RCTW - Early Access - Dev Blog #11 - Update #8 Now Live!
Dear Tycoons,
Happy Summer, and welcome to RCTW Update #8! The focus of today’s update is primarily on the staff system and implementing an Alpha version of Staff Patrol Areas. We’ve also made improvements to how peeps are picked up, adjusted the camera when editing coasters, made further performance optimizations to flatrides and foliage, and added the ability to share custom Scenarios via the Steam Workshop!
STAFF PATROL AREAS (ALPHA VERSION)
Today we are releasing the “Alpha” version of Staff Patrol Areas. Each building can now have as many unique patrol areas as it has employees. Each patrol area can be built up to 8 segments (and segments don’t have to be contiguous). To assign a staff member to a patrol area simply pick them up and drop them into the area you want them to patrol. Employees still belong to their building and will rest there when not patrolling. However, now they will only address problems within the patrol areas they’re assigned to!
We're continuing to work on this feature, and you should see additions and improvements in the coming weeks.
PICKING UP PEEPS (IMPROVEMENT)
We heard your feedback and have made it easier to pick up and drag peeps and staff. Right clicking on a peep will now pick them up! Left clicking on a peep summons their info panel just like before. Additionally, you may either right click once to pick up and then click again to drop OR you can right click and hold to pick up and then release the mouse button to drop.
PERFORMANCE
For this latest patch, we have further optimized a larger number of flatrides and have now turned our attention to foliage. The team is going through every tree, bush, and flower in the game - not only making them look better but also decreasing their impact on performance. We are now able to accomplish this thanks to some new tech we have implemented over the last few months. Be on the lookout for beautiful foliage and more as we roll out further updates!
We also know that one of the largest issues players face is an overall decrease in FPS with larger parks or large numbers of peeps. We have been working on a solution that we expect to solve this, however it involves not only our team but the core engine of the game as well. The goal is to significantly increase FPS without affecting visual quality at all. We are confident we can achieve; we will of course keep everyone appraised of progress on this initiative in future blogs.
CUSTOM SCENARIO SHARING
Today we are giving players the ability to share their custom scenarios via the Steam Workshop using the in-game UGC tools. Now you can make an awesome new scenario and share it with all your friends! See who can beat your scenario the fastest!
COMING SOON
Our next patch will include new content (that we teased in past blogs) and some cool new features, like the ability to add custom colors to your queues. (This feature is greyed out in today’s build.)
Thank you all so much for the support, continued feedback, and incredible ideas! Every piece of info we collect is being carefully considered and influencing our development!
SCENARIOS:Share your custom scenarios via the Steam Workshop! Today we added the ability for you to share any scenario you make via the Steam workshop! Make a cool new scenario and challenge your friends to beat it!
ALPHA FEATURES: This list contains features that are in-progress, have had a first pass at improvements, or are at an Alpha stage.
PERFROMANCE: IN-PROGRESSStarted rollout of optimizations and graphical improvements to in-game foliage. This will be rolled out to all foliage in-game over the course of a few patches.
STAFF: ALPHA FEATURE:We have added Staff Patrol Areas to the game! Its still in Alpha but you now have the ability to assign staff to unique patrol areas! See the notes above for details on how to do this and for more about the feature.
IMPROVEMENTS:
BUILDINGS: Star on top of Entertainer buildings changed to purple to make it easier to find in heatmaps
COASTER EDITOR: Improved the cameras when editing a coaster
COASTERS: Adjusted seats of Accelerator Coaster
COASTERS: Improved the ride-cam on coasters to give a better sense of motion
GRAPHICS: Further improved the visual look of the “Gold Entrance” in the Deluxe Edition
PEEPS: Improved peep animations for Standing Coasters
PEEPS: Improved peep notifications further for Hunger, Thirst, Bathroom, and Nausea
PEEPS: We have made it easier to pick up peeps. Simply right click to pick them up!
PERFROMANCE: Further enhancements and optimizations to flatrides
STAFF: Further improved Staff Heatmaps
UI/UX: Cleaned up the look of the main menu
BUG FIXES The Bugs below have all been fixed in this latest update.Note that this is only a selection of all the bug fixes from the full list.
CAMPAIGN: The incorrect name ‘Plugin Tab’ is displayed instead of ‘UGC’ under the ‘Social Hub’ tutorial
COASTER BUILDER: First track segment can be twisted if user delete all track after placing some specialty piece
COASTERS: Closed coaster does not display closed icon
CRASH: NullRef when clicking park entrance
CRASH: Title remains unresponsive on 'Building your park' when attempting to enter Sandbox mode twice
CRASH: Title returns a NullReferenceException when selecting any sub-menu within the Options menu
FLATRIDES: Ride cam does not function for the 'Vertical Slice' flat ride
FLATRIDES: The 'Bucking Bull' ride appears to be floating or missing some support on the ground level
FLATRIDES: The color of the ticket vendor in the preview image of the ride 'Tornado' ride does not match with the in game asset
FLATRIDES: There is no lighting FX in the 'Vertical Slice' ride
GRAPHICS: Attempting to pick up the same staff employee twice in a row will cause in-game cursor to flicker
GRAPHICS: Huge strip of the shadow visible in the Capering Canyon park during the sun rise
GRAPHICS: Major flickering issue occurs when the user is on 'Ride Camera' mode on any Hyper Coasters
GRAPHICS: Spinning coaster - Sci-Fi Car: UFO is missing a material
PATHS: Building snapping creates crooked paths under some circumstances
PATHS: Elevated path is curved instead of straight causing peeps to walk in mid air
PATHS: Path can not be attached to the food stand 'Sundae the Ice Cream House'
PEEPS: Peeps are littering far more frequently than they used to
PEEPS: Peeps fails to animate with the ride 'Slingshot Tycoon'
SCENARIOS: Custom Scenario menu highlights the "Save Scenario" button before selecting a save
SCENARIOS: Scenario 01: Winding Wilds - 'You don't have sufficient funds to buy or open the coaster' message pops up if the user try to open the coaster after stopping
UI/UX: "Zoom To" button never appears on employee tab in Park Staff Info Panels
UI/UX: Employees' tab remains blank when the user loads any game for the second time
UI/UX: Gameplay/speed is resumed when opening the Pause menu whilst the game speed is paused
UI/UX: Options: General missing "Ok" button
UI/UX: Overlapping text appears at the header of the Content Manager when first opened
UI/UX: Pre-made coaster estimate does not match the cost to open it
UI/UX: Staff Buildings will have the blue tint from the [Move] tool when enabling and disabling the Theme Concentration heat maps after canceling to move them, previously
UI/UX: Users can build a misaligned elevated ride connected to a path/queue by using the 'move' tool
KNOWN ISSUES: We are still working on a number of bugs, tweaks, and other fixes. With each update we address a number of bugs and make improvements, but sometimes this may cause other features to break in the process. Our focus during Early Access is on releasing updates faster to you so we can get feedback earlier in the process. If you see a bug please report it in our Bug Tracker. Feedback on what you see implemented should go in our Improvement Tracker. Please note that we are aware of an issue preventing [I]NEW[/I] users from registering on our Official RCTW Forums and are working on resolving that.
For a general guide on fixes and troubleshooting steps for common issues (including the 57% bug) please visit THIS USER GENERATED GUIDE. Note that we have been seeing a number of users reporting issues with computers that are below the game’s minimum specs, so please check the main steam page before playing to ensure you meet the requirements. Additionally, we have seen a number of problems are solved when users update their graphics drivers.
Lastly, downloads via Steam may sometimes get corrupted or updates don’t fully install leading to odd behaviors in game and starting the game. Try these steps to Verify the game cache:
Right click RollerCoaster Tycoon World in Steam
Click Properties
Then Open the Local Files tab
Click Verify integrity of game cache
NOTE: In general – it is a good idea to Verify the Integrity of the Game Cache after any update just to be sure.
RCTW - Early Access - Dev Blog #10 - Update #7 Now Live!
Hello Tycoons!
Today we’re coming to you with a new RCTW UPDATE! In this week’s update you’ll find an Alpha version of our brand-new SCENARIO EDITOR, allowing you to build custom scenarios from your saved games! You can start creating fun and challenging scenarios for you and your friends today, and with a future update you’ll be able to share your scenarios through our UGC system! Additionally, the patch contains a host of under-the-hood improvements to AI, Performance, Water reflections, heatmaps, and paths, along with two new Scenarios and a rocking new Flatride - the Theater!
SCENARIO EDITOR – ALPHA VERSION
For the first time in RCTW, you’ll now be able to create your own custom scenarios. Today is just the first step of this easy-to-use new feature. Simply build a park in Sandbox mode, enter the “Scenario” mode from the main menu and click “Create New Scenario.” From there you can adjust objectives including park value and rating, guest satisfaction, ride quality and many more, seamlessly creating custom scenarios to play out in your Sandbox park. In our next update, you will be able to upload your scenarios via our UGC System to test other players’ skills, or download scenarios you find in the workshop. As a reminder - this is an ALPHA VERSION of this feature and we really need your feedback so please be sure to provide it in our Feedback Forum.
Addtionally, we’ve added two more pre-made Scenarios, bringing the total number up to 8! Give them a whirl!
FLATRIDE
Get Ready to ROCK! Give your peeps a blast of rock’n’roll with our new THEATRE attraction flatride. This new family ride features an open-air auditorium with a full band rocking brand-new music on stage. Your peeps will line up for the concert, sit down, and enjoy the show. Get your lighters ready and check out a screenshot below.
PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENTS
As always, we’re continuing to optimize, improve and tweak features from our last updates. Our work on optimization of assets continues and will mean further performance as welll as visual improvements.
In this update you’ll also find path fixes, improved water features, improved AI heatmaps, and general bug, performance and animation improvements. Please continue to let us know about any other bugs and tech issues you find!
PARK STAFF - HEAT MAPS
With today's update we are further expanding our Staff Heat Maps feature. Now, when you add a new Park Staff building to your park, your park will enter into “heat map mode”, making it effortless to locate other buildings of the same type in your park. To further refine your park layout, you can turn individual Park Staff heat maps on and off by navigating to your Heat Maps menu.
COMING SOON
Be on the lookout in our coming updates for improvements to our staff heatmaps, and enhanced patrol zone controls for park staff. Also, as you play through this new build you’ll notice that we’ve greyed out a few new options within RCTW. Without giving too much away, we're working on an exciting new roller coaster, UGC Mode for the Scenario Editor, and a few surprises along the way! Stay tuned!
Lastly, we’d like to give sincere thanks for the kind words about our last patch. With your support, feedback, and inspiration, the team is working tirelessly to make RCTW better and better.
FLATRIDE:Rock out with our new Theater Ride! Its an awesome new flatride that entertains dozens of peeps available to all.
SCENARIOS:Today we are launching 2 brand new scenarios: #7 and #8. Give them a try!
ALPHA FEATURES: This list contains features that are in-progress, have had a first pass at improvements, or are at an Alpha stage.
SCENARIOS: ALPHA FEATURE:Scenario Editor - Today we are launching our Alpha Version of the Scenario Editor! Simply create a map in Sandbox mode, save it, and then go into the Scenarios section of the Main Menu to turn your save into a Scenario. This is an Alpha Feature and we expect to expand upon it further. Our plan is to next create a mode where you will be able to share scenarios via UGC with friends!
IMPROVEMENTS:
BUILDINGS: Following optimization and graphical improvements we have re-enabled fountains in the game
BUILDINGS: The Intensity Factor has been rebalanced across all rides
COASTERS: The seats on the hypercoaster have been improved
GRAPHICS: We have further improved the visual look of water based on your feedback so please be sure to check it out!
PATHS: Paths have been further improved with a specific focus on end-path connections.
PEEPS: Improved the logic for peeps choosing different rollercoasters.
PEEPS: Peep Hunger and Thirst Generation has been further tweaked
PERFORMANCE: We have continued optimizing assets in the game, leading to further performance gains in this build
UI/UX: We have further improved the multi-item delete functionality based on your feedback
BUG FIXES: The Bugs below have all been fixed in this latest update. Note that this is only a selection of all the bug fixes from the full list.
RCTW - Early Access - Dev Blog #9 - Update #6 Now Live!
Dear Tycoons,
Today we have an amazing visual update in store for you, along with a number of smaller items that you have been asking for. The visual improvement alone will dramatically change your experience playing the game. As always, many other parts of the game have been updated including Paths, AI, Audio, Graphics, New Scenarios, and Performance, but the real star of the show is our brand-new Skybox! Check it out:
NEW SKYBOX
In today’s update we are launching our new Skybox. As you can see above, it’s been completely overhauled, meaning that the entire game gets a significant visual upgrade along with it. Along with these lighting and color improvements, we have also added a beautiful sunrise and sunset sequence as well. Your game will go through a full day cycle, from daylight to sunset to night to sunrise. The effect is much more realistic and smooth, and it enhances the look and feel of everything else in the game. The new skybox would not have been possible without your feedback, so thank you so much for your comments and suggestions. We’d especially like to thank our testers who have been working with this new skybox for a bit and helping us tweak it. Now it’s your turn to tell us what you think!
NEW SCENARIOS
Today’s patch also includes brand-new Scenarios 4, 5, and 6. These scenarios give players the chance to experience exciting new gameplay challenges. We also spent time refining and tweaking Scenarios 1, 2, and 3 so be sure to check them all out.
MASS DELETE TOOL – ALPHA FEATURE
A top fan request – a mass delete tool – has be added to the game and is ready for you to test in Alpha mode. When you click the bulldozer now you will have the option to select multiple items to delete at one time, and you can change the area that you delete by zooming in and out. It’s fast, easy, and a very clean way to mass delete items in the game. Let us know what you think and know that we plan to further refine it in the future.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
We have continued our work on AI with this patch with a focus on the Park Rating System as well as the Marketing System. Both should now give more accurate information about your park. Each system has been refined and balanced to give a better gameplay experience.
Additionally, we know there were some issues with the way peeps chose their rides, so we improved an algorithm associated with informing a peep how novel a particular ride is and factoring it into their decision making – this should really improve the dynamism with which the peeps move about your park.
PERFORMANCE
We are aware of performance issues affecting some players, and are working hard to optimize and improve framerates. In this update you will notice a number of general performance improvements, as we have further continued our work on in-game object optimization from our prior update (particularly around Flatrides) along with general environmental improvements.
PATHS
Our team is spending more time improving the path system and responding to your feedback. You will notice in today’s update that we have completed a number of upgrades to the path deletion and placement algorithms that should build upon what we launched with our last update.
STAFF HEATMAPS – ALPHA FEATURE
Last but certainly not least we are launching the very first version (Stage One) of Staff Heatmaps. At this stage you are now able to click the Heatmaps button and view where your current staff are and their associated buildings. This system is the first element we are launching from our larger Staff Patrol Areas system that we will be rolling out in future updates. We know staff management was a huge part of the previous games and we are refocusing attention to the system. It’s been re-thought from the ground up and we have heard your feedback so be sure to stay tuned to future updates to see it come into the game! Check out stage one of Staff Heatmaps by going to the Heatmaps tab in the game.
The team now has their sights set on our next big update. It’s a doozy, packed with new content, improved performance, new features, further improvements, and other tweaks! As always, your input is driving our roadmap and decisions, so we need you to keep it coming! For just this reason, we have shifted development to release new features more quickly, and in some cases early stages of development. It allows us to pivot and fix a feature or tweak before it goes too far into development.
GRAPHICS:Incredible new Skydome added to the game! Enjoy the new sunrises and sunsets now available across all maps.
SCENARIOS:Three New Scenarios have been unlocked for you to try out! Check out all new Scenarios 4, 5, and 6!
IMPROVEMENTS:
BUILDINGS: Assets will only appear as a ghost if they have not fully loaded yet
GRAPHICS: Improved the textures on the "Golden Entrance"
PATHS: Further improvements to path deletion and placement
PATHS: Improved the UI for choosing between Curved and Straight Paths
PATHS: Removed the green highlight around already-placed paths
PEEPS: Improved the algorithm associated with Peeps choosing a ride based on novelty
PEEPS: Improved the logic and balance for peeps when choosing what coaster to ride
PEEPS: Improved the Park Rating system and resolved a number of bugs/balance issues
PEEPS: Peeps now trigger specific thoughts when in the "ill" state
PEEPS: Removed the increase cap for in-game marketing and resolved a number of bugs/balance issues
PERFORMANCE: First pass of optimizations on environment
PERFORMANCE: Further optimizations to flatrides
PERFORMANCE: Sunrays are now disabled when not visible by the user
PERFORMANCE: Terrain will now have tessellation according to camera height
PERFROMANCE: Improved the Global Illumination algorithm to improve performance
SCENARIOS: Number of balance and other tweaks to scenarios 1,2, and 3
UGC: Added a "Subscribed Items Filter" to the UGC manager in-game
ALPHA FEATURES: This list contains features that are in-progress, have had a first pass at improvements, or are at an Alpha stage.
UI/UX: ALPHA FEATURE:Staff Heatmaps - You can now see all your staff in your park and what they are up to using heatmap view!
UI/UX: ALPHA FEATURE:Multi-Item Delete - You can now simply hover over or select multiple items to delete at once.
BUG FIXES: The Bugs below have all been fixed in this latest update.Note that this is a selection of all bug fixes from the full list.
BUILDINGS: Entrance and Exit nodes on coaster stations do not align
GRAPHICS: Graphic options can fail to update and save properly
GRAPHICS: Issue with the texture at the base of the Drop Zone ride
GRAPHICS: Leaves and branches of the Palm Tree disappear upon placing it when the camera is zoomed in
GRAPHICS: LOD problem with the Spacewars ride
GRAPHICS: Silly Swing and Barnyard Bash flatride LODs are not correct
GRAPHICS: There are a number of path texture bugs
PATHS: Player unable to add a path to a sloped path
PEEPS: Food & Drinks items purchased by any Peep does not update in purchased list under 'Purchases Page' of peep info window.
PEEPS: Food and Shops always display a popularity of 0.
PEEPS: Janitor only empty trash can when there is nothing else to do
PEEPS: Park Rating - 'Ride Quality' graph under the 'Park Rating' tab raise up to some level, just by placing a coaster station into the park.
PEEPS: Park staff flash outside their building if they cannot reach their destination.
PEEPS: Peep history is not recording consistently
PEEPS: Peep Nausea and Energy are being reduced to 0 and increased to 100 after standing up from bench
PEEPS: Peep remains highlighted after picking and dropping them.
PEEPS: Peeps do not use certain "unique" restaurants
PEEPS: Peeps get stuck between benches and path
PEEPS: Peeps scale to bigger size when sitting in the Observation Tower
PEEPS: Peeps’ happiness get raised to 100 if stuck on any building or ride exit tongue
PEEPS: There are a number of rotation and animation issues with peeps
PEEPS: When deleting a Ride peeps walks in the air to the nearest path instead of respawning
SCENARIOS: Wooden Coaster 1 fails to complete the cycle in Scenario 2
UGC: A white blank box will be left on the screen after downloading a blueprint
UGC: User must exit to the Main Menu and re-enter gameplay to use UGC that is enabled via the Social Hub.
UI/UX: Coaster station is shown as general even if it is a themed station
UI/UX: Current month under the 'Park operations' window fails to match with the running month at the bottom left of the tool bar UI.
UI/UX: Heatmaps become unresponsive when user selects ‘Theme Concentration’ over the rides and tries to bulldoze placed assets
UI/UX: Heatmaps can occasionally cause textures to fail
UI/UX: Mouse wheel rotation/elevation increments are slower at high mouse wheel scroll speeds
UI/UX: The close button on the ‘Test Tab’ fails to function
UI/UX: Unable to dismiss the welcome message when a user first launches the game
KNOWN ISSUES We are still working on a number of bugs, tweaks, and other fixes. With each update we address a number of bugs and make improvements, but sometimes this may cause other features to break in the process. Our focus during Early Access is on releasing updates faster to you so we can get feedback earlier in the process. If you see a bug please report it in our Bug Tracker. Feedback on what you see implemented should go in our Improvement Tracker.
For a general guide on fixes and troubleshooting steps for common issues (including the 57% bug) please visit THIS USER GENERATED GUIDE. Note that we have been seeing a number of users reporting issues with computers that are below the game’s minimum specs, so please check the main steam page before playing to ensure you meet the requirements. Additionally, we have seen a number of problems are solved when users update their graphics drivers.
Lastly, downloads via Steam may sometimes get corrupted or updates don’t fully install leading to odd behaviors in game and starting the game. Try these steps to Verify the game cache:
Right click RollerCoaster Tycoon World in Steam
Click Properties
Then Open the Local Files tab
Click Verify integrity of game cache
NOTE: In general – it is a good idea to Verify the Integrity of the Game Cache after any update just to be sure.
RCTW - Early Access - Update #6 News and a Sneak Peak!
Dear Tycoons,
As we discussed and showed in our stream on June 1st, our plan was to release an update this week containing a number of visual, AI, and performance improvements. However, this update was dependent on QA and testing, and as of today the build is not quite ready to go out. The changes in this update include core technical engine improvements, so we need a bit more time to polish them up. The good news is you won’t have to wait long - the patch is now scheduled to go live no later than next week, pending QA approval!
That said, we wanted to tease some of the cool stuff you’ll see next week! The biggest and most noticeable change will be our brand-new skybox, shown in the screenshot below and prior stream:
Not only did we add gorgeous new sunsets and sunrises, we also completely revamped the skybox, meaning that both daytime and nighttime effects are vastly improved. This profoundly effects the entire look and feel of the game during all times of day. We hope you like it as much as we do!
On top of that, this coming update will include an Alpha/First Stage Version of Staff Heat-Maps and a Mass Delete tool! It’s a package of really significant upgrades, and we are super excited to get it out as soon as we can!
See you next week! Thank you for all the support!
- Team RCTW
RCTW – Early Access – Dev Blog #8 – Update #5 Now Live!
Dear Tycoons,
It’s Update Day! – Today, we’ve got a number of items that are now at the point where we can push them live to you. Many different parts of the game have gotten an update including Paths, AI, Audio, New Content, Graphics, and even Performance!
PATHS
While this is by no means our final update to our path system (in fact work is continuing during this sprint) we did make a number of improvements and bug fixes that should improve the path-building experience. It should now be much smoother and easier to place some of your paths – this is only the start; a lot more improvements are still to come! Additionally, we are launching a new feature with our path system – the ability to change the texture after it’s placed! It’s a small but heavily requested feature that we think will make the whole system much more flexible. Let us know what you think and remember that this is only our “First Pass” on Paths – we have a ton more ideas, features, and updates we still plan on implementing!
NEW CENTERPIECE
Today we are also launching a brand new Scenery Centerpiece! Check out the awesome futuristic Sci-Fi Centerpiece, now available for under the centerpieces menu in your game.
AI
The work we did on AI in our Previous Update has been continued and further refined. You will notice great improvements to the Peep and Staff AI in this update, including improvements in Food/Drinks/Souvenir behavior, Nausea/Bathroom Behavior, Trash Can Use, Injuries/Sickness, and Ride-seeking and pathfinding. All of these updates come together to create a much more responsive and immersive experience. Full details on what was done can be found below. Note – there is still more we are working on as we now shift our focus to expansion of behaviors and further balancing of the different systems.
AUDIO
This update contains a number of audio SFX improvements! This new audio is in an “Alpha Phase” as it’s very much still in-progress, but you will notice some awesome new coaster sounds as well as new environmental ambiance SFX. Our audio team is doing a top–to-bottom review and scrub of every single sound in the game. We have a renewed focus on the audio in the game and you should stay tuned for further improvements as we go through the SFX.
UGC
Another area of the game that was improved is our UGC Hub. You will notice a refreshed layout that should let you see all of your content much easier.
GRAPHICS
Graphics are much improved in this update as well. We had two key areas of focus: The first was to finish rolling out our Screen Space Reflections feature to all objects in game. We think it looks beautiful and hope you agree too! Here’s a a peak at what it looks like and how its improved water and other objects in the scene:
Additionally, our team took a look at all of our Terrain Shaders and improved the system to support much higher quality terrain and better mixing of different terrains. This improvement should further add depth and immersion as you play.
On top of this we added a nifty Depth-of-Field effect to the main park view. Objects further away will be blurry and those closer will be crystal clear. This effect is DISABLED by default. To turn it on simply go to Options > Graphics and disable the Depth–of-Field effect.
Work was also done on a number of flatrides to optimize them and also to up-res their textures (In Progress Work). We won’t be highlighting them in this update blog as they’re not fully rolled out, but the results are already showing an increase in overall performance while at the same time allowing us to have gorgeous hi-res textures and smoother animations! This is available today on some of your rides and will be rolled out to the remaining rides in future updates.
PERFORMANCE
Last, but certainly not least, in general you should notice that your game will run a bit smoother due to the above optimizations but also due a number of other “under-the-hood” changes. More work is of course continuing on performance and we have some longer term tasks we hope to wrap up in the coming weeks to continue making the game perform better.
It’s been an insanely busy few weeks here at Team RCTW as we work to improve the game, launch new content and features, and fix bugs. Your feedback is driving all of our decisions and we hope you like the direction the game is taking. Be sure to continue to share your thoughts, bug reports, and more with us on our forums.
From our Community Team, here’s a sneak peek at this week’s Community Spotlight – a park called "Timeless Isle" by user "Maulite":
For more screenshots from his park check out our Facebook Album.
Thank you again for all the support, incredible feedback, and most importantly – the amazing and inspiring creations and parks you all are making!
Until the next post, see you on the forums! In the meantime, see below for the full list of what’s contained in this update and to get a preview at what we are working on next!
Here is the full list of today’s updates, and a preview of what we are working on next:
NEW FEATURES AND CONTENT
CONTENT:New Sci-Fi Centerpiece added to scenery Centerpieces. This new scenery item is a giant moon rock floating in space, with room to run your coasters through it!
GRAPHICS:New Terrain Shaders to improve terrain quality! Check out the new terrain shaders in our Forest and other maps! Different textures blend better and the terrain looks smoother when zooming in and out.
GRAPHICS:Screen Space Reflections Added to All Objects in Game! This vastly improves the look and feel of all the objects in the game. Everything has a reflection of its environment now and looks more realistic and tangible.
GRAPHICS:Depth-of-Field Effect Added to Park Cam. We added a new Depth-of-Field Effect to the park cam. Now things further away will look blurrier than those close up, giving you a better sense of depth. It is Disabled by default BUT You can ENABLE this feature at any time by going into Options > Graphics > Disable Depth of Field. The choice is yours!
IMPROVEMENTS
GRAPHICS: All Sci-Fi Coaster Loading Stations have new textures
GRAPHICS: Improved the seats of all coaster cars to better fit peeps
GRPAHICS: Improved Depth-of-Field and Field of View effects when in Ride/Coaster cam
PATHS: Path nodes are deleted when a path is cleared
PATHS: Paths now have more realistic incline slopes
PEEPS: AI IMPROVEMNTS LIST BY SYSTEM
Food, Drinks, & Souvenirs
Peeps now have a higher chance to address their nausea, bathroom, hunger, or thirst when these stats are high.
Peeps should no longer buy drinks, hoping to soothe their hunger. We have informed them that food will be much more effective for this purpose.
Peeps will no longer randomize between the top five food / drink / souvenir stands, instead giving higher priority to those they like more. As a consequence, peeps should generally be happier when buying food, drinks, and souvenirs.
Injury
Injured peeps should once again engage in their proper behaviors of sitting on benches to be addressed by Medics, or (in rare cases) leaving the park.
Nausea and Bathroom
Peeps' minimum possible Nausea Tolerance is now 1 - no Peeps will have a 0 nausea tolerance.
Peeps' Nausea Tolerance will be increased if they like riding more intense rides.
Peeps should now more reliably choose a nearby bathroom if they need to either vomit or pee.
Peeps should now think the thought "The paths here are disgusting" an appropriate amount.
Peeps will no longer select a random bathroom.
Peeps with moderately high nausea will now prefer to sit on benches to reduce it.
Peeps with very high nausea will now prefer to sit on benches to reduce it, if a bathroom is far away. Some of them might try to hold it, though...
Rides
Fixed an issue that was preventing rides from increasing riders' Energy and decreasing riders' Boredom
Peeps should now more reliably ride low intensity rides. As a consequence, peeps should now distribute themselves among your park attractions more evenly.
Trash
Peeps should now properly throw their trash out in trashcans. Trashcans have a capacity- peeps will not throw trash into full trashcans. Peeps will throw trash on the path only if they're unable to find a nearby trashcan.
PEEPS: Improved Emotes and Peep Thoughts to be more descriptive and trigger more often
PEEPS: Improved Transition of Janitor animation from Cleaning and Walking
PEEPS: Peeps now have an "ill" animation when their nausea, bathroom, thirst, or hunger get too high for too long
PERFORMANCE: Improved Performance when using the path tool
PERFORMANCE: Screen Space Reflections now disabled when zoomed out for performance
UGC: UGC content manager now displays many more items and has a new table layout allowing easier management of UGC for players
UI/UX: General notification improvements to better inform player of what is going on in their park
UI/UX: Improved cameras while in coaster editing tool
UI/UX: Terrain brush size tweaked
BUG FIXES The Bugs below have all been addressed in this latest update. Note that this is not a complete list but does give you an idea of most of the fixes that were made.
BUILDINGS: The gap appears between the base of park services building and its supports after elevating it.
BUILDINGS: The sci-fi recycling bin is missing material when full
COASTERS: Ride cam does not follow the flying coaster car’s animation
COASTERS: Crash when using the Coaster Builder when deleting and adding a segment in a specific order
COASTERS: The grid size during the Coaster Builder is not displaying the proper size
COASTERS: The intensity level of some of the premade coasters is incorrect
GRAPHICS: Janitor Peeps and Brooms LODs are not consistent
GRPAHICS: Some of the “flower beds” have LOD issues with respect to camera position
PATHS: Path connection snaps to the grid when grid is turned off
PEEPS: Fixed a Peep AI crash in the Campaign mode
PEEPS: Injured peeps aren't always playing their injured animation
PEEPS: Peep Boredom isn't decreasing properly when riding rides
PEEPS: Peep Happiness always decreases after making a purchase.
PEEPS: Peep thought on broken coaster "Drat! [RideName] has stopped!" does not trigger.
PEEPS: Peep thoughts not generating for Clean/Dirty paths.
PEEPS: Peeps are peeing on the path far too much
PEEPS: Peeps have the jiggles when they sit in the Wild Tycoon Wings
PEEPS: Peeps score all stands/stores when scoring for food AND drink
PEEPS: Scenery messiness is not updated in context
PEEPS: The peep clips with the asset 'Galactic Plaza'.
SCENARIOS: All scenario boot with unrealistic Finances numbers and months
UI/UX: Debug text is displayed in the name of the third specialty track piece for the “Spinning Coaster”
UI/UX: Font size is inconsistent in the info window of “Circus” ride
UI/UX: Key to delete a node is not mentioned in the fourth objective of the 'The basics of building a new Coaster' tutorial
UI/UX: Name of all pre-made coaster in Basic Ride Options tab
UI/UX: Starting a new game starts at the fastest speed but UI shows that it is normal speed
UI/UX: The theme icon on the Sci-Fi Trash can is represented with the Adventure theme symbol.
UI/UX: The theme icon the sci-fi trash can is represented with the adventure theme symbol
UI/UX: When viewing the description for the arch art asset for Exit Signs these display Adventure Theme
ALPHA FEATURES – IN PROGRESS – FEEDBACK NEEDED This list contains features that are in progress, have had a first pass at improvements, or are at an Alpha stage. Occasionally, we will develop features or improve on things that we need more feedback on from you. These are items that we have just released but are still considered “work in progress”.
AUDIO:IN PROGRESS
For this update we focused on Ambient Environmental Sounds and also Coaster SFX as we continue our top to bottom review of all sound in the game.
IMPROVEMENT: Expanded and improved on-ride coaster sounds to be more realistic and detailed
IMPROVEMENT: Improved peep on-coaster ride sound effects
ALPHA FEATURE: Added new ambient sounds to all the environments
COASTERS:IN PROGRESS: The ride cam on all coasters has been raised to avoid clipping issues, except in the first row of the first car. We are still looking at how to further improve our coaster and seat cams so this is an “In Progress” feature.
GRAPHICS:IN PROGRESS: We are doing an optimization and hi-res texture pass on almost everything in the game. For this update we focused on a few of our flatrides. They should now have smoother animations, better performance, and hi-res textures! It’s only a small subset of all the rides but the work is in progress and we hope to roll it out to everything in the game in coming updates.
PATHS:ALPHA FEATURE: You can now recolor your paths after placing them! Simply click the new “Modify” button in the path system, select the paths you want to change, and choose a new texture. We are working on enabling this for path intersections next.
PATHS:IN PROGRESS: Work on our path system is in progress but we already have improved a number of the systems behind laying and placing paths, removing some of the biggest frustrations players were facing.
PEEPS:IN PROGRESS: We are testing out some new peep animations on our hypercoasters that are a bit more realistic and detailed. Let us know what you think!
KNOWN ISSUES We are still working on a number of bugs, tweaks, and other fixes. With each update we address a number of bugs and make a ton of improvements, but sometimes this may cause new things to break in the process. Our focus during Early Access is on releasing updates faster to you so we can get feedback earlier in the process. If you see a bug please report it in our Bug Tracker. Feedback on what you see implemented should go in our Improvement Tracker.
For a general guide on fixes and troubleshooting steps for common issues (include the 57% bug) please visit THIS USER GENERATED GUIDE. Note that we have been seeing a number of users reporting issues with computers that are below the game’s minimum specs, so please check the main steam page before playing to ensure you meet the requirements. Additionally, we have seen a number of problems are solved when users update their graphics drivers.
Lastly, downloads via Steam may sometimes get corrupted or updates don’t fully install leading to odd behaviors in game and starting the game. Try these steps to Verify the game cache:
Right click RollerCoaster Tycoon World in Steam
Click Properties
Then Open the Local Files tab
Click Verify integrity of game cache
NOTE: In general – it is a good idea to Verify the Integrity of the Game Cache after any update just to be sure.
WHAT’S NEXT This was an important update, but that doesn’t mean we’re slowing down! For our next update we are looking at additional AI improvements (focused more on the marketing and rating systems), additional flatride optimizations, a variety of peep animation improvements, further path improvements, more performance improvements, and additional audio improvements. Of course a new update wouldn’t be complete without a few surprises as well but we want to do a little more on them before we announce them as part of an update to be sure they make it in – we are looking at you Drag Delete Functionality!
RCTW - Early Access - Dev Blog #7 - Update #4 Now Live!
Dear Tycoons,
It’s time for our next update! This update contains a number of “under-the-hood” fixes, improvements, and a few new in-progress features. As we continue with our production timeline, some updates or patches, like this one, may have less immediately obvious visual impact in-game. However, it’s important to know that the changes now being made to the core infrastructure of RCTW will pay enormous dividends as we continue through and beyond Early Access.
In the last few weeks, our focus has been on AI. This is NOT the final AI update, but rather our first patch on the system since Early Access launched. You will notice peep bathroom and staff behavior are improved. Park staff will now better spread themselves around your park and janitors will clean up messes in a more orderly fashion. As a head’s up, you might have to adjust the number of staff in your park for better results. Additionally, peep emotes and thoughts are improved and more helpful! Let us know what you think by visiting our “Early Access Forums”.
As before, our plan is to make incremental improvements on a variety of systems, see what you think, make sure we are going in the right direction, and then expand on those improvements. So to reiterate - while AI has had a major overhaul, it is just the start of all the improvements we want to do to the system. We need your feedback to make sure we are on the right track!
In other news, we have also improved certain game visuals. We’ve increased the texture quality of all our peeps and improved the level of details on various scenery items. Also, in this update, you will have your first peek at our new Screen Space Reflections system; it is not fully implemented yet and still in development, but look out for new reflections that have been added to a number of objects. We, however, will reserve the before-and-after screenshots for when the feature is fully implemented.
Lastly, but certainly not least, some of you may have noticed that the Adventure Ruins centerpiece scenery object snuck into our last update. We have improved the visuals a bit and are now officially releasing it! It’s exciting to see how much everyone is loving these bigger centerpiece scenery objects, so expect us to add more as we go!
Check it out:
[I]This is the new Adventure Ruins Centerpiece![/I]
It’s been a busy few weeks here at Team RCTW. We are amazed by all the awesome User-Generated Content being placed into the Steam Workshop and the incredibly inspired Screens/Videos we are seeing in the Creativity Forum. We are so happy to see that that forum has really taken off! It seems like UGC is really making its mark on the community and unlocking a ton of awesome creations!
From our Community Team, here’s a sneak peek at this week’s Featured User ChrisG’s park:
[I]This is a shot from this week's feature user's ChrisG’s park![/I]
Thank you for all the support, the incredible feedback, and most importantly – the inspiring parks we are seeing being made!
Until the next post, see you on the forums, and in the meantime, see below for the full list of what’s contained in this update and to get a preview at what we are working on next!
Here is the full list of what’s in today’s update, and a preview of what we are working on:
NEW FEATURES AND CONTENT
Content: Added the new Adventure Ruins scenery to Centerpieces. This new scenery item is a huge adventure ruin that will surely add to the ambiance of your adventure parks. It’s full of holes and paths for your coasters to run through.
Peeps:Peep emotes have additional information! When a peep triggers an emote it will now also display a + or +++ to clearly show this emote indicates a change in the peep’s status.
UI/UX:Peep thoughts are now grouped! This will allow you to see common trends and thoughts among your peeps more easily.
UI/UX:Pin panels in place! We added a new pin icon to all the windows so you don’t have to worry about them moving around anymore.
IMPROVEMENTS
Coasters: Deleting a highlighted segment while in freeform mode now highlights the previous segment automatically.
Coasters: Further revisions to a number of premade coasters following our physics update and feedback from you.
Coasters: It’s now possible to delete the first segment of coasters (with the exception of the accelerator coaster).
Graphics: Improved the texture quality of all peeps. Their textures will now be of much higher quality.
Graphics: Number of improvements on the LODs for flowers and plants.
Peeps: Improved the animations and interactions when picking up a peep. Just click on a peep, hold the right mouse button and drag the peep into the air.
Peeps: Improved the peep thoughts to be more descriptive.
Peeps: Peep emotes are now more closely linked with peep thoughts, making it easier to see what’s going on with an unhappy peep.
Performance: A number of graphics meshes have been optimized increasing performance.
Performance: A number of meshes are now pooled increasing performance.
UI/UX: Added slight contrast to white track during the track builder to better differentiate it from the track highlight color.
UI/UX: Clicking the track while in the test tab will now put you back into track edit mode.
UI/UX: Improved the look of the button prompts in the tutorial.
UI/UX: Increased the size and readability of the strength slider for the track builder’s mechanical elements.
UI/UX: Tool tip placement is now more consistent throughout the entire UI.
UI/UX: Updated the finance screen to now fit 5 columns of data.
UI/UX: Updated the sci-fi arch screenshots.
UI/UX: When in the track tab, putting the cursor on the HUD and back out again will no longer cause you to lose your current segment selection.
ALPHA FEATURES – IN PROGRESS - FEEDBACK NEEDED This list contains features that are in progress, have had a first pass at improvements, or at an Alpha stage. Occasionally, we will develop features or improve on things that we need more feedback on from you. These are items that we want to release but are still considered “work in progress”.
Graphics: IN PROGRESS: Screen Space Reflections. We are in the process of rolling out screen space reflections. It’s been added to a few objects in the game. Let us know what you think!
Peeps: ALPHA FEATURE: Peeps now have a vomit effect! See what happens when they get off a vomit-inducing ride.
UI/UX: ALPHA FEATURE: Dynamic increments for measurements when using your scroll wheel! Scroll slowly and your objects will move in smaller increments than if you scroll quickly. This will allow for more precise placement of objects. Let us know what you think!
Peeps: FIRST PASS - Numerous AI Improvements:
Peeps will now "hold" their nausea and bladder, even if it's extreme, if they're heading for a bathroom and they're within a certain distance of it.
Peeps will now incorporate distance to bathrooms when scoring them, prioritizing closer bathrooms over more distant ones. We will continue imploring peeps to use the bathroom when they have to pee, and only resort to the path in the most extreme or unfortunate circumstances.
Peeps will now address nausea, hunger, thirst, and bathroom when their stats are lower than before, giving them more opportunity to deal with these issues before they're a serious problem.
Peeps should take much longer before becoming injured as a consequence of extremely high nausea, bathroom, hunger, and thirst.
Peeps should no longer buy drinks when hoping to soothe their hunger. We have informed them that food will be much more effective for this purpose.
Staff: FIRST PASS - Numerous AI Improvements:
Park Staff will now spread themselves out more evenly in your park.
Janitors will now clean messes in a more orderly fashion.
Previously, we reduced janitor clean times dramatically to help keep your park clean. We've spoken to Janitors again and asked them to take a little more time with their tasks. That said, you may need to adjust the number of janitor buildings and staff to make sure your park is nice and tidy!
BUG FIXES The Bugs below have all been addressed in this latest update. Note this is not a complete list but does give you an idea of most of the fixes that were made.
Buildings: Once placing the “Mayan Temple” you cannot delete it
Coasters: G-forces seem to generate differently on inversions than flat track
Coasters: Inversions cause last segment of coaster to be intensely twisted
Coasters: Magnetic Brake description for the Accelerator Coaster is incorrect
Coasters: Pre-made coasters can be edited
Coasters: The coaster train stops at the track and fails to complete its cycle, if user clicks on the coaster station when the train is about to leave the station
Coasters: Twisting a coaster track using the second edit mode will focus the rotation in the middle of the segment
Coasters: Twisting a coaster track using the second edit mode will focus the rotation in the middle of the segment
Coasters: When mousing over the outside of the park boundaries the Yaw angle of the node gets locked
Flatrides: Flatrides not aware they have ticket booths anymore
Flatrides: Light posts of the “Observation Ride” do not illuminate at night
Graphics: First LOD level cut’s all the lilac plants in half
Graphics: Numerous visual issues with topiaries
Graphics: Park environment is visible through the small hole on the top of the scenery asset “Saguaro Cactus”
Graphics: The hypercoaster adventure station has an LOD problem
Localization: Korean language not displaying as an option in the main menu
Localization: Lots of text is missing in French
Paths: No assets can be placed on paths
Peeps: Park staff and rotated incorrectly while walking
Peeps: Peep body clips with the fences of the “Typhoon Ride”
Peeps: Peeps are not getting injured from coaster crash
Peeps: Peeps are not using the correct animation based on their age and gender
Peeps: Peeps not properly holding items when walking around your park
Scenarios: Coasters in Scenarios 1 ,2, and 3 broken after previous update
Scenarios: Loading a finished scenario makes the number of remaining months disappear
UGC: Blueprints system is not working
UGC: UGC voting feature has a variety of bugs
UI/UX: Fire animation is missing in the preview image of the scenery asset “Crashed UFO”
UI/UX: Park thoughts appear to be truncated
UI/UX: Peep count always has a green arrow, even if peeps are leaving the park
UI/UX: Scenery asset “Random Hibiscus” is displayed twice under “Flowers and Plants” category
UI/UX: Sci-fi theme of the Inverted Coaster fails to match with it’s preview image
UI/UX: Scrollbars do not move in the direction of travel of the screen
UI/UX: Small entertainer building texture gets broken when using heat maps
UI/UX: The current month in the finance window is offset when we first start the game
UI/UX: The notification bar at the right of the top HUD is not fixed and goes out of the screen when scrolling down the notifications using the mouse wheel
UI/UX: Warning notifications at the top get truncated if the user invokes “Bulldozer” or “Move” tools when the notification pops up
KNOWN ISSUES We are still working on a number of bugs, tweaks, and other fixes. With each update we address a number of bugs and make a ton of improvements, but sometimes this may cause new things to break in the process. Our focus on Early Access is getting updates out faster to you so that we can get feedback earlier in the process. If you see a bug please report it HERE. Feedback on what you seeing implemented should go HERE.
For a general guide on fixes and troubleshooting steps (including the one for the 57% bug) suggested by the community to a number of common issues please visit THIS GUIDE.
WHAT’S NEXT Now that our simulation team has made their first pass on AI, they will be turning their attention to reading more of your feedback, further tweaking/balancing what is implemented, and expanding the capabilities of the system further. One of their next targets is to improve the nausea system so expect more improvements in the next couple of weeks.
For our next update you will see further improvements on AI as more medium and longer term tasks get checked in. For example, we are still working on our “Nausea” system. Expect in our next update that peeps will now have a minimum Nausea Tolerance of 1 (up from 0), and peeps with higher minimum Intensity Preferences will also receive a boost to their Nausea Tolerance.
Additionally, we currently have a specialized team working on paths! This team is working on the main frustration points of our path system and fixing bugs. This is an important task and a top priority in the upcoming weeks. You should expect a number of fixes, frustration point removals, and general improvements to the path system over time. Already, in our next major update, some improvements will be noticeable. Of course, we have planned a few surprises along the way as well!
We also have noted a number of users asking about performance improvements. While performance will improve incrementally with each update, we do have a number of larger initiatives underway that we expect will solve the problem more holistically. Those, however, are taking some time to implement. We will share more updates once we get a bit further along.
Another sneak peak of user's ChrisG’s park!
RCTW - Early Access - ICYMI April 25 - Community Spotlight - UGC by 'WoodenCode' / Guide by 'Shirty'
Hi all,
In case you missed it, last week we featured User Generated Content by 'WoodenCode' in our Community Spotlight! Check out his RCTW Steam Workshop Profile to see and download some of the incredible stuff he has made - including a real-time map scenery object that updates as you build your park!
Here's the full post by Community Manager - 'Nookriot':
Evening Tycoon Fans!
Checking in on the Community Spotlight to share some pretty sweet UGC this week with you all. The community member we are featuring is WoodenCode! The specific piece that caught our eye is an in-game real-time park map that updates as you shape and expand your park. He has also created some really cool RCTW in-game signage. Check out that screenshot!
In addition to that, he has also created a time lapse YouTube video of the creation process, pretty wild! Please be sure to check out his video as well as his Steam Workshop Profile as we are sure it will inspire you to create some amazing things!
Thanks & Congrats to WoodenCode!
YouTube Video Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pD6nbgI9fZE
We also highlighted an incredible UGC guide made by community member - 'Shirty'. In his guide, [I]The Ultimate User Generated Content Guide[/I], you can find the answers to almost all of your UGC related questions! Everything from using the content manager to importing your first asset! Get started with UGC today by reading this incredible guide!
Here's the full post by 'Nookriot':
Happy Saturday Tycoon Fans!
Dropping in to share some more UGC! This one is a bit different from the others we have shared and the shout out goes to Shirty! This member has created a sweet UGC Guide on Steam that covers a great amount of detail surrounding the topic. Take some time to check out this guide as we know it will inspire you to create great things!
In case you missed it, last week we featured Deathtome as our Feature of the Week! He created the below awesome theme park! Want to be featured too? Be sure to post your park in our [URL="https://forum.rollercoastertycoon.com/forumdisplay.php?51-Creativity"]Creativity Forum[/URL]!
[QUOTE="April" 21="21" Social="Social" Announcement="Announcement" by="by" nookriot="nookriot" on="on"]This is the featured park of the week, created by one of our magnificent community members Deathtome!
The specific mention of this park is that it was built without any UGC, all in game assets.
Take a look at the great work done here as we know it will inspire you to create your own awesome park!
If you are interested in being featured, please let us know! Have a great weekend!
[/QUOTE]
Here are a few highlights from his park. To see the full gallery check out our [URL="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1038058856286285.1073741833.121146194644227&type=3"]Social Media page on Facebook[/URL]
RCTW - Early Access - Dev Blog #6 - Improved Coaster Physics!
Dear Tycoons,
After much development, testing, and feedback following our last blog (please keep it coming), we are happy to release update #3!
For this update we really focused on improving our coasters. Based on your feedback, we made adjustments to our physics system, stats and pre-made coasters. First you will notice that our pre-made coasters are new and improved! They have been updated to look and behave more realistically. For those of you who have a pre-made coaster in your park currently, you may need to replace it with one of our updated versions to ensure it works properly.
We also made an update to our physics system. Your coasters will now react more realistically to your track designs. As a result of these updates, some of your previous designs may need to be tweaked a bit.
For those longtime RCT fans, you will also notice we have added a new feature called “Grease Your Tracks.” When you check this box it will ease the friction and the physics will be a bit looser. Test it out, and see how you like it!
Additionally, we’re launching new highly requested features, including an RGB color picker for your coaster tracks. We are going to call this particular feature at “Alpha Stage”, because it is the very first step to a larger system, and we plan to spend more time fixing bugs associated with it. That said, it’s just too cool not to release today!
On the art side, we are currently developing new content such as this new Gold Mine Scenery Centerpiece (released today). This scenery item will allow you to build coasters and paths through its tunnels, giving a unique look and feel to your park. Take a look:
Check out the awesome new Gold Mine scenery centerpiece! It has tunnels big enough to fit a coaster through. The two mountains connected by the bridge are all one piece.
Water is important to us and with the feedback received, we wanted to refine the water and address some feedback for this update. We added dynamic real-time reflections and also tweaked some of the water shaders for increased realism. Check it out:
This image shows the difference in water from before to now.
Lastly, we spent a considerable amount of time improving existing features and, of course, fixing bugs! In particular, we wanted to mention we made a number of bug-fixes associated with UGC downloading issues.
See below for the full list of what’s contained in this update and to get a peek at what we are working on next!
NEW FEATURES AND CONTENT
Coasters:Added an RGB color chooser for tracks!
NOTE – this feature is still in Alpha and will be expanded and improved upon in the future.
Coasters:Grease your tracks option added to the coaster tool! Want to keep your coaster physics similar to what they were prior to this update? Simply check off the “Grease your Tracks” option in the coaster builder.
Content:Added spotlights to your Décor scenery. Cool new ways to light up your park and rides at night!
Content:Added new Western Gold Mine scenery to Centerpieces. This new scenery item is a beautiful big centerpiece that has mineshafts and tunnels through which you can run your coasters and paths!
Graphics:Added real-time reflections to water. The water now accurately and beautifully reflects the environment and objects around it.
UGC:Added a button/ranking system to In-Game Hubs. Players can now vote on their favorite UGC items via the in-game hubs. Those rankings will now be displayed in both the Steam Workshop and In-Game.
IMPROVEMENTS
AI: Janitors and Mechanics are much more effective reducing overall urine/puke in the park.
Animations: Improved animation for children peeps on Helter Skelter and Hay Rides.
Animations: Improved animation for mechanics and medics.
Animations: Numerous general animation improvements.
Coasters:
Physics: Friction on coasters should now be much closer to real world values.
Note: This means you may need to tweak prior coaster designs to ensure they still run properly. If you want to ease the friction and physics simply check off the “Grease Your Tracks” option in the coaster builder.
Note 2: We are still working on Coaster Physics and Stats but we wanted to release this incremental update not only to show progress but also to ensure we are headed in the right direction. Please give us feedback!
Pre-Made Coasters: We have updated many of the pre-made coasters to make them work with the new physics. They now have the new friction system in mind, better stats, and also reflect higher levels of realism. This process however is still on-going.
Stats: Banking curves now reduces the lateral G’s generated further than before.
Stats: Coaster stats should be easier to keep below 12 intensity – watch your lateral G’s though!
Graphics: We have done our “First” pass on sci-fi textures. We are in the process of revamping all of the sci-fi textures to make them better and more realistic. Let us know what you think!
UGC: Manual Refresh Button added. We have added a manual refresh button to the in-game UGC tools to allow you to manually refresh your content.
UGC: Paging System Added. Just like on the Steam Workshop you now have the option to page through content in-game to make it easier to find improving the user experience.
UX/UI: Park expansion button moved into the main HUD so it’s more visible.
BUG FIXES The team has been hard at work fixing bugs! Below is a partial list of some of the more notable ones. NOTE - There are additional fixes not included in this list.
Audio Sound of the game is audible even if the game is minimized by using Alt+Tab.
Audio Sounds of Peeps needing to go to the bathroom shouldn't be heard in rides
Buildings Building cannot be rotated while the grid is active
Buildings Building who cannot be attached to paths
Buildings Drop Zone - Previous and Next button of ride camera is not working for the ride Drop Zone.
Buildings Entry path gets detached when placing the restaurant building 'Log Cabin Restaurant' rotating 90 degrees.
Buildings Flat ride - Incomplete description is given in the preview window of the 'Pendulum' ride.
Buildings Spacewars flatride goes into ride cam when selecting it to build.
Buildings Tornado - Ride cars illuminate during day and night if user zooms in and out the camera.
Coasters A twisted track appears at the end of 'Specialty Pieces'.
Coasters An incorrect game tip regarding the Queue and Path lines is displayed after placing a coaster into the park.
Coasters Coaster builder segment mode get locked once you use freeform
Coasters Mechanism value not rounded when switching between chain lift speed and other mechanisms strength value.
Coasters Ride Sign' placed over the queue path attached to a completed coaster (Track loop closed) displays 'Testing' on the sign board, even though the coaster is closed.
Coasters Spinning coaster supports are detached from the coaster track.
Coasters Test Results & Ride Stats - Speed tab automatically gets selected even if the user has selected any other tab in the Test Results & Ride Stats.
Coasters The blue coaster node for 'Auto complete?' becomes un-intractable, if user slightly twists the last track node after completing the coaster track.
Coasters The red color appears on the track of the spinning coaster if user apply the mechanism 'Friction Break' to the tracks.
Coasters User is unable to close coaster editor toolbar by clicking on the cross button.
General Save Load not working.
General Camera stuck outside of the park while building a roller coaster with very low framerate.
General Campaign - Objective set #6 second objective cannot be completed stuck at 20%
General Incorrect game tip regarding Medic staff patrol time is observed on loading screen.
General Loading Screen - Game tips - Incorrect game tip regarding Mechanics petrol time is observed on loading screen.
General Sandbox flatland open does not work
General Save System - Terrain does not change from one instance to another
General Saved Games - Entrance path ghost is broken at first boot
General Scenario 1 boot at max speed en if the UI shows minimum speed
General Scenario work flow fix
Graphics Distant trees outside the park have wrong shader.
Graphics If the user proceeds into the map for the first time, a white patch appears on the 'Warning' message box near 'Ok' button.
Peeps Fix the teen peeps skins
Peeps Medics freeze on large paths.
Peeps Mechanics flickering at the building entrance
Peeps One of the female peep dressed in a orange dress appears to be sited on the ground rather on chair.
Peeps Peep get stuck at ride exits.
Peeps Peep thoughts are disappearing.
Peeps Peep will clip through the seat of the 'Wild Tycoon Wings'.
Peeps Peeps are not visible on flat rides or coasters.
Peeps Peeps clip with the car of the ride 'Zipper'.
Peeps Peeps never attempt to grab handles of the harness in 'Pendulum' ride.
Peeps Sometimes the medic staff gets stuck at one place in a walking animation.
Peeps Staff - Tool Box of mechanic clips with the body.
Peeps Staff can be seen sliding on path
Peeps Staff do not enter their buildings.
Peeps Stretching peeps can be seen everywhere
Peeps Texture issue with Peep
Peeps The way adults sit and children sit is not properly differentiating
UGC Some users cannot download UGC
UI/UX Cannot change game speed with mouse left clicking.
UI/UX Cannot select the park entrance on 2 maps.
UI/UX Finances - On hovering the cursor over the last tab of the Finances only Loans appears as the tooltip.
UI/UX Luminous Isle - Modify Terrain - 'Grass texture D' is displayed in the description of the paint theme 'Grass Texture A'.
UI/UX Objective tab is a bit out of the screen
UI/UX Objective text does not show up in Scenario 2.
UI/UX Theme icons for some of the fences overlaps with their preview images.
KNOWN ISSUES We are still working on a number of bugs, tweaks, and other fixes. In particular, we’re focusing on the 57% loading bug. While we work to resolve this and other issues with future updates, we wanted to call out an excellent guide made by a member of our community that, in the interim, has helped resolve a number of issues for users experiencing the 57% bug, blackscreen issues, or similar problems. Please check it out!
Additionally, it’s super important for you to continue to give us feedback, suggest improvements, and report bugs! We are reading it all and prioritizing our work based on what you tell us.
WHAT’S NEXT With our first major pass on coaster physics now done our team is shifting its focus to all things AI for our next big update. We want to make sure that the staff functions more efficiently, your peeps are smarter, and that in general your park feels more responsive to what you are building and doing. Of course we will also continue to iterate on what we have released and improved thus far!
A side note on paths – we are aware of the frustrations people are experiencing with paths. We have read your feedback and are working on the overall path system. While the fixes won’t be included in our next update, know that we are working hard on these improvements.
In terms of peeps and their animation - We have read your comments and are working hard on improving our animation system as well as our peeps quality – we will have more news on this once we progress further on this effort.
The whole team is feeling inspired and we hope you find time to share some of the great stuff you are making in our new Creativity Forum! Also be sure to check out our Forums and Social Media pages as our community team will be featuring more and more user-made creations and parks!
Here’s a sneak peek at a park by fan "Deathtome" which we will be featuring this week:
This park by fan "Deathtome" will be featured this week on Social Media so be sure to check it out!
Thank you for all the support, the incredible feedback, and the awesome creations we are seeing.
Team RCTW
Typhoon Screenshot Contest Winners!
Greetings To All!
We have collected all of the Typhoon flat ride screenshots from the contest over this past weekend and the winners have been chosen! Please take a minute to congratulate them as they are listed below.
For all those that won, please keep an eye on your messages as I will be reaching out to all of you to give you your prize!
