Too much customisation?

[breezerHOG1]

I would just like to point out, that there was this amazing MMO racing game many years ago called Motor City Online. The game was a complete financial failure because it offered too much car customization and building, leading to a very small fan base. But it was an AMAZING game! They even tried to improve it a lot with updates and add-ons, but it still failed.

The example I gave above will NOT happen to Planet Coaster. PC will be very successful and Frontier will continue to expand the game with add-ons (hopefully). The point of this debate is still a valid one. I'm sure the devs are smart enough to understand this far beyond most of us. But there are tiny minor little details that can be helpful to making this "video game" that is essentially a "design program", aka a tool set for building something. The tools can be complicated to organize, and user feedback is important.

Another example: more complicated programs like audio/video editing software actually has a strategy of how menu layout organization can be more effective. Once the game is finalized, chances are the UI will not be changed too much, and I for one hope they get everything as clean and tight as possible.

We have no idea how Frontier plans to handle add-ons, and that could complicate things even further. Personally, I think add-ons can limit a games fanbase market. But again, the devs probably know far more about this than we can discuss here. Still, I think this specific thread would be more validated if the OP could be more specific in exactly what needs changing.

 

[Roctopus]

Why are there 7 pages of this post? If you don't like to customize or don't want to customize "as much" as others....don't !

Download what other people complete when the times comes and they have a sharing program out; They already confirmed you will be able to share your work. In addition they will have more pre-made stuff to choose from. There's no need to keep arguing about it between yourselves, sounds like they are catering to everyone.

 

[cerealfruitcakes]

I've played these kind of games since I was a little kid, I would have went CRAZY over this level of customization and ease of building/creating back then. My 8 year old niece builds crazy stuff in Minecraft and I can't wait to show her Planet Coaster, she's going to fall in love instantly. I never once looked at this game and thought, "Gee, this might be too hard for someone her age with all this customization."

This is just a strange discussion to me. If the game looks attractive to a customer no matter the age or experience, they'll buy it. If they find themselves playing and the customization is too much, they can look through a library of pre-made structures/rides and plop them down. One thing you'll notice popping up throughout the community is hearing people say that they sucked with terrain or building and theming before but now they're giving it a shot and they're having fun with it. That's a tip off to Frontier that their tools are easy enough to use that even those who wouldn't normally build and landscape are giving it a try.

Planet Coaster is like a train table. It's a tool box fit for casuals and the hobbyist. You're either the kind of maker that wants to build and paint all the little buildings yourself by hand or your the kind that buys them already made and dresses them up with a few extra pieces. Sometimes you'll want to do both but in the end of the day, you have a choice in how much you want to do.

 

[TRS]

I would just like to point out, that there was this amazing MMO racing game many years ago called Motor City Online. The game was a complete financial failure because it offered too much car customization and building, leading to a very small fan base. But it was an AMAZING game! They even tried to improve it a lot with updates and add-ons, but it still failed.

The example I gave above will NOT happen to Planet Coaster. PC will be very successful and Frontier will continue to expand the game with add-ons (hopefully). The point of this debate is still a valid one. I'm sure the devs are smart enough to understand this far beyond most of us. But there are tiny minor little details that can be helpful to making this "video game" that is essentially a "design program", aka a tool set for building something. The tools can be complicated to organize, and user feedback is important.

Another example: more complicated programs like audio/video editing software actually has a strategy of how menu layout organization can be more effective. Once the game is finalized, chances are the UI will not be changed too much, and I for one hope they get everything as clean and tight as possible.

We have no idea how Frontier plans to handle add-ons, and that could complicate things even further. Personally, I think add-ons can limit a games fanbase market. But again, the devs probably know far more about this than we can discuss here. Still, I think this specific thread would be more validated if the OP could be more specific in exactly what needs changing.

This is what I am referring to with regards of the game and Motor City . Thanks for the example . I have seen this way to many times . Wait...I'm not saying that PC is a bad game or even its a difficult to use .

 

[Minnion]

Minnion when sunbeam says , "don't think you understood my post . Too customizable, can become difficult to use . If Frontiers target customer is a certain age group, this can become a issue ." I think (but, I might be wrong) that all he wants is plop, plop here's your park!

So... basically he's worried that without the instant gratification of having something that instantly looks cool the moment you plop it that little kids won't like it?[weird] I was under the impression that the final game was going to have prefabricated buildings on top of what we got now...

 

[breezerHOG1]

Difficult in what way?
Difficult as in having trouble finding the part you want to use/place?(That could be solved with a good UI and search filters)
Difficult to find the option to edit/change/select the thing you want to edit/change?(Perhaps we could get a selection tab that shows a list of everything currently displayed on our screen with a show/hide toggle and highlights whatever object we select from the list?)

These are good points and I wish we could see what things will be like with a loooot more scenery

 

[OriginalBadBoy]

I've played these kind of games since I was a little kid, I would have went CRAZY over this level of customization and ease of building/creating back then. My 8 year old niece builds crazy stuff in Minecraft and I can't wait to show her Planet Coaster, she's going to fall in love instantly. I never once looked at this game and thought, "Gee, this might be too hard for someone her age with all this customization."

This is just a strange discussion to me. If the game looks attractive to a customer no matter the age or experience, they'll buy it. If they find themselves playing and the customization is too much, they can look through a library of pre-made structures/rides and plop them down. One thing you'll notice popping up throughout the community is hearing people say that they sucked with terrain or building and theming before but now they're giving it a shot and they're having fun with it. That's a tip off to Frontier that their tools are easy enough to use that even those who wouldn't normally build and landscape are giving it a try.

Planet Coaster is like a train table. It's a tool box fit for casuals and the hobbyist. You're either the kind of maker that wants to build and paint all the little buildings yourself by hand or your the kind that buys them already made and dresses them up with a few extra pieces. Sometimes you'll want to do both but in the end of the day, you have a choice in how much you want to do.

But Frontier need to be able to provide the tools to do that, that's the point. Currently we don't have those (yet), hence the discussion (i.e. going back to my auto terrain generation point)

Its a valid discussion in the end and it has been interesting seeing everyone's take on it.

The thing with something like Minecraft is that it works because it can be approached by everyone. It doesn't matter what you want out of the game you can basically do it. The point being that there is an insane amount of complexity, but at the same time, if people want the simpler experience / gameplay they can do that to. The reason for that is the tools are there for everybody to use. In many ways its the perfect video game. Now I am not saying that PC should end up being that complex, it doesn't need to be, but the tools do need to be there to allow people to play the game at both ends of the spectrum.

I don't think this is a strange discussion at all, its a perfectly valid thing to talk about. I would like to see what Frontier have to say on this as well.

 

[bloodmoon20041]

Its one of the things I look forward to as soon as I can buy.

 

[Minnion]

These are good points and I wish we could see what things will be like with a loooot more scenery

That's been my only real gripe so far, that selecting stuff can be harder than it needs to be... (Like when I try to click on a scenery object and end up selecting the ride that's next to it because the rides selection/hit box was between the camera and what I was trying to select... Or wanting to select/move something that is buried inside another object without having to delete the object that's in the way...) I think having a handy list for selecting objects that are within your screens view would be a useful solution... Perhaps tighten up the selection boxes on the rides too so we aren't accidentally selecting them when trying to click on something behind them/we should have to click on the ride itself or the ground within the fence to select the ride and not end up selecting it by accident.)

 

[simemo]

why are you worried about such a thing?

Really?

 

[DaXin]

Is a interesting point... but the game isn't difficult by the way.

- Is it difficult to create beautiful buildings? True, put will be able to download creations over t world.
- Difficult to build a path ? No
- Difficult to build your park ? why? You just have to place elements on the floor...

You got a lot os personalization options, wee see the team is working on get a lot of facilities for everyone. Just Alfa yet, remember that

 

[pippu]

There is no such thing as "too much customization" . There cant be too much customization, the more the better!

 

[simemo]

There is no such thing as "too much customization" . There cant be too much customization, the more the better!

Here here! [up]

 

[Meretrix]

This whole thread is a big what moment for me.....if you don't want to go crazy with theming then don't. I'm confused by all this banter. Seriously, you can't make this game as simple or as complex as you want......and that's perfect.

 

[pwc1]

Too much customization,......... NEVER! And I call myself a semi - casual gamer. I play casually, but I like full games, not fb games.

 

[Brett C]

There can never be too much customisation. Only information overload, causing a brain-lock. [up]

If you think it's overwhelming, step back - jot some ideas down. Maybe start with a coaster or some rides, then begin to theme each ride or section to how you see fit.

 

[KaiRubix]

what makes a good game is that it should be easy to pick up but tough to master. Planet Coaster is in the right track. they've talked about others sharing they're creations so people who aren't into building thier own can download these creations and use them in their parks and I'm sure we'll see food/souvenir stands that don't need to be built around them. I'd say the more complex the better but also have options for others who don't plan to delve that deep into the game.

 

[Immelman]

I read through all these posts and I think there's reason for concern, though I don't think the concern is with customization. A simple way of putting it is that things feel harder than they need to be. When compared to RCT3 it feels more time consuming to work with, which is the opposite of what I was hoping for.

I keep reading about "blueprints" as a way to make the game simpler, but if you're not interested in using other people's buildings it doesn't really help you much at all. I also read "its only alpha" a lot which is fine, but that's exactly why people should give critical feedback instead of discouraging it. What does that achieve?

 

[breezerHOG1]

I read through all these posts and I think there's reason for concern, though I don't think the concern is with customization. A simple way of putting it is that things feel harder than they need to be. When compared to RCT3 it feels more time consuming to work with, which is the opposite of what I was hoping for.

I keep reading about "blueprints" as a way to make the game simpler, but if you're not interested in using other people's buildings it doesn't really help you much at all. I also read "its only alpha" a lot which is fine, but that's exactly why people should give critical feedback instead of discouraging it. What does that achieve?

*applause*

*standing ovation*

well done sir, take a bow!

 

[cerealfruitcakes]

I read through all these posts and I think there's reason for concern, though I don't think the concern is with customization. A simple way of putting it is that things feel harder than they need to be. When compared to RCT3 it feels more time consuming to work with, which is the opposite of what I was hoping for.

I keep reading about "blueprints" as a way to make the game simpler, but if you're not interested in using other people's buildings it doesn't really help you much at all. I also read "its only alpha" a lot which is fine, but that's exactly why people should give critical feedback instead of discouraging it. What does that achieve?

I don't see how people are discouraging feedback, we just don't agree that there's too much customization or the tools are too hard. I feel like building stuff and landscaping is much easier than the previous games by miles. I don't have to worry anymore about landscaping throwing my walls and scenery all out of wack. I can have the pieces snap into place, duplicate them, I can pick up an entire building and duplicate it or move it somewhere else, I can tunnel, carve out caves and cover a ride underground which is something we've never been able to do before and it can be done pretty fast.

What is harder than it needs to be and what can they do to improve it?