The following is an August 2001 tutorial I wrote that included some RCT game history in it. This is a copy and paste from a word file I have:
Introduction
I originally wrote this as two posts on the message boards at RCT Station. Shortly thereafter Rob Tonto posted it on his former RCT Tracks site as a couple of articles. The original versions explained two ways to make scenarios; the first using just a generic “trainer” and the second using the Scenario Tools features of the Dragons RCT Trainer made by DragonsIOA (“Dragons Trainer”). For this tutorial, I decided to focus solely on the Dragons Trainer, since that is currently the only really satisfying way to make new scenarios. Comments on the content are always welcome. I would like to thank everyone at RCT Station (including Red Phoenix and all my fellow message board moderators); Rob Tonto (for helping to motivate me and for hosting the articles and my first set of scenarios); Jacko Ltd. (for chatting – go to bed!); Doctor J (TID) and Henry Winkelstein (TRG) (R.I.P. RCTOA); Crispy and Postie (RCTUK); BladeX (for his scenarios and his article suggestions – you mean not everyone is obsessed with RCT History LOL!); rbarclay (for proofing and contributing seamlessly to the text, as well as supplying the incredible Scenario Maker Tracking Sheet); and Robfasto (crazyuscoasters.com). You have all contributed to my enhanced and prolonged enjoyment of RCT over the last 17 months. Most of all I would like to thank DragonsIOA (dragonsioa.cjb.net) for including the scenario tools in his trainer (Good luck with Scream Machines, Brian!).
I wanted to include some history first because that is just the way I am, but you can skip it all and go right to the Tutorial if you want.
What Is RCT?
RollerCoaster Tycoon (“RCT”) is a simulation game. The player is given a plot of land and on that plot erects an amusement park while keeping track of the success or failure of that amusement park. Tweaking is done as necessary, but, for the most part, expansion is the name of the game, while formerly built portions of the park are left to run of their own accord.
RCT uses a scenario format - that is, at the beginning of a game the “player” selects a scenario to play wherein he or she is given a plot of land of varying size and shape and a set of artificially imposed conditions. The player is also given a “goal” to meet and once that goal is met, the scenario for all “competitive” intents and purposes is over. One can play the scenario long after the goal has either been achieved or failed, and indeed a player may choose to ignore the goal altogether and simply revel in the sights and sounds of building and running his or her dream amusement park. As designed, however, the game’s emphasis is on completing the scenarios.
The scenario format is used by many well-known games of the simulation genre. Much to the dismay of many RCT fans, what sets RCT apart from many of its simulation game cousins is the noticeable absence of two items. RCT has never contained a free-form mode (a.k.a. “sandbox”), nor a scenario creator/editor. The game does not even contain a random terrain generator for any of the provided scenarios. In fact, for unknown reasons, the game’s programmer and publishers actively discourage the foregoing items.
RCT History
RCT was released in March 1999 and became an unexpectedly instant smash hit. It finished the year as the best selling game (by unit volume) for 1999. And its first expansion pack, Corkscrew Follies, placed an incredible third on the same list when it had been available for only two months (it was released in November 1999).
The original game pack contained 21 goal-oriented scenarios, the longest of which extend over a “four year” (game time) period and the vast majority of which take place over a “three game year” period. The goals for the original 21 scenarios comprise two types. The first requires the player to draw into the park a certain number of park visitors by the end of a certain year (making sure the park rating – a measure of how the visitors “feel” about your park – stays above 600, on a scale of 0 to 999). The other group requires the player to achieve a “Park Value” figure by the end of a certain year. “Park Value” is a nebulous concept and the variables that make up the actual equation continue to be debated by fans. However, playing these scenarios in the same general manner as the number of Guests type usually ended the scenario successfully. These original scenarios are often very easy to accomplish (especially once the player discovers the benefit of advertising). When all 21 original scenarios were completed successfully the game produced a “hidden” extra scenario called “Mega Park” which is an interesting, but ultimately unsatisfying, scenario/sandbox hybrid.
The Original Fan Created Game Enhancements
Rather than wanting to play through the scenarios anew, the fans lobbied for the two things that could extend their game play indefinitely. A few computer literate and incredibly generous fellow fans answered their collective cry. Game modifiers were created (and dubbed with the unfortunate moniker, borrowed from other games, of trainers) which allowed fans to create completely sandbox-like conditions. No longer did a fan have to wait for certain research to be conducted for a ride to be available, or for a few more guests to come into the park to supply the necessary funding for that next perfect coaster element. Nor did an artificial barrier any longer prevent a designer from taking his or her park to the game board’s edges. The designer’s imagination, as opposed to the builder’s inventiveness, was now fully free for exploration.
But many fans, myself included, really enjoy the scenario format, having that sense of accomplishment instilled when the goal is achieved. Another fan, Henry Winkelstein, created the TRG Scenario Editor. The editor allowed players to create from scratch an entirely new scenario for use with RCT. The TRG Scenario Editor was well-received and fairly successful. RCTUK used to have a great selection of fan created scenarios made with Henry's TRG Editor. RCTOA also had a small number for download on its (now defunct) site.
Corkscrew Follies and Anti-enhancement Code
Soon after Henry released his Editor, Hasbro Interactive announced that, based on the incredible success of RCT, Chris Sawyer was developing an Expansion Pack that would contain more rides, scenery and 30 new scenarios. Inexplicably, however, and demonstrating that the “official” RCT world was monitoring the world of fan created game enhancements with severe disapproval, when Corkscrew Follies (“CF”) (a.k.a. Added Attractions outside of the USA) was released, the game code contained instructions, the only purpose of which was to prevent the loading of any saved game that had too much money, or owned land, or rides available to build, etc. and to cause the game to crash and falsely indicate errors when such saved games were encountered. Moreover, the code was designed to identify unofficial scenarios in the specific slots used by Henry’s TRG editor and disrupt their use. Although Josef Drexler was able to patch the “saved game” problem ensuring the continued success of Mega Parks, the TRG Editor required an overhaul if it was to be of any use.
A scenario editor was still a necessity. CF added 30 scenarios, but again the problem was that once those scenarios were completed, there were no new challenges available. Furthermore, as noted above, even the ones made with Henry’s Editor were rendered unavailable and, if you can still find them around, are compatible only with Original RCT. Although Henry got the Editor working again with CF (and produced a sandbox scenario, “RCTOA Flats”), I believe he wanted to change the interface and work on it some more before releasing it to the public. During this process, however, Hasbro Interactive announced the development of a second expansion pack, Loopy Landscapes (“LL”) and based on experience, more anti-Henry (and anti-Drexler) code was anticipated, postponing the updated Editor’s release.
Just prior to the release of LL, Chris Sawyer was asked in an interview about the absence of a sandbox. His response was at best inconsistent, comparing his game to Sim-Theme Park (“STP”) and stating that while STP was about micro-management, RCT was about design. Strange sentiments considering that a free-form mode enhances the design aspects of the game, but the interview also clearly reflected Mr. Sawyer’s belief that RCT was a game, and that as such, should include rules, goals and conditions to keep it from becoming just a design tool. In some ways he is right, although one wonders whether he has ever taken the time to browse through the incredible fan-created “Mega Parks” to see the full potential of his game of which he has tried to rob the fans with his anti-modification code and stubborn refusal to include a sandbox.
But that is beside the point - the point is that if Chris Sawyer really believes what he stated, then the truly inexcusable omission from RCT at any level is a working scenario editor. If gaming really is about goals, then considering the finite number of scenarios available in original RCT and the two expansion packs, and the fact that Mr. Sawyer has written off the possibility of another expansion pack stating that the game has reached its limits, whatever did he want us to do with his game when we finished them all - toss it aside? (God forbid). The curious thing that continues to bother me about this whole affair is that Transport Tycoon (another Chris Sawyer creation) includes a scenario editor.
Loopy Landscapes and DragonsIOA
When LL was released in September 2000, many of the game’s staunchest fans were annoyed to find that more anti-enhancement code had been included. Those fans that had previously created enhancement tools began to write off the game, taking it as a personal affront that Chris Sawyer apparently spent as much time trying to short circuit their hard work as he did adding new rides to the game. The Drexler Patch was updated to work with LL, but many “trainers” no longer worked with the latest version. It was time for “new blood” to come in and DragonsIOA quickly rose to the top of the heap.
I was still looking for that elusive scenario editor, so I “suggested” to DragonsIOA on RCTOA’s message boards that he include some scenario functions in his next version of the trainer (what became version 5.0). Much to my astonishment (it pays to ask politely folks), DragonsIOA quickly incorporated the features. I ran a number of successful tests and created some scenarios. I found some things that were “missing” in that version and just noted to DragonsIOA their absence (and DragonsIOA came up with some of his own missing items, too). In version 6.0, DragonsIOA included a number of new tools that made these fan created scenarios even more playable. DragonsIOA first released a Beta of version 6.0, then a Beta2, but left it there. This tutorial applies to that Beta2 version and will be updated if the final version is ever completed and released (or if a scenario editor is ever produced). Feel free to experiment with other “trainers” if you find that version 6.0 is missing a feature or produces unstable results for some functions (Although for the scenario tools, you will not find them anywhere else).
A side note - some people have complained that the editor does not convert the “scenario” from a saved game (.sv4 file) to a .sc4 scenario file - accessible from the New Game selection screen. If you follow this tutorial, it makes very little difference and avoids the “slot” problem. I suggest that you simply create a subfolder in your Saved Games folder called Fan Scenarios and keep them all there, then when you select load saved game - just click on the new folder and select the scenario you want to play. It starts at March 1, Year 1 just like a regular .sc4 file, so I do not see any real drawbacks to the saved game format. When you play it, just make sure you save it in your regular saved games folder to avoid overwriting the virgin scenario.
How to use Dragon trainer - The Tutorial
(other trainers are available but will differ)
You should have the Drexler Patch installed to work with this tutorial. This guide uses Dragons Trainer version 6.0 Beta2 - go get the trainer, unzip it, start it up and then start RCT. In addition, you must have LL, as the trainer will not work with earlier versions. Also, note that this is actually a guide to get you familiar with the tools at your disposal, rather than a strict step-by-step tutorial; not everything needs to be done in the same order (although some things are better done in order):
By the way – you start the trainer running by double clicking the icon. Once it is up, let it remain running in the background. If the game has trouble loading because the trainer is running, you can start the game first, then press “Alt-Tab” to go back to Windows and start the trainer that way.
1) Load up a new Forest Frontiers game. Pause it, then go to the game's research window and select “No Funding” to get rid of the annoying research messages while you are working. Close the Research Window out.
TIP: During this process you should save your work regularly. And I strongly suggest saving consecutive games, rather than simply saving over top the previous saved game. Example: NewScenario1, then NewScenario2, then NewScenario3, etc. You can then delete all the older versions later (or as you go along and get 3 or 4 steps past them).
2) Hit F12 to bring the trainer up into the game (it will appear in the middle of your screen as an overlay). Select “General Settings”. There, click “Freeze @ $5,000,000” and “Freeze Time” (March, Year 1). This is simply to help you work peacefully without worrying about running out of money in the middle of your creation. Select “Return to Game”.
3) Now zoom out, take a good look at the park and visualize how you want it to look. Did you ever wish you owned that cabin right (off to the right when looking at the map from the park entrance) from the beginning - Let's go get it.
4) Bring trainer back up (F12) and select “Land Tools”. There click on “Invert Map”. This inverts the map – meaning you now “own” all the land outside the fence, and no longer own the land inside the fence. Go back to RCT (“Return To Game”) and grab your shovel - make the land you want to own turn to desert sand. “Paint” the ground (by left-clicking) under the shack and surrounding area as sand (just make a 25 x 25 square area or so); the game's “see-through scenery” function works great here.
5) Bring up the trainer again (F12) and go back to “Land Tools”. IMPORTANT: Hit “Invert Map” again so that you go back to owning what you did originally (and now “unowning” the sand and the rest of the land outside the fence). Go to the right side and “Select Type to Change” as sand - click on “Own” and the hit the box “Change Ownership”. Go back to the game. There should now be a new fence around the sand area. TIP: If you lose track of which way the map is oriented, just use the game’s land shovel to try and raise a square – if you are inside the fence and it lets you raise the square, you are properly oriented for this step.
6) But what if we do not want it to stay sand - we want it to blend in? Easy - F12 time – “Land Tools” and go to “Surface:” make sure it says “Grass” and click “Change Surface”. Return to RCT - Green Grass all around.
7) Repeat steps (4) through (6) to join up the small area we just acquired with the rest of the original park. When you are done you should have one contiguous fence enclosing the only “owned” land in the game.
8) There is too much room in the whole park now so next we will remove some of the park area that the original scenario supplied. Make sure you own the land inside the fence again. This is accomplished like the above process, but for variety this time use the rock top to designate the land to be switched. Go to the “Front” of the park and remove the path and topiary leading up to the entrance. Fill in as much as you want to get rid of with the rock face. Now select “Not Own” and click on “Change Ownership”. (NOTE: There is no need to invert the map this time as you are inside the fence (“owned” land) and you want the rock outside the fence (“unowned land”). It takes some practice getting used to working by inverting the map, but soon it will become second nature.) Go back to the game - the fence has now moved in (sometimes you have to move the changed area off screen and back again, or zoom in or out for the change initially to become visible). Bring the trainer back and make the land all go back to grass using the quick “Change Surface” function. Notice any problems - now the entrance is in the middle of nowhere. We will deal with that in a minute.
9) Now that you have your park boundaries delineated - you can add land that is either “For Sale” or for which Construction “Rights” can be purchased. This is done exactly the same way as changing owned and unowned land (except you use the circles for “For Sale” and “Rights”, of course). Because we are using Forest Frontiers, there will already be some land for sale – you can use the above steps to make it all “unowned” and then start from scratch, or simply work around it. NOTE: There are some quirks here. REMEMBER - when the map is inverted from normal, the game THINKS you own everything outside the fence and that you do not own anything inside the fence. So choosing “For Sale” or “Rights” makes the land NOT owned but “purchasable”. If you try to do this with the map inverted the wrong way, the game will rebuild the fence so the purchasable land will appear inside the fence - it takes some practice to get used to it but this is NOT a bug in the trainer - it functions correctly. SAVE YOUR GAME if you want to try the following EXAMPLE: Make some of the land outside the fence Rock Top (you have to invert the map so that you “own” the land outside the fence). Now bring up the trainer - If you just go to Land Tools and select Rock “For Sale” - when you go back to the game the fence will now include that land with the intended park land (You do not want that!). Now reload (if you tried it) and this time Invert the map. You can always go back to the game and test the map’s orientation by trying to raise one square of land inside the fence. If it raises and lowers you are oriented correctly, but if you get the error message “Land Not Owned”, then invert the map. When you again own the correct land (inside the fence), click “For Sale” and “Change Ownership”. Go back to the game, bring up your entrance screen and check the land for sale. The land you marked with rock should have flags on it (you can now change it back to grass if you want). TIP: If you did not invert the map correctly and you end up with the fence around both the owned and the “purchasable” land, invert the map so that you own the “park property” and hit “Rebuild Map” (otherwise we will get to this function shortly) in the “Land Tools” section of the trainer. This will orient the park fences correctly.
10) We now can take care of that entrance. Invert the map if necessary (learn to love this function – you will use it a lot) so that you own the land outside the park. Go over to the side of the map by the newly owned mining shack. Immediately outside of the fence place THREE giraffe statues side by side facing the edge of the map (backsides to the fence). The giraffe statues will be replaced by the entrance in a second so make sure they are positioned in a good spot (the center giraffe statue, of course, will be the center of the entrance). Do not worry if you have to remove a few trees to get it where you want it. NOTE: The land under the center giraffe MUST be unowned (or construction rights). It CANNOT be owned land, because the peeps will not be able to get into your park (they can only walk onto unowned land until they pass all the way through the entrance gate).
11) Bring up the trainer and select “Land Tools”. The trainer allows you to select the type of path you want under the Park Entrance. Select the path (I am using dirt for this tutorial) and click on “Move Entrances”. Notice the original entrance is now gone. The park fence is still behind the entrance. Not to worry; that will change in a second. NOTE: If you ever forget to place the giraffes first - the original entrance(s) will disappear. This is not a problem. Simply place the giraffe statues where you want the new entrance and the park entrance suspended in limbo will suddenly appear where the statues are placed.
TIP: If peeps are turning around at the entrance gate or if they cannot leave the park and you have already made sure the land is not owned under the center path, then the problem is probably that the paths are not connected to the entrance path (there is a very short break in between that the peeps see as a dead end). This often happens when you have moved the entrance onto a preexisting path. When the entrance is placed in the middle, the paths do not automatically reattach. You must do this manually by deleting the path immediately in front and behind the entrance and then replacing them.
12) Make a path from the entrance square to the edge of the map. See how it does not quite connect off the edge? Bring up the trainer (F12) and select “Land Tools”. Click “Rebuild Map” (it is right under Invert Map). Go back to the game. Now look at the entrance path - it leads off the edge into the abyss! Also look at the fence behind the entrance. It is now gone, too! NOTE: If the scenario you are using as a base already has two peep access routes (ex. Bumbly Beach), you may have to delete one (but only one) of them first before this will work. See the Very Important Note after Step 13 below.
13) Now the new entrance is all set, but what about that old pathway. Well the peeps do not know yet that they are not supposed to use it. We have to change that. Go over to the former entrance. You may see some peeps on the pathway. You did leave that path there right? I had not told you to delete the part outside the entrance yet – and for good reason. We did not delete the path squares to the old entrance because I have found that a peep will enter onto the platform even without a path at the old entrance, and then will wander aimlessly until he falls off the edge again or he is taken out. The game’s peep pincers (in the peep window) will not work no matter how many times you invert the map and the Dragons Trainer “Remove Peeps” function was not activated for the Beta2 version. However, if all else fails you can use the Neutron Bomb function on the Henry Winkelstein TRG Swiss Army Knife. So I recommend rebuilding the map first. Then, after making sure that there are no peeps on the old path, delete it. By the way, if the map is oriented so you “Own” the land outside the park, you will have to Invert it so the peeps can traverse the path and walk off the edge. When the Peeps are suddenly placed on “Owned” land without having walked through the park entrance, they panic and will just pace back and forth – actually it is because you confused them programming-wise. Simple fix; just invert the map, but be prepared to invert it again as soon as the last peep walks off the edge so you can immediately remove the access path. TIP: If you are having trouble with peeps continually walking on the map before the last one walks off, use a “Do Not Enter” banner just after the first access square.
NOTE: Because you have already connected up another access route in Step 12, once the old path is gone the peeps should stop using that entrance point and appear only on your new path. On occasion, however, I have seen peeps continue to try to access the board from that land square after the path is deleted. Thus, I recommend immediately after deleting the path there, bring the trainer back, select “Land Tools” and click on “Rebuild Map”. It will reinforce your new entrance and the fact that the old one is gone.
VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: The game will allow as many physical entrances as you want (although if you overdo it there might be a glitch in the way the banner reads), but you can have only two paths from which peeps walk onto the platform from off the abyss. If you want to add a second path off the abyss to your park entrance(s), I suggest you make one working path first. Then delete the old path as indicated above. Only then should you go back and place the second peep access path. Then once again use the “Rebuild Map” feature to connect that new access path (you will see it worked if the path actually connects fully to the outside abyss).
VERY IMPORTANT TIP: There is also something else you need to remember. The “Rebuild Map” function works like this: the game starts at one side of the map (for our purposes which side is basically impossible to determine before hand) and then searches from square to square for the first two path tiles on a platform square immediately adjacent to the abyss and converts those two squares into peep access routes - so before you rebuild MAKE SURE that the two path tiles you want converted into peep access tiles are the ONLY two path tiles on squares at the very edge of the platform.
14) Now is the time to “decorate” the land outside the park, if you have not already done it yet. Add whatever scenery you want. Remember, just because it appears outside the park does not mean you have to make it available for the player.
NOTE: I had you designate land rights before decorating outside the park area. This order was prescribed for two reasons. First, now you have a better idea of where a player will be building a park so you can try not to interfere with their possible building rights. Second, I have both made and seen other scenarios made where in decorating outside the park, a decision is made to put a roadway in that leads to at least one edge of the map. Designating land ownership and rights works like the rebuild map feature listed in the Very Important Tip above. If you are not careful you can inadvertently create an unintended access path along that outside road that never connects to the park entrance. Peeps will wander on to the game board, but will never be able to get to the park entrance.
15) You can now add whatever path(s) inside the park you may want to provide (remember some scenarios have pre-laid paths while others do not. This is your scenario!). You can also add rides, remember Diamond Heights? How about partially built coasters, remember one goal is to have the game player complete the 5 prebuilt coasters (the goal will be met when the first five coasters started are completed, so you should start five coasters now if you want to select that goal). Do you want the park open with a few peeps already inside? Now is the time to make these decisions. When you have it the way you want it, continue on to 16.
NOTE: Up to this point, you may have used many of these or similar functions for creating mega parks, but now we deal with the exclusive “Scenario Tools” screen of the Dragons Trainer.
16) Bring up the trainer and first go to “General Settings”. You want to Unfreeze Time and Unfreeze Cash (from $5,000,000). Go back to the Main Trainer Menu (not the game). NOTE: Do NOT return to the game until all of the following is done (it is not as much as it looks at first). If you want to change something later, you’ll have to re-do all the following (resetting the rides/shops/themeing).
TIP: If you have not already done so, this is a good time to plan your work by using a Scenario Making Tracking Sheet located at the end of this article. It could save a few headaches.
17) Click on “Scenario Tools”. If this is your first look at them, then take a second just to examine the interface. At the top is goal selection. Choose a Goal to use (all those used by RCT, CF and LL are included). For this tutorial, we can use the standard “Number of peeps by year number” goal. Using the screen windows below the goal set the number of peeps and the number of years to complete the scenario. VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: IN THE BETA 2 VERSION OF DRAGONSIOA 6.0 - THE FUNCTIONS ATTACHED TO THE WINDOWS WERE REVERSED FOR ME - USE THE WINDOW FOR NUMBER OF PEEPS TO ACTUALLY PUT IN THE NUMBER OF YEARS AND USE THE WINDOW FOR NUMBER OF YEARS TO REFLECT THE ACTUAL NUMBER OF PEEPS - IT WILL LOOK WRONG IN THE TRAINER BUT IT WILL LOOK RIGHT IN THE GAME!!!!!! [As far as I have been able to tell this only affects "Number of peeps by end of year #" type Goal - NOT the park value goal or any other selected goal, which all appear to work correctly].
18) After selecting the goal you want to use and the values for that goal, set numbers for the current loan (that you start the game with - say, for example, $5,000) and the maximum loan available during the game (ex. $20,000). Then set the value for available cash (Remember to include the amount of the current loan for a regular type scenario (ex. $5,000) - otherwise you will start someone off with loan, but little or no cash to show for it). If you wonder why it works this way, the function allows you to set up scenarios like the Alton Towers or Sprightly Park where you have a very high loan out, but you have presumably already spent most of it on the established rides. Refer to those scenarios for more information.
19) Click on “Set Rides and Shops”. A new window will appear over the trainer. For default, all rides will appear as available. Go through the list and mark each ride as Available, Researchable or Not Used. Then select “Done Making Changes” when you are happy with the rides and shops designated.
20) Next click on “Set Scenery” which works exactly the same as the Rides and Shops above.
21) Now click to check the box for “Reset Game to March 1st” to reset the scenario to the beginning. NOTE: You also have the option to make it a LL type scenario and “Freeze Entrance Fee @ Free” or to make it an Arid Heights type scenario by selecting “Don't Use Money”. Now click on “Save Goals”. Then return to RCT.
VERY IMPORTANT TIP: If you use “Don’t Use Money” (like LL’s Arid Heights Scenario), make sure your park is open before you do all this. Otherwise you will not be able to open it when you play the game. If you have gotten this far and find that you did not leave the park open, you can use the DragonsIOA Trainer “General Settings” to “Open Park” before you do the final save in Step 22.
22) If you have not already, Rename your Park Entrance and immediately Save your game under the new scenario name (so that it is saved right at March 1, Year 1).
23) Always play through them once, or find a friend or two to play through it to make sure it works properly or it can be accomplished as you designed it. Some things to watch out for:
Making a Park Value or Peep goal SO high that it can NEVER be reached. 5000 peeps in 3 years is impossibly unrealistic (even with maximum advertising), especially when the scenario is made using one of the original RCT scenarios as a base (like Forest Frontiers) where the game scenario is specifically coded to cut off the number of peeps that are generated once a certain number are in the park.
As for Park Value - requiring $100,000 in 3 or 4 years is also impossible. As you can see from Robfasto's saved games for CF at
http://www.crazyuscoasters.com - even where the Company Value numbers are $100,000+ the Park Value is still much lower. The highest number you will see on Robfasto's page for a completed CF scenario is ONE at $76,000 (Magic Quarters, but the other two ended with Park Values in the mid $30,000). The vast majority are less than $50,000 (indeed only one other is above $50,000).
When making parks with “10 Different Coasters of ## Excitement” required, make sure you have at least ten different types of coasters available after all research has concluded. Also, make sure that it is possible to have the required excitement on that type of coaster - no matter how long or how well themed or intertwined with other rides, I have never seen a Side Friction Coaster with an 8.50 excitement (maybe it can be done but why not include an 11th just in case).
For your “Complete the 5 Partially Built Coasters” type, make sure the coasters actually can be completed as designed. Remember the object is to take what is given and add on to it; not to have to delete a portion of it that was already given you by the scenario's creator because it will never work (an example is having a lift hill portion, first drop, and the second hill that is equal or greater in height than the lift hill. Such a coaster will never work no matter what you place after it to complete the circuit unless you remove part of what is there when you open the scenario).
Also, always give careful thought to money available, amount of loan, amount of maximum loan, rides available, rides researchable, amount of land available, purchasable and building rights. These are key. If you have a goal that requires that the park rating be above 700 or it will shut down (a la Arid Heights) MAKE SURE if you do not start with a partially built park that you give (a) enough money (if you are even using money; remember Arid Heights does not use money at all) and (_
enough rides available from the beginning so that a Park Rating of 700 can possibly be reached before the end of the first month. Otherwise the player will never be able to accomplish the scenario goal. (My own Mt Fuji Expert scenario uses this approach. It is difficult to get there in the beginning, but it is possible; I have done it. I have, however, played others where it is simply impossible because not enough money and/or rides, especially flat rides, are available at the beginning).
If a scenario can never be done, then it is no longer fun but simply an exercise in futility. The idea is to try to accomplish an imposed goal under strict conditions. Just make sure the conditions are fair so that the goal is reachable. Remember - difficult is fun - impossible is not.
24) Find a web site that will distribute your new creation. Congratulations.
NOTE: There are some things we cannot do directly right now and we have to accept that unless and until a new scenario editor is made. However, some of these things can be accomplished with proper planning, such as finding the right scenario to use as your template.
1) We cannot make rides so that other people cannot delete them (ex.: Woodpecker in CF’s Haunted Harbor, or the partially built pieces of a coaster in the Complete the 5 Coasters type scenarios).
2) We cannot delete the scenario description from the scenario we used as our workbench (But we can ignore it). Also, we can use the RCTOA Acres sandbox scenario that has no description at all, so at least there is not an inconsistent scenario description if that bothers you.
3) We cannot toggle on and off the ability to advertise. So if you want that capability, you must use Pickle Park (or another similar one) as your workbench. Easily done.
4) We cannot toggle on and off the ability to move land and remove trees (known in the game as local zoning rights). So you must use a scenario such as Rainbow Valley or one of the CF ones like I did for my Rollercoaster River scenario. Variety with these types is very difficult to make then. I have found a way to change what land is owned, purchasable, building rights, etc. It is time consuming, but using your creativity it can be done (as demonstrated by my own Red River Valley scenario). I have not yet, however, found a way to manipulate the land other than making it all flat – a random terrain generator could make that possible. Similarly, we cannot impose a restriction where the player cannot build above tree level (ex. CF’s Harmonic Hills), but we can use that scenario as a template.
5) We cannot control the desired intensity level with which our peeps come into the park. So we simply must use a scenario like Gentle Glen or Adrenaline Heights as our template; again very easy to deal with.
6) Although we can change what rides and scenery are researchable/available/not used - we cannot do the same for the Ride Improvements. So in a fan scenario, if you get a ride, you get all the ride improvements with that ride too. For example - If you get the Steel Twister - you also get the regular cars/hyper cars/stand up cars/floorless cars/giant loops and half loops, etc. Although there is a way around even this, but it is not completely satisfying as it requires giving up a lot of control over the development of the scenario. It should be noted that in most (if not all) LL scenarios Ride Improvements need not be researched, anyway.
7) We cannot change the size of the board such as with Micro Park. But we can use Micro Park or any other board as our scenario workbench, including all those shrunken competition scenarios available at the "official" RCT website.
8) We cannot make it into an .sc4 file, but I have explained why that is no big deal many times, and actually why I think saved game files are better anyway for fan created scenarios. In fact, if I were making a scenario editor, I might just leave them as .sv4 files for the reasons mentioned above.
9) You cannot choose the price of individual pieces of land to be purchased. If you have your heart set on a specific price, you will have to choose a specific scenario from the original ones to match you desire.
Whenever you plan on making a scenario, try to have at least a vague idea of the setting you want to create (Martian land, castle, forest, jungle, desert, beach, train station, etc.). Have an idea of the overall look, so you can create your base land. You might also think of a specific setup (old park, only wooden rides, disaster area, etc.) to help you choose the available rides/shops/themes and the financial aspects. If you want to make a great scenario or at least a good one for a start, THINK AHEAD. Do not just make it as it comes, because it will look just like that. I think a great scenario is usually well thought-out beforehand.
I cannot think of anything more, but if you are creative there certainly is much more you can do than you cannot do. Remember most of the things listed above can be accomplished with a few sacrifices. Good luck and if you use this tutorial feel free to send me your comments, scenarios etc. at xuxuspetals@hotmail.com.
[NOTE - that email doesn't work anymore]
BTW - I thought I had updated the tutorial to explain how to use Doctor J's saved game modifier (which incidentally DID allow the new scenarios to appear in the scenario list) but I can't find that. I remember the exchanges that even took place that led to that development.
Now I think I'm going to indulge in some nostalgia and play some RCT - no Halo 3 beta for me tonight!
Edited by dakinle, 02 June 2007 - 01:31 AM.
