Feedback after a few days: The UI, lack of rides, and so much more to say

I wanted to post this earlier, but decided to wait at least a few days, and thanks to Frontier's recent communication, I could get a few things off this list. So, here's my feedback.

Short version: With a lot more further development, Planet Coaster 2 has the potential to eventually become the best theme park building game of all times, but as it stands now - and it's painful to have to say this - it's not enjoyable. The game is far from being finished, very far away from that even. At this point, I can't commit to put work into a park project.

Before I get to my many not so positive points, here's what I do like about the game, and why I think it really has the potential that I mentioned above:

Many scenery objects are so, so beautiful. While the amount of different themes is still too small at this point, the quality and quantity of the objects within the existing themes is simply incredible. The plants are gorgeous, there are lots of really beautiful and / or useful scenery objects, scaling and moving platforms are game changers. Also the new path tools are promising, as well as the light behaviour in buildings. That's not the case with natural caves, but more on that further below.

Planet Coaster 2 gives you - already now - a lot of tools that really boost your creativity, which in theory I should be really excited about, but I just can't enjoy or make use of these due to the overwhelming shortcomings on the other side:

1. The interface and user experience
  • Having to confirm everything is one of the worst things of all. Especially having to confirm the picked colour... and the end of day report, which halts the gameplay until you confirm. Why?
  • I hardly ever use blueprints, but I always have to click on "create custom" in order to build a ride, and then the menu blocks the whole screen. Why isn't it behaving like in the scenery browser?
  • No "recent" tab in the browser
  • No custom tags
  • Browser doesn't highlight the object that was just picked. And once an object is picked, there's no tooltip when hovering over other objects
  • Last used colour isn't applied to next similar object
  • Many menus, especially path tools and coaster builders are too complicated to use with all their tabs and submenus
  • Right-click doesn't delete the last bit of path that was just placed
  • Fixed sun doesn't let us set the exact time. Neither with clicking the arrows, and certainly not with the keyboard.
  • Manual colour tool: Hard to hit the corners, as the mouse doesn't drag along the edges of the box, once you hit the edges
All in all, Planet Coaster 2's navigation is extremely confusing even for experienced PC / PC1 users, and I can't imagine it being much more enjoyable on console. It feels like nobody won here.

2. The lack of rides

Yes, despite the dozens of coasters and crazy flat rides that we do have, I have to title this "lack of rides", and here's why: The variety of rides is poor - many rides, especially classic family and gentle rides are missing.
We need a lot more commonly used older rides. Already PC1 in its final state (with all DLCs) was still lacking in that regard, and now it's impossible to build historical parks with PC2 as it is now, after lots of older rides from PC1 didn't make it to the base game. Especially rides from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s are missing, which are key for (mainland European?) parks (see my longer post in the suggestions forum).

Among the most important missing rides are various types of gentle boat rides, classic family flat rides, powered coaster, vintage steel coasters, and ALL the missing rides from Planet Coaster 1. Really: Try to build a typical European park, how it realistically could have existed in ca. 1980 - it's impossible - even when trying 1990 as a setting, when most European parks didn't have more than one or two coasters (one of them mostly being a powered coaster), and it makes me really sad, that a historically realistic ride portfolio is so far away.

One really has to highlight this: There's not a single gentle boat ride in the game that was used by a significant amount of parks. Does anyone know of a real-life version of the existing Steam Boat?

Why still no rowing, pedal, swan boats, minigolf, mazes, etc.?

I wish the love and obvious research that went into designing the scenery objects also went into the selection and design of classic rides - which is even more important considering rides are key for any theme park.

I might sound very picky here, but it's the most important point for me in a theme park game.

3. Lots of other problems
  • The log flume and other water rides look really, really bad. The water is unrealistic and way too blue, and even the logs... I've seen more beautiful ones. I don't know how this could get fixed, because it would need a complete new version of the ride, with all of this: Better water, prettier / recolourable boats, custom drop angles and the lift hills fixed.
  • There's this repeating PC2 logo on all queues, and I neither like this nor do I know why we can't get rid of them.
  • Many objects have a surface that's supposed to look like metal, but looks like plain plastic.
  • Caves done by the terrain tools are not pitch black, far away from it, they're not even dark.
  • Sunshine during rain. Shouldn't it become dark, desaturated? I can still see sharp shadows and sunlit surfaces before I see any raindrops.
  • Despite getting the information weeks ago that we can now attach scenery to rides, this doesn't apply to tracked rides. Hmm.
  • Terrain tool lags and creates stepped landscapes.
  • There are no months anymore? Just numbered days?
  • "No glass"... but that really became one of my least worries.
  • Other things that are less important for me, but were already mentioned by others here
I really want Planet Coaster 2 to become a good product, for everyone involved, but I'm sadly not very optimistic. That's why I hope we will soon receive the signals from you (Frontier) that we need in order to further believe in Planet Coaster 2. And no, I did not ask for a refund, but will I buy any DLCs? That depends on.

I'm really, really sorry, but I can't keep my disappointment for myself, and I hope you can understand us, because that's the foundation for deriving something valuable out of our feedback.
 
Last edited:
I'm not trying to be overly mean or negative because I can tell a lot of love and effort went into this game, but this is one of the most disappointing sequels in recent memory. There's just so many baffling problems. The UI is not good, the controls are clunky, I feel like staff management and power is not at all a fun way to add management depth to the game; they feel just like clunky and arbitrary check boxes. The game overall feels like it has less whimsy and less content than the base version if the first game.
 
Thank you for this very well written summary! I absolutely feel with you!
I hope the developer will take a look at this.

At this point, I can't commit to put work into a park project.
Same here. I can't do this with full heart and sink hundreds of hours into it.
I don't like half-baked fastfood. I wan't soulfood!

I really want Planet Coaster 2 to become a good product, for everyone involved, but I'm sadly not very optimistic.
That's the point.

That's why I hope we will soon receive the signals from you (Frontier) that we need in order to further believe in Planet Coaster 2

That's what I'm hoping for.
Someone already said before on steam reviews: "It's a long road to recovery."
And I can't get rid of the feeling that the developer don't even realize.

Communication is so much needed!
 
Last edited:
2. The lack of rides
Yes! It would seem like rather than taking PC1 and improving upon it, someone at Frontier decided it was a better use of resources to spend development time on things nobody really cares about - adding power to rides? what 🤷‍♂️ :unsure: This isn't SimCity! Why not dedicate those efforts into offering new rides, shops and attractions that weren't in the original? Like more building styles and themes, shows, carnival games, a massive list of flat rides, a scenario editor so we can actually build the parks of our dreams, and more? And of the new rides that weren't in the original, we got things few I suspect will ever use...like the Buoyancy? :confused:

Hopefully they will communicate what the plan is...giving it another week before I hit the refund request button.
 
I'm not trying to be overly mean or negative because I can tell a lot of love and effort went into this game, but this is one of the most disappointing sequels in recent memory. There's just so many baffling problems. The UI is not good, the controls are clunky, I feel like staff management and power is not at all a fun way to add management depth to the game; they feel just like clunky and arbitrary check boxes. The game overall feels like it has less whimsy and less content than the base version if the first game.
Power and staff schedules might be my least favorite things ever. I specifically chose the sandbox mode that removes the need for power, but here I am, getting notices that the rides can’t open due to insufficient power. 😶
 
Very good list, agree with all issues.

Especially basic UI stuff where it doesn't remember color.

Something that also absolutely drives me crazy is that it does not remember grid size, grid height and grid distance snap options.

Everytime you have to confirm, re select, oh no I want to do a custom blueprint scenery piece not a pre made thing, it is soooo annoying and time consuming to build something
 
Very good list, agree with all issues.

Especially basic UI stuff where it doesn't remember color.

Something that also absolutely drives me crazy is that it does not remember grid size, grid height and grid distance snap options.

Everytime you have to confirm, re select, oh no I want to do a custom blueprint scenery piece not a pre made thing, it is soooo annoying and time consuming to build something
Also hate how the scenery brush doesn’t remember the brush size or intensity when you switch between brushes.
 
Back
Top Bottom