Distributrains

A really fun alternative to OpenTTD! Has many elements that reminds one of its inspiration, but does add new additions to the formula to keep it unique and worth playing even if you love OpenTTD and want a quicker, more focused experience! (I was a tester so I received it for free)

I love playing as an upper manager in multiplayer and not actually have to do anything. I also have no idea how to play, so that tracks.

Quite a fun simulation/management game, with a fair challenge, and some intense real-time gameplay in its challenge mode. Different win conditions and other achievements gives the game some replayability. The game allows you to build a nice train network, and provides a fair challenge by requiring you to set up enough infrastructure to not run out of resources; I myself lost a fair few times to [spoiler]running out of fuel[/spoiler] before securing my first win. The game includes some win conditions, which works well to provide an ending to your train network. The game also provides a challenge mode, which has more strict winning and losing conditions, but most importantly do not allow you to do anything while the game is paused. This makes a big part of its challenge how fast you can set up your train network, and how you can prioritise what is most important to set up first.

Naturally, this will get compared to OpenTDD. It's very familiar if you've played OpenTTD before (you can get a similar experience with the city builder and firs/xis newgrfs). Signal direction indicators are fantastic QoL. I also like managing the electrical demand and import/exports at the docks. The absence of money is a little unsatisfying but lets you focus solely on efficient lines rather than route distance. The 'rougelike' element only adds RNG and is superficially deep at most. It feels like it's just there to screw you over or waste your time. Sometimes the map can generate with most of your starting resources in mountains, making it incredibly difficult, so you might as well exit and regenerate the map until you get a better start. You end up building the same supply chains every game, so the card system only affects which order you build them in.

a pretty good train game, like openTTD but with a much more concrete challenge and goal.

Всегда нравилось наблюдать за тем, как во всякие OpenTTD и OpenLoco играют люди и строят там навороченные сети железных дорог, но обе эти игры по разным причинам мне не понравились. В ОпенТТД нету какой-то особой цели, кроме как строить дороги, чтобы росли города, какая-то абстрактная тема, к тому же там необходимо помимо поездов делать ещё и автобусные сети, передача между частями города ресурсов та ещё дрочь, либо нужно делать костыли в виде пристройки к станции остановок для расширения охвата, в общем, игра очень красивая, но какая-то бесцельность в ней. В ОпенЛоко просто мегастарая система прокладки путей, приходится от каждого тайла с дорогой добавлять продолжение пути, плюс опять же помимо поездов другие виды транспорта нужны, ещё и боты срут постоянно, мешая строить дороги, пытаешься красиво всё сделать, пройти челленджи, а боты тебе все твои станции перекрывают и т.д., к тому же вылетает периодически. А тут есть победные условия, есть контракты, которые нужно выполнять, то есть, цели какие-то промежуточные и конечные, графика и способ постройки дорог аналогичен ОпенТТД, что достаточно приятно для того рода игры, хотя и бывают иногда трудности с тем, как соединить дороги на разных уровнях. Прикольная система с репутацией за которую можно покупать новые здания и разные поезда новые, чертежи. Пока не знаю, насколько много контента я увидел, но всё мне нравится. Если сюда ещё будут добавлять новый контент, то вообще классно. Интересно, как выглядит мультиплеер, пока его не тестировал. Резюмируя, если вы искали игру только про менеджмент поездов, где основной задачей является доставка грузов только поездами между разными точками карты, развитие индустрии, но без элементов факторио, а чисто локомотивной тягой, то это как раз та игра. Жду очень обновлений, возможно поддержки модов и прочих прелестей.

Extremely cute and well-done train logistics game. Never played anything like it before. Absolutely worth a try if you're into this sort of thing. It does have a bit of a learning curve and there are a few unintuitive things. The game itself is sort of a cross between a co-op economic RTS and a automation/logistics game with roguelike elements. Other logistics games always have this problem where once I reach a certain scale, it starts to become a slog to really do anything because of how large and complicated the existing system is. This game actually solves that problem beautifully by giving you a set deadline and a narrowly scoped objective. So yeah, spaghetti up however you like, just so long as you hit that deadline. Then you can start over again from scratch and try something new in the next game. It does a great job of keeping you in that exciting early build & growth stage, where every new improvement you add to the system grants you significant gains which you're excited to leverage later. The games tend to wrap up right about when it starts to slow down and I start feeling like there's not a lot more I really want to improve or untangle. Normal mode is rather low pressure, very good for getting your bearings. To new players, I'd recommend prioritizing your export contracts in the early game so you can start farming rep, which you will need to continue expanding. Build out a lopsided and import-reliant supply chain at first if you need to, then round things out once you have an income. Challenge mode is genuinely challenging and forces you to value your attention and multitasking ability. You can pause to think, but you can't take any actions while paused. Having a teammate to co-op with you helps immensely, as you can both prioritize setting up different logistics chains at the same time. If you have even a passing interest in trains or logistics games, buy it!!! Give it a couple of hours and play the scenarios (tutorials) first and you won't be disappointed.

I think this is a fantastic game. I see a lot of low effort games all over Steam, and this one immediately caught my eye. It's clear a lot of work and love was put into this game from its design to its aesthetic. To me, it just pops. Lots of games come out these days half-baked, or are entirely AI gen low effort cash grabs, and Distributrains just shows up one day at a nice price, fully formed and polished. It's heavily reminiscent of Transport Tycoon Deluxe except in 3D, if you know how to place rails, signals, and manage trains in that game you'll feel right at home. This one can be played cooperative or single-player, with multiple players managing the same railways together (you see their cursors moving around the map as they work). There are increasing demands for resources, goals constantly shift, more production means more rails which means going back and rethinking your earlier work as you expand out. And then there's the random card system: You get bonus cards which allow you to get needed imports or industrial expansions, even a load of new train or car blueprints to give you strategic help. And you also have to support the local town and keep it growing and its citizens happy. My friend and I finally got to play together for a few hours in multiplayer today and except for some minor server hiccups, it was rock solid and just very chill and entertaining. I very much recommend this game (not to train enthusiasts because I'm not one) because it's just very well done and very satisfying to play. I bought 4 copies so far to give the gift of trains, it's a nice price and there is a *lot* of game here. Distributrains needs a lot more love!

Fun train game

Genuinely underrated game. Don't write it off as just an OpenTTD clone, this is focus built around a small area and scaling up production in it.