Welcome to another developer blog for Train Life! As many of you know, Train Life is leaving Early Access on August 25th! In this blog, we wanted to talk a little bit about the things we have been working on leading up to the full release of the game and some insights that we may have not necessarily shared in the past. We’re going to be talking about everything from UX/UI design to the Orient Express. Let's dive right in!
The Player HUD
We tested the current HUD with the player-base and we came to the conclusion that there are a few changes that still need to be made. We re-organized practically all of the widgets and during that time, we made them look a little “lighter” Check out this screenshot.
Keep in mind, this isn’t the final version and could still be changed upon the full release of the game.
We added a visual to show the player when there will be the next speed limitation to give the player some more time to react to speed changes among other changes that we will share in the post release patch notes.
Please remember, it’s possible that the new HUD will be available to the player-base on the first major post-launch update.
Map Overhaul
The map overhaul is something that has been highly requested by the community and we agree, it was long overdue. We’re glad we can finally share some concepts that we are working on for the full release. Again, this could change upon the full release of the game so take everything with a grain of salt.
With the map overhaul, comes a variety of different changes. You’ll be able to manage your company's drivers, filter the icons that you see on the map where the player is going to be able to type in the icons and as well as the type of stations and stations with reserved contracts AFAIR, among other general improvements with the maps as a whole. We’re probably going to change the background a little bit and remove some signs.
MiniMap and GPS Improvements
The minimap is also going to get a facelift along with some more improvements. For example, the minimap will adjust its zoom levels based on the player's speed. We think this will be a welcome change that will help players be more aware of where they are without opening the full map. However, this doesn’t mean that the player won't have any control. The player will have manual control over the map zoom via new hotkey implementations. When it comes to the navigation in the minimap, performance and path finding have been significantly improved.
The Orient Express
The Orient Express is something that we’re super excited about players trying out. Just as a reminder, EVERYONE that took part in the Early Access version of Train Life, will get access to the Orient Express. However, not exactly at launch, but possibly about a month or two down the line during the first post-launch update. The Orient Express update will feature unique gameplay mechanics and a different HUD, to give players an experience playing Train Life like never before. We’re super excited, and we hope you are too!
Choo Choo, leaving EA!
We are super proud of our team and the community as a whole for sticking with us through thick and thin throughout the entirety of Train Lifes Early Access. The community has played a key part in helping us improve the game over time, and we’re ecstatic that EA is coming to an end. However, this doesn’t mean it’s the end of the road for Train Life. Post launch, we’re planning on bringing more DLC content, more maps, trains, bits and bobs to help make your experience playing Train Life as EPIC as possible. Early access was the tip of the iceberg, and now we can all rejoice and finally play the game.
Make sure to follow Simteract and Nacon on all social media channels including Twitch! This month, we are going to be at Gamescom in Cologne, Germany and we hope we can meet some of our fans there! If not, make sure to catch the livestream for Train Life where we will be doing some developer interviews on the launch of the game. We will share more information on when the livestream will happen towards the end of the month.
See you in 1.0 Engineers!
Mike
Simteract Community Manager
