We defiantly need at least x2 then. If the yellow map size is an option or default size in the final game then i'd be happy with that. Anything less & i'd be disappointed after a while.
http://www.sitesbyrob.com/games/planet_coaster_grid.jpg
If the count of 125 buildings (500m) is correct then the following should be noted for the boundary;
The yellow box is 4x what we have now in m2 going from 0.5km x 0.5km (0.25km2) to 1 x 1 km (1km2) which is actually larger than Alton Towers and pretty much the same size as Animal Kingdom. This seems like a pretty decent size. with only Universal Studios being slightly over what we would be provided.
What this still highlights is how wrong a square looks to build a park in. The interesting shape the parks land forms is as important as the total area. Parks have limited right angle corners because of how they form naturally to the terrain.
So it would work in the following way:
You start with 0.25km2 parcel of land (that is of random shape such as Trapeze, Parallelogram, square, rectangle, pentagon) (will be set in career but random or user selected in sandbox)
You can then purchase new parcels of land that range from 0.1km2 to 0.2km2 in area. These are interlinking shapes that do not form a square but each side backs onto another parcel of land so you can choose which direction you expand in.
To keep variation in maps and replay-ability in career there are more parcels available than you are able to buy in total with a total park size available as around 1.5km2
This would mean that parks are much more varied and interesting than all being square with dead space where corners are. It would add challenge to link different areas well and make peoples management of land available much more interesting.
To add further flavour it could be that parcels of land already have some major terrain pieces such as lakes, hills, canyons, cave systems and similar. Now the player might want a particular parcel but the cost is high because the terrain is desirable or visa-versa where the terrain is not desirable and will cost a lot more to develop so is cheaper.
The player has freedom to pick what they want to do.
It should also be that to build higher with terrain costs more. For example building terrain up to 50m costs $5 pm2 of terraforming. 51m - 100m it costs $10 pm2 to terraform and 101m + it costs $20 pm2 (in career of course) so you may want to bring this amazing attraction that looms over your park but you have to pay for it, that reward though is that the park reputation increases for such amazing terraformed landscapes.
All of the above would add a significant amount of game-play with no extra resources required for the game itself. Just good planning by the developers to make it interesting.
For sand-box I think the maps could either let you pre-pick all your parcels of land with a map view prior to entering the map or have it set to random for some slight challenge but freedom at the same time.
Regards,
Adam
