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OpenTTD is an open source simulation game based upon Transport Tycoon Deluxe
- petepete 2y agoI guess the reason it's been posted today is that it was recently Transport Tycoon's 30th birthday.
- peacemaker 2y agoah great, yet another reason to make me feel old today! :) But seriously, 30 years old game and it still holds up really well. OpenTTD is one of those that I always have installed
- paulcapewell 2y agoThanks for this. Generic links posted without context to HN with no other explanations (especially those which are likely to be quite well known to this audience) are often quite confusing.
- Refusing23 2y agoits a great game and they even added multiplayer, different AI competitors etc. i still play it every now and again
- haunter 2y agoWhat made OpenTTD a great success that it's playable out of the box. Most open source game remakes [0] are engine-only and you still need the graphics, arts, sound, and music assets to make it a 100%, and actual playable experience. OpenTTD started like that too but from the very beginning it was a goal to "detach" the game from the original as quickly as possible. It was released in 2004, the actual graphics replacement project started in 2007 and by 2009 100% of the sprites were finished so the original game files were not needed anymore [1] And actually there are now 5 different basesets on top of the original TTD one [2] It also made possible things like releasing the game on Steam and GOG. 0, https://github.com/radek-sprta/awesome-game-remakes https://github.com/radek-sprta/awesome-game-remakes 1, https://wiki.openttd.org/en/Archive/Community/Graphics%20Replacement https://wiki.openttd.org/en/Archive/Community/Graphics%20Rep... 2, https://bananas.openttd.org/package/base-graphics https://bananas.openttd.org/package/base-graphics
- DanielHB 2y agoBut the original soundtrack is still a banger.
- Slartie 2y agoDab-dab-daaadab-dab-dadadab-dadab-dab-dab-dadab-dadadadaaaab....
- Rygian 2y agohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSFsrmLhC00 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSFsrmLhC00 Original soundtrack recorded with live instruments. Grooviest thing I've heard in years.
- hnlmorg 2y agoThat’s genuinely the first time I’ve heard it. Unfortunately I could never get TT midi working with my sound card. Sound effects played just fine, but I just couldn’t get midi audio working on TT. I really don’t miss those days of trying dozens of different autoexec.bat / config.sys configurations for each and every game just to get the basics working.
- DanielHB 2y agoMan, TTD music was the only management game that made me HYPE to get down to managing. Like I vividly remember Sim City 3000 music as well, but that game was more chill, like a sunny winter day. TTD was like a spring day where you plan you call the pinkertons to bust some unions while smoking a cigar.
- aquafox 2y agoIn the original Transport Tycoon (but not OpenTTD), if you would build a tunnel from one end of the map to the other, the amout of money to pay gets so large that it triggers a (signed) integer overflow. So you can start your campaign with billions of dollars!
- majke 2y agoThe original TTD was super stable though. I remember once I was able to crash it by building a very tight loop for a train, that it crashed with its own tail. This was the only time I saw the red font with debugging info.
- leni536 2y agoAn impressing feat, considering it was written in assembly.
- urbandw311er 2y agoI don’t understand (or maybe I’m just too used to online sarcasm) are you calling BS on this claim? Or is it actually possible.
- lqet 2y agoI don't think that was sarcasm, Chris Sawyer wrote most (all?) of his games in pure assembly since the 80ies. The outworldly quality of this feat is legendary. TTD, and also RCT and RCT 2 were incredibly stable games. I played them for months and months as a kid, and never encountered a crash.
- Halfwhit 2y agoI don't read it as sarcasm, but more as a genuine achievement
- urbandw311er 2y agoThank you
- obviyus 2y agoI hosted a multi-player server for my friends and it was a blast. The Docker image makes it so easy: https://github.com/bateau84/openttd https://github.com/bateau84/openttd
- finaard 2y agoIt's quite nice to see how technology has developed since then. A few years ago I wrote a wrapper around the openttd server to allow easier hosting (as well as putting it in a chroot) - now with docker/podman/... something like this is way more accessible. I've just created a mirror of the old repository on github, in case anybody is interested in that for historical reasons: https://github.com/bwachter/ttd_addons https://github.com/bwachter/ttd_addons https://github.com/bwachter/ttd_addons/blob/master/ttdconsole.c#L83 https://github.com/bwachter/ttd_addons/blob/master/ttdconsol... is another example of progress - if I remember correctly at the time I did this inotify was in development outside the kernel tree. Nowadays solving this would be trivial with inotify on Linux - and other UNIX variants also mostly gained some form of file monitoring API.
- ta12653421 2y agoone those evergreens which aged very well and which will continue to do so, i guess.
- ExxKA 2y agoIts an awesome game. It triggered my entrepreneurial journey as a kid, and one of the first "open world" experiences I had from games. I would spend weeks trying to figure out what the right strategy was for a specific map. In many ways, an entrepreneur and VC today, I am still playing that same game, and as the technological landscapes changes, so do the strategies I get to dream up.
- 752963e64 2y ago[dead]
- michalc 2y agoI have posted this before, but I’ve been working on a wrapper for OpenTTD to turn it from a game to a (slightly!) more serious system for research/experimentation, especially using its AI system: https://github.com/michalc/OpenTTDLab https://github.com/michalc/OpenTTDLab
- teruakohatu 2y agoThis is really interesting. Submit it as a Show HN.
- michalc 2y agoAh I did! https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39254487 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39254487 (Feels a bit soon to repost somehow…)
- hyperman1 2y agoI am looking at https://github.com/michalc/OpenTTDLab/blob/main/examples/02-openttdlab-scaling.ipynb https://github.com/michalc/OpenTTDLab/blob/main/examples/02-... and wondering if this isn't hyperthreading being enabled. If you have 4 real cores, with 2 hyperthreads, the system reports 8 CPUs. But that's fake. Hyperthreads share most of their compute and register resources, so they only work well if a core is spending most of its time waiting. 2 hyperthreads both doing full compute will basically work at half speed each, which is close to what your graph is showing. BTW, you can check on Linux with this command LANG=C lscpu and checking the Thread(s) per core value
- MoreMoore 2y agoI wonder if the plot would look similar if you disabled hyperthreading but kept the same number of workers.
- michalc 2y agoAh I _think_ I ran this on a MacBook that as far as I know has 8 real cores… But I since found that 4 are “efficiency” cores, so that could be the reason for the poor scaling(?)
- ikiris 2y agoIf you're going to mention OpenTTD, you should check out the much deeper Simutrans as well.
- xaerise 2y agoOne of the founders of OpenTTD is Ludvig Strigeus. Creator of uTorrent. One of the key people behind Spotify and also receiver of Polhem Prize
- teknolog 2y agoDon't forget ScummVM!
- avhception 2y agoAs a kid, I played the TT (non-deluxe) demo over and over again because I couldn't get my hands on a full copy. When I discovered OpenTTD as an adult, I was absolutely thrilled. I sunk god knows how many hours into it. And it even builds and runs on ppc64le!
- princevegeta89 2y agoI had access to a full copy of the original Transport Tycoon Deluxe on PC, and I remember finding myself to be the most creative player in that game, and I recall spending hours and hours and days and nights on it. I left it at one point when I started going to college, and after a long time again, I discovered OpenTTD. I was very thrilled to find that this game has been ported to an open source project and also has an online system and community of players. I immediately signed up on a popular forum of players and played it competitively, discovered a lot of optimizations and had my fun again all the way. It was absolutely a refresh to see this game. I will end up teaching it to my kids when they come up to the right age again. A timeless legend of a game, this is.
- chgs 2y agoI bought TT after school and can clearly remember reading the manual on the bus home, top deck, at the front, on the alteincham to flixton bus. It’s funny how 30 years on, some memories stick in your head.
- renewiltord 2y agoBeautiful game. I played the TT and TTD demo for so many hours because it had the best feature of the game: trains. OpenTTD was great fun and I thoroughly enjoyed myself for hours with it and the original sprites (many years had passed and I had money). They’ve since replaced all the graphics. Evergreen game and the modifications they’ve made to it have really done well gameplay wise.
- RobinL 2y agoMy son loves openttd. Fun fact: the original transport tycoon was primarily written in assembly by Chris Sawyer
- alexey-salmin 2y agoI love this game and I also spent quite some time playing original TTD as kid. However I do wonder if there are any good modern contenders to it. My kids play games on an Android tablet. Even though OpenTTD runs there it doesn't feel native to the touch UI and overall looses the appeal to modern games (which are regrettably 99% crap but there are real gems too). Long story short, anyone can recommend a high-quality pleasant-to-play economic strategy game for Android? There are tons of games roughly speaking "cats-n-soup alike" which look nice but lack the essence: it's just "use money to upgrade your economy and get more money", a one-dimensional loop without a need for strategy.
- lupusreal 2y agoFactorio with elevated rails doesn't really match the "pleasant-to-play economic strategy game" thing but has been scratching my making-train-networks itch. I think OpenTTD is still overall the top of this field though.
- Suppafly 2y agoI've never tried it on mobile, but mindustry might be good, and it's free.
- hnlmorg 2y agoThe original (not even Deluxe version) was one of my all time favourite DOS games. For a several years (before I had kids), it used to be a Christmas tradition that I replay Transport Tycoon, albeit on modern hardware via this OpenTTD project. As someone who isn’t personally the biggest fan of this time of year, it did make the Christmas period much more bearable.
- BlueTemplar 2y agoHopefully you can eventually introduce your kids to it ! :D (Also, has anyone tried to add some kind of multiplayer to it yet ?)
- Toutouxc 2y agoOpenTTD has multiplayer.
- Cthulhu_ 2y agoBack when (about ~15 years ago now?), OpenTTD added a custom AI player API. I found out about that right about when we had an "AI" class, and since it was pretty freeform I suggested that the teams build competing bots for OpenTTD. It was great, I don't think any of the players were particularly successful and some of them "cheated" by not deferring their heavy processes, locking up the server when it started up to pre-calculate routes and strategies. But it was an interesting endeavour in LUA, optimizing, path calculations, that kinda thing. I believe at the time they had like a competition or open entry program to select a few community-created bots to include into the base game. I don't believe I ever mentioned our school thing in their community forums, I probably should have. TL;DR OpenTTD for education purposes!
- lqet 2y agoSo many relaxed hours of my life since I was a kid went into RCT, RCT II, OpenRCT, TTD and especially OpenTTD. Thank you, Chris Sawyer and the OpenRCT and OpenTTD teams.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- pranaycodes 2y agoFun fact - the OpenTTD project supports building for the web browser via Emscripten. I couldn't find an officially hosted version of it, so I've been using my own at https://openttd.pranay.codes https://openttd.pranay.codes. Pretty usable out of the box, but there are some issues with audio. I've been meaning to add features like cloud saves as well, because right now your games are dependent on the whims of browser storage.
- InvOfSmallC 2y agovery cool!
- Abimelex 2y agomake that multiplayer work and take my money!
- haunter 2y agoIs there a guide how to compile the WASM version? Couldn't find anything
- Timwi 2y agoI used to play this a lot with a friend. We made a map called “German Reunification” which simulates the separation until 1989 and subsequent reunification. The map is made from real elevation data and city geocoordinates. https://wiki.openttd.org/en/Community/Scenarios/Real%20World#germany https://wiki.openttd.org/en/Community/Scenarios/Real%20World...
- MK2k 2y agoThat map idea is super cool, thanks for sharing!
- ohthehugemanate 2y agoThis is awesome, but I don't understand the mechanism for simulating partition. Water comes flowing in slowly... Flowing from where? To where?
- Timwi 2y agoThere's a thin row of tiles on the edge where water will come flowing in, and roundabout 1989-1990 it will flood (=remove) the lighthouses that form the border.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- DiabloD3 2y agoI've been playing OpenTTD on and off for about... oh, about 15 years. Still an amazing way of preserving Chris Sawyer's genius and naturally expanding on it in a way that isn't insulting to the original, but also keeping it relevant.
- schnable 2y agoThank you for triggering my every 18 month OpenTTD binge.
- hkt 2y agoRemember to say goodbye to your loved ones and assure them you'll see them in March
- danw1979 2y agoHands up all the crossover serial cable crew
- ben_ 2y agoRecently played on the yearly Jingle Jam charity stream, great game! https://www.jinglejam.co.uk/ https://www.jinglejam.co.uk/
- yreg 2y agoI've posted this before; I hope it's fine if I repeat it: I really miss these building games that used an isometric grid. TTD, RC Tycoon, Zoo Tycoon, Sim City, … Yes, it's less realistic, but it is so pleasant to work with. Everything you build aligns perfectly and if you want, you can neatly fill the entire map. In comparison, (even with many mods) my Cities Skylines or Planet Coaster creations never look quite right. Building the roads and paths is always awkward and frustrating. I wish there was more interest in new "simple-grid-based" games.
- Sohcahtoa82 2y agoYou may be interested in Parkitect. It's a spiritual successor to RCT that is 3D but still uses a grid. https://store.steampowered.com/app/453090/Parkitect/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/453090/Parkitect/
- yreg 2y agoYes, I would like to see more games like this!
- afavour 2y agoSuch deep nostalgia for this game. But also deep nostalgia for the days when I had time to play this game. OpenTTD LAN party in the retirement home in a few decades, anyone?
- qmarchi 2y agoIf you can make it, checkout Super MAGFest. They host a OpenTTD tournament every year.
- kissgyorgy 2y agoBe aware it can be very addictive, you can sink a lot of time before you notice! It's very good
- salzig 2y agoIf you like transportation games, maybe https://www.simutrans.com/en/ https://www.simutrans.com/en/ is also for you. ;)
- Sohcahtoa82 2y agoI really wanted to enjoy OpenTTD, but I wonder if there's something I'm missing, because I gave it like 3 hours and just found it boring. I love all the other "work" games that are popular on HN, such as Factorio and everything by Zachtronics. I enjoyed city builders and RCT. But something about OpenTTD failed to scratch an itch for me. Maybe I just wasn't in the right mindset that day. I should give it another try.
- paulcapewell 2y agoPlayed TTD for hundreds of hours as a kid. The soundtrack and ambient sound effects are still so clear in my head - distant sounds of industry and vans and busses and trains just doing their thing. And then occasional updates popping up. It had a really nice flow to it. Very addictive. I'm fairly sure I spent at least one 'sick day' off school playing TTD instead. I've tried OpenTTD and the touch versions but they didn't grab me the same way. Maybe just a different stage in life? I just try OpenTTD again though... Just to scratch that itch.