Games - Transport Tycoon

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	Games - Transport Tycoon

Transport Tycoon (TT) and Transport Tycoon Deluxe (TTD) 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.

Overview

Programmed by Chris Sawyer (TT in 1994, TTD in 1995), TT(D) uses dimetric 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→train. 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, for example, demands passengers) 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.

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. This encourages the player to create a larger more complex transport network, rather than simply improving on previously profitable routes.

One concept which is designed to stop players from mutilating the landscape or the towns is that of the Local Authority. Each city has a rating for each transport company, and if this is too low, it 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 according to economic factors and new industries or other resource sites appear. Some natural resources are eventually exhausted and industries without transport service may shut down. Also, new, improved vehicles are introduced and eventually replace older models.

One major weakness of the game is the woeful artificial intelligence which 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 (Though the game will run under emulation programs such as DOSBox). 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 and 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 was overshadowed by the Deluxe version released shortly afterward).

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