Trains

Overview

Trains enable high-speed transport of a large number of shapes or amount of fluids.

Trains are unlocked at Milestone 5 in the Normal Scenario. This unlocks the Rail, Train Launcher, red Rail Configurator, the Shape Loader and Shape Unloader, the Train Stop, Shape Wagons, and the red Train Locomotive. Additional train components, along with increased Train Speed and Train Capacity are available as Upgrades.

Rails

Standard Rails

Train rails can be placed while in Space mode. Each rail take one space grid (chunk) of space and are free to use (cost zero Platform Units). They can be spit and merged in a similar way as Belts. Each rail can carry one or more trains, of one or more colors. Each train color on a rail has a designated path (see Rail Configurator). Rails can form loops or simply terminate, in which case the train will return along its path on the underside of the rail.

Train Launcher

Train Launchers attach to Rails and launch trains across train components, Space Belts, Space Pipes, Foundations, or into the Vortex.

Train Launchers can launch up to 4 space grids in distance. This can be adjusted with the scroll wheel.

Rail Configurator

When trains are unlocked, only the Red Rail Configurator is available. Green, blue, and white Rail Configurators are unlocked through Train Unlockable Upgrades, each for 12 Research Points.

Placing rail configurators behaves the same as placing regular rails, with the difference that when creating a split or dragging over an existing split, this will set the splitter's branch that was dragged over to only let through trains of the configurator's color. A split also cannot have multiple branches with the same color, but there can be multiple different colors per branch. When a branch has colors set, holographic colored arrows will hover over that branch, with the exception that if a branch is straight ahead from the split's input, the arrows won't be displayed. The game will also always make sure that all train colors have a branch to go to by selecting a default one for non specified colors.

When a train arrives at a splitter, it will take the branch of its color. This allows to make train routes, where each color is a route, and where there are rail segments that share multiple colors, and some that only allow one color.

Twister and Loop

The Supporter Edition DLC of Shapez 2 adds the Rail Twister and Rail Loop. These are purely cosmetic.

The Twister and Loop are unlocked for 5 Research Points.

Stations

Train stations consists of a Train Stop and one or more Train Loaders or Unloaders.

Train Stop

Train Stops are required for packages from Shape and Fluid Loaders to be moved onto Train Wagons, or packages to be removed from Wagons to Shape and Fluid Unloaders.

All trains on the top side of a rail will stop at a train stop. If a train catches up to a stopped train, it will stop behind it until the train in front has moved. Trains stop for approximately 4 seconds.

Loader

Shape and Fluid Loaders take shapes and fluid respectively either through Space Belts/Space Pipes, or from a launcher on a Foundation notch, and fill packages. Packages are of a fixed size (increasable through Train Capacity Upgrades) and move to the end of the loader once full. A full package can be picked up by a train with the appropriate type of wagon. A loader can hold up to 9 packages awaiting pickup at a time, 3 per floor.

A package on a loader floor will only accept items when it is empty or already contains some of the same item. Attempting to load a shape or color that is different than the item already stored on that loader floor will delete that item and multiple items stored in the package. This continues until the package is completely empty.

Unloader

Shape and Fluid Unloaders take shape and fluid packages respectively from the appropriate Train Wagons and unload them onto Space Belts/Space Pipes or to a receiver on a Foundation notch. An unloader can hold up to 9 packages awaiting uploading at a time, 3 per floor. If a Train Wagon cannot unload its package, it will remain on the Train Wagon.

Unloaders will output shapes and fluids to all connected output ports (up to four per floor). There is no relation between the ports used at the loader station and the ports at the unloader station. For example if a package is filled using only 2 of the 4 input ports, and the unloader has 4 connected ports, the parts will unload to all 4 ports.

Fluid Unloaders (along with Fluid Loaders and Fluid Wagons) are unlocked for 25 Research Points.

Train Cars

Car Type	Research Cost	Platform Cost
Red Locomotive	N/A	10
Green Locomotive	12	10
Blue Locomotive	12	10
White Locomotive	12	10
Shape Wagon	N/A	6
Fluid Wagon	25	6
Filler Wagon	6	2

Locomotive

A Train Locomotive is the beginning of a train, all Train Wagons must be placed behind a locomotive. When a train is newly placed, launched into the Vortex, reaches the end of the line and derails (with the 'Trains Derail' Game Rule ), or the 'respawn' button is pressed after selecting the Train Locomotive, the train will spawn from the Locomotive location. The train spawned will have the same color as the locomotive, this being used for rail routing.

When trains are unlocked, only the red locomotive is available. Green, blue, and white locomotives are unlocked through Train Unlockable Upgrades.

Wagons

Wagons are added to Train Locmotives. There is no limit to the number of wagons, but they must be connected in a straight line behind the Locomotive.

Shape Wagon

Shape Wagons hold up to three shape packages at a time (one per floor). They are loaded from Shape Loaders, and unloaded at Shape Unloaders.

Fluid Wagon

Fluid Wagons hold up to three fluid packages at a time (one per floor). They are loaded from Fluid Loaders, and unloaded at Fluid Unloaders.

Filler Wagon

Filler Wagons are wagons that cannot hold any shape or fluid packages. They are used to fill gaps between the other types of wagons.

Train Capacity

The value of the train capacity upgrades is the number of items per package. For example, at level 1, each wagon can carry up to 3 x 360 items (one package per each of the 3 available belt level). This capacity should be taken into consideration when calculating the number of required wagons or trains to carry the required number of produced items

For example, if you are at train capacity level 1 (360 items per package), and you have unlocked 90 items/minutes belts, and you have 100% production rate on those belts, and you are feeding the shape loader using 4 belts per level, then 4 belts per level will take 1 minute to fill one 360-items package. This means that the maximum round trip delay for one train must be less than 1 minute in that case. If the round trip delay is any longer, then the train network will become a bottleneck, i.e. items will start piling up at the shape loader station, leading to production repeatedly halting and resuming (production hiccup), and the destination will starve.

To alleviate this situation, either share the load across multiple wagons, add multiple trains to that same track, or unlock a faster train capacity. Also, if not all the input levels are used (for example, only feeding one or two belt levels), the you can also share the load across the unused input levels.

Vortex Delivery

If unlocked, using a Train Launcher to launch a train into the Vortex delivers all the shapes on the train to the Vortex, and counts them to Milestones, Tasks, and Operator Levels.

Train Vortex Delivery is unlocked for 60 Research Points.