While City Video games has been exhausting at work on the second follow-up to its Transport Fever franchise, the studio’s neighborhood supervisor Sam Bennett was form sufficient to reply just a few of our questions. Topics we received a solution on vary from a few of the new options we will count on from Transport Fever 3, to extra concerned ones, comparable to how agent-based citizenry impacts gameplay and the distinctive challenges provided by the sport’s numerous environments.
What are a few of the massive new options that we are going to see in Transport Fever 3 when in comparison with its predecessors?
How about day/night time cycle, helicopters, warehousing, landmarks, contracts, participant popularity…
Greater than particular person options, it makes extra sense to suppose when it comes to the general evolution of the sport. Previously the tycoon facet of the sport has been the realm most in want of a major improve. We’ve had this nice transport constructing recreation, but it surely’s by no means fairly labored as a difficult tycoon. To create a significant and enjoyable tycoon expertise you have to lean into decision-making: making one alternative would possibly profit your income, but it surely’s going to harm you in different methods.
“We’ve had this nice transport constructing recreation, but it surely’s by no means fairly labored as a difficult tycoon.”
To that finish, from a gameplay perspective we’ve made the tycoon expertise our main goal. That mentioned, we don’t need present gamers to overlook out on what they love doing, so all of the mod-support, customization, inventive construct choices proceed within the recreation, they usually’ve all been given consideration as effectively.
The sport has by no means regarded higher, and we imagine with this newest model it’s by no means performed higher both.
How will a few of the environments provide distinctive challenges for gamers when it comes to logistics and planning out routes?
Terrain and atmosphere are main areas of focus within the new recreation. Traditionally, our map generator did a great job at making totally different environments, however there have been very clear similarities between them.
This got here out of the map generator being *engineered*. For Transport Fever 3 we made a philosophical change right here – and that’s a recurring theme, altering the best way we’ve thought concerning the techniques within the recreation. As an alternative of map technology being led by the engineering group, it’s been reworked by our designers.
Atmosphere technology now pays shut consideration to how geography works in actuality. Temperate environments realistically transition from mountain ranges taller than any we’ve beforehand had, down towards open fields and forests as they get nearer to sea-level, with rivers and lakes following rule of topographical actuality. In a dry atmosphere the character of abrasion results in the identical basic options – mountains and rivers – being dealt with very otherwise as a result of erosion works otherwise in actuality.
The upshot is that every atmosphere performs very otherwise. Navigating lowland swamps is a really totally different problem to working a riverside passenger line, could be very totally different to hauling a large freight practice excessive of a canyon.
Moreover, the best way during which every atmosphere is seeded alters the combination of sub-biomes in a pure method making the outcome much less predictable. So, three totally different sub-arctic maps may have three very totally different feels to them. All of this actually provides to the vary of gameplay problem gamers will expertise.
“The upshot is that every atmosphere performs very otherwise.”
How will the brand new agent-based citizenry play into general gameplay in Transport Fever 3?
We’ve at all times constructed our worlds with some stage of agent know-how within the recreation’s inhabitants, however we’ve enhanced this strategy to simulate a believable world when it comes to the motivation for a citizen to maneuver from one place to a different. If the participant doesn’t present a wanted technique of transport, the citizen will discover one for themselves. Whereas settlements are small this will likely result in mild visitors that has no affect on the world, however as populations develop visitors volumes improve resulting in settlements stagnating of their development. If a participant needs to construct megacities, they’re going to must work very exhausting to maintain these cities’ populations transferring successfully.
How will totally different areas and biomes have an effect on issues like transport route upkeep?
Upkeep ranges are one thing we’ve at all times modelled however solely within the sense of how a lot a car prices to run, and what its outward look is like. We’ve elevated the affect within the new recreation by giving efficiency penalties to autos whose upkeep is missing. This might be a discount in capability, pulling energy, prime pace, loading pace – nothing good! The position of upkeep services then turns into essential as a result of they’re not cheap. On more difficult landscapes the issues come when it comes to your logistical planning greater than the atmosphere itself. Somewhat than a specific biome creating the necessity for extra upkeep, what’s extra seemingly is that upkeep is more durable to carry out successfully in several environments.
What varieties of latest industries will we get to see in Transport Fever 3?
We’ve launched offshore industries for the primary time. These not solely have a requirement for delivery to move the merchandise again to land, however to get the most effective from them you’ll wish to carry staff out to these industries – fishing farms, sand excavators, and oil platforms. You then want to contemplate the consequences of time-criticality on the products you’re bringing in. Previously you’ve been in a position to permit mountains of products to construct up at transit interchanges, however not any extra. Warehousing will assist to a point, however you’ll have to basically change your pondering with the intention to transfer merchandise to their closing vacation spot in a well timed trend.
We’ve additionally added many extra industries to the sport that settlements will demand as they develop bigger, and that too shall be dictated by the totally different environmental settings. You’ll have totally different industries relying in your map, and plenty of gained’t be based till demand for them exists.
The results of that is that there’s a vital have to evolve your plans because the world modifications, it very a lot modifications the best way you’ll take into consideration the sport over the long run.
“We’ve launched offshore industries for the primary time.”
How have the instruments to place down routes like routes or rail strains developed over the course of the franchise?
Very a lot so. Our main driving thought is to cut back friction in gameplay. Our purpose is for gamers to know an goal, then plan and deal with that goal with out the instruments ever getting in the best way. You would possibly wish to construct a passenger specific practice service between two cities, for instance. You recognize you’ll want stations at each ends, observe linking them collectively, capability for as many providers as you need, upkeep for all these providers… the problem ought to come from the planning facet of pulling all this collectively, not in combating tracklaying or signalling, or creating junctions, parallel strains, or creating house for later growth. The instruments ought to at all times be an extension of your thought course of as a participant, not a hindrance. We had been profitable in creating a collection of instruments to permit all this performance with the unique recreation within the collection, so since then we’ve labored to make them extra versatile and, for individuals who need it, less complicated to make use of. We’ve added steady tracklaying within the new recreation, making two click on routes doable, however that isn’t for everybody, so we’ve launched it alongside the choices and granularity that present gamers are conversant in.
We’ve additionally prolonged what is feasible when working with roads. Way more alternative now exists that ought to tremendously help visitors administration – a should within the later recreation – and lightweight rail has been prolonged additional to supply a better choice choices for easy methods to deal with these planning targets.
What decision and fps will the sport run on PS5, PS5 Professional, Xbox Collection S and X?
We’re nonetheless in alpha at current and as such we will’t give finalised numbers, however we’re launching on console and PC concurrently, so optimisation is certainly on our schedule earlier than launch.
