Path Improvements?

[Stream]

Since I see a bunch of threads being answered I figured maybe we could get an answer on this topic as well? Are there any plans to fix the incredibly frustrating path systems? I'm talking about things like:

• Not being able to attach paths to each other easily everywhere you want
• Paths glitching out when you do attach them to specific spots, especially true after you've deleted a path - the deformity that happened when you attached the path remains, you need to rebuild the whole thing pretty much
• Shorter stairs (so you don't have to do the shop trick)
• Easier way to make plazas, especially non-square plazas - hopefully by paths being able to get attached to each other/merge together wherever you want them too
• How the paths interact with the ground (I know you touched a bit on this in the stream)
• Auto tunnel option
• Ability to get rid of curbs on elevated paths
• An ability to hold a key down and then click and drag out a path instead of having to click a million times to get from point A to point B
• etc etc

To me, this is the weakest part of the game and I really hope it'll get a good looking at soon. Any news you can share on this Bo/other Devs?

 

[Bo Marit]

Hiya, this is feedback the team is aware of and we are looking in to see what we can do. There's also people who love it so it's hard to find a balance there. Plazas should be pretty doable with the grid system, I've seen some amazing creations on Workshop. As per 1.4, the pathing system remains as it is now.

Thanks for understanding.
[heart]
Bo

 

[Stream]

Thanks for your reply, but with all due respect, I think you're quite wrong when you say that there are people who LOVE the path system... tolerate it and can work with it? Sure. It's been a major complaint from a huge amount of people going back to alpha 1. Also not saying it should be completely overhauled, but there are a lot of kinks in this system that need to be worked out.

I've said this many times before, but it's pretty much the very first thing you encounter when you start the game, it's a bad first impression and it scares people away. Personally I can't play the game because of it, it's just way too frustrating for me to deal with.

 

[breezerHOG1]

Paths could always be improved without it having any negative impact on how they currently work. If I build a simple square or circular path, and we could possible click to "fill" the gap, that would be a lot easier. Also, getting an inclined path to line up with a hill of terrain takes a lot of work, some sort of snap-to-angle for paths and terrain would be awesome! or even better a grid for terrain to be raised in cubes [big grin]

 

[skn3]

Thanks for your reply, but with all due respect, I think you're quite wrong when you say that there are people who LOVE the path system... tolerate it and can work with it? Sure. It's been a major complaint from a huge amount of people going back to alpha 1. Also not saying it should be completely overhauled, but there are a lot of kinks in this system that need to be worked out.

I've said this many times before, but it's pretty much the very first thing you encounter when you start the game, it's a bad first impression and it scares people away. Personally I can't play the game because of it, it's just way too frustrating for me to deal with.

Just to add voice to this, yes the path stuff is high up there on wish list for Improvements. It’s usable but a bit janky when you want to create more realistic / real world pathing.

 

[Vampiro]

Just my 2 cents on the path system :

I think the path system is one of the most complicated features in the game. People who have been playing the game since the first Alpha will probably all agree with me that the path system has been updated / changed / tweaked during all versions of Alpha and Beta and even after the release.
With that i have to admit the path system has come a long long way! The early Alpha version was pretty limited and quite random on bahaviour.

I can also understand this because the system has to be stable and predictable but STILL offer as much freedom to the user as possible. That being said im quite happy to how the system works nowdays! It offers a lot of freedom and i can do pretty much whatever i want. BIG compliments on the people who worked on the path system!

That being said, i think there are some things that can hopefully be updated in the future. Especially this one is high on my wishlist :

- Ability to get rid of curbs on elevated paths.

 

[RealWar]

That being said, i think there are some things that can hopefully be updated in the future. Especially this one is high on my wishlist :

- Ability to get rid of curbs on elevated paths.

Seconded

 

[corkscrewloop]

Just my 2 cents on the path system :

I think the path system is one of the most complicated features in the game. People who have been playing the game since the first Alpha will probably all agree with me that the path system has been updated / changed / tweaked during all versions of Alpha and Beta and even after the release.
With that i have to admit the path system has come a long long way! The early Alpha version was pretty limited and quite random on bahaviour.

I can also understand this because the system has to be stable and predictable but STILL offer as much freedom to the user as possible. That being said im quite happy to how the system works nowdays! It offers a lot of freedom and i can do pretty much whatever i want. BIG compliments on the people who worked on the path system!

That being said, i think there are some things that can hopefully be updated in the future. Especially this one is high on my wishlist :

- Ability to get rid of curbs on elevated paths.

Fully agree!
I personally like the path system (meanwhile...). It's a powerful tool. The only improvements I would appreciate to get, is what you and breezerHOG mentioned and maybe further:

- ability to activate / deactivate curbs, railing on only one side of the selected path piece... (to do plazas, paths around attractions, etc. would look better).
- changing the elevation angle / height.
- have down to 2meters wide normal paths (not only for queues)
- have paths wider than 10meters, maybe 20, 30, etc. (with that large round plazas could be easily possible.)

Sometimes I watch some clips from other "similar" games and see their pathing system.... Then I'm just so happy of what we have in Planet Coaster....

A lot of greets
Corkscrewloop

 

[wowman]

Hey Vamp - - been their with you since day 1...and agree 100%. While it can be troublesome at times...I have figured out how to at least enjoy playing with it in its current state. Not understanding why some are saying it is stopping them from playing, but it can always use some adjustments and improvements.

 

[Vampiro]

Fully agree!
I personally like the path system (meanwhile...). It's a powerful tool. The only improvements I would appreciate to get, is what you and breezerHOG mentioned and maybe further:

- ability to activate / deactivate curbs, railing on only one side of the selected path piece... (to do plazas, paths around attractions, etc. would look better).
- changing the elevation angle / height.
- have down to 2meters wide normal paths (not only for queues)
- have paths wider than 10meters, maybe 20, 30, etc. (with that large round plazas could be easily possible.)

Sometimes I watch some clips from other "similar" games and see their pathing system.... Then I'm just so happy of what we have in Planet Coaster....

A lot of greets
Corkscrewloop

Yes!

I agree with all of those suggestiions! Especially the wider path's would be amazing It would be a path tool and a plaza tool all in 1 when we're able to do that

 

[Vampiro]

Hey Vamp - - been their with you since day 1...and agree 100%. While it can be troublesome at times...I have figured out how to at least enjoy playing with it in its current state. Not understanding why some are saying it is stopping them from playing, but it can always use some adjustments and improvements.

Yes!

I think that is why a lot of players from the first hour are a bit less critical then newer players because i have to agree that this game has a steep learning curve.
"we" are in the fortunate position that we were here since the beginning, and we slowly learned all of the tips and tricks and "we" have a good feeling on what to do to get a certain result. Whie to newer players it can be a bit overwhelming and confusing how to get a certain result.

(funny thing is i have it at home all the time... i was here since alpha 1, while my wife has been playing only a few weeks. Some things are very easy and natural to me while she has to ask me stuff all the time because it's not always as natural to her as it is to me)

 

[Neezy]

It took me forever to learn how to play around with the path tool to make paths even wider (without using the grid/plaza option). I agree it takes some getting used to and new (post-alpha) players may find it cumbersome.

Spoiler

Someone on this forum posted a video showing how to tweak paths to make them even larger. It worked for me when I made this area.

 

[Robert K]

Yes, why is it so much more difficult than RCT3 to make inclined terrain with paths? And RCT3 and earlier had snap increments for terrain, as well as freeform such as to make mountains. Also RCT3 had better waterfalls and water physics. But the rides in Planet Coaster look so much better than the built in RCT3 ones especially the steam trains and antique cars. Why can't we have a tool to drag pathing all around, that way we can make large plazas in distorted shapes with curved edges. Hard to do that with the current setup.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

I love the path system, and enjoy using it.
I rarely have trouble doing the thing I want it to do.

[up]

 

[Ddef12]

I also love the path system. My only gripe is when using the trick to round off a grid plaza you sometimes delete a larger section than you intend to. But we have an undo button so it doesn’t really bother me all that much.

Now, I would not mind seeing new features implemented, such as, slope elevation changes to be less, curbs on either side, decreased length on sloped paths to create slightly raised plazas. But I’m in the boat as Bitter. What we have now I love. To me pathing feels very good. There are other things that I’d rather they focus on “fixing”

 

[Stream]

I love the path system, and enjoy using it.
I rarely have trouble doing the thing I want it to do.

[up]

That's not what you said in a bunch if threads a while back. But ok.

I don't understand how anyone can say that the current system works perfectly... It's absolutely beyond me. Maybe it's the fact that you've put in so many hours into the game that you've learned to deal with it. But you shouldn't have to practice for hours on end to do simple things like just making a simple T intersection... it should be intuitive and easy to work with from the get go. It's one of the major systems in this game...

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

I've also made tutorials , and helped people do the things they want to do. [yesnod]

Feel free to post up "what I've said".

 

[Neezy]

I've also made tutorials , and helped people do the things they want to do. [yesnod]

Feel free to post up "what I've said".

Those tutorials have certainly helped me when you initially released them. I have been able to widen paths beyond what the path option allows us to choose. Can you post your tutorial link here? I couldn't find the original thread and I'm sure more people can benefit from it.

 

[Stream]

I've also made tutorials , and helped people do the things they want to do. [yesnod]

Feel free to post up "what I've said".

For instance you've said that you think the path and terrain interaction needs improvement.

- - - - - Additional Content Posted / Auto Merge - - - - -

And you're kind of making my point here too. You shouldn't have to have elaborate tutorials made by experienced players just to do simple things. It should be a LOT easier to work with.

 

[Stream]

It's funny, right at this very moment, RubleTrillions is live on YouTube doing a path system tutorial. He's already ran into three issues in the maybe 10 minutes he's been live. And he's a very good builder.