Suggestions for Locomotive Customization

[m14traindude]

Having played the game for some time now (59.6 hours as of this post) I have come to really enjoy the game and the potential it has for the future as it develops. As the team develops the game further I would like to suggest the following for steam locomotive customization in the game.

1. Headlight Placement and Type - Different placement locations for locomotive headlamps to customize the style of a locomotive to a given "look" or aesthetic. The headlights could be centered on the smokebox door or mounted atop the smokebox. And the style of headlamp could be changed so that you could showcase different prototypical styles or create your own. Sunbeam and Pyle National have numerous models to choose from that could be represented. This can also be carried over to tender lights including adding backup lights to locos that don't have them. (Switching at night with the G-16 Mogul is obnoxious in the dark).

2. Functional Upgrades - Many railroads opted to upgrade their locomotives to improve performance and increase longevity. Many of these upgrades included superheaters, Franklin Conversion Valves, external radial valve gear (Walschaerts, Baker, Southern), feedwater heater systems, stokers, T-circulators, thermic syphons, exhaust steam injectors, and different main cast driver types (Scullin, Baldwin Disc, Boxpox). I would like to see an upgrade system incorporated into Railroader that would bridge the gap between selling an older locomotive and purchasing a new one. From a gameplay perspective, you could see immediate performance increases and reduced maintenance cost long term, extending the possibilities of the engines in game. The 1940 Locomotive Cyclopedia would be a great resource for this.

3. Paint Options - While many transition era roads were using base coats of black for locomotive paint, there were still many ways that the different railroads customized their paint schemes to show off their corporate identity. This would include different striping patterns for running boards, drivers, leading wheelsets, trailing wheelsets, and tender wheelsets, footboards (ex. Southern Safety Stripes for the footboards on Switchers and older Consolidations), cab outlines, and tender outlines. There can also be different shades of graphite used for the smokeboxes as well as separate basecoats for the boiler, cab, cab roof, tender deck, wheels, etc. as suggested by another user. Adding custom logos would also be a nice touch. Changing road name and number fonts and colors would also be a great touch. I think this would another layer of customization that would allow players to truly express their ideal locomotive styling and give the game another top tier personal touch.

4.Accessories - I'm using this as a catch all to refer to all the different accessories that could be found on engines of this time period. IMO this includes items such as anti-rotation bars on bells, stars, eagles, or other symbols on top the headlights, cab awnings and cab curtains with different fabric patterns, stars, moon crescents or other insignia on cylinder covers, and other details. I think this would again add a unique personal touch to every engine on a given players railroad.

Otherwise I want to give my kudos to the development team. This has been a great game and I really want to see what it grows into from here. None of these suggestions are demands but I hope the dev team will take them into consideration.

[Gabriel]

I'd like more customization for locos and cars as well especially regarding their looks.

[DorniNerd]

Thanks for the suggestions! We will add them to the list.