Best Coaster Game?

[Jarrett]

To some degree, I've always loved roller coasters since my mother got me a copy of old school Rollercoaster Tycoon from the library and ended up buying it for me because I loved it so much, and I still have the disk from over fifteen years ago. I know very few enthusiasts who have never played a coaster game, but which one is your favorite? Here's a rundown of all the major ones, in case you've not played all of them.

Theme Park- This is the original roller coaster game, it's so dated that when it first came out it was packaged with an external CD drive. I've played a version adapted to Nintendo DS and it feels like a watered down version of the super familiar Rollercoaster Tycoon. You get a grid and you get to build flat rides and pretty simple roller coasters on it while managing the park financially.

Rollercoaster Tycoon- By far the most famous coaster game, Chris Sawyer's iconic Rollercoaster Tycoon has kickstarted god knows how many aspiring roller coaster engineering dreams. Keeping Theme Park's grid structure (though isometrically projected unlike Theme Park), players have the option to build flat rides, a wide variety of different roller coasters, tracked rides, paths, scenery, and modify the landscape of your park. This is unarguably the most iconic and famous theme park game that has ever been made, one of the most famous PC games ever made, and there's even argument that it's one of the great classics in PC gaming. It has also been recently adapted into RCT Classic, an iPad version of the iconic game. To my knowledge, it was also the first coaster game to come with expansion packs, with players able to add content from the Corkscrew Follies and Loopy Landscapes packs.

Rollercoaster Tycoon 2- Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 was essentially an expanded version of the original game. Key additions to the game included the ability to add buildings to your parks, expanded theming and scenery options, and the ability to create park landscapes and coaster layouts and save them for use later. The game is also known for a licensing deal with Six Flags that allowed users to manage in-game versions of a few American and European Six Flags properties. It was also the first coaster game to come with themed expansion packs, with Time Twister offering content themed to different historical eras and Wacky Worlds offering content themed to different geographical regions of the world.

Rollercoaster Tycoon 3- RCT3 is one of the most commonly played coaster games by enthusiasts, though its popularity has dwindled somewhat recently. Like the other two games in the franchise, RCT3's coasters are built by laying track pieces end-to-end, similar to building a Brio train set as a child. However, this was the first of the games to be done in 3D, unlocking the isometric perspective of the first two. This allowed numerous features, including the game-changing Coaster Cam that allows a POV of the coaster to be "ridden." This feature allowed for much more advanced landscaping, building construction, and of course, ease in designing a coaster. This was also the first coaster game to feature a Sandbox mode, allowing the user to just mess around and build what they want without a game objective. Two expansions, Soaked! and Wild!, were added as well as a plethora of user-created custom content that can be downloaded.

NoLimits Coaster- Ole Lange's NoLimits software was the first coaster game that was strictly a simulator, with no way to "win" or "lose," just for the purpose of building coasters. Users would get a blank map and shape a layout using a series of nodes placed on a 3D XYZ grid. No in-game infrastructure features existed but the ability to import 3DS objects existed, while other users used the game's four-sided catwalk supports as polygons to build simple structures. Another very popular coaster game, NoLimits was known for being the ultimate in versatility. Users also created programs to augment the program, such as the Construction Kit, Track Packager, and Object Creator. It was also the first coaster game to provide a live accelerometer readout feature, allowing you to read the forces as the train traverses the layout.

NoLimits 2- A much more advanced take on NL1's simulator approach, this coaster game introduced a WYSIWYG editor, an easier way to import 3D objects, scripting, different types of track nodes, the ability to build full-scale working parks, and an improved support design system. Today it's one of the most popular coaster games among enthusiasts if not the most popular. This program also took its predecessor's force bar and adapted it as a g-force comb, allowing the user to see the effect that the layout has on the force in real time as they shape the track.

Planet Coaster- One of the newest coaster games and most popular today, Planet Coaster was a fun take on NL's simulator. There's equal emphasis on building for fun and meeting objectives. Their advanced coaster builder closely resembles an additive version of that of NoLimits 2, but with numerical parameters that can be edited by hand, and a snap feature. It also has a heatmap feature that can display forces, speed, and other statistics as a colored tube running the length of the track. Planet Coaster also once again reinvented the building designer as RCT2 did, allowing grids to be created on a freeform surface and stall windows to be added to facades.

Rollercoaster Tycoon World- One of the most heavily panned coaster games ever released, this continuation of the iconic RCT franchise introduced advanced shaping to their coasters and was expected to rival Planet Coaster, but has dramatically lower ratings on Steam. This is the only coaster game on this list I have never played but I've heard plenty of horror stories.

So, which one is your favorite? I'm actually going to hold off this time, see what others say.

 

[Chris Brown]

RCT2 for me, RCT was incredible but RCT2 just took the customisation a little further with the declined / inclined banked turns and stuff. The ride selection was also much greater with more B&M’s and Intamins being introduced rather than the standard arrow / vekoma track types. I also find the strategies and mechanics of these games near perfect. They are so unrealistic in terms of guests being at your parks for years yet it all works so so well. Like the money, profitability, seasons, timeframes, ride reliability are all based on completely different scales yet they all intertwine so well to become this magnificent time scale that doesn’t exist yet somehow works so well. The games and scenarios are so painfully addictive its to be untold. RCT had the reward system where a new scenario was unlocked after each completion which left me itching to complete as many as possible if only to see the pre made parks and the creations that Chris Sawyer had made. Sadly RCT2 lacked that but it made up for it with the sheer number of scenarios that came with the add on packs. The games are so timeless as well, I still regularly play RCT classic on my ipad and I don’t think I could ever do that with another game. Sure, other games give you that nostalgic quick fix that can last a week or so but none can replicate the passion I have for RCT.

 

[Hixee]

I mean, @Chris Brown is dead right, it's hard to argue that RCT/RCT2 aren't the top two coaster games of all time. I never actually got RCT2, but played countless hours of RCT and everything Chris details is correct. The scenarios, the coasters, the guests, the economy, the game mechanic was all fantastic. Really, really well designed games. The history of the game's development also cements it as one of the most iconic games of all time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RollerCoaster_Tycoon_(video_game)

Scottish game designer Chris Sawyer hated rollercoasters before he began work on RollerCoaster Tycoon. He originally wanted to create a sequel to his highly successful Transport Tycoon. However, he later instead decided to make RollerCoaster Tycoon as an excuse to ride on, or "research", rollercoasters, which he enjoyed doing and became obsessed with. The game was to be called White Knuckle for the majority of the game's development. However, to follow the tradition of the Tycoon titles, the game was renamed accordingly.

The game was developed in a small village near Dunblane over the course of two years. Sawyer wrote 99% of the code for RollerCoaster Tycoon in x86 assembly language, with the remaining one percent written in C. The graphics were designed by artist Simon Foster using several 3D modeling, rendering, and paint programs.

RCT3 was also an excellent final installment (not counting RCTW, as it sounds pretty poor), but it never quite replicated the simple interface and complex gameplay that made the original two so much fun.

However.

Whilst I do love the RCT series (or did love, I haven't booted any of them up in 10+ years), I'm giving my vote to NL2. The first NL game was a huge stepping stone for me into engineering CAD packages with it's viewing angles and wireframe style. I had to use them at school, but being able to go home and do them "for fun" was great, especially as it was so intimately linked with my passion for coasters. I could make those elements and twists that I hoped they would build on loads of different coaster types, and you had complete free rein to do whatever you liked. NL2 took this so much further, with far more advanced building tools and, crucially, very impressive graphics and a huge range of very well detailed coaster types. I've sunk countless hours into that game tweaking forces and track shaping to make some wonderful custom creations. Plus, I thoroughly enjoyed the NL2 tournament series that @tomahawk ran for 2015 and 2016, they were a great way to spark creativity among the members and were a lot of fun.

My only criticism of NL2 is that it suffers greatly from very few updates. The developers barely put out any news, and there hasn't been a significant update in the game (that wasn't just an update to the lighting engine) in nearly two years. Hopefully they're just working on something big, but I'm not optimistic at this stage. That said, it's still my favourite and I regularly boot it up just to go exploring my coasters.

 

[HeartlineCoaster]

In the last few years I've spent a ridiculous amount of time sandboxing on RCT2, or its open source equivalent, so it definitely gets my vote.
It's amazing that it is still growing as a game after all this time and there are some wonderful things you can do with it now.
To me it's the perfect place to throw any creativity I've got in at a reasonable pace, due to how much I've gotten used to the system and how easy it is to make things.
I play it almost theraputically, like some people and their adult colouring books. It's an art form and a great way to relax just knocking out dream theme parks.
Being an enthusiast throws a whole different aspect into this as well, I know how things will ride as I build them.
So it's so much more than a game to me as an adult.

Played RCT1 fairly recently and finally bothered to complete everything just for the fun of it. Not a huge fan of scenarios as they often limit creativity, but did manage to have a great time with a few of them. Growing up it was my favourite, due to the above mentioned difference in unlocking of scenarios. But that was more out of principle, as I never really got anywhere with it.

Barely played RCT3 at all. Couldn't get on with the aesthetic of it. Not interested now.

I enjoy NL2 on occasion. When I make something that works properly it can be very rewarding, but quite often it simply takes me too much effort to get to that stage.

I'm still in two minds about trying Planet Coaster. It really intrigues me, but I don't want it to be another NL2 situation in terms of effort vs reward. It'll will be extremely difficult to make me turn away from RCT2, so not sure there would be a point in having an in-between game when I already have both ends of the spectrum.

Followed the build up to RCTW and saw the outcome. It can burn.

 

[ThomVD]

Planet Coaster hands down. It has everything I want in a theme park simulator. The coaster builder is great, the detail is incredible and it's so much fun to play. No Limits is good for what it is, but I dom't really enjoy it. RCT 1 and 2 are nostalgic but very dated now. RCT3 is inferior to Planet Coaster in most ways but still my second fave.

 

[Hyde]

RCT2 was perfection applied to perfection. Everything else is in comparison to it.

 

[Pokemaniac]

I'm going to put in a word for Parkitect here.

I think it is a worthy successor to RCT/2, and still in development so it is steadily getting better (the developers post a blog update every week and updates the game version every month). It is very similar in style to the aforementioned games, grid-based and with an isometric view, but full 3D graphics and a cute and cartoony art style. It doesn't (yet) have the diversity in coaster types, stalls, and scenery that the RCT series boasts, but I dare say it has much better flat rides and a more flexible building system, both for buildings and coasters. Gameplay-wise the two are almost identical. Parkitect doesn't have a career mode yet, but it's very easy to create custom scenarios or import from the Internet, and the game is balanced enough to make scenarios playable as well as challenging.

It does have a management aspect currently lacking from Planet Coaster too. Staff become tired and need to rest in Staff Rooms regularly. Shops must be restocked by Hauler staff, either from a Deliveries pad near the entrance or via a system of conveyor belts and pick-up points. Random events such as supply problems, waning/increased interest in theme parks, or vandalism sprees happen every now and then. Speaking of the latter, mechanics actually repair vandalized objects in Parkitect, a feature I always missed from RCT2.

Is it the best coaster game ever, though? I think that I must say no in all honesty. I like it a lot, but it lacks certain features so enjoyed in other coaster games. It doesn't have the total freedom of NoLimits, the pretty graphics of Planet Coaster, the ride cam of RCT3, or the pixelated charm of RCT/2. But it does certain things better than all those games, and I believe it will be a worthy contender in time.

 

[GuyWithAStick]

I've been playing RCT3 for years, so it has a very special place in my heart. Everything about it is so lovely and wonderful, and the fact that you could ride the coasters was amazing. It'll probably be my number one for a fairly long time.

NL2 is a very good simulator, but I suck at it, and never really got 'into' it.

Planet Coaster has some incredible potential, but I don't commit myself to making something very detailed.

Parkitect, as said above, can become a very nice successor to RCT(2). Plus the modding community is huge.

I've recently been getting into OpenRCT2, but I think I prefer RCT3. Although the Multiplayer is very fun.

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[Coaster Hipster]

RCT3 is the game I played the most, but it's certainly because it was the big game released when I became an enthusiast. It has many flaws, such as glitchy and crash-prone tendencies, as well as being really slow to load. The coaster builder was really restrictive (especially without the expansions) but with some creativity you could come up with an impressive layout. Of course, it would never have had its longetivity without Custom Content makers. New scenery, coaster trains and even track expansions brought so much life to this game and showed how dedicated and loving its community was <3

Planet Coaster seems to have taken notice of that and, from what I've seen, offers a very versatile and complete gameplay. The coaster designer seems miles better and finally sets you free from the rectangular grid of the old days. The appearance feels a bit too cartoony but nice enough. The coaster type selection is a bit lacking so far, but I'm sure they'll gradually fill it.

RCT1/2 win for charming atmosphere and nostalgia. The gameplay mechanism aren't the most realistic, but effective and fun!

NL2 obviously provides the best layout designing capabilities and produced some amazing creations over the years. It's also very tedious and time-consuming and I simply prefer watching other people's creations and trying to make my own. It's the game that makes me wish I had more talent and patience...

 

[theChainLift]

RCT 2 will always have a special place in my heart but Planet Coaster is a phenomenal. My new Favorite for sure


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