Driving Business

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.

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.

Climate Model

The four climate models from which to choose are temperate (e.g., Central Europe), subarctic (e.g., French-Swiss Jura or the Pyrenees), subtropical (e.g., South America), and Toyland, the brainchild of the developers.

Each landscape type has its peculiarities. Water reservoirs and treatment plants only exist in the subtropics. Toyland has candy and air bubbles and lemonade factories, as well as caramel quarries and battery plantations (Figure 1). If you do not like the maps you generated, you can resort to one of the prefabricated scenarios and relief maps or design your own world with the integrated editor.

Figure 1: Adventures in Toyland.

Transport Routes

To begin your transportation empire, you create several elements: transport routes, stops and logistics hubs, vehicle depots, and vehicles with corresponding routes.

Transport is handled by road, rail, water, or air, using buses, trucks, trains, ships, or airplanes. The basis for this process is provided by the transport routes you create. OpenTTD gives you the tools you will need to extend your domain – including roads, railways, canals and locks, and tunnels and bridges – to suit various budgets and travelling speeds.

Along and on the transport routes you can build stops or logistics centers. The best place to create them is directly in the cities (for passengers, mail, and goods) or in the immediate vicinity of sources of raw materials or industrial facilities (freight stations). Depending on the location, a logistics hub accepts and offers only those goods that are mined, needed, or manufactured locally.

Transport routes are multipurpose and enable the development of complete, complex supply chains. For example, you can transport people and mail within a city or between several settlements, but iron ore only from an ore mine to the steel plant if you want to make a profit. The steel produced then travels to the factory, which in turn produces goods that you take to a larger city and sell.

The financial return on a route depends on the transport medium and its properties, the distance traveled, the cost of the transportation itself, the duration of transport, the type of cargo, and the quantity transported. The higher the value of the goods and the less time the transport takes, the more income you notch up in your company's books. Costs, but no profits, are incurred on empty runs.

Vehicles

For your transport media, you need to create vehicle depots (buses and trucks), yards (ships), and hangars (aircraft). These buildings are used as workshops and repair shops for your fleets. A transport vehicle is not tied to a particular depot but travels at regular intervals to the nearest depot for maintenance (the interval is customizable in the vehicle configuration). When a vehicle reaches end of life, you have to replace it; otherwise, repair costs and downtime are excessive. OpenTTD notifies you in good time and also quite insistently of the required change (Figure 2).

Figure 2: An insistent note that the vehicle needs to be replaced.

For each of your vehicles, you can set up waypoints on a corresponding route. The vehicles then start from a depot and commute between the destinations to fulfill the delivery needs of the cargo.

From time to time, you will see advertising by the vehicle manufacturer flashed up on your screen. It informs you of new vehicles available shortly and offers to let you try out the vehicle at special rates (Figure 3). You will want to accept this offer to remain competitive.

Figure 3: A new model is ready for you to test drive.

Depending on the time period, different modes of transportation are available with accompanying increases in capacity. In the first half of the 20th century, for example, only steam engines are available; various diesel and electric locomotives become available from 1950. By about 2000, a monorail and maglev are added (Figure 4). The same applies to other means of transport.

Figure 4: A desert city with a maglev railway.

Before you purchase a new vehicle, you will receive additional information about it, such as speed and the degree of reliability. The corresponding thumbnail shows the current location on the playing field, the route, and the utilization rate.

Additional Info

For every object in the game, you can click to see more data, such as the maximum monthly output for sources of raw materials or the population and satisfaction with your company's services for settlements. Figure 5 shows a combined stop (bus, train, boat). In the detail view, you can see the number of passengers waiting, as well as the accepted types of cargo (passengers, mail, goods). You can also see the list of vehicles that serve this stop.

Figure 5: Combined stop with all the details.

Course of Change

Several factors adjust to changes in the time period that not only affects the shapes of buildings, but also the availability and performance of the vehicles you can purchase. Moreover, the value of money as well as costs and revenues change; that is, the costs of construction work and vehicle operation become higher while revenue for the routes traveled increases. Settlements of more than a certain number of residents and a large footprint accept mail and goods, thereby creating new value chains for you as an entrepreneur. Note that sources of raw materials and industrial plants do have a limited life. If necessary, you will need to adjust your transport and supply chains and withdraw your vehicles from non-viable stops.

Single and Multiplayer

Although OpenTTD is already very attractive as a single-player game, you can further enhance the gaming experience by moving into multiplayer mode. The course of the game and its operation do not change much – by and large, the same rules apply as in single-player mode.

Game limits are 15 companies and 255 concurrent players. Each company is distinguished from its competitors by a distinctive color on the playing field. Several players may act as a team on behalf of a single company or a group can set up several companies; however, in this case, only one person can be actively involved per company. Simultaneous control of or participation in a number of companies is not possible.

Game controls allow you to change the speed of gameplay, although it cannot be changed in multiplayer mode.

Multiplayer Mode

To start in multiplayer mode, initiate OpenTTD as a service with the -D (dedicated server) parameter. No graphical interface is required for this service, so you can run OpenTTD perfectly on a root server.

All players then connect to the service as clients by selecting multiplayer mode and then the appropriate OpenTTD server when starting the game. Note that the OpenTTD versions must be identical between client and server.

Game Configuration

All settings necessary for the game are configured with variables in the openttd.cfg file; it is usually located in the ~/.openttd/ directory. For example, starting_year = 1950 sets the year in which the game starts at 1950.

The parameters map_x and map_y let you define the size of the playing field: map_x = 9, map_y = 8 creates a game field of 512x256 tiles. The smallest value allowed is 6 for 64 tiles, and the largest is 11 for 2,048 tiles. Next, select your climate model via the landscaping button.

The min_active_clients variable specifies how many clients need to be online at the same time. If the value entered here is exceeded, the server goes into a forced break, in which the game world is frozen and technological development and the economy just stand still. A value of 1 makes sure the game continues only after a player has logged in.

A detailed overview of the meanings of all the other parameters is provided in the official OpenTTD wiki [17].

Cool Extensions

OpenTTD increases its appeal with a large number of freely available extensions available directly in-game or on BaNaNaS [15]. The extensions originate from enthusiastic players and co-developers and exhibit a high level of design detail.

The extensions include region-specific maps and elevation profiles, country-specific town names, shapes of buildings, scenarios, and means of transport in transport operator and country-specific colors. These AIs include trucks and buses from various manufacturers; trams, helicopters, locomotives, and wagons; and even underground trains, horse carts, and stagecoaches. Figure 6 shows some vehicle options, including the Combino tram (by Siemens) and the Variobahn (Bombardier) and a selection of buses by Volvo, Setra, Scania, and Irisbus.

Figure 6: Vehicles with extensions from the Generic Tram Set, Modern Tram Set, Ikarus Set, and Long Vehicles packages.

Figure 7 shows the maintenance of a passenger train consisting of five double-decker railcars with a mail car and propelled by a Bombardier TRAXX (BR 145) in the traditional red and white color scheme of DB Regio. At the same time, another train is leaving the station, this time consisting of a Eurotunnel Class 9 built by ABB with five cars in the player's specific colors of red and white.

Figure 7: Two passenger trains in full operation, with extensions from the Generic European Set.

Figure 8 shows a list of available vehicles, including extensions for Ikarus/EAEC and trams and trolleys. Below the list, you will see details such as vehicle operating costs, reliability, and year. This data will facilitate assessments of the vehicle and its operating condition considerably.

Figure 8: Available vehicles shown in the overview include the Ikarus Set, Trolleybus Set, and Long Vehicles.

Successful Gaming Strategies

A general strategy for OpenTTD does not exist. Success depends on the means of transport, cargo carried, topography, and climate of the chosen model. The larger a city, the more potential passengers, mail, and goods to be transported exist. The growth of cities is influenced by a dense transportation network with many depots and by contemporary vehicles with low downtime and high transport capacity. For long-distance routes, the shortest possible travel time counts. The combination of different means of transport and lines increases the load. For maximum profits, you need efficient routes – that is, few curves, crossings, and gradients, as well as full utilization of goods flow to minimize as much as possible empty trips.

Conclusions

OpenTTD looks quite simple at first, but as the numbers of vehicles and shipping lines increase, it can become quite challenging. The tools and overviews help you keep track of you empire yet switch quickly between your vehicles and a specific section of the playing field. The game is realistic and also entertaining in the long run, especially as the dynamically generated maps, in combination with the various extensions, add variety. Playing as an individual or as part of a team allows you to test different strategies and approaches, helping to generate additional interest: a success for amateur model makers, and a playground for the young at heart.

# apt-get install openttd
# apt-get remove openttd openttd-data
# dpkg -i openttd-1.3.2-linux-debian-wheezy-amd64.deb