Theme Park Studio (TPS) Discussion Thread

[Illari]

On the topic of custom flat rides:

 

It's not much of a leap from custom buildings, where everything is stretchable. Some tubes, bars, plates and a few basic seat types. Set the movement points.

 

Again tweakable physics for these movement points, when freely moving and not motorized, for when the physics don't go how you'd like.

[A.J.]

But is the feature really a "deal-breaker" in this case? Certainly it would be cool to include in something like an open-source developer kit, but I don't think that the majority of this game's user base would refuse to purchase the game just because it didn't have an in-game flat ride creator.

 

You need to remember that, when we're giving feedback here, we're looking at deal-breaking features - for example, if I didn't have a virtual machine, a lack of Mac OS X compatibility would be a reason that I would blatantly refuse to buy the game.

 

EDIT: Perfect example -

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.

[grrt]

No, there should not be a built in CFR maker, that'd be nearly impossible, plus, that's why we have sketchup and blender and 3ds max and all those programs to make them. But that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of capable of individuals willing to make things that the normal 'out of the box' players aren't and then import them. The huge amount of Custom cars and flat rides in rct3 should be evidence enough that there should be some easy way to import custom flat rides and coaster cars.

 

That's why there's an exchange, so people can download what other people make. It's been the basis of the community since day 1. To me, it's no different than the scenery objects which require just as much work as flat rides to make in some cases.

 

It's not getting greedy in my eyes, I think it's valid to assume that in 10 years, the same flat rides will not be commonplace, same with coaster styles. If it's being marketed as customizable, I think that the basis of the game, which is the rides and coasters, should be able to be updated and changed with the times. RCT3 has been around for 8 years, and without custom flat rides and coasters, it certainly would not be.

 

And again, nobody is forcing anybody to download anything, if people don't feel like downloading CFR's, they don't have to. But I can guarantee that much like RCT, people will find their own ways to get these custom things in the game regardless of whether or not it includes an importer for them. And just because it's an acronym doesn't mean CFR is all that fancy and high tech!

 

But... all in all, it's up to Pantera to decide what goes in the game or not!

[MrSum1_55]

80% of the reason CTR's were used in RCT3 were because the existing coaster types were too cartoony and not very realistic. Therefore, if the ride types are polished enough to begin with, there will be much need for CTR's. The other 20% was because the designs were not covered in the game, so that might give a better reason. Still, if they get the content right the first time, there will be no need for people to have to figure out how to fix it.

 

Another necessity for me would be block brakes. Block brakes are important to coaster operations. It would be even more nice of they could give the option to keep a block open, or not have it slow down as much when not needed.

[TyRush]

@Rob

Well i guess that my comment the other day that CFR didnt need to be in the game sparked Pantera. They just said they are working on CFR for the game via Facebook! Haha. While i probobly wont use CFR unless its real easy to insert/create them, im sure some crazy people that will play it a ton will really appreciate this. Seems like they really are doing this right by creating the game off of the people's input. Hence the reason for this thread.

[RCF]

@Rob

Well i guess that my comment the other day that CFR didnt need to be in the game sparked Pantera. They just said they are working on CFR for the game via Facebook! Haha. While i probobly wont use CFR unless its real easy to insert/create them, im sure some crazy people that will play it a ton will really appreciate this. Seems like they really are doing this right by creating the game off of the people's input. Hence the reason for this thread.

It is not much of a necessity for me to play the game, but it's such I nice touch. I for sure would be using it, as I did mention it this same idea a while back before I could comprehend that we were supposed to give CRUTIAL game play settings. Shall be fun to play this game!

[garbanian]

Made it most of the way through.

 

If there are guests and such in the park(s), I'd love to see something like a fast pass system in the park. It would be a neat way to give the NPCs some intelligence, in a sense, and a way to test the park owners with designing their fast pass system. Whether it be a seperate entrance way, or just like some parks have with a scan in feature.

 

I'd love to see some sort of dark ride feature, i love dark rides to NO end.

 

A construction phase.

You prebuild the coaster, and then it actually takes time to build in park. Watch the cranes come in and manipulate the terrain, and watch the park goers(if there are any) marvel at the new structure being built. This would be awesome to see with wooden rides and steel rides alike. I'm weird like that though.

[robbalvey]

From their FB page:

Our next update will be on in-game architectural construction, then CFR's.

 

The success of our title depends on a quality product and public awareness. Please help get the word out by sharing one of the video links on this page.

 

Thank you everyone for your support. The response has been amazing!

 

Be sure to LIKE https://www.facebook.com/ThemeParkStudio for updates on this upcoming simulation game!

Edited December 21, 2012 by robbalvey

[3Mutts]

Yeah for Custom Content! IMO this is one of the things (if not THE thing) that has gave RCT3 such a long life time and I'm glad to see Theme Park Studio implementing them into the game.

 

Any way, I would like to see:

 

1. A Stable Engine: This is the main problem with RCT3, it's engine is unstable and crashes a lot due to us making things for it that the game wasn't designed for, I want to see a very stable system that prevents the extreme crashing RCT3 has.

 

2. OPEN SOURCE THE CODE!!!!!!!: If you can do this it would be fantastic! There are things in RCT3 that we can't do due to the closed source code if the code is open sourced it takes some strain off your developers for bug fixes and makes the ability to make Custom Content almost unlimited.

 

3. Low Resource using Peeps: Yet another thing that has kept the RCT series alive is the peeps as it adds a realistic touch to the game and it is cool to see them walk around the park and ride rides. However they are very resource heavy and lag parks to death. I would like to see similar features with the peeps in this game but less resource intensive.

 

4. Easy Terraforming: Terraforming in RCT3 is hard to do and is tedious. I would like to see a terraforming tool that is easy and more accurate then RCT3s.

 

5 Scenarios: This is yet another thing the RCT series is king at. I would like to see very similar scenarios in Theme Park Studio.

 

6. Separate Wall Pieces: As we've seen in your last video, one only have one complete building, this puts a BIG strain on the creativity of your users, I would like to see separate pieces so we can create buildings as we want them to look.

 

7.The Ability to Import RCT3 Custom Content: The RCT3 Community (many of which will migrate to this game) has worked WAY too hard on Custom Content for this game to just let it die. I would like to see compatibility with this games files and RCT3s so we can import our Custom Content we worked so hard on.

 

8. Darkness and the Ability to Keep Weather out of buildings: This bug in RCT3 REALLY ANNOYS MANY PEOPLE PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT THE BUILDINGS DON'T LET TOO MUCH LIGHT IN (other than where there are windows) AND THAT WEATHER CANOT GET IN!!!!!!!

 

9. Support for Mac and Linux users: Although this does not need to be done in the first release, it would be nice to see this game cross platform later on (this would increase sales).

 

10. The Ability to Synchronize Mix Master (the name in RCT3 for the firework, laser and water shows) with rides: This would make making dark rides a breeze as syncing the Mix Master with the ride in RCT3 is very hard to do.

 

11. The Game Moves in Real Time if Wanted: What this means is that the time in the game moves with the time in the real world (its 6PM in the real world, it should be 6PM in the game).

 

12. A Mobile Version of the Game that Syncs Custom Content and other Files with the Computer: Just like web browsers can sync your bookmarks on your mobile, it would be cool to see a Mobile version of the game for tablets and phones so we have Theme Park Studio with us when we go on long drives (this does NOT need to be done in the first release).

Edited December 22, 2012 by 3Mutts

[A.J.]

Okay, all that you've written there is cool...

 

But what ONE feature would make you buy (or not buy) the game? Wish list =/= Deal-breaking feature.

[3Mutts]

^ 1, 3-7 are the important ones for me, the other ones are just fluff.

[fraroc]

BETTER PEEP AI PLEASE!

 

I'm dead serious, If there is some sort of "advertising" feature like there is in RCT, I actually would love the peeps to go to the ride advertised in the back instead of just swarming the front of the park!

[ViperLover]

One thing that I forgot to say was I would like to say no lagging. In RCT3, when you put a larger park into night mode, it lags and makes the rides and coasters look choppy. (They will get slower and move one inch, then another inch.)

[Gav]

?

One thing that I forgot to say was I would like to say no lagging. In RCT3, when you put a larger park into night mode, it lags and makes the rides and coasters look choppy. (They will get slower and move one inch, then another inch.)

In that case cant you turn down the graphics settings, or buy a better computer?

[Angry_Gumball]

^To be fair, RCT3 is not the most efficient program out there. Load times are pretty slow-ish even on a higher end machine. Back when it came out, my computer passed the recommended system requirements and a bigger park would lag pretty well. I also maxed out my settings assuming I can do such as I met the requirements.

[Yamez]

^To be fair, RCT3 is not the most efficient program out there. Load times are pretty slow-ish even on a higher end machine. Back when it came out, my computer passed the recommended system requirements and a bigger park would lag pretty well. I also maxed out my settings assuming I can do such as I met the requirements.

 

This. I have a machine built specifically for high-end games (built it myself) and RCT3 still has some atrocious load times compared to newer games with far better graphics. In theory a new coaster game with an updated engine and file organization should be able to load and handle much more than anything from 2004.

[molemaster43]

This isn't major at all, but a couple of neat things I had in mind that could become add-ons:

 

--The ability to create and possibly manage your own on-site hotels.

 

--The ability to create a working parking lot where cars would actually drive in and park. Customizable parking prices.

 

--Trams inside the parking lot to tram you to the entrance of the park.

 

However, the main things that would get me to buy it would be a diverse collection of roller coasters, flat rides, and water rides. I'd be fine if the game started out with a few coasters, a few flat rides, and a water ride and more designs came as add-ons. The other main thing would be the ability to open the park and have guests enter it. Those would really be nice, basic features that would get me to buy the game.

[philipdimartino]

Most important feature would be park guests and a sense of finance in the park. Also progressive construction of the rides, not jsut plopping it down.

[Bretty0]

I think that it would be great if the peeps were programed to use transportation to get to farther away rides/attractions. In every RCT they just placed transportation as just a ride :/. This would also make for an alternative way to make an entrance to the park

[Mr.Roller77]

I'm curious if there will be career levels, just like in Rct3, where you'll be given a certain amount of money, and only a few rides to start out with, and then research rides and coasters to add to your park. I'm also wondering about dark rides, like a fun house walk-through, or a ghost train, if they'll be in the new game. I would also like to see a picnic area for guests, and perhaps some large sit down restaurants.. you know, a bunch of extra things that Rct3 doesn't have. Looking forward to buying the game next year!

[Restless Bohemian]

I'm curious if there will be career levels, just like in Rct3, where you'll be given a certain amount of money, and only a few rides to start out with, and then research rides and coasters to add to your park. I'm also wondering about dark rides, like a fun house walk-through, or a ghost train, if they'll be in the new game. I would also like to see a picnic area for guests, and perhaps some large sit down restaurants.. you know, a bunch of extra things that Rct3 doesn't have. Looking forward to buying the game next year!

 

This is not RCT 4. It's been stated flat out that there will be no money. From what has been said, this is more a theme park design tool where you can watch your rides work, watch people ride them, and ride them yourself. Since it's not a "game" I wouldn't expect any levels or challenges. I get the impression guest interaction will be minimal. What we can expect is to import easily and be able to create just about anything we want using this brand new theme park design tool. It has been said dark rides will be included. Since we can walk around as a guest and import objects can't see why we wouldn't be able to make a walk through fun house or sit down restaurant. I'll miss the people interaction and making money, but I'll enjoy the freedom of creativity in it's place. Both would be welcome!

[Mr.Roller77]

Thanks for the info, even if there's no money and challenge levels, I just want the graphics and the coaster building techniques to be better than RCT3.

[rollercoasterbuff]

Really looking forward to buying this game as well. I am literally buying a PC specifically for this game lol.

 

Just out of curiosity, this still wouldn't work on a Mac if you used Parallels or BootCamp?

[Wes]

^ I don't see why it wouldn't work running Bootcamp, since Bootcamp is literally just running Windows off a partition. Virtualization software like Parallels might not work, but Bootcamp should be ok. I think the only thing you'd have to worry about is the specs of your Mac (RAM, graphics card etc) being able to handle the game.

[Bane]

Most important feature would be park guests and a sense of finance in the park. Also progressive construction of the rides, not jsut plopping it down.

 

Totally agree with this, one of the things I most enjoyed about RCT was being able to build up a park and see the progression from nothing, up to a park which is full of guests. I like the idea of designing the coaster, and then once you've done it, watching it get constructed within your park which would work quite well if park guests are on the game as it could build excitement within the park.

 

There is a lot of potential for a new coaster game and I really hope Theme Park Studio can live up to it.