The Age of Refining and Steelmaking Begins! New Industrial Equipment, Ingredient Supply Boxes and a Beginner's Guide, with Aquaculture and Music System Upgrades

Dear Conductors,

Production aboard your train enters a new era! The Basic Refinery, Advanced Refinery, and Steelworks bring new options from mineral refining to high-temperature steelmaking. Tier-four and tier-five blueprints have also been adjusted: Steel Ingots replace Circuit Boards for unlocking technology, with more balanced overall material requirements.

For everyday life, the new Automatic Ingredient Supply Box tops up ingredients at cooking stations in the same car. Freshwater mussels, shrimp, starfish, shells, and conches can now be raised in aquariums. The new Beginner's Guide and Bookshelf give your travel knowledge a place to read, store, and revisit.

Music is getting an upgrade too: sit at the wooden piano and play as your hands and the keys move with the notes, visible to your friends as well. We've also improved joining multiplayer games, downed rescues, cannon saves, Star Chart transport, and building.

Here are the full update notes.

New Basic Refinery: Get More from Your Minerals

The new Basic Refinery joins your material production line.

Powered by fuel, it converts:

1 Mineral → 2 Refined Minerals

Refined minerals can then be smelted into ingots in a furnace.

Refining before smelting gets more output from your existing minerals, supplying train construction and technological progress.

New Advanced Refinery: Electrically Powered Processing

The Advanced Refinery runs on electricity and delivers a higher refining yield:

1 Mineral → 3 Refined Minerals

Its refined minerals can also be smelted into ingots in a furnace.

Install a Production Capacity Module to gain 1 extra refined mineral per output. As your power supply and equipment develop, you can make even better use of your minerals.

New Steelworks: Maintain the Heat to Make Steel Ingots

The new Steel Ingot material is produced at the Steelworks.

Add iron ingots and fuel, and the temperature will gradually rise. Steelmaking can begin only when it is hot enough.

High-Temperature Production Rules

• Adding fuel slowly raises the equipment's temperature.
• Steelmaking begins once the temperature reaches 70%.
• Production pauses when the temperature falls below the required threshold.

Alongside iron ingots, monitor fuel and temperature to keep your production running.

New Automatic Ingredient Supply Box: Less Hauling Before Cooking

You no longer need to move every ingredient into your inventory before cooking!

Store ingredients in an Automatic Ingredient Supply Box, then use a recipe's Quick Add at a cooking station in the same car to draw the ingredients automatically.

Carried Ingredients Come First

Quick Add first uses the ingredients you are carrying.

Any shortfall is supplied by Automatic Ingredient Supply Boxes in the same car, reducing repeated container opening and item transfers.

Multiple Boxes Supply Together

Multiple Automatic Ingredient Supply Boxes in the same car can contribute ingredients together.

Organize different ingredients however you prefer; the boxes jointly provide the required quantities when cooking.

Recipe Availability Includes Box Contents

Recipe ingredient availability now counts stock in Automatic Ingredient Supply Boxes.

The recipe's background color shows whether you have enough, making it easier to choose meals you can currently prepare.

New Beginner's Guide: Gathering and Survival Knowledge on Hand

Encounter something unfamiliar on your journey? Open the new Beginner's Guide.

Hold the book and left-click to open it and consult practical gathering and survival advice whenever you need it.

Hand-Drawn Illustrations and Explanations

Hand-drawn artwork and written explanations make the knowledge easier to understand, with a book you can carry on your travels.

Three Knowledge Categories

The book has three sections:

• Beginner
• Hidden Knowledge
• Advanced Knowledge

Click a category bookmark to switch and find what you need.

Turning Pages and Reading

Click Previous Page or Next Page, or use Page Up / Page Down to turn pages.

After reading, place the Beginner's Guide on a Bookshelf alongside your Collection Album for storage and display, then take it out whenever needed.

New Bookshelf: A Home for Your Books

The new placeable Bookshelf gives books their own storage space in your car.

The bookshelf has two shelves:

• 5 book slots per shelf.
• Space for 10 books in total.
• 1 book per slot.

Place and Retrieve Books Directly

Hold a book and aim at an empty slot. When the blue placement preview appears, press E to place it. The book is displayed in that position.

Aim at a book on the shelf and press E to take it out for reading.

Open the Storage Interface to Organize

Aim at the bookshelf's cabinet and press E to open a storage interface with two rows of five slots for storing, retrieving, and organizing books.

Keep your guide close at hand or display your collection together—arrange it to suit your habits.

Six More Aquatic Creatures for Aquariums

More residents are moving into your train's aquariums!

You can now raise the following in an aquarium:

• Freshwater Mussel
• Freshwater Shrimp
• Red Starfish
• Blue Starfish
• Shell
• Conch

They follow the existing feeding and breeding rules. Cooked specimens cannot be placed in an aquarium.

Different Creatures, Different Behaviors

Shellfish, conches, and starfish rest on the bottom; freshwater shrimp swim slowly, while mussels gently open and close.

Combine different creatures to enjoy a wider variety of movements and resting behaviors.

Updated Mussel and Shrimp Models

Updated freshwater mussel and shrimp models, plus first- and third-person held appearances for related aquatic items and cooked foods, so you and your teammates see more complete items.

More Accurate Aquarium Counts

Improved displayed counts after adding groups, removing individuals, and loading saves, keeping visible creatures consistent with the actual contents.

Music Upgrade: Sit Down and Play for Friends

The piano has a new wooden appearance and supports seated playing.

Hands and keys move with the notes, and other players can see your performance, bringing music aboard the train to life.

Unified Piano and Guitar Keys

Piano and guitar now use the same keys:

Z, X, C, V, B, N, M, comma key

Mouse controls:

• Left mouse button: Lower pitch
• Middle mouse button: Semitone
• Right mouse button: Raise pitch

Updated Drum Control Hints

Drums use Z, X, C, V, B, N, M. The panel no longer shows inapplicable pitch-change hints, making the controls clearer.

Chords, Key Highlights, and Custom Bindings

The music system supports chords, key highlighting, and custom key bindings so you can arrange controls to your liking.

Press Space or a movement key to stop playing.

Material Changes for Tier-Four and Tier-Five Blueprints

Technology unlock materials have been significantly revised to connect refining and steelmaking with later progression.

Steel Ingots Replace Circuit Boards for Unlocks

The Circuit Board item has been removed.

Blueprints that required Circuit Boards now use Steel Ingots, with some additional gold and copper requirements.

Lower Overall Unlock Costs

Most tier-four and tier-five blueprint requirements have changed, reducing overall costs for more balanced advanced progression.

Check the revised requirements before unlocking equipment and plan your refining and steel production accordingly.

Revised Roles for the Large Furnace and Electric Arc Blast Furnace

Processing at the Large Furnace and Electric Arc Blast Furnace has been adjusted to complement the new refineries.

Large Furnace

Removed the mineral yield multiplier and increased smelting speed.

Electric Arc Blast Furnace

Removed the mineral yield multiplier and increased smelting speed.

Refining now provides extra mineral output; furnaces handle the subsequent smelting. Plan a workflow that suits your fuel, electricity, and material reserves.

Rotten Food and Feces Can Fertilize Directly

Rotten food and feces can now be applied directly to crops in planters and mushroom growing beds, or used in the Automatic Fertilizer Machine.

Both provide a little fertility, much less than bagged fertilizer, but offer another source for everyday growing.

Improved Automatic Fertilizer Use Order

The machine prioritizes low-fertility materials and consumes them only when the target has enough remaining fertility capacity, reducing waste.

Put rotten food and feces to work caring for crops when organizing your supplies.

Pillars and Half Pillars Fit at Floor Centers

Pillars and Half Pillars can now be placed at the exact center of completed square floors.

The existing corner placements remain, letting you choose central or corner support for more flexible layouts.

Stack Directly on Top of Pillars

You can now stack Pillars or Half Pillars on either type without first laying a floor.

Extend tall supports straight upward with fewer intermediate steps.

Cancel Fishing at Any Time

Right-click or press the controller's cancel button to put away your fishing rod, including during automatic line control.

Corresponding button hints have been added to the interface.

Stop fishing promptly when enemies appear or something else needs attention, then switch to the equipment you need.

Improved Two-Handed Chainsaw Grip

Further refined the chainsaw's grip to reduce twisted wrists and arms blocking the view.

Hands fit the handles better, making sawing and returning to rest after releasing the controls more natural and smooth.

Clearer Rocket Durability at the Star Chart Table

Mining rocket durability bars now have a shield icon and a warning color at low durability.

Hover over a rocket or select it with a controller for clearer durability information.

This helps distinguish:

• The rocket's remaining durability.
• Resources still unmined at the deposit.

Assess your fleet more clearly when scheduling mining and repairs.

Space Transport Checks Receiving Capacity Before Dispatch

Cargo cannot be sent when receiving space is insufficient. The Star Chart Table explains why, and no shipping fee is deducted.

Make sure the landing pad has enough space before dispatching to avoid long waits after departure.

Receiving Beacon Movement and Transport State Protection

Receiving Beacons cannot be moved while a Return Capsule is landing or unloading.

A beacon being moved cannot be used to dispatch cargo either. After placement, overhead building obstructions are checked again.

Cargo already in transit is preserved and can unload normally once space is available, keeping transport states more reliable.

Refreshed Resource Network Interface at the Control Console

The Control Console's Resource Network page now makes electricity, water, and resource balance easier to read.

Clearer Electricity and Water Levels

Large percentages and progress bars show current resource levels at a glance.

Clearer Income, Consumption, and Reserve Use

Resource input, output, and reserve consumption are easier to understand, with more obvious electricity and water shortages.

Check the console more easily when deciding how to adjust power or water equipment.

Better Friend Room Discovery and Join Messages

Continued improving discovery, refresh, and joining of friends' rooms.

When a Friend Has Not Created a Room

Their status now correctly reads At the Main Menu, avoiding the impression that a joinable room already exists.

When a Room Is Preparing or Temporarily Unavailable

Clearer explanations help you tell whether to wait or whether the room currently cannot be joined.

Better Friend Status Refresh

Improved room discovery and refresh to reduce joining failures caused by delayed status updates.

Teammates Can Carry a Downed Host

Fixed teammates being unable to pick up the downed host.

They can now carry the host to a bed or sleeping bag for treatment as expected.

Ammo Hints Close After Leaving a Cannon

Fixed the ammunition hint staying on-screen after exiting cannon controls.

The hints now close properly, keeping subsequent viewing and actions unobstructed.

Consistent Controls for Enemy Train Cannons

Captured enemy train cannons now handle like those on your own train.

The cannon stays in front of the player while turning, making aiming and observation more intuitive.

Loaded Cannon Ammunition Save Fix

Fixed loaded cannonballs disappearing after saving and re-entering the game.

Loaded ammunition is now preserved correctly when resuming play.

Rocket Launch Fix for Some Older Saves

Fixed rockets in some older saves failing to take off after displaying Already Registered.

Registered rockets retain their existing orbital state and are not duplicated when processed again.

Corrected Shop Transaction Failure Messages

Corrected the reasons shown when shop transactions fail.

Character data errors are no longer mislabeled as disk problems, making messages more accurate and troubleshooting clearer.

Quest Panel Position Fix When Reopening

Fixed quest content at the upper left shifting upward and being cut off when reopening with L after hiding the panel, quitting, and re-entering the game.

The panel now retains its proper position when reopened, keeping objectives readable.

Christmas Sapling Collection Adjustment and Holiday Preview

The currently unavailable Christmas Sapling is temporarily hidden in the collection album and excluded from the collection total, so you need not search for an unobtainable item.

Christmas Saplings will become available during the Christmas Feast event starting December 1.

We are developing the holiday festivities and will share more later. Saplings cannot be obtained in the current version, so there is no need to search yet.

Thank You for Your Support and Feedback, Conductors

From refining minerals and making steel to new aquarium residents, music, and books, this update expands production and life aboard your train while refining multiplayer, combat, and transport details.

If you encounter issues after updating, let us know through the Steam Community. Include what happened, whether you played solo or multiplayer, and screenshots or reproduction steps to help us find the cause faster.

Set up your new production equipment, stock the kitchen, and remember to pause during your travels to play a tune for your friends.

See you at the next station!

Share your Steam review

If you have enjoyed your travels in OxyRail, please consider taking a moment to leave an honest review on Steam.

Whether it is the satisfaction of building your train alone or adventures with friends, your experience helps other players discover the game and helps us understand what you enjoy most and what still needs work.

If you have already written a review, you are welcome to add to or update it based on your current experience after trying this update. We would love to hear about changes you like, problems you encounter, and things you hope to see.

Thank you for your support and companionship. Pack your supplies, and see you at the next station!

— The OxyRail Development Team