User Guide

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Landscaping
You can build a park on the land as you find it, around the bodies of
water already in place, using only the trees and other landscaping that
nature and history have provided. You might even create a successful park
in that way. Stranger things have happened. However, you’ll find that your
job is much easier if you see the terrain and flora as raw materials to be
worked and molded to your needs. You can change the environment, and
in most cases in RollerCoaster Tycoon, you would be wise to.
Landscaping includes not only planting decorative plants — flower beds,
shrubbery, trees, and so on — but also modification of the land and water
itself. Sometimes, you’ll need to create flat land, or a lake, or even hills.
You might decide that a giant pit in the ground fits the atmosphere you’re
creating in your park. Whatever the need, the landscaping tools at your
disposal can handle it.
Altering the Terrain
When you take over a park, you inherit the land formations that nature
and history have supplied — hills, lakes, cliffs, and so on. Only in rare
cases will the lay of the land be completely amenable to your intentions.
You can use what’s there to your advantage, especially if you’re inventive,
but the time will come when you decide that you must make substantial
changes.
Changing the land is an expensive process, so why do it? The foremost
reason is necessity. It’s much less expensive to build most rides and foot-
paths on flat land. It’s also easier. If your park does not provide enough
flat areas, you might decide that it’s best to make your own. The second,
more interesting reason, is to add to the excitement and visibility of your
rides. Let’s let a few examples explain this concept:
1) What’s easier to find and more exciting to ride, a Ferris Wheel in a
valley or one on top of a high hill?
2) If you’re racing on a Go-Kart track, does your heart beat faster round-
ing a hairpin turn at ground level, or one that skims the edge of a
sheer cliff?
3) When a roller coaster roars downhill, is it more exhilarating to be
hurtling toward open air or a rough stone wall before the car flashes
into a tight turn at the last second?
creating a successful park, but they all can be useful — especially in the
more difficult scenarios. If you choose to ignore these, you’re making
things tougher on yourself, and why would you want to do that?
Entertainers
If you’ve ever been to an amusement park, you’ve probably seen giant
animals walking about on two legs. Of course, these are park employees
in costume, hired Entertainers. These hardy souls wander about the park
in hot, stuffy, animal suits, spreading cheer and keeping the guests happy.
Your park, too, can have its share of frolicking big animals with enormous
heads. Here’s how to get them:
Click the Staff button to open the Staff window.
Select the Entertainer tab.
♦ Click the Hire New Entertainer button once for each roving performer
you think you need.
For every Entertainer you hire, a Worker window opens. Using the fea-
tures in this little window, you control that particular employee.
Use the Orders tab to outfit the Entertainer in the animal suit of your
choice. It’s better to have a variety of costumes wandering your park;
if they’re all the same, the positive impact on your guests is less.
To determine where the performer starts his rounds, use the Pincers
button. Move the mouse pointer over the landscape and position the
Entertainer (hanging from the pincers) directly over one of the paths, then
click to drop him there.
If you want to limit this giant happy animal to a certain area, you
can do so using the Patrol Area button. While this button is
depressed, you can click on the landscape to mark the area (in predeter-
mined blocks) the Entertainer should patrol. Entertainers rarely stray
from the footpaths.
One last thing — you must pay your Entertainers for their time and effort.
Each one you hire takes a certain salary every month. Employee paydays
are one of the standard, ongoing operating costs of the park, and you are
not notified when they occur. A wise park manager keeps an eye on the
finances and is aware of it.
Building a Better ParkBuilding a Better Park
RCTycoon MiniManual #4482 8/31/01 4:01 PM Page 44