Section 1: Park Design The first and most important part about mastering RollerCoaster Tycoon is getting your park design down right. Often times I have seen people with outstanding rides in their parks, yet with no one on them. Why? None of the guest could get to the rides. And it's not like there were missing parts in the pathways...it was just to COMPLICATED. Even if the guests had park maps, they still couldn't get to it (and c'mon, I know you guys have been to a few amusement parks in your life. You know how much the park maps they give you suck). My main rule that I try to stick by is "If a guest can see the ride, they shouldn't be too far from a path that can take them there." So using this premise I have developed a few pointers on park design. 1. Don't have paths that stay by themselves. In other words, try to connect the paths in your park to each other. Don't try to have a central "hub"(one place that branches out to all of the other places). I have tried it before and it doesn't work at all. 2. Although you shouldn't use a hub for your whole park, you can use it for a small area with good results. It can get confusing with all of these inter-connecting paths all over the place. 3. Put your better rides towards the back of the park. This way, the guests will walk through your park to get to the rollercoasters, and along the way most likely buy food and souveniers. Another good idea is to have a transport ride at the beginning of your park that goes all through the whole park, thus enticing guests to ride the coasters and such. 4. Have a foodcourt in the middle of your park. This way, guests can go to one place and find the food that they like (and bathrooms!). But also keep snack stands all around your park. A burger stand here, ice cream there will keep your guests happy. Also, make generous use of your info kiosks. These combined with well-laid-out paths makes for no losts guests. |