track laying sucks

[Pete Puma]

The track laying mechanic for this game leaves a lot to be desired...it sucks. Since there is so much of it to done to even start to play the game a guide to laying track would be nice. Laying a curved rail should require you to pick a start point, an end point, and a radius. Either my "curve" keys are faulty or the mechanic does not function. I lay a straight piece then hit the curve toggle, set radius and get straight track. It is easier to "eyeball" small sections to get a curve. You can easily end up with tracks that look like a drunken sailor laid them. The Devs need to investigate other successful rail simulators methods of track building such as Train Simulator, Railway Empire. The basic need for rail lines should NOT be a secret puzzle one has to SOLVE just to get started. I did check youtube for help/instruction on this but found no solutions. Yes I understand the game is still in development. The Devs need to decide where the focus of this game is....track laying or the economy. This frustration will put many off on buying this game. I hope the Devs address this issue.

Now let the snarky comments start from all the fanboys out there start

[Rever]

I like that it is challenging.

I like your pre-loaded name calling insult that anyone who disagrees with you is a fanboy. Sad and pathetic.

[coenvijge]

(Not a fanboy and not a game-owner at this moment (but don't consider 'fanboy' as an insult). Just a YouTube viewer.)

I think that Rever is right. The game isn't meant to build quick 'ideal', fast main infrastructure. It's more like the local industry that starts buying a small engine and a local contractor who is laying the first track without knowing a lot of railroading. Later in the game the need to have more smooth lines is there, but at that point you'll have more experience with the tools and you will have more experience with building the line and riding trains.

(edit: typo)

[Comrade_Bob]

^This. Well said.

That being said, it is a rough grind of trial and error for the first few times. We’ll have to see where things go here in the future. With it being EA right now, I’m sure they’ve got a tutorial or control streamlining time period in their roadmap to complete game.

[Pete Puma]

I understand the track laying is part of the game BUT only having straight sections or small straight sections to simulate a curve is a bit much. You can find evidence of smooth cures out there.....but no one talks about how they are achieved. My point is.......if you have to spend too much time just to get track laid, have to know some secret handshake, spent hours just to lay 20 feet of curved track laid,why invest that amount of time when you haven't even got to the core of the game? If track laying is such a needed complexity where is route surveying, spike driving, inclining tracks on curves to raise speed, signaling, cost for track construction (a serious cost to railroads), obtaining ROW. The game advertises itself as a railroad economy simulator not a Gandy dancer simulator

[Pete Puma]

as far as the fanboy comment you must be new to forums to not expect fanboys to attack you because you post a critical comment. their comments usually fall into the "read the manual" type of responses......even in this post.......if you read and understand the English language you would pick right up on my issue with generating curves. Here is an comment

I think that Rever is right. The game isn't meant to build quick 'ideal', fast main infrastructure. It's more like the local industry that starts buying a small engine and a local contractor who is laying the first track without knowing a lot of railroading. Later in the game the need to have a mere smooth line is there, but at that point you'll have more experience with the tools and you will have more experience with building the line and riding trains.

Sounds like "you need to spent time noob"....more polite than that but same message. BUT does he give tips or advise on how to "use the tools" .....no. There are 3 responses to my post.....one offend by my use of fanboy..... but NONE give any potential solutions to my issue but all basically say I am wrong in my opinion.

[Jhea]

track laying is ok....
but i'd also prefer some help with this. maybe a tutorial, or some pre-made rtack sections would be nice, right now we have 2 kinds of tracks and 4 set of switches.

i'd like to have some 15, 30, 45 degree cruve premade, so i just can put them in place.

also some in game explanation on what the groundworks are for would be appreciated (i figured it out now... )
you don't have to use them, it just makes the ride smoother, etc.


also it needs some serious quality of life improvements
aka having the ability to switch switches from inside your train... when playing solo ( i don't have any friends who want to play this with me, and i don't want to join endless new discord servers in order to join a 'next new' community... - i just want to play some railroads choo choo!!!)

and i need to find a button or faster way to unload my cars... it's just random and pure luck by now that i click somehwere and move the mouse (yes, left clck and up... that doesn't work every time,...)

[GamesbyChris]

I would like to suggest adding "survey tools" would be nice to add markers or beacons along a path. Maybe something that would give elevation numbers too, prior to laying groundwork and track.. That would help.

[Jhea]

Originally posted by cyoung_mi:

I would like to suggest adding "survey tools" would be nice to add markers or beacons along a path. Maybe something that would give elevation numbers too, prior to laying groundwork and track.. That would help.

good one, waypoints would also be appreciated.
laying a new track without knowing where to go is pretty much the painfullst of pains in the .... you know where.

[Rever]

Originally posted by Pete Puma:

There are 3 responses to my post.....one offend by my use of fanboy..... but NONE give any potential solutions to my issue but all basically say I am wrong in my opinion.

I show a lot of track laying on my series - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZTJWJwRHSgjNkZVsza3PYrwjxpA4Jrui

Its not exactly something that is easy for people to explain in words on a forum.

[GordonDry]

Well, if the to be laid curve segment is not a curve over the full length of that segment, but a short and tight bend for 20% of the segment's length and more or less straight for the rest, then the system is bugged. And that's it. Eyeballing is still better than using the "curve tool".
With or without being a fanboy.

[Schlappspaten]

The big secret of track laying is, simply put, a learning curve. Take a piece of free land (I suggest near the logging pond at the sawmill, throw in a piece of straight track and then try out "alt"-ing straight track, try "alt"-ing curved track by adjusting the numbers.

Don't bother if your track looks kind of kinky the moment you're laying it, the programm will create the curvature on the go, but always behind you, if you're going forward while laying track.

Worst thing to do is going backwards and see all that c...p that is happening while you lay the track. You'll feel the urge to correct things that, at first, don't need to be corrected.

Eyeballing track is something, that comes with experience (hence need some time to get used to). But if you go the way (some need 5 minutes, some 50) you'll get adjusted to all the possibilities and some day may even try harder stuff, like reverse fitting switches to create nice yard ladders or a siding or spur into existing track.

I was at first also at a loss at how this works, although I've been through some YT- Videos before I bought the game. I was attracted by the non-existence of pre-fabricated track and story-book. Later on in the game you surely won't ask for any pre-made track anymore and just create, what you need, and you'll love that.

[GordonDry]

Yeah, the 2nd segment works, but if you have to interrupt the laying and then later want to continue, the first segment does not follow your order to be straight or curved, but the 2nd.
It's to be hoped that in later builds this works as it should, even with remembering the parameters of the part at which it's attached to for flawless continuation etc.
Even an overlay HUD by a key press to show the parameters and segment length and where the nodes are would be great.

[fixins]

If I only had an undo function...

[Taris]

There is a mixture of issues. Rudimentary, insufficient tracklaying tools is just one of them.

Another issue is that the premade pieces such as the 90deg crossing, the simple switch (no, it's not a "wye" it's a plain switch), etc, are not even built using the same grid scale. If you lay down 1 switch and put a row of crossings next to it, you'll find out that the switch is 4.8x longer, and 1.65x wider. Not to mention that the buildings and platforms aren't even lined up with each other.

This means that even if you're an OCD person like myself, and start building your tracks perfectly aligned using the 90deg crossings, you'll very soon get thwarted and frustrated anyway. Frustrated because the track blocks work against you, and thwarted because contrary to expectations, being meticulous and precise does nothing to help you.

Basically this game demands that you lay down a perfect track using crappy tools. Which is next to impossible unless you want to spend days and weeks on it.

[Varinki]

I've generally found the easiest way is to simply eyeball it.

Also the curve tool is only accurate if each section is the same length.