Hexagons are Bestagons!

From the expectation that you should be able to build your track anywhere you want and in any order you want while still having it all line up, hexagons do this job nicely. Build out your track network any way you see fit as long as it’s on the hex-grid and and primarily in the rightward direction.

Planning your network

Grab your trusty shovel and start digging. Preparing the ground is the first step when you’re mapping out your network. As you grade survey flags will appear, forming the edges of the to be constructed track.

Some light grading work will help you quickly establish the shape of your fledgling rail empire.

Ballast Prep

Railroads don’t sit in the dirt and neither will yours. Transporting the ballast to the work site is going to be a significant logistics challenge. I’m particularly proud of the dumping physics!

All orderings are fine

An important lesson I’ve learned is that a good job simulator never tells you how to do your job, only that it needs doing. If you want to build all right side rails first, that’s none my business 😅 Thanks to the hex grid, all freeform construction is guaranteed to line up eventually.

Simulating engines

The sawmill is the testbed for the simulation that will enable the locomotives. All the concepts are here. Fuel, temperature, drafting, pressure, piston phase, and force interactions with the physics world (the log in this case). Cutting logs effectively is also operating the steam engine effectively.