Gameplay

I don't have any trains/road vehicles/planes/ships!

Maybe you have an early start date configured for your game. The unpatched game defaulted to a 1950 start date, however with the Patch, this might be 1930 or earlier. You either need to install an additional graphics set to introduce vehicles earlier, or check your patch configuration, specifically the value of startyear.

Relevant manual pages: NewStartingYear

Why is the game so slow suddenly? How can I speed it up?

There are any number of causes for this. It might be that your morevehicles is set too high. For most cases, values of 2, 3 or 4 will suffice. Any more will slow the game unnecessarily. See the Manual for more details.

Other features that TTDPatch introduces to the game can also slow it down, by requiring additional calculations that were not needed in plain TTD. Examples of this are the pre-signals, new vehicle graphics and the realistic acceleration model. However, the slowdown because of these should still be fairly small.

Relevant manual pages: IncreasedNumberOfVehicles Presignals NewCurveAndMountainHandling NewVehicleGraphics

How do I place a sign for sign cheats?

The sign that you need for using the sign cheats is in the "trees" menu icon. Simply click and hold your mouse button on that icon, and choose the "place sign" option. None of the other types of signs will work.

Why doesn't any cargo appear at my stations?

The Patch allows you to let only specific cargoes wait at a station for collection. To make the cargo show up, you just have to send a vehicle there trying to pick them up first. After that, only the cargo of that vehicle will appear, until other carriers enable other cargo types.

Relevant manual pages: SelectableStationCargo

Why is the service interval set to 16000 days and can't be changed?

This is a feature of the Patch intended for people that play with breakdowns turned off in the difficulty settings. If you don't like that, simply turn off the new service interval or set it to a smaller number, and all new engines will get a better service interval. You can also use the Cht: ServInt sign cheat to change the service interval.

Relevant manual pages: NewDefaultServiceInterval ServiceIntervalChanges

Why can't I buy trains with two engines? I only get one engine.

This is the TTDPatch option of multi-headed trains with engines that don't usually support it. A side effect is only having one engine in any case. Therefore, you have to buy both engines of a normally double-headed train separately with the Control key. You can also add engines which owuld otherwise not normally be there.

Relevant manual pages: MultiheadedEngines

Why do some of my engines point the wrong way?

If you move an additional locomotive purchased with the MultiheadedEngines option, it might end up facing forward when you actually want it pointing backwards (e.g. when the engine isn't symmetrical). Try holding the Control key and moving it around the train. It will then point backwards instead of forwards.

Why don't my trains make any money? The cargo is left en-route at the station.

This is the feederservice switch. You have the "Unload" option in the orders. This causes the cargo to be unloaded (literally) and not delivered. Simply remove the "Unload" option from the orders of that train (or of all trains with the sign cheat, it is not used to just deliver cargo.

Relevant manual pages: FeederService ClearUnloadOption

What happened to the monorail and maglev trains I was used to?

The TTD game engine supports a total of three (3) types of train track. In the original game, these were standard track, monorail, and maglev. Some switches alter the behaviour and relation of these three systems. There are so many potential configurations, that a fuller description is beyond the scope of this FAQ.

Relevant manual pages: UnifiedMaglev ElectrifiedRailways TrackTypeCostDifferences ManualTrackConversion

Why can't I buy any electric trains?

You've probably enabled Electrified Railways. This changes the second track system to electrified track, which is the only track type that electric engines can run on. To buy electric engines, you must build an electrified depot and the corresponding track. Simply click on the train construction menu item, hold the mouse button and choose "electrified railways".

For more detailed info see ElectrifiedRailways.