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PayPalAtari have re-released the classic building sim Transport Tycoon Deluxe, but in doing so they're making it slightly more difficult to get OpenTTD. Back in late 2024, Atari acquired the rights to the series from creator Chris Sawyer.
What is OpenTTD? It's an open source simulation game based on Transport Tycoon Deluxe. It attempts to mimic the original game as closely as possible while extending it with new features.
The original has now returned to both GOG and Steam, but this has resulted in some changes for the completely free and open source OpenTTD project (which is far superior). The change is already live on GOG, making Transport Tycoon Deluxe now a requirement to get OpenTTD and the same will be coming to Steam as noted on the OpenTTD GitHub.
However, it does not affect getting OpenTTD directly - only the GOG and Steam pages are being changed.
Direct Link
From the store page:
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.The year is 1950, and you’ve been loaned £100,000 to become the ultimate Transport Tycoon. With only 100 years to accomplish your business goals, you must build your transportation empire using trains, ships, trucks, planes, and helicopters. As your operation grows, you can leverage technological advances to move more passengers and cargo, while you fend off rivals.
Created by Chris Sawyer in 1995, Transport Tycoon Deluxe expanded on the popular Transport Tycoon with new landscapes, weather, vehicles and scenarios on an updated timeline. Matched against a batch of ruthless rivals, you’ll have to act quickly to monopolize the key routes that rake in the most cash. Build roads, rails, stations, airports, docks, and more to develop the most efficient and profitable transit system to grow your business and become a true Tycoon.
Choose from one of four vast game worlds made up of numerous small towns and raw material resources. Your network of transport services must connect these areas and turn your transit system into a thriving business, while the game randomly generates a limitless number of scenarios that impact your enterprise. You can also create your own game scenarios using the world editor.
You’ll use your routes to move passengers, mail, and goods to their most lucrative destination. As the years roll by you’ll have the chance to buy more advanced vehicles and vessels if you can afford them. You’ll deal with town councils that express varying attitudes to your projects, and cope with disasters such as mine collapses and equipment malfunctions. You can even take over other companies and fund industries, which will bring increased profits for your transportation network.
Features
- Build a transportation empire using trains, ships, trucks, planes, and helicopters.
- Connect towns and resources with your transit services to make the most profit.
- 4 vast game worlds, each generating a limitless number of gameplay scenarios.
- Fend off ruthless, computer-controlled rivals, natural disasters, and more.
- Move passengers, mail, and goods to their most lucrative destination.
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Liam Dawe 3 days ago
Caldathras 3 days ago
Direct downloads and repositories are not affected.
Good.
Liam Dawe 3 days ago
Quoting: CrasbenFrom what I can see in the OpenTTD website it does affect the one you can get directly from them. You require Transport Tycoon Deluxe data files to have graphics and sound in the game.OpenTTD has had free graphics and music available for a very long time. Using content from TTD is entirely optional.
Philadelphus 2 days ago
Quoting: Liam DaweOpenTTD has had free graphics and music available for a very long time. Using content from TTD is entirely optional.That's what I thought. This definitely smells of Atari going "make people buy our game to play yours, or we'll DMCA you off of Steam and GOG". At least per the change notes it says:
If you already own OpenTTD on Steam, nothing changes.
You'll continue to receive game updates as usual.
If you ever need to re-download the game, the game will remain in your Steam library.
Caldathras a day ago
Quoting: PhiladelphusQuoting: Liam DaweOpenTTD has had free graphics and music available for a very long time. Using content from TTD is entirely optional.That's what I thought. This definitely smells of Atari going "make people buy our game to play yours, or we'll DMCA you off of Steam and GOG".
Oh, I don't know about that. It's certainly plausible but not the only explanation. The OpenTTD team may have chosen to do so preemptively to avoid any potential complaint from Atari. Another possibility is that Steam & GOG may have asked them to do so, as well. The norm with these open-source executible projects (and total overhaul mod bundles) has been to offer them only to those that own the original game on the same store. This change puts OpenTTD in line with that approach.
Philadelphus 2 hours ago
Quoting: CaldathrasIt's certainly plausible but not the only explanation. The OpenTTD team may have chosen to do so preemptively to avoid any potential complaint from Atari.To me that just sounds like the OpenTTD team expected Atari to say "make people buy our game to play yours, or we'll DMCA you off of Steam and GOG" and got out in front of it. Not materially different, in my eyes.
Quoting: CaldathrasThe norm with these open-source executible projects (and total overhaul mod bundles) has been to offer them only to those that own the original game on the same store. This change puts OpenTTD in line with that approach.Typically that's because they require assets from the original game (and I agree in that case, that makes sense). That's not the case here since OpenTTD has its own independently-created assets, so I don't see why it should happen.
I dunno. Maybe it's all totally innocent, but it's just not a very good look when a corporation comes along trying to revive a classic game and oh would you look at that, totally coincidentally you also now need to buy their game going forward to get access to the already-popular free and open source reimplementation of it (on popular store fronts, I know it's still freely available elsewhere). The patch notes definitely have an "I'm not happy about this and am typing it under duress" quality to them:
OpenTTD has been available on the Steam Store for the past five years.
During that time, we've built up an incredible player base, attracting lots of new players to the game.
Starting today however, OpenTTD will no longer be directly available as a standalone game on Steam.
It can instead be obtained as part of a bundle alongside the original Transport Tycoon Deluxe, which has been re-released by Atari and is now available to purchase via Steam for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
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