Railroader

Yes i recommend this game even though i refunded it. The game is fun, but i already own Derail Valley, and while the two games arent identical, they are similar enough for me to not find the same amount of value in this game as others do. The game is well made, and if i didnt already own Derail Valley, i'd be putting a lot of hours into this one. i'm writing this review because i want to support the devs and the work they are doing, even though the game isnt for me.

Literally life sized train set money making autism game. and i love it, 10/10, great graphics, great train sounds, there are also tons of mods for this game. plus it is multiplayer, so you and your friends can do train stuff together too

So I like trains. Not to the point where I can be bothered to learn their names, or head out to stations and watch them go in/out etc... but I have always wanted my own train set. Had one when I was a kid, but that was more my dads than mine. Today, I just don't have the room to build one, so I've had the likes of transport fever 2 to satisfy that "itch". Railroader was one of those games that sat on my wishlist for a while. I wasn't really sure if I wanted to commit to the cost. I've bought a few train games in the past and lost interest pretty quickly. Railroader however is an absolute gem! You'll start off going through the tutorial which shows you how to manually operate your train, but its not long before you are shown how to operate them from above. Once that happened, and i'd learnt how to make my own switch lists, I was absolutely in my element! Each morning at 6am(in-game) I have a whole bunch of new cars added to my exchange, and i'll easily spend 3/4 hours moving them about, bringing full/empty cars back.. supplying the mills with logs/pulp wood, as well as ship passengers between the stations. So far I only have 3 trains, and I haven't unlocked all the map or signals, but I already have lots to do each day. Basically if you're like me, and have always wanted a trainset.. scroll up, click add to cart, and enjoy. There's a slight learning curve, but it's well worth it.

Nice every 10 years a game manages to get it right; some perfect blend.. where something simple turns addictive.. this game manages to do that; like a work of art. Game Design for connaisseurs. I love every detail of this one… you start to live in this valley, know every bend, hate certain sections, forgetting a handbrake in a copper mine in Alarka… waiting for updates is excruciating because you know it will be a good. This game is an expensive wine in some small cellar somewhere shred by wine lovers. I sing the highest praise for this designer. I bow to thee… take your time. Go slow. And make this better. I will wait… even in Long Access

I'm hesitant to not recommend this, because aspects of it are great... but it's suffering from two glaring issues in my opinion... The first and most important is that there's too much to do. There's a lot of railroad to expand into but the amount of busywork just becomes ridiculous. After playing for some hours I had no desire to open up more track because, as much as I'd have liked to have seen the new areas, I could tell the amount of work I'd have to do would just be too much. There needs to be a way of automating the movements or massively reducing your input so you can take on more and more of the railroad while handing over control to the computer. Perhaps a mechanism for hiring drivers. I don't know if this is intended to come later, but it can't come soon enough. The second, much smaller issue, is that the world feels dead. There's some dreadful attempt at bird song, but other than that and the locos, no sound at all. There's also no movement of anything to make the world feel alive, like people or cars or birds, wildlife - animation of other drivers. There is a day/night cycle and some changing weather, but otherwise the world is very sterile. I do understand this is early access, but it's been that way for some time and I feel more effort should have been put into these issues by now. I will keep the game installed and perhaps play from time to time. If the above improvements come, I'm sure I'll enjoy the game much more and probably recommend it. I do think if you just want to immerse yourself in railway operations you might not care and enjoy anyway - and the massive amount of positive reviews proves that... but for other players, would enjoy railways, but aren't obsessed by them, and want a nicely evolving game with a railway theme, this is not yet developed enough to flow nicely into mid - end game.

Very good game if I do so say myself! Being that I've lived in North Carolina most of my life and having a strong connection to the Southern Railway system (no I haven't worked for them but I still like them) this game certainly fits very well into my shelf of games that I use. Being that I run a server and see many players come and go, and also playing this game makes me realize some things it lacks, lets get right into the pros and cons! Part I: The Good Variety of equipment: Having played over 200 hours by this time I've certainly noticed the abundance of rolling stock in game, you've got everything from before the turn of the 20th century all the way up to the diesel age! Considering that I run a server on the Murphy Branch (what this game is based off of, more on that later) set in 1968, those diesels come in handy a bit, but I'll discuss those in a moment. The steam locomotives are excellently detailed, with the cabs having all the controls that a person could need to operate a locomotive with. The outsides are greatly detailed too, every puff of smoke, every pound of coal from the coal loaders, every ounce of water from the water spout, details details and more details! The diesels though, my goodness aren't those something! Cabs detailed with the control stand, the handbrake varies depending on what locomotive you buy (steam locomotives the handbrake I've usually found on the tender? Correct me if I'm wrong on that. The diesels vary, the GP and SD have it near the rear that I've found, while the SW1 has it in the cab near the door. And on the topic of the SW1, I never knew they used a lever for activating the bell on them, very nice detail!) Now lets get on to the next topic. Trackage Layout: Though I'm not sure what the actual historical track layout for the Murphy Branch was, I did look at the current branch as it looks with the GSMR/BRS now owning the trackage from Sylva west, and it's actually very accurate! Now of course as I've heard the developers say, the Alarka Branch and Robinson Gap were added either because players requested such or because it was close, but it's apparent those didn't exist, but it sure adds a bit more purpose to Alarka Junction when you have it! In any case, I like the Murphy Branch, I like the game, they go hand in hand, no other context needed! Now why don't we get on to the final pro of Part I. Attention to detail: The amount of detail I find in this game from the developers is unlike any game I've played before. I used to play Railroads Online a lot and this, in my mind, surpasses the detail of it by a good deal (though I still think both games are good in their own ways, of course) Every tunnel, bridge, industry, and locomotive looks like it was made with extreme care and consideration for how it was built in real life. Now lets get on to the next of this 3 part section, the cons. Part II: The Cons Now sure, some of you might think about this section "Why? This game is basically the finest thing to have been brought to Steam." Well in some places, it's not, so I'd like to give some of my honest opinion! Equipment Shortage: Okay, let me be very honest, this game has an abundance of railcars, but that doesn't mean it has all of them. Now sorry if I'm sounding like a bone picker, but in my mind the only real places the game lacks are diesels and passenger equipment. Sure, steam was still at large by when this game is set, the transition era of the 1940s and 1950s, but diesels were rapidly coming into play. To give an example, the Southern Railway (whom owned the Murphy Branch) was already beginning Dieselization fairly early, in 1941, by 1953 the last steam engine was off the Southern's roster (at least until the steam program started, but we're talking regular mainline service here) So I asked the group I play with on this game what diesels that could be possible candidates, and the top picks were the RS-1 and RS-3, RSD-12, GP18, and SD24. Now sure, there's probably mods for all of these, but we were thinking that maybe these could be added into the game someday. Passenger equipment there is a mod for, but let me go into what my group thought could be added. Parlor Cars (basically the game's observation car but with fancier chairs) Diner Cars (where passengers go to get meals onboard) Sleeping Cars (self explanatory) streamlined cars (probably uncommon on a branchline, but not impossible) And there is also a mod for the Budd Rail Diesel Car (RDC) which was an aluminum branchline passenger car with a motor strapped on top of it. Again, there are mods for some of these, but we thought they could be added into the game someday. Anyways, other than that I can't really think of any other cons. Put your thoughts as a comment to share! Part III: Conclusion The game was very well thought out by the developers. I'm very glad they could put this game out on Steam for all of the rail enthusiasts and locomotive engineers alike. Very good locomotives, very good rolling stock, especially good details, and although it needs a little bit of work in some areas, it's a very grand representation of Southern Railway's Murphy Branch during the Transition Era. And what is my honest opinion of owning it? I think it's a grand edition to my shelf of games. And before I end this review, be sure to check out the many different servers, as there are a lot of great people in this community that you can certainly make friends with and make some great operations with others. Thank you for reading!

If you want the experience of what it is like to be a conductor or engineer this game is for you. I was a conductor with Union Pacific for 15 years and I have to say this game is pretty realistic when it comes to the realism of switching operations and how to spot and pull customers orders. What I like about the game is that you can customize just how real you want to play or just want to casually switch depending on your preference. Many people play with mods, but the vanilla game itself is the way to go if you want the real experience of being a railroader. Remember this review is from someone who spent a decade and a half doing this job. Developers: Keep up the great work. I will never mod this game and look forward on the progress of this game. Thank you for your dedication.

after 150hrs of playing railroader here are my thoughts, Railroader is a game with massive potential only held back by the contraints of its small but dedicated dev team. Railroader is not another train simulator, Railroader is a tycoon manager with train driving mini games in between,with the perfect backdrop of "transition era" america. Within my 150 hrs played I have never once been bored or felt I had nothing left to do, the grind is hard but extremely rewarding, there is no better feeling then spending a few sessions grinding for a new powerful locomotive then seeing it in your interchange. I am extremely excited for the future of railroader, each update gets me more excited then the last. Railroader is not a perfect game, occasional sound glitches, visual bugs, a lack of buildings and roads in "built up" areas, but for a game that is not a triple A title, its as closer then you could ask to perfect, at least in my eyes. for every complaint I may have had, lack of locomotive options, customization, scenery, trackage etc, the community around this game has a mod to improve on this already amazing product. Over all Railroader is a game that I foresee growing into something simply amazing in the next while, a game with passionate devs, and fans. After 150 hrs, I'm ready for the next 150.

I should probably state before the review that I did thoroughly enjoy most of the time I've spent in Railroader. Don't get me wrong, I loathe parts of it (the majority in fact). But it does have some redeeming aspects. So don't take this as: "it sucks completely." Just: "it needs a lot of work." PROS: 1. Stellar Models. I have never seen such high quality locomotive models in an indie game before. From the tiny details of the rivets, to the amount of fun things to interact with in the cab, the locos within this title are absolute eye candy. (To an extent), It feels as though the locos were simply ripped out from photographs. Like your standing next to the real thing. Every single nook, cranny, corner, and random object has some degree of detailing. While the game may be lacking in many aspects, train models certainly aren't one of them. 2. Lighting. While the game has average lighting most of the time, the hours of 5:40-7:00 AM is where the lighting really shines (no pun intended). There really isn't anything more to say other than "hmmmmm pretty colors." But the way the light interacts, reflects, and is absorbed by the trains cannot be topped. Makes great material for screenshots. 3. Sound Design. Is it the best? No. Is it the closest thing to Train ASMR from an indie dev that your gonna find? Yes. The spirit of John Hammond lives comfortably within the game's sound design as nigh zero expense was spared. From the pounding of the pistons, to the huff of steam, hardly anything sounds out of place. And whilst I may be exaggerating here, (as it wasn't the best), it caught me off guard simply because of how good it was. CONS: 1. An Obnoxiously Repetitive Gameplay Loop While I understood what I was getting into, I was nowhere near prepared for what I actually experienced. The Gameplay Loop consists of as follows: An awfully monotonous, slow, unending cycle of moving a train from point A --> B then B --> A. Over, and over again. Compounded by the other issues (that we'll get to, I assure you), the constant shunting-and then waiting-becomes repetitive very quickly. With hardly any actual progression to look forward to, the only real enjoyment found within the game after the purchase of a late-game locomotive, is simply the trains moving. And that is not a lot to go off of. Especially when the landscape is: 2. Utterly Baren Landscape The scenery can best be put as "deplorable" and "dead." With the unending biome of Eastern Tennessee being "muddy hill w/ Pine trees" and "larger muddy hill w/ Pine trees," on loop until you have a desire to dig your own grave. There is (quite literally), zero variety in landscape and scenery. Meshed with an atmosphere that can be likened to that of the Sahara Desert. The only thing alive is the player, and the loco. There are no people, there are no birds, there are no fish, and there is a building once every 10 miles. Even the -so called- cities found within the game possess absolutely no human presence to speak of. This is not hyperbole, there is nothing besides you. It feels like your commanding a railroad through the mind of a schizophrenic maniac. Hauling trains with only imaginary cargo inside, only for imaginary people to offload it. I understand the title is in early access, but why is everyone that is supposed to be here a damn Smuf? 3. Too Fast & Too Slow With Railroader possessing a (real life), 24hr clock, the workdays are very fast when they shouldn't be. And very slow when they shouldn't be. With the days work being able to be completed within the first 2hrs of it, it makes the rest of the day feel completely wasted. And while you can skip time, the trains can't. Which leads rather nicely into the next problem: Horrifically slow trains. With a speed limit of 30 MPH across the entire stretch of the line, it makes waiting for trains to get somewhere an absolute pain. More than once have I actively stood up from my desktop to go and do something else, only to come back and the train still hasn't got there. And, yes, while the 30 MPH "speed limit" is not at all enforced, it leads to the very high risk of derailing should you go over it. A very, very expensive problem to have. Which (again nicely), leads into Nr. 4: 4. A Badsh*t Crazy Economy "Profit" is a word you will not be saying much. As even a Sharecropper from 1869 makes more cash than you do on a daily basis. With equipment, milestones, and fuel costing as much as they do, it takes forever to get anywhere. With you spending on average 2-8 hrs. on a single workday you would think that playtime would be rewarded, right? Well, I guess the f*ck not! Because you are paid by volume of cars delivered. Not the cars themselves. And with each car being somewhere from 10-40$ per car, it is ages until you get anywhere. (If you look at my playtime, I'm not even in the late game. Put that into perspective.) With your main avenue for profit being the logging train up from Conelly Creek (at least in the early game), you will just end up spending more time waiting that actually doing anything. Conclusion: Again, I want to say that I did enjoy playing Railroader for a good while. But after around 40 hrs. sunk into the game, I realized that it is more a waiting simulator with particle effects than an actual game. If the CONS listed above don't concern you, then be my guest and buy the game. You'll probably have fun. But I would highly encourage you spend some time looking into the game before you buy it. Don't buy the title unless you have plenty of time to sit around and watch trains.