Simutrans
| Simutrans | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Studio | Simutrans Development Team ( Community ) |
| platform | Windows , Linux , BeOS / ZETA , Mac OS X |
| genre | Transport simulation |
| Game mode | Single player , multiplayer |
| control | Mouse & keyboard |
| medium | Download |
| Current version | 121.1 (December 3, 2019) |
The computer game Simutrans is a free transport and economic simulation for the Windows , Mac OS X , Linux and BeOS operating systems . Simutrans was developed by Hansjörg Malthaner from summer 1997 to spring 2005. Since then, further progress has been supervised by a team led by Markus "Prissi" Pristovsek. The last version classified as stable is 121.1. Test versions from the current state of the sources are made available (mostly) daily. The documentation is constantly updated in a wiki. The game, forums and documentation are available in multiple languages.
Game idea
The task is to transport passengers, mail and goods economically to their automatically specified destination. A "Freeplay" setting allows you to ignore economic efficiency and take your time, for example. B. to build a model railway landscape according to your own ideas.
Stand as transport trains , buses , trucks , ships , trams , aircraft , monorails and subways are available.
There are bridges and tunnels for road and rail vehicles to overcome difficult terrain. Certain vehicles (such as trams) require an overhead contact line . Rail traffic is automatically controlled with a system of different types of signals. There are special routes for magnetic levitation trains and suspension railways. Ships can navigate natural waters and canals.
In addition, overhead lines can be built to transport electrical energy from the power stations to the factories and consumers. This can be used to earn additional money, and it also increases the production of the connected industries.
If the timeline (e.g. epoch-keeping) is active, vehicles, buildings and traffic routes are only gradually integrated into the game, true to the historical models. Obsolete objects can no longer be built, also depending on the configuration, but existing ones continue to function. For the transport of higher value goods you also get higher transport fees. For some goods there is an express surcharge for faster transport. The reference speed used for this can depend on the type of vehicle and the date in the game.
The economic parameters change as a game develops. Depending on the degree of development of the map (density of the transport network, developed destinations), more passengers and mail are generated, and the cities grow, which in turn increases the need for transport. The production of goods by industry only depends on the number of companies served and the transport performance, otherwise it is stable. Most of the time, it makes sense to start a game with goods transport and only add people transport later.
At first there are only simple transport chains, e.g. B.
- Coal mine → coal power plant
In the course of time, entire industrial chains emerge, e.g. B.
- Forest → sawmill → furniture factory → furniture store
- Oil field → chemical plant → printing house → bookstore
- Coal pit + sand pit → cement plant → hardware store
- Coal mine + ore mine → steel mill → car manufacturer → car dealership
Such chains (or trees ) only produce sustainably if all the necessary intermediate products are transported. Therefore, the demands of the game increase over time. At Simutrans, you must also consider who the producer and buyer are: For example, a coal-fired power station only accepts coal from certain coal mines.
Game mechanics
The game plan can be generated randomly or using relief maps. The sizes can range from 8 × 8 to 16384 × 16384 fields, with up to 999 cities. Climate zones, rivers, forests, mountains and snow in winter can be generated. The game world can also be changed significantly afterwards by reshaping the terrain. Cities, houses and factories can be rebuilt or removed, which sometimes requires action by the public sector .
Transported passengers, mail and goods make cities grow, i. H. after a certain number of successful transports, the number of inhabitants in the city concerned increases. If there is a certain number of new residents or unemployed, the city will build a new or larger building, and if the city exceeds a certain size, a new industrial chain, a sight or a larger town hall will be built.
For each type of transport (rail, road, ship, etc.) the player must set up at least one depot. This is then used to buy and organize the corresponding vehicles and timetables.
Large transport networks can be set up in Simutrans; a line management system and a vehicle overview with sorting and filtering options are available for this purpose.
Up to 13 computer players can be activated to compete with the human player. Multiplayer support and network capability are available from version 110.0. The game is translated into 25 languages.
particularities
Passengers, mail and goods can be brought to their destination via several transfer / reloading processes. The choice (optimized according to the number of transfer / reloading processes and the number of intermediate stops) and use of such connections (including transfer / reloading) takes place automatically. All types of vehicles can be networked and there is no separation between passenger and freight traffic.
Combined systems, consisting of trams, underground trains, S-Bahn, buses and trolleybuses (even overhead tram and M-Bahn ) are possible and often necessary. The more buildings / factories that are connected and the more space that is developed, the more utilization and revenue is achieved.
All vehicles plan and drive their way independently, whereby the player can intervene with waypoints, railway signals and traffic signs. In the case of more complex rail networks, he usually even has to.
An underground mode can be used to build subway systems in large metropolitan areas, or to build tunnel systems and underground stops for rail and road vehicles.
Expandability
The Simutrans program itself is a game engine that can only be used with a graphics package (a so-called Pak-Set ). Such packages not only contain the graphics, but also define the economic and technical properties of the objects within the game world, including the costs and performance limits for vehicles, buildings and routes, as well as the goods to be transported including the proceeds from their transport.
One of the Pak sets (called Standard-Pak, 64Pak or Pak64) is directly integrated into the program development. There are several other graphics packages for 64 × 64 pixels, for 128 × 128 pixels (and other sizes), as well as numerous extensions.
New versions of the pack sets will be announced on the forums and blogs.
New buildings and vehicles as well as industries can be created without programming knowledge. To do this, you need some defined views of the object (vehicles: eight perspectives; buildings: up to four rotations and, depending on size, several levels) and a text-based control file. In order for a new object to blend in properly, a few rules should be observed regarding the viewing angle, proportions, positioning and lighting.
Simutrans uses an isometric view , whereby the overall picture is composed of static 2D graphics for vehicles, buildings, trees, etc. ( Static means here: all graphics are supplied ready-made, there is no generation during runtime; the graphics are simply copied anew, also e.g. for animations on buildings and of course vehicle movements.)
With the various graphics packages, the static image display and the configurable maps (total size, number and size of cities, number of factories), Simutrans can be adapted to the performance of your own computer, and it also runs with older computers without a 3D graphics card (graphics accelerator) .
reception
In Germany, Simutrans was discussed a lot, not least because of its German origins. Above all, the depth of the simulation, i.e. H. highlighted the complexity of route finding for goods and passengers, which automatically leads to networks. Furthermore, the long-term motivation is emphasized, which results from the complex economic chains and passenger transport networks.
One of the main points of criticism is often the sounds or the MIDI background music. The complexity requires a longer training period.
Multiplayer support is still very new and has therefore not yet been discussed.
See also
Web links
- Official website
- German Simutrans website
- Link catalog on the topic of Simutrans at curlie.org (formerly DMOZ )
Individual evidence
- ↑ Release of 121.1. Source Forge, December 3, 2019, accessed December 15, 2019 .
- ↑ simutrans.de ( Memento of the original from August 16, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b Free Magazine 2/2011 (PDF; 1.50 MB) pp. 37–42.
- ↑ a b AmigaFuture 82 pp. 20-21.
- ↑ a b Internet abc
