ForumsGamesRoller Coaster Tycoon series

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Ernie15
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Ernie15
13,349 posts
Bard

While discussing rotation schemes in my Sims thread, another one of my favorite PC game series came up, the RCT series. I thought it strange that it did not have a discussion thread of its own, so here it is.

My personal favorite of the three is RCT2. It's easy enough to grasp right away and versatile enough to create endless possibilities; but not too versatile so that it's overwhelming.

Discuss the RCT series here. 10,000 posts.

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Skeleton_Pilot
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Skeleton_Pilot
1,361 posts
Blacksmith

You could build it as high as you felt necessary and then drop them down thousands of feet.


I discovered that glitch too! I built them over 1000 feet high and all I remember is the lift hill taking FOREVER to get up that hill! xP

I also remember that useless Robotic Coaster could go underground about 400 or so feet, but as I recall that was one of the most disappointing coaster options available.


The ones I built had low excitement ratings... I never figured out the trick to building good robotic coasters!

But how many robotic coasters actually exist in the world?

Exactly. =)

I had RCT Deluxe, but I don't know if that went a long with a number or not. I thouhgt it was cool that once you beat scenarios on one map, you unlocked another.


Sounds to me like RCT3... I don't believe you can unlock maps in the other two.
Ernie15
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Ernie15
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Bard

The laptop also froze after maybe 45 minutes, so it was hard to invest time in something that you might lose before you finish.


Save as frequently as possible and you won't have to worry about losing too many designs.

I discovered that glitch too! I built them over 1000 feet high and all I remember is the lift hill taking FOREVER to get up that hill!


If you built the majority of the drop underground, you'd have a short lift hill to about 200 feet and then you could use the speed generated from the drop to get back up again.

But how many robotic coasters actually exist in the world?


Not many, but still enough for them to be something that exists.
DrElmer
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DrElmer
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Shepherd

If they had made the same jump they did between the first two for the second two and just enhanced RCT2 a bit more, they might as well have just made it an expansion pack for RCT2 rather than RCT3!


I see your point, but there were almost no similarities between number 2 and number 3. It was as if a different company decided to remake the game but redesign everything except for the coaster designs themselves.
marmic4
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marmic4
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Shepherd

I really like rollercoaster tycoon. It's a good game, but sometimes a bit glitchy on my pc. I used to play both rct2 and rct3 with every expansion. It's only a shame that the characters in rct3 can't be drowned anymore.

Skeleton_Pilot
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Skeleton_Pilot
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Blacksmith

It was as if a different company decided to remake the game but redesign everything except for the coaster designs themselves.


A different company DID make RCT3... the first two were made by Chris Sawyer, while the third one was released by Frontier. So it's understandable that they would look like they were from different game companies, because they were! =P
Ernie15
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Ernie15
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Bard

It was as if a different company decided to remake the game but redesign everything except for the coaster designs themselves.


They intensified the graphics so they would look better up close with the more advanced navigation scheme. Those thin RCT2 walls would look pretty silly in three dimensions, and the coasters aren't much different, you're just seeing them from different angles and distances than before.

I have more trouble with the RCT3 walls, not because of their size, but because if I recall correctly, you have to rotate every wall manually instead of just using the auto-rotate feature which I'm sure every RCT2 player takes for granted until they start building buildings in RCT3.

Back to whatever it was you were talking about, yes, all the shops, stalls and small rides have been redesigned so they'd look better up close. If you recall in RCT2, the restroom building consisted of two different colors and almost no detail. Again, it looked good with basic RCT2 graphics, but in a more intensified environment it would just look like a cartoon.

It's only a shame that the characters in rct3 can't be drowned anymore.


I haven't tried to drown anyone because that destroys my park rating, but sometimes a ride train will "accidentally" crash into a path full of people...
PurEvil
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PurEvil
409 posts
Nomad

I heard they are making a new RCT for the Nintendo 3DS, but after the anouncement I haven't heard anything more about it...I sure hope they make it, because I loved the second and thrid part on the PC...

Skeleton_Pilot
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Skeleton_Pilot
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Blacksmith

and the coasters aren't much different, you're just seeing them from different angles and distances than before.


Not to mention that the sound FX are quite different, so it makes it seem like you're playing a completely different game even though the coasters themselves look basically the same! Especially the wooden one!

But certain coasters like the Wild Mouse and the Mini Coaster have been completely redesigned... which is good, because they truly are more interesting with vertical drops!

I heard they are making a new RCT for the Nintendo 3DS


I can't imagine playing on such a small screen, or in 3D for that matter... if this is true and such a game does end up coming out, tell us how it turns out!
Ernie15
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Ernie15
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Bard

But certain coasters like the Wild Mouse and the Mini Coaster have been completely redesigned... which is good, because they truly are more interesting with vertical drops!


The weirdest one is the Hypercoaster. What is with that figure-8 loop?

Then there were the coasters that were no longer worth building, like the Flying coaster, which until the expansion packs came out couldn't generate half the ratings they did in RCT2. The Flying Turns had a similar effect, while the Bobsleigh coaster did the opposite - the ratings lowered after the expansion packs were installed, but had good ratings in the RCT3 base game.
Skeleton_Pilot
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Skeleton_Pilot
1,361 posts
Blacksmith

The weirdest one is the Hypercoaster. What is with that figure-8 loop?


They probably just didn't want to make yet another coaster just for that loop, and not many of the other coasters go high enough to generate enough speed to get through one of those things!

It seemed like the only inversion that didn't appear in the Extended Coaster... xP
Q_File
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Q_File
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Nomad

It's a great series if you want to learn about making basic profits and running a business while at the same time learning about speed and physics from the point of view of something fun.
I played the second one for a while. Good times.

Skeleton_Pilot
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Skeleton_Pilot
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Blacksmith

It's a great series if you want to learn about making basic profits and running a business while at the same time learning about speed and physics from the point of view of something fun.


Couldn't have described it better myself, if one were to look at it from an educational point of view... I just simply play it for the fun of designing an amusement park, so I don't really look at it from the educational viewpoint! =D
Ernie15
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Ernie15
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Bard

It's a great series if you want to learn about making basic profits and running a business while at the same time learning about speed and physics from the point of view of something fun.


One key difference between RCT2 and RCT3 that I would like to point out is that in RCT2, you can set a ride's price as high as its excitement rating, which is convenient for determining how much your rides should cost and allows you to earn a profit much more quickly.

More often than not, however, in RCT3, I've noticed that guests complain if you set prices for anything that high. Really annoying that they decided to eliminate a key strategy.
Skeleton_Pilot
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Skeleton_Pilot
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Blacksmith

Really annoying that they decided to eliminate a key strategy.


Well of course they did... that strategy was a one-way ticket to an endlessly increasing profit! Once you were making thousands of dollars an hour, you could just leave the game on for hours while you did something else and then come back a few hours later with enough cash to do just about anything!
dudeguy45
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dudeguy45
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Peasant

I actually tryed... I had the second one. It was a staple of my childhood. I like popping their balloons. it was calming.

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