Roadmap

[Vampiro]

Im wondering about the roadmap of PC, maybe someone can shed some light?

Alpha 1 (March 22, 2016) :
Pathing
Modular Building
Some Rides
Early version of coasterbuilder

Alpha 2 (May 24, 2016) :
Updated path system
Terrain tool
Coaster builder
Added rides
Added buildingpieces

Alpha 3 (??, 2016) :
Simulation

Release Q4, 2016 :


Im realy wondering in how many steps we will get to the final release? Will the final release be the same as Alpha 3?
Or will Alpha 3 to Release be just as much as an update as from one alpha version to another?

To say it more simple, right now we have Alpha 1, does this mean we have 25% of the game or 33%?
(I know its not as black and white as i state it right now, but just to make clear what im trying to ask)

 

[mark0ne]

From what I understand, Alpha 3 will be the final version of the game, with just about everything in place. Frontier will then spend the remaining weeks/months to final commercial release polishing and tweaking, getting rid of any bugs we find.

But it does make me wonder what else we will get on the third update other than the simulation side of things. We currently have very few shops or scenery props and only one theme. Frontier have confirmed they will be adding some more props to the Pirate theme. But I am imagining a lot more stuff has to be added other than the simulation. That seems to leave an awful lot to be going into the third update doesn't it? More themes, several types of shops, both food and the more consumer goods based shops like t-shirts, balloons etc. More flat rides, transport rides hopefully. More coasters as we only have two at the moment (unless they give us all the coasters with the coaster builder release in alpha 2) . Or unless they do a final release with only the bare minimum of content ad then charge for download packs after the commercial release which may be a possibility. All speculation on my part though.....

 

[Dalenotchip]

I believe they said there would be a small beta release.

 

[mark0ne]

I wonder if more content will be added in to the beta then. Or will it just be a more polished version of Alpha 3 with tweaks based on what was learned from that? My concern is that Frontier didn't make it clear that much of anything other than terrain editing was going in to phase 2 and phase 3 is concentrating on the simulation side of things, so when are we getting more shops, flat rides, transport rides, coasters, themes, props etc?

The terrain editor does look sexy though

 

[joeybolufe]

Alpha 3 is not final release, it is... well Alpha 3. And as Dalenotchip mentioned, there will be a Beta in-between Alpha 3 and the final release.

Also I don't expect to get like a bunch of themes or anything in the Alphas. Themes are something that don't really need to be tested, its all just cosmetic. What really needs to be tested is the game play, features, and simulation of the game. I expect all the themes to release in either the beta or final version of the game.

 

[Dalenotchip]

Alpha 3 is not final release, it is... well Alpha 3. And as Dalenotchip mentioned, there will be a Beta in-between Alpha 3 and the final release.

Also I don't expect to get like a bunch of themes or anything in the Alphas. Themes are something that don't really need to be tested, its all just cosmetic. What really needs to be tested is the game play, features, and simulation of the game. I expect all the themes to release in either the beta or final version of the game.

I think we'll get a little more at the end. They did show us brick walls in the last Video live stream. So I don't think they are opposed apposed to give us new themes and such when ready. I also think they spent a lot of time on changing the paths for us due to the feedback and that pushed new themes back.

 

[DarkRider2k3]

Do we know what all are confirmed themes? The only one I know of that isn't in game is the Fantasy theme. And I've heard of a spooky theme...

I was actually shocked to see no new themes in the second phase of PC. Honestly I was expecting to see 1 new theme in each phase. Some of the rides are very hard to theme around, considering they are already themed and don't fit a pirate theme..

 

[BigDaddy1]

looking at the calendar. I suspect Alpha 2 this month, Alpha 3 mid-late July, followed by a beta in Sept, followed by release. But as you know games like these are never fully done, so if successful, then years of DLC to follow. Considering they have revenue of over 2-3 million already, things are looking good.

 

[Vampiro]

It seems nobody knows for sure..

I was just curious about how many big updates we will get.

Alpha 1 --> Alpha 2 (Big update in content)
Alpha 2 --> Alpha 3 (Big update in content)

But where are we then? Do we have the full game by that point? Or will the release update be a big update in content as well? And like some are assuming we will have a Beta, will that mean another big update?

Basically im curious to how mych content we already have in comparisson to the final game.

 

[coasterlover]

Id assume in beta they';; be a building/shops/scenery drop of content

 

[SplashMountain]

I think what we are seeing with the alphas is a little example of some of the main areas of the game. Between alpha 3 and release we will surely see a whole bunch of new content for all these key areas. For example, we have seen some flat rides, we have seen some modular building pieces, and we will soon see some full roller coasters. I imagine after this they will concentrate on content, filling the game out with lots of flat rides, lots of themes, and lots of coasters, as well as water, splash rides, shops etc. There is a lot of time between now and the end of the year, so that gives me a lot of hope for a game packed with content. This is my view

 

[Brett C]

Well, I can say that we'll progress from an Alpha to a Beta state. [big grin]

 

[coencoensmeets]

Well, I can say that we'll progress from an Alpha to a Beta state. [big grin]

Alpha Beta Gamma Delta... [haha][haha]
Ofcours you go from Alpha to Beta. It is the next letter in the Greek alphabet. [squeeeeee] (I'm Learning ancient Greek at the moment.)

 

[BIGROB007]

seeing that coaster builder will be included in alpha 2. will it be refined at all? or will it come into the game in it's current state (minus using the cheat code.) I know they've said they're adding scalable loops and stuff, but I wonder if they're also tweaking the core editor. Basically it seems to me the track cannot be made as steep as I want it to be.

 

[Wessy]

seeing that coaster builder will be included in alpha 2. will it be refined at all? or will it come into the game in it's current state (minus using the cheat code.) I know they've said they're adding scalable loops and stuff, but I wonder if they're also tweaking the core editor. Basically it seems to me the track cannot be made as steep as I want it to be.

They actually didn't want to include the coaster builder in this build at first because it is in such an unfinished state at the moment. They only included it, because people at the press event were pushing for it. There is some core functionality in place already but I'm sure it will change quite a bit in Alpha 2.

The following features were mentioned at some point in some live stream or on the forums or are just logical. I'm not sure all of this will be in alpha 2 but:

• There will be station gates to separate the riders in the different rows (not sure if included in Alpha 2 but confirmed)
• Guest sounds/screams will be added (not a lot of screams are noticeable currently).
• More coaster types will be added (although I'm not sure if they will be included in Alpha 2)
• the Coaster Management aspect (creating a block break system and adding more trains, excitement, intensity, nausea or similar ratings) will be added (probably only partly in Alpha 2)
• recoloring of tracks and trains (nothing has yet been mentioned about this topic and I have no idea if this will be in Alpha 2, but we have already seen some different color schemes for trains)
• (transfer tracks were mentioned in a live stream but not confirmed)

There is another live stream on Wednesday 18.05. where they will show off the new coaster builder and talk about rides in general. Then we will know a lot more [happy]

 

[Gysan]

Well, I can say that we'll progress from an Alpha to a Beta state. [big grin]

Yes, so the order are as follows.

Alpha 1 (Intitial content)
Alpha 2 (First adding of more content)
Alpha 3 (Second adding of more content)
Beta (Full game content) Final bug testing.
Eventually Gamma etc..
Full release (Hopefully now without any bugs.)

[happy]

 

[mark0ne]

Yes, so the order are as follows.

Alpha 1 (Intitial content)
Alpha 2 (First adding of more content)
Alpha 3 (Second adding of more content)
Beta (Full game content) Final bug testing.
Eventually Gamma etc..
Full release (Hopefully now without any bugs.)

[happy]

Frontiers press release regarding the Alpha stages were, I believe...

1 A focus on the modular building with some rides to play around with.
2 A focus on the terrain editor with the coaster builder also being released.
3The simulation side of things being enabled.

I got the impression the alphas were never really supplied as a chance for us to play the "game", more to give us a chance to muck around with the tools and give Frontier a chance to see how robust they were when used by the public. Not that we haven't had a hoot playing with it so far

 

[Spanky]

We have currently Alpha 1.03 and we now get Alpha 2. But Frontier can always add seperate updates until the next bigger step is coming like Alpha 2.01 to Alpha 2.99 if needed.

 

[Joël]

There is some information available on the subject of this topic. While it is not a roadmap, it is a simplified overview of some of the things we can expect somewhere in the future during development of Planet Coaster.

Source: Everything you need to know about the Planet Coaster alpha

Simplified overview of information that is currently available in the thread linked above in this post:

What’s included in the alpha and how will it work?

In order to ensure that we get useful feedback on key areas of the game we will be releasing key features over the course of the alpha. These will fall into three phases, they are as follows.

• Phase 1: Modular building and Paths
• Phase 2: Adds Coaster Building and Landscape editing
• Phase 3: Adds Community Functionality and Blueprints

[...]

As we enter the other phases of the alpha we may well add additional changes such as content, an increased (but not final) level of park management simulation and of course bug fixes and optimisations.

It’s really important to remember that this truly is a work-in-progress alpha. Which means that any plans we’ve mentioned could change based on the development process and player feedback. It also means that, whilst we have of course tested the release, you should not be surprised if you find bugs and issues within the game. If you do, please tell us! Your feedback is exactly why we are releasing the alpha builds - it allows us to make the game even better!

In order to access the alpha release you will need to log into the Frontier Store and then visit the "My downloadable products" where you will be able to download the launcher.

How long will the alpha run for, will it end? And will there be a beta?

It’s not possible to give an exact date right now for when each phase will be launched and when the full release will be (although we’re still aiming for Q4 2016). We are super passionate about taking on player feedback and we need to remain flexible to any development time that may require. However, we can confirm that all Early Bird owners will be able to play the most recent iteration of the alpha or beta between now and launch.

We currently expect a relatively short beta period close to launch, and we also expect there to be a couple of periods of down time right before both the start of beta and the launch to get the game and our servers ready. Apart from this, you should be able to play for the whole time, and we’re really looking forward to seeing your creations.

[...]

 

[Whombex]

seeing that coaster builder will be included in alpha 2. will it be refined at all? or will it come into the game in it's current state (minus using the cheat code.) I know they've said they're adding scalable loops and stuff, but I wonder if they're also tweaking the core editor. Basically it seems to me the track cannot be made as steep as I want it to be.

Steep?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtIrfVSRWvU