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What 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, so

What 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 ago
But the original soundtrack is still a banger.
- Slartie 2y ago
  Dab-dab-daaadab-dab-dadadab-dadab-dab-dab-dadab-dadadadaaaab....
  - corobo 2y ago
    I don't remember this being on the transport tycoon soundtrack https://youtu.be/l_bTTUihfx0?t=20 https://youtu.be/l_bTTUihfx0?t=20
    - corobo 2y ago
      Downvotes are fair, in my defence I was tired haha Dumbass comment lmao
- Rygian 2y ago
  https://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 ago
    That’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 ago
    Man, 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.
    - schlauerfox 2y ago
      My mother's favorite game was Sim City 3000, and that soundtrack is still one of the best and my favorites. Such a groovy Jazz with variety. I'd love to find other artists like Jerry Martin did that soundtrack, most smooth jazz is too cheesy for me.
      - DonHopkins 2y ago
        Jerry Martin's awesome! You can get more of his music on his web site Boom Bam Boom: https://boombamboom.com/ https://boombamboom.com/
- AnthonBerg 2y ago
  I grew up on AdLibs and Soundblasters and I love FM synthesis. For a while I thought that I had just imprinted on the sound signature of the OPL3 chip. Now after crises and tragedies I see the core truth at the inside of reality: FM synthesis is just so good. The OPL3 modulates frequencies really well! Here’s the Transport Tycoon soundtrack as performed by an OPL3 chip. This is objectively the original-original soundtrack. Because this is what I grew up on. https://www.tt-forums.net/viewtopic.php?t=56778 https://www.tt-forums.net/viewtopic.php?t=56778 (It’s cool how it was captured through the S/PDIF port of a SoundBlaster AWE32. It’s a nice little turn of commodity entertainment device market events that gave us that possibility, isn’t it?)
  - Gormo 2y ago
    There are open-source libraries like AdPlug (https://adplug.github.io/ https://adplug.github.io/) that offer really good OPL3 emulation. If you have the MIDI assets from the original game, it might be possible to get the original AdLib soundtrack working with OpenTTD!
- RUnconcerned 2y ago
  It is! Whenever I play OpenTTD, I make sure to fetch the original soundtrack instead of the new one.
Cthulhu_ 2y ago
I was about to ask if the proceeds of the Steam version go to the OS project, but I see it's free-to-play. I should get it that way, it's convenient and auto-updates and the like, and they will get good statistics from Steam that way. But also I have a backlog of games I still need to finish, including ones that scratch a similar itch like Satisfactory and Factorio.
- robertlagrant 2y ago
  If you like Factorio, it's worth trying Dyson Sphere Program as well.
  - grey_earthling 2y ago
    And Mindustry (which is free on Flathub).
  - ivanjermakov 2y ago
    Or Infinifactory from Zachtronics: https://store.steampowered.com/app/300570/Infinifactory/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/300570/Infinifactory/
Maakuth 2y ago
OpenRA – which is open source reimplementation of Red Alert, Dune 2000 and C&C Tiberian Dawn - has solved this by offering to fetch the shareware game and extracting the assets from there. Fully libre distributable assets would offer even better experience, but this is one pretty neat way to handle the seamless start.
- Kerbiter 2y ago
  (It's not a reimplementation, it's a different thing that is asset-compatible with the originals. The gameplay, the balance, the engine are different, and the name of OpenRA is not fairly claimed IMO.)
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - Maakuth 2y ago
    I would imagine OpenTTD also has a number of similar "rule tweaks". The OpenTTD engine AFAIK started as a direct reimplementation, but I think that too has evolved quite a bit.
- BlueTemplar 2y ago
  That's just the typical solution, I would be surprised if OpenTTD didn't used to do this too ?
  - dfox 2y ago
    IIRC there never was any kind of shareware version of TTD much less at any kind of stable URL that OpenTTD could automaticaly download. Also OpenTTD needed assets from particular version of TTD (different one than what I have as a boxed copy).
    - BlueTemplar 2y ago
      Ah, I actually meant in the more vague sense of «to use the open source version with the original graphics/sounds, you have to get those media files from the disk of the game you bought».
mtlynch 2y ago
I was curious how this worked without violating the copyright of the originals. I was imagining something akin to tracing over the original game assets and calling it a libre replacement, but it seems like they actually did it in a reasonable way: >New art is being drawn in the style of the original game, using the original 8bpp palette. The graphics should be a similar but distinct version of the object in question - no graphics may be copied at all from the original. The new sprites do not have to be the same size as the original, but need to be similar so as to fit into the game as expected. https://wiki.openttd.org/en/Archive/Community/Graphics%20Replacement#artwork https://wiki.openttd.org/en/Archive/Community/Graphics%20Rep...

DanielHB 2y ago

But the original soundtrack is still a banger.

Slartie 2y ago
Dab-dab-daaadab-dab-dadadab-dadab-dab-dab-dadab-dadadadaaaab....
- corobo 2y ago
  I don't remember this being on the transport tycoon soundtrack https://youtu.be/l_bTTUihfx0?t=20 https://youtu.be/l_bTTUihfx0?t=20
  - corobo 2y ago
    Downvotes are fair, in my defence I was tired haha Dumbass comment lmao
Rygian 2y ago
https://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 ago
  That’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 ago
  Man, 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.
  - schlauerfox 2y ago
    My mother's favorite game was Sim City 3000, and that soundtrack is still one of the best and my favorites. Such a groovy Jazz with variety. I'd love to find other artists like Jerry Martin did that soundtrack, most smooth jazz is too cheesy for me.
    - DonHopkins 2y ago
      Jerry Martin's awesome! You can get more of his music on his web site Boom Bam Boom: https://boombamboom.com/ https://boombamboom.com/
AnthonBerg 2y ago
I grew up on AdLibs and Soundblasters and I love FM synthesis. For a while I thought that I had just imprinted on the sound signature of the OPL3 chip. Now after crises and tragedies I see the core truth at the inside of reality: FM synthesis is just so good. The OPL3 modulates frequencies really well! Here’s the Transport Tycoon soundtrack as performed by an OPL3 chip. This is objectively the original-original soundtrack. Because this is what I grew up on. https://www.tt-forums.net/viewtopic.php?t=56778 https://www.tt-forums.net/viewtopic.php?t=56778 (It’s cool how it was captured through the S/PDIF port of a SoundBlaster AWE32. It’s a nice little turn of commodity entertainment device market events that gave us that possibility, isn’t it?)
- Gormo 2y ago
  There are open-source libraries like AdPlug (https://adplug.github.io/ https://adplug.github.io/) that offer really good OPL3 emulation. If you have the MIDI assets from the original game, it might be possible to get the original AdLib soundtrack working with OpenTTD!
RUnconcerned 2y ago
It is! Whenever I play OpenTTD, I make sure to fetch the original soundtrack instead of the new one.

Cthulhu_ 2y ago

I was about to ask if the proceeds of the Steam version go to the OS project, but I see it's free-to-play. I should get it that way, it's convenient and auto-updates and the like, and they will get good statistics from Steam that way. But also I have a backlog of games I still need to finish, including ones that scratch a similar itch like Satisfactory and Factorio.

robertlagrant 2y ago
If you like Factorio, it's worth trying Dyson Sphere Program as well.
- grey_earthling 2y ago
  And Mindustry (which is free on Flathub).
- ivanjermakov 2y ago
  Or Infinifactory from Zachtronics: https://store.steampowered.com/app/300570/Infinifactory/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/300570/Infinifactory/

Maakuth 2y ago

OpenRA – which is open source reimplementation of Red Alert, Dune 2000 and C&C Tiberian Dawn - has solved this by offering to fetch the shareware game and extracting the assets from there. Fully libre distributable assets would offer even better experience, but this is one pretty neat way to handle the seamless start.

Kerbiter 2y ago
(It's not a reimplementation, it's a different thing that is asset-compatible with the originals. The gameplay, the balance, the engine are different, and the name of OpenRA is not fairly claimed IMO.)
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- Maakuth 2y ago
  I would imagine OpenTTD also has a number of similar "rule tweaks". The OpenTTD engine AFAIK started as a direct reimplementation, but I think that too has evolved quite a bit.
BlueTemplar 2y ago
That's just the typical solution, I would be surprised if OpenTTD didn't used to do this too ?
- dfox 2y ago
  IIRC there never was any kind of shareware version of TTD much less at any kind of stable URL that OpenTTD could automaticaly download. Also OpenTTD needed assets from particular version of TTD (different one than what I have as a boxed copy).
  - BlueTemplar 2y ago
    Ah, I actually meant in the more vague sense of «to use the open source version with the original graphics/sounds, you have to get those media files from the disk of the game you bought».

mtlynch 2y ago

I was curious how this worked without violating the copyright of the originals. I was imagining something akin to tracing over the original game assets and calling it a libre replacement, but it seems like they actually did it in a reasonable way: >New art is being drawn in the style of the original game, using the original 8bpp palette. The graphics should be a similar but distinct version of the object in question - no graphics may be copied at all from the original. The new sprites do not have to be the same size as the original, but need to be similar so as to fit into the game as expected. https://wiki.openttd.org/en/Archive/Community/Graphics%20Replacement#artwork https://wiki.openttd.org/en/Archive/Community/Graphics%20Rep...