Why I'm struggling to enjoy Planet Coaster

[Fragga]

Firstly there are so many things I love about the game, it really is beautiful and whilst there is not as much content (flat rides for example) that I was hoping for, I really do admire the huge amount of potential the game has, it's clear to see that 12 months from now when the game really is finished, that it will be the best theme park simulator ever created for a gaming platform.

Now on to my point, one of the features I love about this game more than anything is how receptive it is to creativity, if you can imagine it, you can build it. Whilst I love the idea of a platform that allows this, it's the overwhelming and overreliant nature of how PC forces this upon me that I'm struggling to enjoy.

Take buildings for example, when I look at the buildings some people in the community have built and want the same for my park, I literally have no idea how they have managed to create such a structure out of blocks/shapes, so as a result I feel quite initimidated and unmotivated. I know you can just download stuff from the workshop but it's not quite as rewarding.

To me It seems in PC you are really are very limited and in someways punished by how artistic and creative you are, where as with previous games like RCT 3 for example, even somebody that wasn't so creative could still create an attractive looking park as there were so many preset options and easy ways to create custom buildings.

Am I the only one with this issue right now? Surely other people are having the same frustrations.

 

[BlueShamu]

Had the same feeling in alpha 1. All they did was advertise what you 'can' do in planet coaster by the same 6 people every day. Call them celebrities, call them a monarchy, call them whatever you want. I felt like i was not good enough to play this game because I'm not an architect., and that if I didn't make amazing buildings in my park I was useless. Then everything changed... In Planet Coaster there's always a way to find YOU. You'll see...

 

[techen]

Firstly there are so many things I love about the game, it really is beautiful and whilst there is not as much content (flat rides for example) that I was hoping for, I really do admire the huge amount of potential the game has, it's clear to see that 12 months from now when the game really is finished, that it will be the best theme park simulator ever created for a gaming platform.

Now on to my point, one of the features I love about this game more than anything is how receptive it is to creativity, if you can imagine it, you can build it. Whilst I love the idea of a platform that allows this, it's the overwhelming and overreliant nature of how PC forces this upon me that I'm struggling to enjoy.

Take buildings for example, when I look at the buildings some people in the community have built and want the same for my park, I literally have no idea how they have managed to create such a structure out of blocks/shapes, so as a result I feel quite initimidated and unmotivated. I know you can just download stuff from the workshop but it's not quite as rewarding.

To me It seems in PC you are really are very limited and in someways punished by how artistic and creative you are, where as with previous games like RCT 3 for example, even somebody that wasn't so creative could still create an attractive looking park as there were so many preset options and easy ways to create custom buildings.

Am I the only one with this issue right now? Surely other people are having the same frustrations.

Like with drawing, These things take time. Just stick at it, Work hard and you'll get to there level with a problem. But you gotta put the hard work in for amazing rewards :B

 

[Slipknottin]

You don't have to make anything pretty for the game to work. You want 100% queue rating? Just put down a bunch of speakers. Put down rocks and trees. Whatever.

It's up to you how you want it to look

 

[stuk71]

In Planet Coaster there's always a way to find YOU. You'll see...

Oooh, I like that

+1 [happy]

 

[Chaosfury]

How to be positive: Realize blueprints are a good way to learn

1. What pieces were used
2. How the pieces were used
3. How many pieces were used

Combine these and you will learn the way of the force... errm builder!

 

[Curlyriff]

I like to take a few things out the workshop and deconstruct them to see how they are put together. More often than not they are actually pretty simple but look very detailed.

 

[OrganicKobze]

Surely if you're struggling to create buildings that you feel fit for your park, then you just download them from the workshop? I don't see what you are wanting here...? I think the design team at frontier have put a ridiculous amount of effort into creating the content and by giving people the freedom to grab things off the workshop with a quick search has freed up their time to work on other parts of the game that would have lacked attention. Sure they could have built a load of shops with decor for you and given you hundreds of buildings to place, but they knew that the community would build just about every kind of building that you could imagine...

In regards to the 'celebrities', I think planet coaster has given these people such status because of the content they have created and the masses that they have inspired to buy the game and create. When Alpha was first released I didn't even know where to begin, but after watching silvarret, ctop and a few others, I began to build a start in my head and now on my third park I feel like I'm at a stage where I can zoom out and think 'yeah that's not a bad job'.

I think you'll get there, this game really brings out your creativity when you let it [happy]

 

[Wablamo0821]

Firstly there are so many things I love about the game, it really is beautiful and whilst there is not as much content (flat rides for example) that I was hoping for, I really do admire the huge amount of potential the game has, it's clear to see that 12 months from now when the game really is finished, that it will be the best theme park simulator ever created for a gaming platform.

Now on to my point, one of the features I love about this game more than anything is how receptive it is to creativity, if you can imagine it, you can build it. Whilst I love the idea of a platform that allows this, it's the overwhelming and overreliant nature of how PC forces this upon me that I'm struggling to enjoy.

Take buildings for example, when I look at the buildings some people in the community have built and want the same for my park, I literally have no idea how they have managed to create such a structure out of blocks/shapes, so as a result I feel quite initimidated and unmotivated. I know you can just download stuff from the workshop but it's not quite as rewarding.

To me It seems in PC you are really are very limited and in someways punished by how artistic and creative you are, where as with previous games like RCT 3 for example, even somebody that wasn't so creative could still create an attractive looking park as there were so many preset options and easy ways to create custom buildings.

Am I the only one with this issue right now? Surely other people are having the same frustrations.

I understand how you're feeling, but I can't necessarily agree with it. I've created only a few buildings. I am not that great with the piece by piece construction (yet). When I look on the workshop and see those buildings I don't get discouraged. I am actually excited that I can utilize those buildings on the workshop and not feel as though I am limited by my own lack of creative experience/skill.... yet still have amazing buildings in my park. If the workshop wasn't there, and buildings weren't easily shared, I would feel as you feel as more than likely I would not be able to create as great of buildings as the "master builders".

The workshop actually saves me from having the feelings you're having.

 

[Stream]

Honestly, you don't need to be creative in order to build amazing structures in this game. Start off by trying to recreate buildings, whatever you feel like doing, but don't go crazy crazy. I spent a lot of my time in alpha recreating medieval farm buildings, and it really taught me how to use the tools, what pieces were available to me, and also what the limitations of the game were.

Once you've done a few recreations you get a better sense of what you can do in the game, and your imagination will take off.

Besides, it's really easy to make a decent-looking building without going all Silvarret with it, just make a square, put some roofs on, and then decorate the ❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎ out of the sides with windows, planters, and other wall decorations. As long as you keep adding stuff, it usually turns out looking good in the end.

 

[TRS]

There are some very talented people with regards the custom buildings and structures . This great for the versatility of the game . But at the same time its a the versatility that may limit the out come .

 

[Fishook]

I am not creative whatsoever, but even I can make some nice looking bulidings and parks. But after playing RCTW yesterday, I couldn't go back to pre-build stuff. I can understand this being a problem for some people especialy if you don't utilize the workshop.

 

[tyczj]

Funny thing is that since I started playing this game I find myself more and more looking at how buildings are constructed and the details in them to try to bring those ideas into the game to make better buildings

 

[Branes51]

I'm the same way. I can't design a building to save my life. But guess what? Walt Disney couldn't either. That's why he hired great architects. So consider using workshop buildings as just another tool in your toolbox no different than placing trees or paths.

I've been playing guitar for over 50 years. I've had people, after hearing me, say they are so intimidated that they'll never play again. I tell them that I felt the same way many years ago when I heard a great guitarist play.
It's an old cliche but nevertheless true: a journey of 1000 miles begins with the first step.

Start with a blank building side. Put in a door, some windows, flower boxes, molding, and voila, you have a facade. then copy it to all the other sides, remove the extra doors and now you have a custom building. It may not be Silvarret quality, but it's yours. I didn't start playing Flight of the Bumblebee or anything by Jimi Hendrix the first time I picked up a guitar. I started with Old MacDonald had a farm..note by note 53 years ago. Building design is no different. So what if it isn't as sophisticated as the ones you see on the Workshop.

One thing I've learned in my life is that each of us has our own special talents. Mine is music. I am probably the world's worst athlete though. There is some aspect of this game that you probably excel at, use it and nurture it. Let others do the heavy architectural design. Design coasters or themes or great park layouts. Or maybe you are very good at micromanaging the business aspect.
In any case, don't get discouraged because you're not an architect. Most of us who play these games aren't. Thank heavens for those who are. They make my parks look great.

 

[SoapyIllusion]

I understand the frustration. But I feel like your conveying it as if its some form of grievance. And that I can't understand. The tools themselves are surprisingly easy to use. Their are some odd limitations. Such as the fact you can't spin window panes flat. And can't spin Roof tile vertically. But outside of a few limitations your biggest hindrance is your own creativity and logic solving. Thus far I've made nothing pretty. Nothing on the lines of Silva (who is a freaking genius btw). But I wont hold that against the game or the developers.

I've been engineer for 6 years and studying for almost 10. No matter how good you are you can't engineer creativity for someone. If that means you can't enjoy the game because you can't make what others make, and using pre-made isn't good enough. Then I say I'm sorry. Im sure there is someway for you get to your money back.

 

[Platinumstorm]

I definitely feel like there are limitations due to my ability as well.

I think maybe one of the weirdest discrepancies as well are the lack of flat both flat and themed rides. It's actually difficult to have a generic park, and there is this western item theme without western flat rides.

Frankly, the game still needs more of everything, but I'm very excited for what this game will become.

 

[AusCleaver]

They say the journey starts with the first step, go ahead and take it. You may not know your destination but at least try to have some fun while getting there.

The buildings you see from some of the bigger names are exceptional, I'm no Master Builder but I get by. I just started to play with the pieces and off it went, I'm now building things I never thought I could. I think the secret is to not go overboard, you can build many simple buildings that look great and fit the theme/style you are looking for. The more time and energy you put in the more you will get out of it. Good luck and have fun. [up]

 

[bantar]

I agree with you about part of the game play not being fun. People play this game for different reasons. Those of us who are not designer creative, don't play it for creative reasons. Yet, we also see others saying that they don't like the micromanagement part (park management) of the game. We also see people playing the game to create massive coaster crashes into the crowd. To each, his own.

The problem with not being into creativity is that the game demands creativity, such as scenery. I place a bunch of scenery and see that I'm at 3%, so we need to figure out the math that is used for scenery calculations so that I can brute force my way thru this "unfun" part of the game. However, this game is made for creators, but I see this breaking into 2 main areas of creativity: Creating the park and Creating the scenery. I think we (non-creative types) all like the park creation part, not necessarily the scenery and very detailed building designs. Personally, I'd happily plunk down someone else's fancy toilet stall rather than wanting to design my own and it wouldn't bother me if I had mismatched themes. Rather, I'm happier making sure that the peeps are having a good time, vs me obsessing over design continuity. I think I'll be ok once I learn how to game the scenery calculator and WHY? Because my peeps aren't happy if the scenery is bad.

 

[dreamingdust]

I feel the same way.

I was inspired to get Planet Coaster by Nerd³ Lets Play series, and I really really love the game - it's beautiful and creative and cheerful - but every time I try to build actually play it I get so disheartened that I can't do it. I've tried three different sandbox parks and in each case I get partway through a gate/entrance area before hitting the wall and having no idea how to make it actually nice looking or interesting. I tried the campaign mode but that was even worse in a way - the starting park already had a gorgeous pirate theme and nothing I built fit. It looked like Captain Ironjaw let a 3-year old just drop things randomly and ruin the place.

tl;dr - amazing game, but feeling hurt by lack of support for non artistic types.

 

[Cullen1]

Try not to be discouraged. I too am not the most creative...but definitely inspired. I watched and re-watched so many YouTube building tutorials just to get used to the tools and shortcut keys which were vital to my experience. I wanted to build certain types of buildings and actually googled pictures. Even though I can't recreate them exactly, I've managed to make a few really nice buildings. Keep at it and don't give up