Open TTD

For my column this week, I thought I’d write about the single most time wasting thing in my life. It’s called “Open TTD“, and it’s an open source game based on the game “Transport Tycoon Deluxe” which came out in the mid 1990’s. I was introduced to the original game in 1997 and became hooked instantly. Of course, back then the game was running on a 100MHz Pentium 1, Gateway 2000 with a low resolution screen. These days I run it on my Mac and a 25″ monitor, which makes it that much more addictive.

Open TTD is a classic simulation game in which you are the President of a transport company. You use trucks, trains, boats and airplanes to move various things from one place to another. One of the things I like most about Open TTD is how versatile it is. You can make your company a simple bus company that focuses on moving people from town to town by bus, or you can build an enormous company that moves everything, and that can become complex.

In Open TTD, you are responsible for building your roads and rails, airports and seaports. Managing an ever-growing fleet of trains moving along rails among expanding cities can become a fun challenge if you enjoy logistics. Here’s an example of a large train depot on the map I’m currently playing. Dozens of trains transport oil to this refinery, and then more trains transport goods from the refinery to cities across the map. The station is located near a town, so a couple of passenger trains also stop at this station on a regular basis.

Each game starts in the year 1950 and progresses, I presume, forever into the future. At the start you only have access to slow vehicles and steam powered trains. As the game progresses, you gain access to diesel trains, electric trains and eventually mag-lev trains that can travel 400 MPH. And it’s your job to keep everything moving smoothly from place to place.

Because Open TTD is “open”, there are a number of add on components available, from improved graphics to vehicles that were not in the original game. I’m fond of the Hoverbus add on, which gives you access to very fast road transport after the year 2030. You can also download maps that others have created, letting you play on maps ranging from the United States to Westeros.

You can even join, or host, a multi-player game if you have the competitive itch.

Open TTD is open source and community driven, so it’s absolutely free. It’s available for Windows, Mac, Linux, Solaris and BSD.

The next time you find yourself looking for a way to waste a weekend, check out Open TTD.