$80? Wow....

[jamesviago]

I am with Jamesviago. He explained everything in plain English. Whatever you can afford or whatever you are prepared to spend towards the development of this game, is going to relate to its future development. I am a pensioner, I don't buy lots of games like many of you on here probably do, [...]
[...] I think it's worth it, to be able to have the chance to play the game from the start, as well as knowing, that what I have paid, is helping Frontier, develop a better game that will be ongoing for quite a few years to come. In fact it will probably outlive me.
[...]
So no matter what you can afford, or are prepared to spend towards the development of this game, at least we know that it is going to be a great game, that will be even greater, for the future and will probably still be around for many years to come.

Wow. I had not considered that you might be investing in a game that outlives you. What a sobering thought. I really do hope you'll be back here in 2026 campaigning for the next version!!

Such a Great Wall of text! You're 100% right! [up][yesnod]

Wel spoken and very wel explained chapeau [up]

i agree with this as well. In fact, I agree with this so much that I want you to be president. #feelthejames

Thanks i've never been the subject of a hashtag before.

I'm just gonna have to wait and hear opinions, if I like what I hear, ill get early access.

Well, we will keep our opinions flowing no doubt. I hope Frontier keep the Early Bird running for the duration, so that you can purchase it based on the feedback here.

 

[Angelis1]

[...] Thanks i've never been the subject of a hashtag before. [...]

[big grin][big grin][big grin] #thatmademelaugh

 

[Coasterbuff]

Wow. I had not considered that you might be investing in a game that outlives you. What a sobering thought. I really do hope you'll be back here in 2026 campaigning for the next version!!

Well so do I, but I will be 82 in 2026. My Grandfather on my mother's side lived to the ripe old age of 98 and was still active up until then, but peacefully died in his sleep, which is the best way to go.

 

[Bax2blade]

Wow. I had not considered that you might be investing in a game that outlives you. What a sobering thought. I really do hope you'll be back here in 2026 campaigning for the next version!!





Thanks i've never been the subject of a hashtag before.



Well, we will keep our opinions flowing no doubt. I hope Frontier keep the Early Bird running for the duration, so that you can purchase it based on the feedback here.

Me too.

 

[xnode]

Such a Great Wall of text! You're 100% right! [up][yesnod]

True! That wall of text says it all.

 

[UltimateAirtime]

The $80 price tag for the early bird edition is more for supporting the game than actually buying it. I see it more as, "if you help fund Planet Coaster and its development, then we'll give you early access to the game" than your buying the ability to play the alpha. This would explain why the full game is $50 less.

 

[Mr Deuce]

You know, I'm not sure if this game is expensive or not.

Here in the UK, it's £50 for the early access version. Technically that is indeed a bit pricey, normally only the most anticipated top selling games sell for that. It's also basically a £30 premium to get early access - which compared to the games £20 base price, is certainly a lot.

BUT, this sort of game really has no upper limit on it's 'value'... I'm thinking of every other (proper) theme park game I played, I must have racked up over a thousand hours on most of them with ease. With RCT3, Many thousands of hours. So many thousands lol. So from that perspective, if the game was really good, I'd probably pay a huge amount of money for it if there was literally no other option.

So it follows, that I am so excited to get to play the game, and will play it so much, that for me the extra £30 to play early access is worth it. There wasn't even a moments hesitation to be honest

 

[Angelis1]

In euro (for the French market) it's simple :

- The Early Access price is farrrrrrr too expensive
- The Pre Order price is slightly below the average

 

[Mr Deuce]

In euro (for the French market) it's simple :

- The Early Access price is farrrrrrr too expensive
- The Pre Order price is slightly below the average

I think they've been quite clever here

The low price for the main game is very attractive. In fact it's a no brainer. The game is very obviously worth the money. So they will achieve very high sales figures, I'm sure of that.

But then anyone so excited and keen to play as early as possible, is probably a hardcore fan of these sorts of games and will pay through the nose for the opportunity to do so. I'm not saying it's the nicest or fairest way to price the different versions - but I can see how it makes good business sense. And I run a business, and generally my number one priority is to make money! Frontier are quite shrewd about how they price and make money. They made a LOT with ED.

But the good news is, because they're very good at making money, they have the size of the team they do, and the experts, and that is why PC already looks so amazing.

I also think their shrewdness is why the other weird game extras are being sold. Sure it's kinda dumb to pay mega money to get your name on a stone in the park entrances, but if a handful of people will care enough to buy, I do have to applaud Frontier for recognizing that and taking their money!

 

[Coasterbuff]

In euro (for the French market) it's simple :

- The Early Access price is farrrrrrr too expensive
- The Pre Order price is slightly below the average

The main reason is that the Pound is stronger than the Euro. so it makes the game seem more expensive than it actually is, in the rest of Europe.

 

[Angelis1]

The main reason is that the Pound is stronger than the Euro. so it makes the game seem more expensive than it actually is, in the rest of Europe.

Well, I dont know for you, but the "Early Access" of PlanetCoaster is almost 10€ more than : a new, day one, console, AAA game ...

 

[Mr Deuce]

Well, I dont know for you, but the "Early Access" of PlanetCoaster is almost 10€ more than : a new, day one, console, AAA game ...

It's just the very strong pound. Obviously most games are made in USA or elsewhere, where the relative strength of the currency compares better to your own.

Anyway, I bet you would still have bought early access if it 30 eur more than a console game lol - be honest!! I will admit I would have done... I'm just glad this game exists at all after the hype and then misery surrounding RCTW.

 

[Coasterbuff]

It's just the very strong pound. Obviously most games are made in USA or elsewhere, where the relative strength of the currency compares better to your own.

Anyway, I bet you would still have bought early access if it 30 eur more than a console game lol - be honest!! I will admit I would have done... I'm just glad this game exists at all after the hype and then misery surrounding RCTW.

A bit off topic, but Has anyone had a look at the Theme Park Studio Theme Park Builder? I thought it was very good, but more for the technically minded, so you can design your own rides and buildings. I don't think it is a Theme Park Game like Planet Coaster and RCTW, it seems a bit like No Limits 2 but with the ability to landscape and theme a park as well. I don't think it is management orientated like PC.

 

[Mr Deuce]

A bit off topic, but Has anyone had a look at the Theme Park Studio Theme Park Builder? I thought it was very good, but more for the technically minded, so you can design your own rides and buildings. I don't think it is a Theme Park Game like Planet Coaster and RCTW, it seems a bit like No Limits 2 but with the ability to landscape and theme a park as well. I don't think it is management orientated like PC.

Yes, I bought it ages ago, back when it was first released as early access in fact. There is no management/money or anything like that. It's not really a game at all, and personally I don't enjoy the interface or 'feel' of Theme Park Studio. It was quite an ambitious project, and you can indeed create almost anything from scratch, within the program itself. You can even import a series of CS shapes or structures and link them together and animate them in the game.

But whilst you could in theory make an itricate and amzingly real park, accurate in every detail - no one ever does. The interface is a real pig, it's awkward to use, the cemara fights against you and the community support it horrendous - as is the documentation lol.

I will say that if you just want to build some realistic coasters, it's less complex than NL2 and does a far, far better job of spline coasters than RCTW. It's actually easier and quicker to build a realistic coaster than it was in RCTW beta (and I suspect it still is, even though RCTW are improving the editor).

 

[Angelis1]

[...] Anyway, I bet you would still have bought early access if it 30 eur more than a console game lol - be honest!! I will admit I would have done... I'm just glad this game exists at all after the hype and then misery surrounding RCTW.

Me ? Yes ! I paid more than 100€ for the Early Access + CHC.
But ... that is me ... I'm a theme parks lover + my favorite game is RCT3 + Some of my familly members own few thrill rides ... so this explains that.

But they are still extremly aggressive with their price strategy. (at least for the Early Access, in €)

Anyway, I can be the biggest fan of this game, I'd be REALLLYYY dishonest to say that it is not overpriced, because it is (and nothing can justify this price, not even the "we are a small company and it's a sort of crowdfunding" because this is not the truth anymore). My objectivity is something important to me, even if the truth hurts : this Early Access is overpriced, and they were greedy.

I hope this a "one shot", and they will not continue this aggressive strategy with things like "DLC and microstransactions", because even for me, that would be the limit not to be exceeded.

A bit off topic, but Has anyone had a look at the Theme Park Studio Theme Park Builder? I thought it was very good, but more for the technically minded, so you can design your own rides and buildings. I don't think it is a Theme Park Game like Planet Coaster and RCTW, it seems a bit like No Limits 2 but with the ability to landscape and theme a park as well. I don't think it is management orientated like PC.

Yes, it's a bit off topic but it's also a very good question.

"Theme Park Studio" and "NoLimits 2" are not user friendly enough to be considered in the same category as PlanetCoaster.

It's like ... they are "a software/game engine" with "game tools" when PlanetCoaster is a "a game" with "software/game engine tools", and toi me, this is what make all the difference.

And by the way, this is why UGC should be integrated natively in PlanetCoaster, because that way, they can allow experts to do what they want, but they can also allow the casual players to import easy things, with a user friendly and "easy-to-use" tool (even if it is to add a simple texture like a logo, or a simple wall, or a simple wooden box with stickers made in 8 seconds on Google SketchUp).

It is important to hit all the targets : Designers (casuals and experts), and Managers (casuals and experts) and "Theme Park Studio" and "NoLimits 2" are a little bit complicated to do that.

 

[Mr Deuce]

Me ? Yes ! I paid more than 100€ for the Early Access + CHC.
But ... that is me ... I'm a theme parks lover + my favorite game is RCT3 + Some of my familly members own few thrill rides ... so this explains that.

But they are still extremly aggressive with their price strategy. (at least for the Early Access, in €)

Anyway, I can be the biggest fan of this game, I'd be REALLLYYY dishonest to say that it is not overpriced, because it is (and nothing can justify this price, not even the "we are a small company and it's a sort of crowdfunding" because this is not the truth anymore). My objectivity is something important to me, even if the truth hurts : this Early Access is overpriced, and they were greedy.

I hope this a "one shot", and they will not continue this aggressive strategy with things like "DLC and microstransactions", because even for me, that would be the limit not to be exceeded.

The game itself is quite cheap though. It's just the early access that is expensive (compared to what we're used to).

They could have sold it for less in euros, but then they would make very little money in sales across Europe. It's just a fact, they're based in a country with a very strong currency. That's why we produce so little here in the UK, no one else can afford to buy what we make lol. Also if they sold it for less in euros, people not in Europe would buy it in euros to save money!

 

[Angelis1]

They could have sold it for less in euros, but then they would make very little money in sales across Europe. It's just a fact, they're based in a country with a very strong currency. That's why we produce so little here in the UK, no one else can afford to buy what we make lol. Also if they sold it for less in euros, people not in Europe would buy it in euros to save money!

Yeah, I admit that your country needs a deflation (and larger than what we need in the eurozone) to avoid an excessive economic contraction, but the problem is that people are affraid by this word. They think only inflation is good for their country.

... but it's another story I guess [big grin]

 

[Mr Deuce]

Yeah, I admit that your country needs a deflation (and larger than what we need in the eurozone) to avoid an excessive economic contraction, but the problem is that people are affraid by this word. They think only inflation is good for their country.

... but it's another story I guess [big grin]

Yep. But I only talk economics over a beer!

 

[Angelis1]

Yep. But I only talk economics over a beer!

Is there another way ? [weird]

[big grin]

 

[Coasterbuff]

Thank you Deuce for explaining Theme Park Studio. I thought that was the case. Too intricate for me anyway, and I like what we are getting with Planet Coaster much better. I'm too old now to start getting into something too technical for me, like 3D design programmes. lol