So what's the goal of the game? How does it play out?

[Frost]

The store page mentions it has so many hours of gameplay. This implies the game 'ends' -that the orders we see in the towns are finite, designed in advance, and sooner or later you can do them all and there will be no more orders to do?

I often wondered if the trains I shunted together would later be used for other orders that I'd haul to different cities myself as well.

If there's a web pages that talks about it please link as well.

Thanks in advance!

[Azige]

It's more like a sandbox game. All orders are generated. You earn money to unlock stuffs like locos and new order types. The goal is to unlock all stuffs. The game doesn't really "end".

[Sunscreen]

As regards persistance of rolling stock I think that might become a thing although Ive struggled to find anything official on that. There used to be a mod that did it but that hasnt been updated (yet). If that did happen I feel that would be a giant leap forward in adding a sense of purpose and replayability to proceedings.

Theres also a lot of potential moving forward given its still in development. Atm one earns cash just to unlock licences and insurance costs, but if one compares it to say euro truck sim 2 then I think there's scope for principles of ownership, upgrades, respraying with logos and all sorts of gimmickry designed to add replayability and a sense of involvement. Hiring drivers could be fun as well, but Im really just shooting from the hip here..

[Rick]

The goal is to enjoy, relax, listen to the click clack of steel wheels on steel rails, the hum/roar of a diesel engine or the hissing and chuffing of a steamer, get all the licenses, learn how to operate the locomotives and what does it for me is to imagine it's all real, realistically jumping out the cab, walking (not sprinting or F'ing everywhere unless longer distances) etc. Loving every second of it.

And yes finishing a shunting job creates a freight haul or logistics haul and vice versa

[VanZan_75]

Originally posted by Rick:

The goal is to enjoy, relax, listen to the click clack of steel wheels on steel rails, the hum/roar of a diesel engine or the hissing and chuffing of a steamer, get all the licenses, learn how to operate the locomotives and what does it for me is to imagine it's all real, realistically jumping out the cab, walking (not sprinting or F'ing everywhere unless longer distances) etc. Loving every second of it.

And yes finishing a shunting job creates a freight haul or logistics haul and vice versa

^ This 👍

[Frost]

Thanks for the replies. The reason I asked is because on the store page it says

What is the current state of the Early Access version?
“Immersive, fun and mostly bug-free 50-100 hours of gameplay on either PC or VR, with tutorials, lots of information to learn and lots of experience to be had.

And I was under the impression it didn't end, but claiming it has 100 hours of gameplay implies it does end.

Thanks for the replies.

[Sunscreen]

Originally posted by Frost:

Thanks for the replies. The reason I asked is because on the store page it says

What is the current state of the Early Access version?
“Immersive, fun and mostly bug-free 50-100 hours of gameplay on either PC or VR, with tutorials, lots of information to learn and lots of experience to be had.

And I was under the impression it didn't end, but claiming it has 100 hours of gameplay implies it does end.

Thanks for the replies.

Yeah I can see how that could cause confusion. The replies above are right on the money regarding being able to take your time and immerse yourself btw. Ive spent many a happy hour in the shunt yards happily pulling wagons out the way to get at what I need, checking hoses, handbrakes etc. Plenty more than 100 hrs here, and its endless from what I can see.

[Towlie]

Since real life economy doesn't have an end game, neither does Derail Valley. Cargo needs to be moved from one place to another all the time, and that is your job in Derail Valley.

[schutt]

i have over 300 hours and still a lot left to do.... i guess they have to write something there, so that is a random number they put.

[Pops]

In terms of running out of new things todo yes 50-100 hours is right on the money. With that said if Altfuture stays on course this game as a lot of opportunity for expanding and making recurring game play fun.

As it sits right now, you can unlock all things, travel down all tracks and drive every train in about 50-100 hours. But saying that would be doing this game a disservice. It's like Farming Sim or Euro/America Truck Sim where yes you can have done everything in the game but that's not why your playing a game like this.

[s h i n o b i]

After buying all things, we are limited only by our imagination. How about challenges like:
- detours, do jobs using unusual routes even if it takes longer
- how far can you go before running out of water/coal/steam etc.
- don't use keyboard shortcuts, external cameras, sand on wet track
- those who like to grind, how about increasing all prices by x10 -unlocking 060 would cost 200K
- it's all about having fun - are you happy driving trains even if you you're not getting paid (ignoring the money altogether)?

[Frost]

Just to be clear: I got the impression that the game just keeps going, which is fine. No issues for me - it's what I expected.

But when i saw that the developers said "you get 50-100 hours of gameplay" on the store page, then I was thinking "wait - after so long I can't play the session any more just for fun - the game ends?! No more orders to fulfill?!"

Hence I asked. 8-) Glad that's not the case.