Airport Tycoon is a business simulation game released for Windows 95/98 in 2000. It was developed in the United Kingdom by Krisalis Software (now defunct). In Airport Tycoon, the player must successfully build and manage an airport without going bankrupt. There have been two sequels created for Airport Tycoon: Airport Tycoon 2 and Airport Tycoon 3. There was to be a Nintendo 64 version released as well, but this version was cancelled for unknown reasons.[1]
Similar to other games of this type, players take on the role of an airport manager. They first select a location for their airport from several cities around the world. Players then construct a terminal for their passengers, followed by runways, tarmac, control towers and support services.
The player then attracts business to their airport by signing contracts with vendors in the terminal and contracting flights into and out of the airport. Players also manage the airport's budget, which cannot operate at too much of a loss. Players can operate passenger airports and cargo airports with different considerations for each.
The game was poorly received by critics.[citation needed] Frequent criticisms included difficulty of gameplay, substandard graphics and confusing controls.[citation needed] It received a 62/100 score from PC Gamer,[citation needed] and 3/10 from IGN,[3] among other rankings.[citation needed]
Airport Tycoon was followed by a sequel, Airport Tycoon 2, in early 2003. It was developed by Sunstorm Interactive and published by Global Star Software on February 26, 2003 for Windows PC. Airport Tycoon 2 received negative reviews from critics. Aggregating review website GameRankings provides an average score of 31% based on 9 reviews,[4] whereas Metacritic provides a score of 32 out of 100 based on 6 reviews, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[5]
A third game in the series, Airport Tycoon 3, was developed by InterActive Vision and published by Global Star on October 30, 2003. Based on four professional reviews, Metacritic finds that Airport Tycoon 3 has received "generally unfavorable" reviews and establishes a metascore of 46/100.[6] Airport Tycoon received negative reviews by IGN and GameSpot calling the game "irritating and monotonous", and the general review of the game on both the sites stated that the game was "lackluster" and "bland" not only in gameplay but in sound and texture, and its mechanics were "tedious". GameSpot's final comment on the game was that "It's unfortunate that the execution in the game is so disappointing in virtually every respect."[7][8]
The notebook computer (i.e. laptop) is basically a more user-friendly, portable version of the globe and Filofax combination found in your main office. The key benefit of the notebook is that it provides all key information about each airline and allows you to plan flights everywhere in the airport terminal so you do not have to waste time frequently returning to the office to review critical information or manage your airline. The notebook can be purchased at the Duty-Free Shop one game week into a mission or freeplay. There are 3 battery upgrades available for purchase on subsequent days, each increases battery lifespan.
The first three icons along the side, from top to bottom, correspond with the tabs of the Filofax, so clicking on the plane icon will bring up information about your airline's planes, routes, passenger order flights, and cargo order flights. The building icon brings up information about various cities around the world and their branches. The "i" icon brings up critical information and reports about each airline. For more information, refer to the Filofax article.
The second icon from the bottom is a plane in a circle divided into four quadrants. Each quadrant is coloured according to each airline's main colour. Click on a quadrant to show/hide the planes of the corresponding airline on/from the globe.
The bottom-most icon along the left side is a circle within a circle divided into four quadrants. Each quadrant is coloured according to each airline's main colour. Click on a quadrant (so that a partial arc is displayed) to show the location of cities around the globe as well as short-haul routes flown by your aircraft. Click on the quadrant again (so that a full arc is displayed) to show the location of cities around the globe as well as long-haul routes flown by your aircraft. Click on the quadrant again to hide city locations and routes.
Fans of the genre know that it takes a lot of time to make progress in any Roblox tycoon game, and Airport Tycoon is no exception. Thankfully, players can reduce this time a little with the help of these Airport Tycoon codes. Fans can also learn how to redeem codes here as well as more information about this popular Roblox game.
Updated May 5, 2024, by Artur Novichenko: This article is regularly updated with new Airport Tycoon codes, which can be redeemed for free cash and other great goodies. With that in mind, players should be sure to check back here often to avoid missing out on future freebies.
Airport Tycoon has been around for a long time and has now accumulated a rather sizable player base. To improve the gaming experience, players can find a list of all active Airport Tycoon codes listed below.
Playing Airport Tycoon is easy. At the start, players need to enter their factory through the door to activate it, then go to the first free slab and start working on their airport. Behind it, players will find a dispenser where they can collect cash and buy new upgrades for the airport.
In Roblox, the tycoon genre is trendy due to how exciting and fast-paced it can be. If players have grown tired of this tycoon game, then they might find themselves needing something new to play instead. Below, fans of the game can find the five best Roblox tycoon games like Airport Tycoon:
Opt to build your airport in one of 75 real-world locales, from hustle and bustle New York City all the way across to Europe. You can negotiate deals with 200 airlines and contractors to help better your airport.
The Good
Nice airport animations inside and out, rare subject, contract negotiation
The Bad
The animation has nothing to do with the simulation running underneath, there is no matching timescale equivalence, overall a lack of positive feedback
The Bottom Line
Airport Tycoon is a management sim that has a bunch of 3D animation that is not really related to the sim that lies underneath the pretty skin, and as a result, this feels very disjointed.
Airport Tycoon shows promise. You can start from scratch, or you can play one of the several scenarios included, with goals varying from improve your airport's rating and ranking to gain enough cash to meet a goal to be the first to sign up X number of airlines. If you start from scratch, you can choose a location in the world (with varying amount of traffic) and choose between near, medium, or far from the city itself. The farther you are, the cheaper the land, but the harder to get to. The closer you are, the more expensive the land, but people are less likely to complain about traffic. Also, if you're close to some cities, the skyscrapers in the city can become a problem (only on paper).
Once the airport is open, you have to wait for an airline to sign a master contract with you, which basically sets initial fee, per landing/takeoff fee, hangar fee, and such misc. items. Depending on the size of your airport and runway, you will sign up small operators with single and twin engine propeller jobs at first, and eventually move your way up to international carriers that operate jumbo jets and supersonic airliners.
Once master contract is signed, you will then periodically get individual flight contracts, which you can slot into your landing/takeoff schedule. You can accept or reject an offer. If you reject, you can send back an counter-offer, but don't reject them too many times or they may not offer again!
When your airport grows, multiple bidders for service, such as airline food, fuel service, and so on will show up. You want a reliable operator that doesn't cost too much. Cheap operator may not be as reliable and timely to service the planes, which can lead to airline complaints.
When you're big enough and have enough traffic, build metro station, train station, and bus stops, as well as parking lots (both short and long-term), and even some taxi stands for the commuters. Soon, hotels and gas stations will offer you terms to be able to build their place nearby.
Building a terminal is not that simple, as you can choose between single or double story terminals. You must make sure no one will be able to go BACK through security. Only cleared passengers should be able to access the planes, and this requires lining items up properly. You get to place everything, from those "arrival times" signs to baggage carts, from baggage carousels to vending machines, even bathroom stalls and check-in desks. Customers will get mad if they can't find enough of anything, and they will let you know. Airline will also let you know their displeasure if the passengers are being delayed.
First, in a normal tycoon game, there should be equivalent timescales. For example, in Railroad Tycoon, one "day" of 24-hours, you seen the train run, it also is equivalent to 1 year in the world. So if a train can make 2 stops in a day, the money it "earned" for both stops will be multiplied by 365 to come up with the earning per year. That's all built-in. There is no equivalent timescale in Airport Tycoon. When you set the speed higher, animation moves a bit faster, but that's about it.
Second, the 3D world does NOT match the sim being run underneath in any way. You may see planes arriving at departing in the 3D view, but you can't click on them, nor would you know which airline do they belong to, is it late, how much money has that flight made for you, etc. NONE of that info is available in the 3D view. You must go through the menus, and that is frustrating!
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