Transport Tycoon Deluxe 
(1995 MicroProse)


One of the most fun business strategy games ever made, 
Chris Sawyer's Transport Tycoon Deluxe is a great update 
of the earlier-- and also underrated-- Transport Tycoon 
game released in 1994. The Deluxe version adds multiplayer 
options, complete world editor, three new world environments 
(sub-arctic, sub-tropical, and toyland), newer vehicles and 
structures (e.g. maglev and helipads), customization options, 
and a stronger AI. 

TTD is inspired by Sid Meier's classic Railroad Tycoon, 
but designer Chris Sawyer expands the concept to include 
not only rail, but also sea, road and air. The result is 
a far more sophisticated (and IMHO fun) game. You start 
off in 1950 with a bank loan and a quest to build the best 
transport network in the region. The concept, like all other 
business games, is simple - try to run goods from where 
they're supplied to where they're in demand, make a profit, 
race to get lucrative subsidies/monopolies and attempt to 
drive your opponents to bankruptcy. One of the high points 
of the game is vibrant graphics, which are detailed SVGA, 
and all the menus and options are viewable and tweakable 
through a very slick window-based system (and you don't 
even need real Windows to run it). 

On the gameplay side, TTD runs on a smaller scale than 
Railrood Tycoon in terms of area you can play with, but 
you can do many more things and create a truly comprehensive 
transportation network. The game by default starts you off 
in 1950, and you play through "real-time" (one month is a 
few minutes) into the 21st century. There is no time skip 
feature, so a full game will take quite a while, but it's 
quite surprising how fast time does go by as there's always 
something to do. The game is very, very engrossing: you will 
happily plan the bus routes, buy new trains, carefully lay 
tracks, buy depots, watch your planes whiz passengers back 
and forth-- and next thing you know, it's 6 in the morning 
and you only have a few minutes to get ready for work. 

Some business experts might argue that TTD is not so much a 
simulation game as a strategy, and this is somewhat true. 
The game is undoubtedly very focused, with emphasis on the 
management of day-to-day business and operating decisions 
than the "big picture" at a CEO level. You cannot, for example, 
make billions by playing the stock market or speculating 
on real estate as in A-Train, buying lucrative industries 
as in Railroad Tycoon, or engaging in ruthless acquisitions 
as in 1830 (although these features are available at a very 
basic level). In other words, TTD puts you in a role of a 
railroad manager, not its CEO, but you'll have so much fun 
with building and managing routes that you'll hardly complain 
about the demotion. 

The game's AI needs a lot of work, although it does offer 
a good challenge for beginners. Computer players will do 
strange (and often laughable) things, such as creating 
convoluted tracks to get from point A to B. There are 
numerous easy ways to cheat the computer, and A-Train 
experts will likely find the game far too easy. All the 
complaints really don't matter in the end, though, because 
Chris Sawyer has done the impossible: struck a perfect 
balance between realism and gameplay. While it's not strictly 
realistic, it feels right, and thus it's fun to play, much 
the same way as SimCity is. It's a fairly safe bet that if 
you even have a slight interest in strategy games, you will 
love Transport Tycoon Deluxe... bad AI and quirks 
notwithstanding. A must have! 


========

Be sure to check out TTD Patch (ttdpt19.zip), THE best 
unofficial patch that fixes numerous bugs and adds a lot 
of gameplay improvements :)


==========

Also, be sure to check out the savegame demonstration of 
how pre-signals really work (presig.zip). Be sure to try 
all the suggestions that you learn there in the game.