246 replies to this topic

[Todd Lee]

I don't intend to speak for Becky, but I don't think that any peep hacks are allowed... It would go against the nature of tweaking rides to make them conform to the peeps. Having said that, ride hacks are also forbidden, for the same reason. They should be built to mesh with the peeps, not hacked to suit the peeps wants/needs.

As far as renewing, or making rides reliable.... This is most likely allowed. The rides are so old by now... Unless of course, we are limited to saving the ride track files, then deleting the ride and build a new one??

[coastercrew]

I can see allowing the hack to make rides new, but I hope making rides reliable is NOT allowed, since this is one of the basic RCT 101 rules for beating the game... i.e. hiring the right number of mechanics and giving them patrol areas to cover.

[RCTtom]

I can see allowing the hack to make rides new, but I hope making rides reliable is NOT allowed, since this is one of the basic RCT 101 rules for beating the game... i.e. hiring the right number of mechanics and giving them patrol areas to cover.

I completely agree with you coastercrew!. If you make rides reliable with the trainer, then that is serious cheating because that means you will never need any mechanics and what fun is having a park with no breakdowns?. I think the rules should be much clearer on this contest with what options you can use with the trainer and what ones you can't because it's getting confusing and causing alot of problems on here.

[Emergo]

To make it more confusing , for Becky that is, to answer all this ( so sorry ),

I still interpreted it otherwise, but also want to have this sure and not being disqualified for futile reasons with this park I spent so much time (and fun!! ) with in a period I did not have much time at all. (Oops, long sentence )

Anyway, I interpreted:

NO hacking whatsoever on coasters. (but setting your coasters/rides on "renew" or "reliable" would be okay, exactly for the reasons Todd mentioned).

Setting your staff speed to "fast", is allowed (?), if not, I would like to know this and would still have to double the staff (which is very large already) to keep park's quality at the 999 I have now and do strive for.

Why not allowing to "make you rides reliable", Coastercrew ???
This only works for a certain time, so if you want high park-quality for longer than a few game-months you anyway have to hire the right number of mechanics and give them patrol areas.!!
If you would not be allowed to do this (as well as "renew all rides") people who spent much less game-years on their parks would have the advantage of rides less frequently breaking down over people who spent ages building/testing it. (does not seem fair to me ??? )


All the "hacks" on peeps by the trainer seem irrelevant: they only work during a short time and only apply to the game as long as it is opened.
Not completely true: there are trainers (others than 8-cars) that can set the intensity-preference of the peeps to "high/low" intensity only, for as long as you don't unclick that. Cannot imagine this would give you a real advantage, as this would give so many other disadvantages within the rules, but I also think this is not allowed. While tweaking peeps' happiness/health and energy etc. with 8-cars only works within your own opened game, and no longer after it is sent in closed and someone else opens the game and sets the park to be "open to the guests", so doing this only keeps yourself from viewing the real quality and workings of the game.
As the rules states that you have to send in the park closed, all these "peep-hacks" (by 8 cars at least) will be vanished ones the judge(s) open the park, so they will have no effect other than on your own testing.

Emergo

[Emergo]

I completely agree with you coastercrew!. If you make rides reliable with the trainer, then that is serious cheating because that means you will never need any mechanics and what fun is having a park with no breakdowns?. I think the rules should be much clearer on this contest with what options you can use with the trainer and what ones you can't because it's getting confusing and causing alot of problems on here.

RCTtom, you answered while I was typing my answer/questions in between.

But: I fear you don't know the working of "the trainer", that is, if you mean 8 cars at least (and would like to know if you know another one that works in another way on this item!)

Setting your rides on "reliable" with 8-cars, just means that they will break down less frequently during the next game-months.
As this Contest takes you a lot of time to build and to figure out the flow of the peeps (so it takes endlessly testing) to me it just seems justified as well as sensible to use the trainer to "make rides reliable", so that everyone else who opens this park is not confronted right away with ages-old and breaking-down-twice-a-minute rides.

It is not at all "serious cheating" (whatever that means?), for even with this setting you do need mechanics (for rides still break down, only a little less during a few months) and after these few months it goes back to "normal" breakdowns.

So, I think you don't have any experience with 8-cars, for otherwise you would know this and not say "because that means you will never need any mechanics"...........
Be sure, kid, even with this setting, you need a lot of mechanics ( and many other things) to keep your park-ratings high longer than a few months, and I think this contest is about a park that works longer than just a few months.

I also know (and fully respect +applaud) the reasons why you don't enter any contests, but.....ehh a bit carefull with what you say....yeah

Emergo

[RCTtom]

RCTtom, you answered while I was typing my answer/questions in between.

But: I fear you don't know the working of "the trainer", that is, if you mean 8 cars at least (and would like to know if you know another one that works in another way on this item!)

Setting your rides on "reliable" with 8-cars, just means that they will break down less frequently during the next game-months.
As this Contest takes you a lot of time to build and to figure out the flow of the peeps (so it takes endlessly testing) to me it just seems justified as well as sensible to use the trainer to "make rides reliable", so that everyone else who opens this park is not confronted right away with ages-old and breaking-down-twice-a-minute rides.

It is not at all "serious cheating" (whatever that means?), for even with this setting you do need mechanics (for rides still break down, only a little less during a few months) and after these few months it goes back to "normal" breakdowns.

So, I think you don't have any experience with 8-cars, for otherwise you would know this and not say "because that means you will never need any mechanics"...........
Be sure, kid, even with this setting, you need a lot of mechanics ( and many other things) to keep your park-ratings high longer than a few months, and I think this contest is about a park that works longer than just a few months.

I also know (and fully respect +applaud) the reasons why you don't enter any contests, but.....ehh a bit carefull with what you say....yeah

I hate to sound rude but you know what comment ****ed me off the most in your post? The part where you said I have had no experience with 8 Cars Per Trainer. I can guarentee you that is where your wrong. I have been using that trainer for a few years and I had been studying it for a damn long time which had cost me to be in the bottom classes where all the people don't try in their work apart from me in school last year. I have done a few difficult hacks with it, but I have never ever used the "Make rides reliable" function and you are right, it makes rides breakdown less. I had heard from other RCT websites that it does permanently stop rides from breaking down. Please, do not try to **** me off again on here because those type of comments really hurt me when I have been studying them for a long time and then someone says you don't know anything or have had no experience. I'm glad to be not entering any contests I really am and I want to keep it that way for a while, but please be careful on what you say to people ok Emergo?.

[Buckeye Becky]

Whoa

You guys are so OCD!

So, No to everything but Renew Rides and Make Rides Reliable. Because as emergo posted, having worked on your glorious parks for so long, these two are probably needed. Making rides reliable does not work indefinitely, therefore mechanics are needed.

Did I answer everything?

[coastercrew]

I have very little experience with 8-cars or any other trainer for that matter, so this is why I questioned the rules. "Make rides reliable" to me sounds like rides will be reliable for an infinite time period. I don't have 8-cars here at work so I can't open the help and the website does not have any details on what each function does.

"Fast staff" also sounds like a way to get around the RCT 101 Rules. There are ways to place staff that are more efficient and ways to place staff that cause problems (handimen, mechanics, and patrolmen all fall in this category).

From my experience, making rides "new" seems to reset the breakdowns (i.e. the algorithm that CS uses is probably affected by the age of the ride). Although, it may also be affected by the total number of rider thoughout its life-time and this number does not seem to be reset.

All of these factors, amoung the others that I mentioned earlier and maybe some I didn't yet mention, affect park rating which in turn affects the number of guests that make it through the park which is "one component.... that the judges will look at".

There are not many concrete components that are documented for judges to rate parks by, but this is one of them and I just want to make sure all contestants are on the same playing field, that's all.

What also concerns me is the fact that there is no hard rule as to how long parks will be opened for before a judge determines how well the park is designed for increasing peep throughput vs other parks especially since the number of cells drastically affect this number. Should be interesting......








Becky,

Yes, you forgot one.......

3) What time and time-zone, is the deadline this Sunday, Jan 29th?

BTW, what does OCD stand for? Sounds like a good one!

[Buckeye Becky]

OCD stands for Obsessive Compulsive Behavior



but then....aren't we all that way? We play RCT No offense meant to be taken on that comment either.....anyone

OK...time zone...I am EST, but believe me, I will not be checking the email box at Midnight, January 29, in fact, I won't be checking it until January 30, around 5:00PM EST....so there...you have a little leeway.

I'm sorry I cannot be sooo precise with the judging, but since this IS the first time we have had this contest, some of these things cannot be laid out nice and neat. I think you all are getting the 'gist' of the thing. I had stated before, and I'll state it again....The MAIN objective is to follow the RULES I have stated. After all, I am not going to ding anyone for having fast staff...or not having fast staff...

From my Cub Scout Leader days , KISS

Keep it simple, keep it fun! (OK...actually it was Keep it Simple Stupid) but being blunt here might be taken the wrong way, and please....please don't.

I can't wait to see everyone's parks...

[Emergo]

^

Okay all, very sorry, BUT I AM OUT of this one!!!!!


I certainly kept it stupid, but absolutely not very simple........ so no chance anymore.... I have given up.







( ..... just kidding...... )