Testing Coasters with water tanks/test dummies
- Thread starter Mainzer
- Start date
I'd hope so, seeing as this was a 'thing' as far back as RCT1..
In the old games, only the length was considered in regards to momentum. The people in the train didn't make a difference as far as I can think. And we are talking about an extra of 1 to 2 tons, depending on the ride
What I was impressed with was the way they have done away with a ghost car and used the fully completed coaster car for testing, whilst building the coaster. It is much better and I may add, it doesn't end up crashing like the uncompleted coaster in the the other game. Good move there Frontier. [up]
No, the number of riders definitely impacted the ride physics. More riders, more weight, more momentum.
"It is also worth noting that the number of riders will affect the speed of the car as it travels around the track. In general, a car with more riders will travel faster than a car with no riders."
http://rct.wikia.com/wiki/Crash
I don't recall this from the first two RCT games, but I'm sure I've built coasters in RCT3 that would only barely make it over certain hills during testing, and those would behave exactly the same way with people in the cars.
To be honest, I'd find physics differences between full and empty cars an unnecessary detail for a game like this, and it would make creating very particular "close call" moments much more difficult for no reason.
To be honest, I'd find physics differences between full and empty cars an unnecessary detail for a game like this, and it would make creating very particular "close call" moments much more difficult for no reason.
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I'm the opposite, I remember it vividly in the first game and I loved it. I remember is so well because it made all the difference when designing with duelling coasters. Seeing different trains "win" was what made the effort worthwhile.
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It is already the case, Isn't it? [uhh]
RCT1 and 2 definitely had a difference between empty trains and filled trains. most noticable in things like the wooden wild mouse coasters or the water slides, where the empty cars would barely meander around the track, often breezing to a halt, but dart around speedily if they had people in them.
I really dont recall RCT doing this, however what a great idea, would love rain and wind to affect coasters too.
RCT3 never seemed to have any physical effect when there were people on the ride, but I'm sure we've all had those horrible moments where your perfect roller coaster suddenly turns into uber-extreme intensity for no-apparent reason. I always thought that was because of guests being on the ride rather than test mode, but I may be wrong... [blah]
I too don't recall this being in the previous games. The length of train, yes, but not the amount of people. And I agree, it would make creating the perfect coaster unnecessarily difficult if there was a significant difference. Though, I'm sure if frontier did include this, it would be awesome, as everything they touch turns to gold with regards to PC. Can't wait to see all the new features!
Eh, frankly I just don't care enough about this feature to want to have them waste precious work time on it.
Same here, I would prefer them spending their time on more important tasks - if you are going to go into the detail of people making a difference then you need to have weight & height values for each person and take those into calculation - large people might not get the restraints over their bulk and have to not ride, or they might be too small to ride e.g. children.
We can just assume that when they "test the rides" they put the weights in the car to approx weight of each person.
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I know someone who is a roller coaster mechanic and he stated that the test dummies they use are 200lbs/90kg/14 stone (think that covers the weight options so people can understand) and they are full of water. Often they are not actually human shaped though and are molded to stay in the seat although this has changed in the last 5 years or so and some are using more realistic shaped units.
The car is also run with a template "Reach Envelope" around them to make sure there is enough clear space to all sides of the car to confirm that when they ran the clash detection on the CAD model that it works and also that it has been built to specification.
I know that was different for Swarm though at Thorpe Park although that was faked. It wasn't actually anything directly on the ride but scenery around it. Thorpe Park have been known to pull stunts like this to drum up interest.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/thorpe-park-claims-test-dummies-190093
Edit: You can actually see the true dummies by B&M in the seats behind. Just the mannequins in the front seats.
Regards,
Adam
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It might be a bit more complicated if we're now planning with dummies involved but in the original you planned with the coasters being empty to start with, if they just made it over hills they would always make it thereafter, only slightly faster depending on the numbers of riders.
It seems like a small detail, and not so important to some, but to me, it was, and still is, a memorable little touch that made a big difference.