Simutrans pak64 |
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| Original author(s) | Hansjörg Malthaner (initial, left in 2004) |
| Developer(s) | Markus Pristovsek "Prissi" (current head of development) Simutrans Development Team |
| Initial release | 6 March 1999 |
| Stable release | 111.0 / November 1, 2011 |
| Development status | Active |
| Written in | C++ |
| Operating system | Multi-platform |
| Platform | Cross-platform |
| Size | 3~30 MB |
| Available in | Multilingual |
| Type | Business simulation |
| License | Artistic License |
| Website | simutrans.com |
Simutrans is a cross-platform simulation game in which the player strives to run a successful transport system by transporting passengers, mail and goods by rail, road, ship and air between places. Along with OpenTTD, Simutrans is an open source remake of Transport Tycoon.[1] Simutrans was originally written by Hansjörg Malthaner[2] but it is now maintained and developed by a development team[1] and an international community of volunteers.[3]
Simutrans is available 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 was developed internally.[4] Nightly builds for Simutrans and the main PakSets are also released.[5]
Currently the stable release of Simutrans is version 111.0. There is an experimental[2] release which aims to extend the basic game.
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The main goal of Simutrans is to provide an efficient transport system for passengers, mail and goods to be transported to their desired destinations fast and with minimal transfers and at the same time making the company grow avoiding 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 transportation to reach their destinations.
The Simutrans executable can run many different so-called PakSets. These PakSets determine the objects in the game and their appearance, and can modify payments and even the main menu. Gaming experience is therefore very dependent on the PakSet used.
Simutrans currently features 12 AI players, and has an online capability similar to OpenTTD since version 110.0. The terrain in Simutrans is freely-modifiable, and different layers like tunnels and bridges can be stacked, allowing for subways or highways to be possible. It has a day and night cycle, different climates and seasons. Nearly all modes of transportation exist in Simutrans. At least busses/trucks, trains, and ships are always provided. If defined in the PakSet, aircrafts, monorails or maglevs can too be used.
Simutrans is multilingual and is compiled for Microsoft 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.
The Simutrans executable must load a PakSet which contains the game's objects. Over the years several PakSets have been created, an overview is given on the official page.[6]
Simutrans can easily be expanded or 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. Even deep modifications of the game mechanics are possible via the config file, like setting no stockpiling at factories.
GameDaily'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 criticized, 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.[1]
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.[7]