Info about Trailmakers:

Official game description:
Trailmakers is a play-as-you-like **vehicle building** game with reliable physics, controlled chaos, **land, sea, and air combat**.
Jump straight into the open-world Pioneers campaign where you complete missions, craft blocks and fight BOTNAKs. If you just want to play around with a plethora of different blocks, there are five dedicated sandbox maps that will let you tinker with vehicles in space, water, and ground.
Sandbox gives you fun challenges, creative freedom, and high speed driving and flying.
Use the integrated workshop to download other people’s creations and have addictingly fun skirmishes with up to seven friends in multiplayer.
BUILD EVERYTHING
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The intricate yet intuitive building mechanic allows you to either choose pre-made vehicles from the game and the community workshop or build your own vehicles completely from scratch using hundreds of blocks that affect both aerodynamics, functionality, speed, combat ability, and much more in a world ruled by reliable physics.
Customize your character and block designs with a heap of different skins, colors, and pattern combinations to create your own personal brand.
The builder is made to be as accessible and intuitive as possible for players who are new to building games while also equipped with features for the more hardcore segment of engineers: Easy to learn, hard to master!
COMBAT
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Trailmakers offers an arsenal of 14 different weapons like minigun, EMPs, laser blasters, rocket launchers and shotguns to name a few. Set up a server with your friends or join one of the hundreds of public games to test them out in different PvP scenarios. Fight in the air, ocean, ground, or in space. Your choice of mayhem is entirely up to you.
MULTIPLAYER
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All game modes in Trailmakers, including the main story, allow Multiplayer for 2-8 people.
Jump into one of the five dedicated sandbox maps, hang out and build together, test each other's vehicles, or share and be inspired from thousands of incredible community made workshop builds.
Controlled chaos, land, sea, air, and space combat awaits you and your friends - or jump into Race Island where 14 different tracks are ready for you to put your name on the leaderboards.
This is the ultimate do-whatever-your-heart-desires game.
CAMPAIGN
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In the main game mode, “Pioneers” you will dive head-first into a breathtaking open world with loveable NPCs, challenging enemies, and an adventurous story. Unlock new parts as you complete missions and build different vehicles for the different biomes and terrains - play the campaign alone or multiplayer.
You will join the Trailmakers: An elite society of engineers and are sent out to help the population of Gregory - a community of peaceful frogs who have been invaded by the evil BOTNAKs who are ruthlessly mining the planet and stealing its resources.

Release date: Sep 18, 2019

Categories: Vehicle Customization, Sandbox Creation, Multiplayer, Physics Simulation, Combat, Cooperative Multiplayer, Creative Freedom, Building

Feature scans:
- MTX: score 85; verdict: Predatory Monetization; summary: The game 'Trailmakers' has received significant criticism for its aggressive monetization strategies, particularly the excessive amount of DLCs and the practice of locking essential content behind paywalls. Many reviews highlight the pay-to-win mechanics, where powerful items and blocks are only accessible through purchases, giving paying players a substantial advantage. The perceived greed of the developers, frequent DLC releases, and the high cost of these DLCs have led to frustration among players. Despite these issues, some reviews acknowledge the developers' responsiveness to community feedback and the release of free updates, which are positive aspects of the game.
- Proton/Linux: score 10; verdict: Works Well; summary: The game generally has good compatibility with Linux, as reported by multiple users. However, there are mixed reviews regarding its compatibility with Steam Deck, with some users experiencing issues with keyboard functionality.
- Steam Deck: score 55; verdict: Tinkering Required; summary: The game 'Trailmakers' has several significant issues that impact the user experience. The most notable problems include control issues, performance demands, UI/UX problems, save data synchronization issues, and compatibility issues with certain devices. These issues collectively contribute to a frustrating and less enjoyable gaming experience.

- Hardware Profile:
  - Summary: The game generally performs well on higher VRAM systems, with more issues reported on lower VRAM configurations. Players with 12GB VRAM or more report fewer performance problems.
  - Sample size: 114 (2% coverage)
  - Audience skew: Review sample is mostly Windows-based.
  - Windows <8GB VRAM (positive, 75 reports): Mostly positive performance reports despite some lag and crashes.
  - Windows 8-11GB VRAM (positive, 16 reports): Runs great with fine performance and optimization.
  - Windows 12-15GB VRAM (positive, 13 reports): Generally plays great with occasional FPS drops.
  - Caveats: 114 of 7529 reviews expose hardware metadata.; Review sample is mostly Windows-based.
Feature extractions:
- Community Price:
  - Community fair range: $2.50 - $8.74
  - Reasoning: The evidence suggests that users find the game worth purchasing when it is on sale, typically around $2.50 to $8.74. Many reviews mention that the base game is worth the price when discounted, indicating a fair price range that is lower than the full price. The sentiment is that the game provides good value for money at these sale prices.
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: 40.0h
  - Story completion: 24.0h
  - Session length: N/A
  - Endgame: N/A
  - Reasoning: The evidence provides direct and indirect mentions of playtime. One review explicitly states that the campaigns are 'two dozen or so hours,' which directly supports the story completion time. Another review mentions spending 20 hours in single-player mode, indicating a significant time investment. Additional reviews highlight the complexity and variety of building different vehicles, suggesting that the game offers extensive content that can take a considerable amount of time to fully explore and complete. The mention of spending 5 minutes to learn aircrafts does not provide a strong indication of total playtime but suggests that initial learning phases are quick, allowing players to dive into more extensive gameplay.
- Time-to-fun:
  - Summary: The game becomes more enjoyable as players progress and get better at building, with initial friction due to learning curves and suboptimal early builds. Multiplayer modes add to the fun but can be buggy.
  - Stance: Fun then drops
  - Anchor: Understanding game mechanics and improving building skills
  - Time to anchor: 1h 0m
  - Friction: Initial learning curve; First few builds being suboptimal; Multiplayer bugs and crashes; Repetitive missions
  - Unlock drivers: Improving building skills; Progressing through campaigns; Playing with friends
  - Conditions: Playing with friends; Co-op mode; Creative building; Exploring different worlds/maps
- Player Archetypes:
  - Creative Builder (sale)
    - Motivation: Building and designing unique vehicles.
    - Playstyle: Enjoys spending time in building mode, creating detailed and unique vehicles, and experimenting with different designs.
    - Experience: mixed
    - Purchase stance: sale
    - Labels: builder; creator; designer
    - Reference games: Stormworks; Lego; Robocraft
  - Social Competitor (sale)
    - Motivation: Playing with friends and engaging in PvP battles.
    - Playstyle: Enjoys multiplayer and cooperative gameplay, engaging in PvP battles, and playing with friends.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: sale
    - Labels: multiplayer enthusiast; PvP lover; co-op player
    - Reference games: Robocraft; Besiege
  - Critical Consumer (no buy)
    - Motivation: Seeking a fair and enjoyable gaming experience without excessive monetization.
    - Playstyle: Critically evaluates the game's development and business practices, often frustrated with the amount of DLCs and paywalls.
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: no buy
    - Labels: critical player; consumer advocate
    - Reference games: Robocraft


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Fun and enjoyable gameplay (weight 0.49): The game offers a fun and enjoyable experience with various modes and multiplayer options. Players appreciate the entertaining physics and continuous enjoyment.
- High creativity and freedom (weight 0.4): The game provides endless creative possibilities and freedom to build anything imaginable. It is praised for its creativity and lack of limitations.
- Great learning tool (weight 0.22): The game is excellent for learning physics, aerodynamics, and proportions. It is suitable for both beginners and veterans, encouraging creativity and learning.
- Variety of buildable vehicles (weight 0.21): Players enjoy building various types of vehicles, including cars, boats, tanks, and mechs. The game offers a wide range of parts and options for vehicle creation.
- Good game mechanics (weight 0.13): The game is praised for its good mechanics and overall enjoyable experience. It is considered one of the best games in its genre.
- Realistic and fun physics (weight 0.12): The game features a great physics engine that encourages understanding of real-world physics. Players appreciate the creative and fun physics.
- Versatile building system (weight 0.09): The game has a well-thought-out building system that is easy to learn and versatile. It is considered one of the best building games.
- Worth the price (weight 0.09): The game and its DLCs are considered worth the price, especially when on sale. Players feel they get good value for their money.
- User-friendly and easy to understand (weight 0.08): The game is simple to understand and new user-friendly. It is easy to get started and can be both simple and complex.
- Active community and dev team (weight 0.07): The game has an active community and development team. The devs are active in the community, and there is an active multiplayer community.
- Better with friends (weight 0.07): The game is more enjoyable when played with friends. Players can make new friends and enjoy multiplayer options.

Common complaints:
- Excessive content locked behind DLCs (weight 0.52): A significant portion of the game's content, including desirable features and customization options, is locked behind expensive DLCs. This practice is seen as limiting access to essential parts of the game.
- High frequency of bugs (weight 0.28): The game is reported to have numerous bugs and glitches, including physics bugs that affect gameplay. These issues range from minor inconveniences to significant problems that disrupt the gaming experience.
- Physics and control problems (weight 0.22): The game's physics are criticized for being unrealistic, inconsistent, and buggy. Additionally, the controls are described as awkward and janky, further detracting from the gameplay experience.
- Lack of settings and customization (weight 0.18): Players have noted a lack of various settings, including language, control, and weather settings. Additionally, there are complaints about the inability to change keybinds and the lack of cross-platform progression.
- Server and multiplayer issues (weight 0.16): The game suffers from various server-related problems, including performance issues, disconnections, and crashes. These issues significantly impact the multiplayer experience.
- Pay-to-win elements (weight 0.14): Some players feel that the game includes pay-to-win elements, where functional blocks and useful items locked behind DLCs provide an unfair advantage to those who pay for them.
- Developer responsiveness (weight 0.07): There is a perception that the developers do not listen to community feedback or address the concerns raised by players. This lack of responsiveness is seen as a failure to improve the game based on user input.
- Boring and disappointing campaign (weight 0.05): The campaign is criticized for being boring and repetitive, particularly for solo players. This aspect of the game is seen as lacking in engagement and excitement.

Gameplay feedback:
- Diverse vehicle building mechanics (weight 0.2): The game offers extensive options for building and designing various types of vehicles, including cars, planes, boats, and robots. Players can use voxel-based mechanics to create and transform their vehicles.
- Multiplayer gameplay options (weight 0.19): The game features a variety of multiplayer modes, including challenges, servers, and deathmatch. Players can enjoy the game with friends and engage in different multiplayer interactions.
- Creative building and sandbox (weight 0.18): Players have the freedom to build structures and explore in a sandbox environment. The game offers creative building options and a platform for brick-by-brick construction.
- Physics-based construction (weight 0.16): The game includes physics-based building mechanics, allowing players to create mechanical contraptions and learn about game physics. This adds a layer of realism and complexity to the construction process.
- Campaign and story modes (weight 0.1): The game features campaign content with two base campaigns and story modes. Players can engage in story-driven gameplay and fetch quests.
- Mod support and blueprints (weight 0.08): The game supports modding capabilities and includes a blueprint system for managing and creating designs. This allows for community-driven content and enhanced creativity.
- Regular updates and stability (weight 0.08): The game receives regular updates with free blocks and new content. However, server stability and multiplayer issues can affect the overall gameplay experience.
- DLC and additional content (weight 0.06): The game offers DLC content for additional gameplay experiences. However, some players mention the presence of infinite DLCs, which might affect the overall gaming experience.
- Resource collection and survival (weight 0.05): Players can gather resources and engage in survival mechanics. This adds a layer of strategy and planning to the gameplay.

Performance notes:
- Optimization and performance (weight 0.25): The game has mixed reviews regarding optimization. Some players find it well-optimized and running smoothly on various hardware, while others report performance issues and the need for better optimization.
- Multiplayer lag and performance issues (weight 0.24): Many players report experiencing lag and performance issues in multiplayer mode, affecting the overall gameplay experience.
- Bugs and glitches (weight 0.23): Players encounter various bugs and glitches, ranging from minor issues to significant problems that affect gameplay, including crashes and physics engine malfunctions.
- Game crashes and stability problems (weight 0.1): The game has stability problems, including frequent crashes and issues that make it unplayable after updates, particularly noted during specific events like the final boss fight.
- Camera and graphics settings (weight 0.09): The game offers adjustable graphics settings and different camera modes, which are appreciated by players. However, some effects like motion blur and camera smoothing have mixed reviews.

Recommendations:
- Recommended for creative builders (weight 0.2): This game is highly recommended for players who enjoy building and creativity. It offers a variety of building mechanics that cater to creative and engineering-minded players.
- Highly recommended game (weight 0.17): Many players highly recommend this game to others, especially those who enjoy versatile and complex games. It is suggested for a wide audience, including fans of maker-type games.
- Ideal for multiplayer and friends (weight 0.14): The game is best enjoyed with friends and offers multiplayer servers for a collaborative and fun experience.
- Worth buying on sale (weight 0.1): The game is considered worth buying, especially when on sale or at a discount. Players suggest purchasing the game and its DLCs during sales for the best value.
- Airborne DLC recommended (weight 0.07): The Airborne DLC is frequently mentioned as a worthwhile purchase, especially for those who enjoy planes and additional content.
- Alternative to other games (weight 0.06): The game is recommended as an alternative to other similar games like Scrap Mechanic, offering a unique experience for fans of the genre.
- Technical and mechanical suggestions (weight 0.06): Some players suggest reverting to older build systems and physics, as well as adding wind settings and changing atmospheric conditions for improved gameplay.
- Recommended for all ages (weight 0.06): The game is recommended for players of all ages, particularly those above 13. It is seen as a fun and engaging experience for a broad age range.
- High ratings from players (weight 0.05): The game has received high ratings from players, with many giving it scores of 9/10 or higher, indicating a strong positive reception.
- DLCs worth purchasing (weight 0.05): Several DLCs, including Stormworks, Weapons, and Packing Heat, are recommended as worth purchasing for additional content and enjoyment.
- Suggested gameplay modes (weight 0.05): Players suggest starting with the campaign mode or sandbox mode and trying different modes like stranded mode before Pioneers for a better experience.
- Not recommended for some (weight 0.05): Some players do not recommend spending money on the game, especially for those who struggle with impulse buying or have low funds.
- Best vehicle building game (weight 0.02): The game is praised as the best vehicle building game on the platform, highlighting its unique and engaging building mechanics.

Other player notes:
- DLC mentioned (weight 0.02): A reviewer mentioned the DLC. No further details were provided.

Emotions:
- Frustration (weight 0.29): Players are frustrated by the extensive amount of content locked behind DLCs, which feels mandatory for full enjoyment. Additionally, frequent bugs, game crashes, and server issues disrupt gameplay, causing loss of progress and instability. The building mechanics and controls are also criticized for being limiting and difficult to use.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.11): Players enjoy the creative freedom and building mechanics, which allow for extensive experimentation and progression. The multiplayer and social aspects, such as playing with friends and community interactions, enhance the overall experience. The variety of buildable vehicles and the fun gameplay contribute to the enjoyment.
- Disappointment (weight 0.1): Players express disappointment due to the excessive number of DLCs and the locking of significant content behind paywalls. The game's overall quality and developer priorities are criticized, with a focus on monetization over bug fixes and improvements. The lack of customization options and ineffective systems, such as reporting, also contribute to the disappointment.
- Excitement (weight 0.09): Players are excited about the creative freedom and the variety of building options available in the game. The upcoming updates and DLCs, such as the mech update and tank tracks, add to the anticipation. The versatile gameplay and the ability to build unique and powerful vehicles contribute to the excitement.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.07): Players are satisfied with the creative freedom and the variety of buildable vehicles, which offer endless possibilities. The game's suitability for different skill levels and the active community contribute to the positive experience. The systematic updates and reasonable DLC prices also add to the overall satisfaction.
- Joy (weight 0.06): Players find joy in the creative and flexible gameplay, which allows for a quick and enjoyable trial-and-error process. The fun and addictive building mechanics, along with the multiplayer aspects, contribute to the overall enjoyment. The game's physics engine and sandbox gameplay are also highlighted as sources of joy.
- Positive (weight 0.06): Players have a positive experience with the game's building mechanics and the variety of creative possibilities. The game's suitability for all ages and the low PC requirements are also appreciated. The active community and the frequent updates contribute to the positive experience.
- Anger (weight 0.04): Players are angry about the paywalls and glitches that disrupt gameplay. The developer's approach to DLCs and the lack of support for game issues are major sources of frustration. The decline in game quality, frequent crashes, and the introduction of pay-to-win elements in updates contribute to the anger.
- Negative (weight 0.02): Players have a negative experience due to the excessive number of DLCs and the feeling that they are not worth the money. The bad physics and mentally exhausting crafting are also criticized. The frustrating updates and changes to controller editing controls contribute to the negative experience.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.02): Players feel nostalgic about the old version of the game and compare it to playing with Lego toys. The game's ability to accompany players for many years and the comparison to other beloved games, such as Robocraft, contribute to the nostalgic feelings.
- Happy (weight 0.02): Players are happy with the game's creation aspects and updates, which bring continuous enjoyment. The game's physics and community, along with the creative and multiplayer aspects, contribute to the overall happiness. The game's ability to bring joy to players and their friends is also highlighted.
- Amusement (weight 0.02): Players find amusement in the unexpected events and bugs that make the game funnier. The unique vehicle mechanics and the ability to use miniguns against friends contribute to the amusement. The creative and flexible gameplay also adds to the overall enjoyment.
- Love (weight 0.02): Players love the game's realism and fun open-world sandbox, which offer endless creative possibilities. The overall enjoyment of the game's freedom and physics, along with the community and creative freedom, contribute to the love for the game. The ability to build complex contraptions and things is also highlighted.
- Enthusiasm (weight 0.01): Players are enthusiastic about the variety of activities and the good performance of the game. The creative and engaging gameplay, along with the versatile vehicle editor, contribute to the enthusiasm. The positive experience with the game and its continuous development add to the overall enthusiasm.
- Frustrated (weight 0.01): Players are frustrated with the lack of mouse sensitivity settings and the fast camera speed, which affect gameplay. The unbalanced and buggy nature of the Pioneers campaign, along with the game crashing and losing hours of work, contribute to the frustration. Issues with max complexity and some player behaviors also add to the overall frustration.
- Appreciation (weight 0.01): Players appreciate the game's educational value and the value for money it offers. The community support and the campaign, along with the airborne expansion, contribute to the appreciation. The game's ability to provide a positive experience and continuous enjoyment is also highlighted.
- Addiction (weight 0.01): Players find the gameplay highly engaging and addictive, with frequent updates and innovative gameplay. The game's ability to keep players hooked and the variety of activities contribute to the addiction. The creative and multiplayer aspects also add to the overall addictive nature of the game.
- Happiness (weight 0.01): Players are happy with the positive community and the creative expression offered by the game. The enjoyment of the game and the ability to get a copy for a friend on deep discount contribute to the happiness. The game's ability to bring joy and continuous enjoyment is also highlighted.
- Slight disappointment (weight 0.01): Players feel slight disappointment due to the game becoming less interesting with all parts unlocked. The simple story and repetitive gameplay contribute to the slight disappointment. The lack of new content and the repetitive nature of the gameplay also add to the overall slight disappointment.
- Disgust (weight 0.01): Players feel disgust towards the interactions with certain types of players and the abhorrently disgusting amount of DLC releases. The developer's approach to DLCs and the lack of support for game issues contribute to the disgust. The decline in game quality and the introduction of pay-to-win elements in updates also add to the overall disgust.}