{"slug": "openttd", "name": "OpenTTD", "category": "media", "category_name": "Media and creative", "description": "", "recommenders": 7, "commenters": 16, "warners": 0, "score": 8.214, "rising": -2.29, "first": "2025-11-07", "latest": "2026-07-06", "why": "I still play the open source version from time to time.", "why_is_quote": true, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 7, "neutral": 8, "compare": 1, "warn": 0}, "spark": [3, 0, 0, 0, 2, 0, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0], "listed": true, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "I still play the open source version from time to time.", "kind": "game", "icon": true, "domain": "openttd.org", "github_repo": null, "official_url": "https://www.openttd.org", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["OpenTTD"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 779147856, "item_id": 48696741, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48696741", "by": "justsomehnguy", "date": "2026-06-27", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "this is still a very fun game", "excerpt": "For some people it's the game. Like I played the original (not even TTD, just TT) and this is still a very fun game. In a nutshell it's an optimization sandbox since the beginning, with more and more ways to invent and customize solutions for the troubles you make yourself. About the history of the project you better hear from the horse's mouth: https://www.openttd.org/news/2024/03/06/happy-birthday", "context": "", "use_case": "Playing transport simulation game", "switched_from": "", "story": "OpenTTD 16.0-Beta1"}, {"id": 772895728, "item_id": 48305983, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48305983", "by": "petepete", "date": "2026-05-28", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "the thing I love about city builders/OpenTTD", "excerpt": "This looks fantastic. I worry that its scope might be a bit wide. From planning region-wide infrastructure (the thing I love about city builders/OpenTTD) right down to deciding how many wardrobes someone needs. How well can it do those things and everything inbetween? But, I'll definitely be giving it a go. Thanks for posting the link.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "SimCity 3k in 4k"}, {"id": 759872128, "item_id": 47492008, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47492008", "by": "TheGRS", "date": "2026-03-23", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I've tried a little OpenTTD and really enjoy it", "excerpt": "This is a fun read, its one of my favorite games growing up by far, countless hours sunk into it. I didn't need this write-up to know that Chris Sawyer was god among men and that the open source version is a huge labor of love, but its a good reminder :) I will need to give OpenRCT a try some time, I've tried a little OpenTTD and really enjoy it, but RCT was always my jam. For the lesson here, I think re-contextualiz", "context": "", "use_case": "game", "switched_from": "", "story": "The gold standard of optimization: A look under the hood of RollerCoaster Tycoon"}, {"id": 759670368, "item_id": 47479398, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47479398", "by": "aeturnum", "date": "2026-03-22", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "all of us who have uninterrupted access to OpenTTD", "excerpt": "You insult me and then you turn around and ask me to do your research? Some nerve. That said, I encourage you to look into the blizzard lawsuit against WoW server emulator makers[1] or the Nintendo lawsuit against Switch emulators[2]. Both cases where teams have built software equivalent to copyrighted products without the direct use of copyrighted assets, but who were nevertheless found to have violated some aspect ", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "An update on Steam / GOG changes for OpenTTD"}, {"id": 736589792, "item_id": 46036862, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46036862", "by": "throwaway34521", "date": "2025-11-24", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I still play the open source version from time to time.", "excerpt": "I still play the open source version from time to time. They have added a lot of new features and gameplay improvements. https://www.openttd.org/", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Serflings is a remake of The Settlers 1"}]}], "caveats": [], "who": [], "tags": [], "use_cases": ["transit simulation game", "playing transport simulation game", "game", "open source game reimplementation"], "compared": [{"slug": "freedoom", "name": "FreeDoom", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47381746", "title": "Changes to OpenTTD Distribution on Steam", "mentions": 5}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47442834", "title": "An update on Steam / GOG changes for OpenTTD", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45846090", "title": "OpenMW 0.50.0 Released \u2013 open-source Morrowind reimplementation", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48802535", "title": "Real-time map of Great Britain's rail network", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48695149", "title": "OpenTTD 16.0-Beta1", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48297645", "title": "SimCity 3k in 4k", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {"recommend": 3, "neutral": 1}, "2025-12": {}, "2026-01": {}, "2026-02": {"compare": 1}, "2026-03": {"neutral": 6, "recommend": 2}, "2026-04": {}, "2026-05": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-06": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-07": {"neutral": 1}, "2026-08": {}, "2026-09": {}, "2026-10": {}}, "versions": [], "version_unnamed": 0, "family_ref": null, "runs_on": null, "lines": [], "quotes": [{"id": 780863504, "item_id": 48803969, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48803969", "by": "pjc50", "date": "2026-07-06", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Someone's already done the UK as an OpenTTD map", "excerpt": "Someone's already done the UK as an OpenTTD map: https://wiki.openttd.org/en/Community/Scenarios/United%20Kingdom , although I suspect that one cell =~ 100m makes it hard to accurately represent the real train density.", "context": "", "use_case": "Transit simulation game", "switched_from": "", "story": "Real-time map of Great Britain's rail network"}, {"id": 779147856, "item_id": 48696741, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48696741", "by": "justsomehnguy", "date": "2026-06-27", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "this is still a very fun game", "excerpt": "For some people it's the game. Like I played the original (not even TTD, just TT) and this is still a very fun game. In a nutshell it's an optimization sandbox since the beginning, with more and more ways to invent and customize solutions for the troubles you make yourself. About the history of the project you better hear from the horse's mouth: https://www.openttd.org/news/2024/03/06/happy-birthday", "context": "", "use_case": "Playing transport simulation game", "switched_from": "", "story": "OpenTTD 16.0-Beta1"}, {"id": 772895728, "item_id": 48305983, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48305983", "by": "petepete", "date": "2026-05-28", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "the thing I love about city builders/OpenTTD", "excerpt": "This looks fantastic. I worry that its scope might be a bit wide. From planning region-wide infrastructure (the thing I love about city builders/OpenTTD) right down to deciding how many wardrobes someone needs. How well can it do those things and everything inbetween? But, I'll definitely be giving it a go. Thanks for posting the link.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "SimCity 3k in 4k"}, {"id": 759872128, "item_id": 47492008, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47492008", "by": "TheGRS", "date": "2026-03-23", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I've tried a little OpenTTD and really enjoy it", "excerpt": "This is a fun read, its one of my favorite games growing up by far, countless hours sunk into it. I didn't need this write-up to know that Chris Sawyer was god among men and that the open source version is a huge labor of love, but its a good reminder :) I will need to give OpenRCT a try some time, I've tried a little OpenTTD and really enjoy it, but RCT was always my jam. For the lesson here, I think re-contextualiz", "context": "", "use_case": "game", "switched_from": "", "story": "The gold standard of optimization: A look under the hood of RollerCoaster Tycoon"}, {"id": 759670368, "item_id": 47479398, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47479398", "by": "aeturnum", "date": "2026-03-22", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "all of us who have uninterrupted access to OpenTTD", "excerpt": "You insult me and then you turn around and ask me to do your research? Some nerve. That said, I encourage you to look into the blizzard lawsuit against WoW server emulator makers[1] or the Nintendo lawsuit against Switch emulators[2]. Both cases where teams have built software equivalent to copyrighted products without the direct use of copyrighted assets, but who were nevertheless found to have violated some aspect ", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "An update on Steam / GOG changes for OpenTTD"}, {"id": 759220529, "item_id": 47451283, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47451283", "by": "somat", "date": "2026-03-19", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "It looks like openttd did redo the graphics and sound", "excerpt": "Ehh, it's not theft, it's copyright infringement. And in the case of openttd, it's not the engine that has the legal problem, it's the graphics and the sound. Openttd is an engine to play transport tycoon content. If openttd distributes transport tycoon's graphics and sound, (which they were) they are infringing on the owners right to distribute. Update, I got openTTD confused with openRCT, It looks like openttd did ", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "An update on Steam / GOG changes for OpenTTD"}, {"id": 758281152, "item_id": 47392572, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47392572", "by": "Macha", "date": "2026-03-15", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "He did reacquire the rights in 2010 in order to release his mobile port", "excerpt": "He did reacquire the rights in 2010 in order to release his mobile port, and only sold them back to Atari in 2024 (https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-acquires-transport-tycoon-ip) for them to do this re-release. So that's 14 years where he owned the rights and was aware of OpenTTD and left it alone.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Changes to OpenTTD Distribution on Steam"}, {"id": 758170064, "item_id": 47385629, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47385629", "by": "int_19h", "date": "2026-03-15", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "", "excerpt": "> It\u2019s also now in line with the various WAD and Descent games over time that used this model, where the engine is maximum rewrite amazing but the game resources require a GOG purchase. I don't know about Descent, but this hasn't been true wrt Doom for decades: https://freedoom.github.io/about.html", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Changes to OpenTTD Distribution on Steam"}, {"id": 758139568, "item_id": 47383723, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47383723", "by": "singron", "date": "2026-03-14", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "If you like OpenTTD, you may want to try OpenTTD-JGRPP", "excerpt": "If you like OpenTTD, you may want to try OpenTTD-JGRPP (JGRennison's Patch Pack). It has a bunch of additional QoL improvements and additional features. It was never distributed on Steam, so nothing has changed there. https://github.com/JGRennison/OpenTTD-patches", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Changes to OpenTTD Distribution on Steam"}, {"id": 758121184, "item_id": 47382574, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47382574", "by": "xyzzy_plugh", "date": "2026-03-14", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "", "excerpt": "No, you misread. It's bundled on that page, which links to here: https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/70574/Transport_Tycoon_Deluxe__OpenTTD/ But the OpenTTD item listed in the bundle is non-existent at the moment.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Changes to OpenTTD Distribution on Steam"}, {"id": 758119760, "item_id": 47382485, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47382485", "by": "haunter", "date": "2026-03-14", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "You can't get OpenTTD on its own from Steam anymore, it comes with TTD now", "excerpt": "Not weirdly, that's the point of the whole announcement. You can't get OpenTTD on its own from Steam anymore, it comes with TTD now https://store.steampowered.com/app/3766810/Transport_Tycoon_Deluxe/", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Changes to OpenTTD Distribution on Steam"}, {"id": 752929200, "item_id": 47058075, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47058075", "by": "Krutonium", "date": "2026-02-17", "version": null, "stance": "compare", "quote": "", "excerpt": "https://openloco.io/ too! Chris Sawyer made a lot of games that have since been reverse engineered lmao.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Reverse Engineering Sid Meier's Railroad Tycoon for DOS from 1990"}, {"id": 736589792, "item_id": 46036862, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46036862", "by": "throwaway34521", "date": "2025-11-24", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I still play the open source version from time to time.", "excerpt": "I still play the open source version from time to time. They have added a lot of new features and gameplay improvements. https://www.openttd.org/", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Serflings is a remake of The Settlers 1"}, {"id": 735890016, "item_id": 45993126, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45993126", "by": "afavour", "date": "2025-11-20", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "OpenTTD (Open source version of Transport Tycoon Deluxe) has its own custom made assets", "excerpt": "IIRC if you make entirely new assets you're good to go. OpenTTD (Open source version of Transport Tycoon Deluxe) has its own custom made assets, but can also be used with the original if you own them. https://www.openttd.org Not sure it's ever been proven definitively in court, though. And if you \"made\" custom assets that were exactly like the original ones only with a 1px color difference or something I'm sure you'd", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Red Alert 2 in web browser"}, {"id": 733549600, "item_id": 45846850, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45846850", "by": "klaussilveira", "date": "2025-11-07", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "", "excerpt": "https://osgameclones.com Also: https://freegamer.blogspot.com/", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "OpenMW 0.50.0 Released \u2013 open-source Morrowind reimplementation"}, {"id": 733543649, "item_id": 45846478, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45846478", "by": "mdtrooper", "date": "2025-11-07", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I know few projects in this point, OpenTTD and FreeDoom.", "excerpt": "I love this kind of free software (or open source) project. It is a hard work for several years. I think that the goal or finish of this work is the engine and a new (similar to old close game) set free assets (sprites, 3D models, maps, music...). And I know few projects in this point, OpenTTD and FreeDoom. Are there more projects in this point?", "context": "", "use_case": "open source game reimplementation", "switched_from": "", "story": "OpenMW 0.50.0 Released \u2013 open-source Morrowind reimplementation"}]}