VELTRAILComing to iPhone & iPad
RUCheck release statusMenu

Guide 01 · First match

How to send your first pulse

Short answer

Start at your own generator with rail laying on and ride to the active receiver — the rail follows you. Once it links the two, the generator sends a pulse on its next beat (every 3 s). The pulse rides the rail by itself at 8 m/⁠s and scores one point when it arrives.

DiagramA first pulse, from generator to receiverYour generator (Amber, triangle) sits in its start zone. A rail runs along the arena’s grid points to the active receiver. A pulse rides the rail and scores +1 on arrival. The two other receivers are inactive this round and do nothing.inactiveinactiveyour railpulse · 8 m/⁠sYourgeneratorActivereceiver+1
One rail, one chain: your generator → the active receiver. The other two receivers are switched off this round.
Applies to version 1.0describes the current gameUpdated:

01 / Step by step

Six steps to +1

  1. Start at your generator

    Each team has its own generator — yours is in your team colour (▲ Amber or ● Azure). Power only flows from it, so a rail you start anywhere else carries nothing until it joins your team’s network. The game says it plainly: Start at your generator — power only flows from it.

  2. Check that laying is on

    Laying is on by default. Next to the Resource bar you’ll see Rail: on; on a touchscreen the switch is the small round button at the bottom centre. When it reads Rail: off, you leave no rail behind you.

    In-game screenshot on Coil Garden: an amber courier laying rail across a bridge between two ponds; HUD shows Resource and “Rail: on”.
    In-game screenshot · iPhone · development build, 3 Oct 2026 · botsCoil Garden: your courier (“You”) lays amber rail across a bridge. Top left — the Resource bar and “Rail: on”; bottom centre — the round laying switch.Open the full frame

  3. Ride to the active receiver

    Just move: every step to a neighbouring point of the arena lays the next piece of rail. Follow the arrow Receiver · 11 m at the edge of the screen. Only one of the three receivers is active in a round; during the break the next one is marked on the arena. A jump lays nothing, so it leaves a gap.

  4. Mind the resource

    New rail costs 1 resource per metre from a reserve of 100. It refills at 10 per second once you have spent nothing for 0.8 s. The shortest generator-to-receiver routes in 1.0 are 21–⁠34 m, so one full reserve covers any of them in a single run. If it runs dry, you’ll see No resource and laying simply stops.

    Diagram · real numbers
    At 1 per metre, the shortest routes in 1.0 (21 m on Weaving Yard to 34 m on Cloud Wharf) use about a fifth to a third of the 100-unit reserve. It refills at 10 per second once you stop spending.

  5. Wait for the beat

    The generator doesn’t fire the moment you connect. It sends pulses on a fixed beat — every 3 s, counted from the start of the round — and only if a path exists at that moment. A fresh connection can wait up to 3 s. In the tutorial this is the moment of Connected! Watch the pulse ride in.

    Diagram · real numbers
    Example: you connect 7.2 s into the round on a 24.7 m route. The next beat is at 9 s; the pulse arrives about 3.1 s later. After that a new pulse leaves every 3 s while the path holds. A pulse still on its way when the round ends is lost without a point.

  6. Watch it ride in: +1

    The pulse travels by itself at 8 m/⁠s along the shortest powered path. On a 24.7 m route (Coil Garden, round 2) that takes about 3.1 s. On arrival: Delivered! +1. Every following beat sends another pulse for as long as the path holds — up to 14 per team in a 45 s round.

    In-game screenshot on Coil Garden, round 2 of 3: amber and azure rails reach the receiver on a raised terrace; messages “Opponents delivered” and “Delivered! +1”; score 6 to 10.
    In-game screenshot · iPhone · development build, 3 Oct 2026 · botsCoil Garden, round 2: both teams’ rails reach the receiver on the terrace. “Delivered! +1” — an amber pulse just scored; “Opponents delivered” — so did Azure.Open the full frame

02 / After the first +1

Keep it flowing

  • 30 s

    Refresh before it fades

    Each piece of rail disappears 30 s after it was laid or last refreshed. Ride over your own rail with laying on to refresh it — only 0.25 per metre, and the clock restarts. For its last 3 s the game warns that it is about to fade.

  • ×1.35

    Ride your own rail

    On your own powered rail you ride about a third faster — 7.4 m/⁠s instead of 5.5 m/⁠s. Enemy and unpowered rails give no boost. Riding back along the route refreshes it, too.

  • 15/s

    Refill faster

    Low on resource? Ride your own powered rail with laying off: there the reserve refills at 15 per second instead of 10.

03 / Tips

Small things that win rounds

  1. Shorter is faster

    A shorter route costs less and each pulse arrives sooner. The challenge “Short delivery” puts it in one line: The shortest rail is the fastest.

  2. Glow means power

    The tutorial tells you to Ride along your glowing rail, and a loading-screen tip adds: A broken rail goes dark. If yours isn’t glowing, look for the missing link.

  3. Teammates count

    Your team’s branches join where they meet. Link up with a teammate’s powered rail and yours is powered too — no need to start from scratch.

  4. Practise without pressure

    Tutorial steps 2 and 3 teach exactly this, and the challenge “Short delivery” asks for 3 pulses within 45 seconds. In the tutorial rails don’t fade on the usual timer — in a match they do.

VELTRAIL 1.0.0 · build 1

Where the numbers come from

Every number on this page is read from the data files of VELTRAIL 1.0 (build 1). When an update changes the balance, the page changes with it.

Last compared with the game’s files:

Show the table
WhatValueSource
Generator beat (one pulse per…)3 sGame balance databalance.json · pulse.emission_period_s
Pulse speed8 m/⁠sGame balance databalance.json · pulse.speed
Round length45 sGame balance databalance.json · match.round_s
Most pulses per team per round14Calculated: one pulse every 3 s, from 3 s to 42 s of a 45 s round
Laying resource (full reserve)100 unitsGame balance databalance.json · rail.reserve
New rail, per metre1 per metreGame balance databalance.json · rail.cost_new_per_m
Resource refill, per second10 per secondGame balance databalance.json · rail.regen_per_s
Refill starts after you stop spending0.8 sGame balance databalance.json · rail.regen_delay_s
Refill on your own powered rail, laying off15 per secondGame balance databalance.json · rail.regen_on_rail_per_s
Life of a piece of rail30 sGame balance databalance.json · rail.edge_life_s
Refreshing your rail, per metre0.25 per metreGame balance databalance.json · rail.cost_refresh_per_m
Blinking before it expires3 sGame balance databalance.json · rail.expiring_warn_s
Courier speed5.5 m/⁠sGame balance databalance.json · courier.speed
Speed on your own powered rail×1.35Game balance databalance.json · courier.rail_boost_mult
Courier speed on your own powered rail7.4 m/⁠sCalculated: courier speed 5.5 m/⁠s × 1.35
Shortest generator → receiver routes (all arenas, all rounds)21.43–⁠33.79 mMeasured with the game’s own arena tool on the version 1.0 arena layouts
Example: Coil Garden, round 224.7 m · ≈3.1 sMeasured with the game’s own arena tool on the version 1.0 arena layouts. Calculated: route length ÷ pulse speed (8 m/⁠s)