Changes to OpenTTD Distribution on Steam (openttd.org)

OpenTTD with its beyond clunky UI has a special spot in my heart.

There is even an Android version with the same very much not touch friendly (but somewhat customizable) UI.

This seems quite positive to me: Clearly the rightsholders are not being total jerks since they're happy to allow an OpenTTD bundle, and the original game is available with modern fixes as well.

I like Simutrans more because the cargo and passengers have destinations in mind.

TTD and OpenTTD do not which incentivizes mechanisms to dump everyone at the edge of the map.

Aside from that they're both transport games with bad UIs.

It would be nice if someone could provide some explanation as to why this situation is necessary. Did Atari's lawyers go full tilt?

Obviously having OpenTTD available for free on Steam would jeopardize Atari's paid rerelease of Transport Tycoon Deluxe, so I think this is a good compromise. Hopefully they rigged it up so the assets from Transport Tycoon Deluxe get picked up automatically by OpenTTD when you install the bundle. I also hope that Atari will be sharing some of the revenue from the bundle with the OpenTTD team as part of this arrangement. They've spent the last 20+ years adding nice quality of life features and keeping the game playable, and I think they deserve to be rewarded for that effort. Going back to stock TTD after playing OpenTTD feels like a massive downgrade, like going from vim to BSD vi.

Atari got a game I like called Awesomenauts and revived it from being shutdown F2P to $20. They paid an old dev to get it playable on a temporary contract. Though it has a few rough qualities I'm glad it's playable again.

This doesn't feel right for me. OpenTTD is so much superior in every way compared to the original TTD, that noone in their right mind would ever play the original. So Atari now, while spending zero effort compared to the years of work that OpenTTD devs put in, will basically sell OpenTTD as if was their own creation. People who buy the new TTD will simply play OpenTTD anyway, since it's so much better.

I might be wrong, but it feels like Atari are like parasites in this situation feeding off the hard work of OpenTTD devs.

Atari? I never expected to see that ancient name again. If I remember correctly, I've been playing OpenTTD for more than a decade without the original TTD assets, and I usually build it from source, so this change won’t really affect me. Still, it feels a bit strange (even if it may be somewhat legitimate) to see Atari suddenly asserting rights over it.

Weirdly the OpenTTD Steam page seems to be missing entirely at the moment: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1536610/

What is the story with OpenGFX then? It sounds like OpenTTD is completely new codebase and OpenGFX (which I also helped with) is completely new graphics. Why does one have to pay for that?

Just use gog

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Honestly fair and understandable. OpenTTD builds on TTD (it's right there in the name.)

You aren't forced to play OpenTTD and you aren't forced to get it on Steam/GoG.

It's acceptable.

Surprisingly, this is an interesting outcome. Atari could have been worse (better too).

I get it, but it makes me sad.

At least I already have it in my library so, looks like I still get updates.

So does OpenTTD gets a part of the generated income then? The team has costs too to support the game.

Lots of words, but nowhere does it say: why?. Did Chris Sawyer sue them or something?

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

i mean its cool that they made the original playable but having to get an ancient game alongside the one you actually wanna play is stupid

I think this is the correct move and I hope the OpenTTD community gets a cut of the sales and was not just bullied to agree

In order to play OpenTTD you needed the original assets. Now they are bundled

People already having the assets were most likely always technical enough to get the OpenTTD builds

Only casual users would discover OpenTTD on stream to be frustrated by not being able to play it without an additional purchase

No one should pay for this. The players own the game now not some IP rights vulture.

Wade Rosen resurrected a failing Atari, but from multiple interviews it doesn't feel like he is really OK with emulation, as he often refers to the piracy part of this. I feel this was an action they as project did not have much say in, ... as they also clearly stay away from answering a why

People seems to forget that besides console offshoots, the original Transport Tycoon (Deluxe or not) has not been legally available for what seems to be an eternity, without paying crazy eBay prices.

This is a much better compromise than usual in the gaming industry.

In my opinion this is just another example of our broken copyright system. That copyright should have expired years ago, so no troll company which happens to resurrect Ataris corpse for the tenth time can pull stuff like this.

But the lobbyism is too strong for a reasonable 15 or 20 year copyright limit.