From A-Train to Cities: Skylines: The Evolution of Transport Simulation
It’s fascinating to look at how the transport simulation genre has evolved over the years, from the early days of A-Train to the sophisticated systems found in modern games like Cities: Skylines. While the games share the same core focus on transport logistics and city-building, the evolution of technology, game design, and player expectations has led to significant changes in how these games are experienced today. Let’s take a closer look at how A-Train influenced the development of modern transport sims.
Fun Fact: Cities: Skylines, one of the most popular modern city-building games, borrowed many ideas from older titles like A-Train. In fact, one of its primary selling points was its intricate transport management system, which allowed players to build and manage complex public transport networks.
1. The Role of Transport in Modern Sims
While A-Train made transport management a core feature of gameplay, modern games like Cities: Skylines and SimCity 2013 have taken it even further. Today, transport systems aren’t just about building efficient railways—they’re part of a larger, interconnected system that includes roads, public transit, airports, and even specialized freight routes.
These modern games allow players to build and optimize transport systems on a massive scale, integrating multiple forms of transportation into the overall flow of a city. Much like A-Train, players are challenged to balance the city’s economy and the efficiency of the transport network, but today’s sims offer much more in terms of scale and detail.
Side Note: In Cities: Skylines, players can manage everything from subway lines to ferry routes, offering a deeper level of customization and control over the transport network than A-Train could offer in its time.
2. Graphical Improvements and User Interface
One of the most noticeable differences between A-Train and modern transport simulators is the graphical leap. A-Train’s pixelated art style, while charming, was limited by the technology of the 1980s. Today’s games benefit from 3D graphics and real-time rendering, allowing for much more detailed cities, landscapes, and transport systems.
Modern games also feature more intuitive user interfaces, which streamline the experience of building and managing a transport network. While A-Train required players to manage everything through menus and simple graphics, games like Cities: Skylines use immersive tools like the road and rail tool to make building complex networks easier and more visually engaging.
Quote to Ponder: “Good design is as little design as possible.” – Dieter Rams. Modern games may have more advanced visuals, but the core design principles of transport simulations—efficiency, planning, and optimization—are still rooted in A-Train’s classic mechanics.
3. The Expansion of Transport Options
While A-Train focused primarily on trains and rail transport, modern sims like Cities: Skylines have expanded transport management to include a wide variety of options. In addition to trains, players can manage bus systems, trams, subways, ferries, and even airports. This variety adds a level of complexity and realism to modern games, where each form of transport serves a specific function in the city’s overall infrastructure.
Even A-Train’s economy and city-building mechanics have been expanded in modern games. While A-Train emphasized economic growth through transport efficiency, today’s titles offer deeper systems, including pollution management, environmental effects, and more complex economic models.
Final Thoughts
From A-Train to Cities: Skylines, the transport simulation genre has evolved in remarkable ways. What started as a simple yet innovative game about managing rail networks and cities has grown into an expansive genre that offers players even more control, customization, and realism. Modern titles have taken the foundational principles of A-Train and expanded them into massive, detailed simulation experiences that reflect the growing complexity of our real-world cities and transportation systems.