Meet the Team and Q&A - Sam Denney

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Diabo44

Diabo44
Sam Denney said:
Hi Guys.
I've succumbed to an illness today but will be answering your question tomorrow. Sorry to keep you hanging about but I want to be of sound mind when I post :)
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Health first, take care of you, we can wait a few days! [happy] [up]
 
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Micha1

Micha1
Take your time.
Theres no problem at all, if you need more time, we can make your Q&A in 1 or 2 weeks. :)
 

Sam Denney

Lead Artist
Frontier
B3DDO3 said:
We have a ride and coaster man here so simply:

1.how many rides right now do you have in the game made up and looking awesome like some we saw in the dev vids?

2. How many rides are you targeting for Early Bird?

Bonus. Can you give us some insight into dark rides, the latest dev vid mentioned them, if you make a structure out of pieces does it cut out ambient?

To answer your question not sure if 1996 cuts it as vintage but Megaphobia in Oakwood as that's the 1st coaster I ever went on
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Hi everybody.

I'm now back to the land of the living (mostly :)) Thanks for your kind words, very much appreciated. Just goes to show how great you all are.

I'll start at the top and work my way through where I can. I'll state from the outset (as i did in the beginning) there are certain things I'll not be able to reveal all our precious secrets and I'll be sticking to my area of expertise so I may avoid answering some questions as these will be better handled in future dev posts I'm sure.

Again I can't tell you ho much of a pleasure it is to be serving you guys, I know how much the community means to Frontier, the Rides team and myself personally.

So lets begin!!

Hi B3DDO3

"1.how many rides right now do you have in the game made up and looking awesome like some we saw in the dev vids?"

Currently we have ~40 rides including flat rides (amusements) and roller coasters that are up to a very high standard but we keep refining and building upon these as our technology grows and develops. These are still early days. We have many many more planned :)

"2. How many rides are you targeting for Early Bird?"

We have a number in mind but you'll have to wait and see on this I'm afraid....

"Bonus. Can you give us some insight into dark rides, the latest dev vid mentioned them, if you make a structure out of pieces does it cut out ambient?"

We are taking dark rides very seriously and we're thoroughly investigating how to deliver the best gaming experience for you guys. We are listening and the ambience level is certainly been under discussion.

*edit
Megaphobia is a beautiful coaster.
 

Sam Denney

Lead Artist
Frontier
KnoxVegas said:
First and foremost to answer your question you asked us, the JackRabbit from Kennywood is a classic wooden coaster and host some great airtime hills! Loved that coaster!

1. I would love to get some more insight into the types of coaster. Hyper, Wooden, Wooden RMC type, Drop Coaster, and more?
2. What will the detail of the people getting on the ride look like? Will it be full of animation?
3. Will the rides break down (hehe)? If so can get some some insight into what types of breakdowns there are?
4. How will the detail look, I saw some good looking detail in the last dev diary, are you going to be putting in more detail to the track and cars?
5. How excited are you to see what the community can come up with when using your coaster builder to make rides?

Thanks,
May post more later!
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Hi KnoxVegas

"1. I would love to get some more insight into the types of coaster. Hyper, Wooden, Wooden RMC type, Drop Coaster, and more?"

We have researched and deliberated for literally months over what type of coasters we should build and when. It's been a mammoth effort by a lot of passionate, coaster enthusiasts within our team, including myself. We have also been trawling through coaster databases and forums which have an amazing amount of useful information. We've managed to create a list that we feel satisfies your criteria, ranging from vintage to contemporary and even some potential prototypes all based on real-world designs.

"2. What will the detail of the people getting on the ride look like? Will it be full of animation?"
We have some of the best animators in the games industry so guests ride animations are something we are really proud of. You'll be able to tell exactly how your your guests are feeling, also you can't help connecting with them as they have so much personality. The animations are driven by some really nice systems under the hood of each ride so they react as you'd expect them to.

"3. Will the rides break down (hehe)? If so can get some some insight into what types of breakdowns there are?"
You'll have to wait and see ;) But I can tell you, if they did break down it will look pretty awesome!

"4. How will the detail look, I saw some good looking detail in the last dev diary, are you going to be putting in more detail to the track and cars?"
The tracks are especially challenging and we are continuously developing and improving our methods and tech. What you've been seeing is only the tip of the iceberg, we have worked so hard (seriously, we live and breathe this stuff) to be faithful to the designs and real-life influences of these coasters in every way possible (yes we even count bolts). there are obvious limits to what we can achieve in the given time but I know you guys will appreciate our efforts.

"5. How excited are you to see what the community can come up with when using your coaster builder to make rides?"
I've seen first hand what the community is capable of and it's not until we release the game into the wild that we see it's true potential. even in these early stages the game looks and feels amazing, I can't wait for you to see it. Our reward is seeing you guys making and sharing your creations with the world. It always makes my days when I see that we have enabled creativity and beauty and joy.
 

Sam Denney

Lead Artist
Frontier
Coasterbuff said:
Thank you Sam, much appreciated.

Being as old as I am, my early youth was spent during the 1950s. I lived near Manchester at that time and often went to Belle Vue where you could ride the famous BOBS roller coaster, which was built in the form of a figure 8. It wasn't as big as those in Blackpool, but boy was it fast. It was built in 1929 and was demolished in 1972 or thereabouts and Belle Vue Amusement Park closed down.

It was built different than most other coasters, being in the form of a figure 8 It was a rather rickety ride and got its name from what it cost to ride it, a bob (one shilling in pre decimal currency). If I remember correctly, the station was built on the curve. I have added a couple of videos I found of it. If this could be created in Planet Coaster it would bring back many happy memories. One of my other all time favourites is Blackpool's Grand National.

As you may have gathered I am a wooden coaster fan, purely because steel coasters were not seen in those days, although I did ride the Pepsi Max last year, which was brilliant.

(1)...I would like to know if the wooden coaster building tool will have the same spline adjustments as the steel coasters, we have seen on the Dev Diaries.

(2)...Will we still be getting the Side Friction Coaster like we had in RCT3

(3)... Are we getting the Wild Mouse Coasters and the Virginia Reel

Below are a few videos of BOBS Coaster that I would like to see in Planet Coaster.

First video the actual ride, second video, the ride built by someone using No Limits.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Olp_mCvyXZQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2W3sTAieSY
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Hi Coasterbuff

It's good to meet a fan of the old school wooden coasters, I'm also a big fan of wooden coasters as they are stand as some of the most beautiful pieces of engineering ever made in the name of fun. My personal favourites where the 'Roller Coaster' in Great Yarmouth as I spent a lot of time on this when I was young and it's the first ever coaster I went on - My dad took me and my brother out for the day to the Pleasure beach for ice cream, candy-floss and rides, it's one of my best memories. The other (which I wished I'd had the chance to ride) was 'Son of Beast', it was the most majestic coaster I'd ever seen, such a beautiful thing. I genuinely felt a deep sadness when I learned of it's demise.

Thanks for the video reference, most informative. I've seen these cars have heritage that has remained in some of the newer wooden coasters.

As for your questions.. I cannot reveal all the coaster types we have planned just yet, it would ruin the surprise for you and I know you'd prefer to wait ;)
I can tell you that we have a number of vintage coasters on our lists and I promise you will not be disappointed [up]

The wooden coaster construction is going to be something very special, we cannot rush this feature and are putting our heart and soul into ensuring that it can deliver as much fidelity and grace as the steel coaster construction will. I'm really looking forward to sharing this with you guys in the near future, it's going to be epic :)
 

Sam Denney

Lead Artist
Frontier
Well that's all from me tonight, sorry I couldn't get more replies done but I'm still not 100%. I will be back tomorrow to answer more of your questions and I hope you found this informative.

Goodnight folks! [happy]
 

Angelis1

Angelis1
Sam Denney said:
Well that's all from me tonight, sorry I couldn't get more replies done but I'm still not 100%. I will be back tomorrow to answer more of your questions and I hope you found this informative.

Goodnight folks! [happy]
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Thank you Sam.

Thank you for these first answers, have a good reparative night, and see you tomorrow.

We will be there ! [big grin]
 

Coasterbuff

Coasterbuff
Thank you very much Sam for taking up the time to answer some of our questions. I was particularly pleased to read the answers to my own questions and that you like myself, are a big wooden coaster fan. Sadly most of these have disappeared now and one that I always like was the Dragon coaster at Cleveley's near Blackpool, which closed in the 1980s together with the whole funfair. It is nice to know that you plan on some vintage coasters for the game and I respect your decision not to reveal everything, as its nice to have surprises. I would just like to thank you personally for all the hard work you and the rest of the team, are putting into Planet Coaster and I am really looking forward to the Early release. Sorry to here you are still not 100% and hope you are feeling much better soon.
Once again thank you Sam for your reply.
 

MARK1

MARK1
Hi Sam,

Thanks for doing this!

1. How much have you and the team had to adopt the role of 'Theme Park Enthusiast' as a result of making the game?

2. You've shown us some heavily themed flats. Is each flat ride locked into a particular theme, or are there different theme options for each ride, in particular generic options?

3. Are you putting the same amount of focus for real world accuracy into water rides?

Here's my 'vintage' ride. (Vintage meaning 1980s!) The Intamin Looping Ship, or Looping Starship originally. First inverting ride I ever went on, and I was so obsessed with them as a kid that I'd stand in the back yard with a garden rake and swing it back and forth and over the top, pretending I was operating one!

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/36/c8/dc/36c8dce7854a0dfdcbaaa2fc427fec86.jpg
 
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