Kicking Off 2025 with Exciting Trainz Updates!
Happy New Year, Trainz enthusiasts! We're thrilled to dive into 2025 with exciting updates and new developments on the horizon. If you missed it, the Trainz Plus update has officially launched the new Dispatch Manager for Trainz Living Railroad. (Be sure to check out the blog for more details!)
But that's just the beginning.
Trainz Roadmap
( website )
To help you navigate all our existing and upcoming products, features, and content, we’ve released our official Trainz Roadmap website. This platform will showcases:
Where We’ve Been: A look back at the progress we’ve made.
Where We’re Headed: Insight into the exciting future of Trainz.
Your Voice Matters: Share your thoughts, vote on new ideas, and help shape the future of Trainz development.
We’re still putting the final touches on the website and will continue to expand on each section, but have released it to the public with plenty to explore so far! Here’s a sneak peek at some of the key features and projects we’re currently working on.
Features in Development
As we make our way towards the next flagship release (which is still a ways off yet), we continue work on several features and content. The Trainz Roadmap website gives you a more detailed breakdown but here is a sneak peek into what we’re working towards:
DirectX 12
DirectX 12 isn't really up for debate. In order for Trainz to continue advancing engine wise we need to switch over so it's not really a question of "should we be developing this feature" but "what does this feature do for Trainz".
So why are we moving to DirectX 12?
Enhanced Performance: DirectX 12 leverages low-level APIs, allowing your hardware to work smarter, not harder. Enjoy higher frame rates and reduced latency for a better gaming experience.
Advanced Graphics: DX12 allows the Trainz engine to develop future features like ray tracing, variable rate shading, and mesh shaders to create breathtaking worlds with unparalleled detail and realism. While these are not free once DX12 arrives, they do get us a lot closer to new technology advancements in the Trainz engine.
Optimized Multi-Core Usage: Take full advantage of multi-core CPUs, ensuring more efficient rendering and processing, even for the most demanding scenes.
Future-Ready Gaming: DirectX 12 is built for the next generation of hardware and software, ensuring Trainz will continue to be optimized for future platforms and technologies.
Goodbye Turf, Hello Clutter: As we embrace the next step in Trainz development with DirectX 12, we’re saying farewell to the NVIDIA Turf system. With NVIDIA no longer supporting Turf, it’s time to move forward and focus on the next evolution of effect layers: Clutter. Clutter is the natural successor, offering greater flexibility, improved performance, and expanded possibilities for effect layers.
TLR: Passenger Support Update
We’re thrilled to unveil some incredible new features for the Living Railroad system, designed to make your gameplay more immersive and efficient than ever. From passenger transport to smarter AI operations, here’s what’s in store:
Passenger Support: Expanding Horizons
With this next release, the Living Railroad system will support passenger operations! You’ll be able to manage passenger lines with ease, using tools to create and optimize express and multi-stop routes. A smart dispatch system prioritizes trains based on efficiency, and an updated UI ensures a seamless experience. While detailed scheduling is coming later, trip time data collection lays the groundwork for future updates.
Advanced Settings for Custom Control
Take charge with the new Advanced Settings window, allowing you to fine-tune both freight and passenger dispatch systems. Highlights include:
Global Controls: Pause dispatch or enhance AI driver behavior.
Freight & Passenger Tools: Customize delivery distances, stop counts, and dispatch timing.
Real-Time Adjustments: All changes apply instantly without disrupting gameplay.
Automatic Runaround: Smarter AI Operations
The Automatic Runaround feature enables trains to reposition themselves when long backward travel is needed, improving realism and efficiency. This system works autonomously and integrates with advanced settings for full customization.
For the full read on TLR: Passenger Support head over to the Trainz Roadmap website.
Treez
The latest Treez technology just released in the SP5 update. That means if you have the latest TRS22, TRS22PE or Trainz Plus build then you can start creating Treez right away.
For the full read on Treez head over to the Trainz Roadmap website.
More
Other features that might interest you are:
HD Terrain
Trainz Living Railroad
TLR Dispatch Manager
Driver Assistance
New Driver UI
New Main Menu
MPS
New Content
Future Ideas
You can read up on all of these and more on the Trainz Roadmap website.
Visit the Trainz Roadmap website and share your thoughts on what you'd like to see next. Your feedback drives us forward, and we’re excited to make 2025 one of the best years yet for the Trainz community!