Game Design Study: Feedback Analysis “Transport Fever 2”
“Transport Fever 2” transportation simulation game developed by Urban Games.
Goal
This study aims to analyze the game to identify the main problematic points, as well as the strengths of the game, understanding its current state. This analysis will help me outline potential areas for improvement in my own opinion and highlight the aspects i liked. Take in consideration this is just my opinion, and shouldn’t be taken as the only and sole guiding word by any means.
Positive Aspects
- Graphics and Visuals: I enjoyed and appreciated the detailed graphics and the overall aesthetic of the game. The visual of vehicles and landscapes are immersive and semi realistic taking in consideration the type of game. It provided and immersive experience.
- Transport Network Customization: The customization available to create transport networks gives the ability to design complex railways, roadways, and other transport systems.
- Mod Support: The game’s support for mods is a significant positive, allowing the community to extend and enhance game play through custom modifications. This always extend a games life and potential.
Main Problematic Points
- User Interface and Controls: Unintuitive user interface and controls at 1st. I find the interface clunky and difficult to navigate at times even after some time, due to game low performance at times, or simply some of the controls or structure placement weirdness.
- Optimization Issues: Performance problems are frequent it seems, i also checked some forums to understand if it was something on my end, but it doesn’t seem to be the case, I end up testing it, and simply building a free map experience in a very large map, and playing on it for 5 to 10 minutes would completely crash my game, and low frame rates at times, even on my high-end system. This detracts from the overall enjoyment and accessibility of the game.
- The campaign: Often left me feeling confused and frustrated because it failed to teach some essential gameplay mechanics in the start.
- Refine Gameplay Mechanics: The economic model feels weird and easy to get around exploiting it.
- Lack of Challenge: Game feels like it lacks challenges, particularly in free mode. There is a absence of meaningful goals/competition, leading to a repetitive experience.
- Repeatability: Lacking in long-term repeatability.
Recommendations for Improvement
I believe that the solution to problems is not to add more work, but to find solutions that address the issues with minimal additional effort. While the suggestions I have made are the best I could think of at the moment, they may not be the optimal solutions. The ideal solution would effectively resolve the problem with minimal changes, which is undoubtedly a challenging task.
1- User Interface and Controls
Single-Hand Control for Simulation Mode: For players who prefer a relaxing sandbox simulation environment, which aligns with the game’s design, implementing single-hand control would be ideal. While the keyboard remains necessary for faster gameplay, developers could offer a solution with toggle buttons (similar to those for building rails) for rotating structures and other actions. This would reduce reliance on the keyboard and enhance ease of use. Although this might introduce screen clutter each time a structure is selected, the small icons appearing when the structure is chosen would soon become familiar to players.
Streamlined Window Management: The current interface involves constant window hopping to access different configurations, updates, or constructions, I understand that this is part of the experience.
While customization is important, the “Line Manager” and “Vehicle Manager” windows, in particular, could be simplified. In my opinion these windows should be redesigned to be more intuitive and user-friendly, reducing the need for excessive clicks.
In contrast, the Road, Rail, Water, Air, and Landscaping interfaces feel well-designed and do not require any changes.
2- Optimization Issues
Several measures can be taken to address optimizations. However, a detailed assessment of the assets and other related actions would be necessary.
3- Campaign
When a task is requested by the quest, proper guidance is necessary, especially at the start, so players know where specific things are and how to perform certain actions. Many games effectively address this issue by displaying a small video in the corner that demonstrates the requested task and shows the process simply. Implementing a similar feature would significantly enhance the learning curve and overall user experience.
4- Economic Model
Rework the economic model to make it more realistic and engaging. Introduce supply and demand mechanics more interesting, impacting, and more complex.
5- Add Depth and Challenge
Introduce AI competitors, dynamic events, and random challenges to keep the gameplay engaging. Implement varied and open-ended mission objectives to encourage creativity and strategic thinking.
6- Add Depth and Challenge
Expand content and replayability, increasing the variety of missions, industries, and transport options. Consider adding additional campaigns and/or campaigns events.
Conclusion
“Transport Fever 2” has a strong foundation with its detailed graphics and extensive customization options. To thrive further, the game would benefit from enhanced replayability and more engaging events that capture the player’s attention during slower moments.
Specs used for test:
Windows 10 PRO – x64
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X 12-Core Processor 4.70GHz
64 GB Ram
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080
SSD 970 EVO 4 TB