Trainline
Build railways, Deliver goods. Get stuck in endless loops.
Spent far too much time trying to get the trains to follow the tracks properly that I failed to make it a game.
The intention was to set up automation rules rather than having to manually control the signals. It did not happen.
As is you can only create tracks and make some money by carrying goods between stations.
Controls:
- WASD: move
- Right click to rotate camera
- Left click to select objects, to change points, and to change signals
- Del to delete the selected train
- Space to pause then game
Build stations next to a track and they will be assigned random supply and demand values.
Stop a train next to a station to automatically load or unload.
Don't create too sharp corners or everything will break horribly.
---
Check back later for the web build and post jam versions. Maybe it will actually be a game at some point.
Spent far too much time trying to get the trains to follow the tracks properly that I failed to make it a game.
The intention was to set up automation rules rather than having to manually control the signals. It did not happen.
As is you can only create tracks and make some money by carrying goods between stations.
Controls:
- WASD: move
- Right click to rotate camera
- Left click to select objects, to change points, and to change signals
- Del to delete the selected train
- Space to pause then game
Build stations next to a track and they will be assigned random supply and demand values.
Stop a train next to a station to automatically load or unload.
Don't create too sharp corners or everything will break horribly.
---
Check back later for the web build and post jam versions. Maybe it will actually be a game at some point.
Comments11
someone21 Apr 2026, 18:22
Thanks for playing.
Towns around the map with various resources and demands was indeed the plan. The current cargo destinations is a nasty last minute hack to make it at least do something.
Towns around the map with various resources and demands was indeed the plan. The current cargo destinations is a nasty last minute hack to make it at least do something.
LDJam user 21912122 Apr 2026, 01:34
The rail placing system is very cool! That must have been hard to make! It would be awesome to see this as a finished game someday
Madbarron25 Apr 2026, 22:30
Props for getting as far as you got, this was super ambitious :thumbsup:
jelch29 Apr 2026, 03:09
Trains! A great start.
Theogen29 Apr 2026, 04:46
This is a seriously impressive demo for a 3-day jam! Did I understand correctly that you used your own C++ engine?
someone29 Apr 2026, 09:56
@theoratkin yes it is my own c++ engine. It has grown quite capable over the years of Ludum Dare but I still find things that need fixing or improving every jam.
Gecko6429 Apr 2026, 12:04
Very impressive proof of concept, I would like maybe a little tutorial. But other than that very impressive for a 3 day demo. Good job :)
Theogen29 Apr 2026, 15:14
@someone That's super cool!
Alex de la Cour30 Apr 2026, 16:56
Took me a good minute to figure out what I was doing (I was just running around the awesome looking terrain until I noticed the UI in the top corner, d'oh!)
Some tutorialisation could have gone a fair way, but I appreciate that this is a pretty impressive system that probably wouldn't have left you much time for any frills!
Some tutorialisation could have gone a fair way, but I appreciate that this is a pretty impressive system that probably wouldn't have left you much time for any frills!
Richard Baltrusch4 May 2026, 08:43
Impressive tech demo and still kinda fun to run around in even without any gameplay. The train cam is a nice addition!
And I totally get following the tracks must have been difficult. For my game I simply used a tile-based approach so my trains could use A*-star pathfinding - bit wonky but it worked until I needed to implement reverse signals (I finished the first day in a foul mood after my reversing trains decided to go off-track and disappear into the bushes). How did you implement your path following logic?
And I totally get following the tracks must have been difficult. For my game I simply used a tile-based approach so my trains could use A*-star pathfinding - bit wonky but it worked until I needed to implement reverse signals (I finished the first day in a foul mood after my reversing trains decided to go off-track and disappear into the bushes). How did you implement your path following logic?
In my opinion, it would be better to add points on the map showing where resources should be picked up and delivered, so the player can plan railway construction around that.
It would also be cool to add different types of transport, like passenger and freight.