User Guide

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located near the back of the park (so that guests must pass all the other
tempting attractions on the way to it). As with advertising the entire park,
this is one of the more expensive campaigns, but you lose nothing in
income — and the added business should far exceed the cost of advertising.
Troubleshooting
Some potential problems don’t easily fit into categories. That’s what this
little section is all about; it’s a catch-all for management issues you’re likely
to run into sooner or later — and you want to be prepared for anything in
this business.
Ride Crashes
Old rides, intense rides, and those which are not inspected often enough
have a tendency to break down. Even worse, however, is when one crashes
with guests onboard. The usual call goes out, and a Mechanic comes to fix
the problem. When he's done, double-click the red light in the Ride window
to reset the ride, then click the green light to reopen it.
Assuming that you’ve done all that you can to prevent injuries, there is
still the minute chance that a ride will crash, as an example of the sheer
perversity of the universe. You cannot recompense the victims or their
families, but you can repair the ride. Double-click on the red light in the
Ride window to reset the ride, then click the green light. If the crash was
the only problem, the ride reopens immediately. If there was also a break-
down, the usual radio call goes out, and a repairman comes to fix that
problem. When he’s done, the attraction reopens as usual.
Beyond the tragic loss of life and the grief of the families, there’s also your
ongoing profit to consider. You have quite a large investment in the attrac-
tion, but even after it’s been repaired, inspected, and repainted, this ride
is a pariah. Everyone who visits your park has heard about the wreck,
and no one is willing to get on the ride. What do you do?
You have two options: cut your losses and tear down the ride, or — wait.
The public has a short memory. Even a colossal tragedy in which hundreds
of guests are sent to their reward will, eventually, be forgotten. Of course,
lesser misfortunes are more quickly erased by time, and the wait could be
several months. This is, perhaps, one of the less attractive aspects of
human nature, but in this case, it works to your favor. If it makes you feel
any better, you can rename the ride.
with the intended result of drawing greater numbers of visitors to your
park. All you need to do is:
♦ Select one of the campaigns.
♦ If necessary, choose which of your attractions will be affected by the campaign.
♦ Use the tiny up and down arrows to adjust the length of time you want
the marketing effort to run. The marketing agency charges by the week,
so be careful of escalating fees.
♦ Click the Begin This Campaign button that appears near the bottom of
the display.
Here’s how the various campaigns are supposed to work:
♦ Vouchers for free entry to the park allow guests to forego paying the park
admission fee. Obviously, this is of no benefit to them if you don’t charge
for entry into the park, and thus it is of no value to you. You do not collect
the money for admission from guests bearing vouchers, but those individ-
uals are a little more willing to spend for attractions once inside the park.
♦ Vouchers for free rides on a particular ride draw visitors by making
one of your rides free (you select which ride). You lose some income due
to guests not paying to get on that ride, but you’re sure to make up the
difference (and then some) through increased admissions to the park and
the other money the guests are likely to spend. This is also an effective
way to raise the popularity of a particular ride or to get some benefit out
of an older, less profitable attraction.
♦ Vouchers for half-price entry to the park are similar to the free entry
vouchers, except that these leave you some admissions income. (Less ethical
park managers raise the price of admission to compensate.)
♦ Vouchers for free food or drink work in much the same way as those
for free rides. Food and drink concessions are one of the mainstays of
income in many parks.
♦ Advertising the park, though more expensive than any of the voucher
efforts, is also more effective in attracting customers. Your marketing
agency creates a media-based ad campaign (you can rely on their expert-
ise) and pursues it for as long as you choose. This costs you nothing in
terms of lost income, because you’re giving away nothing for free.
♦ Advertising a particular ride works best when it’s a new attraction
you’re touting. This campaign draws public attention to one ride — if
you’re wise, you’ll advertise a big-ticket item, a “headliner” that you’ve
Park ManagementPark Management
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