Steam train, cargo wagon and rails

[Mortor Zed]

If you still want to add steam as end-game content I assume you would use it for a steam engine and I don't think it would hurt for that engine to be used for faster movement from point A to point B, and a steam engine would fit very well inside the locomotive and it also wouldn't hurt to have a wagon attached to that locomotive for transporting more goods from one place to another.

• Rails: -Will be 1 type of rail, made with metal and depending of the metal used, the speed will change.

                    -The crafting recipe will be with metal beams and sticks

                    -and if you will put the rails on the ground and use them like that it will have a chance of destruction because will not be stable. And to be fixed on the ground you have to put stones in between the rails (to add stones will be the same interaction like adding sticks in a pit kiln)

• Wagon:-Depending on the metal from which the wheels are made, the speed of the wagon may reach the maximum speed of the track or if the wheels are made of a material weaker than the track, it will be limited to a certain speed.

                      -This is just the base of the wagon, the part you put on the rail, from here you can choose what type of wagon you want depending on your needs, from a gondola carrying raw materials, to a simple wagon, covered wagon carrying goods in boxes and if you travel long distances and have ensured the locomotive has everything it needs, there is no need to sit next to it so you can go to the passenger wagon where you can sit with your friends, rest, admire the view and even have a snack if necessary

                       -Depending on the material used for the plates in creating the base of the wagon it can carry a higher weight (e.g., if the plates used are made of copper and the wagon will be used for the transport of raw material it will be limited to 15 slots).

 

 

Edited May 6, 2024 by Mortor Zed
added info

[egorvsv]

It's a very cool idea, but I suspect the developers want to evolve the game towards mechanical energy (gears and the like)

[ifoz]

Wooden rails are in the game's files, so fingers crossed for some kind of cart system and maybe trains eventually!
I say trains eventually because you would want steel to make railway tracks that are at all decent. You could not run a train on wooden rails.
Since steel rails are not in the files yet but wooden rails are, I am lead to believe that the devs may be tinkering around with some kind of simple cart or tram system.

Edited May 17, 2024 by ifoz

[LadyWYT]

Technically we have boilers and gas lighting in the game, but that level of tech is currently unattainable. I don't know about trains--while they are cool, we can just teleport thousands of miles in an instant via the translocators. I could see a much smaller version though being used to push around minecarts, and minecarts would be nice to have for transporting things in and out of dedicated quarries and other mining locations. A mini version like this could also serve as a lazy seraph's way to travel short distances as well, provided they're willing to build the infrastructure for it.

Another idea that just crossed my mind--some sort of little steam-powered paddle wheel attachment for boats. I would expect it to be difficult to craft, but it could offer a steady source of power, assuming that standard sailing works similar to how Valheim handles things.

[Thorfinn]

Two metal bars for 3 rails is not nearly enough to make it worth bothering with. Something closer to 2 ingots for 64 track sections (1 stack) might be worth the effort. You need tens of thousands of rail sections to make much of a difference. Paths wouldn't make any sense at all if it weren't for the fact you would have trunks full of stones (or yeet them) by the end of the first year. Other than frequently traveled routes and bridges, you don't save enough time to make the investment in building paths worthwhile.

Or are you talking about just being a builder, not any real gameplay point to it?

[Mortor Zed]

On 5/17/2024 at 6:33 PM, Thorfinn said:

Two metal bars for 3 rails is not nearly enough to make it worth bothering with. Something closer to 2 ingots for 64 track sections (1 stack) might be worth the effort. You need tens of thousands of rail sections to make much of a difference. Paths wouldn't make any sense at all if it weren't for the fact you would have trunks full of stones (or yeet them) by the end of the first year. Other than frequently traveled routes and bridges, you don't save enough time to make the investment in building paths worthwhile.

Or are you talking about just being a builder, not any real gameplay point to it?

it's just a prototype and it's in debatable but you have a very good point of view

[Shotai]

On 5/16/2024 at 11:43 PM, LadyWYT said:

Technically we have boilers and gas lighting in the game, but that level of tech is currently unattainable. I don't know about trains--while they are cool, we can just teleport thousands of miles in an instant via the translocators. I could see a much smaller version though being used to push around minecarts, and minecarts would be nice to have for transporting things in and out of dedicated quarries and other mining locations. A mini version like this could also serve as a lazy seraph's way to travel short distances as well, provided they're willing to build the infrastructure for it.

Another idea that just crossed my mind--some sort of little steam-powered paddle wheel attachment for boats. I would expect it to be difficult to craft, but it could offer a steady source of power, assuming that standard sailing works similar to how Valheim handles things.

Necro time.

I don't exactly like the idea of teleportion in games like this. Trains are a good alternative IMO, compared to using teleporter technology that sort of . . . feels like it breaks immersion.

> Knap
> Stone tools
> Iron tools
> Mechanized steampunk technology
> Steel
> ? ? ? Teleporter

I like the idea of transit and I'd like to think that it also harbors a sense of community of everyone coming together in one area and preparing for the next train. It's actually a mod I was looking for in regards to a meta game I've been developing, but the closest we have to that is . . . rust and railroads reborn. Last modified April 20th. Oof. Looks like this is years away for Vintage Story.

[ribbbbbs]

On 8/22/2025 at 12:59 AM, Shotai said:

I don't exactly like the idea of teleportion in games like this. Trains are a good alternative IMO, compared to using teleporter technology that sort of . . . feels like it breaks immersion.

Are you unfamiliar with the game lore perchance? 

Anyways, I think trains, paddle-boats, and steam-power in general would make for awesome late-game tech. I think the main issue is the that the devs just plain haven't gotten that far yet; presently steel is optional end-game gear that lets one win harder. I also think introducing trains should coincide with other steam-powered tech such as a steamboat for water transport, a static steam engine for a more reliable and/or stronger source of mechanical power, and possibly excavators in the style of "Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel" (pic related pls pls add Mary Anne to VS). The thing is, adding all this stuff requires that the underlying mechanics be worked out first: the devs still need to add rivers and polish sailing before adding steamships make sense; a reasonable rail system must come before full-blown locomotives; fuel-efficiency rates must be determined for all the steam-powered contraptions; we might need another way to mass-produce iron or steal to build enough metal rails; etc. So we have at least one, probably multiple major updates worth of things before the steampunk/industrial age comes to the game. I'm sure it'll get there eventually.

Edited October 20, 2025 by ribbbbbs

[Teh Pizza Lady]

the problem with this is that Late Medieval tech stopped around 1500CE. It wouldn't be for another hundred years that early train concepts started forming using animals to pull series of carts. The first steam engine didn't appear until after 1700CE.

In VS lore, of course, Falx did a lot of things that seemed magical and steam power is definitely one of those things he could have employed or even implemented. I don't think it's a stretch of the imagination to assume that a blueprint for a steam engine could have been left behind, especially since steam power was used in various places.

I don't think it's a stretch of the imagination or the game lore to find a blueprint for a compact steam engine, craft it out of various components:

• Rolling machine - create curved metal components for the various parts using rotational power from a water wheel or windmill (would need gearing down to utilize)
• Pressure vessel - crafted from curved metal plates, a shield boss or two (to serve as end caps), and at least iron nails and strips (to serve as rivets) -- bonus points if the nails and strips have to be heated first.
• Firebox - crafted from bricks and a hatch door
• Pressurized tubes - crafted using rolling machine by putting curved metal plates into it one more time. metal plates are rolled into tubes. Copper tubes = low pressure. Steel tubes = high pressure
• Wheels - crafted similarly to the large gears but instead of cogs, the wheel is wrapped with metal strips
• Various support beams, and panels, etc - crafted out of support beams and wooden planks, etc.

Crafting the steam engine would require a modular process similar to crafting the sailboat. Rails could be made out of metal rods and support beams. Would require at least iron or steel.

Steam power is definitely feasible and I can see a definite need for large-scale iron mining and processing efforts. Perhaps this is where the first blast furnaces could be created. Fun fact: they are basically evolved forms of the bloomery furnaces we have in-game.

[LadyWYT]

4 hours ago, ribbbbbs said:

"Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel"

Well...there's a beloved part of my childhood that I had forgotten about. 

[hstone32]

4 hours ago, Teh Pizza Lady said:

the problem with this is that Late Medieval tech stopped around 1500CE. It wouldn't be for another hundred years that early train concepts started forming using animals to pull series of carts. The first steam engine didn't appear until after 1700CE.

I keep seeing this idea being referenced across the forum. Is this a hard requirement written in stone? We can't ever see anything that wasn't pre-columbian in origin? If Tyron said so, how long ago did he say that?

[Facethief]

20 minutes ago, hstone32 said:

I keep seeing this idea being referenced across the forum. Is this a hard requirement written in stone? We can't ever see anything that wasn't pre-columbian in origin? If Tyron said so, how long ago did he say that?

I don't know if I can cite anything, but the whole game angles for an eldritch-medieval-clockpunk-steampunk-kinda vibe, ya know? BTW, there are boilers in game, so I think a primitive form of locomotive wouldn't be too horribly out of place.

[Teh Pizza Lady]

18 minutes ago, hstone32 said:

I keep seeing this idea being referenced across the forum. Is this a hard requirement written in stone? We can't ever see anything that wasn't pre-columbian in origin? If Tyron said so, how long ago did he say that?

the game takes place roughly 400 years after some major world event that essentially ended humanity's technological advancement. We can glean this just by playing the game.

The technologies in place hint at a late medieval period. Even things referenced in the lore books tend to use language that suggests medieval themes with societal classes/castes being the major pointer to the political state of the world at that time. If it parallels real world history, then it would be somewhere in the late 1400's to early 1500's. There is mention of technology that could place it later around the 1700's so the game events could take place anywhere between 1900's to 2100's, realistically speaking.

[Facethief]

3 minutes ago, Teh Pizza Lady said:

1400's

Eeeeeewwww!

That’s a gross misuse of the glorious apostrophe!

… unless you’re saying “[…] the late 1400 has/is to early 1500 has/is.”

Edited October 20, 2025 by Facethief

[Teh Pizza Lady]

1 hour ago, Facethief said:

Eeeeeewwww!

That’s a gross misuse of the glorious apostrophe!

… unless you’re saying “[…] the late 1400 has/is to early 1500 has/is.”

Sorry, I amn't a good writer of the Engli'sh language.

[LadyWYT]

1 hour ago, Teh Pizza Lady said:

If it parallels real world history, then it would be somewhere in the late 1400's to early 1500's.

Ahem...the specific timeframe is somewhere between 1200 and 1400, due to the existence of both the Hanseatic League and the Byzantine Empire. If you go earlier than that, the Hanseatic League doesn't exist, and you can't go later than 1400(1453, to be precise) or the Byzantine Empire no longer exists. Since both are referenced in the Old World history, the events of the Old World took place somewhere in that timeframe. As for the current year in the game? The only thing that's really known for sure is that some sort of catastrophic event took place to end the Old World, and a few hundred years have passed since, at least. Very little of humanity is left, and the ones that are left have had their hands full just scratching out their own survival.

In other words, that's pretty much the in-lore reason that technology is locked to the late Middle Ages. The Old World had an early leap in tech thanks to the efforts of a certain character, however, that progress has pretty much been lost to the ages and only specific individuals still have any clue how to create it.

1 hour ago, hstone32 said:

We can't ever see anything that wasn't pre-columbian in origin?

I don't think it's a matter of "couldn't", but more a matter of that the focus of the game is on medieval tech, with some steampunk thrown in. The stone age is just a brief phase that the player is in at the very start of the game, and not the tech level intended to be the main focus. I'd also note that "pre-Columbian" tends to refer to the Americas, but the game's setting is predominantly central Europe, with references to some of the other nearby areas relevant to that region at the time(near East, far East, North Africa and the Middle East).

[Amadeo4444]

When it comes to laying train tracks, I'm praying that some kind of metal press or equipment will be added to the game sooner rather than later, allowing for easier crafting of metal bars or rails for tracks. I can't imagine forging every single rail by hand for trains stretching across hundreds of blocks; I'd like to see more mechanical automation in the game sooner.