TheRetroArcade
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OpenTTD developer Owen Rudge says "Atari have worked collaboratively with us," and it also put up some cash to help cover the game's server costs.
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We warned you last week that the window was closing on OpenTTD, the open source remake of Transport Tycoon Deluxe that was, until quite recently—we warned you, bro—available for free on Steam and GOG. The reason, the OpenTTD team explained, was the imminent return of the real Transport Tycoon Deluxe, the 1995 business sim developed by Chris Sawyer, which Atari was bringing back as a commercial product.
Sure enough, all happened as it was foretold: Transport Tycoon Deluxe launched, OpenTTD was pulled, and everyone took it about as well as you'd expect, which is to say not well at all. Transport Tycoon Deluxe is currently weighed down with a "mostly negative" user rating on Steam, and reviews helpfully suggesting, for instance, that Atari—and I quote—"can, and should, eat my entire ass."
That negativity isn't likely to have too much of an impact on Atari's future financial planning—there are only 26 user reviews on Steam and the peak concurrent player count is just 23, so it doesn't appear as though Transport Tycoon Deluxe is flying off the shelves here—but even so, it's causing quite a stir among the small but committed OpenTTD fan base. And now the OpenTTD development team is asking everyone to knock it off, because they say Atari has been very cool about the whole thing, and you can still get the game for free anyway.
"Atari approached us to explain their plans for the Transport Tycoon Deluxe re-release, and what it might mean for OpenTTD," developer Owen Rudge explained in a new Steam update. "They are keen to work with us, and hope that the new release will be welcomed by the community who have been playing OpenTTD for the past 20+ years.
"We discussed these plans, and we understood that a compromise would be needed to balance Atari's commercial interests (which of course they are entitled to pursue as the rights holder) against the availability of a free, well-developed evolution of the game."
Agreeing to collaborate with Atari on their re-release not only enables you to go back and play the original game as it was in 1995, but helps to ensure OpenTTD remains a thriving project for years to come.
That compromise was to limit access to OpenTTD on Steam and GOG to people who purchase Transport ...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?
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Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
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GamesRadar+
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Every Thursday
GTA 6 O'clock
Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.
Every Friday
Knowledge
From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.
Every Thursday
The Setup
Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.
Every Wednesday
Switch 2 Spotlight
Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.
Every Saturday
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Once a month
SFX
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We warned you last week that the window was closing on OpenTTD, the open source remake of Transport Tycoon Deluxe that was, until quite recently—we warned you, bro—available for free on Steam and GOG. The reason, the OpenTTD team explained, was the imminent return of the real Transport Tycoon Deluxe, the 1995 business sim developed by Chris Sawyer, which Atari was bringing back as a commercial product.
Sure enough, all happened as it was foretold: Transport Tycoon Deluxe launched, OpenTTD was pulled, and everyone took it about as well as you'd expect, which is to say not well at all. Transport Tycoon Deluxe is currently weighed down with a "mostly negative" user rating on Steam, and reviews helpfully suggesting, for instance, that Atari—and I quote—"can, and should, eat my entire ass."
That negativity isn't likely to have too much of an impact on Atari's future financial planning—there are only 26 user reviews on Steam and the peak concurrent player count is just 23, so it doesn't appear as though Transport Tycoon Deluxe is flying off the shelves here—but even so, it's causing quite a stir among the small but committed OpenTTD fan base. And now the OpenTTD development team is asking everyone to knock it off, because they say Atari has been very cool about the whole thing, and you can still get the game for free anyway.
"Atari approached us to explain their plans for the Transport Tycoon Deluxe re-release, and what it might mean for OpenTTD," developer Owen Rudge explained in a new Steam update. "They are keen to work with us, and hope that the new release will be welcomed by the community who have been playing OpenTTD for the past 20+ years.
"We discussed these plans, and we understood that a compromise would be needed to balance Atari's commercial interests (which of course they are entitled to pursue as the rights holder) against the availability of a free, well-developed evolution of the game."
Agreeing to collaborate with Atari on their re-release not only enables you to go back and play the original game as it was in 1995, but helps to ensure OpenTTD remains a thriving project for years to come.
That compromise was to limit access to OpenTTD on Steam and GOG to people who purchase Transport ...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?