I wish to start off by stating that I've pre-ordered the Deluxe Edition of Planet Coaster 2 and am very anxiously looking forward to trying out all of its new features. Water parks were one of the original PC's most asked-for features, but according to the developers the capability simply wasn't baked into the engine, if memory serves. With PC2 it appears that many items on people's wish lists have been addressed by Frontier beyond just water parks; switch tracks, drop tracks, and proper dark rides look to be in the mix as well as who knows what else. And, of course, there's a ton of excitement with the launch just about a month and a half away now; I for one can't wait to see what the community does with all the new tools in the Steam Workshop.
With that said, there's a Planet Coaster-sized elephant in the room that I hope the developers will address at some point. The trailers and demos for PC2, from what I've personally seen, seem comparatively limited coming out of the gate in terms of theming. Granted, it looks like many if not most of the original flat rides and coaster types are already included, but I'm referring to the decor. What we've seen so far looks overwhelmingly tropical, with lush palm trees and foliage combined with matching store fronts to accommodate the water park vibe. Of course there's Viking scenery as well, and a teaser of what appears to be an ancient Mediterranean or Atlantis theme coming soon. So basically, everything that's coming seems to be associated with water, the ocean, you get the idea.
Of course, PC2 hasn't even been released yet so we have no idea what Frontier may have in the pipeline, but my concern is that it might pigeon hole itself by overcorrection; by that I mean limiting itself to themes and decor that can somehow be incorporated into water-based attractions. Building pools, slides, lazy rivers, and the like will be a welcome addition upon release, but what about themes that don't necessarily lend themselves to this installment's new centerpiece feature? I'm talking about stuff we saw in PC, like Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Spooky, and Snow/Christmas theming.
We already know that PC2 is completely incompatible with the original PC; brand new engine, everything's been redone from the ground up. While it would've been awesome to be able to plunk down some of those amazing user creations from the original's Workshop into my Sandbox for PC2, I understand that and don't have a problem with it if it helps PC2 become a more complete park sim. But it does mean that we're going to be essentially starting from scratch with a scant handful of theming to build with as opposed to the myriad options we had by the time Frontier stopped making expansions for PC. And that leads into the question of whether Frontier will be revisiting any of the themes from the original PC down the line, or whether players will be limited to booting up the original whenever they want to build or ride stuff with, say, a Western, Spooky, Holiday, or even Pirate theme. Even typing that out drives home the absurdity of keeping the sequel completely compartmentalized from its predecessor; people love options when building in a Sandbox-style game like this, and I'm sure Frontier is aware of that fact.
Will there be blowback from fans if and when Frontier announces any expansions that include themes and objects from the original? Maybe some who may not be aware that PC2 is using a completely different engine and had to rebuild those assets from scratch, but I think most of us would be more than okay with it, and there's a pretty friendly community here who could tactfully educate them on the subject. And just think, even Snow theming has possibilities for water, for example hot springs where Guests could swim or soak their feet in an Oriental setting. Sci-fi theming could be used to create some truly spectacular scenery and attractions that can incorporate water; think a Pandora-like planet with flora and fauna around towering waterfalls and mysterious alien edifices. PC2 should, as I mentioned earlier, be about becoming a fully complete park sim, and to do that it should be allowed to revisit its past as well as look forward.
With that said, there's a Planet Coaster-sized elephant in the room that I hope the developers will address at some point. The trailers and demos for PC2, from what I've personally seen, seem comparatively limited coming out of the gate in terms of theming. Granted, it looks like many if not most of the original flat rides and coaster types are already included, but I'm referring to the decor. What we've seen so far looks overwhelmingly tropical, with lush palm trees and foliage combined with matching store fronts to accommodate the water park vibe. Of course there's Viking scenery as well, and a teaser of what appears to be an ancient Mediterranean or Atlantis theme coming soon. So basically, everything that's coming seems to be associated with water, the ocean, you get the idea.
Of course, PC2 hasn't even been released yet so we have no idea what Frontier may have in the pipeline, but my concern is that it might pigeon hole itself by overcorrection; by that I mean limiting itself to themes and decor that can somehow be incorporated into water-based attractions. Building pools, slides, lazy rivers, and the like will be a welcome addition upon release, but what about themes that don't necessarily lend themselves to this installment's new centerpiece feature? I'm talking about stuff we saw in PC, like Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Spooky, and Snow/Christmas theming.
We already know that PC2 is completely incompatible with the original PC; brand new engine, everything's been redone from the ground up. While it would've been awesome to be able to plunk down some of those amazing user creations from the original's Workshop into my Sandbox for PC2, I understand that and don't have a problem with it if it helps PC2 become a more complete park sim. But it does mean that we're going to be essentially starting from scratch with a scant handful of theming to build with as opposed to the myriad options we had by the time Frontier stopped making expansions for PC. And that leads into the question of whether Frontier will be revisiting any of the themes from the original PC down the line, or whether players will be limited to booting up the original whenever they want to build or ride stuff with, say, a Western, Spooky, Holiday, or even Pirate theme. Even typing that out drives home the absurdity of keeping the sequel completely compartmentalized from its predecessor; people love options when building in a Sandbox-style game like this, and I'm sure Frontier is aware of that fact.
Will there be blowback from fans if and when Frontier announces any expansions that include themes and objects from the original? Maybe some who may not be aware that PC2 is using a completely different engine and had to rebuild those assets from scratch, but I think most of us would be more than okay with it, and there's a pretty friendly community here who could tactfully educate them on the subject. And just think, even Snow theming has possibilities for water, for example hot springs where Guests could swim or soak their feet in an Oriental setting. Sci-fi theming could be used to create some truly spectacular scenery and attractions that can incorporate water; think a Pandora-like planet with flora and fauna around towering waterfalls and mysterious alien edifices. PC2 should, as I mentioned earlier, be about becoming a fully complete park sim, and to do that it should be allowed to revisit its past as well as look forward.
