RollerCoaster Tycoon World
RCTW - Blog #28 - Flatride Reveal Videos!
Hope everyone had a fun and restful holiday break! As many of you have seen on our social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube we kicked off the year with a bang, revealing in-game and rendered videos of some of our flatrides.
Here you can see our incredibly realistic Twister ride:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYXP3FCLonE
For the amusement park purists, we present to you – The Twister! This medium intensity ride is perfect for the whole Peep family. What you’re looking at is the fully rendered Twister that you’ll find in-game! Check back soon to see what it looks like in-game.
Our art team is super excited about the feedback we have received on the rides and looks forward to adding that extra little bit of polish to them as we head towards launch. It really is all about the details and as some of you pointed out, it’s important that the cars swing as they go around the ride. Realism is key as it adds that much more to the fun and immersion of the game.
For fans of the fantastical we also posted these amazing videos from within the game and our engine of our sci-fi themed Orbit Spinner:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qptrkiJq8F8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VSJpuWN3Ss
The only ride accompanied by the sound of a theremin, the Orbit Spinner comes to us from a galaxy far, far away to deliver some of the most intense g forces outside of an F-15. Studies have shown that the Orbit Spinner can cause one’s organs to shift by as much as 4 inches, effectively putting your eyeball inside your nostril! Cool, right?
As we get closer to launch, we’ll be revealing many different parts of the game – including more rides! All of this will be further detailed in our upcoming blogs, streams, videos, and more! Content will be posted on a variety of channels including Facebook and Twitter, our website, and forums.
Thank you again for staying with us through the development of RollerCoaster Tycoon World. We can’t wait to bring the game to you soon! Together we have built something truly special.
Cheers,
Team RCTW
RCTW - Happy Holidays!
The Peeps from Team RCTW wish you Happy Holidays and an awesome New Year!
RCTW - Blog #27 - Upcoming Streams
Dear Tycoons,
Production on RollerCoaster Tycoon World is flying along at breakneck speed. The team is working hard to finish the updated coaster system and all the other bits of fan feedback we received from our previous public test. We want to show you what we’ve been working on, so we have some exciting upcoming streams!
Tomorrow - Friday 12/11 at 2PM EDT - we will be on JMR’s Twitch channel for an exclusive RCTW interview! JMR is one of our volunteer forum moderators, and a huge supporter of the game. We want to give him an opportunity to answer his and your burning questions. If you have something you really want answered pop over to THIS THREAD to make sure JMR puts it on his list!
On the following Friday 12/18 at 2PM EDT, we’ll be streaming the newest build of RCTW on Alienware's Twitch channel. The game is looking beautiful, and our team has implemented a ton of updates already based off of your feedback and our private tests. Come and see RollerCoaster Tycoon World played LIVE on the stream!
RCTW is now being tested in small private group sessions to ensure we get everything right before our next public test. We’re gathering tons of useful data, and the reception so far has been fantastic. Thus we will be moving the public test to early next year.
Lastly, we wanted to highlight a really awesome video we found made by Andrew McMurray (aka AndrewMFilms)! Curious to see what “A Fun Day in Roller Coaster Tycoon!” could be if it were a real life park? See for yourself!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0UJDwuZOv0
See you tomorrow!
Happy Holidays!
Best,
Team RCTW
RCTW - Blog #26 - Happy Thanksgiving from Team RCTW!
As we head into the Holiday weekend, we want to give you all a quick RCTW update. The team at Nvizzio is hard at work refining RollerCoaster Tycoon World, with a focus on the updated features we laid out in previous blogs – new coaster builder, improved coaster feedback, improved fence tools and an on-demand grid. The piece-by-piece coaster builder is coming together brilliantly and acts as a great complement to our free-form coaster tool. We can’t wait for you to try it for yourself!
And speaking of trying RCTW for yourself – each day we get one step closer to our next preview weekend! We’ll have an announcement with the exact timing of the preview once we are fully ready and confirmed, along with a list of features you can expect to see. This updated build will incorporate the new systems YOU have requested.
Many of the updated features are already working but are now undergoing testing and feedback cycles internally at the studio. Once we get through this phase along with a little extra polish we will be ready to share more info publicly.
As always, we’re committed to incorporating your feedback and providing the world class RCT experience you deserve. The success of the game hinges on support from our most devoted fans, so we’re so excited to show you how RCTW has progressed since the first Beta. Thank you again for your dedication and excitement for RCTW throughout the roller coaster ride of game development.
Wishing you a happy and healthy Holiday,
Team RCTW
RCTW - Blog #25 - Alienware and Atari Coaster Contest Winners!
Dear Tycoons,
We would like to end this week by announcing our coaster contest winners!
Thank you to all of you who joined us during today’s stream. It was super fun watching some of the amazing coasters made by fans utilizing the Beta 1 Build of RollerCoaster Tycoon World! It’s incredible to see the creativity of our community come alive.
With the improvements that are coming to our coaster tool (see RCTW Blog 23), we know we can expect even more incredible things from you fans in the future!
While the competition was fierce, we are excited to announce that through a combination of Fan Votes, Atari’s Votes, and Alienware’s Votes - Rickety Railroad is our Grand Prize winner and the proud owner of a new Alienware Steam Machine! Congrats!
Second Place goes to Sky Shark Coaster and Third Place belongs to Jungle Fury. Congrats as well!
Here’s the complete list of winners:
[LIST]
<*>[URL="https://na.alienwarearena.com/videos/view/rickety-railroad-rctw-beta-contest-entry"]Rickety Railroad[/URL]
<*>[URL="https://na.alienwarearena.com/videos/view/sky-shark-coaster"]Sky Shark Coaster[/URL]
<*>[URL="https://na.alienwarearena.com/videos/view/rollercoaster-tycoon-world-jungle-fury-trailer-for-alienware"]Jungle Fury[/URL]
<*>[URL="https://na.alienwarearena.com/videos/view/vulture-excitement-rating-uber-high"]Vulture[/URL]
<*>[URL="https://na.alienwarearena.com/videos/view/the-albino"]The Albino[/URL]
<*>[URL="https://na.alienwarearena.com/videos/view/rctw-fireball-wizard-coaster-contest-entry"]Fireball Wizard[/URL]
<*>[URL="https://na.alienwarearena.com/videos/view/rctw-contest-entry-atlantis-1"]Atlantis[/URL]
<*>[URL="https://na.alienwarearena.com/videos/view/thefeatherless"]The Featherless[/URL]
<*>[URL="https://na.alienwarearena.com/videos/view/the-snake-rctw-beta1-contest"]The Snake[/URL]
<*>[URL="https://na.alienwarearena.com/videos/view/figuring-8-rctw-beta-contest"]Figuring 8[/URL]
<*>[URL="https://na.alienwarearena.com/videos/view/claustrophobia-and-agoraphobia-rctw-beta-1-contest-entry"]Claustrophobia and Agoraphobia[/URL]
[/LIST]
The top 11 winners will all receive a cool RCTW t-shirt for making it so high up the charts!
Thank you again to all who entered and thank you to Alienware for sponsoring this great contest! We can’t wait to do more of these in the future.
Enjoy the weekend.
Cheers,
Mattlab
Team RCTW
RCTW - Blog #24 – Top 20 Coaster Videos and Upcoming Stream
It has been another very busy and exciting week here at the studio. A lot of the improvements that we talked about in blog 23 are being implemented, including piece-by-piece coaster building. We’re already very impressed with the initial results, and we believe you will be too. As soon as we are a bit further along, we plan to share these new developments to get your impressions. Stay tuned for an upcoming blog with additional details.
That said, today I wanted to let everyone know that this coming Friday, November 20th, 2015 at 2PM ET we will be on Alienware’s Twitch channel (http://www.twitch.tv/alienware), where we will pick the winners of the Alienware RCTW Create and Share Coaster Contest! You can view the full list of submissions here: https://na.alienwarearena.com/groups/rollercoaster-tycoon-world/videos
It has truly been awe-inspiring to see all of the great coaster designs made during the Beta weekend. Your creativity has no limits. We are so glad many of you were able to use the tools provided to create fantastic coasters and we’re excited to further extend the functionality to open up even more possibilities.
The Alienware Stream will be a fun opportunity to recap the Beta weekend, see some amazing fan-made coasters, and of course – give away prizes! Your vote counts too so be sure to join us and help choose one lucky fan to win an Alienware Steam Machine for making the best coaster from the first Beta!
So without further ado – here are the finalists for the Coaster Contest (listed alphabetically by title)! These coasters were selected by fan votes on Alienware Arena.
TOP 20 VIDEOS! WINNER TO BE SELECTED DURING STREAM 11/20 @ 2PM ET on Twitch.tv/alienware
- "The Incinerator"
- Albatross: Roller Coaster Tycoon World Contest Entry
- AW RC Contest
- Blue Beta
- Claustrophobia and Agoraphobia - RCTW Beta 1 Contest Entry
- Figuring 8 RCTW Beta Contest
- RCTW Contest Entry - Atlantis
- RCTW Fireball Wizard Coaster Contest Entry
- Rickety Railroad - RCTW Beta Contest Entry
- RollerCoaster Beta #R&R Coaster
- RollerCoaster Tycoon World Flying Race Coaster
- RollerCoaster Tycoon World Jungle Fury Trailer for Alienware
- RollerCoaster Tycoon World Teaser Custom Coaster
- Sky Shark Coaster
- The Albino
- The Snake RCTW Beta1 Contest
- The Traveler
- TheFeatherless
- Thunder - [Beta Weekend One]
- Vulture (Excitement Rating Uber High)
See you Friday!
Cheers,
Mattlab
Team RCTW
RCTW - Blog #23 - RollerCoaster Tycoon World Releasing in Early 2016
Additionally, what we showed during our Beta was a small portion of the content available in the finished game. Many core features were deliberately not included, giving us extra time to continue tweaking and polishing them. There is much, much more to RCTW – peeps, rides, simulation, campaign, economy, UGC, – than what you got to play in our first Beta. It’s heartening that even with this small slice of the RCTW experience, you were able to give us such tremendous and useful feedback.
As we had hoped, you’ve filled our forums with your thoughts, told us what you wanted this game to be and of course, filed a number of bugs. It shows your dedication and passion to the franchise, and your desire to have an impact on the development of the game and see your feedback implemented. It also got us thinking about all the other ways we could push the franchise forward with some additional time.
Many of you loved the game, some found certain aspects frustrating, and you all had tons of thoughtful suggestions for improvements. Based on your feedback and our own internal processes, here is a short list of features that will significantly improve the final product: easier “predefined piece” coaster building, additional coaster test feedback, a robust fencing tool, improved on-demand grid, and various smaller improvements.
To accommodate these improvements, and ensure that RollerCoaster Tycoon World will be the best, most innovative RCT experience to date, we will launch the game in early 2016. The new launch date will be communicated after the second preview.
Our highest priority has always been to release a game that we’re proud of, one that lives up to the lofty standards set by the previous titles. With this new timing we will be able to do just that – deliver a robust tycoon experience along with additional layers of polishing and tweaks that the extra time affords us.
So now, here is more detail on what improvements and additional features will be implemented within our adjusted timeline:
- Additional Coaster Builder Functionality, using predefined lines and curves: As you know, the game offers a 3D spline-based coaster editor, giving you full flexibility to create never-before-possible track designs. As seen by the entries to our Alienware contest many of you were able to create some truly breathtaking rides. At the same time, it’s clear from our review of the Beta that some of you also desire the ability to build tracks with predefined lines and curves. Thus, we are adding that functionality to the coaster system to give you both options. It’s truly the best of both worlds.
- Improved Coaster Test Mode Feedback: A pillar of the franchise is the ability to test coasters and then adjust them to provide a more exciting, safer, or in some cases even more nauseating experience. Our Beta test revealed that not everyone had the information they needed to effectively accomplish this. We have now designed an incredible system to provide detailed superimposed heatmaps right onto your coasters following tests. Also – we know that coasters fly off the tracks too often. An update is in the works!
- Fence Tool: People are very passionate about their fences. So are we. Our fencing tool will be improved, allowing you to place fences more quickly, and align them exactly how you want.
- On-Demand Grid: A number of you used the on-demand grid provided in the Beta but found it still too limiting. We have a number of designs for how we can make our grid system bigger and better.
We’ve learned a lot from the Beta and obviously have a number of bugs, memory leaks, polish items, and optimizations we want to do to make the game run smooth as butter.
There are also a number of other suggestions we’ve received from you that we are looking at implementing as well (such as improving path placement). That said our list above addresses the key items.
Speaking of tests; the change in timeline means that our next public play test will be moved as well. We are now targeting a second preview weekend for December. Our focus remains on the coaster builder with the additional tweaks and functionalities described above, along with a few other features. We want to ensure we get this right and we need your feedback.
Until our next test, the work continues, and we will keep you all updated with additional Twitch streams, production blogs and more in the coming weeks. We want to share renderings of some of these improvements as soon as we have them so that we can get feedback early. Please remember to continue participating on our forums and streams! Your voice is being heard and we are adapting to it!
Long before we started working on RollerCoaster Tycoon World, we knew it would be a massive undertaking. Not only did we want to remove the grid and overhaul the coaster builder, we also needed to create next-generation graphics, bring the entire franchise into the future, and create a title worthy of the RollerCoaster Tycoon legacy. We now have a clear path ahead of us, and with your instrumental feedback, we will be able to make RCTW the great game it is destined to be.
Sincerely,
Atari and Nvizzio
Team RCTW
RCTW - Blog #22 - Welcome to the First RollerCoaster Tycoon World Beta Weekend!
A spooky themed screenshot for Halloween! Happy Halloween!
It’s time to build some coasters! As mentioned in our previous blog, if you have pre-ordered RCTW you can log into Steam at 6PM Eastern today, Friday 10/30/2015, and play the RollerCoaster Tycoon World Beta! The Beta will run until 1PM Eastern Monday 11/2/2015. Fire up those computers and get in there – it’s time to play some RollerCoaster Tycoon World!
BEFORE YOU BEGIN, WATCH OUR TWITCH STREAM
With any new experience, it’s always good to have a few tips and tricks available before jumping in. First off, you should watch our Twitch stream from yesterday to get an overview of the Beta. The purpose of this Beta is primarily to test out the key features of the coaster builder and associated systems. We want you to focus on the tool functionalities and provide us feedback on your experience (CLICK HERE TO GO DIRECTLY TO THE BETA 1 FORUM). More details on the exact contents of the Beta can be found in last week’s blog.
I want to specifically mention that for Halloween all of our peeps have turned into… GHOSTS! Don’t be spooked! As we finish our last rounds of peep polish, we thought we’d include a little nod to the “spirit” of the season with these spectral guests.
Additionally, please keep in mind that we have not completed our final optimization pass, as this is typically reserved for the phase of development that we are now entering. This means that it’s possible that you may not always have an optimal frame-rate depending on your hardware configuration. By playing the Beta you will actually be helping us optimize RCTW, as we’re using in-game tools and Steam to collect hardware configurations to help us tweak the final game. Additionally, we are working with our compatibility lab as well as graphics card manufacturers on a daily basis to improve framerates and visuals. You can find updated system requirements on our Steam Page for the game.
Any specific hints or guides developed throughout the weekend will be posted HERE so be sure to check that thread before starting out.
JOIN US ON THE FORUMS – GIVE US FEEDBACK
Already playing? Awesome! We want to hear your thoughts. Join us in the official RollerCoaster Tycoon World forums and post your Beta 1 feedback. Anyone from our community is free to post! Our entire team is going to be reading those comments throughout the weekend and coming weeks so be sure to let us know what you like, don’t like, any suggestions, etc. We need to know both the positives and the negatives. BUT we ask that you please keep feedback related to what you find in the Beta. The following Beta will give you the opportunity to provide additional feedback on other aspects of the game.
BUG REPORTING
Notice a bug? Report it! Visit our official public bug tracker – HERE. Record all the relevant details and our QA team will get on it! This is a super important part of the Beta and we really want you to report bugs to us if you find them. Remember to include a screenshot or video if possible and MOST IMPORTANTLY – steps to reproduce the bugs you identify.
BETA WEEKEND 1 COASTER CONTEST
Finally, we know you all are going to build some AMAZING coasters this weekend and we want to reward you for that. Record a 1 minute long video of your best coaster creation and post the video on the RCTW Alienware Arena page here: https://na.alienwarearena.com/groups/rollercoaster-tycoon-world/videos, and you will be entered to WIN AN ALIENWARE STEAM MACHINE! 10 runner-ups will win a RCTW t-shirt. You must enter by November 6, 2015. Then get all your friends to vote on your video and join us in November as we livestream the top videos and pick the winners with you. Your creativity, votes, plus our votes will crown the ultimate coaster designer from the first Beta! Official rules can be found here. Discussion of the contest can be found HERE.
Above all else – enjoy this first Beta test and see you on the forums, twitter, and Facebook!
Cheers,
Mattlab
Team RCTW
RCTW – Blog #21 – The first RollerCoaster Tycoon World Beta Weekend is October 30th!
Coaster Builders,
Put on your hard hats – it’s almost time to build some coasters!
The first RollerCoaster Tycoon World Beta Weekend will begin for all PC pre-order customers on Friday, October 30th and run until Monday November 2nd. The RollerCoaster Tycoon World Beta is a technical demo focusing on our coaster building system and will show tycoons just a small taste of the sandbox experience and great parks you will be able to build when the game launches.
If you’ve already activated RCTW via Steam, the game will be automatically made available via a Steam update on 10/30. If you have yet to activate your game, follow the instructions given by Steam upon your purchase, or if you purchased directly from rollercoastertycoon.com or other retailers, follow this link for activation instructions.
The Beta will let you experience Sandbox mode in our Forest map. It is important to note that we are disabling the financial and peep simulation for Beta Weekend 1. We hope to gather tons of feedback from you all, so make sure to join our community at forum.rollercoastertycoon.com. The features in the beta include:
- Coaster Building: You will be able to utilize the FULL coaster builder across all of the coaster types. This is a HUGE system that we want feedback and testing on from our community. It’s one of the most important parts of the game and we have worked really hard to make it easy and intuitive to use, while providing unprecedented control and depth. Let us know what you think!
- Coaster Simulation: Almost all simulation features of RCTW will be enabled, from Operations Screens, to Physics, to Building. Let us know your thoughts on the feedback the game is providing. Do you like how it’s reporting ride stats? What do you think about the new safety rating? Any and all feedback is appreciated.
- Coaster Physics: We want you to test the limits of our coaster system and show us some of the craziest designs possible so we can identify what we need to tweak over the comings weeks and months. Build something super tall, boost coasters too fast around a track, and of course send them flying off the rails!
- Coaster Riding: Everything you build will be rideable in first person cam. It’s a system we are still tweaking but we want you to test it now and give us feedback!
- Scenery: Just as integral as the coasters you’ll build, scenery helps bring your park to life. For this Beta, we’re offering a selection of in-game scenery options. This is also critical to UGC as we want our future UGC creators to have an idea of some of the in-game scenery we will be offering, how it will look in the game, and how it affects different aspects of the game.
- Paths/Grid: Queue and path systems will be enabled. Tell us how you like our new grid-free map, the on-demand grid, and of course test out those curved paths.
- Terrain Deformation/Water: This system, although simple to use, is actually incredibly complicated to implement due to all the interactions with our building and physics engines. Test it out!
- Additional Features: It goes without saying, but there are a ton of other “under-the-hood” features in there as well.
Additionally, while you are playing the game we will be gathering data on System Configurations (through Steam), reading through your bug reports on our bug tracker (details to be announced next week), interacting on the forums, and much more. We expect a ton of feedback on the performance of the game (as it is NOT fully optimized yet) and will continue to optimize based on that.
The way the Beta program is laid out right now allows for you to make the biggest impact on the game by letting the dev team focus on specific parts as more and more of the game is revealed in stages. We will be doing more Betas in the future and we really need to be able to gather feedback in actionable chunks. For example, performance, peep simulation, and full park operations testing is really the focus of our 2nd Beta (currently scheduled for late November).
Whether you are thinking of building the world’s tallest coaster or sending it into a harrowing spiral, we can’t wait to see you all in the RollerCoaster Tycoon World Beta on October 30th.
More questions about the Beta? See our updated FAQ!
But wait – there’s more! I also want to encourage all of our fans to tune into Alienware’s Twitch channel here on October 29th at 3PM EDT to watch us play the upcoming Beta. We are going to leave time during the Twitch stream for you to ask us questions about the game and we encourage it so bring them all! See you then!
Be sure to sign up for the RCT forums to get all the latest information on RollerCoaster Tycoon World and interact with our team.
Cheers,
Mattlab
RCTW - Blog #20 - FAQ Added to Website
I would like to start this week’s blog by saying thank you! The response to the pre-order campaign has been overwhelming and we are so pleased to see how excited everyone is for the upcoming betas and launch of RollerCoaster Tycoon World!
As the team is extremely busy prepping for the beta later this month, I wanted to direct you to our brand-new FAQ page, focusing on a few questions that have popped up in the last few weeks. However, before I do, I also would like to announce that the first beta is currently targeted for the last weekend of this month (we will be confirming the exact time shortly), and before that we will also host a Twitch stream showing off the beta! During the stream, we will play the beta build and give you an opportunity to ask us questions about RCTW before it gets into your hands. Stay tuned for details on both events.
And with that, please visit our new FAQ page to find a list of some frequently asked questions with more answers coming in the next weeks and months: http://www.rollercoastertycoon.com/rctw-faq/
Check back very soon for an announcement on the details of the Beta timelines as well as our Twitch Stream and a special Beta contest! Additionally, keep posting on our forums – we read as much as we can and it DIRECTLY influences the decisions being made for this game, both at launch and in the time after. Each week we get closer and closer to launch!
Cheers,
Mattlab