Theme Park Studio (TPS) Discussion Thread

[Animark]

A search bar! Once that CS builds up in our collections its gonna be a real pain to find a specific set or piece.

[PanteraEnt]

Hello Everyone,

 

We have been busy the past few weeks integrating modules from our graphics' engine. I have uploaded a video highlighting our progress and posted it on our facebook page. This video demonstrates the following:

 

A new interface. The new dialogs can be moved, sized, pinned, or hidden.

 

Stations can be attached to control points. Multiple stations, or other mesh objects, can be added anywhere along the coaster path. When you move the control point, the attached object moves with it.

 

Tunnels can be added to any section, then freely deformed.

 

There is a new 'Enter' button which allows the player to take a virtual tour through the park. You can still edit your park while in this mode.

 

Jumps. Something you wouldn't see in real life, but fun to watch,

 

Entire coasters can be moved or rotated and any time, even after being fully complete.

 

Ability to move and rotate environmental objects.

 

Dynamic shaders. In this video I changed the stained glass windows in the castle from a standard shader to an unlit shader, giving it a self-illuminated look.

 

Particle effects, including fire, smoke, and fountains. Our particle effects module is very versatile, allowing the player to create a wide range of effects.

 

Dynamic editing of particle effects parameters. At the end of the video I change the force of the emitter, creating a much larger spray. The effects are seen in realtime while walking through the park.

 

Thank you!

[RollerC]

I have a question and i'm not sure if its been answered before. This game looks pretty similar to Roller coaster Rampage:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8F08LsU7F5E

 

Are the same companies working on these games or is the old Hyper Rails game engine kinda like a freeware where other companies can modify it and tweak it to their liking?

Edited December 14, 2012 by robbalvey

[PanteraEnt]

It is almost nothing like Roller Coaster Rampage. It just has 'some' recycled art assets. The product is more like Hyper Rails, but much better.

[Rai Fox]

I cringed a bit at "jumps," I hope this doesn't get too unrealistic, but other than that, it's looking pretty amazing so far!

[MrSum1_55]

Also, will there be a sandbox mode or scnario editer? Those do seem like nice major additions to me. On the topic of jumps, it sounds like it could be a fun idea, so long as it is not that major a part of the game. (With the trailers so far, it does not sound like being overly cartoony will be a problem)

 

So far, this is looking great! It is as if this game takes the freedom of No Limits, the simplicity of RCT3, and the extra features of Thrillville.

 

Normally, I am against making a game more like Thrillville, but I actually like it, in this case. Thrillville excelled in extra features, but the problem was that the extra features pretty much made almost the entire game, resulting on limited focus on the theme park environment. However, I see few problems with the cartoony aspect of this game.

[robbalvey]

Here's an updated video to check out!

 

 

This video update includes the following:

A new interface. The new dialogs can be moved, sized, pinned, or hidden.

 

Stations can be attached to control points. Multiple stations, or other mesh objects, can be added anywhere along the coaster path. When you move the control point, the attached object moves with it.

 

Tunnels can be added to any section, then freely deformed.

 

There is a new 'Enter' button which allows the player to take a virtual tour through the park. You can still edit your park while in this mode.

 

Jumps. Something you wouldn't see in real life, but fun to watch,

 

Entire coasters can be moved or rotated and any time, even after being fully complete.

 

Ability to move and rotate environmental objects.

 

Dynamic shaders. In this video I changed the stained glass windows in the castle from a standard shader to an unlit shader, giving it a self-illuminated look.

 

Particle effects, including fire, smoke, and fountains. Our particle effects module is very versatile, allowing the player to create a wide range of effects.

 

Dynamic editing of particle effects parameters. At the end of the video I change the force of the emitter, creating a much larger spray. The effects are seen in realtime while walking through the park.

 

LIKE their Facebook page for updates! http://www.facebook.com/ThemeParkStudio

Edited December 15, 2012 by robbalvey

[Six Flags Enthuseast]

Just looking at this game makes me very happy. I'm really glad to see that a new, great looking contender for 'best coaster simulator' is being made.

 

I'm not sure exactly which single feature I would most want to see on it. What's been presented so far is awesome. I do think it would be kinda fun if the game could have a 'self-operator' mode, where you can be trained to be a ride operator and then go about operating a ride as you see fit. It could be like having a camera mounted at the ride control panel, and you can either click on controls to activate them or hit keys on your keyboard.

 

Although it's not a feature, I really hope I can see just as many flat rides (if not more) than RCT3. Ones that I would personally love to see include parachute towers, S&S Screamin' Swings, S&S Sky Swats, S&S Sky Slings with the original seats (and if it would be possible, custom rotations for that ride), and Vekoma Mad Houses.

 

Overall, I'm very impressed by this game and I would definitely buy it once it's released.

[scbt]

For me, one of the biggest problems I've had with RCT3 is the fact that most of the flats look hideous or are already themed. If this has everything unthemed - i would be a very happy person.

[RCF]

For me, one of the biggest problems I've had with RCT3 is the fact that most of the flats look hideous or are already themed. If this has everything unthemed - i would be a very happy person.

To add on, make theming on the ride itself possible.

[jzoole]

I'm pretty sure I've seen all the updates from Pantera on this thread, but just to double check: Do we yet know whether or not there will be guests coming into the park, riding rides and spending money? I would say that this is the determining factor in whether or not I purchase the game. Building coasters/parks is fun, but if I can't actually open my park for business, I might as well just play No Limits.

[Angry_Gumball]

Again, I'm excited for this! Before adding all the bells and whistles to it (peeps, spending money, mechanics...) I primarily want to see how far we can take our creativity with this software.

 

Seeing the particle effects demo, it makes me wonder if there will also be fog emitters, for those who may want to create a 'creepy' feel to their park. Seeing the smoke from the fire made me think of fog/gave me hope for fog. The fountains looked good and falling water looked pretty realistic! Only strange thing is seeing how it looks 'striped' down towards the base of the fountain. Otherwise, looking great!

 

Jumping coasters? Fun idea, definitely not realistic but enough to draw some GP into it without straying too far. It takes me back when I was younger and used to doodle coasters (in a very GP-like manner) that involved jumps.

 

One question I did have, by the looks of the blank map, are there going to be 'pre-chosen' spots where we can place a station and are the paths fixed (as in can't reposition them, remove them, etc)? It made me wonder when I saw several cement pads in which one of them was occupied for the coaster. I did like however seeing that you can in fact rotate your coaster after it's been made! Should make creating our dream parks or recreations (assuming the software will allow us to go that far) much easier to handle...always dreaded spending X hours on getting a certain plaza/coaster all set up only to find that it's in too close, needs to go out further.

[alpengeistfan1]

One question I did have, by the looks of the blank map, are there going to be 'pre-chosen' spots where we can place a station and are the paths fixed (as in can't reposition them, remove them, etc)? It made me wonder when I saw several cement pads in which one of them was occupied for the coaster.

I am wondering the same thing, especially because it looks like that station looked almost exactly like the one in the other video.

[RCF]

One question I did have, by the looks of the blank map, are there going to be 'pre-chosen' spots where we can place a station and are the paths fixed (as in can't reposition them, remove them, etc)? It made me wonder when I saw several cement pads in which one of them was occupied for the coaster.

This brings another must for me. Make the paths be able to customized, as well as let the rides go wherever they can be fit, and not have 'pre-chosen' spots. It would bug me when I would have room for a roller coaster, yet don't have a 'pre-chosen' station anywhere in or near the area to make a coaster for it. Or even worse, have all this room for rides and coasters that you can't build anything on except trees or scenery. This crutial detail would turn me away from the game.

[caffeine_demon]

Another thing i'd like to see - is if you load a coaster or park which uses some custom scenery or objects which you don't have, it will tell you what you need rather than just crash, and also a way of showing what bits in a coaster or park use custom scenery , so you can make a list to tell other people if sharing.

[ViperLover]

I would like to see stalls (like bathrooms, food stands, and game stands) and a good ride collection. Another thing that I would like to see if possible, is an easy system that allows you to create flat rides. I always liked trying to recreate Darien Lake in RCT3, but I couldn't because their collection of rides is so unique and nobody made a CFR.

[robbalvey]

CFR?

[A.J.]

That's RCT3 Geek jargon for "custom flat ride".

[TyRush]

People are getting too greedy here...CFR? Really? I think this game will be fine without them

[disney4me2001]

People are getting too greedy here...CFR? Really? I think this game will be fine without them

 

Seconded. I would love to see the ability to customize what's in the game- as I mentioned in a previous post, it would be nice to be able to custom theme stations, buildings, etc rather than being stuck with only a handful of options like in the RCT series, but I don't think we need the ability to create actual unique rides. I don't need this in the initial launch of the game to make it worth purchasing and playing. If an expansion were to be created at some point, then it might be a cool idea.

 

On another note, love the update video! It answered some of my questions and most importantly made the game even more appealing to me (if that were possible)! Loving how this game is looking right now.

[robbalvey]

People are getting too greedy here...CFR? Really? I think this game will be fine without them

I think people need to read THIS POST again.

 

I think some of these ideas you guys are coming up with are great...BUT... Pantera needs to get the game out of the door first with a really solid set of basic features that lend itself to a game that can grow over time.

 

If the tried to put all these things in the game that have been mentioned, the game would never come out! I'm not saying that you guys shouldn't be mentioning them, because it's great to have a collection of "wish list" items on the back-burned, but don't be expecting all this stuff from day one.

 

I would be really happy if the game came out with a solid and intuitive coaster design tool, a handful of fairly realistic coaster types, and some other fun I could have in the park (flat rides, some themeing, a few guests, and maybe some game/food stalls), and then continue to build upon that.

 

Remember... you can't build an awesome house without having a solid foundation.

 

--Robb

[jzoole]

Robb, it seems as if someone needs to just be in charge of copying and pasting that post ever page or so. People clearly aren't getting the point of this thread, lol.

[Illari]

Flat ride designer is a core feature though. The time spent making several flats could be better spent in making a tool for users to design them. That way all the rides in the world would be available, if the tool's good.

[A.J.]

Yes, but a complicated editor that players are forced to use just to create a simple flat ride would severely reduce the game's out-of-box playability.

 

I'm pretty sure that this game isn't supposed to be "roller coaster and theme park CAD", that's kind of what NoLimits is used for and probably will still be used for when Theme Park Studio is launched. I believe that Theme Park Studio is a sandbox game, like Minecraft or The Sims - emphasis on "game". Someone correct me if I'm wrong here!

[Rai Fox]

An "easy way to create flat rides" just isn't remotely practical, unless you want it to be very limited. There's no way to do it without creating 3d objects, textures, and animations. That's not something any editor is going to let you do easily; no matter how it's implemented in game, you're going to need 3d modeling skills, artistic skills, and a whole lot of technical knowledge. Some of you are expecting the game devs to work magic, coming up with some way to just project ideas for rides into the game; it's not going to happen like that. This falls right into the same category as everyone asking for magical amazing graphics that run on a cheap computer without "lagging." It'd be a lovely idea but reality has other things in mind.