RollerCoaster Tycoon 3

Infobox VG|title=RollerCoaster Tycoon 3


developer=Frontier Developments
publisher=Atari, Steam
released=October 26, 2004 (NA)
November 5, 2004 (EU)
genre=Strategy/Simulation
modes=Single Player
ratings=ESRB: Everyone
PEGI: 3+
platforms= Mac OS X, Windows
media=CD-ROM
requirements =

"RollerCoaster Tycoon 3" is a simulation and strategy computer game that simulates amusement park management. The title is the sequel to "RollerCoaster Tycoon 2" and is the third game in the "RollerCoaster Tycoon" series.

The title was released on October 26, 2004 in North America and November 5, 2004 in Europe.

Gameplay

Like the previous two games, the objective of "RollerCoaster Tycoon 3" is to complete a series of preset scenarios by successfully building, owning, and maintaining amusement parks. Players can research and build theme park rides such as merry-go-rounds, chairswings, bumper cars, gravitrons, log flumes, and ferris wheels, among many others. In addition to using preset designs, players can build their own roller coasters, laying out individual track pieces, choosing direction, height, and steepness, and adding elements such as corkscrews, loops, and on-ride cameras. Foliage and landscaping is customizable to fit the theme of the park. "RollerCoaster Tycoon" requires players to balance finances and their guests' happiness by adding merchandise shops, food stalls, and hiring staff to repair rides and clean up messes. To finance construction, players can raise concession or ride prices or take out loans. [cite book|title=Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 - Instruction Manual|publisher=Atari|author=Frontier Developments|year=2004|edition=PC version|pages=9–10|series="Peeps"] New rides can be researched over time to expand the park.

The game marks the series' shift to fully 3D graphics, doing away with the isometric viewpoint of the previous two games. However, the player may choose for the game to be viewed on an isometric viewpoint if they wish, meaning the isometric camera hasn't been completely abandoned. For the first time in the series, players can rotate the view of the park 360 degrees, as well as zoom in and out to any degree. One of the most notable additions to "RollerCoaster Tycoon 3" is the "CoasterCam", or the tool allowing players to 'ride' their own creations. Firework shows are new to the game, allowing the player to make shows and time them to in-game music. Another feature was the ability to import coasters from the previous games into RCT3. The dashboard and build menu were also both redesigned. Water is reflective, and with the new terrain tools - with options specially created for hill and lake creating - hills and ponds look natural. Rain is handled differently, and can happen at any time of day. Hours and minutes have been added, and parks have hours they are open. The player can also speed up the game's time. Physics are more exact, so rides look and move realistically and coasters have more realistic intensity ratings. Also included are editors for custom scenarios and buildings.

The importance of themed scenery and path lighting has greatly increased. The game will announce when scenery items do not conform to a theme, and with the new day-night cycle, path lights are the only source of lighting for guests walking at night. Staff now have different levels of happiness, and will quit if left disgruntled for too long. Scenery items that are specifically for created buildings have been added. Photo spots allow peeps to take a group snapshot.

cenarios

"Roller Coaster Tycoon" features two gameplay modes. In Career Mode, players unlock scenarios with mission objectives divided into three sets: Apprentice, Entrepreneur, and Tycoon. In order to complete the scenario, players must fulfill the goals of each level, unlocking the next set. Without expansions, 18 scenarios are included with the game. In the beginning, the first 6 are available to play, and the other 12 must be unlocked. The final two scenarios can only be unlocked after the player has completed the entrepreneur and tycoon objectives, unlocking the 17th and 18th scenarios, respectively. The second mode, called Sandbox Mode, provides players with a large plot of land and unlimited funds to build their dream park.

Guests

In "RollerCoaster Tycoon 3", guests are called "peeps". The guests have been significantly improved on those from "RollerCoaster Tycoon 2", with enhanced artificial intelligence, appearance variation (There are 883,109 varieties according to Sawyer) , and the ability of guests to be grouped together into families, dates, and other types of groups. The game has three age groups of peeps: children, teens, and adults. Guests now can be male or female. The intensity and type of rides must be balanced, as visitors' preferences vary significantly from person to person; some prefer intense rides and have very high nausea tolerance levels, while others are just the opposite. "RollerCoaster Tycoon 3" also allows customization of the park's guests, known as "Peeps", in the Peep Designer. In the desginer, every aspect of a peep except nausea tolerance can be changed.

VIPeeps

In some scenarios there are also VIPeeps (Very Important Peeps) that need to be satisfied to complete the objectives. Should the player fail to impress the VIPeep, the VIPeep will always return to the park several months later and will keep returning until they are satisfied. Four VIPeeps came with the original game, two are added with expansion packs. The VIPeeps are caricatures of celebrity archetypes, including a pop star named "Kara Oki", baseball player named "Joe Sluggerball", movie star called "Cami O" and a grey-haired politician named "Clint Bushton", and are frequently followed around by adoring fans; in addition to the nausea and intensity tolerance statistics applied to other guests, they also have an autograph tolerance, litter tolerance and breakdown tolerance.

Development

Although "RollerCoaster Tycoon 3" is based on the previous games, Chris Sawyer, the developer of the first two titles, acted only as a "consultant" and was not involved in the programming of this game; the title was developed by Frontier Developments and published by Atari.

Expansions

Frontier developed two retail expansion packs after the game's release.

The first expansion, "Soaked!", adds the ability to create water parks with water rides, swimming pools, and other amenities to pools. The expansion also included sun burn. It also allows players to create their own waterfalls and to customize their park with improved tools for building tunnels both underground and underwater for track and footpaths.

The second expansion, "Wild!", features animal enclosures and safari-like attractions, as well as prehistoric creatures. The expansion pack also allows player to place generic shops that sell any item in the game.

Reception

VG Reviews
title = RollerCoaster Tycoon 3
1UP = A
GSpot = 7.8
GSpy = 3/5
IGN = 8.5/10
MC = 81%cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/rollercoastertycoon3?q=roller%20coaster%20tycoon%203 RollerCoaster|title= Tycoon 3 (pc: 2004): Reviews|work=Metacritic|accessdate=2008-06-01]
GR = 84%cite web|url=http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/919973.asp?q=roller%20coaster%20tycoon|title= RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 Reviews|work=Game Rankings|accessdate=2008-06-01] Overall, "RollerCoaster Tycoon 3" was well-received. The game had an average rating of 81% at Metacritic and 84% at Game Rankings.

Publications such as Gamespot and "Computer Gaming World" judged "RollerCoaster Tycoon 3" the true sequel to the original game, stating that the second title had merely been a retread of the same game but that "RCT3" broke new ground and offered a substantial graphical overhaul.cite web|author=Staff|date=2004-12-25|url=http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3137515&did=1|title=Reviews: RCT3|work=1UP.com|accessdate=2008-06-05]

The interface when making rides has been criticized for being overly complicated and difficult to use. Reviewers reported a large number of bugs in the initial release of the game, including workers getting stuck, sensitive land editing controls, and the game crashing.] ] ] The bugs, for the most part however, were fixed in later updates. A freshly updated version of RTC3 will contain few glitches with the exclusions of cheat codes and 'interesting gliches' (like the 'Water Pass Glitch' and 'Tilt Coaster Glitch') that, for the most part, don't inhibit gameplay much anyway without the intention of using the cheat or glitch.

References

External links

* [http://www.atari.com/rollercoastertycoon"RollerCoaster Tycoon 3" Official Website]
* [http://www.aspyr.com/games.php/mac/rcoast"RollerCoaster Tycoon 3" for Mac OS X]
* [http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/rollercoastertycoon3/index.html"RollerCoaster Tycoon 3" at GameSpot]