Inspired by  '90s simulation games, IsoMetro™ captures the essence of old-school city-builders in a tile-based world, sporting a minimalist aesthetic powered by an intricate simulation engine.

Tech

IsoMetro™ avoids actually doing any 3D rendering on player systems, by instead shipping with already-rendered perspectives of all in-world assets. This enforces both a nostalgic look-and-feel, and a smoother experience on nostalgic hardware.

The simulation engine runs independently of the rendering thread, so it's free to do some intensely complex work without making the game freeze up. This allows the economics engine to be very granular -- all economic influences affect each tile differently, so if you want to grow your economy, then you'll have to think carefully about how to move people and goods from one place to another.

Making your own buildings for IsoMetro™ is fairly straightforward with the asset exporter tool which supports placing externally created 3D models for advanced artists. The UI is also controlled by human-editable files in case you want to adjust its appearance or layout.

Editions

IsoMetro™ Free Edition is a work-in-progress, but already contains enough buildings to let you experience each aspect of the simulation. It's to remain free forever and receive updates even after the Gold Edition has been released.

IsoMetro™ Gold Edition is releasing no sooner than Q4 2024, and will bring a much greater variety of higher-quality buildings so that you can utilize both the simulation engine and your urban planning skills to their fullest extent. Build bigger and more intricate cities with more intricate transit facilities at your disposal, more options to choose from in regards to utilities and civic services, and citizens who can construct much more impressive buildings if you provide just the right environment for strong economic growth.

Getting started

The basic principle is that buildings grow on zoned land when their requirements (utilities, environment, economics) are satisfied.

• Place a power plant, water tower, and sewer pond, as well as water and sewer pipes that go from those utility buildings out to where you've zoned for residential, commercial, and industrial development. (Check the pollution overlay to make sure you didn't zone residential in a polluted area.)
• As long as the residential zones are served by utilities, within range of a building that is demanding a workforce (such as the power plant), and not polluted, residential buildings will appear. Buildings in other zone types will begin to also grow as a result.
• With enough zoned areas being developed and contributing to the tax base, you'll be able to cover the cost of the municipal buildings.

  
  

  
  

Development

What exists now:

• Practically infinite world size.
• Utility systems (i.e. water, power, sewer).
• Area effects such as pollution.
• Menus for selecting tools and info overlays.
• Economic engine built on top of a complex underlying transit engine.
• Basic finances system.

The roadmap:

• Further UI improvements (main menu, budget panel, tool tips when hovering other UI buttons)
• Tutorial, advisor personas, and other ways of notifying you of ways to manage the city better.
• Long-term progression mechanics such as unlocks.
• Creation of more buildings, and revision of existing assets.
• Visual representations of vehicles and pedestrians traveling along their actual transit routes.
• More information views.
• More finance features.
• Cheats menu.
• Special game modes and/or modifiers for players who want a custom experience (whether a more relaxed rule set, or more of a challenge).
• Additional ways of playing the game - we're considering specialized builds for phones / tablets / Steam Deck, and the possibility of running the game within a browser window.