Today I have to bring you bad news for the first time. Simutrans OTRP (a popular Simutrans fork from the japanese community) will stop being developed by THLeaderH, the original author of this project and the main developer, since he has ended their studies and will start working full-time.
What is Simutrans OTRP?
Let's pause a moment an explain a bit what Simutrans OTRP is, since this is the first time is it mentioned on Steam. Simutrans OTRP is a modified version of Simutrans with additional features compared to the standard version.
- You can now build one-way, two-lane roads. Vehicles can overtake each other on these roads. As a result, you can construct 4-lane highways.
- "Citycars do not enter" and "avoid becoming cityroad" options are available for roads.
- When using the building construction and land raise/lower tools, it is possible to click and drag to to apply the tool over a specified area. This greatly simplifies large-scale development.
- Advanced scheduling options allow for precise control of your convoys and lines.
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You can learn more about Simutrans OTRP on the project repository.
Simutrans OTRP Status
The OTRP fork will probably stop receiving updates, unless someone else pick up the project. But don't worry, current Simutrans OTRP version (v29_5) is based on Simutrans Standard Nightly, so it will take some time until Simutrans OTRP is truly outdated compared with Simutrans Standard, and in any case, you will always be able to play it if only with older paksets. You have plenty of time to enjoy it!
Simutrans OTRP and Steam
I'm a big fan of bringing other Simutrans forks here on Steam, so they are more accesible to players and hopefully thrive. Indeed, that was point 7 of the Roadmap I made when I became the new Steam maintainer.
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Simutrans on Steam Roadmap
I already did that (silently) for Simutrans Extended (I promise I will talk about it another day), but doing the same for Simutrans OTRP required additional work. Following the announcement of the termination of the development, this seems a good time to finish it.
Simutrans OTRP is now available from Steam (just go to betas and select the "otrp" branch).
Additionally to the usual Steam benefits (workshop, cloud save, etc)
the Simutrans OTRP version on Steam does not include telemetry, unlike the official OTRP which collected some information and sent it to a japanese server. This was necessary for EU users to be able to play the game.
[strike]
IMPORTANT: I have not obtained permission (yet) to redistribute the ribi-arrow pak required for Simutrans OTRP, so you still need to download it manually and put it on your pakset folders.
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Ribi-arrow pak download on Google Drive
This is the reason I was taking so long to bring OTRP to Steam, since I wanted to offer an out-of-the-box experience. Please refer to the install instructions for more info.
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Simutrans OTRP Install Instructions[/strike]
No manual installation needed anymore, paksets include necessary Ribi-arrow files and the key ":" is configured. The "otrp" beta branch will not receive any more updates, allowing you to switch it to any moment and play otrp with the latest compatible paksets.
Goodbye Simutrans OTRP
Let's wish THLeaderH good luck on his new life and let's say goodbye to Simutrans OTRP with some gaming!
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Original announcement on the forum
P.D.: Please do
NOT report bugs for Simutrans OTRP here on Steam (and any beta branch at all). I will delete any bug that is not about game not launching. Other kind of bugs (such gameplay bugs) will only be considered for Simutrans Standard.
[ 2021-04-05 09:42:39 CET ] [ Original post ]