Yeah, it came out before Deluxe, that's why you don't know anything about it.
In the simplest of terms, Transport Tycoon is basically the same game as Deluxe, except that it starts in 1930 and ends in 2030. In the game you play as an up-and-coming CEO of a minor transports company who wants to make a name for him/herself and, thusly, takes a loan and goes out in the business world to either bite the dust, or better yet, make him/herself a multibillionaire.
Graphics: 8/10
TT was more than just graphically apt when it came out in 1994, it looked damn good. The game takes place on a 2D plane, with a surveying birds-eye view, and while the resolution wasn't much, the underlying graphics were very well done. The cities brimmed with details, each of the individual industries was well animated with a series of "effects" (like smoke coming out of the chimneys, lumber being cut, etc.) which were quite an achievement for 1994. The trains, vehicles, boats and airplanes looked very pretty, to say the least. They were well drawn and big enough to be seen but small enough to fit with the scale of the game.
Transport Tycoon suffered from few graphical hiccups and had a permanent hex-grid displayed. This is probably the only fault of the game, but it's quite a considerable one. The hex-grid can't be turned off and it makes for quite an annoying distraction sometimes, despite it's usefulness. The game could've also used a somewhat better interface, although that didn't get as much in the way of the game as one might think.
Sound: 5/10
In the sound category, Transport Tycoon does one thing very well (music) and the other (sound effects) it does really poorly. We'll start with the latter.
The sound effects in Transport Tycoon are almost absent. Other than the trains leaving the stations, or the buses starting up there's little else you'll probably hear. No birds chirping, no brakes, sometimes not even sounds for each of the individual industries. The sound effects also suffered from a few bugs, like overlapping and disappearance of certain effects when too many things are going on the screen at once.
On the other hand, the music is fairly well done, and depending on how much you like jazz, it can be VERY well done. The game features a dozen or so jazz tracks, ranging from very slow ones to more upbeat ones which are of the highest quality. One can easily see why they chose this approach, as most of these can be rendered in MIDI-file-types but one will also have a hard time telling that these are MIDIs. The quality of the soundtrack is excellent and it sounds very crisp and clean... for a game that's 4 megabytes big.
Gameplay: 8/10
TT put forth a formula that was going to be successfully used in a number of other games after it due, in part, not only to the formula’s success but also due to its ease of use. This should only find the gamer even more over joyed, if ever; he or she will find this game even for download!
Unlike many other Tycoon games out there however, the most noticeable thing about Transport's gameplay is that it doesn't feature any scenarios. The game has only one tileset, a Mario-esque land of the green things (this was later fixed in a free-patch and then in Deluxe, where a few new lands were added) but this land is fairly well equipped with anything one needs to start, and keep, a flourishing business. As mentioned, the game features no scenarios as the only playable mode is a free-for-all sandbox mode which can be modified to suit player's needs. For example, the amount of bank loans, opponents, or stability of the market can all be set from an options menu. The game also features a tutorial; however it is very weak as it does not show the player how to set up routes for the transportation of goods. It only includes tutorials for the transportation of passengers, which will undoubtedly, leave some confused.
After the player chooses all his preferences, sets all the parameters and gives his/her company a name, along with building an HQ, it's time to play the game. Each game starts in 1930, with little more than 3 available locomotives and a few trucks for the player to start his/her transport empire. Transport Tycoon can quickly overwhelm some with all the information on screen at one time if he or she doesn't know what to do. There is a display for just about everything in the game, including a map with several highlights (like industries or well-populated cities), an index of the most expensive goods, and a bank tab where you can borrow money from. The interface is a bit cumbersome, as everything is handled in drop-down menus, and since this was done way before Windows got popular, the only way to activate the menus is by holding down the mouse button and moving up and down on the desired selection.
Laying tracks or roads in the game is very easy. Transport Tycoon features one, of the very few, well done systems of laying track. It's exact, precise and features all of the buttons needed to build a self-sufficient track. Trains, also have several levels of train stations available to build. From a simple 1-train station with a maximum of 3 cars, to one which can take on 5 trains all with 9 cars. Linking up train station is very easy, and, thanks to the well made track-layout system, it can also be modified to save money, by using stop lights or "passing lanes" when putting more than one train on a single rail. The rest of the "stations" available, including airports, docks and depots are much less of a problem but are just as easily built and connected.
The goods available for transport are numerous. From passages, to wheat, to steel, it's all here. Each of these goods requires a specific train car or truck/bus to transport. Once transported, in certain places (like a factory) they can produce goods, which too can be taken and then transported to cities with a high demand for consumer goods, creating a rudimentary supply-and-demand cycle. If there would be a few problems with resource transportations they'd have to do with prices. The prices change gradually over time, so that by 1960 passengers become more and more popular. The problem isn't that the industry has to adapt, but that when dropping prices combine with reduced production (which happens), a company with a few trains or vehicles that profits from those resources might find themselves sent to hell rather quickly.
One of the many things that make Transport Tycoon so fun to play are the vehicles. There's a ton of them and they range from steam-engines to futuristic planes, railways (that’s railways, not necessarily trains), and busses. Better yet, the game offers players the chance to test "prototypes" ahead of the competition. The use of these prototypes intensively in turn leads to more posibilities to do tests, and so on. All the vehicles are also licensed to boot. The only problem here is that some vehicles are really less useful than they might seem. Before Deluxe came, planes could only carry people and they hardly were useful at all until 1960s-70s when passengers became profitable. Boats, on the other hand, have way too few resources to carry as both the industries and the cities have to be very close to the dock in order to fill it with people or goods. Finally, vehicles can get a list of several orders, ranging from stations where they should stop to whether or not they should way for a full load or just leave with what they have. Giving these orders is very easy, and can be done with the same ease as laying down tracks.
While the actual transport and service models are very well done, the economic model in Transport Tycoon is just "above average". The game features subsidies, which will give you a higher profit margin if you fill out the requirements and (at the player’s discretion) a fluctuating economy. The fluctuating economy is more of a gimmick really, as there's hardly ever a reason or even a warning that an industry might close down or drop production by 50% so the player might end up with what was, last year, the top-dog-million-dollar-making-train in the depot and then in the subsequent trash can. One can also borrow, or return, money to the bank in Transport Tycoon. The maximum amount available to borrow can be set by the player, but it seems to increase, without warning and for no discernable reason, every so often in the game. When loans are taken or returned, however, no interest is paid. The players can't buy each other out, nor can they build industries to help their progress (ala Deluxe) but considering that those didn't do much in the sequel, they don't really hurt here.
The distinctive lack of any other tile sets is a bit of a pain in the ass, but, luckily, there's a huge amount of stuff to play around with in the game. All of the vehicles, that are spoon fed slowly and the huge amount of industries make the glaring lack of tile sets bearable. On the other hand, the AI is totally idiotic. Don't be surprised on seeing the AI build, erase, rebuild, erase and finally rebuild... AGAIN, the same piece of track. The AI also likes to set itself up for major failures since an AI starting in 1930 will automatically put up an airport and throw two planes in there and then hope, in vain, that they will get out of the red in the next 40 years. All problems aside however, when (and if) the AI gets to the later "ages" (1950s, etc.) it can get quite good at it and even provide a challenge. Overall however, having the AI is nothing more than a simple annoyance and a recipe for an overcrowded map.
Multiplayer: N/A
If memory serves me right, this game had no multiplayer modes.
Overall: 7/10
This is one of those games where I'm torn between one grade and another. I would gladly give this game an 8, if it would actually be possible to find and play it. It's impossible to find Transport Tycoon even for illegal download! Much less so to actually buy the game.
However, for those lucky few who can get it, they won't be disappointed. Even if you own, or have played Transport Tycoon Deluxe, there's still something here worth a look.