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DEMO OUT NOW ON STEAM AND ITCH.IO!
Freight Misconductor is a pixel art railroad switching train puzzle video game under development by myself (Luna Rose) and @msasterisk.
In Freight Misconductor, you operate South Lymer Railway's SLYM-11513, an Advanced Steam Locomotive on the alien planet Gymnome, to shunt train cars between siding tracks in increasingly convoluted rail yards, while minimizing your move count and time so as to hopefully keep your Engineer and Conductor-Brakegoo's spirits up.
More information, FAQ below the cut:
Freight Misconductor is a game based on model railway shunting puzzles like John Allen's Timesaver and Alan Wright's Inglenook Sidings. It has been under development since December 2024. What began as a simple prototype based on the Inglenook has evolved into a much bigger project that has pretty consistently exceeded our expectations. We're having a lot of fun developing it and our closed playtesters are having a lot of fun playing it.
Here are some fairly recent gameplay videos:
Some levels in Train Misconductor feature multiple playable locomotives. This level, based upon the classic Primitive Railroading puzzle, is
Here's a look at version Train Puzzle dot exe (title pending) 0.00, version 0.2, version 0.3, and the most recent milestone version, Train Misconductor (title no longer pending) version 0.4, to see how the game has progressed over time.
Here's some art of the game's Gymnomi Slime alien characters: The Conductor and the Engineer, as illustrated by MsAsterisk and myself, respectively:
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Who are the developers?
A: The development team is myself (whirligig-girl / Luna Rose) and my friend @msasterisk. I am the lead designer and the artist, MsAsterisk is the excellent programmer. In addition there is a closed playtesting group, a work in progress soundtrack being volunteered by SpockAndStep et al, and some additional scenery art assets being volunteered by @vivvy-of-the-lake.
Q: Didn't this used to be called Train Misconductor? I liked that name better!
A: A game developer who I do not want to bring attention to had a trademark dispute, and because we don't have the budget to fight a legal battle, the name had to be changed to Freight Misconductor. I am not happy about this either.
Q: What engine is it?
A: an advanced steam engine utilizing compound expansion of steam to--oh you mean the game engine? Oh. Ok. We're making the game in Godot.
Q: When will Freight Misconductor be released?
A: It depends on a whole lot of factors. We want to make sure it's good and ready before it comes out. Some fundamental features are still not yet implemented, and there is a lot more art left to do. It all depends upon how long a two person hobby indie dev team with no budget can go before getting burnt out. My cute little soundbyte is "if it comes out in 2025 or 2027, something will have gone wrong." But we just don't know.
Q: What platforms will Freight Misconductor be available for?
A: PC for sure, likely also Mac & Linux.
Q: Where will Freight Misconductor be released?
A: We intend to release on Steam and Itch.io.
Q: Is there a Steam page?
A: We're waiting until near the end of this development sprint to do so. at popular request, a steam page has been made, the link is at the top of the post.
Q: How can I keep up with development?
A: You can follow me on Tumblr or on Bluesky, or follow specifically the #Freight Misconductor tag on Tumblr or Bluesky. (note: historical posts before March 8th 2026 will be under the #Train Misconductor tag.) When the steam page goes up, we'll try to keep that up to date as well. There is also a Discord server.
Q: Is there a demo?
A: Not yet; though there will be a short free demo before the game is released.
Q: What will the game cost?
A: We expect to sell it in the roughly $20 (USD) range.
Q: Will there be track laying?
A: Freight Misconductor is a puzzle game that is premised on the restrictions given by a specific track plan, changing it on the fly would mess up the puzzle design.
Q: Will there be a level editor?
A: Though we'd like there to be modding support for custom levels to be made in the Godot editor, there will be no built-in level editor in-game.
Q: Ok I'll bite. What is an Advanced Steam Engine?
A: Historically, Gymnomi locomotives looked something like this: large articulated steam locomotives, garratts especially.
By the 2310s AD, planet Gymnome had largely phased out steam locomotives and switched to diesel-hydraulics.
In 2329 resulting from a regular shift in the planet's orbit as it encountered the coorbital giant planet Omen, a global oil crisis began, which led to steam engines being taken out of museums to run the railways again.
By the mid 2330s, brand new high efficiency steam locomotives with modern electronics were built. The SLYM-11513 is one of these new locomotives. These fictional engines are loosely based on real world concepts like the ACE 3000, LVM-800, and 5AT.
Q: Will there be a story?
A: There will be some character dialogue and narrative tied to the player's progression. More info to come later.
Q: How can I help?
A: If you're willing to volunteer your skills, contact me and we'll see what we can work out. In particular, additional scenery art assets and soundtrack are wanted. Also, a tip on my Ko-fi would be appreciated. Aside from that, please reblog, share this and other dev posts and keep talking about Freight Misconductor. Indie games live or die on word of mouth. I know it's cheesy to ask for engagement on a social media post, but hey, you read this far, may as well right?
Q: Can I playtest?
A: The playtest group is currently a closed group.
Q: Did you draw a bunch of angles or is it 3D?
A: Although Freight Misconductor is designed to resemble games that use prerendered sprites, we actually use 3D models rendered in real time with a pixel shader.
Q: Can I ask you a question?
A: Yeah sure go ahead. My asks are open, as are the comments on this post.
(looking for my pinned art commission sheet? It's been moved here)
Okay so this is both Bannerfall and The Flight stuff but these two are such sillies!!
Bannerfall cast did a Harpy Express in character stream and the bleed through of The Flight and also the silliness Sausage and Graecie would get up to before the lore made them need to be enemies in bf.
So have some clips of lots of 'elven' humor and moments hehehe
First up is Graecie and Sausage trying to figure out the timeline pfffft
No creaking king!!! For now hehehe
That quickly turns south as well... Sausage was killer and the timer was ticking.... He was very very sorry.....
After the round ended though we get this GEM of a clip with Graecie chasing him down and saying that wasn't very Blessed Bells of him hehehe. The timeline hoppers pfffft
Also find it very funny that I think Sausage said Blessed Bells during this more than Graecie hehehe
And don't think Sausage got away with murdering Graecie and she didn't get revenge! Sausage was scaring Katie and well Graecie took his word for fact and it did not go well for him hehehe
Also I think we should give Graecie a gun more often just because of this clip here!!
Blessed Bells!! Totally not a cult mhmm.... Also Legs joined Graecie and Sausage! The Feles stick together!!
Now back to Bannerfall stuff..... So..... They gave Sausage Resin and it was so funny!!! In this universe it ended very differently. Graecie how could you say "I'll watch over you" my heart!!
And in the end.... He did what Graecie wanted but Sausage wasn't happy about it o7
I can only fit one more clip but these two I swear. Graecie telling him to kill her so she can heat up her coffee and Sausage saying not again as he kills her. I swear if this somehow foreshadows something in The Flight and Sausage has to hurt Graecie I will perish.
But to wrap this up! While bf!Sausage and bf!Graecie ended up enemies The Flight versions are full of whimsy and happiness! Now lets just hope nothing tragic happens to them again ><
Allegheny & Erie 1300 (H-6 Mallet 2-6-6-2) and 1500 (T-1 Texas 2-10-4) on a heavy freight from Andrews to Sylva North Carolina on the Murphy branch of the Allegheny and Erie
Photographed April 27th 1957
Both Locomotives were purchased from the C&O after their retirement and are some of the last remnants of steam in the Appalachian mountains.
A&E 1300 was converted to burn oil after acquisition from the C&O, but was retired in 1973 due to the oil crisis. The locomotive still exists today and is on display at a railroad park outside of Asheville, North Carolina.
A&E 1500 ran until late 1964 when the locomotive derailed outside of Thornton, West Virginia due to a rock slide causing the engine to fall into the river. There were many attempts to raise enough money to rescue the locomotive as it was one of the last of the C&O T-1's unfortunately in 1966 the locomotive was scrapped on site.
Today there is a plaque on US 50 marking the location of the wreck commemorating those who have lost their lives in railroad accidents
