Transport Tycoon Overview
Transport Tycoon is a business simulation set in a procedurally generated isometric landscape beginning in 1930. The player's objective is to develop a profitable transportation network using various vehicles, starting with basic options and advancing through technological improvements over time. The terrain features towns, industrial sites, and natural obstacles, all of which must be connected.
Gameplay revolves around establishing routes between locations like towns and factories, which requires constructing depots and purchasing appropriate vehicles. A bus line between two towns serves as a typical early project, generating revenue by moving passengers. More complex systems, such as trains, involve assembling locomotives with specialized wagons to carry specific cargo types, like delivering iron ore to a steel mill. Industrial facilities both produce goods and require shipments, creating a network of supply and demand.
Players have access to landscaping tools to modify the environment, such as flattening land for airports or digging canals for ships. The interface provides detailed management windows for individual vehicles and displays important events as newspaper-style alerts. The experience can be challenging, played solo or against computer rivals competing in the same economic landscape.
Following its original DOS release, the game saw several versions including a PlayStation port with an additional 3D map view. It was later expanded with a World Editor and re-released in an enhanced edition called Transport Tycoon Deluxe.
