Nostalgia 1995 Mode: AI & Game Settings

How to configure OTTD behave a bit like the original 1995 game! Aside from the graphics, list of settings, which AI to use, etc.

Intro

Yeah, you could get DOSBox and load up the DOS version of the original game for the authentic experience, (or emulate Windows 95) but OTTD has better resolution and works better.

Everyone knows that the developers left in a way to import in the old graphics and have the game still work with those, and there are other guides on that which I've linked to, but you can also get OTTD to behave a bit more like the original game too, if you like. :)

"Quality of life"? Back in mah day, we didn't have no stinkin' quality of life! You get what you got, and had to put up with it! :P

Graphics & Sounds

Read Psojed's guide about obtaining and importing the original graphics, sound and music:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2447267330

Or use Flytrap's:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2442756996

After you do that, they should now all be selectable from the game options:

AI Competitor Settings

The original game came with (really stupid) AI competitors, which Open TTD doesn't provide out of the box - There's now a large variety of AI scripts to choose from the in-game online content.

But for nostalgics, the original artificial intelligence opponent has been re-created among the list by Brumi - Search for "Simple AI", which is designed to emulate the original game's AI with a few improvements, and this time it doesn't cheat - Terraforming now costs it money!

Obtaining and Using:



* Go to AI/Game Script Settings



* "Check Online Content"



* Search for "SimpleAI" and select the one shown in the screenshot above. Download it.

* Under the "AI/Script Settings" screen (purple), increase the "Maximum no. competitors" to as many as you like. Select where it says "Random AI" and press "Select AI", then choose "Simple AI" from the list for each competitor slot.

* You may want to view the Readme, and Configure each AI - You'll have to do it individually for each competitor!

Recommended Game Settings

The original TTD had few settings:


OTTD obviously has a load more to play with, since it has a load more features and improvements - Most settings should be set to the default, or whatever you want them to be. But to make OTTD behave a bit more like the old game, you should check the following options to "downgrade" it. Whether you want to adjust them or not is entirely your choice, though!

At the top of the settings window, select "Expert" from the "Category" drop-down menu to show all settings.

Vehicles > Physics:

* Train Acceleration Model = Original

* Slope Steepness for Trains = 3%

* Road Vehicle Acceleration Model = Original

* Slope Steepness for Road Vehicles = 7%

* Plane Speed Factor = 1/4


Vehicles > Routing:

* Forbid trains from making 90° Turns = Off - "Simple AI" likes to make janky tracks. Forbidding 90° turns may break its routes.


Limitations:

* Allow Landscaping Under Buildings, Tracks, etc. = On - The original game didn't have this feature, but since "Simple AI" doesn't cheat with terraforming like the original AI, you should keep this setting turned on.

* Allow Removal of more town-owned roads, bridges and tunnels = Off

* Maximum length of trains = 7 tiles

* Maximum station spread = 12 tiles

* Allow to join stations not directly adjacent = Off (Yeah, you couldn't until TTD Patch was made! Also no more station stretching.)

* Disable Electric Rails = On (TTD didn't have these)


Disasters/Accidents:

* Disasters = On

* Recessions = Off (feature not present in TTD)


World Generation:

* Land Generator = Original

(most other settings apply only if Terra Genesis is selected)

* Tree Placer Algorithm = Original

* Road Layout for Towns = Original


Environment:

Most of these should be set to default values, but check:

Industries:

* Flat Area Around Industries = 0 tiles

* Allow Multiple Similar Industries Per town = Off (or stuff gets weird, especially if the density is high)

* Economy Type = Original (bigger step changes in production!)


Also check the "Competitors" section and change these values based on how "hard" you want your competitors to be to play against, although even "hard" AIs don't pose much challenge.

New Game

When starting a new game, world generation settings should've already been adjusted in game settings, but check:

* Original Map Size was tiny - 512 x 512! Set to this for a more authentic experience, or increase for a more fun game, especially against multiple AIs.

* Land Generator = Original

* Terrain Type = Flat, which won't be entirely flat, but the original maps weren't very hilly

* Sea Level = Low

* Towns = Should be "low" if playing on a larger map, or "normal" on a small map - They were very tightly clustered together in the original game no matter the setting. Was either less clustered, or more clustered.

* Industries = Likewise. Perhaps increase to "normal" even on a larger map if playing with multiple AIs.

* Rivers = None - TTD didn't have these!

And that's about it, have fun reliving old times! Post in comments if I missed something, or if you have suggestions.

[Flytrap]

@jfs Correction: Transport Tycoon started in 1930, and TTD started in 1950.

[Flytrap]

Wait, there were localized versions of the graphics? I didnt know that

Interesting. Im assuming mine are the US version, i suppose

[jfs]

Two minor corrections:
The original max train length is 5 tiles, not 7.
And the original map size is 256x256.

You will also want to play with breakdowns on reduced or normal, disabling breakdowns is a TTDPatch thing. Lastly, remember the original starting year is 1950 and the unpatched game did not allow changing that.