Devlog · 29 September 2026

First week: a calmer clock, several tabs and level crossings

The first few days after launch were spent listening to early players and fixing the things that got in their way. Some of the changes are small, but a couple of them change how Blockline feels to play, so they are worth explaining properly.

One speed, and a slower one

At launch Blockline had a normal speed and two fast-forward buttons. In practice most people pressed fast-forward straight away, and then found that the city had run past a problem before they had a chance to read about it: a power shortfall turns into an empty district very quickly at triple speed.

So the fast-forward buttons are gone and the clock is slower. There is now a single speed, and an in-game day lasts 20 seconds. The pause button stays. The aim is a city that grows over hours of play rather than minutes, and one you can leave running while you think about your next move. It also means everyone's city runs at the same pace, which is the kind of groundwork a shared, real-time clock would need later.

The tutorial, the in-game guides and the taskbar were all updated to match.

One city, several tabs

Opening the game in a second browser tab used to cause trouble: both tabs would try to run the simulation and save, and you could end up with a warning that the city was "open elsewhere" even though it was only open in your own browser.

Now one tab takes charge. It runs the simulation, keeps the clock and saves. Any other tab you open follows along, draws the same city and sends your actions to the tab in charge, so you can, for example, keep the map in one tab and the Mayor's Computer in another. If you close the tab in charge, another one picks up where it left off. Pausing in one tab pauses them all.

A few related saving problems were fixed at the same time. Reloading the page no longer trips a false conflict with your own last save. When there really is a newer save from another device, Settings now offers a clear choice between keeping the city you have open and loading the newer one, instead of leaving a stuck warning badge on screen.

Skilled workers for clean industry

Cleaner, higher-level factories need skilled staff. Previously the game checked for a school next to the factory, which led to some odd-looking cities with schools dropped beside every industrial estate. Now clean industry hires from a city-wide pool of skilled workers: residents who live within reach of a school, library or university. Factories draw on that shared pool, so a small number of graduates cannot staff every factory in town, and a skills shortage only holds back industry, not the rest of the city.

Honest research estimates

When you choose a technology, any research points you have banked are spent on it straight away. The estimate on each card ignored that bank, so a technology could promise weeks of work and then finish the moment you picked it. Cards now take the bank into account, say when it will finish a technology at once, and tell you how many points the choice will spend.

Cars, a new gas plant and tidier roads

Cars are now small solid vehicles drawn for all four directions of travel, with headlamps on the front and tail lamps on the back, in four body styles. The gas plant has been redrawn as a combined-cycle station with a slim stack, a turbine hall, a gas pipeline and a transformer. Road markings now sit beneath the traffic so cars drive over zebra crossings rather than under them, and trees no longer sprout in the middle of the carriageway.

Level crossings

Railways and roads can now cross on the level. Drag train track straight across a road, or a road across track, and you get a level crossing: it counts as street for traffic and access and as track for the railway. When a train approaches, the lights flash and the barriers come down; cars stop at the line, queue, and move off in order once the barriers lift.

There are sensible limits. Only straight crossings of ordinary roads are allowed, so avenues, highways, junctions and curves are refused with a message that explains why. A crossing costs a little extra for its signals, adds some upkeep, makes some noise and slightly reduces the road's capacity, so it is a convenience rather than a free lunch. Bulldozing a crossing lifts the rail and leaves the road in place.

The transport guide covers roads, rail and public transport in more depth.