update as long as necessary until we're sure that our game is undoubtedly worth that price. It is because of this, too, that we want to attract attention after
the update is released, not before.

All that contributes to us being more quiet than usual in this period, but rest assured that the update is in continual full development. It already is the biggest project we've ever worked on. While some of the upcoming features have been announced before in broad terms, at this point we can list them in a bit more detail:

(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/757020f957250089e761a97bcb7a6e0614e91ca5.png)

(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/433b320eed8830729020ce2535a69ea508241439.png)

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All of the listed features and content are either done or nearing completion. They will be showcased in full detail in our In-Depth video series in days prior to the release.

At this point we’re past the major reworks too. For a few months already our daily work has been revolving around bringing everything together to a coherent whole. That alone is a challenge in terms of coordination, UX and performance and will take at least a few more months to finish and test properly. We also want to have enough time to dedicate to marketing, once it is all stable.

With that I'd like to remind everyone that we’re still a small team living off of the game’s sales and not a high-budget AAA studio that some are comparing us to. Our gateway to more resources and increased production is Simulator itself, which is why we are so careful to do it right, and to not overhype it before it is made publicly available.

(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/ef9ccee6f323fae048ace81cae227a3362f6054e.png)

During the development of Simulator we’ve also managed to work on things that are yet to come after the update, such as new industries and cities, new cargo types, new locomotives and cars, gameplay improvements and other, mainly of art and design nature. We'll probably have more information about those later next year, after Simulator.

If you're wondering about Simulator beta - please note that we already have a very helpful, carefully assembled closed beta team. It is small, but sufficient for our needs, and has already helped us shape this update, significantly. Our bottleneck has always been in production, not testing. We will, however, further expand the beta team as we get closer to the release with winners of the upcoming translation contest. We'll have more information about that later, as first we need to finalize the game texts/features in order to start the translating process.

As always, thanks so much for your support and patience over the years! We'll see you in a few months with more information.

-Slobodan

Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on October 13, 2022, 12:53:07 AM
Simulator status update 2
Wed, 12 October 2022

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Hi everyone!

It's about three months since our last news post, and we wanted to give you some new information on the update progress and show you a couple of screenshots.

(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/a4a6084e045ccdca60d72045d383a604a9361c40.png)


The work on Simulator has been going well, as usual. Finally, as we near the end, we begin to see what aspects of the update can be called done, or at least what it will take to finish them. So, we'll talk a bit about that in this post.

I’ll start with perhaps the biggest goal we’ve reached this year -- putting it all together to a coherent whole. While we've been adding and testing new features internally on a daily basis, for nearly a year the game was not in a shape where much of it was presentable. We were finally able to change that a few months ago, and have been building on top of it since. In that period, our closed beta team was kind and eager to jump in and help us thoroughly test the update and find plenty of quirks that needed fixing.

We’ve been updating the beta almost every week since. It was pleasing to see no major issues being discovered, and feedback mostly revolved around small improvements that we either had in the plans already, or that are relatively quick to do. However, it’s worth noting that a LOT of small improvements had to be made, and many still await their turn.

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We're showing more screenshots today because, finally, visual aspects of the game such as day and night cycle, fog, rain, window droplets, lightnings, lighting, reflections and others are pretty much done and more or less represent the finished product. Along with them come the necessary adaptations for VR and settings for low-end hardware. While creating all these features we were adamant on keeping the performance good, and it does play well on the PCs we and the testers have tried it on. However, we are yet to do thorough testing on low-end machines and VR when everything else is complete too, so whether there's additional work to be done on this remains to be seen.

In regards to visible objects, we finished the several new items that are coming with the update, as well as over 25 road vehicles you can see parked around. The new water implementation is done, and the improved HAZMAT and derailing effects are being worked on right now, to be done in a few days.

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Another very important thing that we seem to be weeks from finishing is the structural design, both in code and UX sense, of how the game is dealing with multiple user profiles, sessions, saves, scenarios and difficulty presets. Unfortunately it's not something fun or visible that we can showcase outside of the finished product, but it took a lot of time to do, admittedly many more months than originally anticipated. The whole scope of that work wasn't really possible to be known in advance, until we dug deeper into the matter.

Now that it's almost done, the rework really seems to have transformed the game's usability. For example, starting a sandbox run at a particular location with a particular train, just to try out something quick, without having to ruin your ongoing career session, is a major convenience. So is being able to go back to the last autosave when a cat unexpectedly jumps in your lap, causing the entire oil well industry to blow up. We've all been there.

On that note, the design of new graphical user interfaces, as well as localization systems are all in place too, with relatively minor work to be done as we get closer to starting accepting translations. More on that in a few months.

(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//27746033/49f988c092a4d6bbda07099b329793d4eda8d7d7.png)

We’ve finished all the diesel locomotives and added them to the game, along with their behaviors, sounds, textures and other aspects. This includes DE2, DE6, DM3 and DH4. Implementation of old locomotives had to be fully redone, mind you, to accommodate for the new train simulation code. Most of their graphical assets received an update (or a revamp) too. The steamers S060 and S282 currently have their models finished, but remain to be added to the game in terms of simulation.

The new train simulation code is a behemoth that took us about two years to write from scratch. There’s a LOT of work put into it, mostly future-proofing the game for new locomotive additions. This is something that's not particularly visible, but is very important in the long run.

With that said, a lot of work still remains to be done on train simulation in regards to mod support. Originally we wanted to keep this for after the update, but we see now how that could slow us down in the future. There are important decisions to be made, and we’re currently working on finding ways to reduce the necessary work to a minimum possible timeframe. At this point it looks to be in the 2-5 months ballpark, and remains to be seen.

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Another important aspect of Simulator that wasn’t really properly announced in the past, but was added subsequently and is for the most part finished, is the all new external camera driving UI. I won’t go into details of how this works just yet, but being able to drive the trains from an outside view with intuitive camera controls and contextual UI elements makes it a whole new experience for the nonVR players.

Driving in first person view has been improved too, with the ability to freeze the camera and use your mouse cursor to operate the levers and buttons. The game now offers a really nice balance of using both camera views and many controls methods, depending on your mood and the activity at hand. There are also proper tools in place for easy camera and scene setup, for taking videos or screenshots like the ones shown here. You’ll hear more about all of these features in the future.

With that I should also mention that the game is now powered by a robust difficulty parametrization system, which took a while to implement and lets you setup the game in a whole range from being a “noob-friendly relaxing arcade” to “hardcore realistic simulator”, with individual parameters on what’s allowed and what isn’t -- such as for example the external camera usage. Going forward, we want to continue expanding the game in both directions simultaneously, expecting the most players to find fun somewhere in between. This is why the game will ship with three difficulty presets, but you’ll also be able to make your own.

(https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//27746033/ff0aa9da5dbe76d5d2f74020dbf9c53c8626d32f.png)

On the VR side we've replaced controllers with proper hands that naturally adapt their grasp to levers and buttons in their vicinity, adding so much to the immersion. The game also features a whole new inventory experience, consolidated between VR and nonVR -- but more on that later. Of the larger things remaining to be done, apart from the leftovers of train mod support and steam simulation, there’s the environment sounds system and reworked tutorial. Then, of course, there are a myriad of small things remaining, as well as translations, marketing material and other necessary logistics. It may not sound like a lot, but it is still an overwhelming amount of work left.

So, with that, we can see Simulator possibly getting released in the first half of next year. Our aim is the first quarter, but the eventual date may be later and it cannot be foretold yet. Whether the update will be ready in three, five or more months from now remains to be seen. However, as we get closer to the release it'll be easier to reveal more details, so we'll keep making these progress news posts at approximately every three months. Hopefully there won't be many more until the release date is in sight.

As we’ve mentioned previously a couple of times, with the release of Simulator the price of Derail Valley will be increased for new buyers. The new price will be $39,99, slightly more than previously announced. We're making this increase to help support our efforts. We think the new price will be rather fair given the recent developments not only in our game, but also the world and the train sim market itself.

I hope you enjoyed this update and as always, thanks for your patience! We're getting there!

-Slobodan
Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on December 14, 2022, 09:36:32 PM
Simulator Status Update 3
Wed, 14 December 2022


Hello everyone!

We’re here with more information about Simulator, the upcoming major update to Derail Valley. This post is not so much a progress report, but rather oriented toward clarifying a few things about the update and making a few small announcements. Be warned - it's a bit lengthy.


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For the start, a quick summary of the previous two months - frankly, not particularly exciting ones. We've made a countless amount of bug fixes, cleanups and all kinds of wrapping up all across the project. We’ve transitioned from nearing the finishing phase to actually being deep in it. We’ve also expanded the team by a valuable member, to help us finish sooner (more on that below). Probably the most interesting to you - we’re weeks away from starting posting a lot more media about the update


Boarding the 2023 hype train

In the previous post we said we could see a possible release sometime in the first half of 2023. So far that time frame remains viable, with the launch in Q2 being the most likely.

Starting January 9th and until release, we’re going to be making two media posts each working day on our social media. Each post is going to include a screenshot or a few-seconds short video highlighting a particular game’s feature, a notable piece of content or an artistic shot.

We will be making these posts on Discord, Twitter, YouTube (posts/shorts), Reddit, Facebook and the newly opened Instagram and TikTok accounts - so make sure to give us a follow on your preferred platforms!

(https://steamcommunity.com/linkfilter/?url=https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/a0294f97695f9b5e6289002303dc38c74138b766.png)


Our list of things to post about has close to 200 items. With artistic shots added to the mix, even though we’re talking posting twice a day, that makes it up to half a year worth of content to post - of which 95% will show something that’s new to Simulator, or improved in it. Since we intend to release the update sooner than that, at some point we will probably start making more than two posts a day.

The posts will initially show the basic things like shots of different types of landscapes, road vehicles, weather and similar, but over the months they will progress to showing more of the new UX, the new train simulation features, locomotives and more. Basically, the closer to the release the more revealing the content.


Frequently asked questions

We’ve been getting a lot of the same questions over the months, not rarely from players who are frustrated and highly concerned for Simulator taking so long. While all of these questions were answered in previous news posts already, please allow me to address the concerns in this format and hopefully remove any ambiguities:

Why would you show us two posts a day instead of all of it at once?

We’re still many months away from the update being ready for launch. For that day to be successful (and frankly, we really
need it to) we need the peak of community interest to be then, and not many months prior.

That said, we appreciate our fans and, with the individual small pieces of content being posted sooner, want to provide you with something to look forward to every day, while not letting the cat out of the bag prematurely.

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Why does it take so long to finish the update anyway?

A lot of the game was basically remade from scratch. The code that makes trains do anything is all new. A lot of the graphics rendering features are all new. The way the game loads/reloads sessions is all new. The user interfaces are all knew. On top of it there are many, many more features that didn't exist before (there's a link to more details in a reply further below). It takes a lot of work to bring all these things together to a coherent whole, as bug free as possible. This is a huge update, and once we reveal all that's new it will start to make more sense.

Why did you remake so much of it?

There was a lot of necessary corner cutting we've done in the past when we had less resources. For the game to progress, and the many new features to be added, we had to drastically improve some things. For the first time ever, we were in a position to not rush things and do them properly. It took longer than it was originally planned, but we saw that as a good investment for the future of Derail Valley.

Couldn't you have split the update into smaller individual parts?

Not in an efficient way. To avoid downtime, it's necessary that people in the team start and finish their projects at different times. Since projects on Simulator have many dependencies amongst each other, despite being done in parallel, it's impossible to time them to all be finished at a certain time, unless we're strictly pushing for a release.

And doing that is wasteful. Cutting it into multiple releases would have caused a lot of depending projects and team focus to be disrupted. In the long run, this would have drastically postponed the update from reaching the state it's in now, it would have devaluated its publishing potential and left a bunch of design "scar tissue" that we'd then need to spend significant time on mitigating. In the context of this particular update, the gain from the higher release frequency would have been net negative.

This is not to say that small quick updates should never be done. We've done 40+ of them when it made sense, but sometimes it's more efficient to work continually on major updates that take a long time to finish.

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If the Simulator update is ready for capturing media, why don’t you just open the beta?

Apart from desire to focus community attention on the eventual release date itself, as mentioned above, there are other reasons too. For example, our beta team is already carefully selected in a way that works best for us and the update, and they’ve been doing a great job for years.

There’s so much work on our plate that managing a large group of people hunting for bugs that we mostly already know about would be a massive, unhelpful distraction. Without many UX features in place (such as the tutorial, which needs to be done near the end of development), a lot of people wouldn’t get the right idea on how exactly to use or do certain things, and this would lead to more confusion than usefulness. We don’t want people having conflicting information and experiences on the release date.

Simply put, running an open beta would not be productive right now and would further complicate and delay the release. The very moment Simulator is ready for a hypothetical open beta, it will in fact be released to everyone.

(https://steamcommunity.com/linkfilter/?url=https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/d31e9b2de744635828a017d1d3a6d52da593bcab.png)

What if your testers are insufficient and I would catch something they didn’t?

The majority of bugs and UX improvements are actually handled internally, before even reaching the testers. None of those are the bottleneck - development speed is. When it comes to other suggestions and feedback, our testers are veteran players of Derail Valley, knowledgeable about trains, and for example their input a year ago was crucial in the update’s improvements to brake and powertrain simulation accuracy. Right now in the finishing stages, however, the activity is more focused on bug hunting and having more of it would not be helpful.

That said, we do want to expand the beta team when the update is ready for translation. This will provide us with fresh perspectives and experiences on varying hardware, so that we can make adjustments as needed. The day this will start has proven difficult to pinpoint however, because translations require the tutorial to be done, which itself needs pretty much every other feature to be finalized. Although it’s tough to say when, we’re getting there.

With that, I’d also like to remind everyone of our list of translator candidates per language. If you’d like to help translate Simulator to your language and eventually get beta access, please let us know on our Discord server. We’ll inform you how to apply when we’re ready to start.

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This is Early Access. Why am I not given your latest version to test it right now?

Buying a game in Early Access gives players the opportunity to try it, give feedback and support development before it is potentially finished. However, this does not mean that involvement of players at every step of the development is productive.

Now, I absolutely understand that many of you have been waiting for this update for a very long time. We didn’t initially plan for it to take this long, and for that I genuinely apologize. What matters is that we’ve endured through all of the hurdles so far, have been working on the update at our full capacity all this time, and are getting it ready for release.

What if you’re intentionally stringing us along, delaying the update indefinitely?

That wouldn't work for anyone involved. Here’s why:

Even if it were to never receive another update again, the currently available version of Derail Valley is a stable, unique experience with over 50 hours of gameplay, priced less than what it’s worth (because of the long-term early supporter discount). We would gain nothing “upselling” the existing game by lying about an imaginary update.

Simulator is the most costly project we’ve ever worked on, more so than the rest of the game before it. Yet, it’s a free update for all the existing players. With its release we will increase the price of Derail Valley for new buyers, but for this all to pay off, the risk and challenge is entirely on us to make the update attract enough new players to buy the game - now at the increased price, three years after the original release.

(https://steamcommunity.com/linkfilter/?url=https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/d721fb8fa36863ef25bf15566f77d3a300600e3f.png)

Every day that we’re not releasing Simulator, we’re also not increasing the game’s price. This is at our own loss, owning up for the self-caused delay. And, mind you, the delay has happened only because with the changes made we want to make the project more cost effective in the future.

The players can only gain here. Every loss is on us. I see absolutely no way this could have been handled any more fair for the players than it has been, and especially compared to some of the competing products. There’s always going to be someone unhappy about it and that’s unavoidable.

Finally, if anyone’s wondering, the Simulator screenshots we’re posting are raw captures from actual well-performing test builds, free of image manipulations.

You say Q2 2023. How do we know that you won’t delay the update again?

It's still an estimate, not a definitive release date. We are adamant on finishing, and can’t foresee any reasons for further postponements, however there's no guarantee. It’s in our interest more than anyone’s to release the update as soon as possible, but we think making sure it's stable and attractive at launch is more important than being early.

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What to expect (and not expect) in the update

Will there be multiplayer in Simulator? Or ever?


No. Multiplayer was never a planned feature. We wanted to test the possibility of adding it at some point, but there are way too many things on our plate for us to get to it. If we ever do multiplayer, it will be in a separate product.

Is the map getting expanded in Simulator?


No. Apart from minor prop additions and bug fixes, there are no changes to the map, tracks or industries coming in Simulator. We plan on working on track and industry improvements immediately after launch, depending on its success, however the map size won’t change. We do, however, intend to have one or more new maps as DLC in the future.

Are jobs getting improved in Simulator? Are we getting any new cargo types?


No. Same as the answer above, we have many plans in regards to improving jobs and cargo in the base game, but the work on that will only start after Simulator, depending on its success.

What about AI trains? Passengers?


No. Precursor for them is the map/track improvement mentioned above. We’re still a few years away from AI-driven trains and passengers, if things go well.

Will there be Steam Workshop?


Probably not yet in Simulator, but if all goes well, the plan is to have it added later, as soon as the rest of the train mod infrastructure is deemed stable.

(https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans//27746033/f88d6842096d97d257856869ca3fc9a82715959d.png)

So then, what is coming in Simulator?


You can see the exact list of features coming in Simulator listed in one of our previous posts, split into three lists. We will highlight these in more detail over the next year:

ENVIRONMENT
TRAIN SIMULATION
USER EXPERIENCE

What’s the status of mod support in Simulator?


A big part of Simulator is the all new powertrain simulation for steam and diesel vehicles. The new code was made with train mod support in mind, so that modders can make new locomotives, conceptually similar to those included in the vanilla game, more easily, practically without programming.

While this considerably increases the speed at which the new locomotives can be created, it’s still not made very accessible to modders. We want to give that some shape in the next few months, but we aren’t sure yet to what extent it will be finished and documented for the Simulator release. If all goes well, we will be rapidly improving these systems immediately after launch.

With that I want to point out that modding trains into Derail Valley is still going to be rather difficult (the game itself is rather detailed), but easier than before. For mods that aren’t trains, there’s no planned support and they will continue to be developed the same way as before.

(https://steamcommunity.com/linkfilter/?url=https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/aff93a49cd30840a82fb4a8c81b76f7029fec23b.png)

Zeibach joins the dev team!

In our eternal battle to reduce the time it takes to finish Simulator, we’ve expanded our team by a new programmer - none other than the DV modding rockstar, Zeibach!

You may know him as the author of many of the most popular Derail Valley mods, such as Zeibach’s Realism Overhaul. As one of our long-time Discord community members and a day one Simulator beta tester, a few weeks ago he became part of the Altfuture team. In the following period he will be taking care of what’s left of the work on train simulation and train mod support. These won’t be some groundbreaking improvements just yet, but they drastically help offload our team and will shorten the time to release. Over the years Zeibach and us have both found that we strive for the same goals and vision behind Derail Valley, so instead of doing things double, joining forces made perfect sense for everyone.

(https://steamcommunity.com/linkfilter/?url=https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/27746033/bc3e0f14dbe64ee37670ae1b34ef1f5972f6b60e.png)

Before you say that we should've done this years ago, I just want to make it clear that it wasn’t coming up with the idea that was the hard part, but actually making it happen. Getting where we are today was made possible only by the enormous effort from the people on our team and the support from our players, and none of that should be taken for granted.

Having Zeibach join Altfuture marks a historical moment, because this is the first time our team has reached 10 members since its humble beginnings, almost exactly a decade ago. However, it’s worth noting that not everyone on the team is a developer, and of those who are, not everyone is available 24/7. We are no AAA with infinite resources that could make all the perfect moves. This project is still a very difficult, risky endeavor with no guarantees, despite how easy it may all look from the outside. I hope everyone can understand the human side of the journey, and appreciate that, while we have surely made some mistakes along the way, we are still going.

-

With that I’d like to thank everyone for your support. We’ll enter the new year with more hard work and a bunch of new screenshots and short videos coming your way. Remember to stay up to date with us and discover Simulator on a daily basis by following us on: Discord, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Reddit, Facebook and TikTok.

Until then, all of us at Altfuture wish you a merry Christmas and happy holidays!

-Slobodan

Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on June 01, 2023, 11:37:02 PM
Simulator - 30 days to go!
Thu, 1 June 2023

Hi everyone!

For posts like these, usually there's a couple days of preparation. Today's post, however, is rather improvised, as everyone on our small team has been extremely busy with the upcoming release. There's a lot going on, and we wanted to give you a very quick update.


(https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images//27746033/3faca76e70ae139d8414fe0d890ceaf8c2acc9fb.png)

We're 30 days away from the definitive release date of Simulator, a big free update to the game. We're doing our best to have the update as complete as possible on that day. I'm sure something will not be entirely finished (there always is), but that's okay – we'll have a number of small updates following the release, to compensate for that. It's a huge release, after all.

Due to intense involvement with the development and the business side of things, I haven't been able to work on short videos at all this month, unfortunately. However, someone outside of Altfuture but very dear to us will hopefully satisfy your needs – with an episodic long-form video coverage of Simulator coming soon. Stay tuned!

(https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images//27746033/dbddf2b58c3e453d02fd21a6cba22d571309cfed.png)

In the past month we've made big strides on finishing the VR side of things and the tutorial. They're not done yet, but are close to the final stages. We've done a lot of further work on the steam engines and preparations for the new translators. As always, we've also been fixing a load of bugs, caught by our closed beta team, who had been also doing an amazing job translating Derail Valley to nine languages.

Today we're admitting dozens more people to the closed beta. The carefully chosen group will help us do the translations for 15 more languages and help us get VR calibration right for various types of headsets and controllers out there.

(https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images//27746033/64ded401f9975e25a1b59f7aea953562f04bf9e7.png)

As the days get increasingly hectic, this may be the last you hear from us until the release. Soon you should start seeing new marketing material on our site, store fronts and social media pages. A new trailer will be be made and shown on the release day.

That's all for now! If you have any questions, please comment on this post and I'll try to reply to all. Thank you for your time!

-Slobodan
 

Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on July 02, 2023, 12:07:13 AM
Derail Valley: Simulator – Available Now!
Sat, July 1, 2023

(https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images/27746033/075bb1138493e380c32d745f2c1548fb8066b11c.png)

It's finally here! Three years since development on it started, we're pleased to announce the Simulator major update has just been released – along with a brand new trailer:

https://youtu.be/Htm2HD91Lmk


If you already have Derail Valley in your Steam library, it will be automatically downloaded. When you start the game your last save from the previous version will automatically convert to the new format and location used by Simulator. You'll then be able to continue from there, or start new sessions in the main menu – up to you!


What's new?

We've made this listing so you can see what's new and what's coming soon:

(https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//27746033/9b855df86322a598ae54491cf0281127c715e413.jpg)

(https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//27746033/bbc8156ddaa242a4ee9323e512c19cac8c75bfe9.jpg)

(https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//27746033/d3a1b0999910867aba15ed25ed0dae77de136a62.jpg)


For an early coverage of the new additions, check out Squirrel's exclusive preview videos https://www.youtube.com/@squirrel/videos ! Some examples:


https://youtu.be/976I6nF4tIw

https://youtu.be/FY6vYX3cmq4

https://youtu.be/aiGYzlmzoGU


What's missing?

Being an enormous update, a few things remain to be done. These are notably the S060 locomotive, DE6 slug, Steam Deck input layout (it does work otherwise), RailDriver support, and a couple more smaller things. Rest assured that the mentioned two vehicles will be added very soon, in a couple of weeks.


Any news on the new steam engine simulation and VR?

We've been making core changes to both until recently, and are happy to say that they are finished. The update features the all new S282 steam locomotive experience, as well as dynamic VR hands that naturally interact with controls and items. Support for the Pico 4 headset has also been added.

(https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//27746033/485a879779d420ce0c21108aef766d7c21582adf.png)


Localization:

The update introduces 25 new languages to the game, translated by a carefully selected dedicated group of players. Apart from providing a good spirit and feedback, our translation team handled tens of thousands of words per language, and have put a lot of care into making it all fit nicely and using proper technical terms. They're absolute heroes!

We've marked the languages that we think the game is sufficiently translated to as supported on the store page itself. The rest are also available to choose from in the game, with an UI scoring element representing their completion level. Please let us know, and our translation team, how you like the translations and we'll further update the statuses.

Please bear in mind that since the tutorial translations needed to be done at the very end (today, also barring many bugs we've just resolved), they are also the least complete. Don't worry though, the translations will continue being improved after the release.

(https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//27746033/72c495fc0ffa23efdd4c9fca603d006666714cbb.png)


What happens with mods?

If you've been using mods, please note that you should to do a clean install of the game. If your save file was modded, it may not convert well – it depends. Most, if not all pre-Simulator mods will no longer work with Derail Valley and will have to be updated by the community in the coming weeks and months, to become functional again. Some of that effort is already ongoing.


What's next?

For the next few days and weeks we'll make frequent updates, fixing all the immediate issues as they arise, as well as finishing up the two vehicles and a few more things. Then we'll drop the pace a little and take a well deserved rest. For the more long-term plans, please see our derailvalley.com/future page.

(https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//27746033/1021b7ef524ab01592ccdeb8ee54289c7844b69d.png)


We hope you'll enjoy the new Derail Valley and where it's headed, and we're looking forward to seeing your reactions in posts, reviews, videos and other media!

Thank you!

-Altfuture

Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on July 16, 2023, 12:29:30 AM
Build #94 - RAM Usage, UI selection, VR buttons & more fixes!
Sat, 15 July 2023

(https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/27746033/075bb1138493e380c32d745f2c1548fb8066b11c.png)

Hi everyone!

It's great to finally talk to you from the other side of the Simulator update!


First of all, thank you all for the enormous amount of feedback, support and help following the release date! We read all your messages, and are adjusting our plans accordingly, even if sometimes we can't reply.

The 94% rating of Derail Valley and the 2600 simultaneous players peak at launch have topped all the current train driving sims on the market. Given our very humble beginnings, this really is the dream come true. The update release has been a great success so far, and we're hyped to bring you a lot more content and features to Derail Valley in the future!

(https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images//27746033/1021b7ef524ab01592ccdeb8ee54289c7844b69d.png)

Given the size of the update, naturally it didn't come without some issues. We'll be addressing them in the next couple of months. Today, we've released the first proper patch in the series of important fixes. Due to priority shuffling no new vehicles were added just yet, but the upcoming S060 steam locomotive is receiving final touches and will be released by the end of next week.

Changelog:

Stability

    RAM usage optimization
        Drastically reduced the buildup of RAM usage from traveling around
        Should help alleviate many crashes
    Slight FPS improvements
        Drastically optimized the rendering of lit windows at night (affects low-end PCs)
        Fixed brake sound systems being active on stationary and distant trains
        Simplified some checks in the audio playback system
        Optimized the Doppler effect system
        Fixed terrains out of view being able to cause lag
        Fixed text rendering being able to cause stutter in certain situations

UX NonVR

    Fixed UI receiving unwanted input from unsupported controllers
        This may have affected your language selection screen, save manager, etc.
    Fixed being unable to save custom key bindings in-game
        Go to Settings > Advanced page
        Click “Remap Keyboard Controls” to open the preferences.ini file
        Make changes to key controls, save the file, close the window
        Back in the game click the “Update Keyboard Controls” button
    Fixed RMB zoom not working while space-to-dismiss tutorial prompts are on
    Fixed a bug with the bad coupler selection when using the Coupling UI panel
    Fixed escape button not working in pause menu if closed by [X] without applying first
    Made inventory slots 11 and 12 mappable (default keys - and = on QWERTY)
    Temporarily allowed Keyboard Driving in Realistic difficulty mode
        Will be restricted to being in cab only when finished

UX VR

    Fixed being unable to go past the “turn around” step in career tutorial on Reverb G2
    Fixed tutorial not addressing the needed VR input actions correctly, on certain controllers
    Fixed held items being offset for certain platforms/controllers, especially on Oculus SDK
    Disabled automatic touch interaction with buttons
        This will be vastly improved and added back as a setting in a later build
    Fixed interaction with most buttons being Grip instead of Trigger

Train Simulation

    Reduced S282 resource consumption (coal, water) by 20%
    Reduced S282 blower power and steam consumption by 75%
        Mostly noticeable with the startup time
    Increased S282 coal consumption when the fire is lacking air
        Indicated by dark chimney smoke
    Increased S282 indicated firebox temperature at low combustion rate
    Enabled body and wheels damage on S282B (Tender)
    Drastically reduced startup costs on DM3 and DH4
    Fixed S282 bad brake gauge needle alignment
    Fixed S282 chimney smoke clipping through the model
    Fixed the crown sheet sizzling sound continuing to play after boiler explosion

Misc

    Added “Retrieve all items” button to Lost & Found sheds
        Pressing this button will retrieve all player-owned items from around the world
        It will not retrieve items that are already in your inventory
        Uses temporary art, to be improved
    Fixed certain cases where items would get lost when left on rail vehicles
    Fixed external camera being able to break the game when reaching too high altitude
    Fixed the DE2 quick tutorial turning on by default
    Fixed the possible career tutorial softlock at the “Handbrake release” step
    Fixed the possible career tutorial softlock at the initial “Park the locomotive” step
    Fixed “Manual servi” text being cut off on career manager
    Fixed Boombox audio stuck to the player while away, if locked to an inventory slot
    Fixed order validator in military offices having stuck papers and a bugged name position
    Changed the order of the VR category button in settings
    Updated some localization texts (work-in-progress)


Have fun and see you soon with another small update!

Title: Re: Derail Valley
Post by: Asid on November 11, 2023, 12:05:09 AM
Build 97 - Farm animals, stock car, VR mouse mode, major bug fixes & more!
Fri, 10 November 2023

(https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images/27746033/41016e56dc5008779c274cde9aaa62114b0bfdd4.png)

Hey everyone! We've just released a massive update, bringing numerous new features and bug fixes to Derail Valley.


Domestic animals & new cars

To start off, we've added livestock, which can be found at the Farm industry. The animals are lively, moving around, making noises, and just generally contributing to the countryside atmosphere. Some of the smaller critters may even be seen crossing the tracks, but not to worry – they are immune to trains.

(https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//27746033/eae8fc61668a817cf91b031ded02f6d26126a64b.png)

(https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//27746033/4ce35f5eab4bc2403d23f872e74f561ab9cf1845.png)

Along with the animals, we've added new types of cars and cargo to the game. The stock car type, pictured above, is now used to transport animals, which are visible inside and can even be heard reacting to physics forces and their health level. Another new vehicle is the short variant of the tank car, pictured below, used for milk transport.

(https://clan.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/images//27746033/aa82128e51df6dc70dda845d8029f93db3528fb4.png)

Boxcars have been repurposed, now carrying new cargo types such as eggs, fruits and vegetables, but also wool and cotton, which now go to the Goods Factory. Hoppers too have been given a new cargo type – the sunflower seeds.

Read on: https://steamcommunity.com/games/588030/announcements/detail/3735231811752196491