matty_o's RCT2 & RCT3 Park Recreations

[spoleweski]

Matty, I can't thank you enough for this park, I've just been riding a few of the rides for the last half hour and you've really done a great job. I was there only a month ago and the experience on RCT3 is so similar to the real thing its amazing. Now I can show all my reli's and friends who have never been there just what its like, so thank you and it does live up to its many past mottos i.e so many worlds in one and never had so much fun. Thanks again Stephen

[matty_o_911]

The one thing that I have noticed with all of the Rollercoaster tycoon titles is that Atari and the others don't really give themselves enough credit for their games as in choice of screenshots for the net and on the boxes when advertising their game. The screens they always publicise and if you look on the back of the box are really, really simple parks, with a couple of paths, rides here and there and a coffee shop in the shape of a bag of coffee beans. Before I got this game, i looked at the screens gaming sites were showing and i thought that it looked really stupid in someways. It looked really cartoony and lacking reality, and it is reality in these games is what I want the most . What really sold the game to me was not the screens of the parks atari made but those of other RCT fans on forums around the internet who were making really realistic themeparks that looked really good. How they present their games really doesn't give the game justice as to what can be achieved if you put a lot of time in to it. Their scenarios are nothing special (I guess they don't put much effort in to them because I guess that if they did the game would be slow right from the start, which is one improvement they need to make). And because game reviewers only see these pics and probably don't spend as long building parks as fans of the game, they give the games bad reviews because they can't see the full potential. My advice to Atari is that when they are creating an expansion pack, to give the game to fans of the game (there are plenty on the Atari forums) to build realistic parks which they can then use for screenshots. They would sell more copies that way if they can show what can be achieved. My other advice for future games is please, please don't create stalls and shops in the shape of what they sell. They look pathetic, which is why I always enclose shops in my own buildings (although it makes it hard sometimes when you are trying to conceal a large hot dog shaped building). The last time I went to a themepark, I don't remember purchasing things from an oversized lemon, hamburger, hot dog or sandwich. (My apologies for my complaints at Atari)

[spoleweski]

There is one problem with the game but it's not Matt's fault, because its so detailed it lags so much on my computer, it refreshes like every 30 seconds even when riding a ride which is a real pain. I have a P4 2.4GHz 512mb DDR RAM and a 128mb GeForce 4 Ti4200 an yet still the game lags. So the only way to do this I guess is if i save the rides and then insert them into a fresh new park but then all matt's effort would be lost as he put so much effort into the detail etc. I'm just wondering what graphics card you have matt coz it must be better than mine, do you reckon its time for me to upgrade? And how do you save the separate rides? I went to save the cyclone but when i tried to insert it into a new park it wasnt there.

[joz]

Dreamworld sells hotdogs from a stand with a giant hot dog on top on main street I'm just being a stick in the mud, that looks absolutly amazing, and just seeing the results have really made me want to pay the 70 odd dollers to buy the game. If nothing else it'd mean I'd be able to check out the park in closer detail. Nice work.

[matty_o_911]

To save a coaster, in the in the ride controls little window in the bottom right in the menu with the ride name and music selection there is a floppy disk button. Clicking it saves the ride into the the pre made coaster tracks for that type of ride. THen in a sandbox mode (where all types are available) find the same type of ride and click the open folder button, where the ride should be listed. I can't remember what types of rollercoaster I used for thunderbolt and cyclone, but I think it is just the plain looping coaster. I'll try and find what graphics card I have. A friend chose the components for my computer for me so I can't remember what it is. I think the game works best on ATI graphics cards since its simbol is on the box, and I think mine is an ATI one, but I will find out (when I figure out how).

[T-bone]

Just go Start, Run, and type in the box "Dxdiag". Go into the display tab, and you video card should be there under the Device tab.

[matty_o_911]

Thanks Paul for the location. It is an ASUS Radeon 9600SE 128Mb My computer it P4 2.80GHz , 1Gb ram, 120Gb storage.Not sure what else it has. A tip to getting it to speed up I would say would be to delete a heap of the trees that are around the back and sides of the park. That slows it down alot, or fiddle with the settings on individual things, eg. turn of reflections in the water of clouds, turn down tree quality etc. That should get it to run smooth enough that it is bearable to ride the rides etc.

[T-bone]

I think 128mb cards are the like, minimum System Requirements. Hopefully Patch will fix alot of the compatability Issues with the game, and make the game not be so pickky. Oh yes, and fix up the buggs in the game.

[matty_o_911]

Some more screens of the finished park

[matty_o_911]

And some more.

[spoleweski]

You were right, it worked. I lowered the graphic settings and now it works like a charm, I can ride the rides in real time, thanks guys. BTW what's this patch you're talking about? I also took some screen shots which you can view via the following links (To help you promote your park Matt ) http://img81.exs.cx/img81/1953/dream0014ri.jpg http://img81.exs.cx/img81/7186/dream0025vz.jpg http://img81.exs.cx/img81/5986/dream0035ug.jpg http://img81.exs.cx/img81/6862/dream0040uc.jpg http://img81.exs.cx/img81/6510/dream0059cd.jpg http://img99.exs.cx/img99/505/dream0064zl.jpg http://img99.exs.cx/img99/9216/dream0078ni.jpg http://img99.exs.cx/img99/9159/dream0085ov.jpg http://img99.exs.cx/img99/9638/dream0092mb.jpg

[T-bone]

Oh man, i can't wait 5 days.

[matty_o_911]

The patch can probably be found on the official site for RCT3. It fixes a few bugs, but the main part of it is the addition of the guests list like in the other games where it collates the thoughts of the guests. And spoleweski, I am glad you are enjoying my park, it makes it all worth while.

[coaster_crazee]

hey matt, that recreation looks great mate, i dunno how u can manage something like that, im over the game already! are u planning on doing any other recreations???

[matty_o_911]

I was talking with Paul Hollibone today on messenger and he was saying he would like to see a recreation of Luna Park Sydney. So I might give that a go since it should be small and easy enough to do. After that I was thinking of doing a recreation of Cedar Point. I am hoping that since it is surrounded by water that it won't see as much lag as the dreamworld recreation did. But since i haven't been there, I have been collecting heaps of pictures of the park so that I can make a realistic recreation.

[dr_teeth]

stuf a duck mate did ya have to put so many trees in it? uhhh its sooo slow is there any way to play it in sandbox mode so you can actually delete most of the trees...the way it is at the moment you only have 50 grand which is no where near enough to get rid of them

[matty_o_911]

You can turn down the draw distance for the trees and you won't see any of them in the back. And apologies for the trees, I didn't like the vast spaces of nothing around the sides.

[coaster_crazee]

kool sounds good, heres a map of cedar point i have 2 help you out...

[ausnrl]

The Dreamworld scenario rocks dude but my computer is slow as wif it. I got P4 2.4ghz ATI Radeon 128 MB 512 MB DDR Ram wats the problem.

[matty_o_911]

It is the game that is the problem I think. I don't think they designed it for so much scenery.

[Flea]

It's not your computer, it's the game. Update #2, which will be released some time this week, is said to fix the slow down problems. Here's a full list of what Update #2 will include...

New/improved features 1. Major improvements to the 'Fireworks Mixmaster' -Can now set the playback start position, so fireworks later on in a display can be tested without having to wait for the rest of the display to finish. -If music is being used with a fireworks display, the MixMaster displays a waveform showing a preview of the music. -Can 'drag' the playback start position bar to 'scrub' the music - i.e. hear the sound at that point on the timeline. -Can press Space to play or pause the MixMaster. -MixMaster now adds extra tracks depending on how many are in use. -Firework effects are now saved inside firework displays, so players can include custom firework effects but don't need to distribute the .frw files. -Firework effects list is now scrollable, to allow for long custom firework lists 2. Added "Low friction" tickbox to tracked rides. This is automatically ticked when importing an RCT1/2 coaster. Running costs are slightly increased when this option is enabled. Also increased effect of "Andrew Thomas" cheat, to be in line with the "Low friction" option. 3. Added "Synchronize all stalls of this type" tickbox to stalls. When enabled, stall item/extra details are automatically copied to other stalls of the same type whenever necessary. 4. Added ability to set date and climate type in Scenario Editor. 5. Improved decision logic for handling groups who want to go home, particularly in cases where the park was closed then re-opened. 6. Added tendency of people to consider going home after being in the park for a long time, even if they are still happy and have plenty of money. (To help scenarios in which money is made from the park entry fee) 7. Added tooltips for guest list window tab buttons for non-English languages, and show happiness icons in individual guest list window. 8. Improved Park Inspector behaviour, particularly regarding reports of inaccessible rides when paths do not connect (eg in "A National Treasure"). 9. Increased reliability benefit given by performing maintenance on a ride, particularly if the mechanic is trained. 10.In scenarios where money is unlimited, when a staff member is hired, automatically give them maximum training and wages. 11.Increased staff happiness/laziness benefits resulting from training. 12.Put a limit on staff laziness, which varies depending on how highly paid and trained the staff member is. 13.Changed so that staff do not quit if they have any training. 14.Tweaks to open/test/close buttons to make the behaviour closer to RCT2: - If ride is testing, and test button is clicked again, trains will be reset and testing will restart. - If ride is closed, and close button is clicked again, trains will be removed from the ride. 15.Made the VIP condition "wants to visit a themed area" easier to satisfy. 16. Show a confirmation dialog box if the user clicks on an attraction's delete button. 17.Increased braking force for Stratacoaster. 18.Increased amount that cars on water rides speed up when going down slopes, and adjusted speed of Splash Boats and River Rapids. 19.Increased max train length for Suspended Swinging Car. 20.Added powered launch for Twister coasters. 21.Increased max cars per train for swinging coaster car. 22.Decreased probability of larger Peep groups being created. 23.Adjusted temperature numbers above/below which peeps complain about heat/cold. 24.Removed 'Reflect Background' option from Display Options (so now the background at least will always be reflected). Bug/Problem Fixes 1. Fixed some rotating coaster cars (eg Virginia Reel) sometimes not rendering properly. 2. Fixed occasional problem with overlapping trains. 3. Some people have found slow-downs on certain high spec machines. We have found (and fixed) a complex interaction between certain sound cards and graphic cards. We are continuing to look for other possible causes of slow-down. 4. Fixed peep numbers counter sometimes reporting fewer peeps in the park than there really are - caused by groups changing their minds about leaving at the park exit (includes fix for Peeps sometimes stuck at entrance). 5. Wooden coasters from RCT1 now import correctly, rather than as Spiral Coasters. 6. Removed a small memory leak (becomes apparent if some parks are left running overnight). In addition there are some general speed-ups in the update that should help everyone to some extent. There are extra little tweaks too. More details to follow, including the timing of the update.

http://www.ataricommunity.com/forums/showt...threadid=431419

[spoleweski]

lol, I don't think the game was designed for such a highly detailed and amazing creation, that's what the problem is lol. But yeah as Matt said reduce the draw distance and make it so the trees aren't in 3d and they don't duplicate in the background, worked for me Btw, i know you made the water slides for scenery but I tried to ride them and its so funny coz I never knew rafts blew up into amazing balls of fire hahaha, I mean I can understand if a coaster fell off the track and blew up, but a raft? Oh well that's how Atari made it and its funny. As for the lunar park creation that would be awesome coz it's small and should be easy enough for Matt to handle after Dreamworld. It would be awesome if you could even re-create the main entrance that everyone knows, that would just top it off. I live in Sydney but I never been to Lunar Park, funny lol, but hopefully I will get to go there with my friends in the early new year, most probably at night.

[matty_o_911]

Thanks alot for the list. I will have to leave starting a new recreation until the patch is out. Hopefully will fix some of the problems I am having.

[matty_o_911]

As for Luna Park, the entrance would be hard since there aren't any 'face' walls, but will try. I may have to try to build the harbour bridge and create some strange looking building so that the effect of the view of sydney is gained instead of a small little park in the middle of no where. Since I may be recreating it, I really regret not going there when I was in Sydney a few weeks ago, but I got an slight idea of the sort of look of the park when I saw it from the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge when I climbed it.

[spoleweski]

Oh man you're lucky to climb the bridge, you must've been on the waiting list for ages, I heard its booked out for the next 2 years so if you wanna climb it you book now and wait 2 years but I guess the wait is worth it.