Theme Park Studio (TPS) Discussion Thread

[rollerCoast11]

For me, an extremely customizable track layout!!!!!!!

[Geauga Dog]

My main concern is computer lag. I play RCT 2 much more than RCT 3 because in RCT 3, even though you have a large selection of flats and coasters, the game really lags if your park is too big and there's a lot of "peeps". Night mode is even worse. I don't have NL as I think it's too complex and time consuming to make a good ride, and that's just by what I've seen in photos posted in the games forum.

[Top Thrill Dragster]

-Mac OS compatibility.

 

-Park Guests.

 

-Parking lots with cars.

 

-The ability to visit other peoples parks.

 

-In game money. I would love to build a park and earn money and use that money to visit other peoples parks or improve my own park.

 

 

And something I don't think any theme park game has ever done, the ability to create your own haunt maze and walk through it.

Edited December 11, 2012 by Top Thrill Dragster

[aero21]

I hope I can help out as it looks to be a very promising game. I have been playing RCT since it came out, I play at least 5 times a week. I have built countless parks and continue to do so because I enjoy getting the thrill from making something that I would visit or ride in real life. I tend to stay on the more realistic side of things so here is what I would like to see:

 

• 
  1. Buildings - Keep the designing process for buildings simple. One of the things I love about RCT2 is that I can build a structure to my desire and specification. It really got interesting for me when the smaller building pieces were introduced as user created stuff. The more detail I can put into my structures (restaurants, coaster stations, and dark rides) the better I connect with the game which keeps me coming back. I like the grid system of building, so I would keep that, just give me the 45 degree angle option on walls and roofs. A building editor outside the game would also be very useful. Maybe give me blank pieces (walls, roofs,windows, and doors) that I can attach textures to that the community can create.
   
  2. Gardens, Trees, and Shrubbery - I like what I see so far. I might recommend being able to "size" these items within the game. Let me pick a tree for example and then make it bigger or smaller with a plus/minus tab to fit into the area and to also add some variety when I put 5 or 6 of the same trees together in an area. Don't worry about seasons as most people only visit a traditional theme park during the summer. I would also like the ability to turn off the weather or daytime clocks as well, not easy to build in the rain or dark. Again, the use of a land grid would still be helpful, but allow me to build through trees and shrubs to create depth within the square or triangle.
   
  3. Coasters - Again, I like what I see. With the grid and diagonals within that grid as I discussed before, we should be able to make just about any regular coaster design out there. The one thing I would like is give me the elements predesigned so I don't have to go nuts with an editor like in No Limits. Make sure you allow the ability to upload new elements so as new designs are created in real life they can be uploaded as you see fit. Best example I can give is think RCT2's designer with the addition of angles into the editor and with the ability to add new elements into the predesigned drop down list.
   
  4. Flat rides and extras - Sounds like you already have the right idea for the flats. Only thing is make sure we have the ability to replace the standard ques or entrance/exits with our own designs. For the motion rides like ghost houses or Pirates of the Caribbean type rides - just give us the vehicles and track systems, if the scenery is free form enough than we can build around them fairly easily You can add scenery packs later for a fee. Lastly, of course make the upload ability easy for when new rides are developed.
   
  5. Peeps - This I really don't care too much for, in fact I rarely make a park that I can open to the little mayhem makers. Just make them not dumb. Variety is a good thing too like adults and kids. If I open a park with a kids area I want to see a family with kids head over there intuitively, likewise with teen booking it to the newest thrill ride.
  

 

Don't worry about parades and the smaller random stuff as those things can be implied by a good designer. Give us the ability to create good realistic coasters, atmosphere, and buildings and you'll have a winner on your hands. In fact, give me RCT2 with the advancements Ive wrote about with the ability to export that world into a 3D type environment like RCT3 and it would be a perfect game in my mind.

[sspaz1000]

I never got into RCT or No Limits, but this seems like something I would want to try out. I'm not sure I know what should be wanted into the game, but reading Robb's list a couple posts above seems like good things to include.

 

But I guess for a complete simulation type game newbie, I'd be all for user intuitiveness. I don't want to spend hours trying to figure things out. I want to be able to plot and mess around and learn as I go, but don't want such a huge learning curve that it frustrates me.

[Mr Chris]

I think the most important thing to me is the view of your peep or "guest" in the park. I think it was awesome to experience your park, rides, coasters and food stands from the eyes of a guest. It gives you the feeling of virtually being in your park and able to see all your hard work. You could even be able to complete challenges from the view of a guest and possibly go on a scavenger hunt to find things in the park that you would only find from the view of a guest rather than looking at birds eye view. If any players got tired of building roller coasters (like we ever would), but if you did, this would be a way to keep players engaged and add unique challenges to the game.

 

I can't wait to play Theme Park Studio! I'm sure with a platform like Theme Park Review, you'll get a lot of visibility and word of mouth. Consider your page "liked"!

[Olsor]

^ Yep. 100% agree. RCT 1&2 were great games that were grounded in somewhat realistic coaster and ride designs (even if it was cartoonish), the only big drawback was that it wasn't 3D and you couldn't ride the coasters/walk around the parks. RCT 3 added those, but became too fake and cartoonish. Just making a modern 3D/POV version of RCT2 would be a huge win.

 

^ THIS. SO VERY MUCH THIS.

 

Also, and the video covers this, but I like the ability to resize inversions. One of the downsides to the original RCT games was being limited to stock inversion sizes or stock track piece sizes.

[Angry_Gumball]

After reading Robb's post I strongly agree. One other key feature would be good to have for beginners and such is a 'track smoother' so we don't come out with 'pumpy' turns. As said, the designer/editor should be simple enough for my young niece to make something but allow for even deeper/more complex designs for us die hards.

 

Here's some other (most likely repeated) input:

 

-Being able to save track elements with or without support structures.

-Ability to go underground with tunnels, realistic lighting/transitioning into tunnels

-Lighting kits, (I'm sure this could be more of a polish feature than a key feature) for either night or to add effects to a tunnel, programmable lighting (imagine recreating Demon's tunnel at Sf Great America or the light tunnels of Space Mountain).

-Onboard ride audio, general park background music (I often set up speakers in RCT3 just to give me something to listen to, adds atmosphere to park).

-A scripting editor that could be simplified for those of us who want to take a stab at it but have little knowledge, yet complex for experienced users.

-Being able to 'rotate' your saved or pre-made tracks, much like we can on RCT...but not limited to 90-degree increments.

-Lastly, as already said, a challenge mode that can appeal to the general audience and for those of us who want to take a break from our park/ride creations, assuming this will essentially be RCT on steroids.

Edited December 11, 2012 by Angry_Gumball

[thrillseeker4552]

I would also like to add another idea. I'm pretty sure nobody has mentioned this yet. Will we see realistic features like worn down rails, paint fading, etc.? I think if you are going to create a realistic coaster park, features like this would be essential! Performing paint jobs and annual repairs would be a key part of a roller coaster game.

[DougMJr]

^

^ I'm going to post this again, because "fading paint" again seems really "wish list" or an "add-on" after the game has been released and there have been updates. Please remember the original question - What is MOST IMPORTANT to you. This game hasn't been released yet, and on day one, what are the KEY FEATURES you want to see in the game that would make you stick with it, keep playing, and download future updates. Again...

 

Will there be a feature that will let you export and share tracks, rather than whole scenarios/parks?

[soldier148]

All I can ask is that the game is realistic, and creative while still being fun.

[MylesG4L]

Did someone say for the game to have a "Halloween haunt season" with like, mazes you can build and monsters and stuff to scare the guests at the park? If not then HAVE THEM ADD A HALLOWEEN TIME SEASON ....... and Christmas too I guess.

[Wes]

^ To quote Robb..

^ I'm going to post this again, because "fading paint" again seems really "wish list" or an "add-on" after the game has been released and there have been updates. Please remember the original question - What is MOST IMPORTANT to you. This game hasn't been released yet, and on day one, what are the KEY FEATURES you want to see in the game that would make you stick with it, keep playing, and download future updates. Again...

 

KEY FEATURES!!!

[DBru]

Much like the ability to place a track piece and then manipulate its properties afterwards, I think that the same should be with buildings and vegetation. So instead of having all different heights of walls and curvatures, which often requires massive amounts of separate objects and eats up space and leads to lag, we can have a few base objects that can be altered before and after placing them in the game.

 

We place a tree, and can then choose how full we want the branches, or how tall we want it to be. Or we place a wall and then can alter its texture and height. This is common in nearly every architectural program and makes it possible to create pretty much every building that ever was!

 

I'd like to throw my support behind this idea. It would save lots of time while providing many more opportunities for customization.

[Illari]

Divide pre-made coaster elements into categories, so that everything is available for every coaster type, but newbies could tell which would go where on real coasters, and it's easier to find what you're looking for. Maybe even tags, instead of strict categories?

 

Invisible trigger objects and trigger areas for scripting.

Edited December 11, 2012 by Illari

[disney4me2001]

As others have mentioned, I too love RCT2 because of the fact that it's a full game with plenty of scenarios, coasters, and rides. The realism that the game has in terms of how the objects look and function is what I love about it, and so that's something that I would love to see for this game.

 

From the trailer, I can see that there will be an ability to change the angles and "freeform" the track. This is something that I really appreciate. One thing that has always bothered me about RCT is the fact that you don't have the option to shape the track as you'd like in order to fit the coaster into a small footprint as well as for added realism. As a self-proclaimed coaster nerd, I love recreating real coasters. One design in particular that I've had trouble with is Knott's Berry Farm's Xcelerator for example due to the banked turns it has. I've never been able to get a design that I actually like.

 

So the game already looks like a winner to me, but if there's one thing that's key for me it's the loading times. While I understand that loading/lag in the game will vary depending on your system components, I'm less likely to stick with a game if it's making me wait a long time for things to process. Making the game graphics so that they're impressive but without slowing down the computer too much is a deal breaker for me. In other words, if it's necessary I'm okay with slightly degraded graphics if it means the game will load faster. Maybe there could be an option to change the quality depending on your computer? I don't really know anything about game design or programming so what I'm asking might not even make a whole lot of sense.

 

Another feature I'd like from day one is the ability to add custom scenery, similar to how RCT3 allows you to do custom billboards. But I'd like to see this taken a step further where we can do custom queues, buildings (walls, fences), foliage, etc. More specifically, I'd like to see the ability to shape it into anything, color it as we please (paint half of it one color and the other half another, for example), and make it whatever size we want. If a user-friendly interface can be included within the game that allows scenery to be designed, I will be overjoyed! Sometimes I try to replicate things I see in the Disney parks, so being able to do things like recreate the exterior of The Haunted Mansion or Space Mountain would be great!

 

As for other comments I want to pass on to the designers- this legitimately looks like a GREAT game, and I will most likely preorder it just based on what I've already seen. But I'm also looking forward to what other features might be included. I see a lot of potential here. Thank you for your time!

[Gav]

I think if you are going to create a realistic coaster park, features like this would be essential! Performing paint jobs and annual repairs would be a key part of a roller coaster game.

But the reason you buy a theme park game is because you want to build your dream theme parks and coasters.

It certainly would be 'realistic' to go dealing with maintenance and paint jobs, but would it actually be a fun way to spend your time?

 

To be honest, it would kinda bug me if I was constantly having to deal with micromanaging pop up windows dealing with ride maintenance, or if I spent a few game years building a themed coaster with detailed theming, only to find that the paint had faded and it all looked crap.

 

I'd much rather the focus go to doing a game that is generally open ended enough to give it real longevity.

 

This is where things like sketchup .skp and 3D studio .3ds object imports come into play...It suddenly means the scenery issue is solved because you can just model up whatever you need.

 

If we combine in an advanced footpath editor (build curves and set widths) that works like the coaster editor, and the ability to place flat rides at any angle, that gives you the basic tools to build anything (including recreating any theme park), and the rest is up to you.

 

In terms of requests, I guess one thing is that flat rides should try to be as generic looking as possible, so they can be incorporated with any themed area.

In RCT3 for instance, many rides only had the one theme. A Good example was the "pounding Surf" ride:

Cool if you wanted to put it in a Hawaiian themed area or something, but no option if say you had a notion of putting it in a robot themed area and wanted the ride to look like a giant bezerk machine.

If the rides are kept as generic as possible, we can then just pick the colour scheme ourselves, and pick our own theme objects and fencing to surround it with.

[golfburner1]

Real people like RCT3 but more realistic and better queue theory. Maybe allow some sort of in game movie editor so you could make a preshow for your rollercoaster.

[golfburner1]

Also being able to walk around your own park!

[Rai Fox]

Okay, this is as much a pet peeve as a suggestion for the game, so maybe I shouldn't put it here, but I am anyway.

 

I'm seeing a lot of comments both on "RCT 3 was too cartoony and didn't look good enough" and "RCT 3 lagged too much!"

 

RCT, I'll admit, lagged on a fairly decent PC when it came out, but you can build an absolutely massive park with no issues on a halfway decent PC these days. The problem is, people are expecting to run it on a bargain basement dell they picked up at best buy for $400.

 

You can not expect a game to have modern features and graphics and run it on that kind of PC. Cheap computers do not have a gaming quality graphics card, they often have the minimum amount of memory you can run an operating system on...you're going to get lag if you try to play games on them, if you can play them at all. Just because you can play bejewled on it, or even WoW with its graphics from 2004, doesn't mean it's in any way meant to handle real 3d games.

 

If you want a game you can play on your best buy black friday special PC, you're going to get RCT 2 again, or at best simplistic graphics like RCT3.

 

You want a game that looks realistic, that makes you feel like you're walking around a real amusement park, then you're going to have to bite the bullet and pay for a gaming quality computer. There's no having it both ways; no game developer can magically make a game that looks amazing and "doesn't lag" on an office PC.

[Retro_Gaga]

Definitely work on the sound.I remember in Hyper Rails the sounds would start and end abruptly. Work on the sound transitions, because nothing is ever quiet in a theme park or on a coaster.

 

Also, I know it's been said to not be included, but OSX support is definitely something to consider. Maybe not now, but down the line.

[vacoaster09]

Yes to this day i love RCT2! When I heard of RCT3 I got excited but when I saw how cartooney it looked I passed. I thought the 3D would be more like No Limits but it wasn't. I completely agree with everything disney4me2001 said. I couldnt have said it better! My favorite thing I saw demonstrated was the free-form layout design feature. RCT2 only allowed me to use the cookie cutter shapes and I could never re-create rides the level I desired.

[paradisecoaster]

Well the first thing that springs to mind has allready been said several times, but here it comes again; Visitors/guests/customers, call it what you like. That will give the park so much more atmosphere.

 

If I should be a bit more original, I'd say that it would be really great if there were a bunch of different scenarios to tackle. This is very important for the "replay factor", also, it will bring realistic limits into the game, like money, park borders, land where constrution is prohibited/limited, popularity, guest satisfaction etc.

 

In any means, I'm really looking forward to try this game.

[grrt]

For camera views, a 'walk' feature would be nice. Not so much be a peep on the ground, but like with Minecraft's fly mods, or the free view in No Limits, where we move using the keyboard, and not the mouse. It's often a pain to reposition the camera's using just the left and right mouse buttons.

[slowednblowed]

Hello,

 

This is Steve with Pantera Entertainment. First, thank you Robb for starting this thread, uploading our video, and posting some screenshots. We greatly appreciate the support.

 

I wanted to jump in here and start responding to your feedback. Here are some answers to your posts.

 

In game object design and creation is something we want to include. Our engine supports procedural mesh generation. We are looking into how to incorporate our tech to accomplish this type of functionality.

 

We have had a few requests for operating rides. I am not sure if that will be a basic feature. However that could probably be done through scripting.

 

Sorry, there is no Mac support.

 

Trains can be imported and customized.

 

Textures can be easily changed, along with meshs, without having to delete the objects. All the instance data remains. We are looking forward to the community importing custom models.

 

By default there is no grid restriction. We can add a snap to grid feature if it is requested.

 

Thank you for the Sketchup reference. I will look into it.

 

Our objective is to provide an editor that has both easy to use features and advanced tools for experienced designers.

 

I will continue to respond to your posts over the coming days and appreciate your feedback. There are some great suggestions here. Thank you.

well thats too bad about no mac support, i was really looking forward to this