Theme Park Studio (TPS) Discussion Thread

[SLUSHIE]

Looks like this is the same studio that made Hyper Rails. I have it and have played it, but not very much I guess because I hardly remember it at all. The editing looks similar to what I remember, the UI does as well.

 

I think having people in the park, and making it more of a real sim game would be amazing. For me, designing coasters is cool and all, but it the management of the whole park and all that that makes RCT so much fun and NoLimits so dull.

 

If you guys don't really plan to take it that route, maybe some challenges in terms of coaster design could be fun and different. Sorta like how RCT has some of those (I think), like build a roller coaster over 3,000ft long with a overall fun rating of 8! Or maybe a level that has a lot of obstacles and you have to design a coaster a certain length in the space. Maybe some other things that don't have to do with length as well! A real series of challenges where maybe you get scored on and a get gold, silver, bronze medal for would be fun. If you somehow figured out some challenges where the score could be broken down even further or with a point system, then a online high score board where people can upload their designs would be even better.

 

Just something to make the game a bit more than here is some open land do whatever the crap you want with.

Edited December 10, 2012 by SLUSHIE

[Someotherguyuser]

Quickly scrolled through the pages so I didn't see any comments on what I'm about mention, so here it goes.

 

To me, the most important thing I would like to see is being able to create dark rides. I would like to see not only being able to create a roller with dark ride scenes (Like Mummy or Blue Fire) but also dark ride systems like KUMA arm, EMV, EVAC, etc.

[The Yeti]

I think my dream game has just come true.

 

Agreed. I was thinking about a merge between the two TODAY. One of my big pet peeves with RCT3 was the "Peeps"...I'd rather see something more like what was in RCT and RCT2 in terms of park guests. Still, I'd say customizable rides/coasters with templates is enough for me.

 

I hope it will include test ratings like in the RCT games. I feel like that was an integral part of the game that wouldn't be left out, but I thought I needed to share that idea!

[Taylor Finn]

Others have said this already, but I think some important things are (I guess they are sort of in order of importance):

1. The ability to present your hard work to actual guests in the park, to see your work come to fruition.

2. A design system simpler than no limits, but more involved, and accurate than RCT.

3

. A roller coaster editing section of the game, where you can pre-design your rides to implement in future parks, or maybe even an off season to perform repairs, place rides in the park, etc. This could take the place of the ride editing idea. It could serve as a bit of a pause and restart in the game.

4. Improved artificial intelligence for the park patrons.

5. A dark ride-design system. It would be awfully hard to make one of these without some sort of system to simplify the process.

 

That's about all I can think of. But this game could seriously be so awesome!

[the ghost]

My only 2 things would be:

1. OSX support

2. Building a coaster should be more customizable than RCT, but less intricate and time consuming than No Limits.

So I pretty much second the second part of what Wes said... that is a VERY happy medium because the reason I don't play RCT3 is because of the awkward transitions, but NL can be so tedious. If this has been asked(or answered) then I apologize, but one of my favorite parts of RCT2/3 are the customization of themes, like the ability to make unique buildings and to add details here and there to make it feel like a theme park, that is a HUGE plus for me in simulation games. Also as other people have said a variety of rides/attractions, but it seems that you have that down.

Honestly if this is a project supported by TPR and made by people that actually care about the coaster/theme park community(and I assume the developers enjoy coasters/theme parks themselves) I can see this as a "rebirth" of the theme park simulation genre. I can honestly 100% say without a single doubt in my mind that RCT2 is my favorite game and I often wish RCT3 would have been a little more realistic, because then I would enjoy it more and this seems like a perfect blending of the two games. I am VERY excited about this project and I can promise if this plays as well as it looks you will have several happy gamers in no time at all!

 

Sounds nice, but I'm getting too old for those games!

Lol... why? Games are a fun part(one of my favorite parts, actually) of the coaster community!

[MrSum1_55]

This seems like exactly the game RCT fans on the Atari forums have asked for.

 

Meanwhile, Atari went ahead and made the exact opposite.

 

*One more suggestion. It states in the trailer that mini games will be a part of the game. I would strongly suggest not making mini games too big a part of the game. It would be better if they just behaved more like an additional feature, and not a major point of the game (i.e., not too much like that other coaster game that frustrated many RCT fans)

[Angry_Gumball]

^Mini games...It could be fun having some pre-built carnival-esque games in there.

 

Further thinking of this, another idea comes to mind as far as presenting the parks. Would be neat that once your park's published online, you can 'connect' to it as though you were joining a server on an online game...other visitors could also sign onto your park and you could roam around in the park with other real peeps in real time...perhaps chat with them. Though that may be a bit too much, it would be pretty sweet in the future of park simulations.

 

Lastly, a highly important one in my book anyway is realistic sounds...even if field recordings had to be done inside the park, or sample the sound of a B&M roaring, the ratcheting of an Arrow coaster's lift, or the magnetic brakes of an Intamin coaster. RCT2 had a pretty realistic sounds for their coasters (loved the sound of the B&Ms going up the lifts along with their roars). After watching a YouTube video of Hyper Rails, I was a bit disappointed in the sounds.

[Rai Fox]

I'd love to be able to "experience" the park like we were actually there. As in, not just ride an individual ride, or float around on a free cam, but have a realistic presence there; be able to walk around the park, climb up the stairs into the station and see what it really looks like from the ground, get into the coaster, ride it, get off, walk to a flat ride and get on it. If this were possible multiplayer; to be able to run around the park with someone else, play the carnival games with them, ride something with them, (multiplayer bumper cars? Yes please.), etc, then it could be amazing.

 

Also, realistic physics; the coaster need to feel "right." That's going to be one of the most important things of all.

 

The more custom content that can be created, the more flexible and accessible the game is in that regard, the better; the community has proved to be amazingly creative. Look what's been done with RCT3, a game that was never really meant to accept custom content at all. If people can create any type of object, ride, etc, then there will be an endless amount of content to keep the game fresh for a very long time.

[PanteraEnt]

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.

[Dailey Enterprizes]

Basically this is Hyper Rails 2.

[Dailey Enterprizes]

I remember playing it clear as day 10 years ago. Adding custom lightning, paths for the park, multiple coasters, 4D coasters, etc. It had all sorts of potential for add-ons. I remember the physics being a bit off though. I hope that was fixed.

[jzoole]

To me, the most important thing is realism. Inclusion of "real" ride types so we can build realistic parks. Also, as someone mentioned before, the ability to roam around the park as if we're actually there. This sounds like it could be an amazing game.

[screaminkid2005]

This seems like a great game! There are a few things I would like to personally see such as...

 

-Have guests in the park, maybe even have some of them people people from online. They could do what Sims online did a few years back and create a web based community and have us creat our own person that is able to accesse different parks while online.

-Like some other memebers have said already, allow custom scenery and allow us to trade between parks on that web based community.

-Allow you to be a person In the park so you can experience what it's really like.

-Have employees working at the rides/food stands.

-Set up different challenges to keep the game interesting.

-Allow you to work at the park. This could be a way for you to earn money in the came besides having people pay for stuff. Also by doing this, you can allow the person aging to worker to operate the ride or what ever else there is to do.

 

Those are just some of my thoughts. Looks like a great game so far guys! Please just make it compatible for Mac!

 

EDIT: I just thought of some more things I would like to see.

- I would like it if the park had real time with the option of beating able to speed up.

-I would also love for you to be able to have anual events like fright fest! You could build haunted houses, have actors on the midways, And theme different rides and areas of the parks!

-Many people probably won't be to fond of this one but I would like to see rides paint jobs fade. It would add a sense of realism.

-I would also like to see more ride programs available on rides like top spins and s&s towers.

- And speaking of s&s towers, I think it would be cool to have something to help create tops for the complexes.

- changable light packages for rides and shows, fog, mist, tons of theming!

 

Sorry if I'm saying things that have already been said but this game just got me really excited!

Edited December 10, 2012 by screaminkid2005

[d_gil72]

Well, First I really look forward for this game (if it lives up to the hype..) , as there was nothing new in the theme park games genre the last few years.

The combination of no limits and RCT sounds very good to me.

 

Most of the replys here are spot-on, so i can only say that to me, adding "peeps" or guests to the park is the most important issue lucking from the game right now.

Designing coasters is fun,but really gets boring after a while.

Operating the park as a whole and learning the guests behavior is what made RCT hold up for so long.

 

On a side note -

Something is wrong with the way the trees move in the video. They look like they are made from rubber

Someone should turn the fan off. It's too windy.

 

thanks,

Gil

[Shellemonster]

I absolutely love where this is going, but it of course is in an early form so I'm very happy that you are asking for our input. Number 1 for me is the ability to interact and experience your creation realistically. My ideal situation would be to play this from the role of a designer/manager where you could "go undercover" and ride the rides, wander the park, run the operations booth, etc. Since you said this will have mini-games, one of those games could be running operations which would appeal to the harcore and the casual market if presented right.

 

Beyond that, dark rides would be very important to me. That could be as simple as a steel building generator where you define a floor plan from above and a height, then it produces a building to place our rides inside. Even better would be the ability to define that building profile then define inner walls, wall heights, and roof heights. Perhaps this could be presented on a grid for easy construction, colors on the grid could represent a different height. I found this picture to give a general idea of what I mean...

 

 

Also the track forming looks effective and fun, perhaps some sort of tool to smooth the shapes out, and a dynamic G-force display. I'm worried if you mess with the track too much then it could create extreme kinks where the G's will spike. Alternatively you could make a minimum bend radius (toggleable option) that corresponds to real coasters capability. For example, Bollinger & Mabillard sit down would have a much lower curvature than Maurer Sohne X-Car which is capable of super tight turns.

 

Last but certainly not least is some sort of hook to make both the casual and hardcore gamer come back, be it increasing your park's rating, number of guests, etc. Maintenance is not as interesting as improving your park to work towards some reward. I would like perhaps unlockable levels to work on, not limiting the rides available.

 

A bit of a ramble, but hopefully that helps. Also, if you could define your target market that would be helpful.

 

edit: make custom objects easy to import by accepting a standard file type, like IGES or STEP or similar with a limit on number of vertexes so the system doesnt crash if you accidently import a complicated object.

[Illari]

 

- In the video there seems to be little banking. I hope we can twist the track any way we want?

- As little arbitrary restrictions as possible please. Someone will want to make a launched single car wooden SkyLoop.

- Tweakable car physics on custom cars, would help a lot when the physics engine doesn't agree with you. You could just make a copy of an existing car and change the physics a bit, or set them from scratch on new car types.

- I'd like to be able to put all sorts of crazy nerdy programmable moving track pieces and block brakes and custom station solutions and the sort please.

- Visiting other people's parks online sounds like it would be really great.

[Illari]

Displaying g-forces and speed while building and ability to test unfinished coasters, without the car flying off the track and exploding, which is of course integral to have as an option too.

[RCF]

Will their be any way to create a custom flat ride from scratch? It is not something you can find on any game or simulator for some reason, so it can also be a good selling point. Can this be an option? Also, custom design track and train configurations? That would be an ultimate plus!

[timberskara]

Congrats on the exciting project! I pretty much agree with all of the feedback posted so far...but wanted to throw in my (twisted) two-cents: be able to blow stuff up!

 

Most everyone plays RCT for the challenge of coming up with a successful strategy, but haven't we all designed a death coaster before ?

[RevV]

*I'm currently at work I cannot see the screenshots or video clip so sorry if this is made obvious already!*

 

I'm seriously excited about this announcement, RCT series has been a huge part of surviving my youth! I can safely say it's a main reason why I'm such an avid fan of theme parks. Firstly, I wish to thank you for not only reviving the genre, but allowing us to respond with suggestions.

 

If I'm honest, a newer, improved RCT3 is all I would ask for, the game had great all-round playability... but the few things that i thought the game was missing was the integration with custom made objects etc. The ability to create not only your own roller coaster, but being able to conceal it in either a tunnel, long grass, holes through large rocks etc without having "something is blocking the object" until it's half a map away.

 

I also loved the challenge/career mode with RCT, the only one I was sad to miss was the ability to start afresh, without ever ending. For example you own a local theme park, that you built up slowly with having long-term goals, whereby every purchase you make will equal a small % of your overall goal, rather than short bursts objectives.

 

Another thing that I think this website has now made me crave, is the realism and hype that comes with construction, perhaps include a completion time upon designing the rollercoaster. Seeing the rollercoaster near completion is a great feeling. Which would lead me to love to include marketing behind a new rollercoaster, or seeing individuals excited for a new addition to the theme park.

 

Lastly, I'd love to stress the importance of clean fluidity to making it feel realistic. I love the graphics on RCT3, but what annoyed me was how awful it sometimes looked trying to get a path to connect, or how a tree would ruin the flow.

 

I'll be lurking on this thread, so keep up the good work!

[A.J.]

Will their be any way to create a custom flat ride from scratch?

I don't know about that either. In theory, it seems like a really good idea, but I don't know how that would be incorporated into the native game environment.

 

Now, making the game's framework open-source would be insanely cool for importing custom rides. It took users a while to come up with custom rides in both RCT2 and RCT3 because very few people could figure it out initially.

 

One thing that would be super-awesome would be "scalable" rides. For example, you could build a Ferris Wheel that's 50, 60, 70, 80, etc meters tall. Or, you could have a Fireball/Revolution ride with 5, 6, or 8 arms. Or, you could have a Disk'O ride with 24 or 40 seats. Stuff like that.

[805Andrew]

Too bad there won't be a version for Mac Otherwise this looks like it could be a really good game. Pantera Entertainment, if you change your mind and make it compatible with Mac, I will most likely buy this game when it is released. If there is only a PC version, then I'm out.

[A113]

Implementing Force Vector Design for the track would be great... as of now, it still looks as restrictive as RCT track design.

[Sir Clinksalot]

My only 2 things would be:

1. OSX support

2. Building a coaster should be more customizable than RCT, but less intricate and time consuming than No Limits.

 

This. A million percent this.

 

Also, concerning the comment of new coaster designs that wouldn't be included in the original release due to the fact they haven't been invented yet, it'd be nice to be able to download patches with these updates instead of having to buy an entirely new game.

For example, if something like Outlaw Run isn't possible on the games initial release, being able to download a patch that includes this type of coaster would be preferential than having to buy an entirely new game a year later.

[RCT3Bross]

This looks amazing I want to have it.

Here some things I want:

- Peeps like many have said it's more fun with peeps in the park.

- Wrong backed turns as they are more commonly around the amusement parks.

- Shuttle's because as much I remember No Limit's didn't have any.

- Turn table's and switch track it's normal in real life so why not. (Also transfer tracks that we can take a train of the track like real parks need to.)

- Each builder has to have different things (Like the B&M flying can make a Pretzel-loop but the Flying Dutchman of Vekoma not).

- All the current coaster types with all the updated possibilities (Like Wood can make Barrel rolls and add the winged coaster and Horizontal drop roller coaster)

That's what I would love to see in this game. I've been waiting for a game like this for years.