User Guide

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♦ Give your design a name. The file name is the name that will appear in
the Select Track Design window, so be sure to capitalize it as you see fit.
You absolutely must not change the file extension (the part after the period).
♦ Click the OK button.
The next time you choose to build a ride of that type and the Select Track
Design window opens, your design will be listed right up there with all
the other standards. The only caveat is that there will not be a picture of
your track available through the View Track button.
REFERENCE
This section is a brief rundown of the most important screens, buttons,
menus, windows, and options in RollerCoaster Tycoon. It should be help-
ful when you’ve momentarily forgotten what a certain thing is used for, or
when you want to explore the game in a little more depth. Please keep in
mind that the explanations in this section do not always tell you why or in
what circumstances you might want to use a particular feature, only how
to use it.
The Landscape
What you see when you’re running a park in one of the scenarios is called
the Landscape.
The largest area of the screen is taken up by the Landscape Display. This
is where you see your park and everything in it. It’s also where you’ll do
most of your work, using the mouse. Position your cursor over anything in
the landscape, and a message (in the Message Area) tells you what you
can do with it.
If you want to see an area of the park that is not in the Landscape Display,
simply move the view by holding down the right mouse button and moving
the mouse. This is called “dragging the landscape” and is very quick. If
you are playing in full-screen mode, you can also move the mouse cursor
to the edge of the screen, and the entire view scrolls in the direction you
specify. As a third option, the arrow keys also shift the landscape around.
What happens when you right or left click on something depends entirely
on the situation. When none of the park building features is active (you’re
not in the middle of any task), clicking on a thing opens a window that
0 (the epitome of tedium) to 10 (knocks your socks clean off). The higher
this number, the more you can successfully charge for admission to the
ride, and the more popular the ride will be with your guests. You can gen-
erate excitement by several means. The type of ride sets the standard, and
the design does the rest. The overall speed of the ride, its pacing, and the
look of it from the outside can add to the excitement, as can nearby
scenery (especially if it and the ride share a consistent theme), the view
from the ride, and the nearness of external objects, including footpaths
and other rides. The age of the ride is a factor, too; novelty adds excitement.
Intensity — Intensity appeals to some guests, but not all of them. This
characteristic, too, is on a scale from 0 (walk in the park) to 10 (white-
knuckled terror). The overall rating depends on all the forces, accelera-
tions, changes of direction, inversions, and speed experienced by a rider
over the course of the track. You can achieve intensity ratings over 10
through misguided design decisions, but don’t be surprised when no one
is willing to ride it, even for free!
Nausea Factor — As with the others, the scale for this rating starts at 0
(safe even after a feast) and proceeds up to 10 (don’t even stand close).
This has a strong influence on how your guests feel (physically) during
and after the ride — and also on whether or not they’ll choose to ride it in
the first place. Spinning rides tend to have high nausea ratings, and the
more turns (especially sharp ones) and inversions you include, the worse
it gets.
Saving Your Design
When your design is complete and the ride is built and running, you can
pat yourself on the back. Not everyone has the know-how to build a suc-
cessful roller coaster! To make your success even sweeter, you can add
your exciting track design to the standard tracks for the type of ride
you’ve built. (Note that you can only save a design if the track in question
has been successfully tested — made a complete circuit without crashing
or stalling.) Here’s how:
♦ Open the Ride window for your custom-built attraction.
Click on the Game Options button on the Toolbar.
♦ Select the Save Track Design option.
ReferenceBuilding a Custom Ride
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