- Gameplay patch 9 - 1 September 2026
Gameplay patch 9 is now live with the following changes: Achievements Halved Flying Shoebox achievement minimum time to five minutes in order to make it easier to unlock Fixed missed stop penalty and unlocking of the Amnesia achievement Made it possible to unlock other achievements at the same time with the perfection achievement Physics Fixed possible incorrect buffer position when two trains are coupled together Improved accuracy of physics calculations Optimised CPU and memory usage of physics simulation Miscellanous Fixed a crash when restarting a rescue scenario Fixed signaller to not turn points underneath a train in some cases Adjusted cloud sizes and colours Clarified train length tooltips in the timetable editor Optimised some geometry related calculations Added sound preloading: sounds should be audible at start if you let trains load at least partially on the loading screen b…
- Gameplay patch 8 - 12 August 2026
Gameplay patch 8 is now live with the following changes: Timetable editor Fixed timetable editor to always write decimal values using dot instead of the current culture setting of the operating system. If loading a timetable crashes the game, it may be because the timetable data was previously saved using decimal comma (and can be fixed manually using a text editor). Train editor Changed train editor to save vehicle data in text instead of binary format Audio Fixed packed .wav files possibly becoming corrupted when loaded Optimised loading of custom .wav files to reduce freezing Optimised CPU and memory usage of the sound system. When loading a run saved with the previous version, some of the sounds for existing trains may be missing but should work for newly spawned trains and new runs. What's next? Another patch coming soon
- Gameplay patch 7 - 6 August 2026
Gameplay patch 7 is now live with the following changes: Graphics Adjusted sky colour, tint, depth-of-field and grain Fixed some scenery objects appearing in the wrong place for one frame when they're loaded for the first time Physics Fixed a bug causing unbraked wagons to push brake vans and locomotives downhill even with the brake fully applied Fixed a bug causing Class 03 brakes to be stuck even when they're shown as fully released Traffic Fixed six pathfinding bugs Fixed some stations in rescue scenarios having passing times greater than the arrival to the next stop Added missing Class 126 Inter-City depot movements to the North Landen default timetable User interface Simplified key prompt and penalty animations on the HUD to be less distracting Increased simple notches from three to four in order to match the number of throttle notches on the railcars Fixed restarting a run to not…
- Gameplay patch 6 (Diesel brake tender) - 17 July 2026
Gameplay patch 6 adds diesel brake tenders to the Mountain Pass freight runs in the Shift Experiment timetable, modelled by Radical Mesh. British Railways used diesel brake tenders to improve the braking capabilities of goods trains with unbraked wagons. They are essentially unmanned brake vans controlled from the locomotive. The low profile allows them to be coupled on either side of the locomotive without obstructing view. The darker shade of green is more accurate than the lighter one currently used on the Class 37 model. The 37 will be repainted with a matching colour eventually. This patch also has a number of other changes: All editors Fixed progress reporting to show all phases when updating asset packs Changed asset packing to produce slightly better looking textures in some cases Improved material properties view in the side panel: Restored default normal scale to 1 since norma…
- Gameplay patch 5 (DEM import) - 24 June 2026
The fifth gameplay patch is now live with the following changes: Visuals Fixed a problem with train cars sometimes briefly appearing in the wrong position Fixed LOD building for train cars to happen behind the scenes instead of overlapping the base model Fixed discontinuities in normals and texture coordinates for some models generated from cross sections like road surfaces Fixed material colour loading from .mtl files (fixes Class 205 cable colours) Fixed custom materials to use smoothness slider value when also using a metallic/smoothness map (was previously always 100% causing a shiny surface) Fixed possibly missing custom models on the Laguna Paiva workshop route Possibly fixed grass sometimes being loaded only partially Restored some brown vegetation near the North Landen portal All editors Fixed editor side panel bug where a wrong item would be shown after selecting an option from…
- Gameplay patch 4 (Facelift) - 2 June 2026
Inspired by the cutting edge graphics of Running Train, the fourth gameplay patch brings several enhancements to the visuals of Diesel Railcar Simulator, among other improvements. Sky and clouds Sunsets have darker clouds with more realistic sky colour and lighting. Clouds have more volume and variance in size. Trees Some tree models, like this London plane, have been upgraded. Adjustments to the screen-space ambient occlusion parameters make the dark insides of the trees less exaggerated. Grass Grass, flowers and other plants are now smaller, of more realistic size. Each plant has its own density modifier to increase the number of plain grasses at the expense of other plants. Vegetation also becomes gradually sparser farther away from the track, instead of having uniform density and a clear cut border. Water Reflections for ocean and lake materials have been toned down for more authent…
- Gameplay patch 3 - 25 May 2026
The third gameplay patch is now live with the following changes: Penalties, scoring and achievements Adjusted collision penalty to make it less sensitive Prevented "changing gears with power on" penalty from triggering if engines are not running GUI Attempted to fix HUD gradient sign again Fixed content management list for trains to show unnamed entries (ones with no vehicles) Fixed driving settings menu to not show roles other than leading driver for rescue scenarios Changed returning back to previous menu to highlight the previously selected item automatically Added missing back actions to "Make copy" options for consistency Added warnings to "Make copy" options about being unsuitable for backups because they regenerate GUIDs and will break references between timetables, routes and trains. If you need to make a backup, copy the folder manually instead Added filtering by starting stati…
- Gameplay patch 2 - 18 May 2026
Gameplay patch 2 The second gameplay patch is now live with the following changes: Penalties, scoring and achievements Fixed "moved at booked stop" penalty to not trigger too early when coupling onto another train Changed "driving from wrong cab" penalty to only trigger at 5+ mph Changed "powering against brakes" penalty to only apply if power and brake are both at least 50% Added a penalty for running with the handbrake on Added a penalty for changing gears without shutting power first Reduced the effect of economy on overall score Fixed perfection achievement to trigger for runs shorter than 10 miles Controls Fixed railcar reverser handle to work with the mouse scroll wheel Fixed power handle to be off for rolling starts HUD Fixed HUD station stop progress bar Added HUD view menu options for changing to next/previous car (useful for gamepads) Added HUD view menu options for changing c…
- Gameplay patch 1 - 11 May 2026
The first gameplay patch is now released with the following changes: Penalties Changed "power against brakes" penalty to only apply at 5+ mph Increased headroom for over-rev penalties Disabled gear shifting and missed horn penalties for now because they were not working correctly (might re-enable them later) Added small delays to some penalties that triggered too early Controls Fixed gamepad right stick to work for handbrake and starters Fixed pressing engine starter buttons with mouse to work properly Fixed gamepad menu navigation d-pad presses to not pass through to the shifter GUI Fixed guard and tandem achievements to trigger correctly Fixed a crash when trying to change user profile name to match another profile's name Fixed key symbols to match real keys on non-QWERTY keyboards Fixed HUD timetable box to register arrival Fixed HUD gradient to depend on direction of travel Improved…
- Major Gameplay Update - 4 May 2026
The gameplay update is finally here! This update brings more goal-oriented gameplay mechanisms and several quality-of-life improvements. Let's look at all the new features in this update: Career mode The new career mode offers an alternative to the individual runs, providing more continuity and balance between player choice and randomisation. Pick any route and start with the easiest runs, working your way up to the more prestigious ones as you gain experience points from successfully completed runs. Steam achievements A total of 21 achievements wait for unlocking. Some of them are meant to expose you to different styles of playing and experiencing the simulator, in ways that might not be immediately obvious. Tandem driver mode Locomotives and powered units in the same formation that can't be multi-unit controlled from the leading vehicle now have tandem drivers. The role of a tandem dr…
- Screenshot contest - 13 March 2026
The new user interface for the gameplay update could use a fresh set of background images so let's have a screenshot contest! This one has no specific theme so feel free to use any routes and trains, even unpublished ones. You can use either the current release version or the beta version as they have little or no graphical differences. Post your screenshot here or on the Discord screenshot channel. Please label your picture as "contest entry" in the description. The winner (as chosen by Lapioware) gets a Constracktion key and some of the best entries will be used as background images for the loading screen with credit in the top-left corner. Tips The easiest way to post a screenshot is to use Steam's built-in functionality, usually the F12 key Use the maximum resolution that your system supports Hide the timetable by pressing F2 and other parts of the HUD with F3 Choose the highest gra…
- Scenery patch 24 - 9 December 2025
Scenery patch 24 is now live with the following changes: Graphics Fixed missing triangles on some platforms and water zones Fixed shadow quality and vegetation shadows to work again (broken by the Unity update in the previous patch) Fixed flickering when entering and exiting tunnels Fixed possible incorrect textures at the edges of some terrain tiles Editors Fixed a possible scenery related crash when editing track in the route editor Fixed train models getting rotated by 180deg when packed Added chain link length and heading to node info text in route editor Updated steam_api64.dll and Steamworks interface to reduce semi-random crashes when uploading content to the workshop Added progress indicator when uploading content to the workshop Miscellaneous Attempted to fix a possible null reference crash (Lambourn Valley route) Fixed AI stopping too short for some reversals What's next? The…
- Scenery patch 23 - 12 October 2025
Scenery patch 23 is now live with the following changes: Custom models, textures and materials Fixed a possible crash in custom model loading Fixed a possible crash when loading an .obj file Fixed custom models not being loaded correctly if there are multiple copies of the same route or train with the same id Fixed custom textures to load properly in some cases (like normal maps) Fixed custom normal maps to look right Fixed material handling to clear and reload materials properly (fixes custom materials becoming pink when restarting sim or editor) Fixed asset packing to not pack some textures multiple times Fixed asset packing to use the correct colour space (gamma/linear) for textures Fixed material overriding by matching name to work correctly after packing certain textures Optimised .obj loading when one or more .mtl files are missing Editors Fixed a possible crash in the route edito…
- Scenery patch 22 - 6 October 2025
Scenery patch 22 is now released. This patch fixes the recently announced security vulnerability found in most games made with Unity.
- Announcing the second Lapioware game: Constracktion - 13 August 2025
Constracktion is a new track building and traffic optimization game based on the Diesel Railcar Simulator (DRS) codebase. The gameplay is very different, focusing more on building and less on realism. The theme is vaguely North American with a total of six desert and mountain maps. If you already own DRS, you'll get a -30% discount by purchasing a "complete the set" bundle containing both games. The bundle will be released at the same time with the game, on 1st of September. Wishlist Constracktion so you won't miss it! Wait a minute, aren't you supposed to be working on this game!? The truth is that DRS hasn't sold enough to cover the development costs in years. It's difficult to see this situation suddenly changing in the near future, due to the competition and saturation of the traditional train sim market. Unlike DRS, Constracktion has novel and unique ideas which makes it more poten…
- Scenery patch 21 - 17 May 2025
Scenery patch 21 is now live with the following changes: Editors Fixed crash when removing a stream or a grid from the side panel in route editor Fixed node and 3D-gizmo dragging in route editor to work more reliably Improved mouse hit points for chains and zones in route editor 3D view Hid chain nodes from hierachy when viewing the properties of a chain in route editor Fixed map behaviour when adding a new template in timetable editor Fixed train editor to display vehicle correctly after changing it to be a livery for another vehicle Added list of recently selected options to the bottom of the editor side panel when selecting from a long list Added automatic height balancing of hierachy and form views in editor side panel Miscellaneous Fixed possible AI pathfinding error Fixed LOD rendering of some custom models Fixed wrong material order in some models (Workshop Class 122 in NSE liver…
- Scenery patch 20: Fog - 1 March 2025
Scenery patch 20 is now live with the following changes: Visuals Added an adjustable fogginess setting below the cloud slider next to the Watch and Drive buttons Permanently enabled haze graphics effect since fog won't work without it Enabled sky reflections for the highest graphics quality level by default Adjusted grain graphics effect Reduced water flickering Improved clouds Miscellaneous Fixed a severe performance problem caused by extremely long shadows during sunrise and sunset Fixed a possible crash in the controls configuration screen Fixed minimap to update signal state immediately upon passing a clear AWS magnet Disabled ability to mess with controls in watch mode because axis-based hardware controllers would prevent AI from doing its job Removed "accurate tunnel mouths" graphics setting because it would make terrain load too slowly even on high-end systems Optimised shadow re…
- Scenery patch 19 - 7 February 2025
Scenery patch 19 is now live with the following changes: Visuals Fixed missing train bodyshells when starting multiple runs without restarting the game Fixed missing textures for "BR Carflat" workshop item Fixed HUD timetable box to not show departure time for the last stop unless it's a portal exit Sped up loading of track sleepers and fastenings Miscellaneous Fixed a reversing related bug that might cause pathfinding to fail Fixed a possible bug causing pathfinding to break after loading a saved run, leading to a traffic jam Fixed scenery chain links becoming unresponsive in route editor after splitting one with a new node Added 13 CPU optimisations for physics, pathfinding and simulation Changed screenshot saving path setting to use default value when the entry is blank instead of automatically filling in the default path What's next? The next major update will be the gameplay update…
- Scenery patch 18 - 24 January 2025
Scenery patch 18 is now live with the following changes: Visuals Adjusted TAA sharpness Adjusted SSAO settings and window glass materials Improved lighting under overcast sky Added sky reflections option (disabled by default) Added performance impact warning to water reflections setting Fixed default antialiasing setting for "high quality" preset Miscellaneous Fixed camera aspect ratio in editors when not using FSR3 Fixed possible crash in service detail screen caused by missing or invalid train material What's next? The next major update will be the gameplay update, to be released in 2025, along with smaller patches as required.
- Scenery patch 17 - 25 December 2024
Scenery patch 17 is now live with the following changes: Visuals Added FSR3 upscaling/anti-aliasing method. You can select this from the anti-aliasing menu on the graphics screen. There's also another drop-down menu below for selecting the rendering resolution when using FSR3. Reducing the rendering resolution should yield higher frame rates with relatively small impact on visual quality Editors Fixed crash in train editor when regenerating vehicle guid Fixed problem with terrain node height being drawn over node information in route editor if they're close to each other Improved editor side panel form layout Added chain subdivision tools to route editor Miscellaneous Updated the project from Unity 2019 to Unity 2022. This may affect the performance and stability of the game, hopefully in a positive way Fixed possible crash when starting sim and quickly cancelling it Fixed possible cras…
