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

So what is OpenTTD?
OpenTTD is a free strategy game you can play for yourself as a single game on your computer, on the local network or you can download the list of user created servers and play over the Internet. The main goal is to run a transport company and transport passengers and goods to and from different industries and cities. And with 4 main types of transportation like airlines, sea freight, and ground transportation with railway and vehicles you have a good diversity.

As some may remember from the good old days of Ms-Dos gaming we had a strategy game called Transport Tycoon Deluxe. It was first developed back in 1995 as a dos-based urban planning and simulation game, but also came as a windows version later on. Now today a group of fans are developing a clone, rewritten i C++. It is a goal to make it a full clone of the old Transport Tycoon Deluxe. And it is being added more and better functionality like improved language support, better multiplayer support and a update function over the Internet. OpenTTD also includes numerous usability improvements not present in the old Transport Tycoon Deluxe.

In 2002 Ludvig Strigeus began reverse engineering Transport Tycoon Deluxe and converting the game to C. The first public release of OpenTTD was made available in 2004. Since 2007 OpenTTD is gradually evolving into a game written in C++. In 2007 efforts were started to create a free graphics and sound set called OpenGFX and OpenSFX. These efforts culminated in the release of full graphics and sound replacement sets in 2009. This means that OpenTTD no longer requires Transport Tycoon Deluxe graphic and sound files to run.

On 24. of December 2009 the version 1.0 was released as a beta to the public. This version does not require the original files from the old Transport Tycoon Deluxe game, but can use free alternatives like OpenGFX (graphics) and OpenSFX (sound). Version 1.0 will be totally free to change and distribute under GNU General Public License (GPL). That means you can share it with whoever you want freely and you can build up a great package with free scenarios and heightmaps to go along.

Specifications
You can run this open source strategy game on several operating systems like Windows, Linux, Unix, OS2, and Mac OSX. It has full 32 bits graphic engine from version 0.7.0. And from version 0.7.2 it has smarter computer AI. OpenTTD also has improved terraforming, more airports, and bigger maps up to 2048 x 2048 squares. And that is huuuge.

Multiplayer
The multiplayer capabilities for up to 255 players over the local network and also over the Internet is impressive. Run your own OpenTTD game server easily from your home computer. The only thing you may need is to open port 3979 in your ISP’s DSL router. A common problem is you can only play on other OpenTTD servers in the version of the game you have. If you have version 0.7.0, you can only play on OpenTTD servers in version 0.7.0.

Scenarios
Scenarios is a map with a terrain you make with OpenTTDs own scenario editor. You start out with a chosen size of the map, it can span from a little as 64 x 64 squares to a full blown map in 2048 x 2048 squares. You can make more rectangular maps like 64 x 2048 also. Then it comes to the details of the OpenTTD scenario terrain you can make high mountains up to 15 levels high and you can make step valleys with rivers. Make huge forests with trees as their view can be turned on and off if you find them in the way.

Cities is easy to create. Choose a spot, smack the city down, expand it to 50 000 people if you want. Even take 4 cities group then together and make a mega city out of then. To avoid the game itself build buildings on spots you don’t want, just use the water channel feature and make a water channel around the spot. Then you have a free sport inside a city for a airport for example.

Then placing out the industry, think production lines. A production line is for example iron ore from a iron ore mine witch is melted into steel in a steel mill and shipped to a factory and from there as goods to the city. Just place these industries in a straight line on the map. It makes the transportation easier as you build a straight road or railroad from point A to point B to point C and to point D.

Don’t like the lush green temperate climate in OpenTTD…? No problemo, just choose another climate for your scenarios. How about sub-arctic or sub-tropical…? Or the silly toyland climate…? Remember the industries and different transportation containers will change from climate to climate.

Heightmaps
You you like a scenario of Iceland or Australia ready to build on…? No problemo. Just Google blackline or outline map and the name of the country/continent and you may get lucky. To make a sealevel you need to make those areas black To make maximum height in the map, use color white This gives you the total level of 15. All in between is gray in different levels, from darker gray towards the sealevel and lighter gray towards the sky. The degree of the slopes will always be 45. 무료스포츠티비