Allow testing in coaster builder while game is paused.

[The Stig]

So, I wanted to build a new coaster for my park's 15th anniversary. I started construction late year 14 and, because of extensive testing, it's now late year 15. At this rate, I'll miss my year 15 deadline.

What I propose is that you can still test a coaster, view heatmaps, and see data while the game is paused. Alternatively, you can only receive a coaster's test results and ride the coaster cam while the game is not paused. This would be pretty much how it was in RCT3.

 

[Ramm]

Also I would like to ask for us to be able to test a coaster from a certain point instead of having to wait untill it leaves the station goes on the lifthill etc

it would save alot of time and helps you perfect your coaster quicker

 

[Big Draco]

I agree with Stig - having to unpause the game to test a coaster is a pain as all the rubbish builds up etc as you are concentrating on the new coaster.

Not sure how that would work Ramm as testing a coaster "half way through a run" would be difficult. How would it know what speed the car is travelling when it reached the start point (especially if you smooth out the whole coaster and smooth the banking)

 

[purpleorange]

I agree to having testing while paused, would help a lot. Maybe starting mid-course could be by saying the train starts at a set of section block brakes, as these should always allow the train to come to a stop and still complete the rest of the course.

 

[AtomicDragon]

RCT3 had what I called "ghost testing". I would like to see that here.

 

[stuk71]

I feel this would defeat the point of running a successful theme park. When a Coaster is down for maintenance or testing, your park will lose money - working as intended, so I don't think that it would be something that Frontier would change.

 

[breezerHOG1]

I feel this would defeat the point of running a successful theme park. When a Coaster is down for maintenance or testing, your park will lose money - working as intended, so I don't think that it would be something that Frontier would change.

if this was "real life" then we would probably design our coasters on a CAD like program, maybe even on real blueprint papers, and it would take months for the ride to be built. But this is a video game and it doesnt have to be 100% realistic, its meant to be fun. Thats why we can place a blueprint instantly. Its like if you were playing SimCity and you had to wait for each plot to be inspected by land crews before you could build. Its not necessary for a game

Also when youre playing in sandbox, money and time are irrelevant, but some people might still prefer to build while paused. Like Atomic said, RCT3 had ghost testing, so why are we taking steps backwards here? Freedom and Creativity > Realism and PC aint reality. I support ghost testing +1[up]

 

[AtomicDragon]

I feel this would defeat the point of running a successful theme park. When a Coaster is down for maintenance or testing, your park will lose money - working as intended, so I don't think that it would be something that Frontier would change.

You call this realistic? If the developers allow this continue, I highly doubt they are that interested in realism. I am not even mentioning how there seems to be more friction on coasters than I observe in reality.
Do have have to remind anyone that coasters are simulated on a computer program before they are even built?

 

[Kickflip]

I feel this would defeat the point of running a successful theme park. When a Coaster is down for maintenance or testing, your park will lose money - working as intended, so I don't think that it would be something that Frontier would change.

While I understand what you're saying. I think the current method rewards designing in a sandbox and only using blueprints during play and only using the default (or memorized sequences) for flat rides because experimentation is too expensive.

I think a good compromise would setting a ride opening delay so that once the user turns the status of the ride to open, there's a fixed duration 'inspection & final tests' period before it officially reopens.

This allows testing empty rides while paused and not losing a year in game to properly banking a turn but also incurs a slight penalty for taking a ride out of service and changing it.

 

[breezerHOG1]

While I understand what you're saying. I think the current method rewards designing in a sandbox and only using blueprints during play and only using the default (or memorized sequences) for flat rides because experimentation is too expensive.

I think a good compromise would setting a ride opening delay so that once the user turns the status of the ride to open, there's a fixed duration 'inspection & final tests' period before it officially reopens.

This allows testing empty rides while paused and not losing a year in game to properly banking a turn but also incurs a slight penalty for taking a ride out of service and changing it.

perfect [up]

You call this realistic?

thats a flaw with the supports, but floating islands are obviously fantasy and I wish they would just go all out with it!

 

[Aposine]

I would've added heatmap prediction, i.e. calculating the heatmaps in advance based on the shape of the track without any need for an actual train to run through it, and updating every time a new piece was added or an existing piece was altered.

 

[PC_OCD]

I started a thread today with this same point and creaper directed me here. I would really like to see this put into the game. It would be nice to build coasters without having to worry about some unhappy employee working in chief beef or the major amounts of time being spent as you tweak your coaster for that elusive +9.0 excitement. Sometimes coasters use landscape and the environment in the park so, sandbox isn't my favorite way to build coasters.

testing in pause: +1

 

[rdrunr7]

I like to "tinker" with my coasters, making slight improvements or changes to a coaster that is already open. At the moment I find it a bit frustrating that after the changes I've made, some staff may have quit & the queue has to empty before the coasters will start testing... so testing on pause would be great!

I also much preferred the RCT3 way of testing with ghost trains. With the current build, even if you have multiple trains testing, after the first train crashes, all the other trains reset. If you have a long track your building, you then have to wait for the 1st train to go through the whole track to check whether the changes you've just made at the end of the track are correct. In the old ghost train days, after the first train went off the rails, the other trains would continue on the course, making testing of the end of the track much quicker.