I wanted to bump this thread and say I am
strongly in favour of an easy way to re-size paths (I created an account just so that I could reply).
The issue - predicting traffic flows
A key issue with simulation games in the past is that it can be
extremely difficult, even for experienced players, to predict traffic flows when:
- starting to design a new park or city; or
- designing a new themed area/suburb within a park/city which significantly adds to traffic flows.
I like an element of challenge, however, often the traffic flows created and resulting congestion can be so horrible (and disappointing) that the only fix is to delete the area and start again (which is extremely frustrating).
When then re-designing the area, players are then often forced to make artificial design choices, which they may not like, to attempt to fix the issue (eg only using T intersections and never a 4-way intersection in Cities Skylines - which is wholly unrealistic).
Given:
- Planet Coaster's realistic traffic simulations;
- that peeps can't walk through eachother (which is a feature I like); and
- the natural sweeping design of most theme park paths in real life;
this is something that should be avoided at all costs.
My other issue with CIties Skylines is that the "road upgrade" tool ruins any uniform grid spacing you may have and can't be done where special items (eg subway stops) are placed next to the road being resized.
Proposed solution and feature request
Therefore, I'd like to propose a system in Planet Coaster whereby:
- there is an option to automatically resize a path once built; and
- where sufficient space is available, surrounding scenery, buildings and shops (particularly that is "flush" with the side of the path) are also moved outwards to match the new path width (ie so lamps, hedges, shops and branching paths also move outwards).
The issue noted above with City Skylines' uniform grid shouldn't be an issue in Planet Coaster as:
- theme parks are rarely designed on a grid, and players seem to naturally leave space around the outside of themed areas that could be cannibalised by moving scenery outwards; and
- Planet Coaster's "building" system means you could move entire player-designed buildings outwards so as to not destroy them in the path resize.
Like a lot of other people have already mentioned on the forums, I would also like it if placing two rows of paths beside eachother created one wider path - much like when we used to build two rows of connected paths in RCT3.
Please give this some thought and show your support if you are keen!