Terrain & Decor on rides

[shotbyadam]

I just started playing the game a few days ago and I'm starting to get the hang of things a little bit now (playing sandbox mode right now). I do have some questions though. I see the creations some people make and it's unreal the level of creativity some people have. That said, I have a few questions.

I was just watching a youtube video reviewing a mini-park someone made with a level of detail that's mind blowing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUHn1FAOpF8

So my question is muti-fold. I'm a bit lost and overwhelmed thinking of where I should start in creating some rides and areas. It all seem so massively daunting. I'm looking for some advice here:

• Should I create the terrain of an area first or build the ride and mold the terrain around it?
• When coasters go inside a cave/cavern, how do you decorate the inside of those? I can zoom in underground but the navigation system in the game is super clumsy for that. I have to believe there is an easier way to peel back some layers to work inside of things but I haven't been able to figure out how to do that.
• If you had to reverse-engineer the park in the video posted above, how would you do it? Where would you start building and how would you put all that together? That area seems like it probably took weeks to do, and I'm not trying to copy it...I'm just trying to understand the process of doing something like that.

 

[Bullethead]

First off, welcome aboard!

I

• Should I create the terrain of an area first or build the ride and mold the terrain around it?
• When coasters go inside a cave/cavern, how do you decorate the inside of those? I can zoom in underground but the navigation system in the game is super clumsy for that. I have to believe there is an easier way to peel back some layers to work inside of things but I haven't been able to figure out how to do that.
• If you had to reverse-engineer the park in the video posted above, how would you do it? Where would you start building and how would you put all that together? That area seems like it probably took weeks to do, and I'm not trying to copy it...I'm just trying to understand the process of doing something like that.

1. It's a lot easier to build the terrain around the coaster than the coaster around the terrain, at least if you're aiming for specific ride stats to cater to a specific market demographic. Then you can save it as a blueprint and insert that into any other game. The downside to that is, you have to pay for the whole coaster in 1 lump sum which gets expensive for big, fancy thing. Still, I think getting the feel for building coasters to specific stats in sandbox is the way to start. Once you get to where you can eyeball things and still end up with what you want essentially 1st try, then you can build the coasters to fit pre-existing terrain.

2. Hitting T cycles the camera between rotating around the center of the view (default) and rotating around the camera, plus allows you to move easily through buildings and trees. So that's recommended when building stuff and it's better than default for working inside tunnels. However, the camera can never move through dirt so working inside a tunnel is never easy in either mode. So it's often a good idea to put stuff in there before you totally cover it up, although you can't avoid having to do the ceiling after you create the ceiling

3. It depends on which specific ideas I wanted to steal Say you like a specific building or coaster. Just click on it in the park and save it as a blueprint, then plunk it down in a blank sandbox test lab game and take it all apart.

 

[Anth08]

• Should I create the terrain of an area first or build the ride and mold the terrain around it?
• When coasters go inside a cave/cavern, how do you decorate the inside of those? I can zoom in underground but the navigation system in the game is super clumsy for that. I have to believe there is an easier way to peel back some layers to work inside of things but I haven't been able to figure out how to do that.
• If you had to reverse-engineer the park in the video posted above, how would you do it? Where would you start building and how would you put all that together? That area seems like it probably took weeks to do, and I'm not trying to copy it...I'm just trying to understand the process of doing something like that.

I think it all depends on how you like to build. Personally I like to work on both the terrain of the area and the ride simultaneously if it is a coaster that I am building. The reason for that is that way I can plan as I go, just taking one step at a time rather than trying to do something large scale and realising later on that it isn't working. I do believe that is completely up to you though, there is no right or wrong way to go about it.
If I was just placing flat rides, I would place the ride first and then do all of the terrain and scenery around it, because that just seems easier.

Bullethead answered this one, so no need to keep going on about it, but press T.

Again, Bullethead answered the next part quite well.
If that was me who had built that, I would have built the coaster layout and terrain together, switching between building and moulding the mountains. I like working that way because I can get the detail in that I like. However you do it, coaster and terrain were definitely first I assume.
Then I would guess the rocks were placed around the coaster and mountain, followed by the trees and foliage.
Finally, the path was probably placed and tweaked, followed by adding the buildings and adjusting terrain and scenery until you get what you like.

As Bullethead said though, pick what you like and see how it was built by saving it as a blueprint and placing it elsewhere, whether that's in spare space or new park.

 

[jamesviago]

I sketch out the terrain and place a few layout markers.
Then use paths to roughly map where everything nearby will be.
Then get the ride built.
Then redo paths (rides never seem to quite fit where you think they will).
The stations, other buildings and then decorating.

 

[Plan1]

Personally I always place the ride first, then build the terrain around it. The reason is because you may spend hours on the terrain and get it to the point where it looks perfect, only to find that you cannot place the ride correctly because a few branches, or a rock, or some other piece that's more difficult to adjust is blocking the ride placement.

Also keep in mind that the sound the game makes when a ride *can't* be placed is incredibly annoying, especially when it keeps repeating, so to save yourself that aggravation (or having to toggle the audio constantly), it's usually better to place the ride first.

Of course, there are no hard and fast rules about that. Good luck.

 

[douglasrac]

This is exactly what is ruins the game for me. You either spent hours trying to decorate and end up with up thing or you use mods and end up with a park that is not yours and its repetitive and have unmatched decor.

Frontier should really address that. This is really what makes me not play this game that much. In Parkitect its so easy to decorate, in a few minutes you make an amazing thing that feels yours.
It took me 10 minutes to make a sign for food. I can't be the only one that thinks this is annoying.