OpenTTD
What is it?
In 1999, Josef Drexler released the first version of the TTDPatch, which over time added an overwhelming amount of features to Transport Tycoon Deluxe, from new vehicles and graphics over pre-signals to bribing the city council. However, there are a couple of things that are simply beyond the scope of a patch, first and foremost of course porting to other platforms. But Josef Drexler lists a few others too:
- Higher bridges. Complication: TTD has no provision to store the height of a bridge, it is always implicitly one, nor can the graphics engine display them
- Larger airports (more runways). It's possible, but would involve recoding the whole aircraft movement scheme of an airport. It's too much work right now. Maybe if enough people bug me about it I might do it though. If/when I do it, I'd add another runway at the other side of the airport, and separate them into landing/departing runways. This should work nicely, but it is still a lot of work.
- Larger scenarios. This is all but impossible, because the whole program assumes a coordinate has 8 bits for each direction, totalling a 256×256 grid.
This is where OpenTTD comes in. Ludvig Strigeus, who uses the handle Ludde and who previously created ScummVM, started reverse engineering TTD and porting it to C in 2003. He released the first version (0.1) on 2004-03-06, already a full implementation of Transport Tycoon Deluxe, but with no new features yet. The features added in subsequent versions include for example:
- bigger maps (up to 64 times in size)
- an AI that is actually worthy of its name
- stable multiplayer mode for up to 8 players on LAN or Internet
- dedicated server mode and an ingame console for administration
- new pathfinding algorithms that makes vehicles go where you want them to (usually)
- autorail build tool, improved terraforming
- crossing tunnels
- canals, shiplifts
- larger, non-uniform stations and the ability to join them together (of same width or length)
- real checkpoints instead of dummy one-tile stations
- mammoth and multiheaded trains
- clone, autoreplace and autoupdate vehicles
- possibility to build on slopes and coasts
- goto depot orders, check orders and view order destinations
- order sharing and copying
- longer and higher bridges including 2 new ones
- reworked airport system with 2 more airports (international and metropolitan)
- presignals, semaphores
- build many trees on one tile
- bribe the town authority
For other operating systems see links below.
- steam locomotives with tenders
- locomotives changing livery based on consist or date built
- short 2 and 3 axle wagons in the early days of steam
- passenger and mail carriages change appearance based on date built
- passenger and mail carriages change appearance to match multiple units
- realistic running sounds and horn/whistle sounds for every locomotive
- freight cars are new cargos compatible, for use with new industry sets
- dual-company-colour liveried vehicles
- advanced AI vehicle selection
