Simutrans
Encyclopedia
Simutrans is a cross-platform
simulation game in which the player strives to run a successful transport system by transporting goods, passengers, and mail between places. Along with OpenTTD
, Simutrans is an open source
remake of Transport Tycoon
. Simutrans was originally written by Hansjörg Malthaner but it is now maintained and developed by a small team which releases bug fixes, changes or new features for the game.
Simutrans is available free for Microsoft Windows
, Linux
, BeOS
, Intel Mac OS X
, iPhone
and recently AmigaOS 4.x
under the Artistic License
which was adopted in 2007. Prior to that, Simutrans was a closed source game and developed internally. Simutrans also releases nightly builds for the program and its main PAKs.
Currently the stable release of Simutrans is version 110.0.1. There is an "experimental" release, which aims to extend the basic game.
Simutrans has a number of factory chains that are interconnected with other chains. For example, a coal mine produces coal for a coal power plant and an oil rig produces oil for an oil power plant. Supplying a factory with electric power will increase the production and allows for fine tuning the economy. Passengers and mail are transported between different cities and tourist attractions, and may use several methods of transport to find a route to their destination.
The Simutrans executable can run many different so-called PAK-sets. These PAKs determine the objects in the game, their appearance, and can modify payments and even the main menu. Gaming experience is therefore very dependent on the PAK-set.
Simutrans currently features 12 AI players, and since version 110.0 has an online capability similar to OpenTTD. The terrain
in Simutrans is freely-modifiable, and different layer like tunnel and bridges can be stacked, allowing for subways systems or highways. It has a day and night cycle, different climate
s and season
s. In Simutrans, nearly all modes of transportation exist. At least bus
ses/truck
s, train
s, and ship
s are always provided. If defined in the PAK-set aircraft
s, monorail
s, or maglevs can be used too.
Simutrans is multilingual and is compiled for Windows
, Linux
, BeOS
/Haiku
, Mac OS X
and AmigaOS 4.x
which make use of several graphics libraries such as GDI
(Windows
only), SDL
(all versions) or Allegro
(BeOS only). It is portable to any architecture using GCC and one of the aforementioned libraries.
Simutrans can be easily expanded and modified. Simple modification can be done via editing the personal config file. Since the objects in the game just consist of a simple image and a short description file, it is very easy to create a house or add a train. Thus many contributed objects for all graphic sizes exist. The user can also add height maps and citylists which add city
names into the game. Via the config file even deep modifications of the game mechanics are possible, like setting no stockpiling at factories.
's Big Download considered Simutrans to be one of the best freeware games, highlighting the logical system of routing passengers and freight to their destinations, decent AI opponents, and the support for custom aesthetics or rules sets. However, the sometimes unreliable vehicle pathfinding was criticised, particularly with respect to alternate routes and switches for train lines. The sound effects were deemed to be unengaging, and new players may be baffled by the range of transportation possibilities.
Another review from Amiga Future came to very similar conclusions (apart from the lack of sound support on Amiga OS). Especially the depth of simulation and its stability was highlighted.
Cross-platform
In computing, cross-platform, or multi-platform, is an attribute conferred to computer software or computing methods and concepts that are implemented and inter-operate on multiple computer platforms...
simulation game in which the player strives to run a successful transport system by transporting goods, passengers, and mail between places. Along with OpenTTD
OpenTTD
OpenTTD is an open source remake and expansion of the 1995 Chris Sawyer video game Transport Tycoon Deluxe. It is an "urban planning and simulation game" in which the player aims to earn money through transportation of passengers and freight by land, water and air.OpenTTD duplicates most of...
, Simutrans is an open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
remake of Transport Tycoon
Transport Tycoon
Transport Tycoon and Transport Tycoon Deluxe are computer games developed by Chris Sawyer and published by MicroProse in 1994 , and 1995...
. Simutrans was originally written by Hansjörg Malthaner but it is now maintained and developed by a small team which releases bug fixes, changes or new features for the game.
Simutrans is available free for Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
, BeOS
BeOS
BeOS is an operating system for personal computers which began development by Be Inc. in 1991. It was first written to run on BeBox hardware. BeOS was optimized for digital media work and was written to take advantage of modern hardware facilities such as symmetric multiprocessing by utilizing...
, Intel Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
, iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
and recently AmigaOS 4.x
AmigaOS 4
AmigaOS 4, , is a line of Amiga operating systems which runs on PowerPC microprocessors. It is mainly based on AmigaOS 3.1 source code, and partially on version 3.9 developed by Haage & Partner...
under the Artistic License
Artistic License
The Artistic License refers most commonly to the original Artistic License , a software license used for certain free and open source software packages, most notably the standard Perl implementation and most CPAN modules, which are dual-licensed under the Artistic License and the GNU General Public...
which was adopted in 2007. Prior to that, Simutrans was a closed source game and developed internally. Simutrans also releases nightly builds for the program and its main PAKs.
Currently the stable release of Simutrans is version 110.0.1. There is an "experimental" release, which aims to extend the basic game.
Overview and features
The main goal of Simutrans is to provide an efficient transport system for passengers, goods, and mail to be transported to their desired destination fast and with minimal transfers, at the same time making the company grow and avoid bankruptcy.Simutrans has a number of factory chains that are interconnected with other chains. For example, a coal mine produces coal for a coal power plant and an oil rig produces oil for an oil power plant. Supplying a factory with electric power will increase the production and allows for fine tuning the economy. Passengers and mail are transported between different cities and tourist attractions, and may use several methods of transport to find a route to their destination.
The Simutrans executable can run many different so-called PAK-sets. These PAKs determine the objects in the game, their appearance, and can modify payments and even the main menu. Gaming experience is therefore very dependent on the PAK-set.
Simutrans currently features 12 AI players, and since version 110.0 has an online capability similar to OpenTTD. The terrain
Terrain
Terrain, or land relief, is the vertical and horizontal dimension of land surface. When relief is described underwater, the term bathymetry is used...
in Simutrans is freely-modifiable, and different layer like tunnel and bridges can be stacked, allowing for subways systems or highways. It has a day and night cycle, different climate
Climate
Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...
s and season
Season
A season is a division of the year, marked by changes in weather, ecology, and hours of daylight.Seasons result from the yearly revolution of the Earth around the Sun and the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the plane of revolution...
s. In Simutrans, nearly all modes of transportation exist. At least bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
ses/truck
Truck
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, with the smallest being mechanically similar to an automobile...
s, train
Train
A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...
s, and ship
Ship
Since the end of the age of sail a ship has been any large buoyant marine vessel. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and cargo or passenger capacity. Ships are used on lakes, seas, and rivers for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing,...
s are always provided. If defined in the PAK-set aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
s, monorail
Monorail
A monorail is a rail-based transportation system based on a single rail, which acts as its sole support and its guideway. The term is also used variously to describe the beam of the system, or the vehicles traveling on such a beam or track...
s, or maglevs can be used too.
Simutrans is multilingual and is compiled for Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
, BeOS
BeOS
BeOS is an operating system for personal computers which began development by Be Inc. in 1991. It was first written to run on BeBox hardware. BeOS was optimized for digital media work and was written to take advantage of modern hardware facilities such as symmetric multiprocessing by utilizing...
/Haiku
Haiku (operating system)
Haiku is a free and open source operating system compatible with BeOS. Its development began in 2001, and the operating system became self-hosting in 2008, with the first alpha release in September 2009, the second in May 2010 and the third in June 2011....
, Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
and AmigaOS 4.x
AmigaOS
AmigaOS is the default native operating system of the Amiga personal computer. It was developed first by Commodore International, and initially introduced in 1985 with the Amiga 1000...
which make use of several graphics libraries such as GDI
Graphics Device Interface
The Graphics Device Interface is a Microsoft Windows application programming interface and core operating system component responsible for representing graphical objects and transmitting them to output devices such as monitors and printers....
(Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
only), SDL
Simple DirectMedia Layer
Simple DirectMedia Layer is a cross-platform, free and open source multimedia library written in C that presents a simple interface to various platforms' graphics, sound, and input devices....
(all versions) or Allegro
Allegro library
Allegro is a free and open source software library for video game development.The functionality of the library includes support for basic 2D graphics, image manipulation, text output, audio output, midi music, input and timers, as well as additional routines for fixed-point and floating-point...
(BeOS only). It is portable to any architecture using GCC and one of the aforementioned libraries.
Customizing
The Simutrans executable must load a PAK-set which contains the game's objects. Over the years several PAK-sets have been created, an overview is given on the official page.Simutrans can be easily expanded and modified. Simple modification can be done via editing the personal config file. Since the objects in the game just consist of a simple image and a short description file, it is very easy to create a house or add a train. Thus many contributed objects for all graphic sizes exist. The user can also add height maps and citylists which add city
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
names into the game. Via the config file even deep modifications of the game mechanics are possible, like setting no stockpiling at factories.
Critical reception
GameDailyGameDaily
GameDaily was a video game journalism website based in the United States. Launched in 1995 by entrepreneur Mark Friedler under the name Gigex and focused on free game demo downloads, The site changed its business model from a flat fee per download CDN distributed service network to an...
's Big Download considered Simutrans to be one of the best freeware games, highlighting the logical system of routing passengers and freight to their destinations, decent AI opponents, and the support for custom aesthetics or rules sets. However, the sometimes unreliable vehicle pathfinding was criticised, particularly with respect to alternate routes and switches for train lines. The sound effects were deemed to be unengaging, and new players may be baffled by the range of transportation possibilities.
Another review from Amiga Future came to very similar conclusions (apart from the lack of sound support on Amiga OS). Especially the depth of simulation and its stability was highlighted.
See also
- Transport TycoonTransport TycoonTransport Tycoon and Transport Tycoon Deluxe are computer games developed by Chris Sawyer and published by MicroProse in 1994 , and 1995...
- RollerCoaster TycoonRollerCoaster TycoonRollerCoaster Tycoon may refer to:*RollerCoaster Tycoon - a series of video games in which a player must manage an amusement park**RollerCoaster Tycoon - the first game, which came out in 1999...
- SimCity 4: Rush HourSimCity 4: Rush HourSimCity 4: Rush Hour is the expansion pack for SimCity 4 created by EA Games and Maxis, where the player builds a city from scratch.-U-Drive-It:...
- OpenTTDOpenTTDOpenTTD is an open source remake and expansion of the 1995 Chris Sawyer video game Transport Tycoon Deluxe. It is an "urban planning and simulation game" in which the player aims to earn money through transportation of passengers and freight by land, water and air.OpenTTD duplicates most of...
- LincityLincityLincity is a free construction and management simulation game, which puts the player in control of managing a city's socio-economy. Its name is a play on the title of the original city-building game, SimCity, and it was released under the GNU General Public License.- Gameplay :Lincity is a city and...