Size of DLC packs - Vintage Shrinkage!

[breezerHOG1]

Also to those who say they are waiting for a direct sequel. Thats great -- but what says that sequel will have the items you feel are missing? Or include everything that was in the original game? Was there a deceleration somewhere that stated Frontier was going to do any of that? The answer is simply really! No they havent said anything of any sort like that. Now JPE is out and im sure the funding Frontier has gotten previously is starting to run dry. They will most likely start working on original IPs more so again in full swing. Maybe PC2, Maybe larger stronger Planet Coaster DLC packs. Maybe something completely new!

I've said this before, so I'm not sure if your directing your question to me but...

Let's say theres 3 possible options for how this game turns out in years from now. Scenario A is that PlanCo never has any competition and stays the premier game in theme park sims (which is unlikely). Scenario B is that another game comes along (like Virtual Towers Online) and showcases more realistic visuals. Now some people will say "But VTO is not a management sim", or "You cant compare PlanCo to other games such as NoLimits2 or a new RCT", but the fact is currently PlanCo doesnt satisfy fans of management games, and other theme park sims do have popularity (just not modern graphics).

That leaves us with Scenario C which is PlanCo gets a sequel with possibly better graphics, performance, and maybe even more enhanced management (thats my dream anyway, to see the game grow into something bigger and not stay stagnant). So now comes more questions, such as will PlanCo2 be backward compatible with the Steam Workshop? Or will it create a new separate Workshop? Most people seem to think backward compatibility is too complicated, or not a concern.

I'm just saying that IMO I wouldn't want to keep paying $15 every few months (like a magazine subscriber) for a game that could potentially become obsolete in few years. I mean, I guess it comes back to competition. Unfortunately RCTW was a huge failure so most people are like "Hey thank heavens for PlanCo at least we arnt stuck with RCTW" but I'm not so sure this is the UI i care to be stuck with for a game that could have the potential of lasting 10+ years just like RCT3 if its improved in certain key areas and expanded more. Obviously the game is getting frequent updates but theres also a lot of ignored flaws

For me, I see people are still modding RCT classic and RCT3 but will PlanCo be of a concern in 5-10 years? Anyway, my whole point here is that I hope they can expand the game in more ways such as performance and management and UI but those issues dont seem possible outside of a new overhauled sequel [IMO]

 

[Robert K]

How would you compare Planet Coaster with RCT3 and Parkitect? Do RCT3 and Parkitect have more challenging scenarios than Planet Coaster and better management? So you say Planet Coaster’s core engine is broken. We get DLC’s, free updates and bug fixes but they continue to ignore the flaws in the base game that they started with. How exactly is the game flawed? I know we are missing certain types of rides and attractions because they would require a change to the people code. Mini golf and swimming pools are two examples. Maybe chairlifts are too difficult to do right now as well. How could RCT3 do all those things and not PC?

 

[Joël]

So many off-topic replies...

Either stick with the topic, which is "Size of DLC packs", or go to another thread with your off-topic discussion.

We will need to close this thread if you can't keep up with that.

 

[tricktrack]

It is simple, do not like it? Do not buy. I did not like everything in every dlc. But I still liked some or many parts much enough to buy them all.

As for the trapeze artists, it fits in the classic vintage park style because back in time (and still today in some parks with that kind of focus) it was part of the park fare to have hall or scene with people doing feats and the trapeze artists fits in this category.

Sorry Helena, but "don´t buy" is not an argument to someone who bought it and who -after buying it- finds out that there is so much missing while other stuff is strangely overdone.
I´m someone who likes to play the game and build realistic coasters, but I´m not a very good builder of scenery (and I don´t have the time for it). That´s why I like playing around with stuff that other talented creators have been uploading to the workshop.
That´s why I actually need to buy the DLCs, just to get the stuff they´re doing with it.
I quite like most of the stuff in the vintage pack (much more than the studios pack, which I really dind´t like, but bought anyway).

That´s why I think it´s fair to critisize the pack for its shortcomings.
You know, not only did they have trapeze artists "back in the day", but also horses jumping from great heights into the water. They had human cannonballs, Fakirs, Bearded Ladies, etc.
Do you see what I´m getting at, with claiming that maybe 10 trapeze artists are a bit much?

 

[Helena]

Yes I understand what you mean. But if you are cautious about buying I recommend you to wait until people have posted videos/photos of the full content before you buy. I did so this time.

I do think that Frontier should show the complete content right there where one buy, but I guess they have agreement with popular youtuber(s) doing that part.

 

[Schabrackenaal]

I also see a kind of shrinkage of the DLC but I guess that was due to the fact that a lot of staff worked for JWE. I expect (but might be wrong which I don't hope [big grin]) that DLC will get a bit larger again as JWE is out now and more people will work on PlanCo again (at least I hope so [big grin])

In all DLC we had stuff which are useful to some people but not useful for others. I loooooooove the adventure pack, couldn't use much of Studios and Vintage is in the middle for me. Others love other DLC more, which is totally okay. Sometimes you win, sometimes you ... well, not loose but don't win as much [big grin]

Back to the "shrinkage" again. In Studios we got a lot of animatronic stunt men and women which are mostly the same mechanic in different skins (studios, pirate, adventure ...). It looks like a lot of animatronics but can be divided through the different skins. We also got shark animatronics which are nearly the same like croc animatronics with a different skin. I am totally fine with that but I guess (could be wrong here) that reskinning something is not as time-consuming like programming a whole new animation etc. I also would expect that the shark and croc (maybe more [big grin]) animatronics were created at the same time by the same artists/devs but are given o us at different times.[big grin]

Some people say that the artist animatronics are not very useful, others love them, waited for them and are happy with them (except to just make them one piece with different triggered events). I personally don't have use for them but that doesn'T count as DLC shrinkage because they are there. I agree that having one piece with triggered events would be more useful and then I might find a way to use them here and there. It looks more to have those 10 pieces but I still think it would have been better for all to have just one single piece with triggered events. When somebody wants to use more of the trapezes, just buildi pieces next to each other with different triggered events.[big grin]

The wall pieces we got with Vintage DLC are an addition to the already available Painted Wood Wall Piece Set.

I wouldn't say that Vintage DLC is smaller at all. Yes, there are less building pieces than in ... lets say Adventure. Yes, there are less scenery items. Yes, there is no new mascot. But hey, we got new machines (whether they are a ATM reskin or not, there was animation work, artist work, and dev work involved which is time-consuming). We also got new coasters and flatrides (yes, some can be considered to be some kind of reskin but others are newly developed and programmed). I still think it is difficult to compare DLC size in just scenery and buidling items. We have to take time-consuming development and animation progresses into consideration. We don't know how much time was lost due to the move of offices into a new building and development of JWE. I guess Frontier is already implementing stuff we will see at the end of the year or even next year, already. There is also that "Planet Safari"thing. We don't know what else has already been planned, developed or even finished but hasn't been given to us yet.

Final words: Yes, the Vintage DLC seemed to be kinda smaller than the other DLC to me as well. But when thinking about that stuff I just wrote I guess that DLC will get larger again. At least I hope so[big grin]

 

[Kucewiczr]

I'm guessing with Frontier moving offices and the release of JWE had to do with why the Vintage DLC was a little bit smaller this time around. I did notice on Steam db that there is new activity for Planet Coaster. I wonder what it can be? Maybe bug fixes or maybe some more content that didn't get added to the Vintage DLC.

 

[Nemmie]

Yes, if we're judging the size of the vintage page purely on the number of items, then yes, it's smaller.
But let's look at this objectively.

I'm guessing that it takes more time and resources to create a new ride or coaster than it does to make a piece of scenery. We got 5 flatrides and 2 coasters in this pack. Plus a good selection of scenery and building pieces. I can see people's point about the trapeze artists, but there's plenty of other things in this pack. So in my opinion, it's no smaller than the other packs. The new rides make up for the smaller amount of items.
And I think it's still good value for money. Helena made the perfect point that there's no reason anyone should buy a DLC pack without knowing what was included as there are always multiple videos of people reviewing them. If you don't like what you see, don't buy it. Frontier don't show us everything before release,which isn't ideal, but within a few hours of release, the videos emerge. Just don't buy them as soon as they're released. Wait until you've had chance to assess if it's something you want. This will avoid disappointment.
I personally love it. I think it's great value and stuffed with gorgeous goodies.

 

[Chems]

Well they might require more work on Frontier's end, but that does not mean they are of a bigger value for the customer.

 

[RealWar]

My only issue with with the "Shrinkage" is that there are quite a few neat details, but they are all a part of a larger piece, like a tower, gazeebo, etc. If they were separate pieces, they would be much more usable, and the piece count would be "boosted". However, it is unlikely to change for the Vintage Pack stuff, I'm hoping for in future packs they don't add too many larger pieces that could be split up into multiple pieces.

 

[Nemmie]

I agree, RealWar, having some of these pieces split up into separate components, would be fab. It would give us loads more flexibility.
And Chems, I don't know what your point is. The customer is surely the mass of people who own this game, rather than just you personally? Who knows what individual people value. I know lots of people including yourself, probably, asked for more flat rides and coasters. We got more. But let's not turn this thread into a clone of most of the others on this forum bashing every decision Frontier make. There's plenty of other threads that fulfilled that need.

 

[Chems]

How am I bashing exactly? You pointed out that those flat rides might require a lot more work to make than scenery pieces, which explains why this pack has less objects than the previous DLCs. My point is that for many people this fact might not really be relevant. They just see this DLC has 'less' than the previous DLCs, hence the existence of this very thread. I also never said I think this DLC is lacking compared to the other DLC in terms of size.

 

[Nemmie]

I'm definitely not saying that you're bashing. I just mean that most threads go that way when people have different opinions that sound like they are stated as fact. If you'd said some customers, rather than "the customer", which sounded like a blanket term for everyone, I wouldn't have misunderstood your intention. I'm sorry if you thought I was accusing you of bashing.
That's all I was saying.

 

[HeatherG]

there were more rides 7 total and less scenery than usual. People say they want more rides less scenery and whomever they were they got their wish. im happy with whatever they give me. They work hard for us....thats it! bye

 

[Chems]

I'm definitely not saying that you're bashing. I just mean that most threads go that way when people have different opinions that sound like they are stated as fact. If you'd said some customers, rather than "the customer", which sounded like a blanket term for everyone, I wouldn't have misunderstood your intention. I'm sorry if you thought I was accusing you of bashing.
That's all I was saying.

Ah, then I misunderstood. English is not my first language (or second), and when I said 'the customer' I didn't mean everyone, just some. I shall be more specific next time.[tongue]

there were more rides 7 total and less scenery than usual. People say they want more rides less scenery and whomever they were they got their wish. im happy with whatever they give me. They work hard for us....thats it! bye

Agreed. Lots of people have been asking for more focus on rides, and this is exactly what we got. Seven quality rides, although the theme of these rides is more of a niche theme, so they might not be interesting for everyone.

 

[seeker939]

Well they might require more work on Frontier's end, but that does not mean they are of a bigger value for the customer.

Ah, then I misunderstood. English is not my first language (or second), and when I said 'the customer' I didn't mean everyone, just some. I shall be more specific next time.[tongue]

You got it right the first time. You made a general statement and as such it was correct. Even if that wasn't what you were going for there wasn't anything wrong with what you said. People need to chill out about this "opinions vs. facts" thing - in this case it doesn't even apply.

As for the rides: I think every ride should have at least one themed and one vanilla version.