Is this the best TTD successor to date?

[phobos2077]

I really love playing OpenTTD occasionally. Stuff I like in TTD:

- Connecting the whole map in a huge passenger transport network
- Combining all 4 types of transport to move stuff around
- Hauling huge amounts of cargo over long distances
- Building smooth as butter cargo lines that can be easily scaled up or down depending on the load
- Playing a slower-paced game (I'm using day length patch with a day factor of 2)
- Playing the same game starting in 19 century and all the way to 21 century

Stuff I'd like in a new game:

- Graphics (not a graphics nerd, but something a bit more modern than 1994 isometric would be nice)
- A bit more realism (I always play TTD with realistic acceleration, increased train weight etc.) but I don't want the complexity of a full realistic simulation
- Coherent economic balance of the game as you progress through decades (in OTTD you have to use mods like town cargo factor, plane speed factor, early houses etc. basically do the game design work yourself)


Now there's a lot of options right now in terms of transport-management games, but most of them are early access. I don't really want to waste my time on incomplete games.

Is this the TTD successor I've been waiting for my whole life or I'm better of buying something else?


What I've researched so far:

- Mashinky. Looks great, but incomplete. Only one developer. As a dev myself I can see there might be a problem with this setup down the road. Don't want to invest my time until the game is ready content-wise.

-Railroad Empire. People say it's more graphics-focused. Also lacks other forms of transport. Not my cup of tee.

- Voxel Tycoon. Everybody hyped the hell out of it, but in reality it's in a tech-demo state. Again, as a dev I think people are way over-hyping and assuming things to come that might end up being too difficult for devs to implement, they give up or just change direction. To make a basic engine for a future game is not equals to making the WHOLE game. TL;DR I estimate at least 4 years of waiting until it's anywhere near TTD in terms of features and content.

- Transport Fever 1. Don't really want to invest in a game that's not going to be updated, since it's superseded by the sequel now.

[Huperspace]

Try Simutans (and the Exdended version) with brithish pak. Harder then OpenTDD but more realistic and more warechains. playable from 1700 to 2100 (only brithish pack). Downside small pixel iso graphics. 18min per ingame month in speed 1.

Transports is a TTD like game.

Saw Chris locomotion

Transport Gigant
,...

[Harag]

I used to play TTD back in the day, but given todays tech I'm not really into the old style look games anymore so never really played OTTD (though I have it and have played). As for the 3 other games you list. These are my feelings too.

I got Train fever then TF1 and loved them both, though my hours in TF1 isn't anywhere near 1000 hrs (I switch games too much) but really looking forward to TF2. I think it's well worth the money (for me) and have already preordered. The firm UG really love what they are doing and are passionate about the game.

[CunkFeatures]

For me yes. Because since 1994 I have been buying game after game waiting for something I can build for miles and as complicated as I like.
Nothing else has come close.

[TheLostPenguin]

I see this series as very much the spiritual successor to the TTD games, whereas Railway Empire is very much in the Sid Meiers Railroads vein (hell it looks/plays so damn close that if SMR were still a thing there would probably be legal issues). The only thing which you may or may not miss is that there are no AI competitors in the TF/TpF series.

Until now I would have recommended TpF1 instantly for anyone looking for a modern TTD type game, since it most closely captures the same freedom and style of connecting up a large integrated transport network. So far most of the repeated complaints I'm seeing about TpF2 are people complaining about no multiplayer, and about the fact that it's not a 100% perfect lifelike scale game. I can't say if any of the major issues that annoy me in TpF1 have been fixed/added until I get to play TpF2 myself, but so far it doesn't seem like there's been any major disaster to make it worse than TpF1 or worth avoiding in favour of the older game if you're new to the series.

[Swoop]

Once a mod comes out that gives us more signalling options (like the comprehensive signalling systems in TTD) I'll be very happy. Bigger maps would also make me happier. But since I'm already pretty happy the lack of these additions aren't going to stop be playing with my train set.

[TheLostPenguin]

Publicado originalmente por Swoop:

Once a mod comes out that gives us more signalling options (like the comprehensive signalling systems in TTD) I'll be very happy. Bigger maps would also make me happier. But since I'm already pretty happy the lack of these additions aren't going to stop be playing with my train set.

Oh for sure having the option of 'smart' signals that could handle dynamic train routing would be awesome. Heck it should even be fairly easy to implement now, whilst I know some might dislike going away from laying all the track ourselves having optional modules that bolted onto station throats to provide the signals and switchwork supporting trains entering/leaving via any platform, or just any platform within a certain range would be a good solution.

[Pyoro-2]

Publicado originalmente por Swoop:

Once a mod comes out that gives us more signalling options (like the comprehensive signalling systems in TTD) I'll be very happy. Bigger maps would also make me happier. But since I'm already pretty happy the lack of these additions aren't going to stop be playing with my train set.

As if there'll be a mod that'll completely overhaul train pathfinding.

It's OK to hope for mods to add this or that thing, but please be somewhat realistic about it. This sort of thing just isn't plausible. It creates a false impression of what the might be.

Fixed line with limited path-based signals will be what we'll get in TF2, and unless anything else gets confirmed, that's all there'll ever be.

[Dirkels]

Until now (TpF1) it the modding was not possible on such a level that a new signaling system could be made. Doubt if it is any different in TpF2.

[genemead]

"Is this the best TTD successor to date?"
Depends on who you're talking to. The OP talked about several games. But that's HIS OPINION of those games.

There will never be a "successor to TTD".... simply because every game since is "different" on purpose to TTD. Nothing will ever be "good enough".

This is like "Will there ever be a decent successor to Minecraft?" There's been several dozen of them, good ones, but none will ever unseat Minecraft.... and no game will ever unseat TTD (or at least the TTD in our minds).

Looking for a "TTD successor" is a waste of time. Forget TTD. There's only one and there will never be another. Years from now we'll be asking if there's a TPF successor :)

So, of the games out today, which "fits" you the best?

[gGeorg]

I played TTD and once a year I try OTTD jst for curiosity :

Publicado originalmente por phobos2077:

I really love playing OpenTTD occasionally. Stuff I like in TTD:

- Connecting the whole map in a huge passenger transport network

Yes, Hope you own powerfull PC.

Publicado originalmente por phobos2077:

- Combining all 4 types of transport to move stuff around

Yes. The new modular station feature is amazing.

Publicado originalmente por phobos2077:

- Hauling huge amounts of cargo over long distances

Partialy. Amount of cargo was cuted down to 1/5 of TpF1. Its controversial change, it may evolve.

Publicado originalmente por phobos2077:

- Building smooth as butter cargo lines that can be easily scaled up or down depending on the load

Partialy. Game has no timetables an station conditional loading is limited. But still looks goods.

Publicado originalmente por phobos2077:

- Playing a slower-paced game (I'm using day length patch with a day factor of 2)

Yes. TpF2 can be as slow or fast as you need. Its very sandboxy game.

Publicado originalmente por phobos2077:

- Playing the same game starting in 19 century and all the way to 21 century

Yes. Its game main goal.

Publicado originalmente por phobos2077:

- A bit more realism (I always play TTD with realistic acceleration, increased train weight etc.) but I don't want the complexity of a full realistic simulation

Yes. Accelartion and cargo weight is there very precisely computed.

Publicado originalmente por phobos2077:

- Coherent economic balance of the game as you progress through decades (in OTTD you have to use mods like town cargo factor, plane speed factor, early houses etc. basically do the game design work yourself)

Well, this is mostly imagination. TpF1 had terrifble economy, TpF2 is a bit better. However dont dare call this game a management simulation. When you see money grow on trees just accept it. TpF2 promote itself like a sandbox game with massive workshop support. It is expected that a player make is own game in the framework.

Publicado originalmente por phobos2077:

Now there's a lot of options right now in terms of transport-management games, but most of them are early access. I don't really want to waste my time on incomplete games.

Is this the TTD successor I've been waiting for my whole life or I'm better of buying something else?

You are correct. Transport games are few, but low budget or inferior desing, it is starving genre same as RTS of Dune2 type. On the current market thou, TpF2 is the best you can get. Also there is no other game in preparation which could compete in next 3 years.

[Actionjackson]

Publicado originalmente por Huperspace:

Try Simutans (and the Exdended version) with brithish pak. Harder then OpenTDD but more realistic and more warechains. playable from 1700 to 2100 (only brithish pack). Downside small pixel iso graphics. 18min per ingame month in speed 1.

Transports is a TTD like game.

Saw Chris locomotion

Transport Gigant
,...

I play OTTD from time to time, but excuse my ignorance i hear from Simutrans the first time and it sounds good.
I look up the website and see it is free like OTTD, good news indeed.

What are the specifics that make it "extended" where is the difference and how to download or get that? I did not find any real info on that... .
Also does the extended version use the same "pak"´s as the regular version? Like can i use britain or german pak, which i saw on the website, with it.

I realy like to try that game for myself, i dont mind the more simple graphics it looks nice enough and complex, i like that.
Please tell me a little bit more.

[Vimpster]

Like TheLostPenguin I too see this series very much as a spiritual successor to Transport Tycoon. I even felt the first game, Train Fever, fit the bill even though it lacked boats and planes. I would say the main features missing are that there is no option to have AI competitors and the game does not use dynamic pathfinding. But on the up side This series adds much better graphics and has a much more realistic transportation simulation since it uses agents to simulate people who have specific destinations they want to travel to and it uses an actual supply and demand system (albeit with it's own flaws) for cargo. Though in TpF2 it seems the supply and demand system has been largely, but not entirely, simplified to be more like the original Transport Tycoon's simplistic system of just feeding a consumer of products with cargo it has no use/demand for.

I compare it mostly to the original Transport Tycoon rather than TTD or OTTD since I never really played those other two games nearly as much as the original.

[James_the_1st]

TF and Mashinky are both very good. Mashinky is actually pretty good already, and the developer is quite competent. It's kind of like how Factorio is technically early access, but in really good shape because the devs are good. There something about the Czechs I guess!

TF is better at being a modal train building game. Mashinky has much better economy and signal game. While I like TF, the economy isn't very interesting. The problem is the devs can't seem to decide what kind of game they want, so the economy is never balanced well. For example, the realistic physics modal makes high speed trains very difficult to make profitable because the maps aren't big enough.

[canophone]

Publicado originalmente por James_the_1st:

For example, the realistic physics modal makes high speed trains very difficult to make profitable because the maps aren't big enough.

Hmm? More likely the land use doesn't see the value in the high speed trains, so doesn't upzone enough to make them worthwhile. And to get there, it requires more connectivity. If doing that, it should be easily profitable.

[phobos2077]

So I got the game after reading a lot & watching videos. I hope I won't regret it :)

People focus a lot on what this game's lacking compared to OTTD, but I think it has some huge improvements over TTD formula that I really want. I've been playing a lot of OTTD lately and I always get annoyed how passengers seem to overcrowd stations like they are some kind of refugees and have nowhere else to go other than sitting waiting for a train. Other thing I hate is how when you have 2 stations very close together and big number of passengers wants to get to station A, but you've got capacity only to station B, they'll never WALK to their destination. You have to do a ceremony of connecting A to B with some bus line even if it's like 5 tiles apart. And watch how your buses struggle to move those 2000 passengers across creating congestion and being unprofitable...

So I really want to see how passenger agents work in this game.