Mechanics
The systems that drive Transport Fever 3 — from cargo chains and reputation mechanics to modding tools and procedural map generation.
Gameplay
Modes, simulation, day-night cycle.
Three game modes
Tycoon mode offers adjustable difficulty across economy, world, and citizen behaviour. Sandbox disables the economy for unrestricted creativity. Campaign features missions inspired by real historic transport events.
Customisable difficulty
Disability sliders for noise, pollution, vehicle maintenance, company headquarters, and economy allow pure route-building play without tycoon pressure, as confirmed by Urban Games in the First Look: Tycoon dev blog.
Living simulation
Cities simulate individual inhabitants who travel between home, work, and leisure. Passenger satisfaction and city growth tie directly to travel time and comfort.
Economy
Cargo, maintenance, loans, reputation.
Redesigned cargo system
Cargo simulation has been redesigned to give players full control over the delivery chain. New facilities include warehouses for buffer storage, industry boosters that raise output, and specialised loading terminals that speed up turnaround.
Dynamic vehicle maintenance
Every vehicle now has a dynamic maintenance curve that steepens with age. Players must budget replacement and overhaul cycles to keep services running smoothly.
Dynamic loan and contract system
Players can take on loans with adjustable interest rates and accept contracts that pay out on delivery. Higher risk yields higher potential reward but tighter cashflow pressure.
Reputation, noise, and pollution
Growing cities generate traffic, noise, and pollution. The player must balance the needs of citizens against construction efficiency. Heavy terraforming also reduces local satisfaction.
Infrastructure
Roads, rail, tram, ship, air.
Roads with full control
Road construction supports free-form shaping, custom intersection designs, and lane-specific traffic flow management. Includes highway ramps, overland trams, and configurable tram lanes.
Rail networks expanded
Rail networks now support line-specific train priorities and distinct track types (light rail, dedicated cargo trams, high-speed). The Line Manager redesign allows in-world editing of lines, stations, and vehicles.
Underground trams and dedicated lanes
Trams can now use dedicated tracks and operate underground, reducing surface noise while improving passenger flow.
Sea and air networks
Full ship and aircraft networks including ferries for short water crossings, supertankers for offshore oil, jet aircraft for time-critical cargo, and helicopters for short hops.
World
Maps, climate, terraforming.
Full day-night cycle
First in the series to ship a fully featured day-night cycle with dynamic weather, cloud coverage, and physically-based atmospheric lighting.
Node-based procedural maps
Map generation uses node-based technology allowing seamless transitions between biomes within a single map — swamps flowing into coastlines, deserts into canyons.
Four climate zones
Temperate valleys and forests, desert plains, tropical islands, and the new sub-arctic region all demand different transport strategies and route engineering.
Terraforming with consequences
Players choose between adapting routes to the landscape or terraforming it. Significant modification of landscape negatively impacts the satisfaction of the local population — trade-off between construction cost and public approval.
Modding & Tools
Map editor, Mod Hub.
Cross-platform modding
Modding tools have been greatly improved. A cross-platform in-game Mod Hub lets players browse and install mods without leaving the game. The upgraded Model Editor supports building vehicles, buildings, and map assets.
In-game map editor
The map editor allows players to sculpt terrain, paint ground textures, place vegetation and industries, and import heightmaps to recreate real locations.