Dear Rail Nation community,

The time has come! Following the Rail Nation scenarios Steam over Europe and USA, the Rail Nation Classic game worlds will also soon be equipped with the new client and user interface. This patch will be installed on all Classic worlds restarting after 14th May 2018.

First of all and most importantly, the Classic gameplay you are familiar with will not be changed. Features like the regional battle, landmarks or mayors will remain exclusive features of the Steam over Europe and/or USA scenarios.

What awaits you instead is a modern, fully-fledged client that’s more convenient and easier to use.

For more efficient development

This change is necessary for us as developers in order to move Rail Nation, with all its facets and scenarios, a major step forwards. By consolidating all the code strings in Rail Nation, fixings bugs and developing new content will become more efficient and faster. The whole development process will be improved, meaning we can ensure a higher level of quality throughout. Indeed, it will only be necessary for us to work on one code and interface.

Those of you who haven’t played the new client recently can try it out again on the Steam over Europe or USA scenario servers – a lot has changed since its launch with Steam over Europe two years ago.

User requests have found their way into the new client

It’s been a long journey, on which we have continued to develop the new client and implement many improvements. We listened to your wishes for the new client, happily took them on board and integrated them into development. We have optimised the new client over the course of more than 17 updates. Now the tracks are clear, so we can deliver all the advantages of the new client to the train stations of the Classic servers, too!

We have summarised the evolution of the new client from its launch in 2016 until today in this video:

We are sure that everyone will be able to become familiar with the new interface after a short transition period of a few days.

Improved overview, convenience and consistency

It’s very important to us that we don’t just give the game a new look, but deliver an overall improved gaming experience. In terms of the overview, consistency and convenience, the new client has clear advantages. Some examples include the schedule assistant, the useful widgets and the extensive messaging system.

To round off the code consolidation process, we have integrated centred windows into the client with the last update (4.6.0). In 2018, more of the often criticised, left-aligned windows will be replaced in batches by neat, centred windows in the new client.

We know that some of you will see this change with some scepticism. A couple of things will be new and unfamiliar to you during the first few days – but change doesn’t have to be bad by any means. After the initial period of settling in, you will soon get used to the new client and all its benefits, just like thousands of Rail Nation – USA and Steam over Europe players already are.

We wish you lots of fun trying out and playing with the new Rail Nation client.