Railworks America

So a free-lanced simulator/arcade game mix ran by a small dev-team out of Serbia is making a massive comeback in May.

Derail Valley is in it's own little world as far as train sims go.

VR compatible fictional world, fictional locos and rollingstock (with a large resemblance to eastern European stock) with a working economy and of course, try not to derail... or worse.

It has a similar walking around open world type thing that Run8/TSW both have.

It walks a fine line between simulator and arcade so not everything is exactly to real life, but it's a fun little game and a different perspective from the pure simulators, and it does have a modding community that's slowly growing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_XCdfc-Exk

One of my favorite VR experiences.

The 1:1 scale of VR really provides an added dimensions, as does the need to put your hands on every control etc. Much like transitioning from PC flying to real-world flying (a major shock the first time), the opportunity to actually be 'in the cab' is one of the real delights of Derail.

It also really helps one appreciate the size and challenges of running a locomotive.

I look forward to the updated version.

KevinB

Totally agree, this is a very fine game. DerailValley has all the markings of a gem-to-be. Even the current stable release version is a blast! It is obviously an early access title with some hard to miss rough edges and issues, but even so it's already a solid and playable game with huge potential. And fun, too! I don't have VR equipment but even without it the feeling of "being there" is quite believable.

Really looking forward to Overhauled.

Cheers
Michael

Like it too, hopefully it will be a bit more realistic in the latest incarnation.

I have a Vive VR headset, and it gives a nice immersion experience with everything rendered in 3D all around you.

I know this post is around a week old, but I am a tiny bit curious about this game.

Is it intended to be front line train simulation software like TS/Trainz?

There was a new train sim program announced years ago by a company I can't remember the name of.

Will there be an editor, and ability to create assets for the sim?

Is the company new, or well established?

It doesn't look to use UE4 (which is not a bad thing if it is the case).

SAR704 wrote:

-it's not a complete simulator but it's somewhere in between, the locomotives are fictional but based on real ones. The dev team is based out of Serbia so their world is eastern European/export American stuff. The big things for them are the VR experience (which I personally don't have and don't foresee getting anytime soon), and a working economy where you take jobs to various places and with the money you earn you can afford to refill your locomotives fuel/water or buy things like the shunter's remote control, more powerful locomotive, or license to handle longer trains and more risky cargo. Lastly, the ability to horribly wreck and have a hefty fine to pay.

-they're working on mod support but already several people are figuring out how to make and port mods into the game. People have made all sorts of reskins, some have experimented and successfully ported in a custom locomotive model, but just about every mod is anticipated to no longer work when the new update comes out. The gist of their discord announcements is effectively this like a version 2 of the base game, a complete "overhaul" to much of the internals.

-the company is relatively new, they made a game called Switchcars that's on steam a while ago. I'm not all that familiar with it.

-you're right, it doesn't use UE4, it runs on Unity. Maybe some of you more informed modders might know a thing or 2 about it, but I've just been following the discord.

Quick disclaimer: I was not in the beta test for Overhauled nor did I receive any inside information so nobody violated their NDA here.

Bumping up an old thread...

Derail Valley has improved a lot with the Overhauled Patch -- and I absolutely love it!

The game isn't the most realistic train simulator on the market, nor does it aim to be if I'm not mistaken, but to me it definitely is the most entertaining train sim currently available. The world and game play is well thought out and beautifully created, the trains are fun, feel nicely solid and heavy, and can even be quite challenging to operate.

For me personally, the most rewarding aspect of the game are the switching duties, which get procedurally generated while you're playing the game (new jobs get created from the cars you've dropped off in an earlier task).

Another unique feature (for a train sim) is that the game doesn't have a main menu -- everything you do, be it choosing which locomotive to run today, servicing or repairing it, picking a job to run, or clearing up the mess and paying the fees for repairs after a derailment -- it all happens directly in 1st person perspective in the game world. There are no scenarios or missions, instead it's all one big continuous adventure.

More info here: http://www.derailvalley.com/
Some mods are available on https://www.nexusmods.com/derailvalley (though not all of them have been updated for the latest patch yet)

(And no, I'm not affiliated with the devs. I just really like this game.)

I like it too, made for VR and quite playable despite the headset and wands in your hands.

Gameplay still a bit quirky though, and trackwork not very forgiving in some place.

It has many gameplay and business elements so lacking in TSW ...

Derail Valley is awesome. Even if you strongly prefer North American-themed content, I suggest picking it up.

I just watched the trailer.
It does look awesome.
I don't think it will sell well in Lac Megantic though...

Chacal wrote:I just watched the trailer.
It does look awesome.
I don't think it will sell well in Lac Megantic though...

LOL, GTA-V probably doesn't sit well with most downtown big city dwellers because it reminds them of their daily dangers, yet is hugely popular.

I picked up Derail Valley this weekend. It's a fun play. As mentioned above, probably not the best choice if you're looking for a true train sim, but I like the 1st person continuous game play along with business aspect incorporated into the game. The developers are actively refining the game, and it seems to have quite the following based on their Discord. And... the developers have made their development road map available for public viewing. This game gets a thumbs up / no regrets purchase rating from me.