RollerCoaster Tycoon 3

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RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 Box Art

Developer(s)	Frontier Developments
Publisher(s)	Atari
Release date(s)	October 26, 2004 (NA) November 5, 2004 (EU)
Genre(s)	Strategy
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: Everyone PEGI: 3+
Platform(s)	Mac OS X, Windows
Media	CD-ROM

RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 is a simulation strategy computer game that simulates theme park management. Developed by Frontier Developments and published by Atari, it was released in November 2004. It is the sequel to RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 and is the third game in the RollerCoaster Tycoon series.

Although RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 is based primarily on the previous two games, Chris Sawyer, the developer of the series' first 2 releases, was only involved at a 'consulting' level and was not one of the programmers.

1 Gameplay
2 Expansion Packs
3 Criticism
4 External Links

[edit] Gameplay

The 3D graphics and 360 degree camera are a large change from the sprites and isometric viewpoint of the previous 2 games.

Like the other games in the series, the main purpose of the game is to complete a series of preset scenarios by successfully building and maintaining theme parks. Players can choose from dozens of roller coaster types and can also build merry-go-rounds, log flumes, chairswings, bumper cars, swinging inverter ships, gravitrons, and ferris wheels, among other rides. Players can also build their own roller coaster, laying out individual track pieces, choosing direction, height, and steepness, and adding elements such as zero g rolls, corkscrews, vertical loops, and even on-ride photos. Furthermore, the player can modify the geography, landscaping, and theme elements of the park. Players must also balance the needs of the visitors by strategically placing concession stands and facilities. The player also must manage the park's budget in the costs of their staff, ride construction and operations, and the income from rides, concessions, and the park entry fee.

The game marks the series' shift to fully 3D graphics, doing away with the isometric viewpoint of the previous two games. For the first time in the series, players can rotate the view of the park 360 degrees, as well as zoom in and out to any degree. There are enhanced day-night cycles as well, so lights have a new purpose in RCT3. Rain can also happen at different times of day. One of the most notable additions to RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 is the ability for players to 'ride' their own creations. Veterans of the series were also pleased to find that the game offered the option of importing user-made roller coaster designs from the previous two games in the series and rendering them in 3D for the first time. The dashboard and build menu were also both redesigned.

The "peeps" have been greatly improved, with varying genders and appearances.

In RollerCoaster Tycoon 3, guests are called "peeps". The guests have been significantly improved on those from RollerCoaster Tycoon 2, with enhanced AI, appearance variation, and the ability of guests to be grouped together into families, dates, and other types of groups. On some scenarios there are also VIPs (Very Important Peeps) that need to be satisfied to complete the scenario. Should the player fail to impress a VIPeep, the VIPeep will always return to the park several months later and will keep returning until they are satisfied. There is also a peep designer, allowing the player to design family and friends to come to their parks.

Returning to the third game in the series is the "career" mode. Many of the career mode parks are themed to one of five themes. Without expansions they are: Adventure, Spooky, Western, Sci-Fi, and Generic. There are a total of eighteen scenarios, but only six scenarios are available for selection at the start. The player must complete scenarios to unlock additional ones, but this time there are 3 sets of goals (or difficulties); apprentice, entrepreneur and tycoon for each scenario that need to be completed. The player only has to complete the apprentice level to unlock the next scenario. The final two scenarios are unlocked by completing every other scenario on both entrepreneur and tycoon levels. This time around, as requested by fans for years, a sandbox mode has been added. It allows players to create their own amusement park without any money or objectives. Players can also design custom scenarios and coasters, as in RCT2.

The RCT3 MixMaster is the firework editor, as well as water jets, laser shows and animal shows. Players can place bases for the shows and select fireworks, water jets, or lasers they want that base to display. MixMaster shows work best at night and include the ability to save custom shows and fireworks, water jets and lasers. Watching MixMaster shows make peeps visiting the park happier.

[edit] Expansion Packs

The first expansion pack for RollerCoaster Tycoon 3, entitled Soaked!, adds the ability to create water parks with swimming pools. Besides pools, the player can add other amenities to pools including hot tubs, lounge chairs, diving boards, and more. There are six varieties of rides for pools, and several new non-water rides. Sunburn is another concept new to Soaked!. Also included are dolphin and killer whale water show arenas. Lastly, in this expansion pack are two new themes: "Atlantis" (an underwater kingdom) and "Paradise Island" (a tropical island).

The second expansion, Wild!, features animal enclosures and safari-like attractions. Zookeepers can be hired to care for any animals that are purchased for the park. It also includes two new themes, "Safari" (with giant arthropods and Egyptian architecture) and "Prehistoric" (with various species of dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals). This expansion pack contains twelve new scenarios, new rides including safari SUVs and paddle steamer boats, and several new stalls, as well as custom billboards. There is a new "DartCam" that is used when animals escape from their exhibits.

[edit] Criticism

Many members of the RollerCoaster Tycoon community were not happy with Frontier Developments taking over for Chris Sawyer for this version. Many people felt that the game was sub-par compared to the first two, even with the addition of 3D graphics and many new gameplay features. Many were also unhappy with the amount of bugs in the game, which included workers getting stuck on railings and the game crashing. Patches are available on a number of sites that fix the number of bugs found in the first release.

There have also been complaints about the very high end graphic cards that are needed to really play the game to its fullest, which many people do not have. The game requires a top-of-the-line graphics card in order to fully render a detailed park without a lot of graphical slowdown. Some people cannot see water, because their graphics card cannot render it. The previous two RCT games did not need expensive graphics cards, making them accessible to more people.