Greetings From LucasArts

[LucasArts-Chris]

Hello everyone,

 

My name's Chris, and I work for LucasArts helping to promote Thrillville, our upcoming theme-park game. I understand if you consider this message as "spam," but we have genuine intentions of reaching out to all theme-park enthusiasts and actually speak directly with you as much as possible, and this seems like the perfect vehicle for such a thing. I'm going to try and check back here every day until the game's release on Nov. 21 (maybe even later), and I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have. Thank you for your interest!

 

A few things to note:

 

The official website is http://www.thrillvillegame.com

 

And here are a couple of videos about Thrillville:

 

http://gamevideos.com/video/id/6759

http://gamevideos.com/video/id/7108

 

And if you're wondering how it relates to the RollerCoaster Tycoon series, the developer Frontier has done an excellent job establishing itself as a premier developer of theme-park games with RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 and its expansion pack. It continues this excellent pedigree with Thrillville, but in an entirely different way. Unlike RCT3, which has thrived on the PC platform, Thrillville has been designed from the ground up as a console game, including a different way of handling all building mechanics, plus more console-friendly activities such as minigames. At the same time, the game is in no way a "dumbed-down" version of a PC theme-park experience -- it's just a totally different approach.

 

Best,

Chris

[Calaway Park]

Hello everyone,

 

My name's Chris, and I work for LucasArts helping to promote Thrillville, our upcoming theme-park game. I understand if you consider this message as "spam," but we have genuine intentions of reaching out to all theme-park enthusiasts and actually speak directly with you as much as possible, and this seems like the perfect vehicle for such a thing. I'm going to try and check back here every day until the game's release on Nov. 21 (maybe even later), and I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have. Thank you for your interest!

 

A few things to note:

 

The official website is http://www.thrillvillegame.com

 

And here are a couple of videos about Thrillville:

 

http://gamevideos.com/video/id/6759

http://gamevideos.com/video/id/7108

 

And if you're wondering how it relates to the RollerCoaster Tycoon series, the developer Frontier has done an excellent job establishing itself as a premier developer of theme-park games with RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 and its expansion pack. It continues this excellent pedigree with Thrillville, but in an entirely different way. Unlike RCT3, which has thrived on the PC platform, Thrillville has been designed from the ground up as a console game, including a different way of handling all building mechanics, plus more console-friendly activities such as minigames. At the same time, the game is in no way a "dumbed-down" version of a PC theme-park experience -- it's just a totally different approach.

 

Best,

Chris

 

The game looks fun, not neccesarily appealing to the crowd that assumes everything has to be realistic, but if you're out to have a little fun it looks perfect.

 

I was wondering about the load times on the PSP, are they extreme?

[LucasArts-Chris]

 

The game looks fun, not neccesarily appealing to the crowd that assumes everything has to be realistic, but if you're out to have a little fun it looks perfect.

 

I was wondering about the load times on the PSP, are they extreme?

 

Y'know... I haven't seen much of the PSP version yet, but we just got ours in. Give me a day or so and I'll check on that for you.

[Calaway Park]

 

The game looks fun, not neccesarily appealing to the crowd that assumes everything has to be realistic, but if you're out to have a little fun it looks perfect.

 

I was wondering about the load times on the PSP, are they extreme?

 

Y'know... I haven't seen much of the PSP version yet, but we just got ours in. Give me a day or so and I'll check on that for you.

 

Alright, was wondering about the banking too. Is it still really quick?

[BelizeIt]

This looks like it's going to be a great game. I was wondering if your going to offer this game for the PC market?

[IceDragon]

yeah, it needs to be for the PC as well.

 

 

im a massive fan of rollercoaster games and personally speaking i find realism to be quite cool.

 

the rollercoasters need to be realistic and easy to make. could they also have something to do with designers (ie Vekoma, B&M) and maybe have the logo of the company on it, or if the player could make a logo for the ride and upload it into the game?

 

it will need a music importer thing as well.

 

the thrill rides must be designed on real rides, but could it also be possible to choose what height and speed the ride goes at?

 

on the chain lift hill, can you automatically have it so the chain return is there just to add a small bit of realism? could it also be possible to design something so it stops or slows down on the lift hill if there are block brakes that havent been reached yet?

 

i'll try and think of some more ideas, but so far, these would be AMAZING!!!

 

 

 

actually, if you do need any more help add me: Apocalyptic_Demise@hotmail.com

[LucasArts-Chris]

 

The game looks fun, not neccesarily appealing to the crowd that assumes everything has to be realistic, but if you're out to have a little fun it looks perfect.

 

I was wondering about the load times on the PSP, are they extreme?

 

Y'know... I haven't seen much of the PSP version yet, but we just got ours in. Give me a day or so and I'll check on that for you.

 

I've gone back and checked out he PSP version, and I'm happy to report that the load times are very reasonable. Playing for about 30 minutes, I never waited more than 5 seconds...usually only about 3. I hope that's what you wanted to hear!

[LucasArts-Chris]

This looks like it's going to be a great game. I was wondering if your going to offer this game for the PC market?

 

The game won't be for PC for the reasons I described in my first post: Thrillville has been designed from the ground up for console gamers. This holds true everywhere from the control scheme to the minigames, which, generally speaking, is not what PC gamers expect from a game like this. It's an entirely different approach.

[LucasArts-Chris]

yeah, it needs to be for the PC as well.

 

 

im a massive fan of rollercoaster games and personally speaking i find realism to be quite cool.

 

the rollercoasters need to be realistic and easy to make. could they also have something to do with designers (ie Vekoma, B&M) and maybe have the logo of the company on it, or if the player could make a logo for the ride and upload it into the game?

 

it will need a music importer thing as well.

 

the thrill rides must be designed on real rides, but could it also be possible to choose what height and speed the ride goes at?

 

on the chain lift hill, can you automatically have it so the chain return is there just to add a small bit of realism? could it also be possible to design something so it stops or slows down on the lift hill if there are block brakes that havent been reached yet?

 

i'll try and think of some more ideas, but so far, these would be AMAZING!!!

 

 

 

actually, if you do need any more help add me: Apocalyptic_Demise@hotmail.com

 

Thanks for all the feedback! You sound very passionate about roller coasters, and that's great. However, I'm afraid that many of the very particular nuances you mentioned will not be in this game. There are shades of simulation in Thrillville, but it was never intended to be a pure simulation. In fact, the game allows you to design coasters that defy the laws of physics -- it's all about the fun of it as opposed to absolute realism. (If you play racing games, this is kind of like "Burnout" as opposed to "Gran Turismo.") I'm sorry if that's not what you want to hear.

 

The focus of this game is purely the fun of being at a theme park -- and doing everything there is to do at one. Beyond just riding the rides, this includes walking the park at ground level, where you can actually talk to your guests for tips on how to make the park better. You can also play more than 20 minigames, from arcade-style games to nine holes of mini-golf that you can design yourself.

[IceDragon]

yeah, it needs to be for the PC as well.

 

 

im a massive fan of rollercoaster games and personally speaking i find realism to be quite cool.

 

the rollercoasters need to be realistic and easy to make. could they also have something to do with designers (ie Vekoma, B&M) and maybe have the logo of the company on it, or if the player could make a logo for the ride and upload it into the game?

 

it will need a music importer thing as well.

 

the thrill rides must be designed on real rides, but could it also be possible to choose what height and speed the ride goes at?

 

on the chain lift hill, can you automatically have it so the chain return is there just to add a small bit of realism? could it also be possible to design something so it stops or slows down on the lift hill if there are block brakes that havent been reached yet?

 

i'll try and think of some more ideas, but so far, these would be AMAZING!!!

 

 

 

actually, if you do need any more help add me: Apocalyptic_Demise@hotmail.com

 

Thanks for all the feedback! You sound very passionate about roller coasters, and that's great. However, I'm afraid that many of the very particular nuances you mentioned will not be in this game. There are shades of simulation in Thrillville, but it was never intended to be a pure simulation. In fact, the game allows you to design coasters that defy the laws of physics -- it's all about the fun of it as opposed to absolute realism. (If you play racing games, this is kind of like "Burnout" as opposed to "Gran Turismo.") I'm sorry if that's not what you want to hear.

 

The focus of this game is purely the fun of being at a theme park -- and doing everything there is to do at one. Beyond just riding the rides, this includes walking the park at ground level, where you can actually talk to your guests for tips on how to make the park better. You can also play more than 20 minigames, from arcade-style games to nine holes of mini-golf that you can design yourself.

 

im a bit sorry it wont actually be on PC, but i'll survive.

 

if you do think about putting it on PC, these ideas will more than likely help a lot!

 

(also: make it so you can set the height restrictions yourself! )

[LucasArts-Chris]

 

The game looks fun, not neccesarily appealing to the crowd that assumes everything has to be realistic, but if you're out to have a little fun it looks perfect.

 

I was wondering about the load times on the PSP, are they extreme?

 

Y'know... I haven't seen much of the PSP version yet, but we just got ours in. Give me a day or so and I'll check on that for you.

 

Alright, was wondering about the banking too. Is it still really quick?

 

Money is easily earned throughout the game simply by running a good park and by completing missions, which takes you through the game's story (something you won't find in most PC theme-park games). If I get what you're asking, "banking" is as simple as spending money on the rides that are available to you. If you really want to get into things, you can also use money to do things such as market your park and do some R&D. It's all very user-friendly and intuitive.

[coasterfreak101]

^I think what he meant was banking on the coasters . From what I understood, I assume he was asking about the transitions into/out of the banked turns, such as ROllerCoasterTycoon 3 has very quick transitions!

 

But either way, this game looks pretty cool! I like the realism aspects of RollerCoasterTycoon, but this game will be fun to just go crazy and have fun!

[timetrial3141592]

Um. The "banking" refers to banking the tracks of roller coasters (so as to reduce the lateral gravity forces experienced). What Calaway was asking was, in effect, will it be possible to have straight-to-banked pieces that use more than one square?

 

I would like to know if this game will be released for the Nintendo DS.

[LucasArts-Chris]

Um. The "banking" refers to banking the tracks of roller coasters (so as to reduce the lateral gravity forces experienced). What Calaway was asking was, in effect, will it be possible to have straight-to-banked pieces that use more than one square?

 

I would like to know if this game will be released for the Nintendo DS.

 

Ah, silly me. (Can you tell I'm a total newb when it comes to hardcore roller-coaster chat?)

 

 

I'll see if I can find out an answer on that for you -- I've dabbled in past theme-park games, but not to the extent that I'm 100% sure I know what you're referring to.

 

Perhaps the answer to your question lies in one of our videos about the game. You can check out a bunch of them on YouTube now here:

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=LucasArtsVideos

 

There was also this one just added to GameVideos.com:

http://gamevideos.com/video/id/7344

[coasterfreak101]

Yeah, the "Thrillville: Roller Coasters and Other Rides" video shows what he's asking. It looks as though the banking is still a one-piece deal, which isn't a huge deal! It's just that from the "realistic aspect" of our gaming, it would completely snap your neck in real life

 

Thanks for that link, I've never seen those videos before!

[music11]

I have a few questions. How much does this game cost? And will it be able to go online and if it does will yolu be able to download some of your music on to the games? Also if it goes online can you play minigolf, etc. against other people online? Anyways looks like a fun game to play and hopefully i can get it for christmas.

[LucasArts-Chris]

Yeah, the "Thrillville: Roller Coasters and Other Rides" video shows what he's asking. It looks as though the banking is still a one-piece deal, which isn't a huge deal! It's just that from the "realistic aspect" of our gaming, it would completely snap your neck in real life

 

Thanks for that link, I've never seen those videos before!

 

Glad to help. As I said in an earlier post, this game isn't going for realism as much as it is "fun."

[LucasArts-Chris]

I have a few questions. How much does this game cost? And will it be able to go online and if it does will yolu be able to download some of your music on to the games? Also if it goes online can you play minigolf, etc. against other people online? Anyways looks like a fun game to play and hopefully i can get it for christmas.

 

It's $39.99 for all three platforms (Xbox, PS2, PSP). There's no online except for ad-hoc Wi-Fi on PSP, which you can also use to trade your coaster designs.

[Homer]

Is the PSP version "watered down" so to say compared to the console versions?

 

Does the PSP version require a newer firmware to operate?

 

As for the load times, are loading screens constant? Any lag encountered?

[LucasArts-Chris]

Is the PSP version "watered down" so to say compared to the console versions?

 

Does the PSP version require a newer firmware to operate?

 

The PSP version has everything the console version does, but the missions are shorter for the purpose of on-the-go gaming. It requires firmware version 2.81.

[Homer]

Another question, Nintendo DS version? I swear, if Zoo Tycoon could do it, I'm pretty sure a RCT-style game packed with goodies could do it on the DS too.

 

Just don't pull off a Burnout Legends on the Nintendo DS version (game released by EA that was great on the PSP, yet sh*t on the DS).

[LucasArts-Chris]

Another question, Nintendo DS version? I swear, if Zoo Tycoon could do it, I'm pretty sure a RCT-style game packed with goodies could do it on the DS too.

 

Just don't pull off a Burnout Legends on the Nintendo DS version (game released by EA that was great on the PSP, yet sh*t on the DS).

 

Right now it's just those three platforms. We haven't announced anything for DS.

[Calaway Park]

Another question, Nintendo DS version? I swear, if Zoo Tycoon could do it, I'm pretty sure a RCT-style game packed with goodies could do it on the DS too.

 

Just don't pull off a Burnout Legends on the Nintendo DS version (game released by EA that was great on the PSP, yet sh*t on the DS).

 

Right now it's just those three platforms. We haven't announced anything for DS.

 

Aw man! That stinks! The DS is probably the next best thing for this game to the PC!

[kenshinmac]

Though I feel that in some ways this is an irresponsible kind of post it is nice to see publishers going straight to the fans. It is also kinda exciting to know that TPR is on the radar of a company like Lucas. I guess some of us would be very happy if you guys make a sequel if you come here for feedback or give us a place to go to give feedback.

 

Well all that said onto the questions!!

-Can you give us an approximate length of the game? Based on what I have heard about the game it sounds like a lot of it is a story type mode where you keep moving to bigger and better bits of land but with a bit more limited scope than things like RCT3. (whoa that was a long run on sentence)... So I guess what I'm wondering is am I right about the game being mission based more than just open and from that how free are we to continue building if we like a park?

-How much space will an average sized save take on the PS2. This is a huge concern as those memory cards still aren't cheap and some games are irresponsibly big. I know Frontier has made console games before so I hope they are being good to the memory cards.

-How many different rides/coasters are there. I love different rides and hopefully there will be plenty of variety.

-How flexible is placement? Is it like RCT3 where things are on an absolute grid or is it more flexible about placing things at angles?

-Last Question for now: Do the coasters all have specific operation types still or can we create wacky off the wall things like a launched woodie? Or heck a shuttle multi-dimensional coaster. At least I hope that there are a number of coasters that support shuttle behavior.

 

Well hopefully I've kept your job interesting... Sorry...

Just to get a bit personal if you are gonna be around here:

Do you actually ride coasters?

Which ones have you been on? If you need a refresher on coasters at certain parks check out rcdb.com which is fairly complete.

[Homer]

Is there a sandbox mode in this game like in RCT3?