From small businesses to transport empire
Driving Business
OpenTTD, based on the commercial business simulation game Transport Tycoon Deluxe, invites you to create a transport empire on land, on water, and in the air.
Computer-based economic and transport simulation games comprising a well thought out abstraction of reality and a sufficiently sophisticated and diverse use concept can easily become addictive. And, in combination with attractive, highly detailed, but not overloaded graphics, such games can become cult classics.
SimCity [1] has lost none of its attraction since it was first published more than 20 years ago and is viewed as the starting point of an entire genre (see Table 1 for an overview). The original SimCity source code also served as the basis for Micropolis [14], which is used on the One Laptop Per Child computer.
Table 1
Overview of Economic Simulation Games
Game | License | Released |
---|---|---|
SimCity |
Commercial |
1989 |
Transport Tycoon/Transport Tycoon Deluxe (TTD) |
Commercial |
1994 |
Lincity/Lincity NG |
Free |
~1995/2000 |
Simutrans |
GPL |
1997 |
Transport, Industrial and Traffic Giant |
Commercial |
1997 |
Mobility |
Free |
1999 |
Locomotion |
Commercial |
2004 |
OpenTTD |
Free |
2004 |
Micropolis |
GPLv3 |
2007 |
Cities in Motion |
Commercial |
2011 |
These games differ not only in terms of visual presentation – top view, isometric view, or 3D model rotatable in all directions with various zoom levels – but in terms of their subject matter and tasks for the player. Whereas SimCity, Mobility, Lincity/Lincity NG, and Micropolis map complex urban processes with development plans, including infrastructural aspects such as electricity and water, the other programs focus exclusively on building and the profit-oriented operation of a transportation network, including route and cargo planning – a challenging task, especially with very large playing areas and in multiplayer mode.
Development of the game board (landscape) is handled by built-in artificial intelligence (AI). Factors that influence change include the quality of the transport connections and the nature and volumes of transported goods. As you transport cargo from one place to another over a period of time, the highly trafficked regions develop faster than areas without traffic. The settlements, which are easily manageable at first, grow more complex and develop into densely populated urban areas.
OpenTTD
OpenTTD is a free implementation of Chris Sawyer's Transport Tycoon Deluxe (TTD). The OpenTTD developers used a large part of the binary data, but none of the program code, from the legacy TTD game and licensed the results under the GPL. The audio and graphic data contained in the Debian packages were also reprogrammed so as not to cause licensing issues.
The Aim of the Game
The starting point of the game is a generated map with cities, sources of raw materials, and industrial equipment. On this map, you build a thriving transport and logistics company with its own fleet of self-defined hubs between the people and cargo (raw materials, goods, and mail). The aim is to achieve transport sovereignty in the landscape by becoming a Transport Tycoon.
As a player, using a little entrepreneurial, forward thinking can help you immensely. The ability to plan also improves the process of strategic, ongoing improvement of your transport network (construction, maintenance, expansion, and compression).
Basic Game and Map
The map consists of individual square tiles. You can set the number at the start of the game but cannot change it later. A single tile is either water or land mass, which is developed or undeveloped. If undeveloped, for example, the land can include a meadow, rocks, or trees to give the game a more natural look.
The whole map has a height profile. You can raise or lower the individual points of the height profile in the course of the game. You always need to keep an eye on your costs and budget; for example, creating islands is very expensive. Do not make major changes: If you flatten entire mountain ranges, your reputation drops noticeably, and the affected cities and communities refuse planning permission for building or extending the required hubs and transport routes.
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Red Hat Adds New Deployment Option for Enterprise Linux Platforms
Red Hat has re-imagined enterprise Linux for an AI future with Image Mode.
-
OSJH and LPI Release 2024 Open Source Pros Job Survey Results
See what open source professionals look for in a new role.
-
Proton 9.0-1 Released to Improve Gaming with Steam
The latest release of Proton 9 adds several improvements and fixes an issue that has been problematic for Linux users.
-
So Long Neofetch and Thanks for the Info
Today is a day that every Linux user who enjoys bragging about their system(s) will mourn, as Neofetch has come to an end.
-
Ubuntu 24.04 Comes with a “Flaw"
If you're thinking you might want to upgrade from your current Ubuntu release to the latest, there's something you might want to consider before doing so.
-
Canonical Releases Ubuntu 24.04
After a brief pause because of the XZ vulnerability, Ubuntu 24.04 is now available for install.
-
Linux Servers Targeted by Akira Ransomware
A group of bad actors who have already extorted $42 million have their sights set on the Linux platform.
-
TUXEDO Computers Unveils Linux Laptop Featuring AMD Ryzen CPU
This latest release is the first laptop to include the new CPU from Ryzen and Linux preinstalled.
-
XZ Gets the All-Clear
The back door xz vulnerability has been officially reverted for Fedora 40 and versions 38 and 39 were never affected.
-
Canonical Collaborates with Qualcomm on New Venture
This new joint effort is geared toward bringing Ubuntu and Ubuntu Core to Qualcomm-powered devices.