Sandbox
The headline feature for this update is sandbox mode. Rather than play on a map we have hand drawn, you get a page of options, and Iron Roads will generate a map with whatever parameters you choose. The scenarios in Iron Roads are quite directed by us, so this is an opportunity for you to remix the game in whatever way you prefer.

Well be updating and extending Sandbox mode in future updates, so wed love to hear how it works out for you!
Hotkeys
One of the greatest usability issues in the initial Early Access release was the lack of hotkeys. Weve added them now. The list of all hotkeys can be found in the game's pause menu. If you feel that any are missing from this list, please let us know!
Minor changes
We have made a number of more minor changes to fix bugs, clarify the UI, and adjust the balance
- After a lot of feedback that the Horseshoe Isle scenario was surprisingly hard, weve worked through it, and rebalanced many aspects
- One-way arrows have moved slightly to make two way tracks more readable on diagonals
- The space around Daters Rest in the Desert Dew scenario has been increased to allow more growth
- The Tithonus was a game breakingly good train, so it is now slower, more expensive and carries fewer passengers
- Futura was a little hard to unlock, so weve reduced the star unlock requirement of Futura from 5 to 2
- The new train screen shows a power icon next to any train that requires power to run
- The wording of carriage contracts has changed to describe exactly what needs to be carried
- The town status display (map version) shows what the town requires in the case production is stalled
- The formula showing what factory towns do is laid out better on the town screen
- Journey time tasks now show a jump-to button to connect them to the statistics on the town screen
- Weve fixed a bug where the transport tasks only counted passengers who travelled solely between the listed towns, not passengers where part the journey was via those towns
- We fixed an issue with the cargo info screen where it would not close in some circumstances
- We fixed an issue where towns would be erroneously considered connected when a tunnel ran under a platform. This caused passengers to be generated when they shouldnt have been
- We removed the errant "Show tutorial contracts for this chain" button that could show up in the research window
- Many tooltips and other UI elements have been updated for clarity
Thanks so much to all of you who have played the beta branch, and given feedback!
[ 2025-03-18 17:56:54 CET ] [ Original post ]