The discussion around economic balance in transport simulation games often circles back to titles like Transport Tycoon Deluxe (TTD) and its open-source successor, OpenTTD (OTTD). A common point of reference is how these games handle profitability based on transport time. The idea is that goods transported over longer times should become less profitable due to decay or obsolescence.
However, the practical implementation in TTD and OTTD reveals a different story. The economic model is balanced in a way that the increased payment for long-distance transport almost always compensates for any profit falloff. This inadvertently elevates faster modes of transport, particularly airplanes, to become disproportionately lucrative, regardless of the cargo. In fact, setting up passenger routes between two maximally distant airports can be an overly simplistic yet highly effective strategy to “win” a TTD game, arguably making the gameplay less engaging than more recent titles like Transport Fever 2 (TP2).
One perceived advantage for Transport Boats, or ships, in TTD is their capacity for creating “infinite pipelines.” Unlike airplanes, which are limited by airport capacity, ships can essentially queue and move in a continuous stream, theoretically allowing for massive throughput. Yet, even with this potential, ships in TTD often suffer from being less efficient and profitable compared to other transport options, a problem that seems to persist in TP2 as well.
While the TTD system might not be the ideal blueprint for modern simulation games without modifications, it highlights a crucial starting point. The revenue decay mechanic, despite its flaws in TTD’s overall economy, attempts to model a real-world factor. Games like Transport Fever, known for their tighter economic models and significant vehicle running costs (especially in harder difficulty modes), could potentially refine such a system. Imagine a scenario where the high operating expenses of air transport for commodities like oil or coal consistently outweigh the revenue, rendering it impractical. Conversely, time-sensitive goods, such as food, could receive substantial profit bonuses for rapid delivery, making faster, albeit more expensive, transport methods like airplanes viable and strategically important for specific cargo types. This nuanced approach could create a more dynamic and realistic economic landscape within transport simulation games, and perhaps give transport boats a more meaningful and balanced role in the overall transport ecosystem.
