From small businesses to transport empire
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.
Installation
OpenTTD packages exist for MS Windows (95/98/ME/2000/XP/Vista/7), OS X, Linux (32- and 64-bit) and *BSD (FreeBSD, NetBSD, and OpenBSD), Solaris, and the Nintendo game console. These packages can be found in the official repositories of the distributions. To install, use the usual package manager.
If you want to play the latest version (currently 1.3.2), the installation is a bit tricky and requires several steps. On Debian Wheezy, you first install the openttd package from the repositories, which installs openttd-data as a dependency. Replace both with the corresponding DEB packages from the project website [16]. The specified DEB package includes all the data from openttd and openttd-data:
# apt-get install openttd # apt-get remove openttd openttd-data # dpkg -i openttd-1.3.2-linux-debian-wheezy-amd64.deb
As a result, you can start the game as a normal user by entering openttd at the command line. If you then see a message that the graphics and sound sets are outdated, first open the menu and select Get More Extensions; set the open filter; then select OpenGFX, OpenSFX, and openMSX from the list and download them. OpenGFX is a free basic graphics set, whereas OpenSFX a free soundset and openMSX a free compilation for background music. All three packages allow you to play OpenTTD without owning a commercially licensed TTD.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank Wolfram Eifler and Arne Wichmann for their critical remarks and comments in the preparation of this article.
Infos
- SimCity: http://www.ea.com/sim-city
- Transport Tycoon: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport_Tycoon
- OpenTTD: http://www.openttd.org
- Locomotion: http://www.atari.com/buy-games/strategy/chris-sawyers-locomotion
- Chris Sawyer's website: http://www.chrissawyergames.com/
- Simutrans: http://www.simutrans.com/en/
- Traffic Giant: http://www.mobygames.com/game/traffic-giant
- Transport Giant: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JoWooD
- Industry Giant: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industry_Giant
- Lincity: http://lincity.sourceforge.net/
- Lincity-NG: http://lincity-ng.berlios.de/
- Mobility: http://www.mobility-online.de/en/informations/generalinformation.html
- Cities in Motion: http://www.citiesinmotion.com/
- Micropolis: http://code.google.com/p/micropolis/
- BaNaNaS (Base graphics/sound and NewGRFs and Noais and Scenarios): http://bananas.openttd.org/en/newgrf/
- Stable releases of OpenTTD: http://www.openttd.org/download-stable
- Configuration of OpenTTD: http://wiki.openttd.org/Openttd.cfg
« Previous 1 2 3 4 5
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Rhino Linux Announces Latest "Quick Update"
If you prefer your Linux distribution to be of the rolling type, Rhino Linux delivers a beautiful and reliable experience.
-
Plasma Desktop Will Soon Ask for Donations
The next iteration of Plasma has reached the soft feature freeze for the 6.2 version and includes a feature that could be divisive.
-
Linux Market Share Hits New High
For the first time, the Linux market share has reached a new high for desktops, and the trend looks like it will continue.
-
LibreOffice 24.8 Delivers New Features
LibreOffice is often considered the de facto standard office suite for the Linux operating system.
-
Deepin 23 Offers Wayland Support and New AI Tool
Deepin has been considered one of the most beautiful desktop operating systems for a long time and the arrival of version 23 has bolstered that reputation.
-
CachyOS Adds Support for System76's COSMIC Desktop
The August 2024 release of CachyOS includes support for the COSMIC desktop as well as some important bits for video.
-
Linux Foundation Adopts OMI to Foster Ethical LLMs
The Open Model Initiative hopes to create community LLMs that rival proprietary models but avoid restrictive licensing that limits usage.
-
Ubuntu 24.10 to Include the Latest Linux Kernel
Ubuntu users have grown accustomed to their favorite distribution shipping with a kernel that's not quite as up-to-date as other distros but that changes with 24.10.
-
Plasma Desktop 6.1.4 Release Includes Improvements and Bug Fixes
The latest release from the KDE team improves the KWin window and composite managers and plenty of fixes.
-
Manjaro Team Tests Immutable Version of its Arch-Based Distribution
If you're a fan of immutable operating systems, you'll be thrilled to know that the Manjaro team is working on an immutable spin that is now available for testing.