Sven Slootweg's Blog

A lot of people won’t recognize the name “Transport Tycoon Deluxe”. However, as soon as they this screenshot, they know which game I mean:

You recognize it, don’t you? Well, there is good news for you, because there is actually an open-source clone of it: OpenTTD.

OpenTTD basically mimics the original game, but with numerous improvements, and better compatibility. The compatibility is so good, in fact, that it runs on Windows (up to Windows 7), Linux, Mac OSX, and various portable devices such as the iPhone, Nintendo DS, PSP, Palm, and several Symbian phones. Even more versions are under development for other platforms. Just check out the Portable Devices page of the OpenTTD website to see if there is a version for your platform: http://wiki.openttd.org/Portable_device_version.

What’s so good about OpenTTD?
Besides it being free and open-source (meaning anyone can change the game however they want, and redistribute it), it also has quite some improvements. For example, OpenTTD has a multiplayer functionality that is actually being used. You can simply pick a map from the central OpenTTD server and play with up to 8 other players. Further, the old vehicle count limits in Transport Tycoon Deluxe, have either changed, or have been removed in OpenTTD. Also, better algorhithms are used for generating a map, so it looks more natural. Another very big addition is the ability to add custom vehicles, graphics, buildings, and other objects into the game using GRF files. These GRF files can be freely downloaded from over the internet. For example, you can have train stations similar to those in the area where you live. Or you can have a hyper-modern spaceship train. Pretty much anything is possible. To summarize all the changes in OpenTTD: you have the ultimate freedom. Below you can see a screenshot of OpenTTD:

What do you need to play OpenTTD?
To play OpenTTD, you will need a supported platform (duh!), the game for that platform, and the original Transport Tycoon Deluxe resource files. If you have an original Transport Tycoon Deluxe disc, just use that disc. If not, use the resources archive from http://download.transporttycoon.net/files/ttd-graphics.rar. To get the actual OpenTTD game, you have two choices. If you are using a normal computer, you can get it from http://www.openttd.org/en/download-stable. If you are using a portable device, you should try the Portable Device page: http://wiki.openttd.org/Portable_device_version.

How do I…
First look in the OpenTTD wiki on http://wiki.openttd.org/ to see if your question is answered there. If it isn’t, drop me a line, or post a comment here. I’m not a genius on OpenTTD, but I might be able to help