v2.53 Released - Difficulty Adjustments

Steam Engine Simulator

The Steam Engine Simulator shown on AngeTheGreat's YouTube channel.

This patch addresses some common complaints I've seen, mainly regarding difficulty level. I did release a few other patches before this which mainly focused on minor UI changes like starting the game in the main menu to avoid confusion for people who just purchased the DLC. [h2]Difficulty Adjustments[/h2] I first want to address a common misconception about the career mode that fuel is "too expensive". It isn't and this is quantifiable and provable mathematically. Furthermore, there are no "dumb tricks" or hacks needed in order to win. That being said, I do understand that for someone who hasn't spent a lot of time in the simulation, it can seem mysterious or counterintuitive. I assure you, the simulation is not broken and it's not scamming you. Physics just doesn't care about gameplay and these are the harsh realities of physically based simulation. To ease the pain for players, I've lessened the difficulty level slightly in the easier levels (everything other than Expert), specifically the economy which seems to be a common pain point. Expert mode is the only mode that is objectively balanced when looked at mathematically. The other modes are heavily biased in favor of the player. With this in mind, I'd like to hear from you guys about where you're having difficulties and how the tutorial and game might be improved to alleviate those challenges.