How should I get started?

[shotbyadam1]

I guess this is a bit of an introduction but a bit of a request too.

I've played a few similar games years ago (Sim Theme Park, Roller Coaster Tycoon) but never really got into them that much because of the lack of customization. Planet Coaster looks absolutely amazing to me but now it's like the other end of the extreme. I don't even know where to begin and everything looks so incredibly daunting. I've been watching a lot of online tutorials and they have all been very helpful but most of them move at hyper speed and it looks like people will spend 20 minutes to make one lamp post...things like that. So that said, everything seems really overwhelming and I don't know where to start.

Should I be building paths first and then placing rides around them or should I be building rides and then connecting the paths to them? Should I lay the park out in quadrants to organize themes or worry about that later? Should I be constructing a really nice main entrance gate first or worry about that later?

I guess I just don't know where to start and once I do, what do I do next. I really can see enjoying this game a lot, but I don't want to just get so lost in the details that the game doesn't stay fun anymore because I don't know what to do next.

If any of you theme-park building veterans can give me a little help in the right direction, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks!

 

[tyczj]

Really it up to your own approach and everyone's is different.

Typically I lay out the main path line I want to guests to follow then just go from there

 

[NainConPetant]

go small at first, do the carreer to help yourself understanding the mechanics and getting some inspiration for building.

go on the workshop, download some cool things to help you at first.

you'll see, you'll get better pretty fast

 

[Nolfy]

Most important thing is to just start! In your case just start with a sandbox park.
Maybe you should first think about the park name and which themes you are going to use for sure. My advice is just stop watching all the Youtubes, forum creations and workshop and just start making something. You can use the workshop later on for inspiration, see how certain things can be build and also for things you don't want to spend too much time on. I sometimes get bored with one theme and then i start build on another section. Later on i have inspiration again for the other theme and then try to connect it and build things in between sections.

Be warned that you will loose track of time.

 

[PC_OCD]

Hi!

I would suggest starting with the first career scenario just to get an idea of how the developers have made a park and possibly get some ideas from that. The first scenario is pretty simple and will get you started.

Once you've done that, I would then go to a sandbox and just goof around. Figure some stuff out for yourself I find I learn best when I just jump in and start.

I build my rides firsts and then customize the queue, landscape and scenery around the ride. It takes some getting used to but you should pick it up pretty quickly. [up] As you build your park, make sure to use a variety of rides that attract different customers. Look at their Nausea and Fear stats to get an idea of what each group (teen, adult, family) will ride and build accordingly. With the shops and facilities, don't go overboard and place too many. Try to keep the peeps happy without incurring much cost. Be sure to add a janitor and a mechanic. The game will give you notices about what's happening in your park that help. Building rollercoasters has a pretty big learning curve but the developers and the workshop blueprints can help you in the beginning and you can use those blueprints to get ideas of how the rollercoasters function best.
Have fun and welcome! This is an awesome game and a really good forum with some great threads that can help you build rides and keep your peeps happy.

Here's a couple neat threads:
https://forums.planetcoaster.com/sh...graphics-Research-Meet-Your-Average-Customers

https://forums.planetcoaster.com/sh...ubsistence-Strategies-in-Primitive-Conditions

https://forums.planetcoaster.com/sh...-shout-out-to-the-awesome-devs-for-this-game!

 

[Bullethead]

If any of you theme-park building veterans can give me a little help in the right direction, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks!

First off, welcome aboard!

Here's my advice to beginners:

1. Some days in advance, reserve a large block of time, most of a day and well into that night.

2. In the days between then and now, do 4 things:
* Watch a bunch of tutorial vidoes on YouTube. I recommend those on Geekism's channel, but you'll have to go back a couple months to find them all. With such tutorials, you should get some idea of the basic game concepts and the rudiments of how the game's various different editors work.
* Read at least all the threads in the Community Creations topic's 1st page to steal ideas and techniques.
* Make sure both your bar and munchies pantry are well-stocked.
* Decide in what order you want to explore the 3 main creative areas of the game: coaster design, building creation, or terrain-sculpting.

3. On the day you've previously reserved, pour yourself the 1st of many drinks, get a pile of munchies close to hand, and start to work on the 1st thing on your to-do list. Play with that until you get bored or frustrated, then switch to the next thing on the list. Repeat until you run out of time, booze, munchies, or sobriety.

4. Sleep it off, call in sick, and do it all again.

 

[Stellar Hunt]

This is a good thread to read. I am going to be getting the game in the next few weeks if not this weekend. I agree with shotbyadam. I need to really learn how to start the game and where to begin. I am a seasoned Roller Coaster Tycoon player, but it has been ages since I last played RTC3. I can't wait to get back into it. I must admit that the whole building creation and land sculpting has me a bit worried since i was soo terrible at it in RTC3 and now it is even more advanced in Planet Coaster! I just focused on rides in those games and left the scenery alone since it didn't matter to the guests and the game, but now it looks like I have no choice but to work on the scenery and landscape just to pass the scenarios and up the ratings. It took me a little over 2 weeks to make a park stable and to my liking. I am predicting it might take me a month or more to do the same in this game. I may just have to steal some designs from the workshop community [noob]. I really do like how helpful the community is looking so far and will definitely enjoy my stay here.

 

[Squirrelmonkey93]

The first thing I did was opening a sandbox park and getting used to all the controls. It looked horrible, but at least it didn't cost me any money [wink]

Then I went into the workshop and subscribed to a bunch of coasters and some scenery/ride skins so I wouldn't have to start those from scratch in the career mode.
I played career with the Night Encounters scenario I started making my own scenery and buildings. That was really necessary since all my subscriptions failed to show up and you do need a decent amount of scenery to make that 10k profit.

Time will defiantly help with making your creations, but until then: Enjoy the game, learn its possibilities and try to keep those peeps happy ^^