Available for PC  – Win / Linux / Mac

You’ll receive a Steam key for Rail Route directly from the developers of the game.

❤️ Thanks for your great support!

Try RailRoute demo 0.5 – Automation Update!

Download (Windows)
Download (Linux)
Download (Mac)

Try newly released demo of Rail Route – a train dispatcher simulator! We call this release the Automation update.

How Automation Works

Automation allows a player set up his railway network so that works without his hands-on operations. So he can focus on expansion elsewhere.

The player can create automation rules that are triggered when certain event happens. Execution of a rule can set switches, lit manual semaphores, create routes from automated semaphores – and even reverse the train. These actions are recorded directly from the main game interface during automation rule set-up. The player just does what he wants to be replayed for each subsequent trains of the same contract.

Automation set-up is accessible by clicking Automation in Train Details panel.

Automation Research and Automation Events

Automation must be researched to appear in the game:

  • Station Automation allows triggering the automation when train arrives to the chosen station or when train departs from it. For stopping trains, the former happens when the train actually stops and the latter when it starts moving again. For passing trains, both happens when the train enters the station track (as it is the moment when station visit is logged).
  • Advanced Station Automation allows triggering the automation when some other train arrives to / departs from the chosen station – as it usually means that the common part of the network is already free.

Beside this, two other research items have something to do with automation:

  • Automatic Routing allows triggering the automation when train approaches an automated semaphore.
  • Auto-accept is automation of stations rather than trains – it allows accepting the trains in certain stations without user interaction. The player uses it mainly after all trains entering the stations have been automated and all conflicts resolved.

Open Points

Regarding automated semaphores:

  • Primary, maybe it is a confusing name because also manual semaphore can be automated, but it is not the same.
  • Secondary, we have seen elsewhere (Brno simulator) that commands to these semaphores are queued and executed once possible (the player can click a semaphore and a subsequent track while it is occupied; the route is created once free).

Regarding auto-accpet: maybe it should be a special automation entry on the contract level (beside other automations), not a general setting for the whole station.

All Apologies

We spent quite a lot of time developing this update and the release cycle seems to spin down a bit. We will try to release more often. The next things to do are changes in contract mechanics. We will keep you updated!

The main pain was indeed the graphics / visual art. Rail Route was born with its schematic view – and we do not want to discard it – but it is difficult to be visually pleasant, mainly because it is not proportional in x versus y axis. We contracted the artists and have seen attempts to put real-world objects into it, but without astonishing success (without any success at all, I would say). So the player keeps seeing just lines there.

Another issue was and still is the Save & Load. We believe and hope the player will not face any major failure, but it forced us to re-factor several times to make it work.

Quite Different Game…

We found out that Rail Route can be quite a different game after Automation Update. We have had fun automating initial set of trains between Dejvice and Bubny before expanding further. It creates a high-level progress in the game that can be seen from regional perspective – the player has some fully automated regions, a region where automation works are in progress, maybe a region under development (building, accepting contracts) and terra incognita where no rails are laid yet.

The good thing is that his growing network does not impose increased operations (inherently). Fully automated regions work as a money machine as well.

Feedback

We have solved nearly all your feedback (and the rest is in the backlog).  So, try out newest demo and share your own opinion! Any feedback will be rewarded with warm words.

Download (Windows)
Download (Linux)
Download (Mac)

Note: We are providing builds also for Linux and Mac. We did not test these platforms properly. If you encounter some problems, feel free to contact us.

Available for PC  – Win / Linux / Mac

You’ll receive a Steam key for Rail Route directly from the developers of the game.

❤️ Thanks for your great support!

By Published On: March 27th, 20197 Comments

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7 Comments

  1. vandorr 27. 03. 2019 at 10.18 - Reply

    My Contract train not disapper from a station.
    Am I missing something?
    https://imgur.com/a/8dor9kf

    Could you create a Discord Server? It would be nice to speak with you directly 🙂

    • angel 27. 03. 2019 at 11.18 - Reply

      Sure we have! I wanted to make it official in a few days but you are welcome to be the very first there 😉
      https://discord.gg/avBjPqT

    • angel 27. 03. 2019 at 11.25 - Reply

      That situation is quiet a tricky and we probably need to clarify it to be more understandable.
      The train has ended in that station and has a status: “waiting for the contract to reuse it”

      When you have “spare” trains along the board, random contracts can reuse it. Just accept another contract that start in Bubny station. In meantime, you can purchase another platform and send other trains there.

      We will address this probably in the next update and we will try to clarify it. There will be also shunting that can be used to move this spare trains away from the platforms.

  2. angel 27. 03. 2019 at 13.55 - Reply

    HOTFIX1: https://railroute.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/railroute-win-0.5.1.zip
    – fixed issue when saving the game

  3. […] always wanted the automation to be a crucial part of our train dispatcher simulator game. And when we made first implementation, we were quite happy about how it was introducing the new ways the game can be played. Although we […]

  4. Tony Harrison 04. 11. 2021 at 14.35 - Reply

    I have been attempting to purchase RailRoute from Steam but without success. I have serious doubts about this company.
    As far as I can remember I have NEVER dealt with Steam – BUT they have two visa card numbers (both which I have cancelled many months ago) which they are saying are locked, correctly so !
    But they then ask for a password which I Have never had – this prevents me purchasing RailRoute
    Any other suggestions as to how I can purchase RailRoute from some other location
    Regards
    Tony Harrison

    • angel 09. 11. 2021 at 21.39 - Reply

      Sorry tony, we are not selling anywhere else than Steam at the moment. We maybe will release on different stores in the future, but I don’t have any possible date.

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