Guides for Major Update · About 4 minutes

Smooth switch from v0.1 to v0.2

National Transit v0.2.0 is now the default version — the largest update so far: a reworked travel demand model, per-mode operations, city design, publishing to ntgg.me and history replay. This guide gets you from v0.1 to v0.2 in a few minutes.

Applies to game version 0.2.0Published on 19 August 2026

For the complete list of changes, see What's new in v0.2.0.

Getting v0.2.0

v0.2.0 is the default public version — no opt-in needed. Launch Steam and the update installs itself; the title screen will show v0.2.0.

If you joined the beta branch while v0.2 was in testing, you can leave it: in your Steam library, right-click National Transit → Properties… → Betas, and select None in the dropdown. Both branches now run the same build, so your saves open either way and nothing is lost by switching back.

Note that saves written by v0.2 cannot be opened by v0.1, so if you ever roll back to an older build, keep a copy first.

Meet the demand panel

Open Transport Demand from the top bar. This panel is now the single place where the game tells you why people travel — or don't. Read it top-down as a funnel:

Potential demand
Trips people would take with ideal transport.
Price-suppressed · Excess travel time
Trips lost before your network is even considered — travel costs too much, or takes too long.
Retained demand
What's left, and what your network competes for.
No connection · Capacity shortfall
Retained trips your network fails to carry.
Carried demand
What you actually move, split by mode under Carried by mode.
The Transport Demand panel's National demand overview tab: headline cards for potential demand, carried demand and demand satisfaction, the demand funnel bars from potential through retained to carried, and the demand risk map beside them.
The National demand overview — the funnel on the left, and every loss bucket named: price-suppressed, excess travel time, no connection, capacity shortfall.

Every piece of advice in this guide follows from this funnel: find the biggest loss bucket, fix that. For the model behind it, see Travel demand, traffic and capacity and Tolls, fares and traveller choices.

What has changed for each mode

Roads. Tolls and private costs (fuel, vehicle operating cost) now enter travellers' choices. A tolled expressway is no longer free ridership — set tolls too high and demand shows up as Price-suppressed, or shifts to other modes. See Roads: grades, tolls and upgrades.

Railways. Track alone no longer carries anyone. Create operating lines — pick a path, stops, cars and daily round trips — then choose one of three operating strategies: Public service (low fares, subsidy-backed), Balanced, or Commercial (market fares, profit-first). See Railways: track and operating lines.

The Create operating line dialog: passenger or cargo service, cars, endpoints, the railway path with its maximum round trips per day, and a preview pricing the line — policy, fare band, estimated revenue, subsidy and operating costs.
Creating an operating line — the preview prices the line under its policy before you spend anything.

Aviation. Airports have capacity, and routes are something you operate: set the weekly flight schedule per route. An airport at capacity caps every route through it — upgrade the airport or trim schedules. See Aviation: airports, markets and subsidies.

The Manage aviation routes dialog: a route's weekly round-trip schedule with separate commercial and subsidized services per class, next to a next-month operating forecast showing per-flight capacity, airport daily flight capacity, load factor and market margin.
A route's weekly schedule — commercial and subsidized round trips set separately, with the forecast and both airports' capacity beside them.

Waterways. Water routes likewise need a service frequency. A drawn route with no sailings carries nothing. See Waterways: ports, routes and ferries.

What's new to try

  • Design your cities — open any settlement and lay out its streets, zones and transit. See Designing your cities.
  • Publish your nation to ntgg.me — factbook, wiki and your nation's flag on the web. See Publishing your nation to ntgg.me.
  • Replay your history — nations founded in v0.2 record every month; revisit any point in your past. See Revisiting your nation's past.
  • Ring railway lines — operating lines can now start and end at the same settlement.
The City Map editor open on a provincial capital: a New road panel with road types from footpath to expressway and a live cross-section preview, city metrics in the corner, and a bottom toolbar for rail, transit, buses, city development and terrain.
Every settlement opens into a city you can design — roads are drawn as complete cross-sections, not lines.

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