Hi all,

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


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.


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


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


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

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:


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.


- 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.


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

Hi everyone, we have some exciting changes today!


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.




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.




- 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!


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

Hey all! Quick update this time.

As some you noticed, as of update #70 sometimes you'd not be able to go through tunnels. This build should fix that. Have fun!


World:

- Attempted fix for not being able to go through tunnels

Hi everyone,

We have several notable fixes today!




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.



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


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.


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.


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.


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.


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)

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!


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)

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:


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.


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.


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:


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

Hi everyone,

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


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.



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.


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.


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.



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.


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.


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!

Hey all,

We've got several controls-related fixes today!


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.


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.


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.


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!

Hi all,


We've completely reworked the way tracks are generated and rendered. They are now generated in real-time, in-game.

This brings many improvements such as significantly smaller build size (60% reduction), much faster build-making process and notable optimizations with all railways further than 350m being drawn with a simpler model, as well as GPU instanced rendering.

In future this change will allow us to further improve performance, dynamically change tracks in real-time and eventually make world mod support, if we reach that goal.


We streamlined many job-related issues with a very simple improvement that involves how players take jobs - by adding Job Overviews.

When you go to a station office, on a desk you'll find Job Overviews. Rather than this paper being the job, it only serves as an overview. Insert it to a job validator to accept it and only then it will print out a full-detailed Job Booklet. You can then validate this booklet afterwards, to print out a Job Report, like before.

This change eliminates numerous sources of confusion among new players, such as not knowing how to take a job, whether Job Report is a main booklet to take, or being unaware of when job timer begins ticking (now it starts when you explicitly accept the job). Job Overview system also prevents cheating (placing cars where they should be before accepting job), and might fix stuttering when nearing stations, due to having less pages to render.


There are a few more notable changes:

• NonVR teleport console command
  
• Selecting Seated VR mode now automatically recenters play area
  
• Further improved WMR controls
  
• Saving locomotion type in VR (e.g. smooth)*

*Warning: VR users who play using smooth locomotion - note that due to a bug, loading the game with smooth locomotion setting saved will spawn you under the world in this build. You will need to respawn if this happens. Until we fix this in tomorrow's update, it's best if you don't leave the game with smoothing locomotion turned on, to avoid this problem.


We decided we'll be moving video updates to weekly instead of per build, so that we can be more agile with major updates. You can expect this week's updates to be covered next Saturday. This way weekly video updates will be able to include more stuff in the future, such as development shots, community highlights, etc. They will also provide update information to players who weren't able to follow updates during workdays.


Railway rework:

- Railway is now generated in real-time, as you move around the game world
- Greatly optimized railway meshes outside of 350m radius from the player
- Optimized generation & rendering (Unity Job System; GPU instancing)
- Reduced build size 60% (from 10.6GB to 4.25GB)
- Allows major future improvements (reduced stuttering, in-game changing, better world-editing)

Job system:

- Reworked job taking
\ Stations now spawn Job Overviews
\ Job Overview is a single-page item, describing job essentials
\ Insert Job Overview in Job Validator to accept job
\ Job Validator will then print out an actual Job Booklet
\ Last page/step of Job Booklet says to validate job to complete it
\ Possible stutter improvement when nearing stations, for some players

Controls:

- Locomotion type setting for VR users now gets saved
- Changing VR mode to Seated now automatically recenters play area
- WMR improvements:
\ Fixed the WMR controllers sometimes having unusual interactions with items
- Added pointer spheres to WMR controllers to always know where you are pointing
- Fixed occasional bug with controller being black and unresponsive

Item storage:

- Decreased range for item respawn to L&F shed to 200m

Misc:

- Added teleport console commands (nonVR ONLY):
\ Debug.TeleportToPoint; takes desired x and z world coords (0-16384)
\ Debug.TeleportToPointNormalized; takes normalized x and z world coords (0-1)
- Updated to Unity 2018.2.21f1

That's it for today, see you soon with another update!