Transport Tycoon

Screenshot of Transport Tycoon

Transport Tycoon and Transport Tycoon Deluxe are computer games where the player is in control of a transport company, and must compete with rival companies to make as much profit as possible, by transporting passengers and various goods by road, rail, sea or by air.

Contents

1 Overview

2 Transport Tycoon and Transport Tycoon Deluxe

3 TTDPatch

4 See also

5 External links

Overview

Programmed by Chris Sawyer (TT in 1994, TTD in 1995), TT(D) uses an isometric view in 2D and with 8-bit graphics. However, what TT(D) lacks in graphics is made up in gameplay. TT(D) is still arguably one of the best transport simulators in terms of gameplay. The few gameplay glitches were mostly resolved with the advent of TTDPatch.

To start building a transport empire, the player must construct transport routes, consisting of stations near industries or towns, and in the case of trains or road vehicles, physical routes. One transport route can utilize several different forms of transport, e.g. Truck-> Ship-> Truck. The player's company and the individual stations each have ratings that depend largely on the efficiency of moving goods from one stations to the other. Higher ratings then attract more goods to a station.

The other necessary components of a transport network are the vehicles themselves, built at appropriate depots, which must be connected to the road or rail networks. Towns and Cities have their own road networks, but extra roads may be needed to connect them to other towns, or to various resources.

Once a resource or passenger is picked up at one station, then delivered to another station, near to where there is demand (a town demands passengers for example), a profit is awarded to the player. The amount awarded depends on the delivery time, distance, and amount delivered. How important each factor is depends on the type of goods being delivered.

Subsidies are one way of the game encouraging the player to expand their network, rather than just staying with or improving previously profitable routes. At times, subsidies are offered for delivery of one resource between two particular places, and the first company to do so is awarded a subsidy for a certain period for that route, giving them extra profits on that route.

One concept which is designed to stop players from mutilating the landscape/Towns is that of the Local Authority. Each city has a rating for each transport company, and if this is too low, will prevent the player from blowing up houses, or constructing stations. This value is affected by the level of service, the destruction of trees, etc.

Over time, cities develop and expand, and new factories, farms, and other resource sites are built, providing extra routes to profit from. Also, new, improved vehicles are introduced and eventually replace older models.

One major minus point on the game is the woeful AI. The current one is incapable of constructing sane networks, and often destroys the landscape of a game by leveling mountains (which costs it nothing, nor lowers its local authority rating) in its attempt to connect two railheads.

The game was originally published by Microprose. The game is still available as a budget title in some places, but a version compatible with modern computer systems is rarer. Many people are forced to resort to downloading the game as "abandonware".

After the success of Transport Tycoon Deluxe, Chris Sawyer turned his attention towards a sequel, but during development he changed his mind produced RollerCoaster Tycoon, which turned out to be a runaway hit. After RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 was done, work on the third version was left to another development team, and Sawyer returned to work on his Transport Tycoon sequel, Chris Sawyer's Locomotion. It was released in September 2004 and was critically panned, despite being touted by Sawyer as the "Spiritual successor to Transport Tycoon."

Transport Tycoon and Transport Tycoon Deluxe

Two Transport Tycoon games were released, dubbed Transport Tycoon and Transport Tycoon Deluxe (often abbreviated as TTD or TTDX). The deluxe version, as its name implies, is an expanded and improved version of the original game. (A "World Editor" expansion pack was also released for the original Transport Tycoon, but this was largely overshadowed by the release shortly afterwards of the Deluxe version).

The primary, but important, difference between the games is how signals operate. The original Transport Tycoon allows only bi-directional signals, which allow trains to pass in either direction. The deluxe version introduced uni-directional signals, that only allow a train to pass in a single direction.

The change in gameplay from this relatively minor alteration to signals is significant. As the old bi-directional signals would allow a trains to travel in both directions. This is similar in concept to having a single lane street that would allow traffic from either end. Unsurprisingly, it was possible for two trains to try and travel in opposing directions towards each other on the same run of track. While this would not result in crashes on a properly signaled route, it required either the building of extra track to allow the trains to pass each other, or the building of a great many tracks in parallel to avoid the problem in the first place.

The new uni-directional signals allowed one-way tracks to be built, which gave the player much greater control over how the transport network could be run. This allowed for efficient routes to be built, and prevented trains from trying to travel the 'wrong way' down a section of track. By incorporating both uni-directional and bi-directional signals, effective switching yards, junctions, and other useful designs could be built.

The deluxe version also expanded the game to provide tropical, arctic, and toy-town environments, as well as the classic temperate environment. The new environments came with different industries, and some extra challenges. For example, towns in the arctic environment would not grow without regular deliveries of food, and those in the tropical environment also need access to fresh water.

TTDPatch

Main article: TTDPatch

Many amateur developers and experienced players felt that the game had room for improvement, despite its high addictivity. The best-known patch development, TTDPatch, was started by Josef Drexler in 1999 to fix some flaws of the game as well as providing new features. For example, vehicles' signal handling, composition, style, capacity, speed, etc. are all improved and changed in the patch. One of the most significant breakthroughs was the decoding of the .grf file format, used in TT(D) to store graphics and the accompanying info. As well as letting new graphics be introduced, it also allows for advanced actions, such as livery overides, or variational actions, which let the graphics of a vehicle be determined by various factors, like the engine, or date. Lately, the newest versions allow for many revolutionary features, such as higher bridges, canals, electrified track, etc.

Over the years TTDPatch has attracted more and more developers. Like the transportation game Simutrans, TTDPatch is now developed by a team containing programmers, artists, etc. Much of the development activity takes place at TT-Forums. Patches are released on the main TTDPatch site, along with the major graphics sets and tools.