Smoke 'n' Rails

Smoke 'n' Rails is an upcoming railroad tycoon game featuring track building, tech trees, a multiplayer shared world, and rail-based warfare.

Start with a crop of land all to yourself and expand to a massive resource and freight empire. Do you want to focus on exporting goods? Perhaps you want to be a popular tourist rail destination. Or do you want the greatest, most powerful armored death machines the new west has ever seen?

Roadmap

The following roadmap roughly outlines the public releases planned for the game.

Phase 1 - Sandbox Mode

The first phase will be the most basic of sandboxes. Players will be given a lot on which they will be able to freely build.

There will be 5 basic locomotives, one Large Lady locomotive, 3 cargo cars, and 1 passenger car.

Trains will operate off of a timetable fully autonomously, moving between stations. Trains will also be able to be driven manually.

This phase would effectively be an early beta to gather feedback for train behaviors and performance.

Phase 2 - World Generation

The new west evolves! Towns, mining camps, lumber yards, and many more appear in lots. While there won't be a functional economy to speak of yet, these features can dictate and direct how you build your railroad.

There will also be new locomotives and cars for your railroading pleasure

This phase will have multiple rolling updates that introduce new world features.

Phase 3 - Tech and Economy

Towns and resources give you the edge! Each resource in your lot can be used to build your railroad or sold for sweet, sweet cha-ching. Research new locomotives and upgrade the ones you own.

Cars will carry resources from station to station. You may even have some sought after resources on your lot that you can sell to the market or buy what you need from the market.

At this point, the game would be considered as out of early access and into full release.

Phase 4 - The Mainline

Your neighbors have built a mainline up to your lot! Extend it and get trains from all over the world passing through your humble railroad.

The market is no longer a simulation of supply and demand. YOU are the supply and demand! Buy and sell goods and have them actually delivered by train. The better your trains, the faster you can get the materials you buy.

Phase 5 - Tourism and Warfare!

This town ain't big enough for the two of us! Or maybe it is! This phase will introduce two new mechanics, tourism and warfare.

The tourist industry is booming, and your rails have started to attract the attention of railfans from all over the world. Can you build a thriving tourist destination?

Something sinister is brewing in the new west. Nefarious ne'er-do-wells have brought conflict to the mainline. A new, opt in mode for the game introduces armored engines and gun cars. Defend your lot against raids from other players and mount your own raids.

Note: Obviously not everyone will want to have to focus on the defense aspect of the game, so warfare features will be completely opt-in. If you don't opt in, your railroad will never be raided, so you can continue to peacefully build your railroad and simply wave at the massive war machines as they roll by the mainline!