OpenTTD - A Free Clone of the Old Transport Tycoon Deluxe Strategy Game

So what is OpenTTD?Scenarios
OpenTTD is a free strategy game you can playScenarios is a map with a terrain you make with
for yourself as a single game on your computer,OpenTTDs own scenario editor. You start out
on the local network or you can download the listwith a chosen size of the map, it can span from a
of user created servers and play over thelittle as 64 x 64 squares to a full blown map in
Internet. The main goal is to run a transport2048 x 2048 squares. You can make more
company and transport passengers and goods torectangular maps like 64 x 2048 also. Then it
and from different industries and cities. And withcomes to the details of the OpenTTD scenario
4 main types of transportation like airlines, seaterrain you can make high mountains up to 15
freight, and ground transportation with railway andlevels high and you can make step valleys with
vehicles you have a good diversity.rivers. Make huge forests with trees as their view
As some may remember from the good oldcan be turned on and off if you find them in the
days of Ms-Dos gaming we had a strategy gameway.
called Transport Tycoon Deluxe. It was firstCities is easy to create. Choose a spot, smack
developed back in 1995 as a dos-based urbanthe city down, expand it to 50 000 people if you
planning and simulation game, but also came as awant. Even take 4 cities group then together and
windows version later on. Now today a group ofmake a mega city out of then. To avoid the
fans are developing a clone, rewritten i C++. It isgame itself build buildings on spots you don't want,
a goal to make it a full clone of the old Transportjust use the water channel feature and make a
Tycoon Deluxe. And it is being added more andwater channel around the spot. Then you have a
better functionality like improved languagefree sport inside a city for a airport for example.
support, better multiplayer support and a updateThen placing out the industry, think production
function over the Internet. OpenTTD also includeslines. A production line is for example iron ore
numerous usability improvements not present infrom a iron ore mine witch is melted into steel in
the old Transport Tycoon Deluxe.a steel mill and shipped to a factory and from
In 2002 Ludvig Strigeus began reverse engineeringthere as goods to the city. Just place these
Transport Tycoon Deluxe and converting theindustries in a straight line on the map. It makes
game to C. The first public release of OpenTTDthe transportation easier as you build a straight
was made available in 2004. Since 2007 OpenTTDroad or railroad from point A to point B to point C
is gradually evolving into a game written in C++.and to point D.
In 2007 efforts were started to create a freeDon't like the lush green temperate climate in
graphics and sound set called OpenGFX andOpenTTD...? No problemo, just choose another
OpenSFX. These efforts culminated in the releaseclimate for your scenarios. How about sub-arctic
of full graphics and sound replacement sets inor sub-tropical...? Or the silly toyland climate...?
2009. This means that OpenTTD no longerRemember the industries and different
requires Transport Tycoon Deluxe graphic andtransportation containers will change from climate
sound files to run.to climate.
On 24. of December 2009 the version 1.0 wasHeightmaps
released as a beta to the public. This version doesYou you like a scenario of Iceland or Australia
not require the original files from the oldready to build on...? No problemo. Just Google
Transport Tycoon Deluxe game, but can use freeblackline or outline map and the name of the
alternatives like OpenGFX (graphics) and OpenSFXcountry/continent and you may get lucky. To
(sound). Version 1.0 will be totally free to changemake a sealevel you need to make those areas
and distribute under GNU General Public Licenseblack (Hex: #000000/RGB(0,0,0). To make
(GPL). That means you can share it with whoevermaximum height in the map, use color white (Hex:
you want freely and you can build up a great#FFFFFF/RGB(255,255,255). This gives you the
package with free scenarios and heightmaps tototal level of 15. All in between is gray in different
go along.levels, from darker gray towards the sealevel and
Specificationslighter gray towards the sky. The degree of the
You can run this open source strategy game onslopes will always be 45.
several operating systems like Windows, Linux,As an example make a black background with a
Unix, OS2, and Mac OSX. It has full 32 bits graphicwhite bold circle in it. This gives you a vulcan
engine from version 0.7.0. And from version 0.7.2crater filled with water. You can use MS Paint
it has smarter computer AI. OpenTTD also haswhich comes with Windows to do this. It's fairly
improved terraforming, more airports, and biggereasy to experiment with heightmaps. The
maps up to 2048 x 2048 squares. And that isheighmaps saves as normal images files within the
huuuge.heightmaps folder in the scenario folder in
MultiplayerOpenTTD root folder of the game. To make a
The multiplayer capabilities for up to 255 playersscenario in OpenTTD of a heightmap is easy. The
over the local network and also over the InternetOpenTTD game will generate the scenario from
is impressive. Run your own OpenTTD gamethe heightmap. Just load the imagefile from with in
server easily from your home computer. Thethe OpenTTD scenario editor. Choose the size of
only thing you may need is to open port 3979 inthe map, the climate, the date which may be
your ISP's DSL router. A common problem is youchanged later. The map will be rotated 45
can only play on other OpenTTD servers in thedegrees clockwise or counter clockwise. So to
version of the game you have. If you havekeep the map level as you planned it, you need
version 0.7.0, you can only play on OpenTTDto rotate it 45 degrees clockwise or counter
servers in version 0.7.0.clockwise before you save the imagefile.