I think it would be a good idea for Planet Coaster to offer multiple sizes of the same flat ride. It is common for flat rides to have a compact traveling version for carnivals and fairs, larger permanent structure version for parks, and sometimes high capacity versions for really crowded parks.
Take the swinging pendulum rides with the arms that have seats attached to them. They come in:
All 3 versions of the same ride vary significantly in footprint, capacity, and cost. The ride experience is nearly identical, but also slightly different (I find the Freak Out to be the most fun since the swinging acceleration is more pronounced). Each of the ride versions uses the same seats, similar support struts, and the same retracting platform. The movement and animation of the different rides is also nearly identical. Why is that significant? Because it saves the artists and coders working to bring a ride to life significant time by reusing common elements between the different sizes.
This same scalability is applicable to other rides. Swinging discs, carousels, drop/launch towers, swinging ships, chair swings (ground level and the super-tall ones), and more. I really think it would add to the game while incurring minimal development overhead. Not every ride can have multiple sizes, but most of them can.
Finally, this would also impact the management aspects of the final game. Most of our established amusement parks were started as smaller fairs that have incrementally upgraded over the years. Some of us managed RCT parks in a similar way by gradually building larger and larger attractions (ie: I'd start with shuttle loops before I'd build a serious circuit coaster). Having the ability to put in smaller, cheaper rides at the start only to move up to larger ones down the road as attendance and revenues increase could positively affect the park management simulation. We could even replace older, smaller rides with higher capacity ones as what has played out over the years in theme parks.
Just a suggestion, but I think it would make a huge difference and really set Planet Coaster apart from the competition!
Take the swinging pendulum rides with the arms that have seats attached to them. They come in:
- small, portable, 12-rider version called the Freak Out
- 24-rider midsize option called the Afterburner
- 32-rider, fixed structure version called the Revolution
All 3 versions of the same ride vary significantly in footprint, capacity, and cost. The ride experience is nearly identical, but also slightly different (I find the Freak Out to be the most fun since the swinging acceleration is more pronounced). Each of the ride versions uses the same seats, similar support struts, and the same retracting platform. The movement and animation of the different rides is also nearly identical. Why is that significant? Because it saves the artists and coders working to bring a ride to life significant time by reusing common elements between the different sizes.
This same scalability is applicable to other rides. Swinging discs, carousels, drop/launch towers, swinging ships, chair swings (ground level and the super-tall ones), and more. I really think it would add to the game while incurring minimal development overhead. Not every ride can have multiple sizes, but most of them can.
Finally, this would also impact the management aspects of the final game. Most of our established amusement parks were started as smaller fairs that have incrementally upgraded over the years. Some of us managed RCT parks in a similar way by gradually building larger and larger attractions (ie: I'd start with shuttle loops before I'd build a serious circuit coaster). Having the ability to put in smaller, cheaper rides at the start only to move up to larger ones down the road as attendance and revenues increase could positively affect the park management simulation. We could even replace older, smaller rides with higher capacity ones as what has played out over the years in theme parks.
Just a suggestion, but I think it would make a huge difference and really set Planet Coaster apart from the competition!
