New details on "Transport Fever 3": Urban Games is working on the finishing touches
Urban Games presents new first-look video for "Transport Fever 3": Fans can look forward to a more refined interface, clever environmental features, and full mod support right at release.
For months, there was hardly any new information about "Transport Fever 3". Now, the Schaffhausen-based studio Urban Games has released another first-look video, presenting some fresh details about the economic simulation. Before you ask: there is still no release date for the game. Urban Games is still aiming for a release this year.
Unlike previous first looks, the fifth video does not focus on specific thematic aspects of "Transport Fever 3". Instead, it offers insights into improvements and developments that the team has been working on in recent months. So it's more about the finer details. I tried an early version of the game myself in February and see some things in the video that I didn't know from the preview.
Interface Optimizations
Urban Games already emphasized in the interview I conducted with the developers last year that "Transport Fever 3" should be more accessible than its predecessors. Clean and intuitive management interfaces play an important role in this: you should spend less time with menus and tables, explains Urban Games' Community Manager Sam Bennett, referring to the flood of control windows in previous games.
The line manager combines the management of lines, stations, and vehicles in a single view. A new feature is that you can change the line routing directly in the world using drag & drop. Previously, you had to first set a waypoint on the road, then select the correct line section in the line manager, and then manually insert the new waypoint.
When replacing vehicles, you now see a clear, color-coded display of the advantages and disadvantages of the selected vehicle compared to the current vehicle. Traffic light management also looks better now than it did in the preview. Green and red phases of individual lanes are displayed directly in the world for the selected traffic light, and traffic light phase management is more clearly presented in the associated window.
Development Stages and Unlockable Features
Your company reaches higher development stages by satisfying city needs. This unlocks additional buildings and functions. This has been known for some time. The video now shows a new facility that reduces pollution in the municipal district, thereby boosting urban development. As with almost everything in the game, however, the facility does not only offer advantages: it is very noisy, so you have to carefully consider its construction site.
Industries also contribute to pollution. Bennett explains in the video that every few development stages, you get the opportunity to reduce the pollution and noise levels of a selected industry by 80 percent through "greening".
Unlockable features also include marketing campaigns. Once every five years, you can use them to encourage a city's population to use public transport more, boost the economy, and reduce emissions.
Furthermore, the first-look video briefly discusses the already known possibility of actively developing new raw material sources through prospecting. The Schaffhausen developers do not provide details on this. The video suggests that an airplane flies over the district in search of raw materials. Industries generally only arise in regions where they are expected, such as quarries in the mountains and oil refineries near water. This is intended to make the game world appear more realistic.
Vehicle Fleet, Landmarks, and Cosmetic Improvements
The new dynamic audio system is also intended to contribute to this. Depending on the landscape and weather, you will hear appropriate ambient sounds near the ground: croaking frogs in the swamp, for example, and jungle sounds in the rainforest.
In addition, the track models and signal logic have been revised. They are intended to give you "many new possibilities" in rail transport.
Urban Games continues to implement more vehicles: there are now more than 300, and more are being added. The video also shows a new landmark: Neuschwanstein. Landmarks are unique monuments that provide special bonuses to the respective municipal district.
Some Mods Will Be Available at Release
Mods will be available cross-platform from release day. Urban Games states that dozens of modders have had access to the game for almost a year and are ensuring that some mods will already be available at launch.
At the end of the video, Bennett announces another first-look video, which will focus on the game's campaign, among other things. The total of eight campaign missions are intended to serve as an introduction to the game and also offer additional challenges later on. I was able to play two of them, the "Mardi Gras" carnival parade and the Woodstock festival, myself in the preview. The video teases another mission: it looks like you'll be responsible for the successful launch of a rocket into space.
Feels just as comfortable in front of a gaming PC as she does in a hammock in the garden. Likes the Roman Empire, container ships and science fiction books. Focuses mostly on unearthing news stories about IT and smart products.
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